The Fat@$$ Chronicles: So What IS This Exercise You Speak Of?

Greetings, faithful readers... Hard as it is to believe, two weeks have passed since I last posted on this blog. Spring is fast approaching and it is time once again to think about "serious" exercise. The kind we can all do outside, enjoying the west Michigan sunshine and warm temperatures, you know?

I thought that since that exciting day is coming when we can put away the snow blowers and shovels and hang up the winter coats, it was time to write about what I like to do for exercise.

And first off, let's establish this: I don't like to exercise. Seriously. I mean, I understand the benefits, and I enjoy being outdoors and doing things usually, but the idea of "exercise" just sounds too much like work. BUT... if you do it right, it's fun. Here are my favorite things to do that end up being "exercise." I'll put them in order from the most recent through the stuff I've been at the longest, just so I can have an order. I like having things in order...

1. Rock climbing. If you read my last post you already saw this. If you didn't read it, why not?? Go read it. I'll wait for you to get back.

Cool. Glad you enjoyed it.

Climbing is something that even two months ago would have been the furthest thing from my mind to fill the categories of "enjoyable," "fun," or "something I could totally see myself doing ever in my life." Had a blast. I need to go again soon. Oddly enough there is a real-world application for this activity, though it strikes me as insane. Apparently you can climb on real rocks and mountains. No way. Yet here is a picture of my nephew Bronson doing just that in Colorado. Talk about something you'll never get me to do...

2. Weight lifting. For many years now I have joined with several guys from church in TB's basement (we call it "TB's Gym." We even have shirts...) to pump iron. Tom is a lifter from way back, and his home gym rivals that of virtually every hotel I have ever stayed in, most schools, and even a couple actual gyms. We use a combination of free weights and machines to achieve major buffness. Years ago we got to move all of that from one house to another. You can't even imagine. We stopped counting at around 3,000 pounds of weight that he owns.

Here's how things go. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4 p.m. (not a minute later, thank you very much...) we head downstairs. Depending on the day we do chest/back (or chest/biceps), biceps/triceps (or back/triceps), and legs/upper body on Friday. We alternate days since the idea is to give the muscles at least 24 -48 hours rest between workouts. So Monday we do one upper body group, Wednesday the other, and Friday legs and upper body.

The coolest part of lifting? Studies now show it can prevent Type 2 Diabetes - check out this article on the topic. Type 2 Diabetes is genetic to a degree as well as preventable to a degree. Lifestyle choices and diet are huge here, as is the "predisposition" to it, which I interpret as "not quite genetic, but close." And since Doc's demise was brought on by heart disease, high blood pressure, and T2D, I need to be careful.

The other coolest part is the guys I lift with. TB, Jason, Dan, Daylin, Tim, and assorted others who have drifted in and out of the group are a lot of fun. TB complains that I talk too much, but if I'm gone for too long due to school stuff he definitely misses the witty repartee... Once we even took a field trip. Grabbed a 150-lb sled and took it to VanRaalte Hill. Good times were had by all, as evidenced by the hurling and these pictures:

3. Bicycling...
I have probably enjoyed exercise more on a bike than everything else combined. Hopefully you have all ridden a bicycle at some point in your life. If not, go get on one right now.

Back in the spring of 1989 I was thinking I needed something to do to get into some form of exercise again. I was teaching in South Bend, was engaged to Dana, and looking for something to do. Brian Payne, a young trumpet player in the band, and a couple buddies did team triathlons. He said I should get a bike and we could ride together. It would help him train. Thus began several decades of getting my ass kicked around the countryside by various people in my life: Brian, my brother Kevin, MC (who would later hire me to work at an actual bike shop!!), and eventually son Nathan. Bought him a bike for his 17th birthday. "What a great way for us to bond and enjoy each other's company. I can teach him the way of the bike." Lasted about three rides before his youth and energy left me in the dust and put him in the groups on the front of the morning rides...

This is him in his first race that summer. You can tell the role that genetics have played here. He looks JUST like me. Tall, skinny, fast...

Hmm? Oh, sorry, I went away for a second..

Anyway, I have met more cool people and enjoyed exercising more on the bike than anything I can name. Dennis P, JD, J Squared, Berger, Aaron, Tyson, and so many others have become good friends and riding companions through the years. Dennis, JD, and I made our way across the entire state one summer day a few years ago. 150 miles from Montague to Bay City.

Here's Dennis. His jersey - "Veni, Vidi, Vomiti" - is Latin for "I came, I saw, I puked." Awesome. He and I and many others have had amazing conversations over the many miles, all while improving our cardiovascular health, lowering our blood pressure, and building muscle, all in a non-impact sport.

I'll write more about my cycling adventures in future posts. I will tell you about the 24-Hour Challenge, the event that made me more proud of myself in one weekend than I thought possible (followed by the same event a year later in which I lost 9 pounds in 36 hours and wished I could just lie down in the road and get run over...). The ODRAM should get more than a mention. A One Day Ride Across Michigan. Pretty cool. Dawn Patrol, Holland Hundred, Crazy Bastard, all of these have been a part of my last several summers and winters. I might even talk about indoor training rides, but those suck. Pedal your asbestos off and go nowhere...

Anyway, this has gone on long enough for one day. Here are a few more shots from the bike for your enjoyment.