Workout Sense
OK, here’s my quandary.
Most fitness experts say that, as regards weight lifting, you should alternate days–either doing a full-body workout every other day, or by alternating upper body and lower body workouts.
Now, I get how that works, and why it works, is your goal is to bulk up. But if your goal is to actually get functionally stronger, doesn’t it make more sense to do a little of everything every day?
Consider manual labor professions. Those sexy, dirt-and-grime encrusted construction workers who used to come into the Subway when I worked the lunch shift weren’t taking every other day off. The ultimate fighter (now Mixed Martial Arts, but this was several years ago) who came in so addled he could barely finish his order–he was probably altnernating days. But for a functional, normal-human, nicely toned body, I contend that it makes more sense to perform a sensible workout every day rather than kill yourself every day.
So that’s what I’m trying. We’ll see how it goes.
The New Plan – East, Meet West
Yoga has done wonders for me. Won-ders. But, while continuing to challenge myself through yoga, I’m interested in a little higher octane fitness regimen.
My husband and I just joined a Snap Fitness within walking distance of our apartment, which means we are officially out of excuses. Weight lifting has commenced.
I’ve gone twice now. The first night I felt I had greatly irritated an already pissy series of joints and discs in my body, throwing their delicate balance off-kilter with the grunting and heaving involved in weight lifting. “Now I remember why I quit this…”
But yesterday I went armed with a workout plan that would work opposing muscle groups without arching my back or straining my neck, which is always my downfall. I’d say I was 90% successful in avoiding trauma while still challenging myself.
One thing is for sure, though. If I don’t continue to practice yoga in conjunction with this new endeavor, it’s all for naught. Already my knee is objecting. But whereas I’ve always tried to muscle through my various fitness routines, yoga has taught me how to feel out each exercise. If I can manage a Western regimen of body building/toning with an Eastern/yoga mindset, this might actually work…
The Safe Word is UNALLOTMENT
As a GOP governor on his way out of office and probably headed for a 2012 presidential campaign, Governor Tim Pawlenty seems to have made it his myopic mission to avoid “raising taxes.” (Forcing the elderly, low-income citizens and those with disabilities to pick up the tab doesn’t count as raising taxes, just rearranging them, apparently.) Yet in a state like Minnesota, where our Medicare system is already 30% more efficient with government funds than other parts of the U.S., and our K-12 education system is one of the strongest in the nation, “cutting funding” doesn’t sound good either.
So, Pawlenty has infamized “unallotment.” Here’s how it’s looking so far:
K-12 Education $1.771 Billion
Higher Education $100 Million
Local Gov’t Aids $366.7 Million
HHS $236 Million
State Gov’t $33 Million
Revenues $168 Million
TOTAL $2.675 Billion
(For a full list of proposed cuts–oops, I mean “unallotments”–click here)
Yes, this is for the 2010-2011 biennium. No, that doesn’t mean cuts don’t begin until then. They start July 1. Nice one, Jackass. When you run for president, don’t expect to carry Minnesota.
Bucket List
As a birthday present to myself, I took yesterday off work and accomplished two items on my Bucket List (things to do before you kick the bucket):
1) Go kayaking
2) Eat a piece of Neapolitan cheese cake from the Barnes and Noble cafe.
The kayaking I will definitely be repeating. $8/hr at Lebanon Hills Regional Park is waaaaaay too good to pass up. The cheesecake probably needs to be a little less frequent. 
But both experiences met and surpassed my expectations, so good enough.
