Resistance

I bought a resistance cord several weeks ago and it has just been sitting in its package, unopened, on my desk until last night. I thought it would help me build and tone my muscles, and that it would be a very practical way to get a workout while I'm ever away (it's ridiculously light and takes up almost no space at all, compared to my free weights).

Last night, after a day at work and a walk home from work, I decided to tear into the plastic and see what this cord was all about. I changed into my exercise clothes and running shoes, even though I would just be standing on the rug in my living room, and turned on the workout DVD that came with the cord.

It looked scary. This bald man with bulging muscles the size of my head was doing squats and crunches, all while looking very serious and intimidating. This was not what I imagined when I bought that purple cord from REI. I hit play and it turned out that his muscle man, Charles Shand, had a pleasant, soothing voice and was telling me about how great it was that I was taking care of my body and how, if I was just beginning, I should start slowly and at my own pace. Okay, not so scary after all.

And, as a beginner with the lightest resistance band, I would follow Jim, a gray-haired, pot-bellied man, in the video, rather the the body-builder Charles or the incredibly fit woman using the medium resistance band. I could easily follow along with Jim--I have no pot-belly, I'm young, and I've been exercising regularly for the last several months. No sweat.

Or, so I thought. I started doing the exercises, following Jim's movements as best I could. I felt awkward trying to do the exercises but I figured it was my first time and I just needed to get used to it. I pulled the cord across my chest as I did squats. I pulled the cord across my chest again as I stepped to the side. I stepped on the cord with both feet and did bicep curls but could barely get my arm to bend all the way to my body. I started to sweat. Jim did another arm stretch with the band, where his arms reached the top of his head. I could barely get my arms and the band up past my hips. My arms were getting tired too. This was not as easy as I thought. I was being defeated by a pudgy, schlumpy, old man on a DVD.

I half-heartedly finished the routine. Was all those months of exercise and free weights doing nothing to build muscle strength in me? Am I doing something wrong with the cord? I had no clue. I changed out of my exercise clothes and ate dinner.