I got invited to bluesky, so far it seems to mostly be populated by journalists and the psychotropic left, but at least it's not twitter. Following the domestic news cycle after the elections last year feels about as exhausting as keeping up with the news during the Trump years. Just too much depressing shit happening on a daily basis. My average for the last year has been three workouts per week, which I think is the most consistent I've been about exercise ever as an adult. Dropping the social aspect, going to the closest gym from my home and setting the bar low (getting to the gym, changing clothes and doing my warm up counts as a workout) has helped.
I do cardio. I should do more but it's too much of a chore. So every day, sometimes twice a day, I go for a walk. And I talk on the phone or I listen to audiobooks or I find songs for the radio show. It's discouraging. I'm probably good for 15-20 miles a week and careful monitoring of my caloric intake has me permanently set at "obese." Those appear to be my biological choices: "obese" or "exercise bulimic and also so light-headed that your teen years go by in a fog." I recognize on some level that I'm anything but obese, I'm the thinnest of my friends by far, who are all normal-shaped people, can out-pace them in pretty much any activity but I'm irrevocably broken inside. Cousin averred to the fact that he had finally realized that it's a goddamn miracle I came out halfway normal (plutonium adventures continue apace). But it fucking sucks nuking shoes in three weeks because apparently I have an adamantine skeleton or some shit.
Ever try tennis? I loathe cardio for the sake of cardio, but love tennis or even basketball or soccer. I’m just better when there’s a sport/contest involved. With your height and reach you’d probably be formidable
I've always hated cardio too, but finally at age 40 I'm learning to embrace it. I do all Tabata-style wind sprints on the exercise bike. It can keep my interest for about a half hour at a stretch at this point, which is way more cardio than I've ever done in the past in a single sitting. I haven't ice skated in a couple months, so I'm really interested to see how this has or hasn't helped me when the season starts in September. It gets harder every year to keep up with the 20-somethings.
Yeah I really suck at tennis. I suck harder at basketball. I'm preposterously bad at soccer. Turns out one of the things childhood abuse does is fuck with your motor development. It was a massive load-off to read that because it's always been my fault that I suck. Combine that with post-COVID impacts on balance and shit and I've been real hesitant to get back on the motorcycle. I can tell it fucked with me every time I ride a bike.
Yeah, don’t fuck with what your body is telling you… especially on a motorcycle. Sorry dude. Stationary bike? Rowing machine? I did the rowing machine. Works a ton of muscles and is great conditioning.
It’s always the holidays that get me. Two weeks of not showing up is enough to decimate the habit for me. I too got into bluesky but I haven’t found anyone worth following yet. Coming to the realization that the central public square that Twitter was will never come back, everything will just be disaggregated from now on, either in Twitter clones or by copying Twitter features in other platforms. Maybe it’s for the better.
For about the past 2 months I've been going most days, and it's really making me feel good. Once upon a time I was a regular gym attendee. I quit for a few years, then tried to go back in 2019. I was doing really well until a shoulder injury that needed surgery to fix sidelined me for a while. Getting the mentality of going to the gym regularly is harder than actually doing the workouts.
Nice work on getting back into the gym. I miss the social side of my old gym sooo much, but the benefit of a home gym being right there was too hard to ignore. Especially now as I've hit my strength goals and am no longer chasing bigger numbers. I couldn't justify the membership cost over building a setup I wanted and letting it pay for itself over time. Feeling you on setting the bar low. Even just turning up and warming up builds a habit of attendance and you still feel like you've done something worthwhile. Good shit.
I do weight training twice a week, tennis twice a week and once a week I do Krav Maga. I’m in the best shape of my life and I’m 46. Wish I had started this when I was in my 20’s. I would like to add some distance running into the mix when the weather cools a bit. I find it helpful to have either a gym friend or a trainer (which I know is a luxury) to keep me accountable. Without that, I would not go as much or as consistently. Lifting weights has become a favorite activity for me. I can’t believe that. I used to scoff at the idea. It is nice to challenge yourself and set new PR’s. I have a torn rotator cuff which has made me ease up on the intensity of my training but I’m still in there every week. Even when traveling you can always find a gym. And if not, push-ups, squats and sit-ups. The longevity and health benefits are undeniable