After 3 1/2 weeks of not playing tennis and so much sitting on planes, in cars and watching the US Open while I de-jet lag, I have gone over to the dark side: I am now officially a couch potato. This is an awful feeling. It’s been years since I didn’t stretch my lungs and legs each week or even every few days, hitting squash or tennis balls one to five hours, climbing up hills or hiking through forests. And I am not as driven to exercise as others who must do some cardio or visit the gym every day.

It’s disgusting. Debilitating. I am groggy. I feel like sludge in plumbing pipe. GIVE ME DRANO to clean out the mush. I need oxygen…

Melodrama aside, I am completely spoiled. Exercise makes me feel good and energetic. Friends tell me not to worry…they know I will get back into it. And they are right.

But why anyone would accept feeling this way is a mystery. They must remember running as children with the freedom those little legs gave them. I need that active aliveness now. I was a guy who never exercised…less than a decade ago. Now I am practically a missionary for sport and health. What a blessing.

Get off your couches, people. You will be amazed at how much more alive you feel. It’s like fuel for the engine to take in some oxygen and stretch your muscles and your mind beyond the comfortable zone. Enough…back to the tennis court and the rowing machine…