Shapin' Up 2: Electri--uh, no.

Way back in September, my second post on this blog was about how motivated I was to get in shape and improve my physical appearance and health and all that nonsense. Yeah, that went well. I'm writing this blog post to try to motivate myself again to get out of a long funk.

It may just be the standard winter funk, but I think it's more than that this year. Because I don't work out in a gym ever, and instead typically rely on outdoor activity to get in shape, winter is often a period of laziness and weight gain. I tried to put an end to that pattern this year by purchasing some personal exercise equipment. That went about as well as it does for most people.

Ultimately, I really dislike exercising. It is so aimless and unsatisfying; so much effort for so little return. It would obviously be different if I found lifting weights or running to be fun, but I don't. (Maybe they're not supposed to be fun, maybe I'm missing the point, but then why do so many people do these activities every day?) I've gotten most of my winter exercise from shoveling snow, which is certainly not fun in the least. Things that are fun in the winter: sitting on the couch playing video games or watching TV, brewing and drinking beer, alpine skiing, and curling. Only the latter two involve any physical activity, I don't do either nearly enough, and it's not really that much exercise in either case. And the former two are how I spend most of my time, leading directly to weight gain, with the notable assistance in 2010 of bags of chips.

With the pending arrival of spring--what do you mean, March isn't spring yet?--in past years I would be itching to get out on my bike (or, if I go back 5 years, in-line skates) again. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling that urge this year. Ultimately, I don't find biking to be much fun either; but it's more fun than running, at least. Biking to and from work is just a good excuse to do something physical with a purpose. (I also save a tiny amount of money by not driving my car.) In the same way as I'd rather go for a long walk to visit Best Buy than just go for a long walk, having a destination for my biking makes it feel less aimless and unsatisfying. But it's still not really fun. At this point, I honestly don't think I'll be biking to work much this summer. I have better, lazier things to do with the hour of my life I'll save each day.

By writing that last sentence down in this blog post, I'm trying to convince myself that it is the stupidest thing I could possibly think. I'd take one more hour of video gaming over a healthier lifestyle and improved self image/esteem and general well-being? God, I hope not.

At least when I was married, I felt motivated to exercise to keep up with my wife's weight loss. After she left, I initially felt motivated to exercise to try to look my best for any future prospects. Fun didn't matter. I had a purpose.

For the first few months after separation, I was desperately searching for someone to replace my wife. I needed to feel like there was still hope for me and relationships. I'm almost completely over that feeling now. Three months of online dating was enough to destroy any hope. If there's someone out there that fits the admittedly restrictive criteria of what I am looking for, she's certainly not involved in the Regina online dating scene at this time. And I have my doubts that she ever will be. It seems like all the single women are single for a good reason.

And I'm probably a single man for a good reason. The more time I spend by myself, the less I have to offer someone else. My house is now one-third a home, one-third a brewery, and one-third an animal playhouse. (Well, to be fair, it was always one-third an animal playhouse.) I'm not saying I don't like it that way, because I do. But would someone else?--doubt it. Other than the empty half of a king bed, there isn't any room in my house for another person. I'm starting to feel the same way about my life in general.

Okay, that was a bit of a divergence from the topic at hand. The point of the past few paragraphs was to say that I don't see myself dating anyone any time soon, so there's no motivation to exercise to look my best for that purpose. (In my year in review blog post, I mentioned possibly joining some clubs or something to expand my social circle. Maybe later this year?) I need to motivate myself to exercise for myself, which is really hard when most of me would rather just play video games; thus the existence of this blog post.

I do care about living a healthy lifestyle. Other than the bags of chips, I eat reasonably well. (I used to eat bags of candy instead of bags of chips, so it's possibly a net zero situation, anyway. My teeth are happier about the current arrangement, though.) Lots of fruits and vegetables. Whole wheat/grain everything. Lots of protein. Most importantly, a reasonable overall calorie intake. I know this because I haven't gained much weight despite sitting on my ass for three straight months. If I wasn't drinking beer like it was water, especially on Saturdays, I wouldn't be concerned about my health at all.

It's probably been a year since I last saw a doctor, so another visit is likely a good idea. I had a completely clean bill of health last time, but the heavy drinking in 2009 may have something to say about that. There's also a pressing issue of risk factors for colon cancer that needs to be addressed. Fun!

They ("They") say you need 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day to stay healthy. I'm obviously well below that level. My thumbs have been getting a pretty good workout lately, but the rest of my body must be suffering. Well, probably not. This has not been an unusually lazy winter by any means. My main concern is not really with how lazy I've been through the cold months this year (although I am disappointed with myself because this year was supposed to be different), but with how I'm thus far lacking any urge to hop on my bike in spring. Maybe I'm getting worried way too early. There's still tons of snow on the ground. Maybe this blog post is premature. But, hey, that's my prerogative.

Also, I'm once again backing away slowly from any plans to run a half-marathon this year. As much as I'd like to just do it so I could say I had done it, I really dislike running--so why would I want to train to be a runner? I had hoped to get my stamina up with some regular exercise through the winter, but we already know that didn't happen, so here I am reset to zero again.

Rather than thinking about half-marathons that I'll never be ready for, maybe I should be looking at getting back into biking shape for something like the MS Bike Tour. The two MS Bike Tours I participated in in 2003 and 2004 were easily the most fun I ever had doing strenuous physical activity, despite how not fun biking is most of the time. The fundraising is annoying, but I can skip that by simply donating the minimum amount to myself. (Yeah, that's right, I'm a terrible human being for thinking about participating in a charity event but not putting any effort into the charity part.) So, anyway, that's something for me to think about, anyway. I'd need to sucker someone into joining me, though, because the previous events were mostly fun thanks to those that biked with me.

So, there, I guess that's a goal. Having a goal is the first step toward motivation. I need to get off my couch and start doing something for my well-being soon.