Body for Life pain...

Well, I'm nearing the end of my 2nd week of "Body for Life". Up until now, I had changed the name to "Pain for Life". I know I have a ways to go, but to be honest, I think the worst is almost over in the workout area. Here are a few highlights for me.

My first week was interesting. Michelle and I went to the gym for our leg workout. I knew this leg workout would be a test of our marriage. We decided to alternate exercises so we could finish our workouts quicker than the two hours it took us the first time. (The first workout, we had to have some extra time for tears. I'm surprised we survived.) Well, unfortunately, the exercise I picked for Michelle was "lunges". Let me tell you. She hates lunges. After her first set, I think I got a look that our lives together were almost over. She assured me later that it made her love for me stronger after the experience was done. I'm not sure I believe her. These days, I sleep with one eye open.

We get home from our first leg "exercise" and grunted and snorted upstairs. Michelle decides to check her email while I go off to bedroom to change clothes. (I really went to weep bitterly, but I didn't want Michelle to know this.) Upon changing, I hear Michelle yell "OOOAAAHH!!!" in the most horrible noise that I think I've ever heard her make. At this point, I feel like something is wrong, so go to her laptop to see if she's ok. She wasn't at the laptop, so I hit the stairs. Upon going down one step, this horrible noise came out of my mouth: "OOOAAAHH!!!" I then realized I had retraced my wife's path with both legs and noise. I was slow, but I knew not to ask her if she was ok. I think she would have kicked my rear if she could have raised her foot high enough to reach it.

So the morning of my run after the leg "slaughter" as I like to call it, I was laying in bed feeling a slight "discomfort" at 5:00AM. Not thinking and half awake, I rolled out of the bed like any other day and I had a slight shock when my feet hit the floor. As my leg muscles (what was left of them) began to support my weight, I pretty much was at a standstill. I leaned forward and let momentum carry me into the bathroom, trying not to bend my knees. Relying totally on bone structure and not muscles to keep me on two feet.

With this all together, I limp to my truck to get to work for a "brisk" 20 minute run. By the end of this run, I was at almost a full sprint. I've learned that you can still run if need be, even if your legs are sore. Stopping.... that's another story. At one point in the run, I thought I was about to see Jesus. The words "Lord, receive my spirit" came to mind when I hit the fastest part of my run. I did not think I'd get off the treadmill. I figured I was going to fly off and my body was going to embed into the wall. I could see the police making a chalk line on the wall where my body was stuck. I'm sure I could have made some sort of Wile E. Coyote pose before I died to make it difficult to draw. Somehow I survived.

Do you know that after a leg workout and a run, your legs get sorer? I got upstairs (ok, I took the elevator. Forget the stairs) and realized I had to sit down. I was very glad my chair had wheels. I decided to bend my legs ever so slightly and let gravity take me the rest of the way there. After my chair rolled back 4 feet, I slowly scooted to my work area.

Thus the next problem. On this program, you have to drink 10 cups of water a day. I had a 4 cup jug I went through and realized that water makes you go to the bathroom more than other fluids. So as I sat there, I debated the effort it would take to get out of my seat vs. wetting my pants. I'm really glad my counters support my entire weight, because my last option was to roll to the bathroom in my chair and go from there. I was not sure how I could explain rolling my office chair to the john.

On a serious note, I've learned that change can be painful, but on the other side of it, the pain makes you stronger. I got a great example of this in the program. There are things that hurt me that first week that don't hurt me now. Even if the pain comes, it is no where near the intensity it was when I started. I will stick with this until I'm completely who I want to be.

I think this mimics life. Change can be a very painful process, no matter what you do, but in the end, you are a much stronger person. We have to change constantly to draw closer to God, because He is the one that never changes. It's us. If we quit changing, we are missing something.

Also, I really am glad to be doing this with Michelle. We will have stories to share for years. It really has made us stronger mentally and physically. I figure that if I have more energy, I have more to give to my Lord. I think that's the goal for me anyway.


God bless,
Dave