What activities do you do?
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I don't have a gym membership, I have a wood stove and a wooded lot. Keeps the back strong, the stress down, and the house nice and toasty. I also have a gorgeous mountain bike that used to take up most of my free time but is currently saddled with a kid's seat. The bike rides aren't nearly as long or intense anymore but it's the best way to keep the kids involved with whatever I do and he loves bombing thru the woods with me.
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I've never been much of an athlete but we (the marital "we") played tennis almost every day until we adopted our daughter in April. Until she's old enough to play with us, or at least not run out into traffic while we're at the court, we'll have to give it up
In the meantime I've set a new strength goal for myself: 50 one-arm pushups. So far I'm up to almost one.
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@phil meadows said:
In the meantime I've set a new strength goal for myself: 50 one-arm pushups. So far I'm up to almost one.
Man you are double what I can do. Must practice more.
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Well I tell you what, I got my exercise last night. My daughter had her 7th birthday party at a place called Jump Zone. It is a large metal building with inflatables inside. you know, the big superman where you climb to the top and slide down. The obstacle courses that you walk through, all inflated. Man she had me going on everything. I got a good workout.
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You guys are going to think this is nuts, but I work out everyday. In the morning I will do 100+ ab exercises (usually crunches, then leg raises), then I'll do 100+ pushups (I do 10 with my feet on the floor, then 10 on the first step, then the next 10 on the second step, until I get to the fifth step where I do 50). Then I have this heavy duty rubber band and I'll do a few dozen straight arm shoulder lifts (front, side and back). Then I'll do tricep pull downs on the door with the rubber band. Then I do waist twisting, leg twisting and a number of Kung Fu arm and leg exercises, including Qi Gong breathing.
Then at lunch every day I go the top of the garage behind Google and I do Kung Fu and Qi Gong exercises for 15 - 30 minutes. I will usually do arm circles and punch/kick combos. Then I will do dozens of knuckle pushups on the cement using the wall or stairs as an incline. Then (you'll love this!), I punch and kick the cement walls. I showed this Tricia, the Quality Assurance Test Lead on SU and she actually screamed "SHIT!!!" when I started hitting the wall! ..she asked to see me do it! It's part of Iron Palm/Fist training.
On weekends I have a heavy bag that I will do dozens and dozens of kicks, and the punches on. I will also spend time with my training Nunchakus to keep my wrists and forearms strong.
I also do a full set of isometrics and plyometric exercises for strength and explosiveness.
Here's something you'll like...back when I was in high school in New York, I used to street fight on a regular basis...there was an area we would go to in China Town and it was like a fight club. The hispanic kids could really box, so I would go there and fight to keep my training strong. Never lost, so I guess it was pretty good!
I was also a Chinese Kenpo Martial Arts instructor for two years, during that time. Then in college I used to fight with a Thai kickboxer and also a semi-pro PKA ring kickboxer named Travis. We would fight twice a week in the gym on the basketball courts...needless to say, the games usually stopped while we fought!Fighting, or sparring, for those who've never done it is an intensely rigorous exercise. One with instant feedback of whether you're in shape or not!
If you really want to try something that gets the blood moving and is very interesting, try fencing. I used to compete in French Foil, for only a year when a buddy convinced me to try it. By the end of my first year I was ranked 5th in all of New York City and State! (I actually should have won the championship outright but things went wrong between me and the French judge during the finals of the championship and I ended up ranked fifth and she ended up with my sandwich in her face! ..it's an interesting story!)
Everybody's gotta have hobbies, right?!
Cheers,
- CraigD
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I'm getting sore just by reading all of this. LOL
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@rons said:
I'm getting sore just by reading all of this. LOL
LOL! My dog goes nuts when I go my exercises...she runs over with her tail wagging so hard that her butt goes side to side! She thinks I'm puppy play mode when I do the pushups so she comes over and starts licking my face like mad! I usually start cracking up and have to wait for my wife to split with the pups to finish!
Gotta love dogs!
Cheers,
- CraigD -
Craig, I used to fence EPE. Great sport but not much of a "market" here in Huntsville. There is a club but it is not very big.
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Haven't done any sports for more than 7 years, but recently (half a year ago) I picked up smoking again and I realised I have no condition left anymore litteraly NONE what so ever, though my body doesns't show it in any way what so ever, I even got a six pack
and im not on the healthiest diet know to man, I wake up with spaghetti left overs from time to time or a pizza left over from yesterday which I put in the fridge. And dinner usually consists out of pizza or some lazy microwave meal or something a roommate whiped up in a minute or so. Gotta love beeing young and a student. But my condition was so insanly bad that I picked up wall climbing again, a really good sport if you ask me. I even picked up training again. Mostly for my arms and torso, lifting a weight of 7 kilo or so 100 times with both arms and then take a 2 minute brake doing sit ups and then the lifting again, repeat this 4 times and Im beat, but it's done in 30 min and I see the difference in my climbing. -
Craig - were you hired by Google as an 'enforcer'?
It probably is a good way to keep office meetings focused --- have a hired gun like you in the corner ready to kick, say, Jody's head in if he strays off-topic. One or two good round-house kicks and soon all office meetings will remain focused. I imagine your showing Tricia how you like to spend your lunch break, kicking & punching concrete walls, has had an effective trickle-down intimidation effect as word spread throughout the office. I'll bet the office supplies won't go missing anytime soon.Regards, Ross
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back to the topic...
winter: skiing
summer: windsurfing, bicycling
all year: badminton, some swimmingI wish I could do the first 2 more often, but they are very much dependant on weather. And since I really hate gyms, often I do just nothing
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@marek badzynski said:
back to the topic...
winter: skiing
summer: windsurfing, bicycling
all year: badminton, some swimmingI wish I could do the first 2 more often, but they are very much dependant on weather. And since I really hate gyms, often I do just nothing
Badninton, oh my gosh! When I played racquetball for the University of Tennessee we used to go outside and play paddleball on a 3 wall court and also badminton. I got more of a workout playing badminton than all three. We would all try playing with our "other" hand as well. I.E. I am right handed so I would play left.
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I have another question along this same topic so I won't add a new one.
What kind of eating schedule is best for an exercise routine? Meaning, do you eat a certain type of food a certain time before a workout? Do you eat certain things at a certain time after working out?
I have heard, not remembering where, that to optimize your workout that what you eat when makes a big difference.
Thanks.
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@unknownuser said:
...I can't quite describe it, but I can say that I miss it. I have been thinking for a while now to get back into it, but I keep postponing it.
We can whip you around here, Coen, if that's what you wish for...
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Well I sure got my exercise yesterday. My daughter and I went for a "small" hike on a local "mountain". Hill really. Well it took over 2 hours and kicked my butt. My daughter started to complain a little bit but she was just happy to be there for the most part. We even took a wrong trail and ended up in a culdesac. Backtrack about 10 min and we were on our way back up the mountain. My legs still ache.
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Hi Eric - on what to eat when... well there are a few schools of thought and I think they depend on your metabolism. One idea is that you need to fuel your workout...so having some form of easily digestible protein about 50 minutes before a workout is what you need to power it. I have done that to good effect. Some form of power bar that does not contain sugar may be right for you, about an hour before an activity. It's important to drink or pre-hydrate too. Not enough so that you puke as soon as you start exercising!
There is another school of though however...the Shaolin school which I adhere to now. That is not to eat for at least three hours before physical exercise. The theory is that you do not want to take Qi (Chi or Ki) energy away from supplying your extremities and send it to you digestive system. I will do my morning exercises on an empty stomach, and then eat my breakfast (lately that's been organic non-fat unsweetened yogurt with fresh fruit, nuts, grains, and Flaxseed.) I will then do my pre-noon exercises just before lunch. Usually from 11:45 to 12:15 and then I'll eat lunch.
If you ever want a quick energy boost, try an organic local apple and banana about an hour before you exercise. That'll give you some extra energy!
Sometimes I will eat the offspring of my enemies for a high protein, pre-battle snack!
....kidding...
Coen - I agree. The sport of fighting, with the real emotion of survival can be very rewarding! The ability to brush off punishment and attain a higher level of awareness seems to awaken the human animal in a way that other pursuits cannot. I am told that you are quite tall..a large man. I would enjoy the challenge of competing with you! I am not a large man, physically, but spiritually I feel larger than most. I am 5' 7" tall and weigh 132 pounds...strangely, the exact same dimensions as Bruce Lee. I have studied his training methods for many years and adapted his "style-less form" for myself. If you are fans of Adobe's Digital Video Suite, you will see my name on the credits for Adobe Encore DVD, the product that I co-developed and worked on before SketchUp...if you continue to watch the credits, you will see a special thanks to Bruce Lee. My teammates put that in for me in honor of my spirit and tenacity, which is why they also called me "little dog". That note in the credits was a large honor for me. His Martial brilliance has always been an inspiration in my life, and the Shaolin way resonates in my soul. The basis for which is; always do what's right. That comes to eating, sleeping, treating others with respect, and not being afraid of daunting challenges. Sparring is one of those intense activities that brings into focus facing one's fear, and raising one's spirit or Qi. I always believed there would be more polite people if they had to face their peers in a ring or on a mat. It can certainly bring ones ego into check, eh?!
Well, I hope that you and I get to sit together and talk Martial Arts some time.
Cheers,
- CraigD -
@craigd said:
Sometimes I will eat the offspring of my enemies for a high protein, pre-battle snack!
....kidding...LOL
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