On A Quest For Endorphins...

I admit it...I am a bit of a health fanatic. Diet and exercise are a big part of who I am. I go to the gym 5 days a week and sometimes attend a class on Saturday or ride my road bike. I go to the gym for not only health benefits, but also on a "quest for endorphins"...you, know, those things that make you feel so good after you exercise. People who are "gym junkies" can be put into a couple of different categories, I guess. The category that I would fall into, would be "the regular". The "regulars" are those people who can be found there on a daily basis, doing their same thing, day after day. Then, you have the "sporadics". You know these people, and many are even your "gym friends", but you only see them every once and a while. Regardless of the category, each person who goes to the gym, has their own little routine, which includes activities they enjoy participating in or find useful for their purpose. For some, it is weight lifting, others only attend classes and others are simply cardio addicts. My routine includes a little of all of these activities.

This week, it was particularly difficult for me to get motivated to go to the gym, although I desperately needed those "endorphins". The wedding had worn me out, so that I couldn't even THINK of going to the gym on Monday. Monday is the day that I take my Pi-Yo class. Well, I only take it when my favorite instructor is going to be teaching it. I always make sure to check the schedule to make sure "The Beast" isn't teaching. We call her this because this instructor MUST be on steroids! I mean, can't she see that when she's on the 50th push-up in a row, that things are becoming a "one man show"? It is her up there doing push-ups by herself, while everyone else is either laying on their mat in cardiac arrest or cheating (that would be me because I don't want her to think that she's beaten me). COME ON...REALLY! Can you expect to get "endorphins" while being so ticked off at the instructor? So, upon discovering that "The Beast", indeed would be teaching the class on Monday, I opted out.

By Tuesday, I was ready to tackle a little cardio and do my weight work-out. Usually, I head straight for the elliptical machine (you can burn a lot of calories fast on this machine), but was still kind of tired and went to the bicycles instead. I have found that Mondays are fairly busy days at the gym. I suppose that either everyone has good intentions to start the week out right or they are trying to "pay the piper" for transgressions made on the previous weekend. Anyway, I thought that riding the bike would be a little easier than the elliptical, so I headed toward them...only to find ONE available. I don't usually like to get onto a machine right next to someone, but what choice did I have...it was either that or possibly passing out on the elliptical. So, I hopped on the bike, took my Kindle out to do some reading and began pedaling. It wasn't long, however, that I heard some grunting sounds (that's one of the problems with getting on equipment too close to another person). I used my peripheral vision (you don't want to just TURN and STARE at the person...well, you want to, but you CAN'T!) to see where it was coming from and WHAT it was. The man on the bike next to me was really struggling. I just decided to try to ignore the sounds and kept pedaling and reading. Then, I heard him say (to apparently no one), 60. OK...so, I had to look a little closer to see if he had one of those blue tooth ear pieces in...nope! I kept pedaling and then heard the worse thing of all...him wiping his face with his hand and the sound of sloshing sweat! OH NO...I couldn't afford to get off of my bike now, because my heart rate was finally getting up and I was burning calories. BUT, if he sloshed ONE DROP of sweat on me...I was DONE!

Finally, I heard him say, "New Record" (to himself, I suppose) and he got off of the bike to hit the track. I couldn't figure this guy out, but was relieved that he had finished his work-out without slinging sweat on me. Glancing over, I then noticed his bicycle mat...it had BUCKET LOADS of sweat on it! It reminded me of the day I let my yellow lab into the house and he hiked his leg on my artificial tree and peed a RIVER in the living room. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!! SURELY, he would come back to clean this mess up. He didn't. I made a mental note to self: ALWAYS clean the equipment before using it.

Two days later, upon entering the gym again, I noticed one of the television sets on the bikes was turned on. As I walked closer, I determined what "Sweaty Man" had been doing. It was a virtual race! Really, now...I must admit, that is pretty cool. I might even try it myself one day soon. Oh the things we go through on our "quest for endorphins"! But, it is definitely worth it in the end!