Service of Best Intentions: Makeup and Exercise
October 7th, 2021
Categories: Best Intentions, Exercise, Makeup, Pandemic, Yoga
Image by fotostrobi from Pixabay
I know about best intentions. I buy makeup and with the exception of the most mundane face cream, base or lipstick, I soon lose interest and abandon it.
With the exception of walking, the only time I’ve exercised on my own has been to support the regimes physical therapists recommended after I broke my foot and to fix a shoulder issue. I’m ashamed. My father exercised daily. During the worst of the pandemic I walked for miles in my space-challenged apartment while speaking on the phone but most wouldn’t consider that exercise.
I admire those who buy exercise equipment. For me it would become a place to hang a shirt worn for an hour or a sweater I was too lazy to fold and put away or maybe even an expensive device on which to air dry laundry.
Jen Murphy wrote “Pandemic’s Peloton Obsession Turns to Peloton Fatigue At-home workouts grew into a cultural phenomenon during lockdowns, but the easing of restrictions has even die-hards idling exercise bikes for fun outside.” She reported in The Wall Street Journal article “The web-connected exercise bikes from Peloton Interactive Inc. start at $1,495 with the option to pay $39 a month for live-stream and recorded workouts.” At the height of the pandemic the recorded workouts made participants feel connected with others; some compared participating to attending a party.
“The pandemic has since shifted to a new stage,” Murphy wrote. “For some people, the easing of Covid-19 restrictions has prompted a break from their Peloton obsession and the pursuit of different physical activities. Others say they are too drained from the pandemic’s grind to muster any energy to hop on a bike.”
Peloton spokesperson Amelise Lane “attributed the decline in average monthly workouts per user to summer weather, which drew more people outdoors. Many Peloton users are spending more free time at the gym, dining out or taking vacations, she said.”
Murphy continued: “Other people say that getting back to social activities has left them too tired to maintain their peak levels of Peloton workouts.”
I’m considering a tryout with a yoga for beginners video I saw on YouTube [the operative word: considering]. Are there categories of things about which you have the best intentions but you discover or recognize your limits? Have you overridden any? Do you follow an exercise regimen with or without equipment?
Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay
Tags: Peloton
Linda on Facebook: No room for large exercise equipment in apartment, but suspect I too would use for hanging clothes. Only ones I know who bought Peloton bikes early in the pandemic were 3 women in their 30s who were pregnant or recently delivered. Naturally now all look exactly as they did pre-pregnancy. I give myself credit for the free weights I use for arm exercises and lots of walking. Not perfect or enough for sure, but better than nothing.
Linda,
So in addition to not eating much, you’ve identified how Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation looks so skinny after maternity leave. I don’t deny how essential exercise is. I wince at all the things I could be doing or not eating and then I remember stories of those who thrive on bean sprouts and run marathons and kick the bucket at 50. Moderation is my motto.
There are those who believe in having the right [most advanced) equipment for body building (as compared with body toning–“use it or loose it”). I believe in the simplest approach–daily stretching and muscle toning exercises for me do wonders in keeping pains at bay.
I try to Zoom in to an online stretch and exercise course each weekday at 10 am for 30 minutes. It works for me…no fancy equipment, just a cane or broomstick and a belt or scarf…and my computer screen. The pandemic-closed gym in my building will be reopening in a few weeks, and I plan to take advantage of it once again. The price is not outrageous, but I’m sure it will increase because of the daily mid-day cleaning that will take place.
TC,
Your approach sounds worthy of exploration–no muss, no fuss. Now I simply need to add it to a routine and that’s where I run into trouble.
Linda on Facebook: I never said anything about not eating much. I wouldn’t know about that as to me ice cream and chocolate chip cookies belong in an essential food group. In fact those who exercise regularly and vigorously likely get to eat more as they burn it off!
Linda,
The eating reference is mine. I suspect it’s true—depending on metabolism.
ASK,
I’m impressed. As the pandemic hit the building opened a “gym”–some equipment in a smallish space–but not for me. I’m hopeless. I’d turn on some gizmo and fly out the window and frankly don’t want to “work out” with 30-something bodies next to me. As I wrote in the post, I may look into the yoga for beginners. Keeping up a routine is most difficult I suspect. Meanwhile I’ll continue walking a couple of miles a day while doing chores.
Live long enough, and learn to expect the worst. More often than one thinks, much better happens. If not, there’s no trauma brought on by an unfortunate outcome.