health – S'amusing

What Was Your ‘Playing Weight’?

Briefcase n Scale

If you watched the Super Bowl, then you couldn’t help hearing some players described by their size, not just big and bigger, but by their weight. This is often referred to as a ‘playing weight’ because these behemoths are on rigid eating plans to maintain weight within certain ranges to make them more effective at their particular job, playing football (American).

Did you have a ‘playing weight’ when you were ‘in the game’? A self imposed ‘playing weight’?

Moreover, did you ever think of your job that way, as a game, a performance, a contest? Every day, when you went to work, you stepped into your particular ‘arena’ to earn a living and the resulting rewards.

Maybe it was was an office, a factory floor, classroom or stage. A desk, car and other people’s offices was my ‘arena’. I was in sales, and ‘on the road’, to where ‘wins’ could be had, at the customer’s places of business.

In sales, there actually is competition, making the ‘game’ more real, the ‘victories’ more invigorating, and, conversely, the ‘losses’ more upsetting.

And like a performer or athlete, maintaining a ‘playing weight’ and good health was important to a successful job. For a salesperson, living out of a suitcase, eating restaurant or fast food meals while ‘on the run’, or having drinks with a client, weight issues were problematic. Proper diet, exercise and rest was always a challenge, and important to successes or failures. At least, it was to me.

In his book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, Dr. Franklin Covey referred to keeping oneself physically, mentally and socially fit, as ‘sharpening the saw’. And it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

Hence, the ‘playing weight’. At some point, we realize that healthy habits contribute to more wins than losses. No matter our game, there has to be time set aside to practice sensible health habits. Maintaining a smart ‘playing weight’ is an important component of those plans.

When the game is over and we hang up our ‘uniforms’, whatever it was we wore, when we get out of the game, so to speak, it’s important to be cognizant, then, of our retirement weight, as well. We want to still be healthy enough to enjoy the rewards that were won earlier.

So, what was your ‘playing weight’ when you were ‘in the game’?

Steve (srbottch.com)

She Made Me What I Am Today, An ‘Ironman’: The Promise

She made me what I am today, an ‘Ironman’!

Excuse me, did I say ‘Ironman’? My bad, I meant, ‘Ironing Man’. I’m an ‘ironing man’: shirts, pants, cloth napkins, aprons (not mine…yet), pillowcases, etc.

Dusting, yes, a critical skill. It’s tedious but you won’t find creepy bugs housekeeping along our crown molding and baseboard. As for the hardwoods, the Swiffer tool is my choice. Gripping it a certain way let’s you ‘slap shot’ those pesky ‘dust bunnies’ into a corner for easy gathering.

Both chores combine housecleaning and athleticism: the multiple reps of a weightlifter sliding a water filled iron back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and the steady, rhythmic gliding of a ballroom dancer sweeping across polished hardwood. My wristband monitor goes off the charts on cleaning day.

The best benefit, of course, is the ‘come hither’ look of appreciation in my wife’s approving eyes. But, alas, by the time I’ve ‘pressed’ my last pleat, ‘pushed up’ from bunny hunting under the bed or ‘power dragged’ the Hoover over the dog haired rug, I’m too tired to go anywhere, hither or not.

Meantime, the golf clubs have lost their shine, the gym membership is going unused and the resistance bands have dry rot. Nevertheless, I’m staying in shape with squats (toilet bowl cleaning), bends & reaches (dishwasher loading/unloading), heavy lifting (turning a queen mattress) and sprints (“hurry, the dog needs to go out”).

The genesis of these new found domestic skills can be traced back to something I did forty-eight years ago, I made a promise. Promises, vows, oaths, call them what you will, are important to our own notion of self-worth, when kept. They measure us for trustworthiness. They address our character and integrity.

Promises call for sacrifice and commitment. In my case, I didn’t commit to housecleaning but I did promise my everlasting support. LIFE changes, doesn’t it? Priorities get rearranged.

Yet, somehow, It’s worked out satisfactorily. I have well pressed handkerchiefs and there’s no stress of calling ahead for a tee time. Too tired to carry clubs, anyway.

I just need someone to show me how to fold a fitted sheet…

Steve
srbottch.com (July 2017)

To legions of men everywhere who help with the housework, whether you admit it or not, because you want or need to do it.

The ‘Barre’ Chronicles…with a twist

Barre-1st position

I stood at the barre, toed-out, alone in my masculinity and surrounded by a rainbow of colors, women in their exercise tights and tops. And me, with skinny legs in baggy gym shorts and a wrinkled cotton t-shirt with the logo of a local beer manufacturer, I’m the tallest, oldest, and only male ‘at the barre’, a consummate ‘fish out of water’.

Nevertheless, I would not be deterred.

That was weeks ago and I’ve been ‘hitting the barre’ twice weekly since then. Still in loose shorts but more confident in knowing and doing the routine. First and second position are second nature to me, I wobble a bit on the relève but show good flexibility on the plié, as I squat low, then lower.

And in that two-a-week regiment, I’m seeing more muscular quads, thickening thighs, and firm buttocks with each passing class. But enough about my classmates, my own physiology is improving, as well. The legs are stronger, my posture has improved and my hair is growing back…(two of three are true).

Barre exercise incorporates some ballet, yoga, balance and weight-bearing movements, using hand weights, balls, bands and the ever-present ballet barre, with multiple repetitions. The muscle ‘burn’ is often intense but momentary, while the feeling of accomplishment is exhilarating and enduring. Completing a routine often becomes an issue of mind over matter and I smile with an inner arrogance, knowing that I’m pushing myself to new limits. What I lack in grace or style, I make up with grimaces and grunts.

Exercise is like that, isn’t it? Push yourself to reach a level, then reset to do better. The discipline to persevere and the resulting accomplishment are their own rewards. The occasional injury is a nagging byproduct, a temporary interference.

Our instructor counts down, repetition after repetition, and when we think we’re done, she orders up, “One more rep, yes?” In an earlier life I would have shouted, “Yes, Drill Sergeant!”. But, now, I just grin, grunt and go on the best I can.

Barre is part of the smorgasbord of exercise classes at my local JCC. Along with Yoga. Tai-Chi Easy, some boxing and the pool, I feel myself getting a bit leaner and stronger.

And, if my alpha friends find it strange that I’m the only male in a class of women doing curtsy reps at a barre instead arm wrestling at a real bar, I just boldly offer them high fives, aggressive chest bumps and a declaration of the classic John Candy/Steve Martin line…

“How ‘bout them Bears!” *

Barre, Releve

Srbottch.Com

*Planes, Trains and Automobiles