Creative Exercising

[red5angel]

I'm constantly trying to get little exercises in throughout the day when I can. For instance, I often do a stair workout at work, climbing the steps and at certain floors I'll stop and do pushups or situps or whatever.
This afternoon on my way back from lunch I had to take an escalator so putting my hands on each side of me I held myself up all the way down.

What sorts of things are you guys and girls doing to get in a little exercise from time to time?

[FngSaiYuk]

I'm constantly trying to get little exercises in throughout the day when I can. For instance, I often do a stair workout at work, climbing the steps and at certain floors I'll stop and do pushups or situps or whatever.
This afternoon on my way back from lunch I had to take an escalator so putting my hands on each side of me I held myself up all the way down.

What sorts of things are you guys and girls doing to get in a little exercise from time to time?

Oh this is the kind of stuff I LOVE to do.

Like I do those planche pushup progression excercises several times a day out of nowhere.

'Box jumps' on just about anything, tables planters, dividing walls, etc.

Pullups on just about anything I end up walking under that I can reach up or leap up to.

That 'L shaped' ab excercise where you hold yourself up with your hands with your torso upright and your legs perpendicular - palms, fingertips or knuckles.

Handstands, cartwheels, handsprings, kipups, etc...

All just whenever, wherever... The extended family thinks I'm sorta weird, but they love me anyways. Whateva, it's all fun!

[Andy62]

With "virtual resistance" you can turn almost anything you do into a strength building exercise. If you are picking up a light box pretend it is a heavy box and provide extra resistance by tensing your muscles through the entire range of motion. The same with pulling ropes, lifting chairs or whatever. You will not only build physical strength,but develop mental strength and concentration as well. It's fun and it works.

[FngSaiYuk]

With "virtual resistance" you can turn almost anything you do into a strength building exercise. If you are picking up a light box pretend it is a heavy box and provide extra resistance by tensing your muscles through the entire range of motion. The same with pulling ropes, lifting chairs or whatever. You will not only build physical strength,but develop mental strength and concentration as well. It's fun and it works.

On that note, I often do that in the shower - basically tensing up whatever muscles I'm soaping up at the time. Also, I practice a form of 'cold dousing/tempering' esp in the winter where, after showering or at the end of my morning workout, I shower with the water as cold as possible while rubbing the cold water all over vigorously and tensing up whatever muscles I'm rubbing over at the time. Do this for about a min or two.

[JadeMantis]

I sometimes walk around work with 2lb leg weights on for the day. Run up any steps I find 3-4 steps at a time, run down 2 steps at a time. Instead of bending down drop into a low 7 star stance, tiger stance or circle entering stance. Use Horse Stance instaed of a chair. Its all god fun and you get some strange looks from people.

[Ming Yue]

I work in a print shop, so when I'm not designing (sitting on my bum at the PC) I'm lugging cases of paper or operating cutters, folders, stitchers...

I get sets of 25 bootstrappers in while waiting for the printer, 50 back of wrist pushups against the wall, a pistol or two when I can.

And my party trick... I can open a wrapped ream of paper by dropping it horizontally at about head height, then striking upward with a mantis hand (splits the wrapper) then grab the ream right in the center with the same hand and the wrapper slides off each side. I can't get it every time.

[Mr Punch]

If you are picking up a light box pretend it is a heavy box and provide extra resistance by tensing your muscles through the entire range of motion.

Especially useful for acting skills. Also makes a good party trick... good as in so annoying someone is bound to take offecnce and try to hit you, then you get to practice your kungfu!

[Becca]

I do alot of 10-keying (using the little number pad on the right side of the keybord). One day I noticed that my right hand spears, ridge-hand strikes and chops tended to be much stronger than my left. So I started teaching myself to 10-key with my left hand, as well. I haven't gotten my left hand as built up as my right yet, but it is getting there.

I also run up any fight of stairs I come to. Then, if the railins are on both sides, I will "walk" down them on my hands.

I have access to a cart to run erands and such on property and to plot my bus locations, but I alway walk instead. If I need to get from one end of the garage to the other, I sprint.

When people look at me funny and ask me what in the blazes I'm doing, I tell them I was starting to get drowsy and needed to wake myself up. (This isn't usually a lie, Working nites will make you drowsy...)

[Andy62]

In the 1970s Mike Dayton put out a course called "Chi MIndControl" that featured a lot of the same type of exercises mentioned in this thread. To develop the strength to do various bending and breaking feats mentioned in the link below he tensed his muscles through the range of motion and combined it with intense mental concentratation. You can do similar exercises a odd moments during the day.






http://american-kyokushin.com/cnt.akk.mike-dayton.html

[Becca]

I also liked "Enhancing Martial Arts Performance Using Cables"
By Louis Kiss, found in the hard copy of the March/April Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine. It isn't in the on-line format (I checked) but it was a good read. It is well worth the $4 to buy it if you don't have a subscription.

The article details how to use simple, inexpensive medical tubing to get a weight-lifting quality work out with out needing the wieghts. I have started putting a set in my work bag to use when I have down time or need a pick-me-up energy wise. Takes only minutes, and dosen't take much space.

[Mr Punch]

As I seem to have dropped a Useless Bomb on this thread, here are a couple of serious answers...

I like the escalator gag too Red. Have you tried

1) getting a swing off it for a dismount...
2) when you land from the dismount, tyou can further develop your leg strength and balance a little by landing on one leg, and bringing the other round in an arc over the top of the rail before you put it down...
3) the monkey swing... on the way up the escalator, try swinging two or three steps.

Getting out of your chair:

1) The Horse Stance Method. Many people practise static horse stance but don't really try using it moving. Getting out of your chair is a great opportunity! Look at how you normally get out of your chair... normally people put their feet a little back, towards the base of the chair to provide more vertical leverage to stand up. Well instead, try keeping your knees at 90 degrees forming a square with the floor and your back straight, and stand straight up. Make sure you don't stick your butt out, or lean forward when you stand, and try not to use your hands for extra momentum. Surprisingly difficult to do it with speed and lightly enough to be able to move away from the seat smoothly!

2) The Cat Leap. From any position, just jump straight up! In fact I usually jump out to the side, cos I'm normally going somewhere or writing something on the board behind me. With practise you can land almost behind the chair. Again, don't swing your arms. The trick is doing it so smoothly that people don't notice that they've just witnessed a feat of athleticism!

That's enough chair antics... sounding too much like Huang Kai Vun!

Tying your shoelaces. Bring your leg up straight and tie it in mid-air.

Wash up in horse stance... don't use a dishwasher for smalll loads - saves energy and water and gives you exercise! From horse stance you can do stretches to put things on the draining board/in the cupboards... again, when you get round to the big pots at the end, can give you a surprising workout!