Screw Exercise

Anyone reading is welcomed and encouraged to send me their weekly weight so we can track together and motivate each other to lose weight. "Alex - Projected" would be my weight loss of 40 pounds by my birthday on 6/12/11, at a steady 1.9 pounds per week. "Alex - Actual" is my actual weight loss. I can also post your weight anonymously, such as my good friend "Benny Platinum", whose true identity will remain secret! Also you may have noticed that "Judy" doesn't actually weight 0 pounds. She's opted to only send her weight changes, so we'll track from a starting point of zero pounds. You're al welcome to pursue this option as well if you don't want to give your actual weight. We'll make a nice colored line on the graph for you too!

SCREW EXERCISE

You heard me right, SCREW EXERCISE. From this day forth, I swear to never ever do another step, minute, ounce, stride or moment f exercise ever again. I'm being completely serious too (and no I'm not getting lipo, that would be the easy way out (and expensive (and yes I'm doing parenthesis within parenthesis, like a math problem, anyone remember PEMDAS?))).

Here's what goes through my head when I think of exercising: Shit. I have to go get on the elliptical for 40 minutes and run in place? Maybe it won't be so bad if I do something like listen to music or watch TV. Ugh but then I have to get myself to the gym (which happens to be ONLY an elevator ride away for me) to do something I don't really want to do? Screw it, I'll just try to eat less today instead. Which by the way never works.

Sound familiar?

So how is it that despite all this, I've worked my muscles more in the last 2 weeks than I probably have all year? No I'm not hooking electrodes to my abs and letting electricity do the work for me (anyway, they'd have a fair layer of fat to get through before they hit muscle anyway). The magic answer:

I stopped exercising and started doing a sport: boxing!

"Alex you tricked me! How is that not exercise?! You're still working out, breaking a sweat and getting into shape!" I know, I know! Let me explain:

I realized while I was skiing last week that because I loved skiing and being outdoors on a mountain, I didn't think of skiing as exercising, even though every day I'd get back to the lodge tired and sore. And every morning, I was ready to get right back on the mountain for another full day of skiing. This got me thinking about how I see "exercise" and all the associations (almost all negative) I have with "exercising" or "getting to the gym" or "going running", because frankly, all that's a big pain in the ass. I mean really, who wants to run and get nowhere, or elliptical up an imaginary hill, or bike and end up in the same place? Certainly not me.

So back to how boxing, at least for the last two weeks, has solved this for me. Boxing is a kick-ass workout, I'm sore every time, and yet a couple days later I'm ready to go back (full disclaimer, I've only been thrice, so we'll see if it holds up over time, but I'm optimistic). And here's why:

1. There's a purpose: Unlike the treadmill or the elliptical, boxing has a purpose. If I'm ever in a bar fight, I will unleash previously unknown fists of fury on my opponent. Now that's probably not something to advertise, and I don't plan in being in any bar fights anytime soon, but as a guy it's nice to know how to throw and black a punch.
2. I'm learning something new: I generally like to learn for the sake of learning, and boxing has been no different. There are apparently many different types of punches you can throw, and different ways to block them, and combinations of punches, and I'm sure the list goes on into territory I haven't discovered yet. Also, there's a whole lot of balance and coordination involved with throwing a punch and stepping at the same time, not extending your arm all the way, staying centered, etc... It is actually kind of like dancing in that it takes a lot of coordination and you have to practice it until you stop thinking about it.
3. I have a trainer: The gym I go to includes semi-private lessons in the membership fee, which means that for $250 a month (gasp! I know, it's on the pricey side, but this is NY and if I actually get to the gym once or twice a week, it's completely worth it), I get direction from a trainer EVERY time I go to the gym. This means I can let someone else motivate me, tell me what punches to throw, what activity to do next, yell at me when I'm slacking off and basically let me turn off my brain while I'm training. This is probably THE SINGLE BIGGEST REASON I think I might be able to stick with this boxing thing. It's actually very cheap for a personal trainer. (quick plug, I go to Trinity Boxing Club, NY and LA locations, http://www.trinityboxing.com, their clientele is mostly corporate professionals, so you don't spar until you're ready and want to. i.e. you won't go to your desk in the morning with a black eye). Also, it's pretty fun to train with guys named Butch, Sergei and Hollywood.
4. I look badass as shit. Seriously though, you do not want to fuck with me when I've got my hands wrapped, covered in sweat, throwing punches at anything in my way. And there's a whole lot to be said for doing activities that make you feel awesome (I had a similar experience rowing crew in college, which is the ONLY time in my life I've had the true beginnings of a 6-pack, which also makes me feel like a badass). Seriously though, find anything that you do that makes you feel awesome, and I'd put money on the fact that you'll keep doing it.

So all this might be obvious to people who have done sports all their lives, and frankly I've been on sports teams most of my life (in case anyone doesn't believe me, because it even sounds wrong when I say it: soccer as a kid, basketball in middle school, track in high school, crew and ski team in college), but for some reason it clicked again that doing a sport doesn't feel like exercise. You're either playing to win or training to get better.

So, moral of the story, I'm challenging everyone reading this to find an activity that 

1. has a purpose

2. teaches you something new

3. lets someone else train you (this doesn't have to be a personal training but could be something like a hiking club or a group that trains together)

4. (and probably the most important one) makes you feel like a badass

Would love to hear your ideas in the comments section below!

Until next time, 

----Furious Fists Alex