what being in shape really is
Mar. 22nd, 2004 09:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
keryxLast 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.
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.