The Physical Actvity Thread

connrrr

exodus It doesn’t feel as much like exercise because I have a goal I’m accomplishing

This is how I feel about dancing! I never know what to do because there’s no endpoint, but since skating is like dancing-as-locomotion it feels like something I can do.

DaveedNoo this is the BMX-to-MTB pipeline and it happened to me too as a youth. I just think the one-piece frame mountain bikes we had in the nineties weren’t that bad! There must be something attractive about them if they’re making a resurgence now as “all terrain bicycles.”

saddleblasters I also feel weird about road biking because it was my dad’s hobby and I think the Peugeot he gave me was a hand-me-down when he got his Bianchi, and I didn’t have a great relationship with him even back then so it always put me off, and then I gave it to a friend who was too small for it when I moved out. I’m blown away by your boldness at treading in car world because if there’s one thing I hate about running it’s having to do it around cars.

connrrr

Do we have any more martial artists? I was in Taekwondo up to my black stripe throughout hs, and then did a few classes of Kyokushin and Jeet Kune Do in uni. I still incorporate a modified version of our warmup from TKD to loosen up for the day. I’ve been thinking of trying BJJ sometime if I should have the money for it and other things fall into place.

Karasu

connrrr I have a brown belt in a very specific variety of Kung Fu! I spent about 5 years taking classes, but stopped when I moved. It was fun, but I was never really willing to put in the time to reach black belt (I obviously work and have other hobbies).

connrrr

Karasu a very specific variety of Kung Fu!

I must know

Karasu

connrrr It was called Shaolin, but it’s realistically a super eclectic amalgamation of a bunch of different kung fu styles, with the belt system from karate grafted on at some point in the mid 20th century. The school I attended in Portland, OR didn’t survive covid but lives on as a completely differently-named school run by one of the black belts.

I loved going for a while but I came out as non-binary while taking classes and you could absolutely feel the chill off the place at that development, so I would have stopped going even if I hadn’t moved!

connrrr

Tradegood Most of my physical activity these days is hiking “LA Style” (aka just go for a nice little walk outdoors)

Urban hiking is legit! I love poking around neighbourhoods I have no reason to be, especially rich communities where all the old money lives. I remember seeing a Rolls Royce for the first time in Rosemont and gawking at the McMansions in Forest Hill when I still lived in Toronto. A spread-out city like Ottawa makes urban hikes often feel “too much” like a regular hike but denser places like TO and LA are where it’s at I think.

but I kind of want to do something with a little more octane to get me into better shape

Have you considered unicycling??

connrrr

Karasu I was invited to try out a BJJ gym near me by an actual trans person so that was encouraging since it is definitely a concern of mine in returning to martial arts. My biggest hurdle remains dysphoria and is a big part of why I prefer solo sports.

Karasu

connrrr It’s definitely a large part of why I enjoy solo sports as well! I also don’t love being in large groups, or having to touch other people, so these days it’s pretty much out for me. Oh, and also– men in your 20’s: please learn how to use deodorant and not just douse yourself in body spray, and brush your teeth. (I should be clear that this isn’t a broad statement, just what I experienced in the martial arts community) These are also dealbreakers for me tbqh.

That’s great about the BJJ gym! I’d love to hear how it goes if you end up trying it! I think a recommendation like that is what it would take to get me back into martial arts, but while Edmonton is very queer and trans friendly, I’d need to be super sure I wasn’t going to run into random bigots, given how not queer and trans friendly much of the rest of Alberta is.

rejj

As far as physical activity goes, I played competitive table tennis for about 13 years before doing some serious damage to my shoulder forcing me to stop.

Other than that I have casually enjoyed going on walks and hikes. @yeso you say no one would be interested in gear talk but I’d be keen to hear your thoughts around hiking pants and wax in particular. I’m very amateur as it comes to these things and am interested to hear thoughts from someone that does multi day hikes on the (semi) regular.

I’ve done a decent amount of abseiling in the past; usually a hike followed by a multi pitch descent before regrouping and calling it a day. I’ve always been interested in climbing/bouldering but for no good reason have never taken the first step. I need to work on my grip strength, which has deteriorated to nothing over the last few years.

@exodus any tips for working on that? I have a few different spring clamp grip things (I have no idea what their proper name is, but they are grip clampy things one can adjust the tension on), but other than that I have no idea what to do to prepare before going to a bouldering gym

yeso

rejj your thoughts around hiking pants and wax in particular.

if you mean waxed cotton then definitely do not buy. In fact, you want to avoid cotton entirely because it soaks up moisture and takes forever to dry, which in addition to being gross and uncomfortable, is dangerous in cooler temperatures. “Cotton kills” as they say. You need synthetics or merino wool instead

I like these pants a lot:

https://www.patagonia.com.au/products/mens-terrebonne-joggers-24540-blk

and these are climbing pants but they’re my favorite for hiking:

https://coalatree.com/products/trailhead-pants

captain

Just found this thread, was going to post about bouldering and why I like it but exodus already covered everything lol. It’s like solving puzzles! With your ABS!!!!

I did it about once a week when I lived in Reims and haven’t gotten the chance to go back to it. In Providence it was like $29 per session at my nearest gym, which was completely unaffordable given my salary there (and compared to 10€/session at the old place felt like an even bigger ripoff). My new employer in Vermont is giving us all $100 to spend on something for our physical or mental well-being, so I’m about to get either a pass to my local bouldering gym or else some bouldering shoes of my own.

I’d like a new bike. Rollerblades are so cool….

tomjonjon

I am a cross-country skiing enjoyer. There is a state park about 20 min from my house that has a wonderful set of trails. I didn’t get out this year because the winter was pretty snow-less this season and I also started a new job that kept me lazy. Last year was much better - I was out a few times a week.
I’ve only done classic style, but I was gifted a set of skate skis. I need to get those set up and ready for the coming winter.

I also dig downhill skiing and have been doing that since I was about 3 (with a 15 year break for snowboarding). I just like to cruise the runs. Not into backcountry type stuff.

yeso

dragging skis through backcountry doesn’t sound too appealing especially in the north country with forests being as dense as they are, I’m surprised people do it. Snowshoes have to be the better option I think

yeso

any bouldering people read the M John Harrison novel Climbers ?

exodus

I did aikido through highschool but haven’t since. I’d love to do a martial art that doesn’t involve sparring but I’m not sure that’s gonna happen without me having a bunch of time to drive somewhere. I still do the wrist stretches though!!

yeso I have not but I also don’t want to become like… a bouldering person. I don’t know why that’s more embarrassing to me than being like… a video game person or a metal person or a city pop person but here we are!! I think something else that holds me back from physical activities is how people talk about it, which means… I shouldn’t be judgy about people talking about it. but you know the crossfit type, and some bouldering folks get in that zone too. People should like what they like but also be chill, that’s how I feel.

connrrr

I used to cross-country ski on my thrift store skis in high school, with this little spoiled shit who had carbon fibre skate skis who works at the Bank of Canada now. One time we made a raft out of three pool inner tubes and a Noma GT snow racer that I rode down the creek and he was laughing at me when it started to sink, until he had to wade into the ice cold water with me to get his tubes back lol.

When the river in my hometown freezes over between January and February is when you can actually go places on your skis but because it was all old equipment we never took care of I found it more enjoyable to just walk through the snow. I’ve never snowshoed. Fat tire biking looks like it would be a lot fun!

cw snow!!

yeso

ok, you have been removed from forumsboulderers.xls

HeavenlyHalberd

My first ever real board finally had the nose crack the other day. Pour one out.

Thankfully, I got a new board that’s even better and I’m gonna convert the old one into my backup. I got some OJ wheels and they feel like a knife through butter.

Honestly, if Vincent van Gogh came back to life and made me custom deck artwork, I’d still sticker bomb it.

skelly

i have this caloi explorer 10 that i ride every once in a while. i bought it only 3 months ago and hadn’t ridden a bike in over a decade before this, so i picked something on the cheaper side i could get used to riding again with. i’d like to put an ebike motor on it and use it as a main transportation method so i stop using uber everywhere and getting carsick.

apologies for the awful pictures, they’re the only ones i have atm

i also do circuit training three times a week. i got back to it last week after being sick with a nasty flu for a while and didn’t lose my step as much as i thought! i’ve been doing it for about 3 months and already feel a lot fitter than i have ever been

exodus

skelly CAT

skelly

exodus he was hissing at the bike the day i brought it in, it was adorable

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