What Exercise Should Be

There's one word that so many people hate. Even the hardcore individuals who do it, and preach it everyday. Exercise. It hurts, and isn't something we look forward too. But exercise isn't exercise when it's something you enjoy. At that point, it no longer seems like work.

I, like so many others, HATE running. I can't stress that enough. I've tried to get into it. Even when I was in the USMC I hated it. For a while I even ran twice a day during those years. That actually made me hate it even more. Briefly I enjoyed lifting weights while I attended NMMI. But it wasn't a heavily crowded gym, and I had a good friend to lift with, who was very knowledgeable. It was a rush to see my max increase. But after that, it bored me to death. And I know I'm not alone on this. However, everyone has something they enjoy.

Some love running. Some love weights. Some live for bicycles. The list goes on and on. For me it's swimming. For that matter, it's just about anything that has me completely surrounded by water. SCUBA, snorkeling, so long as I'm in the water, I'm happy. It's the one exercise that isn't exercise to me. It doesn't matter what I'm doing in it, just that I'm there. When I'm in the water, it's a whole different world. Above the water is noisy, people laughing, screaming, having fun, and the chaos of life is nearby. But under it, below crashing waves, and the splashes of divers, it's a silent and peaceful world. Much like riding my motorcycle, it's a place that lets me clear my mind, and just enjoy what nature has provided me.

But it doesn't end there for me. A pool is good, but it's not the best. Don't get me wrong, I love going to the pool too. But I like moving water. A lake, creek, or river a great. But the ocean is ultimately where it's at. Riding the waves, hovering in the water, and feeling the undertow and currents pushing me here and there. And then there's SCUBA. You can go to the same spot often, but no trip is ever the same. Strap an air tank on your back, some fins on your feet, and then you make an escape into the deep blue. The fish in the area vary, every approach on the coral is different, and sometimes you'll find a boat, or some other man made creation to explore. And sound. Sound is totally different under the sea. Crabs, and lobster clicking away, boats cruising by, bells and various things banging and clanging. To those who are land locked, these things don't seem so special. Once you're under water though, you can't tell where it's coming from. Not only that, but how close it is. You're surrounded by muffled, unique sounds, and all the chaos of the world is blocked out.

You can kick, pull, wiggle, and more. But there's nothing like that feeling in the water where you briefly get that point of weightlessness. You're in a space all your own. That's how exercise should be. It's not work. It's just an escape that helps you reset. And at the end of it, when you're all done, you'll realize just how hard you pushed yourself without knowing it. You'll know from the aches and pains. You won't curse it though. You'll welcome it, and go back for more.

Me in the East China Sea

Adventures in Life

A lot of things change as we get older. When we're kids, we didn't necessarily have a lot of choice in how we spent our nights. But staying at a friends or relatives was usually great. Camping even better. But it was whatever was alright with the folks. Then we finally got that freedom to do as we pleased. Oh man, it's like dropping a tone of raw meat in a shark tank.

I think back to some nights before I enlisted and some of my early years in the military, and I shudder to think of some of the stuff I would do. A great night out was loading up some of the guys, and going down to Mexico for a night of booze, loud Mexican music, soggy chips, salsa, and then making the trek to Denny's after drunkenly testing the fates and coming back home. Yeah, I'm glad the folks didn't learn of that until years later.

A night out in Ishikawa, Okinawa, Japan.

Then came my service years. The first part of it, you could easily find me at an E-Club, or a local hole with some booze, loud music, or even some karaoke. This was usually topped off with the Okinawa offerings of yakisoba, taco rice and cheese, or one of the biggest corn dog's you ever imagined. There was usually more drinking to be done after returning to the barracks as well.

Gate 1 outside of Cp Hansen in Okinawa. Nothing but restaurants and bars.

The next phase I'm not sure how it came about. Either as my time as an MP dealing with drunks, dealing with drunks in the barracks, or just generally being tired of boozing it up. But for me at that time a good night, or weekend for that matter was SCUBA diving, sight seeing, or even just hanging out at the beach. I'd go out to the various restaurants, different beaches to lounge or dive, the various sites from the aquarium to waterfalls. It didn't matter where or what, just that it was there to be done and not in the confines of a bar, or barracks.

Playing with Nemo and his cousin in the East China Sea.

Posing with the A&W Great Root Bear in Nago, Okinawa, Japan.

Then I came back to the States, a little older, and a little wiser hopefully. And again things changed. Bars still do nothing for me. Clubs are a joke in general. There for a while a nice night out became a meal, and a movie. But even that changed quickly. There for a while I knew I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what. Going to the zoo is still a treat. A few years ago my youngest and I were treated to watching a giraffe being born.

A giraffe being born at the Albuquerque Bio Park around 2009. You can see the hooves under the mothers tale.

Sometimes going out is still the answer. Some place that isn't too rowdy, a restaurant here and there. The zoo a rare treat. But outside of taking a road trip someplace, or camping, there's one thing that I can do pretty much every night that makes me happy. Sit out on the porch with my wife, a cigar, a drink, maybe some music, and just stare off into the sky. Who'd have ever thought that a good night would become a night at home? Guess it's true. You can take the boy out the country (sometimes literally), but you can't take the country out of the boy.

You can see my bench  a little on the far left.

It's funny how things change.