I have been walking regularly forever, mainly for fitness. Yet how long I walked, how regularly, and how much elevation I covered had no impact on my weight. A long break from walking did bring the weight up, possibly because of more snacking. However much I would like to know, a controlled experiment with myself as the guinea pig was not happening.

For the last few years, my strength has not kept pace with my endurance. Eight miles was easy, ten I could feel, and at twelve I just wanted to reach the destination. Yet any large boulder on the trail challenged me and told me to work on strength. At our last gathering, Sunila said that walking regularly is like choosing kindergarten level for a fitness program. She is right, and I am the poster child

After many trials, I found the program that resonated with me: Women on Weights at the YMCA in Berkeley. With that and AI, I now have strengthening literacy.

Building strength is much harder. After 6 or 8 reps in a set, I feel that death may be better than doing one more rep. I am out of breath at the end of the set, and I have to wait a full minute before the second set. If I rush that, or try a superset (biceps and triceps), I get tired sooner and am totally discouraged from doing either to completion. This rest time in between makes the workout longer. In my first month's enthusiasm, I did both the machines and the free weights, and that took about three hours. So I have stopped the machines completely for now, and the workout now takes about two hours. I do not know how much of that is the workout itself. In comparison, my walking routine, with an audiobook or music in the background, was easy.

I started the program at the beginning of July. That month I kept up regular walking, rucking, or jogging, but I was always exhausted, and a blood test showed my iron was low. My body needed more nutrition than I was giving it. At our last group meeting, Ritu shared that strength training needs more rest time to recover. Presently, my walking has taken a serious setback. Despite resistance from my mind and feet, I push myself to walk the usual five miles at least twice a week, because losing the walking I have done all my life is hard.

The strengthening gains do not show up through the day, since I am tired and stiff, but they show up in the workout. I can now do lunges with 20 lb (10 in each hand), where I once needed wall support and no weights, goblet squats with 30 lb, RDLs with 60 lb, farmer carries with 35 lb, and pushups at 26 inches. My step-ups with 5 lb give me confidence, and a 2-inch box jump, which I had never done in my life, is a big exhilaration.

Despite my consistency in walking, I never worked on being progressive, in walking or running. I share this to get past my self-criticism of not being fit enough by my own bar of strength. I do not want to give up. I want to be hopeful, so I tell myself "लगे रहो, और कुछ न सोचो."

I feel a kinship with the run2eat members. आप मेरे देश से हैं, आप सब अपने से लगते हैं। That in itself is special, and what makes it stand out is the shared goal of being fit. I want to hold on to that and cheer myself on with "fitness matters."