Sunday, March 04, 2007

To Gym Or Not To Gym

It's Sunday! And a wonderfully relaxed day it seems to be. Lots of time, little to do. The laundry is almost done and the fridge is full of food, including left-overs that just need heating. So I really have plenty of time to get to the gym today.

I'm just not sure I want to. I haven't been for about 8-9 days due to a few pulled muscles. And there's so little to do today I would hate to ruin that with stressful activity. But then again, I know I need to stretch out and use those pulled muscles. And I know I'll feel great tomorrow thanks to the exercise. And I'm always thankful I exercised afterwards, regardless of my mood before hand.

So to work through the "I don't wanna" blahs I'm using a tricky morning ritual of caffiene overdose and motivation.

This technique doesn't always work. But it usually does. Firstly, I've had a ton of coffee. More than I was "thirsty" for. I forced toast down my throat as early as possible, and now I'm backing that with a whey protein and fruit shake. I've got the TV muted and dance music playing. My "workout music". It makes it hard to sit still.

Next, once the food settles, down will go a single Red Bull. That will hit my brain like fire and for about 20-30 minutes going to the gym will feel like the obvious way to rid myself of the excess energy. But it's a narrow window. If I overdo the Red Bull I may just as likely start vacuuming or folding laundry. And then I'll ultimately end up missing the gym, as they close early on Sundays. (And I'm ignoring many hours worth of cleaning.)

There's also the "danger" of something really interesting coming on TV. With my mood right now (it's Sunday!) that could mean "something I didn't just see in the last week." I'm not feeling picky.

Down goes the last of the smoothy milkshake. More coffee awaits as does some loud and fast music. Will it take me where I want to go?

6 comments:

I Dive At Night said...

Yes, it did! Woohoo! And I feel great as a result. :-) And of my three pulled muscles, only two complained, and only one of those painfully. Tomorrow I'll be sore but happy.

Now? An extremely long very warm shower.

Minka said...

I am glad it worked. I try to make excuses as well when it is time to go, but once thre runnign on teh treadmill and getting out al warm and feeling yoru muscles...nice reward. Keep at it! You are not alone :)

Doug The Una said...

Well done, I was about to offer that the rigor of your coffee-maximization was enough.

I Dive At Night said...

Doug, I'm usually near a lethal dose of coffee, it requires more than that to do something as crazy as going to the gym and hurting yourself.

Monika, isn't it GREAT!?! I'm always so happy I've gone. Hey, is it spring in Iceland yet? It is here in Holland.

Minka said...

Morgan, now see that was not nice :)
Although, it is surprisingly warm here and my bird thinks its spring already. But no buds on flowers or trees yet :(

I Dive At Night said...

Sorry Minka, but if it helps, you brought a smile to my day. Thanks. :-)