Momoa is exactly right, gyms are boring.

Just had to Google that and it sounds rather heavy going but also very worthy. Added to reading list for a later date!

 

Momoa method told me to have pecan icecream with a banana for breakfast today after I hand-sanded the donky brown varnish off a white oak table*.. No gym for me.

But the point you make about addiction is I guess something that troubles me, you may recall I made comments about some posters in politics doing little more than contrarian nonsense to get a little squeeze of endorphins? It is addictive.

As a kid when I was a swimmer I got a wake up through a friend/competitor who was a great swimmer but had a fatal flaw in his shoulder that eventually required a rebuild, then another and he could not stop. I recall after he came back from an expensive private surgery in London, took a chunk from his college fund, hearing he was in the pool again before it was recovered and my heart sank. So did he apparently sitting on the bottom of the pool for a long time after he knew it was torn again and swimming was over for him. But young people as you say take things too far. I felt deeply then how the addiction to extreme fitness has a powerful drawback except for the few with rubber joints.

My point here really is about using the time and motions of the gym in productive tasks but also personal vanity sometimes haha. I recently mentioned I was smacked around by a young bóxer friend, him hitting me three to one sparring. Well I altered my forge hammer style for speed and last week it was not the one sided clattering of the first spar.

I just like having a tangible product at the end of hard work. I believe that much diy can be achieved without power tools and this is as good as a gym.






*That had a incredibly tough resin finish.. It was like sanding ceramic tiles off the Space Shuttle.. I finally found the one thing Colombian's do very well, apply protective varnish.

 

It was a college grade book I was reading too young but it is certainly an excellent tome.

 

I guess that staying active is the most important takeaway here. The best activity is the one you keep doing.

Now you made me wish I didn't use the word addictive. But it rings true. On the plus side, not all "addictions" are created equal. And then there is the matter of degree. For example, my sleep has been a bit disrupted lately (again!). And so, I am going to skip one workout over the next 2-week period (meaning I will have only one workout per week for the next 2 weeks) and pare off a couple of exercises that have crept into my routine over the last few months. But I will keep 2 of the others that I had added to see how it goes. Do I seem like an out-of-control addict?

But I agree that a tangible product is a nice outcome.

To each his own.

 

See, that sounds like too much of a commitment to me.

 

For me projects are about balancing the mental. My balance, something the gym can't do for me. With a project I'm in my art side of the brain much of the time which does certainly provide me with endorphins. I'm excited to see whatever finished.

With the table I saw this one while thinking about a space at a friend's that a drop leaf would work best for space reasons. Later in the day spotted a table for sale that had great craftsmanship but outdated and worn finish and not a drop.

Choose the project, do the project.

It helps me in so many ways being decisive which I must practice as procrastination rises quickly in me if I'm stalled too long.

 

Face it, you are stealth-lazy

 

Okay, just remember that the muscle we lose as we get older mostly comprises fast twitch fibers, and those are the ones activated during intense anaerobic activity. I hope you're activating those in your activities.

As for the artistic thing, I get it, but unfortunately I can only do one thing at a time. Otherwise, I'm like the guy who tries to buy a sporty station wagon and ends up with neither. And so, I limit my artistic expression these days to singing in the shower.

 

Possibly. But, on the other hand, "...he spent his days..." sounds like you're describing an addict.

 

But that's the trick, don't multi-task as you end up with unfinished stuff everywhere. Momoa tasking™ is one thing as a time but faster and harder and until its finished.

Everybody at home knows when I'm in my office or forge, message me, don't drop by. Not because I don't want company, I but because I DO want an excuse to unravel my thoughts. ET however has a mínimal impact on my distraction seeking disorder.

Yes, fast twitch is fading but I recovered to beat up a 20 year old heavyweight boxer last week. Well it was a draw/I didn't get beat up this time but the Momoa method works hehe.