Timeout...

Timeout! What the .....? This word has been haunting me for the past week and no matter what I do, I can't shake it. If you know me then you would know I have a very athletic build but I'm not so athletic. However, I will attempt any sport you throw at me (by the way if it involves running, then I have the advantage). Last week when playing racquetball, I found myself dominating the court against a player that I very seldom beat. The score was 9-2 (we play to 11) and this dude yelled "TIMEOUT" right before I served! Let me mention we've been playing for over a year and he's never called for a timeout. I was livid! Not only that, I ended up losing that game (I still need to check the rules to see if a timeout is valid in racquetball).

As the days passed I found myself uttering that word - timeout. Then it hit me today, America needs a timeout too! From the television, inactivity, and laziness that is. When I spent my time running LA Fitness I would always hear someone say "I don't have time to workout." What? You don't have time but you can tell me all about the shows you recorded with your DVR/Tivo. Nielson Media Research said "the average American watches 142 hours of TV in a month." That's more than 4.5 hours a day! And you don't have time to workout - I'm calling your bluff right now.

It's been noted that over a billion adults are overweight and the part of that contribution is a lack of physical activity. Jobs have become less physically demanding, automated transport (that shuttle service you use at the airport or that escalator at the mall) and more passive leisure activities (Facebook/Twitter/etc) all contribute to the physical inactivity America faces. So what are we going to do about it?

My opponent knew what to do on the racquetball court. He called for a timeout to slow me down; to distort the onslaught of points I was racking up. But does America know what to do about it's dormancy? Does America know when to yell "TIMEOUT?" Honestly, I'm not sure. As it stands, obesity is on the rise and the only way to slow it down is to take a timeout - from inactivity, procrastination of exercise, and laziness.