Chapter 30

I wanted to run in terror most days from dumbbells dropping, screams of pain, and a lot of red-striped spandex.

5,000 square feet of machines, plates, and perspiration is a little, tiny dot that does not set the bar of a person, but when you've lost seventy pounds in that tiny dot, it starts to seem much bigger. I was tired of the intimidation factor in such a small space. Some of it caused by others but most of it was in me, based on what I thought: that 24 Hour Fitness Downtown Sacramento decided a persons long-term value.

As I started to see what was going on in the gym, it made me less likely to compare my stomach to hers, my chest to his. Some people have to work out harder, longer, louder than others because it's all they have. I learned the key to fitness:

You don't need to wear a sign that says, "I have a tiny penis." Just wear a weight belt and grunt long and loud at the gym. We'll get it.