March 18, 2013

My dearest,

I’m starting to exercise regularly these days. Nothing too ambitious and unsustainable (for me at least): twice a week at our apartment’s gym and lots of walking under our midday sun (which saner mortals rightly abstain from).

Barbell squats. Kettlebell swings. Boring, brain-numbing minutes on the treadmill. Time to take my health seriously, you see. (Now where have you heard that one before?)

Thing is, I loathe the cool-downs at the end of the workout. Warm-ups are fine; what better way to wake my body before the impending punishment, right? But my sloth is such that once I’ve completed my last rep of my last set of my last exercise, I’m out of the gym, happy to be done with it.

Except I’m not really done. I’ve skipped my cool-down stretching exercises and what not. And do I pay for it the following day or two or do I?

Today my thigh muscles are so sore I can barely walk. I recall reading that this is due to lactic acid buildup but the theory’s been since disproven. The experts call this Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS); I call it Pain, pure and simple.

In a couple of days, the stiffness will wear off just in time for my next workout. I will run out of the gym again, the moment I’ve dealt with my last rep, forgetting to cool down yet again. It’s a cycle.

Just like it’s a cycle of you hearing this from me…

Yours, ever and always.