HK-47 said:
It increases your flexibility and balance, but can't really do the super advanced stuff too well. Did notice an increase in not getting winded as easily and I actually do feel a bit more flexible after doing it.
The fire in your joints, the fire in your thighs, in your shins, in your leg as you hold the pose, but you'll bend like fire as you slenderize your physique.
I've heard Yoga is super good for people. I really like the idea of Yoga. To be honest I've wanted to try it but I think I'm being lazy and telling myself "I don't have time" when technically I sort of do. I suppose I just want free time to do other things, just in case I want to. I've read and watched a lot of videos and articles and stuff about Yoga and it blows my mind.
At the very least, I do some Yoga stretches/poses, but not many. I just do them with my other stretches, usually after a judo session and before a gym session. After judo I try to stretch as much of my body as I can, before gym however I just stretch the muscles that I'll primarily be using (so if I'm gonna do squats, I'll stretch my legs).
Sightless said:
Yoga is another one of things to be wary of, not just because of cultural appropriation, but also because it asks you to voluntarily and routinely put your body in abnormal positions, which can put a lot of unnoticed strain on your body. Yoga instructors are certified, sure, but many programs that certify instructors don't actually require the person to understand physiology or kinesiology to a significant extent. You may spend 10-20 hours studying "anatomy", but this could include "energy physiology" -- i.e., not your actual body movement/positioning.
So I have a bit of a negative view of yoga, at least as it's come into the scope of the western world. Not to say that you shouldn't try it, like. I just mean people should either *actually* study yoga as a whole and in depth, or if you're just going to do some stretches, just call it doing some fucking stretches.
I think that like any sport or form of exercise, there would always be some risk of some sort. Regarding Yoga, I would like to think (or hope really) that the certified instructors would be aware that some people may not be able to do what they're asked to do. For example, I doubt new students and beginners to Yoga would be asked to try and perform complex and difficult poses/stretches, I would hope that would be slowly built up over time and practice. I also believe when it comes to starting an exercise, sport or martial art, it's very important for the students to tell the instructors if they have any problems to begin with that may hinder their progress.
For example, I get absolutely furious when people rock up to our judo club and don't tell us about any particular injuries they're carrying. Suddenly they get hurt, then they complain "I've got a <injury here> because of <story here>". Basically, it's up to both sides to be responsible. That's what I think anyway. Sorry if I sound a bit insensitive, don't mean to.
I also think there's nothing wrong with saying you do a bit of casual Yoga, so to speak. A lot of stretches that are performed for general exercise and sport aren't in Yoga, and Yoga does have some pretty good stretches/poses. It might sound silly, but I do a few stretches/poses stolen from Yoga after a judo session and I find it's very helpful. Each to their own I guess.
I do agree though... I hope that Yoga instructors would have some knowledge about the human body, other than what they've learned in Yoga. I know a few judo coaches who have degrees and qualifications in things such as exercise and sports science, so they know a fair bit about the body and exercise... so I would hope Yoga instructors would do something similar. All instructors in general (a bit hypocritical on my part, as I coach kids but I lack qualifications like that).
Sightless said:
At home, I will do pushups/crunches/stretches, now and then, but I don't push myself to do more. I should say that I'm not actively trying to make a workout routine or anything. It's more just that doing those activities can feel refreshing.
That's fair enough.
It's up to you what you do, but I'm glad you do something. I think it's important that people do something and try the best they can. The reason I think "programs" are so good is because they give us direction and goals, and by achieving those goals we become fitter, stronger and healthier and in turn, can develop new goals to surpass.
I'm sorry to sound like a real Nazi about it but the reason I feel so strongly about health and exercise is simply because when I was inactive (e.g. did no exercise and ate a lot of bad food) I seriously paid the price for it and it could have lead me down a seriously dangerous path.
Sightless said:
I know, people keep telling me it's never too late, but I feel like once you're past your teens/school age, you're stuck in that place where you can't really take kids classes, and you don't really want to take "adult" classes. Sure some places are "all ages", but I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of kids and their parents.
I'll just look everything up on youtube, right? ._.
It really, seriously never is too late!
When I took up judo, even though I trained in the "senior" class, it was a mix of teenagers and young adults. I started at age twenty one got my arse handed to me by seventeen and eighteen year olds. In today's class, we have a mix of ages... teenagers, young adults, people in their mid/late twenties and even a couple of people in their forties. Either way, never too late.
I know this as a fact.
Please don't look things up on YouTube
. Some YouTube tutorials are great, but for learning martial arts? Big no no. Martial arts should be taught from someone who knows what they're doing, face to face, preferably with a partner and/or equipment.
I remember one kid at judo watched on YouTube how to do a throw called "Tomoe Nage" (the catapult looking throw Ryu does in Street Fighter). He hadn't been taught it at all in judo, he just watched the video - picture related.
Anyway. The idea is that you've gotta place your foot on their hip, then you basically drop down to your arse, almost in between their feet, and catapult them over. Yeah well, this kid just straight out kicked his opponent in the balls. It was terrible. Terribly funny.
Sightless said:
Crossfit became such a weird explosionhere, and I'm not sure it's all that healthy. Some crossfit programs seem too intense, or seem like it's too easy to push too hard and injure yourself. The culture of crossfit clubs can enforce that drive too. Of course all of that is fine when you know what you're doing, and knowledge+caution and all that.
I'm not a big fan of Cross Fit either, but that's only because of what I've heard. I've never taken Cross Fit, so I know I can't bag on it too much. I guess my only beef with it is I don't like the idea of doing Olympic style lifting and doing it repetitively with little to no rest, to me that seems like the potential to cause injury. I don't think the joints would enjoy that too much. Regardless, I've seen people who said to have gotten excellent results from their Cross Fit training, so maybe it depends on who is running the show and how they train people?
Sightless said:
I wish it were more acceptable to play on playgrounds. I came to a really sad realization that once I graduated, it really wasn't okay for me to go back to elementary school playgrounds... Some years ago, I went back with a bunch of friends to my old elementary school. Granted, it was "past dark", although not really that late -- not past nine, I think -- a police officer came up with a flashlight and started questioning us, saying we couldn't be here after dark. I was devastated, because where else am I supposed to go if I want to swing on a swingset?? Where else can I play keep away or don't touch the lava, or sit on top of a series of uneven bars?
My friends and I played on play equipment once at night, it was a lot of fun. We were lucky to not get in trouble.
Longo_2_guns said:
There's a taekwondo place about two blocks away from where I live, so I'm considering doing that. Y. K. Kim taught me that it is the best way to achieve world peace, so I'm all for that.
Though there is a gym that's even closer, but that shit is expensive.
Taekwondo would be cool. Learn how to snap people in the face with your feet
And regarding gyms, that's what I hate about a lot of gyms, very expensive... my gym costs me $25 AUD a fortnight (about $23 USD), which I think is cheap as... problem with it though is it's a family run gym with no "employees", so their hours are normal business hours really.
Optimus-Crime said:
I'm in a fight club. Our rules 1 & 2 are to tell everyone about our fight club and to bring your own fucking towel, for Christ's sake!
madster111 said:
I'll have you know, i work out every day.
I'm going to get that fucking cult of personality achievement if it kills me and the guitar.
Tank!
