Thursday, August 27, 2009

Thank God for the Bender Ball (tales from a frustrating morning on the subway)

This morning, for a change, the train decided to take a little break - from MOVING! Even little things excite me (it doesn't take much), so when the train got to my station with seats (Yay!), my heart jumped a little (believe me, this occurance is rare). We started to move towards the next station, slowly. At first, I didn't think much of it. But then, we stopped at that next station for two minutes - no announcement. We began moving again towards the next station, and again we stopped for a full two minutes (I knew this because I was playing a timed game of solitaire on my phone). What was up?

The train ambled along towards the city. I looked at my watch: It was 8:20 a.m. I realized I'd been on the train for almost 40 minutes now. Huh? Normally, I am at my lower Manhattan stop sooner than this. We hadn't even left the borough yet! Oy! Finally, when we got to the last stop before Manhattan, the conductor decided to enlighten us: "Sorry, folks, there is a train with mechanical difficulties ahead. We will be moving shortly." Ugh. We got this message about 5 more times, and then the train moved again. Slowly. Finally, they said it could be another 15-20 minutes before it moved out of this particular station. What the? I again consulted the time: 9:08. Unbelievable. At 8:45, I sent a Blackberry message to my bosses - problem is, they could not get that from underground. Now, all of this would normally put a knot in my back. I was stressed that I couldn't get to work on time, but I was calmed by the fact that all this stress wasn't affecting my back - sitting on a train for that long is not fun for your muscles. Then, I realized why....

At work, I am forced to sit in what is supposed to be an ergonomic chair. Yes, according to the box, this chair was specifically designed to help with back pain and posture. It actually does help with posture, on the rare day it actually stays at the correct height. Either someone is screwing with my chair, or it has a mind of its own. Back pain, however, has not been fixed by just sitting in this "miracle chair". It has actually gotten worse.

Because of this, I have been looking for something to take away my lower back pain. I knew it had something to do with being overweight, but it never occurred to me that there was a product out there that would accomplish two tasks: strengthen my abs and core muscles and alleve my back pain! Yes, it is the Bender Ball. This little ball is pure genious!

It probably didn't help that I regained nearly 15 lbs. over the course of four months. I'd lost 50, and I thought the back pain was gone (it still hurt from time to time). Well, thanks to the bender ball (and that other genious, Gilad), I've lost a little over 4 lbs. in just two weeks. Oh, add to that the return to Weight Watchers way of eating.

So, the next time the train decides to not move (and I assure you, this will happen again), I will remember that I have a tool at home to help me. And that should make my ride smooth no matter what happens. By the way, I got to the office at 10:00 a.m. And my back is fine....

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