Multitudes

We tell ourselves we need so much, but sometimes we need so little.

Our appetites are big but our true needs are smaller, whether we always realize that or not.

We think we always need barbells, kettlebells, rowing machines, bumper plates, maybe a Reverse Hyper and a half-dozen Glute Ham Developers. 6000 square feet and an Italian marble bathroom. 200 members and a barbecue afterward.

But sometimes all we need is a pair of shoes, a backyard.

Maybe a set of rings. A jumprope. A pair of dumbbells. Air, and a willing heart.

Because the real truth is that fitness is as big or as little as you make it.

That's part of the beauty of movement.

Sometimes, fitness is a big competition with others, a worldwide community with thousands and thousands of people doing the same workout. We talk about it online, love/fight/argue/laugh. We watch it on ESPN2. We let it consume our days and our nights.

But sometimes fitness is just a runner and some Tabata squats.

A prayer and a hope that your legs will work right and you can push through to the end. Finish strong.

One way is not better than the other.

One way does not have to be chosen over the other.

Walt Whitman said long ago in "Song of Myself": "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes."

You can do either way, both ways, or none at all.

Go ahead and contradict yourself. Life will go on – and it's probably going to feel a whole lot better if you at least do something.