Ouch! Lowering myself into the desk chair is painful. Two days into recovery from the workout at the new gym, I’m happy to report it’s not only working…it’s FREE!
Free Workouts
You probably have one, too, just down the street and didn’t even realize it. I took the one hour squat class and am now limited to an upright position in order to avoid using the Quads and Gluts that are currently on fire. This means if something falls on the floor, I either leave it or endure teasing when I ask for assistance from people closer to the ground.
If you’re wondering, “Where is this free gym?” it is located in the library of your local elementary school. Go shelve books for an hour.
Due to the misleading name, I erroneously chose the advanced class called “Easy Reader”. The limited height of the shelves in this section coupled with the size of its readers results in 90% of the books being selected from the bottom shelf.
Ten minutes into shelving I was feelin’ the burn. This lead to desperate attempts to avoid the constant squatting by:
- Sitting on the floor. This was only good for 2 books at a time and rendered useless.
Attempting a weird adaptation of the yoga Warrior pose to avoid bending more than one leg at a time while risking teetering off balance.
Here’s what it looks like doing Library Yoga:
Awkward.
The lessons learned:
- Go for the non-fiction. Despite the intimidation of finding 735.445 on the shelve, it is easier in the long run.
- Don’t mess with the librarian. She’s in great shape.
Twitter: allandouglasdgn
says:
LOL, great combo, Melinda: help the library and get physically phyt. Does the librarian keep a tube of Mentholatum rub behind the counter?
Allan Douglas recently posted..Preserving the Bounty: Late Green Tomatoes
Twitter: findingthehumor
says:
I hope she has some for the next visit…or I will come prepared with Advil.
Twitter: davidbgoldstein
says:
I’ve been frequently hearing about easy reader related accidents. Obviously, those heavy books were designed before our current safety standards were adopted and our elementary schools are always the last to upgrade. In my opinion, these books don’t belong in libraries they belong in museums. We can only hope for our children that ebooks will put an end to the suffering associated with reshelving.
Happy thanksgiving to you Melinda and all those lower to the ground who have been helping you.
David Goldstein recently posted..Encouraged by the Bottom 10 percent
Twitter: findingthehumor
says:
On the one hand…it is great they are reading so much there is a book a day turnover, on the other hand someone has to shelve them.
Happy Turkey Day to you!
This is brilliant. And, a public service message as well. Kudos to you.
Lgalaviz recently posted..How not to be an asshat on Twitter – Lucy’s Football
Twitter: findingthehumor
says:
There is probably a shirt in there…something about working out at the library but I’m not that creative.
Never heard of biblioteque yoga until now
)
I believe is more stressfull than a whole hour at the most prestigious gym
Radu recently posted..Is there a simple, programmatic way to see the dependencies of a given DLL?
Twitter: findingthehumor
says:
Biblioteque yoga sounds so much more sophisticated that it deserves and gave me a flashback to French class. It was my best vocabulary word.
People may think this post is funny but one of the secrets to losing weight and/or staying fit is consistency. If something is fun, you’ll be more consistent. If you “don’t know” you’re exercising, you’ll stay consistent. The less will power you have to use, you’ll be consistent.
I’ve been working out for over 20 years (with breaks, of course, due to injuries and vacations), and I can tell you I don’t feel like working out every time myself. So, I can feel what “normal” people go through.
Here are two techniques that anyone can use (I use number 2 ALL the time, and it works):
1. Partner up – competition is powerful. They motivate you by just being there.
2. Do it poorly – if it’s worth doing, just do something, even though it’s not as much as you should do
Charlie recently posted..Black Friday Make Money Super $1 Entry
Twitter: findingthehumor
says:
I agree. Not really there to exercise it was a nice side effect…that is after the soreness left.
Are you serious? I was trying to imagine what it would be like seeing someone at the library every other day, doing the “Warrior Pose.” – hee hee As long as you don’t wear your spandex you wouldn’t stand out that much:) Happy Holidays, Melinda!
Charlie recently posted..Black Friday Make Money Super $1 Entry
Twitter: johngarrettx
says:
Hmm you might be able to charge for teaching Library Yoga now. It will be like The Karate Kid.
The students will be saying “when are you gonna teach me Yoga??”
You’ll say, “here shelve these books, kid”.
Could be lucrative!
John recently posted..[COMIC] JG’s Vacation part 3!
Twitter: findingthehumor
says:
LOL Karate Kid! Hmmm….that is a brilliant.
You got me there, I was really misled by the title of your post.
On the other hand, That “imitation yoga move” is also a move designed to develop your leaping ability. Yes, it targets the muscles of your leg like ordinary squats.
Why not try to do bicep curls using books as weights?
Tony Scott recently posted..New OSHA Videos Target Construction Safety — Safety Training Thursday
Twitter: findingthehumor
says:
I was thinking that it was possible to work in an upper body workout. Book weights. I could have a whole class in there.
As long as you’re stuck in the house, try exercise DVDs. There are aerobics, walking fitness, dance, pilates and much more. You can rent them on Netflix and try different ones when you get bored. If you have cable, there are also exercise programs you can tune into. The main thing is to hang in there, and try to get some exercise in every day.
If you happen to have a Wii game console, the Wii Fit program with the balance board is really great, but expensive if you have to buy the game system.
Going for long walks with the stroller will help, too.
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Having grown up working, I never have understood paying good money to get a workout. They ought to hook those exercise bikes up to generators and pay us! Good for you, Melinda, turning exercise into value to the community.
Astro Gremlin recently posted..6 Reasons to Be Extra Thankful
I agree with Astro! Yes good on you turning exercise into value to the community – and yet we should hook those bikes up to generators!
A good read
Hi Melinda,
I have been a reader of yours for awhile now and wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you! Your posts often crack me up. Awesome. Fall down and pretend no one saw you??? yup. Pay dearly for bending down and picking up, over and over? yup. I’m right with ya!
So, I have forwarded you the Liebster Blog Award for small blogs. Info about it is on my blog if you want to read about it.
Thanks for the laughter.
Dorothy recently posted..Paying it forward
Twitter: KelleysBreakRm
says:
Ha! You are so funny! Shelving books does sound like a hard work-out!
Kelley recently posted..I was almost kidnapped. Twice.
You are amazing Melinda! Who ever thought that staying in the library would be good work out? Nobody does but only you! laughs… I just hope in your next post, you will share how many pounds you’ve lost.
Francoise recently posted..My Arowana Is Not Eating No Matter What I Do !!!
I’ve always had some weird, hard-to-explain fear of librarians. Now I get it. Thanks, Melinda.
Charles Gulotta recently posted..Who Knew?
As long as you’re stuck in the house, try exercise DVDs. There are aerobics, walking fitness, dance, pilates and much more. You can rent them on Netflix and try different ones when you get bored. If you have cable, there are also exercise programs you can tune into. The main thing is to hang in there, and try to get some exercise in every day.
judith recently posted..Starting Your Own Business
Twitter: tellingdad
says:
This is one of the things I admire about your writing and blog. You can take the simplest of life’s annoyances and make them funny. I suck at that. I feel that if I don’t write some novella I’m somehow cheating people out of substance. I need to learn from the master…I need to learn that short posts are okay…but more importantly, I need to learn to never volunteer my time shelving books. For that I thank you.
Greg – Telling Dad recently posted..What a Doll
Thank you
You just demonstrated a point that I make to several of my personal training clients. You don’t need a “gym” to exercise. Not having a gym is an excuse for not working out.
Matt recently posted..Luxe Travel Launches New Luxury Travel Site
I never heard of biblioteque yoga until now! Anyway,I think these books don’t belong in libraries they belong in museums.
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