in honour of Canada Day

In attempt to beat the heat yesterday, I decided to head to the gym late last night. It was fairly empty, and one of the guys who runs the gym was taking the opportunity to work-out while he worked. He was pedaling away on the bike machine next to mine, dripping with sweat as though he had been going for hours, and people kept coming over to talk with him... They seemed to be amazed at his apparently wondrous cycling abilities and eager to offer encouragement. So, finally, intrigued, I asked the guy how long he had been on the bike. His response: 40 minutes!

40 minutes? Wow. Now, I'm thinking, that that's not a whole lot! So we kept chatting, and I mentioned that, at home, it is common for people to spend 45-minutes to an hour on cardio machines. He thought that was crazy and funny, and everyone else, I'm sure, would agree with him; most people at the gym (including the women) spend maybe 15 minutes on cardio, and move right on to weights and body-building.

When I motioned this difference, my friend had a great answer, made all the less-eloquent by his somewhat choppy English:

"Canadians are fat. They need more cardio. Here, people need to be strong."

Oy. Only in Kosovo!