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¿Will It Shall Never Have Been *I*, For Forevermore?
aa-blay-OO' (glottal stop) aas-chra-TAAN-ih-kuh
Astratanica/Ran if that's more syllables than your legal name || Hit me with your best pronouns || Adult || Battlefield: The moon
Pfp: 04090x
i might have already talked about this before but it’s actually crazy that jogging gets treated as a default ‘getting into shape for the first time’ exercise ESPECIALLY if someone’s goal involves weight loss. people who are more than ~200lbs often need special gear and running techniques to avoid shin splints etc *even if all that weight is solid muscle*, and the likelihood of injury only goes up as strength to weight ratio decreases. someone who’s both heavy AND untrained is just going to be miserable for however long it takes their bones and connective tissue to adapt to the sudden increase in demand. usually this takes months, but it can take even longer under adverse conditions like, say, suddenly eating way less than normal. and all this for an activity that literally isn’t even fun unless you are a specific type of insane. there are so many low impact and actually enjoyable forms of cardio why are we slapshotting biomechanically disadvantaged novices into the david goggins torment dimension
could. could you maybe. list some of those 'low impact and enjoyable forms of cardio'? this is not sarcasm, this is a genuine request, every form of exercise I have tried recently has put me in the torment dimension. thank you and I love you
yeah sure! there’s a lot of good suggestions in the notes, i’m probably missing a few
if you have access to a gym/appropriate facilities:
- a LOT of people in the notes vouching for swimming, and it makes sense. not only is it basically zero impact on any of your joints, it engages just about every muscle in your body and it’s actually easier to stay afloat the higher your bodyfat%
- stationary bike/elliptical: works for some better than others, but definitely far lower impact than running, usually has adjustable difficulty, and you can watch youtube videos or play games on your phone to pass the time
- non stationary bike: the benefits of a stationary bike plus the ability to travel to a location
- weight lifting: if you’re a total beginner to exercise this genuinely might be a better place to start than any designated ‘cardio’ activity, it Will get your heart rate up and build strength to do higher impact stuff with less risk, but designing a routine can feel overwhelming without help from a trainer/more experienced lifter
- classes: yoga, pilates, dance, kickboxing, spin class, water aerobics, etc. as long as you can find one that accommodates your current fitness level and is a reasonably friendly environment
- rowing: i actually know relatively little about rowing, but this has come up in the notes several times and people seem to like it. def seems like a good overall workout with little to no jarring impact
- roller derby: definitely less of a Safe Beginner Activity and more ‘form of cardio you can do if you are on the fit side but still hate running’ but has come up in the notes multiple times specifically as a sport where a range of body types can do well
minimal equipment alternatives:
- walking: if you have the resources to jog you have the resources to walk, and it really is a good form of exercise that also puts less strain on your joints
- dance tutorials: seen a few people recommending these, there’s apparently a huge variety on youtube and you can take things at whatever pace works for you
- yoga: also beginner friendly classes on youtube, good way to build up mobility and bodyweight strength
- someone in the notes recommended hula hooping?? which actually sounds kind of genius especially if you don’t have a lot of gear or space. also iirc you can buy different weights of hula hoops for reasonably cheap so there’s a way to up the intensity over time
- this seems like a decent resource at first glance and i think i saw more than one rec for them
one important thing to remember for anyone out there who’s significantly out of shape and feels overwhelmed is that when it comes to fitness you have one enormous advantage: it is currently EXTREMELY EASY for you to get exercise
do you 🫵 get winded walking up a flight of stairs? is curling a 5lb dumbbell 10 times difficult for you? can you barely do a single knee push-up? well i have great news: doing all of those things twice still probably takes less you less than 10 minutes. which means you can do a genuinely worthwhile daily workout in less than ten minutes. and it’ll probably get easy fast, and then you can find a heavier dumbbell
i'm not saying people shouldn't be reading more books, but i do think it's funny how many people thinking "reading comprehension" is just about how good you are at reading books and not like. criticial thinking skills.
One of my favorite reading researchers, Timothy Shanahan, describes this best by making a point that reading comprehension is built by reading challenging text. Like many other people, I like to read and re-read what I call "comfort" books which aren't challenging but they so bring me a lot of comfort and are an enjoyable way to pass the time. However, we can only grow our reading comprehension skills when we read "challenge" books. Shanahan has an example where he talks about lifting weights, you might initially struggle with 20 pound weights but at a certain point, you aren't going to make progress unless you pick a heavier weight. This is also why it is important for students, and adults, to be exposed to more challenging text. You cannot grow without a challenge.
chirmartir
CH
Okay two things
1) every time I see something like this, or photos of wild unrealistic landscapes that really exist, or spectacular architecture, whatever it is, I think again that when we write fantasy, we NERF REALITY. That is, here’s some dude with a special interest and a brain that somehow lacks basic self preservation mechanisms, and he’s out here looking like a super hero. Regular humans are capable of things we seem super human. Real landscapes are more fantastical than our fantasies. Reality is more fantastical than our fantasies.
2) how the fuck did he not kick out any windows that’s the most impressive part of the whole video.
this man is his own zombie apocalypse team, adding anyone else would just slow him down
So as someone who used to teach parkour back in the day, this dude isn’t just talented. His technique is amazing.
It’s not just about not kicking out windows. Controlling how you land is about shock absorption, about minimizing the strain on your joints. It also makes you quieter when you move. A good landing should be as silent as possible, because loud landings hurt. That’s the foundation of everything else you do in parkour. So by the time you’re climbing buildings, if you’re breaking windows it means you don’t have enough control to land safely and it’s time to go back to your ground basics.
Be the rogue you want to see in the world.
Yeah so this is the guy who tests the Ninja Warrior stuff. He’s like an Olympian of parkour, that’s why this looks so good.
courtofthevampireking asked
for the ask game: 8, 9, and 15? :o
8 Favorite month of the year?
April, because the weather is tolerable.
9 Favorite time of day?
Afternoon, when time blurs on forever and it’s not as busy
15 What’s a piece of advice you find yourself giving a lot?
Myself? Hmm, I don’t feel like I give advice to others very often. Probably to exercise and find a method that you enjoy. I personally like deadbugs and rowing
more people would exercise if this culture didn't make it absolute hell
I teach martial arts. we play games with the little kids. they swordfight with noodles and throw foam balls at each other. in the summer, we take them out into the parking lot with water guns. in the winter, we have snowball fights.
the teenagers get swords and staffs and practice knives. we teach them moves from marvel movies that they ask about. they get squirt guns and snowball fights too. we let them goof off and climb the support beams and charge directly at each other in padded suits.
sometimes parents say they miss doing things like that. I tell them, "stay for an adult class. just try it out." we build obstacle courses and let them mess around with training rifles. they chat while sparring. we scream and cheer for them when they're in the middle of a circle. and then we send them out to the parking lot with squirt guns and snowballs.
it's exercise. it's healthy. it's an important life skill. and it's fun as fuck.
This is one of the forgotten but imo super harmful symptoms of diet culture-exercise being relegated to weight loss rather than jist enjoying using and being in your body.
Don’t like the gym? Ok, go find a line dancing club. A Tai Chi class. Play Just Dance every day. Arrange a tag football team. Go to a trampoline park.
Using our bodies shouldn’t be a chore assigned in shame.
women should lift weights because it prevents osteoporosis in old age and makes you a more capable person in everyday life please shut up about butts and waists and hourglasses i'm going to fucking kill
genuine question from someone who would rather chew their arm off than go to a public gym, and also doesnt have a lot of money: how do you safely get into strength training? are there youtube channels, apps (android), etc anyone recommends that makes it approachable and don't lean into diet culture / body shaming?
also the biggest thing that keeps me from working out is that I already have joint and spinal issues and moving the wrong way can fuck up a knee or a shoulder or my spine for days. I really don't want to injure myself, and have unwittingly done so before. resources that are extremely clear on exactly how to move and offer gentler / alternative ways to move for people with limited range are vital.
Okay, so this may not technically be strength training, but muscles are dumber than bricks and cannot tell the difference between your own bodyweight and actual weights.
So, may I recommend:
He runs a YouTube channel where he goes over how to work your way up to more complex exercises (for instance, his pull-ups videos start with using a door jamb and moving your weight back and forth) so it's good for easing yourself into things.
You also don't have to fork out for expensive weights and such if you don't want to/can't. Substitute with stuff you either already have at home or can get from the supermarket and build up the weight you can exercise with. 500 gram cans of butter beans then 750 gram bottles of pasta sauce. 1 litre drink bottle then your 1.5 litre milk bottle. 3 litre bulk-buy bottle of laundry detergent. Etc. One of my dogs weighs 13 kilos and I pick her up on the regular (to her delight). One weighs 16 kg and I pick him up too (to his consternation and mild disapproval). You don't have to fit out some fancy home gym before you can start strength training.
I second Hybrid Calisthenics, that's the program I use. It's run by one guy who's taken it upon himself to make exercising more accessible and it's completely free! Each exercise has different variations based on your ability and each variation is further divided into different levels of difficulty so you can work up to where you want to be. If you can't do a single push up for example then this program will help you work up to the point where you can, and if you're a master of push ups then there are more advanced body weight exercises you can tackle so you can keep moving forward in your training without stagnating. The routine offers a full body workout with absolutely no equipment required for the beginning levels. The only reason you would need to buy anything is if you want to work up to a full pull up, at which point you would need actual pull up rings
Here's his actual website which I feel is easier to navigate than the YouTube channel on its own and organizes things in a way that's easy to understand. He explains everything you need to know about the routine and each individual exercise has both a text description and a video tutorial
[ begin id: a screenshot of tumblr tags that read "#i started my mom lifting with me 1.5 years ago. it's improved her balance and strength so much #she has avoided falling 4 times and i no longer worry about her #she lifts heavy boxes with a grin of pride #i've been teaching her about how much it helps women to strength train and she LOVES it #when we started she could barely lift 3lb #she now wields 7lb dumbbells in each hand as of our workout today!! #her foot pain and back pain have improved SIGNIFICANTLY since she's strengthened her core #she was bordering on immobility bc of how much pain she was in w her arthritis and spinal conditions #today she can hold a plank for 30 seconds and do 10 pushups!!!!! #shes almost 60 and she tells me she wants to do this w me forever #i love her so much and i am so proud of her working so hard to strengthen her body #after 50 years of diet culture and her own mother telling her to be dainty and frail #she's strong and she isn't scared of falling or tripping #we do 5 min of balance work each day at the end of every workout :)" / end id ]
all of these are awesome and i aprove. But i wanted to say flexibility is also important to everyday life and to protect your limbs from damage. movementbydavid in youtube is awesome and also has a lot of adaptations for beginners. and i love hampton from hybridcalisthenics
more people would exercise if this culture didn't make it absolute hell
I teach martial arts. we play games with the little kids. they swordfight with noodles and throw foam balls at each other. in the summer, we take them out into the parking lot with water guns. in the winter, we have snowball fights.
the teenagers get swords and staffs and practice knives. we teach them moves from marvel movies that they ask about. they get squirt guns and snowball fights too. we let them goof off and climb the support beams and charge directly at each other in padded suits.
sometimes parents say they miss doing things like that. I tell them, "stay for an adult class. just try it out." we build obstacle courses and let them mess around with training rifles. they chat while sparring. we scream and cheer for them when they're in the middle of a circle. and then we send them out to the parking lot with squirt guns and snowballs.
it's exercise. it's healthy. it's an important life skill. and it's fun as fuck.
This is one of the forgotten but imo super harmful symptoms of diet culture-exercise being relegated to weight loss rather than jist enjoying using and being in your body.
Don’t like the gym? Ok, go find a line dancing club. A Tai Chi class. Play Just Dance every day. Arrange a tag football team. Go to a trampoline park.
Using our bodies shouldn’t be a chore assigned in shame.
the annoying thing about weightlifting is that you have to lift weights that are a little too heavy for you if you want to get stronger. and you have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone in order to keep building muscle. fucked up.
thank god this same principle doesnt apply to any other skill you want to improve at! that would really suck.
Resistimg the urge to throw myself off a cliff by instead exercising my brains out
nda boring this time esp bc I ran out of breath earily aeoiugh but I pushed for 20min
Resistimg the urge to throw myself off a cliff by instead exercising my brains out
I appreciate this video a lot--people don't realize how important it is to start slow if you're trying to come back from a completely sedentary lifestyle, and they get really hurt as a result. Straining your muscles too much, too suddenly can land you in the E.R. and the wrong joint injury can permanently affect your mobility, so please start with absolute basics and easy stretches!
i know i've said this before but i'm going to say it again because the more i work with geriatric women the stronger i feel about the fact that the only anti-aging that women in their 20s/30s should be obsessed with is building strong bones and muscle mass. that's like the most important thing you can you can do right now to lay a good foundation for healthy aging. you can botox the shit out of your face but that's not going to do anything to save you from dying prematurely from a fatal hip fracture that you can't bounce back from because you didn't do anything to prevent yourself from becoming frail and breakable. like i know that sounds harsh but that is reality for a lot of older women and i don't want that to be you.
Also, strengthen your back (especially your lower back) and your knees to prevent chronic pain from muscle weakness in those areas, and regularly practice getting up off the floor from a lying position.
Someone told me once that the biggest predictor for healthy aging (absent other internal factors, like cancer or heart disease) was the ability to get up without using your hands. Ever since I've practiced to the point that I can get from full prone on the floor to standing without having to push myself up off the floor, and I make sure to do it several times a day. It's amazing how much more confident I feel about my body and what I can do with it when I have that baseline to fall back on.
Guys. Exercise. Do squats. Strength training. Any age. This will have so many benefits.
Teens? You're setting yourself up for a healthy life.
Same with every fucking age bracket.
You can be in your 70s and you'll be keeping your muscle mass and bone density from degrading.
It's never too late.
From: @sketchinator
#*sigh* #was feeling so depressed i started strength training #maybe some extra muscle will fix me #strong bones are a nice plus tho
Yes! Yes! This make me so flipping happy, I’m glad my advice worked!
Pinned Post
i know i've said this before but i'm going to say it again because the more i work with geriatric women the stronger i feel about the fact that the only anti-aging that women in their 20s/30s should be obsessed with is building strong bones and muscle mass. that's like the most important thing you can you can do right now to lay a good foundation for healthy aging. you can botox the shit out of your face but that's not going to do anything to save you from dying prematurely from a fatal hip fracture that you can't bounce back from because you didn't do anything to prevent yourself from becoming frail and breakable. like i know that sounds harsh but that is reality for a lot of older women and i don't want that to be you.
Also, strengthen your back (especially your lower back) and your knees to prevent chronic pain from muscle weakness in those areas, and regularly practice getting up off the floor from a lying position.
Someone told me once that the biggest predictor for healthy aging (absent other internal factors, like cancer or heart disease) was the ability to get up without using your hands. Ever since I've practiced to the point that I can get from full prone on the floor to standing without having to push myself up off the floor, and I make sure to do it several times a day. It's amazing how much more confident I feel about my body and what I can do with it when I have that baseline to fall back on.
Guys. Exercise. Do squats. Strength training. Any age. This will have so many benefits.
Teens? You’re setting yourself up for a healthy life.
Same with every fucking age bracket.
You can be in your 70s and you’ll be keeping your muscle mass and bone density from degrading.
It’s never too late.
the exercise lady whose videos I follow says things like "Exercise is a celebration of what you can do, not punishment for what you ate" and "Think of some small thing you've wanted to change, and try making that change just for today so you don't stress yourself out over a major change" and "The brain craves blood"
I crave blood, too!