Not Working Out

It took me a while to drag my weight bench out to the curb for garbage pick up. It wasn't really that heavy. Just awkward. It has a big pulley system that sticks up at one end and a leg curl bar that is attached to a hinge at the other. I narrowly missed both cars, the garage door, and the stop sign in my front yard on the way out. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I got a better workout carrying it out to the trash than I ever did using it for its intended purpose. That's why it is sitting out there.

It was time for the weight bench to stop taking up space in my basement. I have finally realized that I will probably never lift weights again in my life. I'm just not a workout guy.

When I was younger I tried to fool myself into thinking that I could get a chiseled shape using the aforementioned bench and accompanying round heavy things, and that THIS time I would stick with it longer that two weeks. It never worked. There was always something else to do. School. Movies. Dessert. Sleep. All of these things were more exciting and less repetitive.

Earlier today I watched Lance Armstrong win his 7th consecutive Tour de France. This is a man who beat cancer, then came back to dominate his sport at the highest level. Incredible.

I, however, am typing this blog, watching tv, and eating Chex Mix. Mmm. I like the triangle cheese crackers.

So maybe my final decision about the weight bench is Lance's fault. Instead of being an inspiration, he has made me realize that world domination through fitness isn't in my future. I don't have any realistic workout goals. Being healthy is one thing. Weight bench usage is something different.

But I'm not the only one. We have some garbage pickers who come through our neighborhood - guys who drive around late at night before trash pickup and take things that people have put on the curb. Usually they grab big things - desks, doors, a bag of stuffed animals, etc. One man's garbage is another man's Sunday night activity.

So these two pickers stopped out front of my house just a bit ago. They discussed my weight bench for a few minutes, then got back in their rusty truck and drove off without it. Why did they leave the bench in my front yard? Maybe it was too awkward. Maybe there wasn't enough space left beside the rest of the junk they had already acquired.

Or maybe they decided that they would never really use it. Good for them. It took me 15 years to come to the same conclusion.