Easy does it

When starting something new, I’ve found that the saying “easy does it” really rings true, which is to say that one should take things slowly and carefully. Let me tell you about when someone totally ignored this, and the consequences which stemmed from that decision, even years later.

It happened when I was renting a room in a shared house near the University where I studied, and one of our housemates had a boyfriend come to visit. He was an army commando and in excellent physical condition. A few of us were curious about his gym routine, including one of our rather overweight friends. So later that day, we all went to the gym.

At that point in my life, I wasn’t fat or weak, just average. But I realised just how average I was, after following the commando’s warm-up. It was only about 20 minutes, but by the time that warm-up was done, I was knackered. Most of us then decided that we’d had enough and wanted to go home, but the commando managed to persuade our overweight friend to stay, so he could teach him a few things and perhaps help him shed some weight.

When all was said and done, it turned out that the commando had encouraged our friend to push himself up to, and perhaps beyond his limits. He complained the next day how every muscle ached, and that he could barely move without feeling pain. His throat was also sore from all the throwing up and retching he’d done (during that gym session). All in all, he was in a sorry, exhausted state. The worst part however, was that he’d decided to never go back to the gym again. He said how he’d really had enough, and that going to the gym was simply too much torture.

A few years after graduation, I found out that our once overweight friend had ballooned into a morbidly obese friend. I can’t say for certain, but I think that experience at the gym, where he had pushed himself past his comfortable limits (on the first day!) had caused some serious problems with how he perceived exercise and healthy living.

Now, I’m not saying that you should never push yourself, or test your limits. But when starting something new, easy does it :)