I was never athletic. Always the last one chosen at P.E. While not really fat, I wore the husky sizes. In high school I was more slender (friends joked I wore my hiking boots to keep from being blown away). I always wanted to go to the gym to get bigger and stronger, but never had the courage to face my fears of being ridiculed for being so out of place. I really regret not having the balls to just do it back in college when it would have been so much easier to start. I put on some pounds over the years, but never looked too fat (I was the skinny-fat type). I finally went to the gym for the first time when I was 47 1/2 - lo and behold, no one laughed at me! I never looked back. It's clear that I don't have the genes to ever be a bodybuilder or even look big at all (curse this ecto body!), but I'm determined to be the best skinny geek I can.

It makes me feel good - and feel good about myself. Plus I found out I really enjoy it.

A good workout is really satisfying, sometimes even euphoric, and I'm always looking forward to the next one. And a nice pump (such as it is for a skinny ecto) is pretty sweet :-)