How to Love What You Do - Plus 100 Ways to Disguise Exercise

One of my favorite quotes is by historian, Arnold Toynbee:

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.”

Following up on last weeks article, The Fun Theory and Why It Will Never Last, I wanted to expand upon the advice offered at the end: love what you do, and practice it.

Maybe you’re thinking…

Sure, that’s easy for you to say. But I just don’t love exercise. In fact, I can’t stand exercising. I’d rather endure Chinese water torture than exercise for an hour three times a week.

Fair enough. No one’s twisting your arm into an exercise program. Instead, I’m going to propose something else entirely – two things actually. In my mind, you have one of two choices that will help you decide if you’ll reap the most out of a physical lifestyle:
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Prasara Yoga - Lizard Flow by John Sifferman (my first self-made Prasara Flow)

I recently created my first Prasara Yoga flow and have called it Lizard Flow. Up until now, I’ve been following stock programs from Prasara Yoga including the Prasara A Flows, FlowFit, Ageless Mobility, and BodyFlow. Lizard flow was created to compensate for the demands I’ve been placing on my legs recently. It’s mostly for [...]

Barefoot Running on the Snow - 5 Tips to Help You Make the Transition

We finally had our first significant snowfall today. I think we got just over 12 inches (approx 30cm). My wife came home from work a little early and we took our dog, Ronin, to Clough State Park for some gallivanting. Realizing I had a compadre who could hold the camera, I thought it would be a great opportunity for my first barefoot run in the snow. That, and since I’ve never done this before, I thought it would be a good idea if someone else was there… er, in case, you know, I slipped and died or something.

Here is a video account of the run. You can decide if I’m crazy, stupid, or daring…

Barefoot Running in the Snow

So, I ran 1 mile barefoot, twice as far as I had expected to make it. Quite honestly, I figured that the cold would be too much for me and that I would wimp out. But I set my mind on completing the task no matter what, and after a half mile I felt like I could go much longer. I was dressed plenty warm and my body temperature stayed warm throughout the short run. Actually, the longer I had been running, the warmer my feet got.

I think 1 mile was a good starting point for me personally. Having the endurance to run several miles is great, but it’s safer to progress as gradually as possible whenever changing one of the variables.

I don’t recommend that anyone just jump right into barefoot running, and especially not going barefoot in the snow. It’s a skill that must be developed incrementally. I’ve spent the entire year going barefoot and my intuition assured me that I was ready for something of this nature. If you’d like some more information about going barefoot, feel free to read my Definitive Guide to Going Barefoot.

On the other hand, if you HAVE been running barefoot already. If your feet and body are conditioned for shodless running, and you think that you’re ready for a barefoot run in the snow, here are some tips that may help. Continue reading Barefoot Running on the Snow – 5 Tips to Help You Make the Transition

TACFIT Commando Session Practice

TACFIT is a tactical fitness program based on the Circular Strength Training system. So, if you’re familiar with CST, you’ll recognize the ingenuity behind TACFIT Commando. I have used TACFIT Commando myself, and can vouch for its effectiveness. It’s a circuit training program that can be applied to a variety of training goals. It was created to fulfill the fitness demands of military, law enforcement, firefighting, and other agencies where fitness is a necessity. I also understand that there are different divisions of TACFIT, and this session is from the Commando division, which is bodyweight-only.

The training protocol for the following workout is…

Each minute, on the minute, for 20 minutes; finish 20 rounds in 20 minutes of:

* 6 Quad Hops to Flat Foot Squat
* 6 Knee Drop Spinal Rocks to Butterfly
* 6/6 Springing Tripods
* 6/6 Swinging Planks. *Note, I only did 3/3 in my video

TACFIT Commando Session Practice

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The Fun Theory and Why it Will Never Last

Note: I was hesitant to publish this post, especially the day after I announced my new website. I didn’t think I would get the right message across. I also worried that this wouldn’t be “practical enough” to merit reading all the way through. But I pulled the trigger, blasting this message out into cyberspace in hopes that you’ll find something of value in here. Now that I’ve thought about it, this is probably one of the most important messages I’ll ever write. If you get half as much truth out of this article as I got from writing it, then it’ll be well-worth the read. I think this is a perfect piece to follow-up yesterday’s launch. (Read time with video: < 10 minutes)

The Fun Theory (thefuntheory.com) is an initiative of Volkswagen that is “dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s changed for the better.”

Perhaps you’ve already seen some of the interesting videos circulating the internet. Here is my personal favorite – a Fun Theory solution to change physical activity levels:

Piano Stairs

Continue reading The Fun Theory and Why it Will Never Last

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