October_30th's Journal: There's stupid...

...and there's Stupid.

That's despite an earlier study that found nearly three-quarters of diabetics said their doctors had advised them to exercise. The patients who got the strongest warnings to get moving were the least likely to listen, according to research being released Friday.

That falls into the same category of Stupid as refusing to go and show a malignant looking skin lesion/mole or a subcutaneous lump to a doctor in case it turns out to be cancer.

This article also made me think about what is it in exercise that makes it such a chore to many people? When I think back a few years when I was still an overweight beer-swilling slob on a steady pizza/kebab-diet, the main reason why I detested any exercise must have been simply: "It's not fun".

So why wasn't it fun? Three reasons: 1) Wrong kind of exercise, 2) Too much exercise too soon and 3) Insufficient or bad equipment.

Wrong kind of exercise. I can't stand running, yet whenever I got the idea that I'd have to get in shape I'd start jogging. Why? Lack of imagination, I guess. A part of it was also probably social pressure. Exercise tends to be synonymous with jogging and if you're doing something else, you get questions like: "Wouldn't it be much easier/healthier to just jog?", "Oh, the bike cost that much!? How could you afford it?" (reading between the lines: "you're just showing off you rich bastard") or "You go to the gym? You aren't using those protein hormones, are you?".

Too much exercise too soon. Once I foolishly decided that I'd run (of course) two times per day - in the morning and in the evening. You know, just to get myself in shape again and running two times per day must produce results sooner. The result: a permanent injury in my right knee. You can guess what it did to my motivation to exercise in the future.

Insufficient or bad equipment. I realized this only after I had finally bought a good bike. What a difference it made - biking was actually great fun!

(just some random musings on a slow Saturday afternoon ;) )

My own favorite sport

[BandwidthHog]

I tend not to go around evangelizing, but since you seem to be looking for a sport...

I can’t recommend inline skating highly enough. It’s essentially ice skating without the constraint of a rink or a lake. Or kinda like bikeless biking. It’s a great cardio workout, and if you’ve ever wanted sculpted legs, it’s the sport for you. Other benefits include balance, stamina, and a deep appreciation for the 37 different types of concrete and asphalt.

I came across this video [youtube.com] yesterday.

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[October_30th]

Thanks for the hint.

I've been looking for an alternative sport for the biking and inline skating is indeed one of the options I have for the summer.

Re:

[Mantorp]

I'm gonna start rollerblading this week, running makes my feet hurt too much.

Re:

[BandwidthHog]

Inline skating to alleviate foot pain? The ironing is delicious.

Put as much time and effort as you need into the selection of skates; don’t just settle for something “good enough.” And accept that you *will* experience foot pain, although it will subside somewhat over time. Perhaps not the same kind of pain running causes you, but it is a difficult sport to stick with. You will be using muscles that don’t see a lot of action, and you will be using them to degrees they have not previo

too much too soon...

[tuxette]

A lot of gym newbies make this mistake. They seem to believe that they have to train 6-7 times a week or something. And then, of course, they burn out and totally stop going to the gym...

I usually advise gym/exercise newbies to start at 2 times a week and move their way up...

btw, going to the "find something you enjoy doing" subject, when are you going to start Krav Maga? ;-)