08-06-13, 01:32 PM | ||
VF Supporter
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Northern Calif
|
Quote:
She saw the results I got and didn't dispute that the workouts were useless, they just didn't work well for her particular situation.
__________________
Kate ~~~Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon, Jan 2015~~~ "Work your own shovel" - John "The Penguin" Bingham |
|
10-12-14, 09:06 AM | ||
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: New York City
|
Motivation and Self-Acceptance
Quote:
And here I am not talking bodies. I'm talking about both gentrification and zillionaire incursions into neighborhoods that were formerly middle class and retirees only. Of course, it looks both "upscale" AND "cool" to be seen carrying a yoga mat (even though yoga is on its way out in the neighborhoods these millionaires were priced out of, here in the big city) and wearing all kinds of yoga clothes, and wearing exposing/form-fitting yoga clothes ... Do you know, just on the cusp of the zillionaires moving into the neighborhood I'd gotten priced out of; in that vast shoulder season, at a studio that thinks of itself as being "down to earth", btw ... as just a yoga student, I had felt like an interloper in a class taught only to other 200 RYTs (not even those just in training)?!? In addition, these days--4 years later--I just don't see as many people with yoga mats parading around like I used to. I see plenty of "yoga butts" though on people who don't look like they are expected ethnic group for this phenomenon. This is the age of Jen Selter ... and there are no corporate megayogachurches in my neighborhood that store your mats for free... All right. It doesn't seem to be quite as much of a thing--but I actually don't see the parade of the mats much anymore ... and the ones I see look thicker, like traditional pilates mats ... which leads me to believe they are newbies to [especially the tricky stuff in] yoga or really pilates ... I am the pilates lover even though mine is at home ... I do understand there is a way you can do X-training videos that mimic Cross-Fit at home. The neighborhood I am talking about, is too upscale to house a Cross-Fit "Box", but they do have a Title Boxing Studio there ... okay ... sparring partner - I'll give them THAT. However! I'd LIVED underneath someone who obviously chose to do kickboxing (with a sparring partner) all through the night - no video - definitely at home, in the wee hours of the night ... many complaints from me to management. Thankfully, he and his cronies have moved out ... Conclusion: Somes just got the motivation (and the self-acceptance), and somes do not ... |
|
10-12-14, 09:31 AM | |
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: South Jersey
|
As I see it: There is a LOT wrong with videos. For the uninitiated - there is no one there to correct form, so people can do things incorrectly and potentially injure themselves, with the best of intentions. I also think they are completely stupid in that very few allow for progression in terms of strength training. In fact, what they seem to focus on is endurance training, not strength training, all advertising aside. 3 sets of 10 with no rest = 1 set of 30. Totally different animal. And, they seem to focus on aesthetics, at the expense of functional strength. NOBODY cares how much you can biceps curl, but can you lift your kid/dog/cat/bag of groceries? I bet you care about that.
All that said - and if you followed my Sunday morning condensed mind there, kudos! - I think any exercise program you can do regularly is a good one. If that means videos for you, do videos. End of story!
__________________
The Grim Reaper catches us all. But when he catches me the son-of-a-bitch is going to be hunched over, wheezing and gasping for breath! Certified Bulletproof Athlete |
10-12-14, 09:35 AM | |
VF Supporter
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Buffalo, NY
|
I kind of don't get this all or nothing mentality. I like the gym AND videos.
The best cardio workouts I ever did, bar none, were at the faculty-staff exercise classes at UT-Austin in the early 1980s. Great music, lots of camaraderie, NO MIRRORS, no competition, and an instructor who was a dynamo working on her Ph.D. in exercise physiology. I loved them so much I went twice a day. After I left Austin, I belonged to several gyms and enjoyed the group cardio classes. I'm retiring on Dec. 31 and I'll be joining a gym for the group classes. I can hardly wait to take spinning, Body Pump, stretching, and other classes. It gets me out of the house and doing fun things with other people. My husband lives to work out, and the idea of working out at home is a non-starter. He can see that videos are effective (he lives with me, after all!) but likes the array of equipment at the gym. He uses the gym at his workplace and on weekends does cardio workouts on his own (long bike rides, usually). When he retires, he's definitely joining a gym. I've used videos at home for over 15 years. I like them very much, but not for cardio. For me videos offer sheer convenience--I have a demanding job and simply don't have time to go to a gym, take a class, and go home. Videos have been a godsend. But I also like the energy of live classes and look forward to the gym when I retire ... and I'll still use my videos. I don't tell many people that I work out to videos. I don't bring it up unless directly asked. (Same goes with my dietary and other lifestyle choices.) My feeling is that most people don't care all that much about other people's hobbies. If some know-nothing disses videos, who cares? As long as you like them and benefit from them, that's all that matters.
__________________
Betsy There is no way of telling people they are all walking around shining like the sun--Thomas Merton People have done all kinds of remarkable things because they thought they could. People routinely fail to do quite ordinary things because they assume they can't--Reinhard Engels Stay gold, Ponyboy--S.E. Hinton Pick up your crazy heart and give it one more try--Ryan Bingham Disclosure: I have a personal relationship with a fitness instructor who has appeared in some videos. Last edited by eam531; 10-12-14 at 09:36 AM. Reason: typo |
10-12-14, 09:40 AM | ||
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: New York City
|
Quote:
Denise Austin, the old-school Judi Sheppard Missett (Jazzercise) - Ditto!! Age 60, and a cardio drama queen here! I find I have to and do use slightly heavier hand weights than is initially recommended for their respective toning sections with added resistance, though; and I'm good-to-go .... |
|
Tags |
gym membership, ymca |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|