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I’m Trying to Clear My Head with Exercise. It’s Not Working.
I don’t watch TV. I’m bothered by the fast montages, flashing images, and intrusive sounds. I can’t concentrate on a movie unless I really like it – my mind jumps around too much. TV news shows insult me – they all sound like they’re selling something, instead of telling me what happened. I can’t get interested in reality TV – I can’t bring myself to care what color tile some lady chooses for her backsplash. And so on and so on. My wife enjoys TV. It relaxes her. But I’ve tried, and I just can’t.
For the first time in over 15 years, I actually have time to breathe. So I joined a gym (Planet Fitness), because I feel horrible all the time, and I need to get in shape. When I’m on the treadmill, there is a bank of televisions 50 feet across. All tuned to different stations, to distract us from our boring exercise. Help pass the time. But for me, it makes it so much worse. I can’t even watch one program at home, because my mind jumps around too much. Imagine me watching several programs at once, while surrounded by other stimulation like various people exercising and interacting – imagine what all that does to my restless mind.
Allow me to share with you a rough approximation of 15 minutes of my morning today, while I was on the treadmill:
TV #4 – FOX News – Beautiful woman talking about Ukraine
Me, thinking to myself: The longer Russia has troops in Europe, the greater chance that something horrible is going to happen. I can’t even tell who the good guys are, because they – golly, she is really, really beautiful. Wow.
TV #2 – CNN – Interview with Stacy Abrams
Me: What kind of world cares what she thinks about anything? She’s one of the best young faces of the Democrat party. Imagine that.
Old guy on stationary recumbent bicycle:
Me: I don’t think he’s moved since I’ve been here. I wonder if I should check a pulse. Oh wait – he just looked at that girl’s butt. I guess he’s ok.
TV #4 – FOX News – Advertisement for My Pillow
Me: I can demonstrate my love of God and country by buying a pair of slippers. Golly, things are getting weird…
70-year-old woman with fake tan, fake boobs, fake teeth, with full sleeve tattoo on left arm, wearing revealing Spandex outfit, on pec deck:
Me: Now there is a very interesting person. Or maybe not.
TV #7: News break on some channel I don’t recognize
Me: So China is rehearsing an invasion of Taiwan so everybody can see. Holy crap. That’s more dangerous than Russia and Ukraine. I think. Oh, there’s Biden giving a speech about it. That should help.
TV #4: FOX News – Advertisement for memory aid nutritional supplement
Me: So somebody decided to make money by taking advantage of the fears of the sick and the old. Especially those who aren’t as sharp as they used to be. And then that marketing genius goes home and goes to sleep that night. How does that work?
TV #2 – CNN – Interview with Paul Krugman
Me: If I was wrong about medicine as much as he is wrong about economics, I wonder how many people I would have killed by now? Of course, I can only kill one person at a time. The policies that he promotes kill millions. How does he sleep at night? I wonder if he knows the memory aid marketing guy?
TV #3 – HGTV
Me: So the homebuyer runs a non-profit for disadvantaged kids. That’s nice. So what’s he doing looking at a million-dollar house? Does he sell cocaine on the side or something?
TV #4 – FOX News
Me: Holy Toledo. This reporter is even more beautiful than the last one. Where do they find these girls?
TV #2 – CNN – Footage of Jan. 6 protestors
Me: I wonder how long they can keep this as a lead story? I wonder if it will have the impact they hope for? The world is blowing up under Democrat leadership, so I guess they have nothing else to talk about. Why not try, I suppose…
TV #9 – golf tournament
Me: I wonder how much water they use per month to keep the grass that green?
Pretty girl walks by:
Me: Wow. I can see why that old guy looked at her butt. At least his eyesight is ok.
TV #3 – HGTV – Carpenter cries as he listens to homebuyer talk about his disadvantaged kids.
Me: He’s a better actor than Kevin Costner.
TV #2 – CNN – Picture of Pete Buttigieg smiling at young black girl while they both wear yellow hard hats in front of a small trackhoe
Me: He’s also a better actor than Kevin Costner. I suppose that’s not a terribly select group.
TV #4 – FOX News – Gorgeous reporter concludes story about economic collapse, and hands off to an even more gorgeous on-the-scene reporter wearing a knock-out tight yellow dress while she eats barbeque at a county fair.
Me: You know, I think I’ve had enough.
So after just 15 minutes on the treadmill, I go home. My wife sees me and says, “It’s so great that you’re going to the gym! It’ll be good for you to get back in shape. You’ll feel better.”
Me: “Yeah, I hope so.”
Wife: “And it will help you clear your head.”
Me: “No. Heavens no. Absolutely not. It won’t do that. My head is spinning. I need a drink. You just can’t imagine…”
Wife: “My goodness – what happened at the gym?”
Me: “It’s a really, really, really long story.”
Wife: “You were there for 15 minutes.”
Me: “You just can’t imagine…”
Published in General
Setup a home gym. You have the resources…$20-30k makes a nice gym. You don’t want to be sweating with the general pubic at large where they are shedding their exosomes and swamp ass on you.
He’s a conservative, too! Sooner or later he and his wife will pack up and leave the state. I think he’s just waiting for the youngest to finish college and get established.
DB – I hit a squash ball on a squash court. I even do this by myself. I focus on the movement of the ball and all the aspects of the movement I’m trying to perfect, which I am modeling on expert opinion. Loss of focus is unforgiving in my exercise. It’s training me physically, aerobically, and mentally. I play squash because it is an indoor sport that I can play all year round. Focused physical and mental effort in my case is very rewarding. Doing simplistic exercise while watching video programs is dividing your attention (which to me is stressful) and perpetuating your problem with maintaining focus. But you might have something worse going on related to recovering from Covid or vaccination — Long Covid includes symptoms like brain fog. But do try to find an activity that requires concentrated focus related to your exercise and you might be able to eliminate systemic causes. Overwatching TV videos leads to me feeling unwell and unbalanced. When I lived in south New Jersey as a youth, the summers were very hot and humid. I used to save my good bicycle rides of 16-20 miles for the hour and a half before sunsets. It was the best time of the day to bike ride. The rest of the day was too uncomfortable. But with the more comfortable time of day, I was able to enjoy my rides more. Exercise is important because it helps to support your immune system.
Exercise addicts tell themselves all kinds of things. :-)
I hope their youngest isn’t going to a leftist college in the leftist state, studying to become a leftist.
Girls like muscles. That’s the point.
Oh, and something about heart health, I think.
Yes, but it’s true, and it’s become a priority for me since Covid and my decision to stay unvaccinated. Exercise stimulates the immune system in a good way. I’m surrounded by vaccinated people when I go to my club to play squash. Some of those people I know have gotten Covid. I get Covid tested every week and have been negative since February. A positive test means I would have to refrain from using my club for several weeks. Also, I went from being technically in the obese weight range for my height to being just overweight. Covid risk stratifies with age, weight, exercise and diet. With the amount of exercise I get in a week, it is helping to manage my weight. I couldn’t always say that when I was still working.
As a 3/4 centurion I no longer do rigorous exercise. But I walk everyday…almost. It’s a good time to listen to podcasts. This year I average 3 miles per day on a 365 day basis even after losing about a month with COVID. Use it or lose it.
Naw, you mean centenarian.
A Centurion was a leader of 60 to 100 troops in the Roman army.
You got it KC, Thanks for the correction.