The Internet's biggest problem is that it rarely calls for any of us to stand up. Just imagine how different we'd all feel if brief exercise breaks were an expected part of our daily web browsing... Don't you think periodic moments of drop-and-give-me-twenty would put a different spin on our LinkedIn communications and Flickr uploads? I certainly do.
My gym membership lapsed today, and with financial uncertainty topping my list of things to freak out over, it won't be getting renewed. At least not until next winter, when it becomes too cold to ride my bike around the city anymore. Besides, going to the gym is a freakish experience that I don't think I'll ever be really comfortable with. There's something about watching CNN on ten televisions at once that makes me retreat to a weird corner of my brain where everything seems like a Japanese horror movie. Also, the music they play at the gym totally rots.
Another problem is that since I was occasionally victimized by jocks back in high school, just being around rows of lockers and lots of towels is enough to summon up the associated horrors of that terrible time in life. The football toughs in my school were known to periodically seize wimpy guys for a ritualistic abuse they called "eating the cake". I offer my sincere condolences if you are familiar with the horrific details of this practice, and if you're not, consider yourself lucky. It never happened to me, but I have seen "the cake" administered to others, and can only imagine the therapy bills its victims are now paying.
One thing I do love about my gym is the dry-erase marker board that hangs in its window, which the staff routinely updates with snarky one-liners. Most gyms would use such display space to advertise aerobics classes or spin sessions, but this place treats it as a home for off-color zingers like "Look better for your stalker!" or "Man-boobs begone!" On one level, it's always reassuring to see cheeky humor used in unexpected places, but on the other hand, the practice may be hurting their business, as my gym rarely has more than 3 or 4 members in it at any one time. I'm genuinely shocked that corporate HQ hasn't instructed them to knock it off yet.
Anyway, if you've got the willpower to honor your New York Sports Club membership even as seasonal changes drive the mercury ever upward, I can only see you off with my best wishes and this 30 minute warmup mix. I can reasonably guarantee it's better than whatever your gym is playing right now, unless of course you happen to like segues from the Hives to the Footloose soundtrack. [MP3]