Ratty Hits the Gym
May 8th, 2023 by The Rat
Yes, that’s me, Raston A. Rat, at the gym! I’m looking pretty good, if I do say so myself!
Some of you suggested that I should exercise to get rid of the flab. And I must confess that my usual muscular, handsome physique is looking a little pudgy lately. A little more like a guinea pig than a rat, to be perfectly honest.
So here I am, pumping IRON!!! Do you like the ratty muscles in the picture? Can you tell I’m a MANLY sort of rodent? (If you can’t see my muscles very well, just remember they’re covered up by fur. And anyway, it’s always nice to feel fit, vigorous, and healthy, even if the muscles don’t show.)
But do you want to know the best thing about working out at the gym? It’s this: there is nothing, absolutely nothing like a little grunting and sweating and flat-out pain to make a rodent feel absolutely fantastic– once he stops.
So… what do you do for exercise? And how great does it feel when YOU stop?
- 23 Comments »
- Posted in Raston's Blog
May 9th, 2023 at 7:15 am
When I stop I know it feels good but I always tell myself keep going you got this bye Ratty
May 9th, 2023 at 7:15 am
Hello, Ratty! It’s cool that you are hitting the gym and PUMPING IRON!!
What I do for exercise is running and jumping jacks. And when I stop, I feel…………not great!
Have a rat-tastic Teusday! 💪
May 9th, 2023 at 7:16 am
Hello, Jadian and Chase!
Jadian, you’re an inspiration to me. Do you really just tell yourself to keep going, even when you’re tired and sweaty and you can’t stand the smell of your paws anymore? Wow! I’m ratly impressed! Okay, if you say I’ve got this, maybe I DO!! Yeah, baby!
Chase, I think you’re right. I mean, pumping IRON is way cooler than, say, pumping marshmallows. (Which is sort of fun, don’t get me wrong, and you get to eat the marshmallows in the end, but–well, it’s probably not much of an exercise.) Running and jumping jacks sounds pretty cool, too. In my case, I do scampering and jumping rats, but it’s pretty much the same thing. Have a ratastic Tuesday yourself, dude!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:18 am
The exercise that I do is jump rope and I prefer that because you can race your friends and do cool tricks with it. What’s your favorite exercise? And also, happy Tuesday!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:19 am
Hi ratty what I do for exercise is swim I do gymnastics and I also stretch.
May 9th, 2023 at 7:20 am
Hi Madeline and Isabelle, nice to hear from you!
Madeline, I have never tried to jump rope. But I think I could learn to jump string, maybe? I will have to see if Mrs. Bunjee or Professor Capybara could teach me. Because racing my friends and doing cool tricks sounds ratariffic! My favorite exercise is… well… hmmm. I think my favorite exercise is the forearm paw lift. I do a lot of those when I’m lifting peanut butter cups to my mouth. And there’s a reward built into every rep, too!
Isabelle, I wonder if gymnastics is kind of like ratnastics? Ratnastics is where we curl up into all kinds of weird positions (kind of like tying yourself into a knot) and then we FLING ourselves out into the air and LEAP for a branch and GRAB a twig and SWING around and– (whew! I’m getting dizzy just telling you about it!) I like to stretch, too. Especially I like to streeeeeeecccchh out on the rug after a big meal and take a nice long nap. Because exercising makes me sleepy!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:21 am
Hi ratty I like that you are trying to lose weight I hope you get your goal.
May 9th, 2023 at 7:22 am
Well rasty boi! My exercises I like to do are running the mile, jogging and-uhmmm more running? I HATE it when i stop because then I cant run anymore. Also tell emmy to give the locations of the rodent city. (I’ll check google maps to find it too!)
May 9th, 2023 at 7:23 am
Hiya, Valeria and Matthew, thanks for writing to me!
Valeria, a big ratty thanks for the encouragement. It’s nice to know I have you in my corner, rooting for me! (Have you made up a cheer for me, by any chance? Maybe something like, “Rasty, Rasty, he’s our man, if he can’t lose it, no one can!” Or how about “He’s a RAT, he’s not a CAT, and he is going to LOSE the FAT!”) Well, even if you don’t like my cheers, thanks for cheering me on!
Matthew, running and jogging and then more running? You must have leg muscles like STEEL! (Did you get your legs from the planet Krypton, I wonder?) Oh well, at least no cats will ever catch you, and that’s a ratly good thing. But about the location of Rodent City–listen, I already gave you RATEXCELLENT directions!! Are you telling me that Emmy is going to give you BETTER directions? Hmmmmm? (Sigh. It seems no one takes me seriously anymore.)
May 9th, 2023 at 7:24 am
for exercise I do a workout video it feels very sweaty but it feels ratastic to stop and take a break it feels like your in heaven and your enjoying and drinking water and great job ratty for losing so many calories and fat sissy must be proud of you and probably Emmaline.
May 9th, 2023 at 7:25 am
Hi Ratty, its nice to see you at the gym. The workout that I do, are pull ups. When I am done with them it feels good to stop because, I always get blisters on my hands because I hang on to long. What’s your favorite workout to do?
May 9th, 2023 at 7:26 am
Hello my friends Yohana and Barbara, hope you’re having a ratmazing day!
Yohana, a workout video sounds kind of interesting. I have been looking for one for rats, but the closest one I can find is this hamster one, and hamsters–well, you know, they’re always running around on those little wheels of theirs. And that’s just not my thing. But good for you that you have one you like! And I agree that it’s heaven when you get to stop! Yeah, Sissy and Emmy are proud of me, and it’s nice that YOU are proud of me, too!
Barbara, I hope I run into you at the gym someday. We could work out together! (I could count your reps–I am a ratastic counter.) Pullups sounds hard, but I bet you’re good at it. If you do so many that you get blisters on your hands, you must be good and strong! About your question… my favorite exercise? Hmmmm. I really like the exercise where I move my jaws in a chewing motion, over and over. (And it’s even better when I’m chewing something like–oh, say, maybe a peanut butter cup?) Yep, that’s definitely my favorite exercise!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:28 am
Hey Ratty! I’m glad you have gotten to the gym! so, some exercising we do in P.E., we used to lift small weights, and run a mile, but then the seasons got hotter. But you could always go onto YouTube (or if you guys have rodentube??) anyways, we do workout videos and after the 20 mins have passed doing that, I’m pretty tired…
But yea! Bye Ratty!!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:29 am
Raston, if I’m gonna be honest, all I do for exercise is play tennis every Wednesday and PE. And, for your information, it feels AMAZING when I stop!!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:32 am
Hey, Nina and Kaiden, great to hear from you both!
Nina, lifting small weights sounds great to me (right now my weights are kind of BIG. I mean, look at the picture–they’re almost bigger than my head!) So I wouldn’t mind lifting something smaller. Like, say, paw-size. Running a mile sounds like a loooooooong way, though. I mean, I can scamper when I have to, but a whole mile? It would take three days for my little ratty heart to stop racing, I think! YouTube videos sound like a ratastic idea, though. I’ll have to see if I can find something for rodents that ISN’T a hamster just running around inside a wheel.
And Kaiden, thanks for being honest– it DOES feel great when we stop, right? But, you know, tennis is a LOT of exercise, and so is PE. Here’s the thing– I usually get plenty of exercise just running around and playing, you know? I mean, I’m a rat, and we LIKE to climb and scamper and scurry and creep around corners and all that. Not to mention squeezing into small spaces. (Except when I overdo the peanut butter cups, it’s a little harder to squeeeeeeze.) So maybe you get more exercise than you think, just running around and being a kid!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:42 am
Hi ratty it feels great when you stop exercising and calm down. And I have a question how do you feel about paw ball thank you.
May 9th, 2023 at 7:42 am
When I start I feel like I am going to die(When actually I am still alive) and when I stop I feel I like I got fatter than I was before ಥ_ಥ.
May 9th, 2023 at 7:43 am
Hi Quest and Alex, happy Tuesday (or whenever you are reading this!)
Quest, I get that feeling, I really do! It DOES feel like you are going to
expire,extinguish,peter out,bite the dustwell, okay, DIE when you first start. (And in the middle, and when you end, too!) But wow, it’s worse if you actually feel fatter when you quit!! Sigh. Sometimes it’s a long, hard road to fitness, right? But probably worth it in the end (I hope!)Alex, it really does feel great when I stop exercising and calm down. One of the best parts about stopping is that big, long, tall glass of ice-cold Ratade that I chug and chug and chug when I’m done. Mmmmmm! And then I lick my whiskers, too! Okay, to answer your question, here’s how I feel about pawball. One. It’s only the WORLD’S GREATEST SPORT!!! (for rodents, that is.) Two. I have GREAT and LOFTY ambitions to be a STAR! Three. Unfortunately, I have not had much practice with a team (I did a lot of practice in my cage in emmy’s classroom, but it wasn’t quiiiiite the same as practicing with a team on a big field. So I might make a few, just a few teensy little tiny hardly worth mentioning mistakes. Four. When I make those tiny little goofs, it’s REALLY ratbarrassing when everyone else starts yelling–or booing–or, worst of all, laughing at me. So that part makes me feel ratly bad. But I’m going to keep practicing and getting better, and someday I AM going to be a star!
May 9th, 2023 at 7:44 am
Hi ratty the exercises I do are deadlifts, bicep curls, push ups, sports(baseball, soccer, basketball, and tennis). When I stop I am in a lot or pain or I am sad like when my team lost the tournament.
May 9th, 2023 at 7:44 am
For exercise I play tennis you have to run to get the ball it`s very hard when- it`s hot out (so it`s better to play at night)
From Amanda
May 9th, 2023 at 7:45 am
Hi Giovanni, and hi Amanda, too! Thanks for writing.
Giovanni, wow, that’s a lot of exercise for one kid, and a lot of sports, too!! I did deadlifts and biceps curls at the gym, but I couldn’t do pushups. (My arms were too short to get my belly off the ground.) Oh, well, you can’t do everything, right? And I play some sports, too… pawball, of course, and sometimes ratball (that has bases, and the pitcher throws a hard pea and then you bat at it with a twig.) Ratketball is fun, too, but I have never played tennis. The raquets are all way too big! And the nets are way too high!
I’m sorry that your team lost the tournament. That would make me sad, too (and for sure I would want to STOP!) I hope you got a treat after, though, like ice cream (or the best treat of all, a peanut butter cup?)
Amanda, tennis sounds like a lot of fun but a little hot for someone who always has to wear a fur coat (I can’t take mine off, no matter how hot it gets.) So I get that it’s better to play at night. We rodents do a LOT of our sports at night! I was thinking, though. Do you think I could try tennis if I could make a rat-sized raquet? Any ideas as to how I could make one? And we would have to have a very low net, too. But maybe the ball could be a couple of rubber bands wound around each other. What do you think?
May 9th, 2023 at 7:47 am
Hey ratty!
Nice to see you losing that fat,( You really needed it.) Looks like you might be the, STRONGEST RAT IN THE WORLD! Finishing up when you are lifting is like heaven! It is so nice knowing you are done!!! I felt really sick las night, and I went to bed without eating, so I think I might have the RATBONIC PLAUGE! Normally I work out by playing sports or just going to the gym! Looks like you have some really small weights, I wonder what gym you are at???
May 9th, 2023 at 7:49 am
Hey, Benjamin! Yeah, I DID really need to lose that fat. But I’m already weighing a little less today, so maybe it’s having an effect. And yeah, I AM pretty strong, I must admit! (Though you know I’m NEVER one to brag.) But listen, those weights may look small to YOU, but to me, they’re like HUGE. And VERY RATLY HEAVY. Remember, my ratty arms are a lot smaller than yours, so cut me a little slack! As far as the gym I go to, it’s called Rodent Fitness, and it’s pretty cool. Except for the working out part. But when I was done, I sat in the massage chair (mmmm! heaven!) and then I went to the beach to swim and cool off! So that was fun.
I’m sorry to hear you were sick, though. I HOPE it isn’t the Ratbonic Plague!! I am not sure people can get it, though, so you’re probably safe. Whew!