This article was originally published on February 3, 2017
by Trent Rosser
So I am out of the hospital now and it is time for a life change. As most of you know I quit drinking many years ago, but now, it is time to get into shape and quit smoking. I was also put on a diet and now must eat better than I had been. I always said that I was already in shape. Round is a shape.
I have always been skinny, deathly looking skinny. 10 years ago, I could hide behind a telephone pole and no one could see me. I weighed about 130 lbs, now I am at 200lbs. big difference. Now I have a belly on me and could not hide behind a truck! I blame my wife. She is an excellent cook and I love to eat. I have also smoked for the last 30 years. I would get winded trying to read back my stories to make sure that they sounded ok. When the wind blew, and the pollen count was high, I would be miserable. I would drive down the street for a soda, rather than walk. I am very out of shape and the hospital stay showed me just how bad off I really am. So, with my wife by my side, we came up with a life change.
We decided to join a gym. When I say, we, I really mean she told me that we were going to join a gym and quit smoking. I apparently scared her pretty bad with the hospital stay. I am not going to argue, it scared me pretty bad also. I know it is time for a change and I agree that no more smoking and we go to look at gyms. I don’t need to work out with weights or special machines to put on muscle. I just need to be able to walk to the bathroom and still be able to breathe. We find a gym that I believe will work for both of us. We decide to go together and I will work on my cardio and she can work on what she wants to.
First stop on new life is sweat pants. I do not wear shorts and have not worn anything other than western blue jeans for the last 20 years. So I now have sweats to work out in. Our first day, I put on the new sweats, put on a sleeveless shirt, bent over to tie my shoes…… and then had to take a break. We finally made it to the gym and the first thing we got on was the treadmill. These things are more complicated than a NASA calculus equation. I finally got it, not sure why it wanted my age ( I think just to laugh at me if computers could laugh)? So we walked, then we rode on a stationary bike, by the time we were done for our first time, I was dead. I could not move a muscle. It seemed like we had been there for about 2 hours, when in reality, we had been on the treadmill and bike for less than 15 minutes!!
The good part…. There was no good part! What was I thinking? Walking, jogging, running? Am I supposed to torture myself four to five times a week doing all this just to get into better shape? I looked at my wife and flat out told her that we would not be doing that again. We will not be back. I am too old for this and it will not happen! So, two days later, I am putting on my sweats, bending over tying my shoes and putting on another sleeveless shirt. Headed to the gym, again. We agree that this time I would push myself a little more each time. Can you guess what happened? Yep, she ended up being my coach. I want everyone to know that I love my wife very, very much, but if she says “suck it up, buttercup” to me one more time………
The last couple of times, I have gone further and done more than the time before. I have also found the massaging chairs, which helps when my legs are sore. I am still trying to convince my wife that it is alright to get a massage before, during and after a workout. I am slowly getting better and hopefully soon I will be able to see a difference. I am starting to get into it and have now gone out and bought more workout clothes. As I stare at myself in the mirror with my new clothes, my wife is laughing. Yes, I still weigh about 200 lbs, but I have to agree, yoga pants are not for everyone!!
