Despite the stress I put on my body the last two days, this afternoon I was able to get in a light dumbbell workout at the Y. I think it's largely because of the amount of sleep I got last night. Believe it or not, I slept for nearly 11 hours. I went to bed at 10:00 and woke up at 8:50. It's been months if not years since I've slept that long but obviously my body needed it.
This afternoon I tried my hand at 2 new dumbbell variations I had never done before nor had I ever seen anyone at the gym do. One is called the one arm preacher curl.
And the other is known as the two-handed hammer curl.
I'm told there are over 100 various exercises you can do with dumbbells. I like that. I'm the kind of guy who likes to experiment with new and different routines. There are, it can be seen, a variety of ways for the body to adapt and to produce muscle. You'll never know what works best for you until you try them for yourself.
Many people do not realize it, but one of the accidental consequences of exercise is an increased ability to learn. What are the lifting options out there? Which will work best for me? Are there any exercises I'm not currently doing that could be beneficial? The art of living is the process whereby the mind/body complex is constantly changing, adapting, and (hopefully) improving. The game of life requires physical energy in addition to emotional and spiritual energies. Exercise provides that energy. Life is not a spectator sport and never has been. I am doing what every American can and should be doing -- exercising regularly at something I enjoy doing. All of us are potential athletes. The difference is that some of us are in training while others of us aren't. Motion of almost any kind will suffice, including walking, bikling, swimming, and, of course, running. The best we can do is find something we enjoy and then just go out and do it. As with our spiritual lives, so with the physical -- there is a battle to fight and to fight daily. But the good news is that there is also a victory to be won and to be won continually. Add to this an additional element -- the accomplishment of some goal -- and that goal can transform even the most boring exercise into something meaningful.
Friend, when was the last time you attempted something you've never attempted before, something you thought yourself perhaps incapable of doing? I can tell you from personal experience, there are many mountains out there waiting to be climbed.