Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Winds of change

Some changes are in the wind. I’ve never been that excited about health clubs although in my younger days I sure did love to play racquetball. But today, out of necessity, I checked out a nearby health club and found it to be very amenable.

Earlier in the week my doc made some medication suggestions about which I was a little dubious. Seems in my recent blood tests the ol’ cholesterol crept up just a hair as did my fasting blood sugar. It was nothing to be alarmed about, but it reflected a trend. So, rather than beginning to ingest a medication which could possibly whack my liver, I bargained with my doc for exercise instead. As it turns out, daily exercise and the loss of a few pounds could solve the slightly elevated blood test readings. He gave me three months to demonstrate it.

Fortunately, the health plan I have will pay for a FULL health club membership for me as part of their “prevention” approach to health care. Yes! It was the affiliated health club to which I paid a visit.

After a tour of the facilities I spent about an hour on several different machines and got reacquainted with some weights I hadn’t encountered in nearly 50 years. A very pleasant surprise was learning that there were two racquetball courts in the club. Fantastic. However, I have to admit that I’m really not that good with doing exercise just for the sake of exercise.

The reason I enjoyed racquetball so much was that it was a really nice way to get exercise by simply playing a sport you enjoy anyway. Now, I’ve got to try to find a racquetball partner – hopefully one who has bad knees like I do so I don’t get killed all the time. Actually, the club jacuzzi should help in this regard also.

The changes will now be to schedule workout time into my routine. Initially, I think four days a week will do the job, but results will ultimately be the determinate. I have to admit that exercise really does make one feel better. Now let’s hope it’ll change blood test results.

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