The great thing about Minnesota is that the weather is always pretty reliable. It’ll be mercilessly frigid for three months every winter and then insufferably sweltering (with mosquitoes) for two months every summer. It’s never a surprise — just an inexorable drifting across our meteorological River Styx (above, with apologies to Dante, et al.). But… Read more »
True to form, when I finally got to the gym on Friday I completely overdid things — piled on the poundage and lifted to failure, just as I had promised myself. By Monday, my upper body — especially my arms — felt like I’d gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali in his prime. (OK, the… Read more »
Talk about failure (see previous post). Five times this week I have schlepped my workout gear across the icy Mississippi to the office and four times I have schlepped it back home with me, unused. As I’ve previously mentioned, reality intervenes: domestic responsibilities, work deadlines, the list goes on. At least I’ve been able to… Read more »
It was kind of slow going this morning, due to the patches of glare ice hidden beneath a couple of inches of new snow. Lots of slipping and sliding on the sidewalks. At one point I could envision catastrophe — “Geezer breaks hip while foolishly walking to work in snowstorm” — but, instead of panicking,… Read more »
I’m learning more about how the muscles in my body work, which is a good thing, since a lot of them are still sore today from my Wednesday workout. The most surprising news? It’s the period between workouts when your muscles really develop. Indeed, according to Fernando Pages Ruiz in this July/August 2003 story in… Read more »
After about a 10-day hiatus, I’m finally feeling back in the swing of things. Winter is (very, very gradually) turning into spring, so I’ve been able to resume my walking commute, and last night I hit the gym for the first time in what feels this morning like a long, long time (I’m a little… Read more »
A nasty cold/flu bug has put me off my game this past week, plus it’s been too cold for my normal walking commute, so I’m beginning to feel a little out of sorts, fitness-wise. It’s fascinating to see how easily I can develop inertia, how the gym gradually loses its familiar tug after work. I’m… Read more »
I’ve never been particularly obsessed about my age, partly because I’ve always looked younger than I really am (which was a huge disadvantage when trying to buy liquor as a teenager). But the more I immerse myself in this fitness stuff, the more I see how a regular exercise regimen can peel away the years.… Read more »
With the mercury shooting up toward the teens this morning and a piddly southern breeze at my back, I could come out of my turtle-like posture of recent days and really enjoy the landscape. A fellow carrying a couple of bags of groceries in his mittened hands shared my euphoria with a smile and brisk… Read more »
It’s a bracing zero degrees this morning as I set off for work, but — mercifully — there’s no wind to speak of, which makes for a splendid amble through the park. I even took a moment to stretch my calves at the foot of the stairs that take me to 46th Street and the… Read more »
I mentioned earlier that I’d never set foot in a health club before about a year ago, so it’s almost goes without saying that the whole strength training routine remains pretty foreign to me (that is not me in the photo). I can remember as an early teen lifting a barbell at one of my… Read more »
Of course I didn’t do any stretching to speak of last night at the gym (see previous post). I mean, I did sort of stretch my calves and hamstrings before I revved up the treadmill, but you’re supposed to do that after your muscles warm up a little. Anyway, because I’ve been off my walking… Read more »
In the fall of 1998, I blew out my right knee playing basketball. I remember the occasion because it happened around the same time that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham sustained a similar injury. Cunningham was back in the lineup six days after his operation; I didn’t get back on the court for six months.… Read more »
That nasty northwest wind I mentioned yesterday was out in force this morning, knifing through my corduroys like a hundred icy daggers. Of course, like a good Minnesotan, I just put my head down and pushed on through. Not a day to admire the landscape. Still, I couldn’t help noticing today that, no matter the… Read more »
I’ve been a pretty faithful bicycle commuter for the past 30-some years. But, when the first big snow falls here in the Twin Cities, I typically park my bicycle in the garage and rely on the automobile to get to work. I’ve taken enough spills on the ice over the years to convince me that… Read more »
For most of my 56 years, I’ve considered myself to be a pretty fit guy — athletic even. I played seven years of Little League baseball; ran cross-country in junior high, where I also made the baseball, basketball, football, and tennis teams; played park and rec hockey in high school and intramural basketball in the… Read more »