Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

When Ingrid Michaelson released Girls and Boys, she started a MySpace blog and has faithfully added to it. Back in May, she related a story about water-skiing. She started out the entry with the words, “I am not an athletic girl.”

• Myspace.com Blogs – “OUCH” – ingrid michaelson MySpace Blog

She had such great dreams of what water-skiing would be like:

The water felt good. I felt alive. I was bobbing up and down while marla crammed my skis on my feet. I began to think that this might actually be a success. I imagined myself gliding across the lake, one handed, smiling and waving as I flew by all my friends, their jaws dropped in awe of my swan-like figure and grace. I would hop back onto the dock, kick off my skis and wrestle with some small child, not even acknowledging the applause. I would be so modest.

Unfortunately, it was not to be:

Why was I never able to stand up? Was I destined to always be dragged like a limp doll in the bathtub? My face was red in an unhealthy looking way and my chest felt like a large man was sitting on it. My confidence, like a an old sweater, was unravelling all over this lake , but there must have been one thread of it left in tact, because I held up my pointer finger and gurgled the words “one…more….time”.

In the end, the only success she was able to achieve was “water squatting.”

It took about week to feel normal again. The pain left me, the bruises, the broken blood vessels in my eyes faded. But what has not faded is the fact that I tried to do something that I feared. And while I did not succeed fully, I succeeded partially. And thats good enough for me.

Next time you’re confronted with a physical activity that looks impossible to you, remember Ingrid Michaelson trying over and over to water ski and continually ending up with water filling every orifice of her body in failure. If she can keep going, then so can you.

Via: OUCH by BlogjamComic on Flickr

On September 1, 1915, a 14 year old girl swam across the Hudson river, turned around and swam back. Her name was Mary Elizabeth Miller. This photos is part of the George Grantham Bain Collection at The Library of Congress and it is supposed that it might have been mislabeled. It could be that this photo is a documentation of the famous swim across the Hudson.

Mary E. Miller by The Library of Congress from Flickr

I used to love swimming when I was a little girl. Now, as an adult, I get no pleasure from spending hours in the pool like I used to. What was so fun when I was younger just seems boring now and I wish I could get that childhood enjoyment out of it again. Part of the problem is that I’m so blind without my glasses or contacts that I can barely see well enough to not bump into things, so swimming is a lot less fun. Part of me just thinks that’s an excuse, though.

It’s not like I have trouble being seen in a swimsuit. I like to lie by the pool in the sun. I have a swimming suit that I love and I shared my methods for getting comfortable with a swimming suit here:

• Starling Fitness » Get Into That Swimsuit This Summer: Week 1

Sometimes the joys of our youth do not translate to joys in adulthood and it’s hard to release them. We just need to find other methods of activity that appeal to us as adults.

This exact incident happened to me when I was playing Wii Fit the other day. I am so surprised when Joy of Tech gets things so right every time:

Of course, it didn’t ask me where my “obese husband” was, it asked where Elvis was. Mike and I set up our Elvis Mii on Wii Fit so people could play the game without playing as one of us. As cool as the Wii Fit is, it’s not really set up for party games. It’s more of an exercise game, so when our friends want to see what it’s like, it bugs me if they play using my Mii. Of course, it has been weeks and weeks since Elvis has played, so the Wii Fit balance board asked me where he has been.

I didn’t have the heart to tell my imaginary trainer that Elvis is dead.

As if I wasn’t excited enough about my Wii Fit, it looks like Raymond Raving Rabbids are going to use the Wii Balance Board for their next big game. Here is the promotional video:

I LOVED the Rabbids in their last two Wii games and I can’t wait for this new one!

Here is my previous review:

• Starling Fitness » My Arms Are Killing Me

I have been regularly exercising with my Wii Fit and running in place every day. I really like the Island Lap in the Aerobics section of the game. By accidentally running too fast, I found myself following the yellow dog while running on Wii Fit Island the other day. He takes you on a completely different route on Wii Fit Island. This person on YouTube filmed it:

You can also follow a chocolate lab and I was passed by a white dog, so I’m going to try to follow him next. It’s fun to discover these hidden routes in this game. I had no idea that running in place could be so fun!

Here’s a video of kids following the chocolate lab:

Here’s a video of the same kids following the white dog:

Apparently there is also a black dog that you can follow. You should mute this video so you don’t have to listen to the racist kids.

A few months ago, Life Fitness announced that they are making treadmills (and other machines) compatible with Nike+. That’s only a good thing if your gym uses these new Life Fitness machines. If you’re a member of 24 Hour Fitness, tracking your workouts just got easier.

• MacDailyNews – 24 Hour Fitness first to offer Nike+iPod experience in the gym

Beginning in July, select 24 Hour Fitness clubs in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Denver, Portland and Salt Lake City will begin receiving Nike iPod enabled gym equipment, just in time for members to use the new machines to prepare for and compete in the Nike Human Race on August 31, 2008.

I KNEW there was a reason I kept my 24 Hour Fitness gym membership! I’m so lucky to be in one of the lucky cities where they are testing this new technology. All of a sudden I am excited about going to the gym again!

If you don’t know what Nike+ is, I’ve written several articles about it:

• Starling Fitness » Tune Your Run With Nike and iPod

• Starling Fitness » How to Use Nike+ on ANY Type of Shoe

• Starling Fitness » First Glance: Nike+iPod

• Starling Fitness » Nike+ After Two Weeks

• Starling Fitness » Ask Laura: Should I Buy a Nike+?

• Starling Fitness » Nike+ Distance Inaccuracies

• Starling Fitness » Nike+ Addicted

If I had to choose one invention of 2006 that totally changed the way I exercised, it would be the Nike+. Knowing that Nike, Apple, Life Fitness AND 24 Hour Fitness are going to support this innovative program just makes me more happy.

Via: 24 Hour Fitness will install Nike+ gym equipment – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

This video made me laugh out loud the other day:

I’ve never tried to put my cat on my treadmill, but I suspect all cats would act the same. I love what the girl filming says:

“This is someone who’s against exercise.”

How about you? Do you feel like a cat on a treadmill? Do your workouts feel like you’re forcing them every day? How can you avoid feeling like that white cat?

I change my workouts quite regularly to keep things new. I have a hard time concentrating on one type of exercise, so I try everything that’s out there. I walk, run, ride my bike, play Dance Dance Revolution, use the Wii Fit and I even load up the old Yourself! Fitness every once and a while. Whenever it feels like a chore to exercise, I do something I haven’t tried in a while. Sometimes, even changing venue is enough. I might be running on the treadmill every day and it starts to feel like a chore, but then I go for a run outside and it feels different, even though I went the same distance.

Next time you’re feeling like a cat on a treadmill, try something new. It just might be your new obsession.

Video via: The Funniest Treadmill Videos of All Time : Complete Running Network

With gas prices approaching five dollars a gallon, it’s in your best interest to combine your workout with your errands. You’ll save gasoline, money, and time. Instead of driving to the gym to workout on the treadmill, you could walk to the grocery store for groceries. You’ll get your shopping AND your workout done in the time you would have spent working out.

I’ve talked about this before and how to do it:

• Starling Fitness » Save the Planet AND Lose Weight

In that entry, I recommended a circle with a radius of 1.5 miles. If you are riding your bike, however, you can increase that radius to 3 miles and still be able to get your workout done in an hour.

Once you have the circle on your map, find all the places within that area that you regularly go to. Instead of grabbing dinner at the restaurant and bringing it home, have the whole family walk to the restaurant. Instead of going for a drive to get out of the house, jump on your bike and see how far you can explore in an hour. With the economy the way it is, finding alternate ways of getting around is a good practice.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have your weight bench in your living room where it was easy to access? What if it looked nice as well? That’s the idea behind this concept from Gabriel Prero:

• Gabriel Prero – IndustrialDesign-Otto-Bench

I live in a tiny 850 square foot house, so this weight bench looks like a dream come true to me. How possible is it to make this on my own? Could I “hack” my own weight bench and make an ottoman bench myself?

Life Fitness, please make this bench. I know a ton of people who would buy it.

Via: CraziestGadgets.com » Ottoman Converts to Self Contained Exercise Bench

If you have ever watched The Biggest Loser, you know who Jillian Michaels is. She is the tough trainer who pushes her contestants to a win. In fact, last year, the two finalists for The Biggest Loser were both from her team.

If you have been wishing you could workout with Jillian, it looks like Majesco video game producer is going to give you a chance:

• Jillian Michaels makes fitness game

Majesco CEO Jesse Sutton said the title is aimed squarely at the growing casual gaming audience, especially women. He said exer-gaming should create a growing opportunity for fitness celebrities, especially those who already have make their mark on TV and DVD.

“Exercise and entertainment have gone hand in hand over the past 20 years,” he said. “So we think bringing that to games is the next big step.”

I have really enjoyed working out with Wii Fit and it’s great to know that serious trainers are excited about it. I love to know that my Wii Fit balance board will be useful in games long after I’m sick of running on Wii Fit Island.

Via: Jillian Michaels has a Wii fitness game in the works – TV Squad