Published: October 23, 2009 02:14 am      

NASH: Trying to avoid being the biggest loser

The leaves are beginning to change and the days are getting cooler. The hours of daylight are getting shorter, so naturally the time spent outside is starting to dwindle. In the next few weeks getting on my bike and just going for a ride will be a thing of the past. The chilled wind makes it hard to maneuver when the tears form around your eyes and kind of freeze there on your face. As winter quickly approaches, it is important to find alternatives to exercise so you do not pack on that winter flab.

I started riding my bike seriously last year. For most of the late spring and all summer I was riding nearly 300 miles a month. I noticed a significant change in my body. I lost some weight but I also gained a lot of muscle. My physical endurance had also increased. Now, I had never been as healthy as I should have been, at times being as much as fifty to sixty pounds overweight, but I was making progress and that is what was important.

When last winter hit I personally hit a brick wall. Without the ability to readily get on my bike, I quickly fell into a pattern of bad behavior. I quickly put on the weight that I had lost and the progress that I had made throughout the warm months disappeared. Although the new YMCA opened about the same time that the weather broke last year I could not return to the level of physical fitness that I had when the weather was warm and it was sunny outside.

As spring approached this year I made a vow that this year would be different. I would get a jump start on the exercise and by mid summer I would be in the best shape of my adult life. Of course this is not what happened. I was hampered by the rain that wouldn’t quit. It seemed that every time that I would have a free afternoon to ride, the storm clouds would be lurking and the torrential down pour would be upon us. Even riding my bike to work was out of the question most days due to the forecast that I had to rely on. I couldn’t get stuck riding from Jeffersonville to New Albany if severe weather was approaching.

Now as winter is quickly upon us, I am beginning to worry that I will never be able to return to the fitness level that I need to be. With the holidays quickly approaching and over indulgence being the accepted norm I must break through those barriers that stop me so that I don’t pack on those winter fat stores that many people blame on the cave man. This winter needs to be different.

In order for this to happen I have got to make a determined effort to get out and be more physical. I need to take the time for myself so that I don’t fall into that trap of packing on those winter pounds that have always been accepted. Next spring when I get back on my bike I want to have the endurance that has alluded me for many years. I think I can do it, I know that I have to do it.

By the time this winter is over I will be 40 years old. This milestone birthday to most people signifies that its all downhill from here. It becomes increasingly harder to maintain good health as parts of your body begin to deteriorate. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I believe that my 41st year on this planet will be my healthiest yet. At least I will have fun trying.

Matthew Nash is excited about the prospect of being healthier. He can be reached at dmatthewnash@gmail.com