To Gym or Not?

It doesn't matter what shape you are if you are a young or, dare I say it, normal aged dad.

If you are an older dad-to-be, like me, then it's going to be pretty important not to look old and fat or unfit. If nothing else, I have a morbid fear that I will not be able to pick my child up and carry it around for fear of passing out due to over-exertion. I also fear not being able to kick or bowl a ball for fear of aggravating an arthritic joint. I also fear turning up at the schoolyard to collect my child and all the Yummy Mummies asking me how old my grandson is.

I have always been a pretty active uncle and I naturally look younger than I am. As I turned 50, everybody has gasped and thought I was no more than 40. The fact is that I know my age and I know my limitations. I also know that I have put on weight in the last year and when I went swimming with my nephew on the weekend, I felt very concious of my tummy.

I am also the sort of person for whom dieting is not the way to lose weight. For one, I love my food and drink so it is a huge battle. Second, I have no staying power. But, thirdly and most importantly, I need to exercise or else my body soon realises what I am trying to do and deviously changes its metabolism and causes weight to reappear even though I am on a single lettuce leaf and a bowl of steam per day. I used to play sport a lot - rugby, cricket - and now I do the occassional golf. The gym is the only way forward for me.

They say that certain fat you store when you are young is never ever gotten rid of and it is the one thing I have proven in my life to be really true. I can train every workday for an hour or more and drive myself senseless and I will always retain that small but annoying shape of a person who has a problem with their weight. The only six pack I will ever get is from the beer shelf in the supermarket. But at least I will fit nicely into my clothes and feel well.

So today is dilemma day. Do I go and join the gym across the road from the office for a mere £15 per month or do I condemn my baby to seeing a fat and old father? It will be a battle of wills, between a tuna baguette and the short stroll to sign up at lunchtime. Then it will be the discipline of getting up at sparrow's fart each day and getting to the gym early as I have an hour and 15 minutes drive to the office each morning. I have done it all before and it worked. But the will power seems to be lacking just know.

Do I go or not? Find out tomorrow.