Pain is only weakness leaving the body

Someone anonymous wrote:

Actually, the latest medical research shows that your life-span and health is determined almost entirely by your genes (which, to me, is a scientist's way of saying "fate/destiny"), and almost not at all by exercise. Quite the opposite, in fact - people who lead a sedentary life live longer than those who exercise! Exercise merely improves the so-called "quality" of life: you get to sleep better, get breathless less easily etc. So, why exercise if you find it a pain?

Umm... because I'm a masochist? Because self-flagellation leaves scars and carries the risk of wound infection? Because BDSM isn't quite my style?


mas·och·ism
–noun.
1. Psychiatry. the condition in which sexual gratification depends on suffering, physical pain, and humiliation.


I think it is referred to as "courting" in common parlance.

Anyways, back to cycling:

         Continuously repeating, low resistance exercises will promote muscle endurance. To gain maximum muscle endurance, you must exercise for close to 2 hours to deplete your muscles' glycogen and to stimulate new blood vessel formation and maximum aerobic-enzyme development. You can, however, gain considerable endurance with shorter periods of exercise, particularly if you intensify the exercise.

         The harder your workout, the quicker you will deplete your muscle glycogen. An all-out effort of 10 to 15 minutes should sufficiently deplete your glycogen. Once your glycogen is depleted, you will feel exhausted. This is not a comfortable feeling. Most cyclists will coast or even get off the bike and sit down at this point — but if you are going for endurance, this is the time to commit to slow, unrelenting pain for the next 2 hours.

         2 hours of continuous low intensity exercise will promote new blood-vessel formation and aerobic enzyme development. If you can take it, train at least 3 times a week. It should be emphasized, however, that it takes a long time for most athletes to build up to 2 hours of continuous exercise past muscle glycogen depletion.

Man, it takes all sorts to make up this world. People who lead sedentary lives live longer than those who exercise indeed. Any excuse to be — and stay — a lardass.

A wise man seeks much advice; a fool listens to all of it.

2 hours past... I'm pushing 4 in total so far, so I guess I'm getting there. Pain. This Pain is good. This Pain (with a capital "P") is like a big, nasty gremlin on your back, whipping you, and, at the same time, whipping all the other whiny, insignificant, naggy little pains off. With each lash, each jolt, it seems to be blessing, imprecating, chanting, screaming, yelling, cussing, "Pax vobis, you little turd! Pax vobis!"

"Cycling is so hard, the suffering is so intense, that it's absolutely cleansing. The pain is so deep and strong that a curtain descends over your brain. . .. Once, someone asked me what pleasure I took in riding for so long. 'Pleasure?' I said. 'I don't understand the question.' I didn't do it for pleasure. I did it for pain.

         (Lance Armstrong)


Woohoohoo! Here I come! Here we go!

:-D