Rainy Sunday

A rare event occurred last night and this morning – we actually had RAIN! After living in a monsoon- like climate during the spring and early summer, we dried out in August and September and have had nary a drop.

But my rain gauge has about a quarter inch and I can tell the grass and trees and flowers are happy with their little drink.

And what’s the best thing to do on a rainy Sunday – well, for me, it’s cooking. I got a pot of chili simmering, full of my garden’s harvest of tomatoes and peppers. The bread machine is kneading dough, and I just pulled a pan of brownies out of the oven.

Joe and I are going to eat well tonight.

Quincy is scheduled to have a baseball game at 3:00 pm. The rain has stopped, but I don’t know if they’re going to play or not.

I went to workout this morning, and as the desk clerk swiped my card, I started thinking about my co-worker.

She has a membership at another club, but a lot of health insurance companies offer a discount on the premiums if you go to the gym at least 12 times a month. I think it’s like $20 or something.

A person trainer once told me that only a small percentage of people who have gym memberships actually go with any regularity. If we all showed up, the gym would be packed like a can of sardines.

But insurance companies and fitness organizations know that one way to make money is to try to get people to work out. For insurance companies, regular workouts help clients stay healthy, and therefore, less claims. For gyms, if a client’s insurance company is offering a discount, then it’s a way to get people to join and more members equal more money.

However, what I’ve heard some people do with that 12 times per month thing is to have their card swiped and leave.

And what does that accomplish?

Well, they get their discount, but miss the benefits of working out.

And that’s what my coworker does. She has her gym swipe her card to get the insurance discount and counts our wimpy little afternoon walk through the skyways of downtown St Paul as her workout.

We don’t walk very fast, certainly not enough to get our heart rates up or even work up a sweat. I would bet that we don’t even burn 50 calories. I don’t count our stroll as a workout in any sense of the word, but I guess she does.

And she gets her discount on her insurance premium.

She’s larger than I am, so a good sweaty workout wouldn’t hurt her too much. But I guess saving that $20 is more important than being in shape.

Lying about how much you work out is one of those things that don’t really hurt anyone else, but it’s just so stupid. You can save more money if you didn’t have a gym membership at all.

There’s a really large woman who works out sometimes when I do. She doesn’t just have her card swiped and leaves; she stays and works out really hard. She doesn’t seem to lose any weight, I think because she probably eats a lot during the day, but she comes to the club on a regular basis and works very hard.

And, of course, there are a lot of people who come in most days and do their workouts, discount or no discount.

And I’m one of them. I’ve chosen not to do the discount, because I don’t want my motivation to go to the gym to be determined by saving a few bucks.

I’m fortunate that I’ve been comfortable incorporating a workout into my daily routine. I know a lot of people struggle with that and might need the financial incentive to get to the gym.

But I hope they’re honest with themselves and not just have their card swiped and leave.