Basketball

I used to be in really good shape. I was a gymnast, figure skater, and springboard diver as a teenager. I played basketball on the ROTC team in college. I did ballet and ballroom dance as hobbies. I spent a year and a half riding a bicycle everywhere I went through the hills of North Carolina and Virginia.

Then I came home and went to law school. Between studying, going to classes, and holding down a full-time job, exercise kind of fell by the wayside. Then my adrenals and thyroid went on strike and I was too sick to do much more than get out of bed.

I'm better now, but I'm still out of shape. It turns out Isaac Newton was right. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. I keep meaning to start up a workout plan. I downloaded Couch to 5K running tracks years ago, and every now and then, I tell myself that I should go for a run.

When I tell myself that, it's because I forgot one very important fact. I absolutely loathe running! The only way you're going to get me to run is if I'm being chased by a sabre tooth tiger on the savannah. Since the sabre tooth tiger is extinct and I live in the middle of the desert, I don't foresee myself running anytime soon.

A lot of runners seem to exude an almost religious fervor about their chosen athletic activity. Running is apparently the most virtuous form of exercise there is, and all that stuff. But it's definitely not for me. I've decided that running isn't morally superior to other forms of exercise, and the best workout routine is one that I'll actually do.

Some acquaintances of mine play pickup basketball three mornings a week before work. So, early Monday morning, I'm going to go shoot some hoops. And I have a whole bunch of pilates workouts saved in my Amazon streaming video queue for off days. I also dusted off my goggles and swim cap so that I can swim laps in the apartment pool when the mood strikes me.

I'm looking forward to seeing the look on people's faces when the 5'3" nerd wipes the court with the competition! :-)