Health is important to me, but I must say it takes some discipline for me to make an appearance at the CPA. In high school, I was much lazier than I am now. I dreaded walking in circles on the basketball court, and I dreaded more having to change my clothes around classmates.

Years later, I have yet to adopt a legitimate workout routine beyond riding my bike and wrestling with Puma, our spunky tuxedo cat with a tendency to drool.

I also have qualms about getting down to my skivvies in the CPA’s locker room. If it wasn’t for my iPod, I would probably have never gathered the courage to go at the start of my freshman year in 2006.

Another incentive to go was the fact that metabolism gets stubborn in the 20s, especially for those susceptible to stress.

Muscle burns more energy than fat, so doing nothing about the loss of muscle with age impacts more each year how long it will take to burn fat.

My decisions to work out or play Super Mario Galaxy 2 have a huge impact on how my body makes and burns energy, whether I like it or not.

While video games help me cope with stress, I know how much more important it is to avoid a sedentary lifestyle.

I reminded myself that I hadn’t been on a treadmill since January. I packed my workout clothes, which until then were pajamas, and I ignored my inhibitions and insecurities.

I checked to make sure I had my student ID, and I entered with subdued disappointment that I hadn’t lost it.

The CPA hasn’t changed much. There is still an admirable variety of workout equipment and eye candy.

I walked toward the locker room and recalled high school gym class, when the jocks talked about breasts and towel-slapped each other’s butts.

How little they seemed to care or realize how much they resembled a prologue to a porn scene as typical as two plumbers showing up without any tools.

I figured the development from high school to college would incite a wonderful difference, and I was right.

Changing into my former pajamas was less like a scene in Carrie than I had imagined; it was boring. I weighed myself on the scale after changing and discovered I had gained three pounds.

I attributed the gain to muscle mass in my legs from biking; I was in no mood to attribute it elsewhere.

I began a fifth-level cycle on a treadmill. Twenty minutes later, I was sweating like a mime in a forest fire.

If you happen to have an MP3 player, I recommend using it.

Songs like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Black Tongue”, Paco de Lucia’s “Aires Choqueros”, and Carlos Santana’s “Smooth” make time seem to go by more quickly, along with providing a rhythm that helps to ease the burn.

I will probably never be built like Vin Diesel, and I’m okay with that. There are plenty of other Vin Diesels out there, and just as many people who find him attractive.

My goal is to keep the pot belly under control, so that I’m never built like Mario.

To attend a college without taking advantage of its workout facility would be a waste.

Free access to such a wide display of exercise equipment is not a permanent thing, so bring along a friend or an iPod while you can.

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