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PETS AND LESS IMPORTANT THINGS

WEbsite of the Derek Leif who lives in Beverly Massachusetts

(Not to be confused with the other two derek leifs on facebook, one of whom lives in colorado, and the other of whom lives in NEbraska)

ESSAY-ON MY DAILY EXERCISE ROUTINE, AND MY COMMITMENT TO LIVING A LIFE THAT DOESN’T STINK

12/17/2017

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I’m on this kick right now where I like to use these words to specify what I do, so that when people say “what do you do,” I have a quick answer. I try to make these words as simple as possible, and use as few of them as possible.

So I don’t just say “I go to the gym.” Instead, I say “I go nowhere for a while, and then I push things away from me and pull things toward me.”

And that’s pretty much it. I work out on the elliptical for a while. Then I do seated bench presses, and seated rows.

Then I’m done.

I realize that as I write this experienced gym rats immediately are crying out that I’m not doing nearly enough. I should doing crunches. I should be doing standing military presses. In other words, there are scads of muscles, most of which I’m not even aware of, that I should be working out.

And to these people, I say once again: I go nowhere for a while, push things away, and pull things toward me.

I don’t use heavy weight when I push things away from me and pull things toward me. Instead, I use the lightest weight, and do whatever I’m doing a whole lot of times. I’m told this tones up my muscles, as opposed to building them up.

I also read that exercises that target specific areas also have residual benefits. In other words, if I keep pushing things away from me and pulling things toward me, the benefits will supposedly spread from my arms to the rest of my body. Supposedly.

And I do imagine that considering that I’m moving my legs back and forth for a time my legs will get toned. They will not be rippling with muscles. They will merely be toned.

I will not have six pack abs. All I want is to have stomach that doesn’t stick out quite so much.

I often wish I had developed this fitness goal a lot earlier. In fact, I often wish I had developed this goal for a lot of things.

For so long my writing goal was to write great things. I agonized over my writing. I wrote many, many journal entries about how I wanted my writing to be great. Because it often wasn’t great, I didn’t put any of it out there.

Then I changed my goal to this: write something for the purpose of putting it out in the world, and just make sure that it doesn’t stink. No further goal, just make sure it doesn’t stink. I had this faith that if I kept writing things that didn’t stink, then sooner or later the fairly good writing that I did every day would kind of work its way into my future writing, and tone it up.

Same with my music. I just put things up there where I listen to them, and say “hey…this doesn’t stink.”

And lately I try to live my days that way. I try not to expect much, just that the day doesn’t stink.

This morning, I’m going to The International House of Pancakes with my Dad. I like this. We have breakfast together, talk, and occasionally I remind him that I think he’s a great Dad, and he reminds me that he thinks I’m a great son.

It doesn’t stink. And in fact, there are times it’s great.

So that’s it. I try to create things that don’t stink. I read books that don’t stink. I listen to music that doesn’t stink. I watch movies and TV shows that don’t stink. I do an exercise routine that doesn’t stink. I live days that don’t stink.

It doesn’t stink.
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