Workout: Pt.3 – Accentuate the Positive

You’ve got to accentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

Latch on to the affirmative

Don’t mess with Mister In Between*

“My gym just reopened (Covid restrictions). I’m starting back this week. Your blog is giving me extra inspiration. Thanks.” Susan, from Hamilton, Ontario, sent me the email after reading the first two ‘workout’ instalments: https://grahamrcooper.com/2021/08/02/workout-pt-1/ and https://grahamrcooper.com/2021/08/09/workout-pt-2-body-for-life/.

And June and I were chatting to Millie, from Timaru, the other day, and she said the posts she’d read were “inspiring”.

I don’t want to be the one who inspires initially and then lets the team down! So here goes. (Reminder to self: “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.”)

I’ve had another squiz at them, and yep, I reckon there’s enough positive stuff there for me to overcome the negativity that’s also evident. I’ll need to turn around those concluding thoughts though: “Can’t say the restart’s been that crash hot. More stop than start.” (Part 1); “It’ll be nothing short of a miracle if I do manage to resurrect [my exercise programme].” (Part 2)

How about? “My rejigged exercise programme’s off to a good start. I’ll be back into a good workout routine in no time at all. “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.”

I’m staring at a small whiteboard on my wall – in large black lettering it boldly states:

Exercise Programme: 11.45 am to 12.30 pm
          
Weights: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Jog: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

Yoga with June: Sunday (noon to 12.30 pm)

The idea is to write till about 11.30 am, empty the coffee grounds into the compost container, wash my coffee pot and mugs, change into my exercise gear and get into it by 11.45 am. And because I publish my blog post on a Monday, it makes sense to think of both my blogging and exercise week as starting on a Tuesday.

So how am I doing so far this week? We were in Timaru all day Tuesday – so no writing or workout.

The Fairlie Lions Club bulletin comes out once a month, and, as editor, I was still putting the finishing touches to it on Wednesday morning. And before lunch I had to go into Fairlie to post copies to the three members who don’t have email. (The forty or so others get it as a PDF attached to an email.) So no writing or workout that day either.

Thursday, I worked on my blog post, and went for a jog as scheduled. Yay! Chalk up one for the week!

In a first for the Mackenzie District, the region was allocated sufficient funds and other resources to mount a major book and arts festival. Tickets to the events went on sale from the beginning of August.

I spent Friday morning browsing the website (createfestivalnz.co.nz), delving into the backgrounds of the people and pondering the topics that interested me, before making final decisions and buying tickets. Yep – no writing and no workout.

Saturday morning found me back where I was meant to be: writing. I followed this up with three-quarters of an hour of weights – exercising all the major upper body muscle groups. (Meant to be jogging, but felt I couldn’t keep putting off pumping some iron.)

After Sunday’s writing session, June and I did yoga for half-an-hour, and then had lunch. And on Monday I got in three-quarters of an hour exercising the lower body muscles.

We made it! Sure, the workouts didn’t always work out as scheduled, and right, I didn’t write everyday. But the post got published on time, and I jogged, did yoga, and exercised all the major upper and lower body muscle groups.

I now feel like the one who’s got the “extra inspiration”. Oh, and thank you. I’ll be back into a good workout routine in no time at all.

*Chorus of song by Johnny Mercer