Today I am sore. Over the past few days, I started a new exercise routine in order to try to regain the muscle I lost in the past year. I don’t like being sore. I know some people who love exercise enjoy the pull and protest of muscles that have been pushed to their limits, but for me, I find the sensations restrictive and depressing. But if I want to be able to take on certain hobbies without this type of pain in the future, then I need to retrain my body for those tasks.

On Saturday I took the pup hiking, and we visited a place where I used to rock climb when I was in high school. It’s a good motivator for continuing to work on my muscle strength. I know I would no longer be able to climb the rock face we visited. I barely managed to climb it back when I was a teenager. Even if I’m never able to climb again, it would still be nice to have a measure of the strength and flexibility I built up in previous years through both work and hobbies.

I was never an athletic person growing up. (I was more interested in music and theater.) The physical activities I did take on involved more self-challenge than attempting to take on other athletes. So the physical task I’ve set before myself now is nothing new. However, whether or not I’ll be able to tolerate the weeks and months ahead of my body feeling like crap is yet to be seen.

Again, I hate when my muscles are sore. It makes me feel like I am trapped and restrained by my flesh and bones. My appetite has a tendency to decline and I shy away from participating in spontaneous outings when my body hurts. I don’t want to be any more active than necessary. These issues make strength training frustrating for me as they are often counterproductive. It’s hard to believe that I’ll feel better for the effort in the end when I’m utterly miserable now, but this is why I need to find little things to keep me motivated.

Hezzie