I woke up with an unfamiliar burning feeling in my muscles today. I worked out, hard, yesterday, for the first time in two months. An injury, and a conveniently timed expiration of my gym membership, sidelined me since September 1. Dr. Me prescribed eight weeks of rest to heal the biceps/forearm tendon (Dr. Me could never quite pinpoint the offending area) injury. Picking up grocery bags and raking leaves tell me I'm still injured. But I returned to working out yesterday anyhow. Without a gym, I had to improvise in my home gym. When I was 14, with the proceeds from my job at Fenway Park, I purchased a sturdy weight bench and 310 pounds of weight. Twenty-plus years later, it still works as good as new. On Sunday, I raided my mother's basement for dumbbells and other fitness accoutrements. My rudimentary home gym lacked the machines, pulley apparatus, and treadmills of the fitness center of which I had previously been a member, but, as I discovered yesterday, a great workout can be had without expensive equipment. Instead of the treadmill, I ran around my neighborhood; instead of an incline bench, I did push-ups with my feet raised a foot-and-a-half on a chair; and dumbbells are so versitile that you can imitate many machine-based exercises. Once I get in a groove, I will not be hurting as much as I am today. A steady exercise regimen immunizes one to the pain one feels on the first day of the exercise regimen. But all good workouts inflict a welcome burn. "No pain, no gain" is a popular catchphrase because it is so true.

Break to build. Also quite true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNP16ulyd6c

Dude. Those 35 pound dumbells are mine. I will be up there to claim them soon.