I joined a gym about a month ago. My last gym went bankrupt and left me hanging with four months of dues.

I know the owner and like the equipment so I have a lot more confidence. I haven't worked out regularly for a while so I decided to start with a lot of aerobic stuff. I didn't touch a weight for a couple of weeks.

Every morning I first started I spent 45 minutes to an hour on a stationary bike.

Once I got my stamina back, I cut the time on the bike down and have started in on the weights. The gym has Nautilus and Hammer-strength equipment and I can focus on a specific area and work out strong every day. I'm pleased with my progress. The lats are showing up and the abs are moving towards acceptable and away from abominable.

People work out in shifts and its easy to tell the contenders from the pretenders.

One of the people that works out on the same schedule as I do is a cute Puerto-Rican guy who looks 20 but is really thirty. We spot for each other and talk- he likes to have someone to talk to because it helps him with his English. I like talking to him because he's hotter than white phosphorus.

When he came back from his last deployment, he came here to work with a friend in construction and I must say: he is well built.

I'm tired tonight. Tomorrow after a HARD workout, it's off to the sauna.