My Exercise In Futility

The Labor Day holiday fell on Monday of this week, thereby making the work week and the workout week a short one. I have not been to the gym once this week. I am very disappointed in myself. In order to attain my goal of working out three times a week before the Black and Blue Festival, I will have to go to the gym Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I excused myself from Tuesday’s workout because I was sunburned from the rooftop party I attended Monday afternoon. Wednesday I didn’t feel well. Today, I really don’t have a good excuse for not going to the gym. I should have gone.

I know I’m still serious about my goal because I am sitting here trying to figure out how I can fit three workouts in before the end of the week without hurting myself. I think I can break it down like this without hurting myself:

• Friday – After work on Friday, I will do the first circuit training workout that my personal trainer, Chris, taught me. This one shouldn’t be hard to remember because I actually had Chris write down the exercise names and the weights I used for each exercise.

• Saturday – On Saturday, I will attend one of the group classes and either run on the treadmill or head out to Central Park for a run. I know that Coley will be back in town on Saturday and he was considering some time in the park. Maybe I can convince him (or ask him to convince me) to run around the park while he browses.

• Sunday – Sunday I will do the second circuit training that Chris taught me. This one might be a little more difficult to remember; I didn’t ask for a piece of paper with the exercises written down and the weights listed like I did during the first session.

• Alternative – Because I still belong to the New York Sports Club, I would find one of the 24 hour facilities and go work out now. I could count a workout for today, tomorrow, and have the choice between Saturday or Sunday for a third day. The problem is I like Equinox so much better.

I was given a little glimmer of encouragement this past Friday when I saw my friend Michael. He hasn’t seen me for a couple of weeks, and when he saw me without my shirt on this past Monday, he told me I didn’t look as skinny as I used to. I know this doesn’t sound like a compliment; I think Michael also knew it didn’t sound complimentary. He clarified by letting me know that I didn’t look fatter, either. Because I had been working out at the gym, I classified his comment as a compliment before he qualified it. I have five weeks to go. Let’s hope I can make it through this weekend and keep charging!