With the recent changes in climate and stuff (cooler, darker earlier), I haven't been biking much AT ALL. And I know it's just gonna get worse as time goes on. I probably won't do any serious biking (other than afternoon rides on the weekend) until Spring. I'm starting to feel it. I'm sluggish. The scale is reading higher numbers.
The bottom line is that I need to get off my ass more. And regularly. I need something for every season. But I'm not sure what I should get into now. I've thought of using the exercise bikes in the gym at work. On the plus side: (1) I'm already at work, so it's easy. (2) It could happen in the early evening or late afternoon, which is when I always start to drag anyway. (3) I could read a book or something, since there's no steering necessary. Heck, maybe I'd even catch up on this big pile of books and magazines.
On the negative side: (1) It could get boring quickly. I suppose some headphone and good MP3s would help, though. (2) Being that it'd be less fun than "real" biking outside, it might be easier to slip out of the routine.
I'm not sure. I've never been much of a runner--not that I've ever tried. I've also never been one for (most) group sports. So you won't find me on the basketball court. Maybe volleyball, but the weather won't be right for that until Spring, too.
Any ideas? What do other guy geeks out there do?
Update: I forgot to mention that I used to go to the gym on a semi-regular basis during some of my semesters of college. It seemed to depend a lot on my schedule, the weather, and having someone to go with me. Hmm. What lessons should I have learned by now?
Posted by jzawodn at October 16, 2002 09:30 PM
Running compliments biking really well.. It's really hard to get into at first, but rewards are quick (more energy, weight loss.. that kind of thing).
Most important thing: get proper shoes first.
If not biking.. the eliptical xtrainer thingy isn't all that bad, no impact.. but that gets boring even quicker than stationary biking as it's hard to read..
Spinning classes can be fun with the right instructor, see if your gym has them.
running is tough on the knees. Walking gets you similar aerobic activity and is much lower impact on the joints.
Having a partner is a good idea if you're someone (like me) who can talk himself out of exercising. Having to explain it to a partner makes it harder to duck it.
On the Jonathans -- I talked to my wife, who knows everything, and she says they grow Jonathans up in Sonoma. you might find them in season in some of the better produce places, or you might need to do some research to find out where up there to road trip after them...
I second the walking idea. The snail trail kicks arse, even during the winter. I popped in from the parking lot entrance, spun halfway around, then took the high road, then came back down and finished the loop. It took 20-30 minutes a day, I did it a few times a week, and it helped a ton. There is a ton of stuff to see, all sorts of interesting animals, birds, lizards, snails, etc. It's easy to do alone, and it gets your mind off work for a precious bit of time.
Yoga at work is great. You don't get sweaty. You relieve stress. It's great as a warm up too.
Something I have done, being that I am a really lazy person, is used my laptop computer to watch movies while riding the bike in the gym, sometimes even reading news. To me that's a wonderful way for a geek to exercise, because you are integrating excercise with something you enjoy doing. For proper viewing of the movies I had to prop the laptop up with some magazines, or boxes, whatever was available...
My hands-down favorite: Stationary bike while listening to an iPod with Audible.com books on it. I'm finally getting around to "reading" all the books that I've been meaning to read for months, while also getting back into the gym again.
The iPod/Audible combo is also great while waiting for MySQL dumps and reloads, or while stuck in traffic. Hence I read a 600-page book during my busiest month of work ever. Very cool.
