Speedo man

Both yesterday and today I was treated to sight of man who actually looked good in a speedo. This is a rare thing, as most men in speedos fall into one of two camps: overly muscle-bound and disgusting, or utterly out of shape. One man in particular cut quite the figure in his speedo because he was blessed with an overabundance of body hair--a pelt actually. He had such thick black hair all over his body that you literally could not see skin except on his hands, feet, and around his eyes. His back was even so covered with hair the skin wasn't visible. His choice of swimwear? Yes, a speedo, and a teeny one at that. Seeing him walk by was a bit like driving by a horrible accident--you don't want to look but you just have to. Ugh. At any rate, I have rarely seen anyone who actually looked good in one of these swimsuits.

The exception to the rule is this one man who swims regularly at my gym. He must be in his mid 60s, but he is in perfect shape--not overly muscled, and not overweight save for a bit of extra skin at his waist that seems to disappear when he gets into the water. He exudes health and strength, and his swim strokes are perfection. Watching him cut through the water effortlessly is like watching a statue of a Greek god come to life. We swim at about the same rate, and I have to say that I try and time my stroke so that I'm about 1.5 armlengths behind him in order to enjoy his fluid grace in the water. Its fun having a swim partner, even if he's not really my swim partner. :)

Speaking of swimming, I set a new benchmark for myself today: 22 laps in 35 minutes. A half mile is 18 laps, and my body seems to have acclimated to the jump in distance quite nicely, since I wasn't really all that fatigued after my laps were completed. Even better, I swam after I had completed 17 pulse pounding, threatening to explode my ventricles minutes on the stairmaster. I hate that thing, but it certainly gives a cardiovascular workout like nothing else--even plodding along slowly my heart rate was 182. I'm thinking I'll avoid that one and stick with the elliptical trainer instead, as 182 is much to high a pulse to sustain for long.

As I was leaving the gym I ran into my personal trainer, and told him I had finally broken the 200 pound threshold. I'm at 195 right now, and my next goal is 180--he agreed that 180 was a good increment to aim for, and suggested I keep on with my current regimen and defer another session with him until I reach the goal after 180--169. Why 169? Well, at 169 I cross the threshold from obese to simply overweight. It will be a HUGE milestone and by then my body will be vastly more efficient at exercise, so I may well need a new routine to continue with weight loss at a decent rate. That works for me...