Skyscape³

On wanting to be a superhero

Wednesday November 2, 2011

I've been focusing on fitness a lot lately. I have time set five days a week to exercise at my local gym, and I generally get in anywhere from a half hour to an hour. On top of that, I walk back and forth to work for another 40 minutes of exercise a day.

I find heroines in video games and on television to be a huge motivator. Who doesn't want to be able to race against the pursuing alien forces across the rooftops of Hyllis like Jade in Beyond Good and Evil, or push their physical limits like Chell from the Portal series? 

My workout consists of weights, stretching, and cardio, and sometimes running when the weather is fine. I've been working hard, and have definitely noticed a little more clarity and muscle definition, even though my range of mobility and endurance have stayed relatively the same. 

The biggest obstacle I've come across has been from friends and family insisting that I "don't need to lose weight," asking "Why do you want to go to the gym? You look fine."

This whole effort isn't about weight loss. It's about better fitness, stronger limbs, and being a better me. I want to be just as strong as the characters who engage me so readily, and it's a real challenge to get the people around me to understand that. So many people equate physical activity to weight loss, and there's a real problem there. Fitness isn't just about weight. It's about goal-setting, endurance, and greater overall wellness in life.

I'm going to keep trying, and keep working toward peak health. The meat I'm made of is all I've got. I have to take care of it, and make it into the heroine I'd like to be.