You can go the distance
You can run the mile
You can walk straight through hell with a smile
–Script/Hall of Fame
When I get into a workout kick, it is always cardio. I love the breathlessness, and the sweat, and the way you have to continually talk yourself into continuing.
While I was on vacation, I took some spin classes. I had completely forgotten how meditative an in gym cardio workout can be.
Now, bear with me a second. A lot of you are thinking that doing cardio is the most boring thing in the world. You are wrong. It is like meditation for me. I don’t get distracted by my surroundings. I don’t have to worry about traffic. I don’t have to watch where I put my feet so I don’t fall down. It’s just me, music and a spin bike or elliptical or whatever. I find spinning to be particularly meditative because you can get as much of a workout as you need right that minute.
Everyone who knows me knows how picky I am about music. That can be a problem, because in a spin class the instructor picks the tunes. That can be spectacularly awful or serendipitously great.
Or cathartic. I am not afraid to admit that I have gotten teary in spin class. Blame P!nk. I think the elevated heartrate and breathlessness make me more vulnerable to feeling whatever it is that I am feeling at the moment. Other people in class don’t seem to be responding in the same ways so that might be a quirk that is all mind.
Cardio does get me through hell with a smile, so maybe that is enough to expect.