How Long is 5 Minutes? Well, it Depends.

I spent the better part of Friday with an Arctic Ease chryotherapy pad on my poor tiny bicep.

I could just hear its poor tiny muffled cries for help.

It was ok in a rest position (on top of my keyboard, like now). But when they go up or go down...wait.

Er.

Actually, they won't go up or down.

They just stay in that zombie, frankenstein, dawn of the dead position where they must stay stretched out before me.

Fire bad.

I'm blaming Body Pump. In which we worked each body part for 5 minutes.

It made me actually think about how long 5 minutes is.

You see, it depends on perspective.

Oh, it's not very long you say?

I happen to think it depends on the situation.

If you have 5 minutes left before a deadline, 5 minutes is not a long time.

If you have 5 minutes before you board a plane and you're stuck in security, 5 minutes is not a long time.

Nope. Not long at all.

However.

If there is fire on you, 5 minutes is a long time.

If you are walking on hot coals and you stand there to simmer for 5 minutes, then 5 minutes is a long time.

If your toddler(s) are standing next to your ear screaming at the top of their lungs, 5 minutes is a long time.

On the same note, if your toddler is standing on the back of the other toddler and the one who's being smothered is screaming, 5 minutes is a long time. Very long in fact.

See? It's a matter of perspective.

So I will tell you that while I thought myself that pumping a tiny 5 pound dumbell up and down, forward and then side and then forward and side, curling here and there and everywhere over and over again for 5 minutes was no big deal, it turns out that my perpective was indeed wrong.

Very very wrong.

Because it turns out that 5 minutes is a VERY long time to do that.

And I'm paying for it now.

There is searing pain and burning.

My bicep feels like a tiny ball of burning screaming sadness that I want to reach in and save but I can't.

So my arms are frozen in Frankenstein position.

I look like a scary mommie zombie with my arms outstretched and motionless.

For hours and hours and hours I pay.

Paying even now as I feebily lift my screaming arm toward the keyboard to press "publish."

5 minutes aint long you say?

I beg to differ.