Push-ups on Spiderman

Over the last few months—almost four to the day—I have changed my work, my outlook, my sleeping vs. waking hours, my vittles, my ratio of music to news...and perhaps most dramatically, the amount of exercise I was getting. For example, if I were filling out a form 120 days ago that asked, "How much exercise do you get in a week?" I would have had to write in, "Which week?"

But these days you can find me mornings at my indoor community pool, middays on the treadmill, and Saturdays and Sundays on the track (walking, not running - I'm not completely insane, you know). At first, after I changed my work situation and before I took on clients as a communications consultant, I went from a chock-full schedule to an unfamiliarly slow one for a while. My colleague Joe B. gave me some great advice: "You can't market yourself all day long. If you have extra time, go to the gym twice in a day." Uh, yes, ye doubters who knew the old me. Sometimes I do that. TWICE IN A DAY.   

There are lot of us who were really active when we were younger, and as we moved through a few decades we worked more and moved less. And ate our feelings. (I never quite understood that comment until recently, when I looked back and remembered all those bowls of frustration that bore a close resemblance to Haagen-Dazs vanilla bean.) 

So I have this new schedule of work and working out that I really like, and I've passed that threshold where I hated the working out, and even have skipped over the part where I just tolerate it, and now I miss it if I can't do it. Not only that, I'm looking for other physical things to do—preferably outdoors. In water. Specifically, in the pool in my neighborhood. 

By mid-July, there aren't many summer sports items left in Target. Which is how I ended up with a Spiderman kickboard a few days ago. At first I just used it to paddle. Ho-hum. Boooooring. But then I found out I can swim with it and hold it underwater while I do push-ups on Spidey. Eureka! I can't get enough of it!  I'm working that arachnid like a power grid! My Spider-sense is tingling! (Okay, I admit it - I didn't know what Spiderman's stock phrase was, so I went looking, and lo and behold, there is a Superhero Catch Phrase Directory. Don't say I never taught you anything completely useless.) 

I was hoping to see some change; a little sign that this extra effort was making a difference. And I wasn't disappointed—I've never seen anything work this fast with such dramatic results. The Spiderman on my kickboard looks way thinner than he did last Thursday.
 

© 2013 A Bit of Brie/Anitabrie