I am no athlete. There are certain physical activities that I do enjoy, but at best I am a participant and not any kind a champion at any of them. The last organized team sport I played was when I was in the fourth or fifth grade when I played football to please my father. He was pleased, I was more than a little bored, and the season finished without me getting killed by kids who are twice my size. The kinds of physical activity I normally enjoy are those that have something other than the basic sport attached to them.
I enjoy golf because I enjoy the camaraderie of those I am playing with or if I'm playing with my son I'm enjoying the uninterrupted conversations we are able to have on the course. The same holds true with downhill skiing, I enjoy being out in the crisp air and hanging out with my son on the slopes much more than I do the actual slalom downhill -- -- although I'm proud to say I've never broken a bone in my years of Alpine skiing to include skiing down the Zug Spitze in Germany and I have skiied several black diamond slopes.
I am also no sports fan, other than the Olympics. As a result, I am absolutely the best person to invite to a sports party. I have no loyalties and can swap to whichever team is winning at any point in the game and root with equal spirit and fervor. I think I have watched four or five Super Bowl times in my lifetime and never watched the World Series at all. I did actually go to one each professional football game and professional baseball game somewhere in my past. Couldn't tell you who won either game.
Why am I discussing my minimalistic sports background? I know I need to get into shape prior to the 2010 riding season. Aside from the fact that I need to be able to possibly lift the bike off of me if I have a fall, the physical activity will help me with my weight loss goal. So, given my aversion to sports how was I planning on doing it? Two physical activities that I do enjoy that are not really sports are hiking and what is now known as powerwalking. I think I enjoy the solace of both as it gets me away from things and I can actually walk without thinking too much about it, except for the occasional obstacle in front of me. Therefore, I have one of those unique opportunities to lose myself in deep thoughts. While in my deep thoughts I can do things like think about what I'm going to write my blog, solve world hunger, and decide years before it was made public that global warming was a crock.
Aside from walking, I actually enjoy working out on my Bow Flex. Again, it's something repetitive that doesn't require a lot of thought and therefore frees my mind wander. Lately, I have tried yoga to see if that might be something I like. I'm not sure why, but I can actually perform most of the poses and I like the meditative quality of it.
While I was considering things to do to get in shape and opportunity presented itself that I was unaware that I would even like. We have a Nintendo Wii, and were given a copy of Wii Fit Plus and the balance board. So, I gave it a shot. I liked it. There is a wide variety of activities that include things like yoga and calisthenics but it is presented in more of a game format and personalized to your progress and ability. So now I'm involved in things like skateboarding, kung fu, cycling, boxing, running, pretending I'm a bird trying to land, running a strange obstacle course, and many more challenges. I've actually managed to do this five days a week for the last three weeks. They say anything you do for more than 21 days is a habit, so maybe this will as well. I feel more fit, and I know I'm actually getting better at each of the activities as time goes on.
In addition to doing the Wii Fit I am also doing my Bow Flex three nights a week and as soon as the weather gets above freezing I will start walking 5 km or so three times a week as well. By the time the weather turns nice I should be in fairly decent shape and ready to jump on the bike and ride.
(Note: Check out this clip on Football Facts from a fellow non-sports fan.)
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