Just had to Google that and it sounds rather heavy going but also very worthy. Added to reading list for a later date!It was that or "Godel Escher Bach an eternal golden braid" which I did finish but digested over the next year![]()
Just had to Google that and it sounds rather heavy going but also very worthy. Added to reading list for a later date!It was that or "Godel Escher Bach an eternal golden braid" which I did finish but digested over the next year![]()
I disagree.
If you work your muscles hard and they reach their genetic potential or anywhere near it, then you will look better. Therefore, aesthetics are part of the equation whether you seek them or not, assuming you are not hiding those muscles under layers of unnecessary fat.
Boring? Hardly. If you work out to your very limit, that can be many things, but boring is not one of them. Besides, if you do work out to your limit, then it needs not be a long workout or even a frequent one. And the endorphin rush after the fact is totally worth it. In my opinion there are many fairly worthless exercises that have no evolutionary relevance. But systematically focusing on the few that work your major muscles as they were intended to be worked can give you a balance that other activities such as the ones you described simply cannot. And certainly not as efficiently. And they are probably your best bet to ward off age-related sarcopenia as long as possible.
When I was younger, I went to the gym 3 times a week for 2.5 hours at a time. Yeah, I was misguided, to put it mildly. It came to the point where I was no longer looking forward to going despite the cardio bunnies on display. I suppose I got good results despite the overtraining because I was young(er) and robust enough to withstand it. But it was overkill.
Presently, I work out at home first thing in the morning, for only about 30 minutes, 3 times every 2 weeks (every 4 or 5 days). It is incredibly intense, taking each set to absolute concentric failure and then resting just enough to catch my breath to properly perform the next exercise (between 45 and 75 seconds, depending on the movement). It is not boring. Testing your limits is very challenging, therefore, by definition it cannot be boring. If anything it is addictive. But if I overdid the volume and frequency, and didn't go to failure, then, yeah, it would get boring and interfere with life.
I know I said all this before, elsewhere in the forum. But it bears repeating.

Just had to Google that and it sounds rather heavy going but also very worthy. Added to reading list for a later date!
I guess that staying active is the most important takeaway here. The best activity is the one you keep doing.Momoa method told me to have pecan icecream with a banana for breakfast today after I hand-sanded the donky brown varnish off a white oak table*.. No gym for me.
But the point you make about addiction is I guess something that troubles me, you may recall I made comments about posters in politics doing little more than contrarian nonsense to get a little squeeze of endorphins? It is addictive.
As a kid when I was a swimmer I got a wake up through a friend/competitor who was a great swimmer but had a fatal flaw in his shoulder that eventually required a rebuild, then another and he could not stop. I recall after he came back from an expensive private surgery in London, took a chunk from his college fund, hearing he was in the pool again before it was recovered and my heart sank. So did he apparently sitting on the bottom of the pool for a long time after he knew it was torn again and swimming was over for him. But young people as you say take things too far. I felt deeply then how the addiction to extreme fitness has a powerful drawback except for the few with rubber joints.
My point here really is about using the time and motions of the gym in productive tasks but also personal vanity sometimes haha. I recently mentioned I was smacked around by a young bóxer friend, him hitting me three to one sparring. Well I altered my forge hammer style for speed and last week it was not the one sided clattering of the first spar.
I just like having a tangible product at the end of hard work. I believe that much diy can be achieved without power tools and this is as good as a gym.
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*That had a incredibly tough resin finish.. It was like sanding ceramic tiles off the Space Shuttle.. I finally found the one thing Colombian's do very well, apply protective varnish.
See, that sounds like too much of a commitment to me....and he spent his days...

I guess that staying active is the most important takeaway here. The best activity is the one you keep doing.
Now you made me wish I didn't use the word addictive. But it rings true. On the plus side, not all "addictions" are created equal. And then there is the matter of degree. For example, my sleep has been a bit disrupted lately (again!). And so, I am going to skip one workout over the next 2-week period (meaning I will have only one workout per week for the next 2 weeks) and pare off a couple of exercises that have crept into my routine over the last few months. But I will keep 2 of the others that I had added to see how it goes. Do I seem like an out-of-control addict?
But I agree that a tangible product is a nice outcome.
To each his own.
See, that sounds like too much of a commitment to me.![]()

Okay, just remember that the muscle we lose as we get older mostly comprises fast twitch fibers, and those are the ones activated during intense anaerobic activity. I hope you're activating those in your activities.For me projects are about balancing the mental. My balance, something the gym can't do for me. With a project I'm in my art side of the brain much of the time which does certainly provide me with endorphins. I'm excited to see whatever finished.
With the table I saw this one while thinking about a space at a friend's that a drop leaf would work best for space reasons. Later in the day spotted a table for sale that had great craftsmanship but outdated and worn finish and not a drop.
Choose the project, do the project.
It helps me in so many ways being decisive which I must practice as procrastination rises quickly in me if I'm stalled too long.
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Possibly. But, on the other hand, "...he spent his days..." sounds like you're describing an addict.Face it, you are stealth-lazy![]()

Okay, just remember that the muscle we lose as we get older mostly comprises fast twitch fibers, and those are the ones activated during intense anaerobic activity. I hope you're activating those in your activities.
As for the artistic thing, I get it, but unfortunately I can only do one thing at a time. Otherwise, I'm like the guy who tries to buy a sporty station wagon and ends up with neither. And so, I limit my artistic expression these days to singing in the shower.
