On Mondays and Wednesdays I go to an exercise class after work. It is a killer interval/circuit training class. We do calestenics, weights, lots of running, squats, abs, the works. And there’s no stopping to rest. And it goes the full hour. Stretching/cool down is after the hour is up. It’s awesome.

Today we ran outside on the basketball court. We did those sprints from gym class where you run from the edge of the court to the free throw line, and back, then to the half court line, then back then to the other free throw line, then back, then to the opposite end of the court and back.

Only this time, we did them with weights. We had to put our weight down, then run back, then go get the weight where we left it, then run to the next line, then put it down again, and so on. You get the point.

It was really challenging. I felt like I was back in Junior year of High School. We ran so much that year. Lots of these basketball court sprints. Plus, that year, we had to run 3 miles in order to pass gym class. At the time, I thought that was an insurmountable hurdle, and I really dreaded it. Although I was able to complete it and pass gym class, I didn’t run again until I was in my 30s.

Senior year gym was even worse. We had to run stairs on a regular basis. We had a 3 story high school with a basement, so we ran 4 stories of stairs. All the time. It was hell.

However, today I realized that gym class was wonderful, and I should have appreciated it at the time. I was in good shape in high school. I was thin and I felt great all the time.

Like a lot of people I gained weight after high school However, I didn’t gain weight because I went to college. I start gaining weight the summer after high school graduation. And now, after 20+ years, I realized the obvious answer of why that happened. It was because I no longer went to gym class. And when I got to college, there was no physical education requirement, so I didn’t exercise. For years, I didn’t exercise. And it never occurred to me that I should.

Now it is terribly ironic that the rigorous, high cardio, calisthenic-laden, evil gym class that I hated is now the exact same experience that I pay money to have.

And it’s working. My body is changing shape. My clothes are getting clown-like baggy. It’s so cool.

On another note, I forgot to eat extra today! I was supposed to be following the calorie cycling plan that I wrote about yesterday which would mean that today should have been an 1800 calorie day.

But after dinner, when I added it all up, I was only at 1363. Ooops! I will do better on Wednesday (my other planned high calorie day) to work in a bit more food during the day. And no, I don’t want to eat an extra 400+ calories before bed just to hit that target number. Mostly because carbs before bed lowers the production of HGH (Human Growth Hormone), the anti-aging, weight loss hormone. And all I would want before bed would be dessert anyway. Goodnight!