Cardio Spikes

Sunday, it's one of those days when the body, mind and soul simply resist to wake up.

It's like the Body telling the Mind, "You wake up first."

"Why don't you wake up first?" answered the Mind.

"How about both of us waking up Soul?" conspired the Mind.

"I'm still sleeping, I'm in the zone...." muttered Soul.

My best friend, who now has the fortunate role of being my soulmate for life, had given me a stern lesson on the art of relaxation. He could just chill out in front of the TV or laze around on the couch without feeling a tinge of guilt. I would be moving around ceaselessly... housework, packing, cleaning, working because it seemed like the right thing to do, the most effective use of time. Sitting down and doing nothing seemed to be a total waste of time. But to him, the time is used wisely, and he would launch into how his body, mind and soul are more coordinated and in tune and hence his total being is more prepared for the mad rush during the work week.

I have yet to master that "zen" thing, it seems like a concentrated effort to just take a break from work once in a while. But, I may have found the perfect combination by going to the gym.

I am pretty religious when it comes to the gym, visiting it twice or thrice a week for about ninety minutes each session. It's the place for me to "zone out", going through my cardio, weights and resistance systematically. Correct breathing techniques, increasing or decreasing the weights and resistance levels, mustering the muscles to push or contract ... It's like I am still occupied with something, but relaxes me because I am not exactly working, that thing which brings in the dough and supports my monthly gym payments.

I can be going through the Nautilus or Cybex machines, without my body even thinking about it. Or my legs are moving frantically on the Eliptical Runner, but my mind is running off somewhere. My arms could be lifting all those weights, but my soul is comtemplating Life's "whys" and "why nots".

Looking around, I wonder if my fellow gym mates are doing the same things as I. For all the things that we do there, what are we training for? Are we going to run the next marathon, or climb Everest? I doubt it, but perhaps all the marathons or mountains that we attempt are in our minds. Or maybe we are just training for the next gym session...