what being in shape really is

[keryx]

Last week I spent a couple of hours and walked a few miles in the pursuit of team-building fun (something that should always be approached with a certain cynicism). I don't usually find walking exhausting, but I did in this instance. We were moving pretty fast, and I felt like I was struggling to keep up.

The lesson I took from this was that I am, despite my daily workouts, miserably out of shape. That seemed odd, but then I figured I just wasn't working out with the intensity that gym-goers might. And I'm a naturally slow walker. Ergo, me = big wimpybutt who needs to kick it up a bit or just give up and be a sloth (three toes, excitement).

What I didn't think about was what my workouts have trained me for - namely, I'm not training to walk several blocks quickly, but to feel better, to be more flexible, to be a better dancer or actor. To train to walk quickly, one must practice walking quickly, particularly given my funky turned-out walking posture (which led to a lot of weird tension when sped up). The boy pointed out something that allowed me to stop beating myself up - the fast-walking folk would have encountered similar exhaustion had they been forced to follow my pace all day.

It's an important thing to know about physical training. You get better at the activities that are similar to what you train in; that doesn't necessarily make you better at anything else. If you're lifting weights, you're not going to suddenly be able to bound up stairs as a result. It's not a problem or a sign of your failure to train hard enough.

On the other hand, I decided that I do actually want to be able to consciously adjust my posture to walk quickly without overtiring my muscles. So I'm adding that to my training regimen.

Comments

[bigfatmama.livejournal.com]

what if you had said, without shame, hey! this pace isn't comfortable for me. i'd like to slow down. then everyone would have been a little more aware that every person does not have the same abilities. i hear what you are saying. i believe truly in fat and fit. but that doesn't mean you have to walk swiftly with a bunch of people whose thighs are not rubbing together, who are not carrying your weight.

am i reading too much into this? i've been there. keeping up with thin folks. i used to go hiking with a hugely fit former runner, a boy five years younger than me. i even went backpacking with him for three days in yellowstone, it was cool. but we stopped and rested. and i huffed and puffed. he carried a heavier pack. i was in great shape. i weighed probably 220 lbs at the time. but we didn't have the same bodies, the same abilities, even though i was able to walk for hours, he often walked out of my sight, he was a foot taller than me too.

i think as fat women we are supposed to be too ashamed to say, this pace is not comfortable, of making people aware that their assumptions don't fit the group. we are supposed to be ashamed to point it out, no one is supposed to notice we are fat. i am glad you posted this because i want people to be aware that my needs might be different and i'm not ashamed of that, even if that is something i need to work on. last week at school i was walking with a guy i ran into, who i like a lot and he was walking a little too fast for me and i was talking and i started to lose my breath, i'm sure he noticed. i really wish i had just slowed down, or even said, walking this fast isn't comfortable for me. i wish i had felt that brave for both of us, because he would have known i'm not ashamed to be fat and i'm not ashamed of my ability, right here and now. sure i wish i was stronger, more fit. but that wish isn't pure, there is a part of me that hopes no one notices that i'm fat. or i want to be the fat hero. see how fit i am! i'm not like them. you have really got me going today!

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I think you might be reading too much into it, but I like your answer anyhow. ;) You read that I was keeping up with thin people, when I didn't call that out (it was actually a mix of people of different sizes - I may have been the biggest, but I was hardly the only fat person).

My general approach to pacing with other folks is that the majority should rule, unless someone is really struggling; I do think it's important, though, that people be aware of different levels of physical ability when in a group.

In my case, the problem wasn't so much weight as a need to adjust the way I was standing to the pace I was walking (try walking with a strong turn-out, ducklike - then try doing that really fast - not a good idea); that's more a lesson for me to apply than it is a physical disability that others need to accomodate.

[bigfatmama.livejournal.com]

what if it is a physical disability that others should accomodate? would that be so wrong? would that upset you? would that be so lame? i read where you wrote that and i'm not the pc cop but it is something to think about, coupled with this post. is walking differently really so different?

i just think that ableism is important to think about, and as an ally, i cringe when i see that phrase, saying something or a person is lame. if you wouldn't say it to someone in a wheelchair please don't say it to me. just like i don't want to hear fatphobic or racist language.

of course the majority should not rule, if a group of people are walking and someone is having difficulty, they should slow down. that is just decent behavior, democracy doesn't have anything to do with it.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Sigh. My point in the response to your comment is that, while I recognize the need to accomodate differences in ability, that is not what I'm talking about in this post. I'm glad you saw something else there, because it's an interesting conversation to have, but I also feel like you're putting words I didn't say in my mouth and experiences I didn't have into my life.

Point taken on "lame", though. While it's a word that has lost its real meaning and acquired a slang meaning to replace it, that doesn't eliminate the fact that the slang has an offensive origin. Will someone please give me a suitable "valley girl" replacement for my future jokes?