The Schooner Kajama
The Impromptu crew of the Kajama raising the foresail. Avast! Actually, we did have to stop several times to let the three full grown volunteers on the starboard side catch up.
Under Full Sail....
No Words....Sigh. Now then as I recall, during one of my earlier posts I mentioned talking about this newfound thing I’ve discovered called “necessity of health” (ie. working out). This revelation came about through a combination of stumbling out of a work environment (prior to my shift to the PS) that was very focused on one staying at one’s desk, coupled with long hours and very poor health habits both in eating and staying mobile. Add the care and feeding of the average suburban household and five year old coupled with a winter where the city would leave six feet of snow unplowed for weeks at a time and well, I gradually began to realize that if I didn’t try to actively get my body up-to-speed I would eventually go from being a primary carrier for my family to being one of the larger-yet-less-fashionable pieces of baggage. And as the man said, “That’ll be the day…”
So, what to do? I figured the first place to start was in the vitamin count and getting my eating habits under control. This, I’ll have you know, was the easy part as it did not really require that much in terms of time allotment. Thankfully, I'm not one of those people who gets cravings (well, not for food anyway). So scaling back and shifting eating habits was fairly straightforeward. The hardest part was actually remembering to eat all three of my meals a day as I had a habit of skipping those I deemed less convenient. Next came the hard part: finding the workout that was right for me. For this particular blog (Part I of II by-the-by) I’ll focus on this. So without further ado...What I didn't do and why:
Gym membership: What are you nuts? When I'm exerting myself, I don't really care for an audience and I sure as hell don't want to pay the privilege of self-ridicule (especially when 95% of what I earn goes to household and childhood upkeep). The other fundamental truth is I'm working at something I want to be working at something. ie. If I'm not accomplishing a task or learning something I find it hard to see the value. Abs alone don't cut it for me. Don't get me wrong. I'll hit the weights, but only if it's on the road to self improvement beyond just the physical. Otherwise, I get bored.
Running: Um...at 6 ft 7 inches with a shoe size of 15 EEE there are two truths: One: footwear is hard to find. Two: When footwear is obtained (usually at exhorborant price) footwear will degrade rapidly with increased use. Thus, running, given my budget, and how fast I go through shoes isn't the answer.
Yoga: Ow....ow.....ow....(hold the pose).....(deep cleansing breath)......ow..... and..."Namaste"..... f*cking ow. (seriously though, I still do dabble from time to time)....but sadly not enough cardio to act as a mainstay. My search continued.
Swimming: Similar to the whole gym problem but with a twist, mainly, I don't own a car, and pool resources in which I could do laps are in short supply.
So what's a guy to do? Limited resources, geographically undesirable, a few weights and a desire to learn. Here's a hint... "Sink the Chi." Be back soon....
