Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Binkle's Patented Shopping Workout

Yesterday, in a panic that I wouldn't get everything done before I leave tonight (not happening by the way - dang ice-storms-in-mountains, but now I just get to relax...), I took part of the afternoon and went shopping and ran errands. It seems normal and mundane, except that I literally ran errands. There were two or three different instances where I needed to hit 3 stores in a shopping center, so I parked in the middle of all three and then ran from my car to the first, ran back, ran to the second, ran back, ran to the third, ran back, etc.... They seemed like short little bits compared with what I normally run, but maybe I was running faster than normal? I don't know. All I know is that my legs and a$$ hurt today. Sore. Wow! Then to top off the workout, I found a case of duralogs, 6 pieces at 5 lbs each = 30 lbs. So I picked that up, carried it around with me and then carried it out to the car. Oh, and yeah, there was the large bottle of laundry detergent too. It was a good workout.

There are two things at play here:
1) I hate carts - I hate getting stuck behind them, I hate making people stuck behind me, I hate them - so for years I've made it a point to not buy anything that I can't carry (except rare occasions where it's unavoidable, i.e. bathtubs, couches, etc.). I use a hand basket if they are available, or I bring my own bag and hope the stores don't think I'm trying to steal stuff as I shove items into my bag, or I balance things precariously as I rush to the register.
2) I believe in "if you don't use it, you lose it." and have a theory that if I get used to a sedentary lifestyle without lifting, moving, bending, etc... then I will lose the ability to do those things. I don't want to be one of those people who can't get up off the floor. It may happen some day, but I'll try to prolong the inevitable. For a while I was seeing a chiropractor who specialized in Biomechanics and he said the muscles used for supporting the knee as it bends past a 90 degree angle and responsible for keeping it in line tend to be very weak in westerners because we don't do movements that require it very much. It was really very fascinating to learn about all the physics in musculature while talking with him. If I ever have a mid-life crisis, I'll probably go back to school for Biomechanics.

Random rant of the day: Frickin'! I've been waiting for about two weeks for my Donut Panic Woot shirt to arrive and the Fed Ex tracking estimated that it comes today. Goodie! Just in time for our trip! Well, no, I checked the tracking and it was delivered to the local post office today and will probably come in tomorrow's mail. Looks like I'll have to wait until next Monday for my precious shirt. Dagnabbit! My preeeccioooouuuusssss.... *hissing while stroking hands together*

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