In which I am an athlete

My favorite sport is sitting on my couch watching reality television.  Badminton comes in a close second.  But I have been hearing a lot about interval training, so I decided to check it out.  Interval training is "repetions of high speed/intensity work followed by periods of rest or low activity", according to my favorite source, Wikipedia.  This is usually applied to running or cycling, but can be used with any exercise.  Benefits include supposed "rapid" fat loss, especially in the mid-section (the big draw for me), as well as an increase in endurance.  

As a beginner, I read that I should start off with 6 sets of 30 second high intensity sprints followed with a 90 second recovery period.  You can look at a guideline on this page to see what might work for you.  Make sure you warm up first, then stretch thoroughly to avoid injury.  Last night when I got home, I put my workout clothes on and lightly jogged to the longest, least bumpy sidewalk in the neighborhood.  The area where I live is an obstacle course of cars, celebrities and people walking their dogs, so getting around at a quick pace can be tricky.  My biggest worry was spraining my ankle or falling and breaking my arm, so that was my focus for the first set of sprints.

Rep 1: Don't get hurt don't get hurt don't get hurt don't get hurt don't get hurt

Recovery: Whew.  I didn't get hurt.  I can do that again.  Of course I can do that again!

Rep 2: La la la! Easier than I thought.  I should probably go faster.  Hey, look out, buddy! What, do you think you can just back out of your driveway whenever you want??

Recovery: Ok, so that was a little more challenging.  This is a pretty good workout.

Rep 3: Faster, faster, faster - watch out for the dogs!! Watch out for the - HI PUPPY!!! Who's a good boy?  Who's a good boy!!!

Recovery: Hm.  It might be time to re-focus.  Wait, is that Hayden Panetierre?

Rep 4: Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh

Recovery:  Huh, huh, ok.  Huh, huh, huh.  Two more.  Huh.  I can do two more.

Rep 5: HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH!

Recovery: HUH. WHEEZE.  HUH. WHOO!! HUH. Ok. HUH. I don't know HUH. If I can HUH. Do a sixth. HUH HUH.

Rep 6: HUH HUH Nope.

Recovery: HUH WHEEZE.  HUH WHEEZE.  HUH.  That was HUH. A good HUH. First try. HUH HUH WHEEZE.

Badminton sounds great right now.

In which I be stoopid

ARGH.  So frustrating.  I had a great idea for a post last night as I was going go sleep, but now I can't remember what it was.  It was really cool and funny, of course, but who knows what it was about.  

I am actually starting to get worried about my brain.  I think it is starting to atrophy, as I can't remember, you know, what are they called? Uh, words and things.  I think it is directly related to the constant reality television viewing, so I am trying to read a little bit more.  Right now I am enjoying David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames.  After that, I have a book that was recommended to me by my boss, who has a PhD in philosophy.  Wish me luck getting through that one.  

I do have to say that I have cut out some shows.  Well, not so much cut out as they are finished for the season.  It's a good thing, too, because I very nearly lost my capacity for language after watching "Farmer Wants a Wife."  I wonder if reality TV should come with a warning, like cigarettes do: WARNING: WATCHING THIS SHOW WILL LIKELY CAUSE STARING, DROOLING AND GENERAL STUPIDITY."  I do try to balance my crap TV watching with some good stuff - I love "The Universe" on THC and I sometimes watch "Nova".  Occasionally, I will catch "Nightline".  I like Charlie Rose, but, depending on who is on his show, I can usually only understand 3 out of every 10 words, so I often have to change the channel after a few minutes.  You should hear the sigh of relief when the remote lands on a rerun of "Friends".  WHEW.

I also have a tendency to talk back to the people on reality shows.  Honestly,  sometimes they do really stupid things, so I like to try to warn them.  "Oh, Lauren, I wouldn't go to Les Deux - Heidi is gonna be there!"  "Jeff, WILL YOU PLEASE just chill out?  Geez, you're wasting your life stressing out about stupid stuff.  And quit being so mean to Jenni."  Right.  And I think THEY are the ones that need help.

Actually, I think I should just turn the television off. And I will.  Right after I watch the first episode of this season's "Project Runway".