"Sculpting"

For the past three years or more, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, my good friend Lynn and I meet at our town's community building to exercise.

We start the ordeal with a one-mile walk. Usually Bob, the custodian, is at the building doing some maintenance, mowing the lawn, or whatever. Bob is a true Mainer, so when Lynn and I say, "Good morning, Bob," he replies with, "Mawnin."

After our walk (outdoors unless it's raining hard or bitterly cold, in which case we walk in the building's basement, round and round, talking non-stop), we go into the building to use the exercise machines. There are six or seven old and tired machines, donated by community members who couldn't bear the thought of using them anymore, but they do the trick. Lynn and I are partial to three or four of the machines and ignore the others.

Then it's mat time. While Lynn prefers various stretches done on her back, I like to do some yoga: the sun salutation, half-shoulder stand, full-shoulder stand, etc. I've been doing these stretches almost continually for almost forty years, and they keep me limber.

Once the mat routines are behind us, the fun begins: We use this workout DVD, and I love it. I'm surprised to hear myself say I love it, because I truly hated it when we first began working out with it about six months ago. We do weights and cardio, alternating between the two, and we do two of the four segments on the DVD. Several others, mostly retired ladies, have joined our workout class, so it's fun to suffer in a group. I use 3-lb and 6-lb handweights and, the newest addition to my workout toys: a weighted 5-lb ball. That thing is brutal, but I know my arms, shoulders, heart, and lungs are getting a great workout. (I told the other ladies earlier this week that if I should ever lose my grip on that ball, I'd surely take out one or two of them in one fell swoop. Let's hope I don't lose my grip.)

Lynn and I leave the community building with sweat dripping from our brows but feeling energized. What's more and equally importantly, she and I have had a chance to get caught up on one another's life. That's probably the most motivating factor that gets us to the community building three mornings a week but hey, it's doing the trick (although I can't say I'm exactly now "sculpted," despite the exercise DVD's constant assurance that I'm getting there). And to think, this workout costs us a big, fat, ONE DOLLAR per session! Not a bad deal.