Exercise Pays. Literally.

Day 38

I am an avid coin collector. That's what I like to call myself anyway. I guess another way of putting it would be that I pick up every piece of change I see. Today, after finding two cents on the track -score!- I realized that this hobby is similar to working out in many ways.

To start with, you can look a bit silly doing either.

One time I was sitting on a bench waiting for a bus when I noticed a penny about 3 metres away on the ground. I walked over and bent down to pick it up. As I stood up, I heard "Hey Kelsey!" and looked to see two old friends who had watched the whole thing. Not how I would ideally choose to run into someone.

Likewise, the way I look when I am working out is not how I would want to present myself to people. The gym is a place that can make even the most confident people self-conscious. I always tried to comfort myself with that line: "Nobody is watching you, they are focused on their workout." However, over the past five weeks I have realized that this is a complete lie. I look at every person who walks into the gym, so I can only assume others are looking at me. And the whole baggy shirt with old highschool gym shorts, covered in sweat look is not really my thing.

Another thing "coin collecting" has in common with working out? It requires a lot of patience. My friends always tease me for picking up pennies and I guess it's because one cent seems pretty worthless. But twice a year when I count those coins up, it feels good to have a few extra dollars in my pocket.

Exercising works in the same way. One day of exercise is like a penny. Alone it isn't going to get you much, but keep adding more and eventually you will have enough to get what you want. Like a six pack, for example.

From January until now, the number of people in the gym on any given day has probably been cut in half. After Christmas, everyone is ready to try to get the body they want and this time they are determined! But a few weeks later, when nothing has changed, they give up.

It really is difficult to keep working out when you're not seeing any results, it seems pointless, like picking up pennies. But, eventually, it will all add up!

These pictures of my progress demonstrate perfectly. If you look from one week to the next you really can't see too much change (pun intended.) But between week one and six, there is a huge difference! (At least, I hope.)

*NOTE 1: These are pictures that I have been taking at the beginning of each week. So the first one is before I started the project and the last one is from this Monday. I will be posting a final picture of my results at the end of the week!

**NOTE 2: My camera does not show very much detail. My abs are actually more defined than they appear (I swear!) I will try to get a higher quality image for my final picture.