I fear change

I am definitely a creature of habit, particularly when it comes to my lifestyle regimen. At some point, I will share my overwrought workout routine, but one thing to know about it is that I am fairly inflexible about changing it. Many trainers and exercise experts will tell you to change up your workout to "shock" your muscles and your body into the next level of performance. This may be true, but I have difficulty accepting it.

When it comes to cardiovascular exercise, I love the exercise bike. I particularly love the ones at my gym because I know them and they know me. We are friends. I am capable of communicating with other varieties of exercise bikes as they seem like somewhat familiar cousins to my friend-bikes.

And then circumstances get in the way...

Paris hotels are not particularly well known for their outstanding exercise facilities, and I look pretty hard to find ones that have at least something. One issue is that innkeepers in Paris tend to exaggerate about the quality of their facilities: c'est magnifique et tres grande! Or so I was told about the gym at my current venue.

Yet I walked in and discovered possibly the saddest, most lonely facility I have ever laid eyes on. If the land of misfit toys had a gym, it would look like this one. One very old climbing machine. One rowing machine. Three dumbbells weighing about 1 lb each. But it did have a bike! With one pedal.

So I had woken up at 6 AM to workout before my day started. I dressed for sweat and took the effort to go downstairs to discover that my exercise implement of choice was severely disabled and fully inoperable (unless I really wanted to focus on my left leg). What would I do? Should I go back upstairs? But then I would not have worked out. Horrific dilemma!

So I bravely sat at the rowing machine and used it for 20 minutes. Then I bravely stood upon the stair climber, and used it for 20 minutes. Worked up a great sweat, and had a good workout. And the world continued to spin on its axis, and I got my exercise in.

Exercise is a matter of creativity. You can find it wherever you are if you are willing to be slightly flexible. It's just that I don't like being flexible. Unless I have to be.