I’m an idiot
There are times when I manage to do truly idiotic things. Take yesterday, for instance: I went into the city to get hold of a few things, including a set of hand weights. I’m still going the gym regularly, but I wanted to have some free weights at home to do extra arm and upper body exercises. So I went to Argos (‘Home of the Laminated Book of Dreams!’), selected my chosen weights set, paid up and waited at the counter to collect my purchase. It was only at that point that I started to mentally add up the individual weights in the set. “Hmm, 19 kg. That’s quite heavy. And I need to get 19 kg back home on the bus on my own. Hmm.”
The Argos employee who fetched my purchase gave me an “Are you sure you can manage this?” look, but thankfully he didn’t actually say anything. I gave him my best “Hey, I carry 10 boxes like this before breakfast” nonchalant smile, before staggering out of the shop. I got about 50 m in the direction of the bus stop before realising that carrying 19 kg in a cardboard box is just about the least comfortable option available. So I dumped the box on a bench and proceeded to hack into it with my Leatherman1. It was lucky I had it, because those plastic packing straps are almost impossible to break with your hands. Then I had to decide how to carry six individual weights. I had a rather small rucksack with me, which also contained some of my other purchases, so this was something of a challenge.
In the end—-after several rearrangements which amused passers-by—-I crammed the two 3 kg weights and one of the 1.5 kg weights into the rucksack, held the two 5 kg weights in my hands, along with my Bill Bryson book which wouldn’t go back in the bag after the rearrangement, and the remaining 1.5 kg weight hung out of my jacket pocket. Somehow I made it back like this, with a lot of staggering, resting, and self recrimination for not thinking through the whole endeavour from the start. On the positive side, I did get an excellent work out.
1 An anniversary present from Mr. Bsag, and proof that he knows me very well. It’s a lovely tool, and I took great joy in using it every day in Brazil. â
1
On the positive side, I did get an excellent work out. Surely you didn't think that while you were still lugging those weights?----- Well, you're not the only idiot in the world. I also bought myself a couple of weights a few weeks ago. The shop was only 15 minutes away from my place, so I just walked. Getting back was a lot more painful.. After 10 minutes of walking I just gave up and hid the weights behind a tree. (I was walking through the wood). I went ahead to my place, rested a couple of minutes, and went back with my rucksack and my bike. But other than that, it was a great workout. I just feel really silly
by Jan @ 24/10/2005 6:11 am • Permalink •
2
Reminds me to save up and replace the Leatherman someone, unbelievably, stole from me while I was on a stage playing a bass. I'll never leave anything on top of the amp again.
Er, I don't have any weights stories...
by jim w @ 24/10/2005 8:11 am • Permalink •
3
Funny! Don't have any weight stories, but had a friend do something similar once with a TV and bicycle. It was a major impulse buy, all 27" of it. It wasn't until after she paid, that we both realized, that we couldn't get the darm thing home. I stayed with, she rode like the devil home, and came back in her car.
by allgood2 @ 24/10/2005 2:10 pm • Permalink •
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maybe this means the best way to work out is to repeatedly buy and return sets of weights?
by iain @ 24/10/2005 3:11 pm • Permalink •
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V: Ha, no, I didn't.
I was cursing quietly under my breath.
Jan: I did consider the 'hiding it somewhere' thing, but there weren't any trees around, and I didn't fancy the chances of them being around when I got back.
jim w: Oh no! That's awful. It would make a good blues song though: "Someone stole my Leatherman / While I was playing bass on the stage / I said someone stole my Leatherman..." etc.
allgood2: You should have tried to strap the TV to the bike---that would have been funny. I did once carry a fairly expensive CD player (full size hi-fi component) strapped to the rack on my bike. I rode veeery carefully back home.
iain: :-D Perhaps not. Even the muscles in my fingers hurt today. Having said that, working with free weights (even light ones) is much more challenging than locking yourself into position on a bench and moving weights on a predetermined path.
Steve: :-D. OK, now I don't feel so bad.
by bsag @ 24/10/2005 5:11 pm • Permalink •
6
Shared a house with a chap who bought a set of weights from Argos and basically the same thing happened -- except this was a complete set of weights with a frame and everything. He'd assumed they would needed filling with water or sand or something first. Wrong!
It took several hours to get the mile or so home, and he didn't have the strengh (or inclination) even to unpack them for days afterwards!
Steve
by SteveC @ 24/10/2005 5:11 pm • Permalink •
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I think I have the same set of weights. I made the same mistake. No for me though, just a half-hour walk. :/
by Ant @ 24/10/2005 7:10 pm • Permalink •
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That should read no bus for me. Just to add to the idiotage.
by Ant @ 24/10/2005 7:11 pm • Permalink •
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If you will buy these modern plastic covered barbelly things; I've always found long weights easier to handle, even if they are a little more tedious.
by Jonathan Briggs @ 24/10/2005 9:10 pm • Permalink •
10
What model of Leatherman?
by Venkatesh Srinivas @ 09/11/2005 7:11 pm • Permalink •
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