Villikissa

Off to Dystopia Rising for the weekend - which may not be a workout as such, but does involve a lot of running around and other physical activity, and last time left me sore in every muscle for a day and half afterwards. See you all when I return from battling the zombie hordes!

Villikissa sprang down from the rigging, pushing an attacker overboard. She hadn't quite the strength of the more experienced pirates, so her pushes only accomplished a third as much, but she did as much as she could, and outdid any of her previous efforts (i.e. bench push-ups at a lower angle than I've ever done before). Sadly she was hampered in the first round of battle by a personal trainer who had decided last night was going to be mainly about lower-body work, but she looked forward to being able to contribute more in the next round... But wait, what was happening? She felt the pull of an alternate reality drawing her away from the ship - into a post-apocalyptic zombie-infested wasteland! Apparently she'd be fighting battles of a different sort this weekend. But she resolved as she vanished into the mists that if the battle on the ship was still raging when she got back, she'd dive in and do her best to fight off these less-undead attackers!

Quick update before a staff meeting: Had another workout with the personal trainer last night. It started out very embarrassingly unsuccessful - she wanted me to jump rope as a warm-up, and apparently it's been a long time since I did that, because I kept screwing up and tripping over the rope. Then the next thing was pull-ups, which I initially had zero success with - I really don't have much in the way of upper-body strength! She kept trying to find various modified ways for me to do it, most of which I still couldn't do. But finally she put me on a modified pull-up machine, which uses counterweights to offset part of your bodyweight, so you can adjust it to offset just enough weight to enable you to do them. She had to put 130 lbs on the counterweight before I could do them successfully! That means I was only actually lifting something like 50-60 pounds of my weight! But that was the just the right amount to make it difficult but not impossible, and hopefully if I keep doing them I can gradually reduce the counterweight until one day I will be able to do real ones! It actually felt really good just to be able to them in some form, especially after so much failure at the beginning of the session, which had been starting to make me feel hopeless. Also had some really interesting and challenging balance exercises this time, that I had not done before. I like those even though they're difficult, because when I do manage to succeed, I feel like a circus acrobat or something. Which is not to say that I always succeeded, but it's kind of a work in progress... Dance breaks since last post: Mon, Aug 25 - “Can You Forgive Her?†by Finntroll (Finnish folk metal cover of 80s synthpop song!) and “Omnos (metal version)†by Eluveitie.Tue, Aug 26 - somehow I managed not to do any yesterday! I have no idea why - usually I’ve been pretty reliable about these! I was in a meeting for most of the afternoon, but that’s no excuse for the morning!Wed, Aug 27 - "Totus Floreo" by Corvus Corax (that video is from a live performance - all the videos I could find of that song were - and does a sort of fast/slow alternation, but the version on the album is fast all the way through, with more of an obvious metal/industrial sort of edge)

I'm here! Did we ever get a writing assignment for the mini-quest? I don't recall seeing one - last I heard we were still trying to come up with a name! But I'd be happy to participate in a writing mini-quest if one has been decided on...

While I haven't been on here every day, it sounds to me like you've gotten a lot done, even if it wasn't everything you originally aspired to. And that still counts! Definitely better than giving up!

Ahoy, captain - I be currently a web developer when not piratin', but before that a graphic designer for print, an' I have the entire Adobe Creative Suite. What exactly be ye needin' done? Also - happy belated birthday! By way of makin' up for me lateness, here be a musical greetin' for you. It ain't exactly fitness-oriented, but it's pretty amusin'. Alas, I've not yet figured out how to embed videos successfully here - I tried that media option under the cursed "t" button last time, but it resulted in nothin' but a big blank space... I'll try again, though, for a pirate never gives up! Edited to remove the URL I added after the media tag, because this time it worked!

Thanks, LadyShello! Some good advice there... Friday dance breaks: "Converting Vegetarians" by Infected Mushroom"Yarilo" by Arkona (it is not physically possible not to dance when that song comes on! I think it would make someone in a coma get up and dance.)

OK, so, catching up: Gym: I've had 3 workout sessions with a personal trainer! (Thursday last week, after an initial consultation/fitness evaluation on the Tuesday of that week, and then Tuesday and Thursday of this week.) Which is something I've never done before... And it's been really good! She definitely pushes me to do things I wouldn't do on my own - which are sometimes really difficult! - but at the same time, she's careful of my knee/ankle issues, and she can tell if I'm having serious trouble doing something, and adjust it accordingly. I have actually been doing push-ups! Something I've never been capable of. Mind you, they've been on a bar at about chest-height, not on the floor, but still - it's some kind of push-ups! They're difficult, but feel good at the same time... And the bar thing she's had me using to do them is adjustable, so as I build up strength, I can lower it so that it's gradually more like doing proper push-ups. AND: squats! I can't go as far down as you're supposed to, and she told me to, for now, only go as low as I can without having my knees start hurting or give out on me. But still - as with the push-ups, it's at least some kind of squats! We've experimented with different modifications - on Tuesday it was doing them with a bench behind me, so that I basically squatted down to sit on the edge of the bench, and then back up, so that there was moment of rest in each one, and I didn't have to worry about falling if my knees gave out. Last night it was doing a sort of sideways walk across the gym while squatting down (just as far as I could while staying stable) and coming back up And - let's see, what else? Lunges only once thus far, because I had a really hard time with them. She does want me to do those, but it looks like I may have to work up to them.Various balance exercises on a sort of squishy hemisphere thing, which are apparently good for improving stability in your knees and ankles, as well as improving balance in general.A variety of different abdominal and lower-back exercisesSome core and upper body exercises using a machine where you're pulling cables that can move in any direction, so it's sort of a cross between regular weight machines and free weights (because you have a lot more freedom of movement than with regular weight machines.Tricep dips that nearly killed me. My arms are still a bit sore three days later... Had to skip doing anything tricep-related last night!Probably lots of other things I can't recall offhand.Things I have learned in the training sessions thus far: My hamstrings are apparently a lot weaker than my quads, so she's been giving me some specific hamstring-strengthening movements to try and balance that out. This is probably because one of the few forms of exercise I have been doing relatively often over the past few years is cycling, which tends to use your quads a lot.My lower back and hip flexors are weak so I need to put some focus on strengthening those.I tend to get a lot of muscle knots in the backs of my legs, particularly around the knee, which she said I might want to see a massage therapist for. This is particularly the case with my left leg, since my arthritis is worse on the right, so I probably tend to put my weight more on my left leg and it ends up more under strain that way. Stretching those muscles regularly will also help.I also tend to have knotted-up muscles in my shoulders and along toward my neck, which is apparently pretty typical for people who work with computers all day. Again, massage and stretching will both be helpful. Dance breaks since last I posted them: Tail end of week 3: Fri, Aug 15 - “Requiem for the Indifferent†by Epica and “Temple of Hate†by XandriaWeek 4: Mon, Aug 18 - “Uis Elveti†by Eluveitie and “Sisters of the Light†by XandriaTue, Aug 19 - “More†by the Sisters of Mercy, plus parts of “Die For Love†by Johnny Hollow and “Tegernako†by Eluveitie, because you can’t NOT dance when that one comes on. Plus a certain amount of bouncing in my chair to “Scaretale†by Nightwish. Wed, Aug 20 - “La Ventura†by Mano NegraThu, Aug 21 - “Nemesis†by Shriekback and “Istanbul†by They Might Be Giants Stretching: Still intermittent. I am definitely doing worse on this one than on any of my other fitness goals. I think what I need is to find or develop a specific stretching routine that I can follow every day, where there's a specific list of exercises. When left on my own with this I tend to flounder a bit and am never sure what exactly I should be stretching. My training did give me a few specific stretches to do for particular trouble spots, but I'd like to have a full stretching routine I can refer to to keep me on track. Must search through the NF videos, or maybe other people have routines they'd recommend? Bookcase (life goal): Er... does glaring at the stuff that is where I want the bookcase to go count for anything? (All right, all right, I know the answer to that question...) Levelling up: So, apparently having passed week 3, I have points to spend? But I am a little unclear as to whether I am actually supposed to get all 10 points, or grade myself on each of my goals and get whatever proportion I've been successful with....

I have got to watch this habit of phasing off into fairyland and losing track of time... But I'm still here, and will be posting a better update a bit later today (have to start work now). And I'll try to estimate my walking/biking mileage for the past 5 days for the CutLasses thread.

Ooh ooh, I get points? Even though I haven't entirely been meeting all my goals? (Bookcase still unconstructed, although I have been giving meaningful glares to the pile of stuff where it's supposed to go), and I haven't kept up with the stretching as well as I'd like to have) Hmm, I will have to think what to do with them! (A little voice in my head said "Spend 6 points on the Building Tomorrow skill and drop the rest into Mind or Health!" but that's Dystopia Rising, not here...)

I'm going to try and go three times a week, as per my goal - AND they had a couple of special packages available when I joined, where new members could buy a package of a consultation + either 3 or 6 sessions with a personal trainer, to get a personalized workout routine established! I went with the package of 6. So I'm really excited about that. I had the consultation two days ago - basically going over my health status, fitness goals, diet, lifestyle, etc.; checking my heart rate, blood pressure, etc.; and checking my fitness level by seeing how many squats (HA!), lunges, push-ups (double HA!) and how long a plank I could do. The plank was about the only one of those that was not totally embarrassing - I did not suck TOO badly at that. Push-ups were the worst, as I couldn't even do ONE. With the squats and lunges, she said to just go as low as I could for now, because it was basically to see what I could actually do. She showed me what the correct form looked like, and said to get as close to it as I could, but not go so far that it actually hurt (because we'd discussed my arthritis issues and the results of my last attempt at a squat), so that she could see where I was at now. AND MADE ME DO 10 OF THEM. But I managed, albeit with much wobbling, and not going down as far as I ought to. It's a start... Oh, and - she's going to help me get oriented on using free weights! She said the weight machines are OK to use if you're in a hurry, because you can whip through them quickly, so there's nothing wrong with using them for that, but ultimately I will get more results from using free weights - which I pretty much already knew, but free weights do still scare me a bit, so I'll feel better about trying them with a trainer helping me so that I don't die. Since apart from the fitness test part, it was more of a consultation than an actual workout, once we were done I did a round on the weight machines, although I couldn't do too much on some of the knee-related ones since my attempt at squats and lunges had left me a bit wobbly in the knees. I also found out that, while I hadn't seen any rowing machines when I was there on Sunday, they DO have them - they're just a level down from where I was then (this branch is MUCH bigger than the one I used to belong to - it's spread over three stories!). So that was nice to find, because I like using a rowing machine as a warmup. And I have my next appointment with her - this one for an actual workout! - tonight after work. Oh, and this week's dance breaks, thus far (no YouTube links yet, but I will add them later if I remember to): Mon, Aug 11 - “This Corrosion†by In Extremo (thanks to DarK_RaideR for introducing me to that!) + “Happy Little Boozer†by KorpiklaaniTue, Aug 12 - “Dhoom Machale†from the Dhoom 3 soundtrack (BTW, everyone should see that movie - it's great)Wed, Aug 13 - “Dhol Dark and Handsome†by the Dhol FoundationThu, Aug 14 - “This Corrosion†by In Extremo (yes, again) and "Mashallah" from the Ek Tha Tiger soundtrack (the latter while carrying my cat, because she looked like she wanted attention, so I figured she could dance with me)This is from what I remembered to record, but there may be some missing - my notes are kind of spotty and I have a terrible memory. I try to do two dance breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, but I have only one song listed most days, and can't always remember if I only did one, or if I just forgot to write one down (why yes, I do have ADD...)

I had to go and check, but it looks like there are: http://www.eschatonmedia.com/deadheroes It says it's a trilogy, but there are only two books listed. I guess maybe the third one's yet to come?

Ooh, this sounds great! I picked the writers' group, even though lately I've been doing more sewing than writing, because writing is something I really like doing but haven't been doing enough of lately. Maybe we can do a collaboratively written short story or something...

Hey, just found this thread by doing a search for Dystopia Rising, which I went to for the first time last weekend and had an amazing time! I don't know if the OP is still around and looking for games in California, but DR does have a chapter there now. As well as in 8 other places across the US, and now even in Canada! (Which is why I was finally able to go - I used to hear about it from people who made the trek down to one of the US games, but now we finally have our own, which is much easier for me to get to.) You can see a listing of the chapters here: http://www.dystopiarisinglarp.com/localgamel/ Anyway - I would totally recommend it. Fun, frightening, and really good exercise - it's amazing how fast you find you can run when you're being chased by zombies!

It really is! Sometimes terrifying, sometimes hilarious... It's a real roller-coaster ride of emotions! Being immersed in character for an entire weekend, 24 hours a day - you even eat and sleep in character - you really get into it, and even though the rational part of your brain knows that the things coming toward you are people in zombie makeup, there's a big part of your brain that, in the moment, reacts as if they were actual zombies! I think I ran more and faster and harder that weekend than I have in living memory. For a long time I thought of running as something that I just Did Not Do, but it's amazing how you suddenly find you can run when there's something chasing you! Plus, the DR world is just so fascinating! All these different "strains of humanity", each with their own culture and history, and then the different in-game religions and philosophies and what not, and everyone coming together to try and rebuild society, but facing all kinds of challenges, not just from things like zombies and radioactivity, but also all the things that make it difficult for a bunch of human beings to accomplish anything! Interpersonal issues, fears, conflicts, etc.... My character is a mad scientist, from the strain known as the Pure Bloods, who are basically the descendants of "the 1%", as in the really rich people. But she never fit in very well with them, because she was obsessed with science, and disinterested in politics and business, so eventually she had a falling-out with her family and left home to find somewhere she could pursue science - but wasn't really quite prepared for what the rest of the world was like, given her relatively sheltered upbringing. So that was a really interesting character to play... And so much happened that weekend, all kinds of different plots and subplots and interweaving stories. There was a radioactive science lab to explore, and mysterious severed body parts that followed people around, and a vengeful ghost, and a strange pit that appeared overnight, full of some kind of black goop and artifacts from the distant past, and some kind of creature that kept possessing people and making them attack their friends, and so much more! And everyone I met there was great - it's funny, for a game with such a strong horror focus, pretty much everyone that plays it seems to be incredibly nice! At least, in my local game - I don't really know what the others are like. The closest game to you would be the one in southern California, I think. Not exactly right next door, but a fair number of people do travel to get to whatever game is nearest them. Most of the people at the game I went to were from somewhere in southern Ontario (Toronto or London, mostly), but there were some who came in from further away. I got a ride from a player who was passing through Toronto on her way from upstate New York, and there were a fair number of other Americans who came up for it as well, plus some Canadians go down to the game in New Jersey at least some of the time. Anyway, I would totally recommend it! Great fun and great exercise! And so much opportunity for creativity, from crafting props and costumes to the actual role-playing part of it. And awesome nerdy people!