November 28: Bragging Rights

Mondays and Fridays: Bench (Five sets of eight repetitions), Incline Bench (3 of 8), Flies (3 of 8), Squats (5 of 8), Leg Press (3 of 8), Leg Extensions (3 of 8), Toe Raises (3 of 8), and fifty Ab Wheels.

Tuesdays and Thursdays: Shoulder Press in front of the head (3 of 8), Shoulder Press behind the head (3 of 8), Arm Extensions in front of body (3 of 8), Arm Extensions to the side of the body (3 of 8), Chin-Ups (3 of 8), Lat Pull Downs in front of the head (3 of 8), Lat Pull Downs behind the head (3 of 8), Stand-Up Arm Curls with a bar (3 of 8), Stand-Up Individual Curls with dumbbells (3 of 8 for each arm), and Sit-Down Concentration Curls with dumbbells (3 of 8 for each arm).

Wednesdays: Deadlifts (5 of 8), Close-Grip Bench (5 of 8), Wide-Grip Bench (5 of 8), Sit-Down Rows (3 of 8), three sets of twenty-ones with a forty-five pound bar, and fifty Ab Wheels.

From about March of 2001 until June of the same year, my good friend and I would follow this routine. After school, we would drive to his house, open the garage door to get some air circulation and go to work. It was exhausting and cumbersome, but after a few weeks, it just became second-nature. It's what we did after school every day. No ifs, ands, or buts. By the time I graduated, I was in (what I thought would be) the best shape of my life even though I didn't actually play any organized sports at the time.

Almost ten years later, and I still have my slim figure, but the tone and overall shape has virtually disappeared. I remain active by riding my bicycle as much as I can and when I'm feeling particularly motivated, I'll attempt to begin another round of the Perfect Pushup workout program. Of course without the inspirational stimulation from a peer, this rarely makes it past week two or three. For a while, I maintained a consistent Ab Wheel workout which I still give credit for my overall flexibility and core strength, but even that has absconded from my daily routine.

People are always absolutely flummoxed when I reveal that I don't have a gym membership or that I don't work out on a regular basis. I'm not a health nut by any means so it is always surprising when I reveal that I don't maintain any daily exercise regime. Like I stated above, I will occasionally begin a push up routine or the rare dumbbell work out, but those moments of ambition are so far between each other, that I can't possibly justify calling it "working out."

I tell you all of this tonight, because it really bothers me when I overhear people talking about how they recently went to the gym for the first time in months and how sore they now are. I look at these people and I know instantly that they will maintain the routine for maybe a week and that will be the end of it. Why does that bother me? Because I don't see the point in starting a program for a week and calling it quits. Working out for seven days isn't going to do anything at all for your health. The only thing these people are accomplishing is tiring their muscles and feeling successful.

It's for this exact reason that I never get back into my own routine. I know myself all too well to know that I won't maintain the routine and therefor I won't be achieving any of the benefits of working out. I've never had a gym membership for this reason, either, and I am fairly confident that I never will. If you want to work out and maintain a healthy lifestyle, I'm all for it. Telling yourself on January 1 that you're going to start working out more and then giving up on January 7 is not commendable at all; neither is merely mentioning, "p90x" in conjunction with your so-called physical activity. If you really want to impress us with your new program, do it for a few months and establish a solid routine. Then come and brag about it.