For the majority of my adult life I have engaged in some sort of physical activity. I am useless at sport so it has usually been something worthy like running or swimming to keep fit.
Christ isn't swimming boring, the only saving grace is you are always clean (or maybe with a thin coating of other participants urine). My regular exercise is now two trips to the gym each week.
Do I enjoy it? Well like the curate's egg it is good in parts. It is easy to think of reasons to put off going. However if I don't go then I am riddled with anxiety about imminent heart failure which I have convinced myself I am one gym session away from. So the pattern of my life is:
- Go to the gym and leave feeling self righteous, robust and also elated that I do not have to go for a few days
- Any aches and pains I get in the next day or so are seen by me as due to the vigorous life enhancing exercise
- The euphoria wears off and aches and pains are now surely evidence of an impending heart attack
- Lethargy and depression set in due to expected life threatening condition
- Check symptoms on Web, situation even worse than expected
- Go to gym one last time but leave feeling self righteous etc
- Repeat process
Is it really worth exercising to keep fit when fish, fowl, sheep and beef may all tainted. What did you have for Sunday lunch today? Poached mercury, or roast bird flu, scrapie or CJD?
It's not possible that I am a neurotic hypochondriac, is it?
Anyway to cheer myself up this week I bought the Honda Innove ANF 125 pictured above from a very nice guy in Barnet. I have probably saved it from a lifetime of pizza hauling and now like an old seaside donkey it can retire to an easier life in the country. In my garage I now have examples from the last forty years of two wheel commuters. Why? Don't ask me. I do know that riding them is better fun than going to the gym.
1 comment:
Thanks for writing this.
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