The Long Arm

Weigh-in was tonight, but they didn't tell us the numbers. It was a "blind" weigh-in. I think I did pretty good. I ran over 35 miles last week and did over 1300 flights of stairs. Maybe not an earth-shattering loss, but still a respectable one. That's my guess, at least.

This season is drawing to a close, and it reminds me a bit of of a mythical Irish hero, Lugh of the Long Arm (with a name like "Frank Murphy" and a love for high fantasy, it was only a matter of time before I went Old Irish). He sought admission to the court of King Nuada, but the steward of the castle wouldn't grant him an audience with the king. Lugh was highly skilled in a variety of disciplines, and offered his services as a builder, a smith, a swordsman, a harpist, a poet, a historian, a craftsman, and more. The steward refused him because the king already had someone in his court with each of those abilities. Lugh responded by saying, "I understand that, but does he have one man who possesses all those skills?" Of course, he did not. The steward allowed him to meet the king, he demonstrated that he was telling the truth and became the people's champion. Later, he led them to a great victory over the Fomorians (the bad guys). Lugh rocked!

FWSW hasn't pushed to make us excel at one thing in particular. They intentionally tried to expose to a wide variety of exercises in our workouts so that we're well-rounded athletes (see the Lugh connection now?). For instance, Amber has put us through step aerobics, dance, muay tai, and more. The intent is that not every exercise is going to equally appeal to every person. I know a lot of my fellow pre-alumni looked forward to the pool workouts, while I didn't. We're just different, and there's nothing wrong with that.

If you've tried to get a workout routine going, but gave up because it just wasn't working for you, then try something else. Maybe you got on the treadmill a few times and thought it sucked. It probably did. Don't sweat it and move on to the elliptical or rower or stepper. Maybe you tried a Zumba class and thought it was stupid ... try core or step aerobics or kickboxing or yoga or something else. Give the various exercises and classes a fair shake (two or three sessions sounds reasonable), and if it's not floating your boat, look at other options. If you're serious and persistent, you'll find something that works for you. I promise. There's more than a one way to thin a cat.