Medical Disclaimers

I admit that I have, on occasion, watched and participated with various exercise videos. I distinctly remember them all starting with a clever bit of legaleze:

Before starting this or any exercise program, you should consult with your physician.

"What a bunch of hooey!" I thought, as my younger, slightly more nimble self decided to sweat to the oldies. Now, over a decade later, I completely understand what they were talking about.

Yesterday was my first time actually using my bike to get around. My total distance was about 3.5 miles (spread among 4 sessions). That's all it took for me to get:

• a sore bottom
• stiff legs
• spaghetti arms
• a headache
• frustrated

Everybody has to start somewhere, but I figured I would have fared a bit better than all that. In total, that was about 30 minutes of riding (did I mention that I can't even go at a decent speed yet?). It took my complete and total disgust at this my performance for me to realize how truly out of shape I really am. Don't get me wrong, I'm not discouraged, quite the opposite, really. Rather, I'm mad at myself for letting my level of fitness slide so far into the pits.

So this morning, it was on the bike again. It will be a better day.