What Happened To Just Working Out? My Beef With “New Age Ways To Slim Down”

Hey, I may not be the most athletic person you’ll come across. I don’t think I’ve done a “crunch” or a “push up” since 06′, however, I will say this. I believe that there is something to be said for just going for a good ol’ walk, or even biking outdoors in the woods.

This whole new age craze is killing me. Why should I be convinced that “Dance Dance Revolution” will trim down my thighs as People Mag recently claims. Let’s see here, Nintendo’s “Wii” is said to help millions wittle away the pounds as well. Hi, this is my personal belief. The time that people stay indoors playing Nintendo games, could have been time spent doing “normal exercise practices” such as jogging, walking, even roller blading! I won’t even go off on my tangent about Rock Band right now, but the philosophy can also be used when discussing the COUNTLESS amount of hours teenage boys spend playing a simulated music game. If these people spent the time playing the game as they do learning to actually play the instrument they would be fairly good. Perhaps it’s just my opinion. 

Here we have people “working out” via Dance Dance Revolution

Here instead of venturing outside and into the fresh air, people are playing “Tennis”, video game version that is of course

One more “new age” way of losing weight has been extremely popular very recently. The idea of “slim down sneakers”. PLEASE this must be a joke. I literally had to sit through a 20 minute piece on the Sunday Morning Show about these “sneaks/fit flops”. 

This is the name of the “ENTIRE SECTION” on Bliss.com devoted to shoes specifically designed to make you look more fit.. Never thought our society would become this lazy, I knew we were progressively going downhill. I guess I just assumed it wouldn’t have happened this fast. Get off your butt and do something, don’t rely on flip flops to work out for you.

   

Without me saying ANYTHING, all of you must be thinking the same thing as I am. Who the HELL would wear these things? They make the Moon Shoes we used to wear look somewhat hip. I believe if I saw someone in those gladiator-esque shoes walking down the street, I’d have to assume they were heading to perform in a Colosseum with animals.  The shoes below the Gladiator boots are not much better, I believe Naturalizer makes shoes MUCH more attractive; at least their shoes serve a “logical purpose”.

My summary is this; I believe that not everyone has time to spend hours slaving away in the gym, however, there is a happy medium. If you chose to spend the time and money on “easier ways to slim down” you can spend that time and money instead on buying yourself a trainer, or even just going for a freakin’ jog!

No It’s Totally Cool, I Wasn’t Trying To Say Hi Either- The Runner’s Wave Debate

I run. I have been running for the majority of my life now, and I have come to one conclusion. I really can’t make a decision whether or not “runners” as a whole are nice athletes. I tried to think about the races I ran for years and the dynamic between the runners. Tense, anxiety ridden, and fearful. I was the only “non competitive runner” who was there primarily to socialize and meet fellow people who shared my join in running. I came to find out shortly after I began trying to strike up conversations mid-race, that not many people shared in my desires to “create friendships”. 

After finishing my years of “competitive cough racing cough” I began just leisurely going for runs on my own. Whether it be on a boardwalk, on my college campus, or even more likely just on the streets in my hometown. What I have ALSO discovered over the years is that I think the “runner wave” is not universal, whatsoever. I have become such a comfortable runner that I can obviously take the ONE SECOND it takes to wave at any fellow jogggers while out on my run. However, I would estimate that 70 percent of the time, I don’t get any ACKNOWLEDGMENT WHATSOEVER.

It’s my opinion that us runners, like people who join the Greek system, are part of a select few. Not many people can say that they “thoroughly enjoy” waking up and going for a run, primarily for the sake of just loving to run. Most athletes claim that running is usually their punishment. With all of this in mind, I think I should start a revolution…. and make it a point to wave and smile at EACH and every fellow club member from this point on.

Hell Must Have Frozen Over- My Trip To Whole Foods

I really, really had no interest in Whole Foods. Sure, I understand there is a need for Americans to begin buying more organic and locally produced goods. No problem. However, I have some deep seeded resentment whenever I walk by a Whole Foods. It looks as though it’s a legitimate crack house; people are running and I mean RUNNING to get inside the building. Why exactly? To hurry up and buy over priced goods that last for a shorter duration than normal “pesticide ridden” foods? I needed to find out for myself, but that would involve me actually going inside… so for the past two months I have avoided finding out what makes this market so wildly popular. This all changed last Friday…

I went into Whole Foods, with no shopping cart in hand- obviously because I assumed/was determined NOT to buy anything. But rather, to walk around with a very inquisitive face and do my own little Harriet The Spy Inspection of the place. All that was missing really was the bright polyester rain jacket, oh well.

Over all, I must say… the place was quite impressive. Not only was it “impeccable” and by that I am referring to every single item displayed in the market. I believe that if I were to cough and shift the position of the grape display, there would be a chipper little WF Employee there to “fix the situation” immediately by rearranging the grapes within a matter of seconds. I literally could not find ONE ITEM in the entire store that was not lined up perfectly.  

 

Also, the displays of some of the foods/kitchenware really impressed me. They displayed the cheese beautifully and even offered crackers and “cheese of the day” to try. It looked so tempting, I suffered through a stomach cramp later just to try the cheese… and let me tell you, it was well worth it. 

 

I am starting to “somewhat” understand the hype. I think it has a lot of unique features that draw people into the store… such as very fresh, local, organic foods etc…. great displays, and many choices to choose from. I don’t believe I will be switching over from Trader Joe’s anytime soon but it’s nice to know other options are out there for me, I guess!