On July 15th I was on the New York Times site and they had a BMI calculator. I gave it a shot and my index was 29.2. I was overweight. For the first time I wasn't obese.
How it all began, the short version:
Quit smoking, joined a rock climbing gym, got muscles, wanted more.
How it all began, the long version:
About 6 months before I turned 40, I quit smoking. This was due in no small part to the fact the my girlfriend had quit about a month earlier (thanks sweetie). A couple months after my 40th, we were out for a walk and passed by a climbing gym, "I'd like to try that," she chirped. "Yeah, could be fun." That fall we took their intro course, 10am - noon on a Sunday morning. It's a blast. We walk out exhausted and thrilled and go for a burger.
We go a few more times, then a few more. Within 2 months we have our own equipment and year-long memberships at the gym. We go once or twice a week through winter and one spring afternoon I come home from work to find a pair of tennis rackets (thanks again sweetie). In 8 months I'd gone from playing a half dozen pitch 'n' putt games a year to a climbing tennis player who gets the sticks out to have a slack day.
And then I started to notice the changes. I was building biceps. Not huge, not rock hard, but these were distinct muscles that bulged and almost rippled. I had pecs, quads and lats. My so-called six-pack was still more of a keg (one of those little Heineken ones), but the changes were undeniable. So, one step further. Join the Y. Twice a week, first thing in the morning. After a month I said it. Those 5 immortal words. "Let's do the Fun Run," our local annual 10k spring-time race.
As it stands now, mid-summer 2008 a good week involves 2 morning sessions at the Y, 2 morning runs of about 3k, a longer 7k run, a hour of tennis, 18 holes of pitch 'n' putt, an hour climbing and now there's talk of Yoga.
