“Let’s Get Physical”

What is more inspirational than listening to Olivia Newton John belting out, “Let’s get physical, physical” and seeing her in 80’s workout gear?  Nothing, really, unless of course you consider working out with my sister, Rachel, as inspiration to your workout goals.  Instead of working out in pink spandex with neon blue leg warmers, Rachel adorns herself with paint-speckled shirts and shorty-shorts.  If this is not enough to inspire me with epic-like motivation, her one-liners truly give me the energy to forge ahead into the sweaty hour which awaits me.  Quotes such as, “Oh my gosh, my shirt tastes like sh8t!” and “Might as well strap an elephant to my leg while you’re at it!” should hold prestigious places in the Workout Hall of Fame.  Did I choose Rachel as my fitness trainer?  No.  Fate simply assigned me the dorkiest, weirdest, and non-inspirational workout partner ever.

Many experts recommend having a workout buddy to hold you accountable to actually working out instead of eating a bag of Doritos while watching FitTV (I’ve been told this does not count for my daily 30 minutes of activity).  But experts hold back on a definition of a “good” workout buddy.  Should the workout buddy be a fitness Nazi who holds a jelly-filled donut at the finish line but then proceeds to eat it as you faint across the white chalk?  Or should the workout buddy be a fitness Pansy who allows you little nibbles of jelly-filled donut as you mall walk on your used treadmill?  Exactly.  No one knows.  I should, under the circumstances, fire my sister.  But as I don’t pay her and really didn’t hire her in the first place, I don’t know if I can fire her.  Besides, she lives with me…firing her could create awkward tension at the dinner table. 

I suppose I can keep her on retention; she does provide me with a chuckle here and there.  Although, there are times where my butt exercises are interrupted by episodes of ab-splitting laughter.  Talk about a multi-muscle workout.  I suppose in any form, working out with a friend or sister is better than working out alone.  So the next time you feel the urge to quality control check the Doritos while watching Chuck Norris pedal the Total Gym, call up your friend or summon your sister from the upper stratosphere of your house, don your 80s workout clothes, and pump up the volume on Olivia Newton John’s one hit wonder.