Pretty intuitive title, huh? Well, one would think people know this, but it doesn’t always appear so.
Last night, as my hubs and I sat on the couch relaxing into the last of our dvr’d episodes of Parenthood, the hubs, per usual, was roaming around the interwebs on his phone WHILE watching our beloved show. All of a sudden, he clicks pause, and says, “Listen to this shiz!” Of course I was momentarily annoyed, like, “Hey dude, lets watch this show so a tired pregnant lady can get in bed!” But, I obliged, and I was glad I did. What he read was amazing. It was an article called “You Have to Workout, to Get a Workout”, by Hamilton Nolan. The article was on Deadspin.
If you aren’t familiar with Deadspin, it is a website with tons of sports articles, trade rumors, sports gossip, etc. If I didn’t mention it before, my hubs is a sports agent, so he likes to pretend it is his job to read these websites, like my job is to read People online! =) Lets be real hubs, you like to work your man gossip, just like I enjoy reading about Lindsay Lohans downward spiral.
(NOTE – you should really read the article. That is the graphic that kick starts it! HAHAHA)
(Note 2 – there is some bad language, so beware)
Anyhow, the article starts off talking about how every year half of the country makes “RESOLVES” to make working out a priority. Well, this hit one of the many (my hubs would THOUSANDS) of things that annoy me: come January 1, the gym is packed to the hilt with a bunch of people I have never seen before. The parking lot is a nightmare, I can’t get on any machines, and people are just bullshitting around in there.
The article then goes on to say how this lasts all of 2-3 weeks, and right about now is when those “RESOLUTE” people begin to drift back to their normal routines. ::SIGH:: More comfy room at the big ‘ol gym for me and my hubs to stretch out and get shiz done!
The rest of the article spins into a diatribe about what working out is and what working out isn’t.
” ‘I’ll walk every night,’ they say. ‘I’ll work in the garden, and take the stairs, and live an active lifestyle.’ I’m going to say something to all of those people now, and I want you to take this in the most constructive way possible, because I have the utmost respect for you and what you’re trying to accomplish:
You are pathetic and delusional.”
The entirety of it was just so funny, so on point, I couldn’t help but share it here with you guys. And it is not that I have some superiority complex (although some people might say, in certain ways, I do), its just that I am a REALIST. People are a bit delusion and make themselves believe that what they are doing is the best, right thing.
But as the author so eloquently, so sweetly, points out: casually walking down the street with your kid is not really working out. Are you burning a few calories? Sure, but you aren’t getting a full on workout there. You just aren’t. If you are, then why is there an entire group of people in the world slaving at the gym day after day?
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WEDNESDAY – OFF DAY
THURSDAY – 5 mile run (I hit a better pace than I have been. Reading all of your blogs is pumping me up that I don’t have to take it too easy in my “state” hehe)
FRIDAY (Today) – Yoga
SATURDAY – 3 mile EASY
SUNDAY – HALF MARATHON!!!!
Hadn’t mentioned that last bit had I?? I just signed up on Monday when I figured out whether we’d be in Houston or in San Antonio for the weekend. There was a race in both cities, so I was waiting to see which I would do….and to check the weather to make sure it would be all good.
So thank you, Galveston Marathon & Half Marathon. You made everything really easy, and you gave me really good swag. A great hat, a Brooks long sleeve tech shirt, and a bag that can used, reused, and abused. You can’t tell from the picture, but the bag is serious quality, not like usual drop bags!
Wish me luck. I am pumped. I have been dying to race since I missed Houston. And of course, I’ll try to pull together a great race report, especially since I couldn’t find that many good ones on this race.
What did you think of the article??
Are you racing this weekend? If so, what race?
So I get the point of the article, but I’m also afraid that people see things like this and feel like they aren’t good enough and should just give up. If you start in January walking down the street with your kid/dog, maybe the next month you go a little further, in March a little faster – that slow progression is more sustainable for many people. My two cents.
I’m not going to lie…the article hit home for me. I am the one who WANTS to go to the gym at the beginning of the year to start the year off on a good note with hopes that this year will be better than last with getting fit. BUT, just like you, I’m a realist….so I DON’T go to the gym at the beginning of the year, because I know…I’m not good at commiting to exercise and I know that it annoys you workout-aholics so I keep my distance until a few months later…when I really am ready! I’m definitely not going to read the article though because it might make me cry. haha Anyways, good luck on the race Sunday…especially to baby as this is it’s 1st race
To many more for the babe!