Life is a Game… Enjoy It!
Very often the articles I write are inspired by a conversation, a TV show or commercial, a tweet or a website I happen stumble upon while traversing the dark and scary depths of the Internet.
So this past weekend, while I was surfing the vast ocean known as the World Wide Web, I found myself reading an interesting site that reminded me of how important it is to enjoy life.
And when are people usually enjoying themselves the most?
When playing a game!
Now, I have talked in the past about the importance of finding a physical hobby that you enjoy but I think it is good to occasionally remind ourselves to simply embrace life itself with childlike exuberance.
Personally, I like to view my whole life as a giant game. Let’s think about it:
- You get to be any character you want. (Well, maybe you can’t really be a Orc Necromancer… but you get the idea)
- It’s a giant sandbox; you can go explore and do whatever you want, whenever you want.
- It has limitless multi-player possibilities.
- It has all the requisite, built-in, social networking features that seem to be all the rage these days.
- It might be hard, but it is never impossible.
- It’s meant to be enjoyed!
The reality is, as we get older we forget what it is like to be a child. We get caught up in daily obligations, immersed in inter-personal drama and burdened with having to be “an adult“! I am not justifying shirking your responsibilities, rather I am saying remember to take the time and at least play. If you can turn your life into a game, even better!
Nerd-Core Fitness: The Perfect Squat
Last week I promised I would continue updating the original Nerd-Core Fitness 101 workouts with videos, instead of pictures, and here is your next installment of instructional video goodness!
This time around I am going to show you how to do another near perfect exercise, the squat! The foundation of any leg workout (including this beginner lower body workout), the squat is an exercise that you should be doing regularly; no skipping out on leg day! This particular exercise is so important because it:
- Targets multiple muscle groups (quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves to name a few)
- Requires no equipment at all to get started
- Can be scaled to fit your fitness level easily (Just increase speed or quantity… or add weights! Stay tuned for how to incorporate dumbells and exercise bands to ratchet up the difficulty!)
- Will help you develop a super-heroic backside (Looking good in a spandex and a cape is hard, so get to it!)
Bask in YouTube glory!
I will continue, over the next couple of weeks, to edit all the past workout articles and embed videos detailing the proper form for each exercise. Keep working hard, and please let me know if there is any other way I can make your journey from geek to real-life superhero any easier!
I want you to try to work towards being able to do at least 20 proper squats in a row without stopping (I think that’s a reasonable first goal)! You might hate me a little bit at first, but once your legs start shaping up you will thank me. Also, if you have bad knees or an injury, check with your doctor to make sure that this exercise is right for you.
Let me know if there are any exercises you have questions about or want covered in the comments below, or just declare your squat goals for the world to see (public accountability is a wonderful thing!) Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel (there will definitely be videos that don’t appear in articles, so don’t miss out!) follow us on Facebook or Twitter and be sure to Sign up for our free newsletter! (No spam, I promise!)
Don’t settle for “Skinny-Fat”!
No way the Dr. would tell Steve Rogers he was “fit”.
I know common wisdom would have you believe that overweight = unhealthy and thin = healthy. If only it were that simple!
Now, does a skinny person have all the health risks associated with obesity?
Of course not, but that doesn’t automatically mean they are in the clear just because they aren’t lugging around an extra 75lbs on their frame.
While we know that 68 percent of the American population is overweight (a fact that makes me shudder), and that many are dipping their toes on the diabetes pool, the really shocking news from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association is that nearly 1 in 4 skinny people have pre-diabetes and are “metabolically obese!”
Want to be even more depressed?
If you are a skinny-fat person and get diagnosed with diabetes, you have twice the risk of death than if you are overweight when diagnosed with diabetes. How much does that suck?!?
Imagine if Captain America or Wonder Woman were beanpole’s with no muscles to speak of, and suffering from insulin spikes left and right? If that were the case they wouldn’t be able to punch evil in the neck and save the day! So I think we can agree that if we are going to go from geek to real-life superhero we need to avoid this horrible trend.
The good news is that skinny-fat is easy to spot and fix!
