A Little Exercise in .....?

To those of us who are newly retired, there is one greeting we can predict with almost 100% accuracy - "So, how do you like retirement?" or some close variation. Friends, former collegues, and near strangers - they all ask "how's your retirement going?". Not to complain - because any attention is better than no attention - but sometimes I think I know how Neil Armstrong feels. "So, what was it like to walk on the moon Neil?" The next question is usually something like..... "so what are you keeping yourself busy at?"

Well, yesterday I actually did try something new. As a retirement gift, Eric (yes, the same guy that has his name on our Bailey NHL trophy three times) gave me a one month membership to our new Lloydminster Multiplex. It does have an awesome exercise area, and since I've been looking at the certificate since February, decided to give it a go before the credit expires.

In we go. What a place! There are machines for exercising the biceps, triceps, gluts, quads, and about fifty other places I didn't know I had. There are treadmills, a running track, a couple of dozen stations just for weight lifting, yoga balls and mats. The music is loud. Some of this stuff will start automatically, or you can program your own regimen. It will tell you how fast you are going, how far you have gone, and when you should expect to arrive, and probably what you'll look like when you get there. It records your heart rate and I think, even your breathing rate (mine was "Whoa, slow down there old fella!") There are machines whose function totally eludes me except that it looks like it might hurt. There is even a "hip abductor" machine, whatever the hell that is! Some people have electronic gadgets attached to their wrists or waists that they periodically refer to - no doubt some type of progress record. Or maybe that was just their iPod. Some people look like they may even have purchased dedicated exercise clothing.

Now, I did recently notice that my two brothers both had some type of exercise equipment in their own basements, so no doubt this is old news to them. I expect both spend so much time on their equipment that their older brother's shock and awe over all this stuff is a source of great amusement. Well, go ahead and laugh. I'm OK with that. I tried out a few of those exercise machines and even though I'm pretty sure I was sitting backwards on a couple, it actually felt kind of good.

If I still feel OK tomorrow, I might just risk a return. Two things that I know for sure though, is that I don't like to sweat, and nobody abducted my hips.