Body of David

I can't move my arms today, not even to scratch my nose. It is because I took a step in the right direction. I went to the gym yesterday. A friend of mine has proved to be a dedicated gym rat, and so I hope that by association, I become one too. It's not so much my desire to be a gym rat, but rather to reap the benefits of being one.

I'll take some 'before' pictures soon and post them on the Body Page of my site and I'll describe my regimen, goals, progress, and what-not. I better set a deadline... I'll say by Friday, July 6th b/c I need some time to get with a trainer and come up with a regimen.

The true reason for making 'body' one of my main life categories is to ensure good health and good energy, so that I can tend to the other things in my life. To be honest, however, my reason for working out at the gym, as opposed to simply walking/hiking/staying active, is vanity. I want to have a nice body. I want to look good. I want to have strong legs and arms, a bulging chest, and cut abs. Are there health benefits to this? Probably not.

I was talking to my gym-rat friend about an unrelated subject, body hair. I was deliberating waxing my, um, nether regions, for the purpose of vanity, of course. She could not fathom it. "It's not natural," she said. Either is her shaving her legs and pits, I retorted. "But that's our culture," she concluded. And I guess she's right. Her statement migrates readily from body hair to body image. The reason I want to have this great body is because of the cultural connotations. A fit, if not muscular, body, connotes health, virility, and sexual desirability. I want that!

So, anyway, I've set the stage for working out, which is very good. I just need to throw in cardio, which I hate. But vanity to the rescue, here. My friend says ab exercises are not enough to get rid of my gut, that I need cardio. So there's my motivation. My heart will thank me, I suppose. I also need to throw in a good diet, but that must come later, for now my sausage McMuffin with egg and side of hasbrowns await.

And, if you must know, the consensus seems to be 'skip the waxing,' though I must insist on an occasional trim. I hope my barber concurs.