Working out

I love to hate working out. I love the idea of working out, I love being able to say "I went to the gym today" and I love increasing my reps or weight lifted. I hate sweating, I hate feeling exhausted and I hate exercising alone. I had decided last year that running would be a good idea for me, but it also has its own problems. Such as, a man my size puts a tremendous amount of stress on his joints when he runs. Plus, unless you have the greatest MP3 library or a running partner it is just boring.

I was thinking about the idea of working out and what a person is trying to accomplish when exercising. No one goes to the gym to see how far they can move the equipment or to wear down the machine. The goal is personal growth. Isometric exercises are when you push or flex against an immovable object. You can actually build serious muscle mass by just trying to push over a wall. Of course you will never accomplish this task, but that isn't the point. The idea is that your muscles will strain at the force you apply and try to adapt and grow stronger.

Here I am in my life and I am trying to push over wall after wall. I have been discouraged that my walls still stand and look just as formidable as yesterday. It is easy to get depressed seeing these walls stand strong against my best efforts. But then I realized that it isn't to push them over that I strain, but it is to build myself. If I change my goal I am encouraged. So today I am still working out, but now I am not concentrating on the wall falling down, although I still try; today I know I am getting stronger. Push on your walls and work up a sweat.