Wednesday, September 20, 2006

For a few pounds less

Well, my blog and me seem to be sharing a relationship of a sometimes on, and more often than not off couple. Well, in my defense, work pressure (Forgive me for using that.. I just wanted to!) has been getting to me. Add to that a comp which I would rather cremate, and my hiatus is perfectly justified.

I have just joined the gym. I am convex all the way around. Not my idea of a great physique, again, not that I ever had one. When you go to donate blood, and the doctor has an exclamatory look on his face, you know that the scales aren't tipping the right way. And hence, the decision to go shed a few pounds.

Its always surprised me as to what people get so addicted to at the gym. There must be something that is so terribly attaching. People tell me about their gym friends, and how they work out together, about relationships that started out at the gym, and so on. Well, they must be going to some gymnasium that is beyond the pockets of mere mortals like me.

Gymnasiums, in this one week, I have discovered, cure people of their ills, not just by the conventional method of sweating it out. They also believe in the proverbial best medicine or laughter.

There is this one gentleman, who actually uses the machine that is used to exercise the hips as a merry-go-round. The machine itself is a simple contraption, a single bar, with a rotating disk at the bottom. All one has to do is to clutch at the bar, and sway using the disk at the bottom. But out friend believes that the right way to exercise is to stand on the disk, and have the disk rotate.

Then we have the middle aged wonders of nature who frequent my gym. My gym made me feel better the first day itself, as I was easily amongst the thinnest there. There are plenty who struggle to walk in through the door. I guess you can now understand as to why most of the treadmills wont work. These lovely gentlemen ( and a couple of ladies as well), believe that the ideal weight loss regimen includes loads of mirror stares, newspaper reads interspersed with friendly chats with the instructor. The secret weapon though is to seat yourself on any of the exercise machine, and wait for a particular treadmill to be free. Please remember that the treadmill would not be used for longer than 5 minutes.

Me running, or should I say jogging, is looked upon as the eighth wonder of the world. As regards to my own weight, I have lost faith in the weighing machine. It seems prejudiced against me, and has sworn to show that dangerously high weight which I started out with. But I have faith in exercise; be it in sweat or laughter, and in this, the latter is assured.