flexagon: (racing-turtle)
You guys, sometimes I don't know what I'm doing with fitness and athletic stuff anymore. I just put together a little montage of things I did in 2016 and, well, it's fun but kinda random. With no flexibility work in it. :(


Here's what my friend Chelsey has to say, and I love it:


Have you thought about what needs you’re trying to satisfy by training in your sport? Does it make you feel special? Are you looking for a challenge? Does it help you connect better with your peer group? To get the gears turning, here are a few reasons (in no particular order) why I am so serious about my training:

  • I love the way my body looks when it’s muscular and lean. To be a sexy, sculpted, goddess is a non-negotiable standard I’ve set for myself.

  • I demand a high quality of life for as long as possible, and having strong muscles and bones mitigate the effects of aging.

  • I feel happiest when I’m active, in some way, shape or form.

  • My body and brain crave physical challenges because they help me grow, and this growth brings fulfillment to my life.

Be dirt honest with yourself. The better you understand what makes you tick, the more effective you will be...


She's talking about injury recovery, but she had me at the part I quoted, and sometime on the airplane I decided doing the same (and, in fact, writing most of this post) would be a worthy exercise. I can't quite use the word "goddess" non-snarkily as Chelsey does, alas... but here is my own attempt.

  • I love using time to my advantage, being better today than I was last year. When I do this, I feel like a growing being; it makes me feel hope for the future and satisfaction in my life choices.

  • Workouts give me an entirely separate venue from work (two venues!) in which to belong, get positive external feedback and experience community.

  • I also demand a high quality of life for as long as possible. I want a pain-free old age, and I want to become only more badass (in comparison to my peer group) over time. I may be slightly unusual for 39, but my goal is to be an outright freak at 60.

  • Training gives me mountains to climb and, importantly, an venue for achievement that feels meaningful and isn't tied to work.

  • The focus and catharsis of working out is the only way I keep my shit together most weeks.


Yeah. That's a lot. And with that in mind, it's clear that maintaining a good level of personal strength and flexibility is key for me. If I let those things go in the service of partner skills, I'll stop feeling like a growing being, and I'll lose some of my joy. At the same time, I do want mad skillz, you know some of the ones, and I want to put video of them on the Book of Faces.


So for '17 I'm leaning toward setting some minimum benchmarks for myself, ones that I will make a commitment to maintain no matter what additional skillsy stuff I may put most of my time into. (Some of these I have right now, others I need to gain or regain.) My plan is to physically put a piece of paper on my office wall with a column for each, and write down what day I last did the thing; if it's ever more than a couple of weeks between doings of any one, then I'll know I need to focus on not losing it. All these are things I'd love to improve on someday, but certainly don't want to lose.

Current ideas include:

  • Splits: 30s in a touched-down position on both sides.

  • Pancake: Belly to floor (briefly during reps).

  • Pike: cheekbones to shins, if only briefly.

  • Squats: My body weight, six reps on a bar.

  • Pistol squats: 2 sets of five on each side.

  • Chin-ups: a set of five from a dead hang OR 30 sets of Ido style 2x2 in 30 min.

  • Backbend: chest touching wall OR a back kickover or walkover.

  • Backbend: drop back, stand up.

  • TGUs: 50lb or maybe 55lb each side.

I wonder what I'm missing, and if I should add some prehab/rehab stuff in there. Cuban rotations for my rotator cuffs at 18 or 24lb, for instance, and knee circles, maybe?

The routine(s) I'll need in order to keep these things are yet to be discovered. Pancakes take 2x/week but I already do that; I need to get better at splits practice as well in order to hit this bench mark on the right side, and some of the others are currently iffy. Still, I think this might be a good adaptable approach.
flexagon: (emily)
I was in Starbucks earlier today. My coffee was drained, my knitting was done, when on the way out the door I noticed a newspaper article about 23andme.com, which for $999 will read about 600,000 points on your genome (more about that) and tell you everything that genomics has to say about you.

The author of the newspaper article wasn't sure at first that he wanted to do it. As the website says, "you may learn surprising things about yourself".

There is a chance you could be surprised by what you learn about your genome. For example, you could discover that your father is not your biological parent. You could learn that individuals with your genetic profile are at increased risk of developing a currently incurable disease. You might learn something unexpected about your ancestry. In certain cases, these discoveries could have social, legal or economic implications.

The author wasn't sure he wanted to know his odds of getting various horrid, long-term diseases, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out he had a genetic predisposition for something he was good at (or wasn't). He really doesn't want to get his daughter tested, not wanting either one of them to believe too much in any kind of genetic predestination for her. (One wonders if he even considered learning he wasn't her father.)

But do I want to know these things about myself? Yes, yes, in a hot moment. Yes, in a cold-blooded lifetime. I believe the coming revolution in personal genomics is going to be huge, and there are plenty of ethical and legal issues yet to be hashed out, but most importantly I want to know. I want to know everything. As some of you know, my father's entire family tree is rotten with cancer; my mother's is not at all. I eat my vegetables, but this process will tell me so much more than all the guessing I could ever do, and much more than how much broccoli to eat. And 23andme is the best option out there, it would seem; this article mentions some other companies in the same space, but they're all much less focused on health informaton for individuals.

The experience is simultaneously unsettling, illuminating, and empowering, says a Wired news article from earlier today.

I'll take that deal. I hope that one of my parents will, as well (to satisfy a much more idle curiosity for me, telling me only what came from which side, but of course just as vital for that parent as learning my own information is for me). And, really, I would urge you to do it or think about it as well. Know thyself. Why? Because life is scary, but the ground truth is out there, and knowing it is maybe the most amazing chance we've ever had to see what's coming and act accordingly.

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