Post #36,515
4/25/02 1:32:13 PM
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Recommendation
Read "Body For Life" by Bill Phillips. Its packed with common sense and some good motivational thinking/writing. I think he has a website too.
The insight I gained from it was that you really need to focus on changing your lifestyle. I was in a pattern of getting out of shape and then embarking on truly punishing workout schedules to get back in shape. Then once I was in shape...I would figure that it was okay to eat cake and drink beer.
The difference between doing nothing at all and doing *something* is enormous. Once you are doing *something* its then a question of degrees whether you (say) cycle 5 miles or 25 miles. My sin was that often I would lapse into doing nothing at all for 1-2 years.
I bought a mountain bike last year. If you find a good trail it offers the thrill of a video game plus gives you a serious workout. AND the consequences are real if you #@ck up (been straight over the handle bars twice) so the adrenaline is there. It is NOT boring in the same way a gym can be. There is actually a serious sub-culture out there which I didn't really know about before. A world of nobby tires, ceramic frames, disk brakes, biker sneakers, jelly gloves, full suspensions etc. etc. The thing I really like about it is that it is surprisingly non-competitive. Most people seem to be of the mindset that just *being* there is where its at. Everyone can have a good story whether you make it around in 20 minutes or 2 hours. Finally.....for the most part.....its fairly forgiving on your body. You won't get the kind of foot/leg/nipple problems which prolonged jogging can give you. (Note: If your nipples hurt when you jog.......you're probably not quite ready for mountain biking). -Mike
-- William Shatner's Trousers --
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Post #36,589
4/26/02 11:31:38 AM
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Well my nipples sure don't hurt...
Sorry, couldn't resist that one.
No, I'm not lapsing into the "do nothing" mindset - but there's something I REALLY want to do that I can't find anybody around to do it with.
Boffers.
For the uninformed, this was my old hobby, picking up foam-padded PVC pipes and bashing other people with them who were trying to do the same to me. A lot of fun, lots of excercise (I always came home tired, sweaty, and in serious pain, not from the boffers, but sore muscles), and I can't find anybody locally who's into this peculiar hobby of mine.
Bah.
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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Post #36,609
4/26/02 2:58:40 PM
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Well I learned something new today
-- William Shatner's Trousers --
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Post #36,636
4/26/02 9:02:08 PM
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Try the SCA
They sometimes use boffers.
OTOH they prefer wearing real armor, and harder sticks...
Cheers, Ben
"... I couldn't see how anyone could be educated by this self-propagating system in which people pass exams, teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything." --Richard Feynman
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Post #36,767
4/29/02 11:15:51 AM
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That's why I don't try them.
1) Greater expense 2) Greater risk
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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Post #36,839
4/29/02 7:38:03 PM
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Less risk
With boffer swords it is too easy to get poked, hit in a sensitive spot, etc.
The SCA swords aren't much heavier, and with a little armour you easily eliminate the vast majority of possibilities for accidental injury.
Cost, well yes. SCA armour isn't very expensive (plus people sometimes lend stuff), but it is more so than boffer swords. Given that you are unemployed, this may be an issue. But I would ask an active member before deciding that you can't afford it.
Cheers, Ben
"... I couldn't see how anyone could be educated by this self-propagating system in which people pass exams, teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything." --Richard Feynman
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Post #36,849
4/29/02 8:51:19 PM
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You ought to see our eye protection...
...and we DO wear padding/mesh in the appropriate areas. The only injuries in the 12 year history of the group I was involved with were self-inflicted, such as the guy who walked backwards off an 18' embankment in full plate armor. :P
Okay, there was one case where a guy's weapon was called "nonspec" (it had PVC showing) and he was told to a) fix the weapon, b) not use the weapon, or c) leave the game. He refused, tried, was restrained, and then handed over to the friendly police officer who liked to watch us. Wasn't charged with anything, but we didn't see their face around those parts again... Something about a possible assault 'n battery charge being pressed.
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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Post #37,008
4/30/02 9:15:45 PM
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Ah
I was only briefly involved in the SCA, and that was a long time ago. But I seem to remember that injuries there are non-existent to rare as well.
I have never been involved in boffer fighting. I have just seen it a couple of times.
Cheers, Ben
"... I couldn't see how anyone could be educated by this self-propagating system in which people pass exams, teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything." --Richard Feynman
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