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Yes!--back where I was! (Circular ramble re exercise with swords)


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Posted

How has your exercise regimen evolved over the years --

inclusive of non-gym/sports things like snow shoveling and manual grass mowing?

 

(This may have a number of other points to stir response.)

 

 

 

I've mentioned elsewhere that school P.E. was total blecchh.  In later teens, my father enrolled me in a small private gym, which was good for me.  Too bad it was against other odds in life, but kudos for those gym owners for some light during those dark times.

 

 

It was only when I left toxic and too humid surroundings, moving to (link>)Western North Carolina, and a great group of people, that I found I was not a clumsy fat kid loser.  I was a natural athlete and martial artist, taking each not very far...no pride in broken necks...and found that I had terrific endurance.

 

I determined to learn good basic habits.  Decades later, I can fully say that I've kept to them overall and they've paid off.  Food basics.  Exercise.  From a yoga book: "Enough is necessary, enough is enough."  (Or as I would put it, no pride in sprained necks.)

 

This music was new then, more on that later:

Yes-Starship Trooper 1973 - YouTube

Yes - Yours Is no disgrace live 1972 (Yessongs) - YouTube

 

From yoga and martial arts, not too much, just enough to understand for my own use, I learned things.  (Yoga--no chanting thank you; martial arts-- beginner white belt is fine.)

 

One thing became obvious.  Rural dogs already do this.  That's a sidetrack here, but it was clear.  Dogs do enough stuff overall, but don't usually get stupid about it.  (Unless it's chasing cars, or catching frisbees or a brick, of which I knew a dog that, without satisfaction, craved being thrown a brick.)

 

 

I obtained a padded bench for kneeling or sitting cross-legged, and customized it over the years, that when I was at my tinkering table, I should not develop hunch and slouch and aches, as from a standard chair.  

 

Rather, I should stretch my hips and leg joints in varied poses, and merely pivot my hips to lean, not curve my poor spine.  Yogic soldering, yogic gluing, etc.

 

Forty years later, reupholstered, this bench would play new roles.  It is my yogic online combat bench.  I get a yoga workout when I shooter game, not chair-cramped.  (With a good crew of gamers, this can easily become aerobic.)  How many adult gamers do you know that kneel while playing, with screen at proper eye height?

 

I can also pull the bench into the middle of a big enough room, and while kneeling, or doing what is essentially dance floor work, totally boogie to music while staying on the bench.  Incredible full body workout.

 

So my bench has probably been my #1 health aid for a few decades.

 

 

I started another habit in the early seventies.  As I was already in good shape with a strong grip, and with a big enough room for it, I'd put on a cassette of Yes!, the same music as those two links above.

 

Then I'd dance with my swords.  I pulled a bundle of broken fencing blades from a university gym trashcan, and for a freestyle industrial arts project, made this matching set from epee blades:

 

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

 

The guards are ball peened, the front end flaring into a flat spoon shape not clearly shown here.  The ends are sharp, as are the front edges for a few inches.  Mouth mashing rivets and hole punching pommels complete the user-friendly design.  

 

The copper tube is a scrap I found to carry the sharp blades while I worked on them, and I never found a better way to store them.  I grab both handles and shlunk them in together firmly, making a very satisfying movie effects sound.  I can also whip a blade thru the air fast enough to make whistling sounds.

 

The handles are from a long rectangular scrap of cocobolo wood, very uniform and dense, central America I think.  They've been machine turned circularly as a grip, with some of the rough saw cuts still visible, useful as flats for stability, and artistic provenance.

 

The inlays are turquoise scarab beetles my grandmother brought from Egypt in the sixties.

 

I would martial dance (kata) with these for the entirety of the Yes! music.  I got good.  In addition to the disgrace of poor technique in general, or the worse disgrace of piercing one's artery, the truly overarching awareness was how mortally embarrassing it would be to ruin a good carpet with one's blood.  We find the rule sets that work.

 

I did that for many years.  Then, life stuff, and I didn't for many years.  Just these days, I feel myself kicking in again.  I won't go near the blades until I work up strength empty handed, then short stick, then long.  Only then.

 

I'm psyched.  I had lots of other exercise thru yard work, cycling, etc., but had lost the coherent daily martial drive that served me so well in years past.  It may be returning.

 

Also, I just found that due to dietary changes, I've lost 20 lbs since I last weighed, which was Nov. 2014.  I don't believe in home scales, they're just distractions.  Heck, I know if I'm fat.

 

 

So what do you do?

  • Upvote 1
Posted

Burpees usually without pushups. And pushups on their own. 5-8 reps, several (5-8) times a day when I am waiting for something, or I just feel like it. Kinda lazy, but I don't believe in the 'get everything done in one workout' mentality. Much better to disperse it throughout the day, at least for me.

 

I tried to stay with just pushups during years, but it always felt like I was stressing my body too much and missing something. Started very lightly with burpees around 18 months ago, more around 12 months ago and 6 months ago, and the effect is great.

 

If I had not vitamized and mineralized myself many years ago, I would probably not even have started working out though. Vitamins and minerals, and good fats and oils are the first key to health, which people in white coats will not help you with. Sooooooo happy that I have always been open to new information.

Posted

Also, I just found that due to dietary changes, I've lost 20 lbs since I last weighed, which was Nov. 2014.  I don't believe in home scales, they're just distractions.  Heck, I know if I'm fat.

 

 

So what do you do?

 

Congratulations on the fat loss, Accutron. I'm very happy for you!

 

I request video of sword dancing! This morning, I've been jamming out and dancing around the kitchen to Tupac.

 

Non-gym activities? Let me see.

 

Chopping wood, skiing, rock climbing, snowshoeing, hiking, walking, running, carrying sandbags, dancing, sex, breathing, bioenergetics, calisthenics, swimming, air squats...

 

Basically, any movement the human body was designed to do is exercise. Sitting down and messing with electronic devices is not what we were meant to be doing with our bodies, hence why everyone is so traumatized and sick.

Posted

Congratulations on the fat loss, Accutron. I'm very happy for you!

 

I request video of sword dancing! This morning, I've been jamming out and dancing around the kitchen to Tupac.

 

Non-gym activities? Let me see.

 

Chopping wood, skiing, rock climbing, snowshoeing, hiking, walking, running, carrying sandbags, dancing, sex, breathing, bioenergetics, calisthenics, swimming, air squats...

 

Basically, any movement the human body was designed to do is exercise. Sitting down and messing with electronic devices is not what we were meant to be doing with our bodies, hence why everyone is so traumatized and sick.

No video sorry.  One big reason is that I'm, how should I say, more clothed for Nairobi than Spitzbergen.  

Thanks for the fat loss kudo.  

Sigh...long ago years of cutting wood for the wood stove.  It's a heck of a lot cleaner and easier these days, nudging that widdle biddy lever on the wall thermostat, but I miss that brisk air, the breath of life.  

Ever hear of this one?  Put some volume to it.  I can get a good room dance with it, especially if I'm already loosened up: Curved Air - Marie Antoinette - YouTube  Plus, it gives me chills.  Read the lyrics beforehand:  Curved Air - Marie antoinette Lyrics

  • Upvote 1
Posted

Burpees usually without pushups. And pushups on their own. 5-8 reps, several (5-8) times a day when I am waiting for something, or I just feel like it. Kinda lazy, but I don't believe in the 'get everything done in one workout' mentality. Much better to disperse it throughout the day, at least for me.

 

I tried to stay with just pushups during years, but it always felt like I was stressing my body too much and missing something. Started very lightly with burpees around 18 months ago, more around 12 months ago and 6 months ago, and the effect is great.

 

If I had not vitamized and mineralized myself many years ago, I would probably not even have started working out though. Vitamins and minerals, and good fats and oils are the first key to health, which people in white coats will not help you with. Sooooooo happy that I have always been open to new information.

I had to look it up.  Burpee, not Slurpee.  Learn something each day.  They look like great exercise.  For joint health, they seem to have a very high value for mere seconds.  What do you do re fats and oils?

Posted

I had to look it up.  Burpee, not Slurpee.  Learn something each day.  They look like great exercise.  For joint health, they seem to have a very high value for mere seconds.  What do you do re fats and oils?

Some years ago I found out that people with dementia or alzheimer could probably be 'helped' with coconut oil. And from there I learned that various fats are good for the brain in particular. Coconut oil is also good at fighting viral infections, among its several proclaimed effects.

 

My mother knows a lady who has refused to eat butter for a long time because she is scared that she will put on weight. She is not known to remember much, not even important plans made the day before.

 

In my local stores there is a real butter product that has been mixed with some fermentation, such as with cheese, and it is InsAnely delicious. (I see that it is called fermented butter, or cultured butter)

 

Edit: Forgot to add that what you have been told about cholesterol is BS. Dr Joel Wallach can tell you more about that. He is just awesome.

 

South Park had an episode that suggested the food pyramid was upside down, which obviously means there is something to this.

 

 

For more details on the assertions regarding good fats, I found this now with a quick search:

 

"While there are no approved treatments for dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, there is something you can do! Dr. Perlmutter knows this first hand. He has put many patients on a gluten-free, low-carb and low-sugar diets with remarkable results. When you were little you were probably told that fish was brain food. This healthy fat is definitely good for your brain. And so are some saturated fats! Yes, avocados, coconut oil, grass-fed beef, wild fish, butter, and cheese are good foods for the brain, too.

 

Dr. Permutter reminds us that we need saturated fats and that we’ve been eating saturated fats for years. Even human breast milk is 50% saturated fat! And the brain is comprised of 60% fat. Doctors and scientists have now confirmed that you can rebuild your brain, simply by eating these healthy fats. Saturated fats found in butter, beef, and cheese have been made out to be the enemy for about 30 years. And back when people were told to consume 6-11 servings of carbs per day, they were also advised to ingest fat very sparingly."

 

Source.

(Note: An unwanted link was added to my clipboard when I pasted from that site)

Posted

Most importantly, cholesterol is the building block of many hormones, including vitamin D, testosterone, and estrogen. If people aren't eating dietary cholesterol, their bodies cannot synthesize enough from other resources. It's like chopping up your home for fire wood to stay warm in the winter.

Vegans - this means that your diet is likely substandard with regard to your hormone health.

  • Upvote 1
Posted

Basically, any movement the human body was designed to do is exercise. Sitting down and messing with electronic devices is not what we were meant to be doing with our bodies, hence why everyone is so traumatized and sick.

Taking a five minute walk every 40 or so minutes eliminates the damage caused my sitting.

Sitting down and messing with electronics does not cause people to become traumatized and sick lol.

If it weren't for these people you wouldn't even have the opportunity to listen to Stef, nor would you be able to express yourself the way you are, probably leading to you (and others) being a lot worse off they you are now.

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