My life is two huge beginnings – living in Belgium and learning Dutch. It’s also a bunch of re-beginnings – being on the elliptical (cross-trainer) at the gym, stretching at the gym, playing the cello, playing the piano, playing the guitar, learning and singing songs.

How about one more?

Strength training. I know how important it is. It’s essential for me to reach my main fitness goal: continuing to live in my apartment until I’m 90, which means climbing the five flights of stairs to reach my home.

Fitness machines await me at Basic-Fit. Voilà:

They’re arranged roughly in a circle. I like circles … and I love orange. Can’t you hear them calling? “Bruce! Please come here.”

Later this morning, I will.

For many years I had a Bowflex strength training machine in my basement. I waxed and waned in my commitment to climb on board.

This morning I lay in bed thinking about getting stronger. During my cello lesson on Thursday, I noticed that I couldn’t maintain the proper bow position on the highest string (the A). The brace on my thumb is helping but the whole arm is weak when rotated like this. So the sounds up high were squeaky.

My morning musings brought me back to the exercise log sheet that I used to fill in during my Bowflex sessions. I gave the machine away before I left Canada.

Did I throw away the exercise sheets? I tried to remember back to spring 2022 when I was letting go of most of my worldly belongings. What was my mind saying then?

Those sheets are part of your past … let them go

It’s not like you’re saying goodbye to fitness … keep the sheets

Upon rising, the second thing I did was go to my remaining three cardboard boxes from Canada and start digging. And guess what I found?

Yay for foresight! And I even saved some blank copies of the form. I can begin again.

So cool. I don’t have to start at square one. I can find Basic-Fit machines for each exercise. The weights listed will be far more than I can manage now, but so what?

Twenty-four sheets, each with six days of strength exercising. Okay, I used to be committed. I can be committed again. It looks like I was regular until November, 2021 … so I’ve been on a two-year hiatus.

That ends today.

***

My arms, legs, heart and lungs are thanking me