Gym class

True confessions time: who failed gym in high school and went on to exercise regularly? I admit I failed gym in high school because I would 'forget' to go. I ended up taking a summer class to make up for it.

Yesterday I was at the gym talking to two women probably in their late 70s or early 80s. One said she flunked gym in high school and had to take it again in college. She wanted to take fencing (because it was like dancing) and was forced to take field hockey I think. She hated field hockey so she failed it.

I ended up telling them about the John F Kennedy physical fitness test. They did not know about it at all. I told them we had to run the 50 yard dash, the 600 yard run, and the standing broad jump. They were appalled. They never had to do anything like that.

We were all generally amused by our previous lack of interest in gym class and how we all go to the gym regularly. We never ended up talking about gym suits but I think their experiences with them were probably just as awful.

In elementary school, gym was fun. Except when I had to play soft ball because I could never hit the ball. Even when the gym teacher slow pitched to me over and over again. Today the gym at my elementary school is being dedicated to Jim Banks who was the best gym teacher ever.

So did you fail gym? Forced exercise was never fun.

Do I have five hours a week?

Based on new research, I could cut my post menopausal breast cancer risk by exercising five hours each week. Hmmm.... Well I do 3 hours of cardio and then probably another 2 hours of weights and stretching each week. Does that count?

Oh, wait, I already had breast cancer. Does that mean I can stop exercising? Probably not. I am sure there is another bit of research out there that tells me I need to keep exercising.

There is that long term deflabbification project I keep babbling about. Damn.

And why am I so fat if I keep exercising????