let's get physical!

i admit that i am not an active person, much less an exercise freak.

for christmas last year, my family bought a tread mill for our basement as a hint (for me especially) for us to stay in shape by walking on that machine on a regular basis. the sad truth is, i can probably only count the number of times i've used that contraption since the day it was bought in one hand.

tonight, my sister dragged me to the gym. she's the fitness-conscious one in the family. she pays for a yearly membership at the local YMCA so she can use the facilities which offer more physical benefits than a mere tread mill can provide.

thankfully, there weren't a lot of people in the gym, since it was already 9pm and the fact that it's a friday night. i didn't want people noticing my salmon-colored monkey ankle socks while i worked out.

i almost gave up in under five minutes on the elliptical, that walking machine where you seem to tread in mid-air, hands on two levers as if on a bike.

"you can do it!", encouraged my sister, as she furiously increased her speed on her own elliptical.

i just had dinner, and prayed i would not spew forth any of the rice and tinolang manok i ate.

thankfully, i was able to endure about twenty minutes of this exercise without falling off the machine. the monitor told me i walked about one and a half miles within that time period.

then, my sister led me to a variety of special machines aimed at developing specific muscles in your body. i tried a lot of machines that promised to firm my inner thighs, my gluteus maximus, among others. you should have seen the look on my face while i summoned every bit of dormant strength i had in my leg muscles.

the most peculiar machine i used was the one which resembled a bed in a gynecologist's clinic. it required you to lie down on your back and lift each leg upwards and onto a resting pad, like you're about to give birth or have a pap smear. you had to make sure your head stayed on the pad and then you lifted your upper body with both hands on the handles, moving as if you were doing sit-ups. as a novice to this equipment, letting out giggles was inevitable. better to emit giggles than gas! haha.

the receptionist informed us that the gym was offering a week's worth of free membership to non-members, and that it starts tomorrow. all i need to do is sign up for it. my sister urged that i take the offer, so we can work out together more often this week. i figured it would be a great way to really acquaint myself with the machines and then lose more pounds in time for that 50th surprise birthday party we're throwing for our uncle next weekend. there might still be a chance for me to fit in my ann taylor cocktail dress. not to mention that MY own birthday is exactly a week from today...hence it will be a "gift" to my own body.

my hips and legs will probably hurt tomorrow. but that's a good sign.