My doctor says exercise is the best way to overcome insulin resistance. She
nagged me to start a program. I said I had tried, but, in fact, I was holding
back. Why? Because I dreaded the pain. I was pathetically puny. Even fixing
dinner could make me sweat like a race horse. Having danced for years, I knew
getting into shape would be a major endeavor. Coward that I have become in my
middle years, I simply did not want to hurt. If I did, I knew I would quit
whatever program I began. So I stalled.
Then, one bright spring day, my phone rang. It was my mother. Always a high
energy person, Mom views her eighty-four years as merely a minor stumbling
block to achievement. She and my dad recently bought a house. She called to
say, with justifiable pride, that she had just finished painting three bedrooms
and a hallway. Embarrassment curling my toes, I congratulated my mother and
knew, pain or no pain, it was time to get off my duff.
I checked out supposedly "gentle" exercises like yoga and tai
chi, or popular programs like Pilates. I quickly learned that not only was
there equal potential for pain, those things can cost serious money.
Memberships. Lessons. Equipment. $100 for a costume to wear? $60 for an
exercise mat? No, thanks!