The Game

[Anne]

(We all just lost it.)

No, no, I'm talking about a different game!

This is one that my parkour crew plays. (I'm pretty sure all of the TXPK scene knows it, actually.)

It goes like this:

If you are caught saying something self-defeating, for example, "I can't do that" or, "That's impossible!" unless it is actually impossible according to the laws of physics or mathematics, you get prizes!

Prizes are up to the discretion of the person who catches you, but are usually 10 pushups. If you get caught several times in a row, and the regular push-ups aren't learnin' you, you get to do harder variations. Also, if 10 normal push-ups are too easy for you, scale it up. Try diving monkeys, pseudo-planche pushups, etc. If they're too hard, do them on your knees until you build strength. If you catch yourself, give yourself prizes that are challenging, but able to be completed.

The purpose of the game is twofold: to make yourself more mindful of when you limit yourself (often it happens unconsciously!) and to make you physically stronger.

(It is acceptable to state "That is not yet within my capabilities.")

So...who wants to play?

[Steve]

That game sounds too hard for me to play

::does 10 push ups::

-S

[titsworth]

I dig it

[Istra]

Hmm. I like it. I think I will tell it to my dad - he would *love* to use that in his P.E. class.

All right, I give in, I'll do it!

(BTW- you reminded me of Kumori-con where some guy wore a shirt saying "I'm the game." Every time he entered a room, there was a mass wail.)

[Aled25]

I like that!

Can we also use it on celebrities who use bad maths? Like those reality tv judges 'It's 150% yes from me!'. 150%?! That's just bad maths! Drop and give me ten!

[Joe Freedom]

That sounds awesome, unless it causes me to jump off a 40 ft. building and try to tactical-roll the impact

Oh and I love the misuse of percentages. I do have to say though that telling someone to give 100% though is still borderline, since you'd technically die if you used up 100% of the energy in your body.

"I'm gonna give this lift 100%. Afterwards I'll collapse in on myself and supernova. Stand back!"

[dakaodo]

The initial recruitment to the game can be rough, b/c the negative Nellies won't want to perform their rewards (read: forfeits, but we're trying to be positive! ).

I try to scale down as appropriate (10 push ups from knees, only 3 push ups, etc.) and then do it with them. I feel it's important to do it with, supporting them. Not to slam mine out or do a set of 10 clapping push ups to shame them.

But I've turned some real belligerent adolescent hard cases into converts. It works particularly well when they start bringing their friends and want to look good, so they jump over to my team and start haranguing their friends for me.

Re: percentages, I agree if you're talking about 100% of your total body reserves of energy. Obviously, the body has safeguards built in so that it gets exponentially harder to tap into each additional increment of energy / strength / flexibility.

But implicit in my use of the phrase "give it 100%" is: safe and reasonable effort. And most people get it. If you gave it 105% or even 101%, you end up tweaking, straining, pulling, or spraining something. Over time, as body awareness, muscle recruitment / coordination, and overall strength development increase, then your functional 100% mark can quickly shift higher up for any combination of improvements. I usually don't talk about that theoretical 99.9% "I'm gonna tear every muscle in my back and arms, but I'll lift this car off my parents!"

Functionality is pretty context relative, too. Chopping wood with an ax, my functional 100% might be 40% of my theoretical 100%. But with a longsword in hand, my functional 100% strength swing (even using the same gross motion as with the ax) is closer to 10-20% of my theoretical 100%. In those cases, it's usually b/c of skill / muscle coordination, not for lack of raw strength.