An exercise in futility

I hate exercising. HATE it. This is partially related to my aversion to sports, but there are lots of other factors. I find it boring, I dislike feeling exerted, I dislike the gym itself, I don’t like being sweaty, I see no results etc etc. The point being, I hate it. But I make myself go, because I do know it’s important, I do want to be more attractive and in a few months I’ll be telling nearly all my patients that they should be exercising more (because almost everyone should) and in general I try not to be hypocritical.

So I trick myself. Since class is on the way to the gym, I make myself go immediately afterward. I’m already part way there, so I might as well I tell myself. Of course this is silly since class is a 2 minute walk, so I could easily go home and go some other time. But that’s part of the trick. I am incapable of exercising without my iPod. The distraction is absolutely necessary if I want to exert myself for more than 5 minutes. Additionally, I read while I’m listening to music, to add another layer of separation from me and the exercise. Some people manage to study on the treadmill, and this boggles my mind. I would most certainly kill myself if I had to read about dermatology while running. So I buy magazines (currently Entertainment Weekly and Spin) exclusively for the purpose of reading them while working out.

I lost my iPod earbuds earlier this week, so have been unable to workout. It’s strictly impossible. I actually have 2 other sets of earphones, but I require the earbuds, which don’t get sweaty. Just as I was about to purchase another set, I found them. So today I headed to the gym for the first time since Saturday. Once I got there I looked in my bag, only to discover that I’d left my gym shorts at home. Fortunately walking to and from the gym takes 20 minutes, which is almost the same thing as working out.