http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/user/217404 jameshodges Playcity Blog en-us Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:42:08 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss playcity@youthnoise.org http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13164 Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:42:08 GMT Today was another cold one, and even though I got my share of outside time for the day, I'm left with a little bit of cabin fever. It's got me thinking about Ice Fishing. The idea that people can be so impervious to cold that sitting on in the middle of a frozen lake and fishing for hours becomes recreation-- that's inspiring. Especially when faced with a long winter season, you can't let the tough weather turn you into a vegetable. Check this video out-- it makes me want to go ice fishing myself. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13164 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13163 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:25:09 GMT At points this week, the wind chill temperature in New York City dipped down to zero degrees-- it was definitely the coldest front yet and I can't imagine how anybody stood in Times Square to watch the New Year's ball drop. It's fun to catch up on inside activities on cold days like this, but braving the cold is great too. Getting your heart rate up in cold weather feels amazing, and the human body is capable of adapting to deal with seriously frigid temperatures, as long as you train and dress properly. Being acclimated to cold weather can be rewarding-- in Sheboygan, Wisonsin, winter wind storms can turn the Lake Michigan into a formidable surf destination among those willing to brave the cold. For me, cold weather surfing is a constant inspiration to seize the day even when it's easier to stay home. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13163 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13159 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:01:17 GMT Now that 2008 is fully behind us, we owe ourselves a little bit of reflection on the events of the past year. 2008 brought on a serious world financial crisis, but in terms of sports, I think it was a great year-- especially for skateboarding. The early 2000's were characterized by big-money skate video production, big gaps and absurd handrails. As the skate industry became more and more mainstream, skaters and their sponsors tried to differentiate themselves in terms of who could jump down the biggest staircase or fly the highest over a vert ramp. This year, Thrasher magazine named Oregon's Silas Baxter-Neal Skater of the Year 2008, showing the world that the hammer years are over, and that smart skateboarding is where it's at. Here's hoping that 2009 will bring more style and creativity to all of our lives. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13159 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13109 Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:11:21 GMT Not long ago, I wrote a post here on PlayCity about bike safety where I took videos of cyclists in New York City and graded them on their safety-consciousness. I really do believe that video analysis can reveal all sorts of bad habits that we athletes aren't conscious of. On Christmas day I stopped into the skatepark near my parents' house in New Jersey and had the place all to myself. It seemed like a perfect chance to do a little bit of video analysis on myself. The longer I skate, the more I understand the importance of maintaining speed over obstacles-- there's nothing more annoying than coming up short on a trick because you're going too slow. In the video, you can see that my last two maneuvers each eat away at my speed significantly. I think that I could alleviate the problem by training to increase my vertical leap, making the muscles in my legs stronger-- if I could jump higher, I could also pump harder over obstacles, holding speed over objects and landing tricks more cleanly on the ground. In a matter of seconds, I've found a vertical-leap training routine that seems like it will help me. The how-to reccomends a number of different squat exercises that can be done with zero equipment. Here's to improvement! http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13109 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13098 Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:27:47 GMT This Christmas week I've been hearing a ton of references to Reindeer, red noses, pulling sleds, and intercontinental travel. When I was growing up in New Jersey, the average person's overall level of contact with giant subarctic deer was very low, and I met a lot of people over the years who don't know that reindeer are actually naturally occurring, ground-dwelling animals. Santa's team of 8 flying gift-carriers present the exception, rather than the rule. In America, Reindeer are usually called Caribou-- same animal, two different names. In regions of Iceland, caribou and reindeer have been hunted continuously since the ice age, making them a seriously vital part of human history, providing sustenance to pre-historic people living in brutal environmental conditions. These days, reindeer have become a magical symbol on account of their gift-giving nature, whether you're looking under a tree or back through history. In some European countries, Reindeer Racing is a popular sport-- check the video! While Reindeer have become largely mythical to us in America, it's interesting to remember that in other parts of the world, they still provide meat, transportation, and recreation for humans. In the spirit of the holiday, I think we should take a minute to reflect on how much reindeer have helped humans throughout history, http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13098 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13066 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:59:00 GMT Yesterday I got in my first day of snowboarding for the season. I took a ride out to Mountain Creek in Vernon, New Jersey, the closest ski/snowboard area to NYC. I was excited to note a few changes since I had last been to the mountain. Mountain Creek can get pretty dense with skiiers and riders of every imaginable skill level-- when beginners avoid gaining speed by 'slow plowing' down a mountain, they uncover patches of ice that turn trails into a pile-up. This get particularly nasty in terrain parks, where the landings on popular small and mid-sized obstacles get shaped into rocks of ice by continuous misuse. For the last few seasons, the managers of Mountain Creek have been beefing up their terrain park offerings, realizing that for a relatively small mountain, man-made terrain is the best way to earn a positive reputation. This year, Mountain Creek is claiming Largest Terrain Park in the East . I'm glad to see a mountain really recognize the legitimacy of terrain park riding. The terrain park is where snowboarding really makes contact with its historical roots in other board sports, especially skateboarding-- it's also largely the invention of snowboarders themselves. Although skilled skiiers can utilize rails and jumps just as successfully as their sideway-sliding brethren, the snowboard community is responsible for the popularization of non-snow obstacles or 'jibs'. For years, when snowboarding was a new sport, unskilled riders made the sport look dangerous and uncontrollable. Some serious skiing mountains only began to allow snowboarder on their trails as recently as last winter. Mountain Creek is a resort made up of three peeks-- this season, they've dedicated an entire peak to terrain parks, installed benches at the mouth of each terrain run for snowboarders to snap into their bindings, and made a striking visual campaign that encourages responsible use of the terrain. They've begun to rent helmets at the rental shop and encourage those without 'freestyle skills' to take alternate trails. There are Lids On Kids banners everywhere. Overall, the result is an increase in both the level of skills as well as safety on South Peak. Most of the obstacles were preceded by single file lines, an unfamiliar sight in my experience. A few years ago, the general public was baffled by the practice of riding their snow equipment across metal rails-- now it's an accepted part of the sport. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13066 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13049 Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:01:38 GMT Today the first real snow of the year hit Brooklyn. When I woke up in the morning, the streets and cars were already coated in thick white powder. I drove one of my friends to work so that she wouldn't have to take her bike out into the madness, and happened to be out at the instant schools let out. All of Brooklyn turned into a snowball fight. To me, the ideal snowball fight falls somewhere between laser tag and dodgeball. The throwing and dodging skills of dodgeball get combined with the take-cover aspects of paintball or hide and seek. Of course, the best part is the fact that there aren't any rules. You can make your own ammunition, build your own forts, and generally do whatever you want. I suppose that the same disorganization that makes snowball fights so much fun is what can make them get out of hand as well-- and it doesn't take much for a snowball fight to get out of hand. Here's a brief article that I found about a case in Denver, Co, where a snowball fight escalated into 'rough housing' and the police were called. Here's another one about a snowball fight in Milwaukee that escalated until somebody got stabbed. Because there aren't any rules to regulate the behavior of snowball throwing kids, they can really worry adults. If you don't know what's going on, an innocent snowball fight can lead to violence-- and even a non-violent act of snow warfare can look menacing to an outside observer. So before you throw any icy projectiles, think about whether or not you're going to be starting trouble. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13049 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13048 Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:36:28 GMT Over the past few months, there's been a truckload of drama surrounding the bicycle lanes on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The lane, which runs from the Hasidic communities in South Williamsburg up to the Polish and rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Greenpoint, first sparked controversy over the summer. Female cyclists trying to beat the heat were wearing tank tops and bike shorts, offending the sensibilities of Hasidic men who are obliged to avert their eyes from women when not 'fully clothed'. Community leaders showed up to hearings and wrote letters urging city officials to do away with the lane completely. I understand the desire to have a neighborhood that provides the kind of environment you want to live in, but the streets are for everybody. I would just love to see my street blocked completely from car traffic, with private parking spaces just for me and my friends. Unfortunately, that's not how things work. In the last month or two, the Kent Ave bike lane has become even more offensive to the Hasidic Community. A number of No Stopping signs were posted to keep autos from blocking up the bike lanes or making erratic moves that could endanger cyclists. The no-stopping rule, however, has negative effects on businesses that rely on loading trucks to move products-- you can't stock up a store if you can't pull a truck up. All hopes of a rational dialogue were smashed however, when groups of Hasidic school bus drivers pledged to lurk around the bike lane, blocking traffic and cutting off cyclists whenever possible. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. The issue here is the us vs. them attitude being held by cyclists and Hasidim alike. Certainly it isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but the presence of a certain kind of stubbornness is obvious in the Kent Ave bike lane saga. Cycling advocates and local officials implemented a no-stop policy without considering the effects it would have on the wider community. Bike commuters make great, eco-friendly neighbors, but turning a highway into a bike-centric fantasy lane is just as inconsiderate as asking female cyclists to cover up when they ride by your house. I think that everyone involved needs a time-out to cool off and get more reasonable. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13048 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13011 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:50:55 GMT This week, a Baltimore court decided that Eric Bush would be able to sue the police officer that put him in a headlock, threw him to the ground, and verbally assaulted him for skateboarding in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Bush's experience with the officer, named Salvatore Rivieri, was documented on YouTube, creating media interest in a story which may have slipped away otherwise. The video more or less speaks for itself. Bush was wearing earphones and not paying attention to the officer at first, which prompted Rivieri to label him 'disrespectful'. I don't think that's unreasonable, I would be annoyed if somebody ignored me as well. It's the way that Rivieri reacts to minor disrespect that's frightening. Your parents don't put a foot in your butt often enough he tells Bush, implying somehow that violence can breed respect. In my experience, that's almost never true. He tells Bush that if he doesn't become more respectful Somebody's going to kill you . I personally don't think we should be taking lessons on respect from somebody with such a bad temper. The minor rudeness that the fourteen year old displayed hardly justifies a wrestling match or a string of verbal insults, much less an unfounded threat on his life. Riviera clearly subscribes to a double standard, where police officers deserve far more respect than normal people-- I don't know many grown men who would try to fight a fourteen year old for using the word dude . If he had a problem with the way Bush addressed him, he should have asserted himself politely. Respect is a two way street. Officer Salvatore Riviera is currently on suspension with pay. I think it's terrible that when police officers abuse their power, they get put on paid vacation. Riviera doesn't deserve taxpayers' money to sit around and not work. He doesn't deserve any position of authority either. The police are supposed to serve and protect citizens, not insult and injure them. I'm sure there are a number of hardworking, respectable cops in Baltimore who would be able to step up and replace Salvatore Riviera-- so why keep him on the payroll? I know that if I was at work and I assaulted somebody just for being disrespectful, I would be jobless in a hurry. Why is it different for police? When I'm out skateboarding, police or security guards will occasionally come ask me to move along. That's just a part of the sport. Unfortunately, because all the media depictions of skateboarders seem to concentrate on their 'rebellious' attitudes, both young skaters and authority figures seem to think that conflict is unavoidable. Last weekend, I ollied off of a ledge onto the sidewalk in SoHo, only to be chased down the street by a man who was busy screaming at me. You can't do that shit here! he yelled. I was dumbfounded, so I stopped and talked to him. I'm already on my way out, man, sorry! And please stop yelling at me! He apologized and told me to have a good night. Respect earns more respect! http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13011 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13002 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:17:14 GMT Need a boost? Need more POWER!?!?! Then slam down a hyper-caffeinated high-sugar ENERGY DRINK ! These days I feel like everywhere I go, somebody is peddling another stimulant-soda that's supposed to enhance performance . At school, marketing reps hand out free Monster drinks from the back of a giant pickup truck and tell me that it will help me ace my finals. At the corner store, the counter is full of signs telling me how I can improve my performance at work. And on television there's no shortage of 'extreme' advertising aimed at making me a better athlete through beverage consumption. I'm not interested. Coffee and tea have been a part of human culture for thousands of years, as have countless other stimulant plants, but just because they've been around for a long time doesn't mean that its smart to toss them back whenever you feel tired. These new energy drinks are often full of high fructose corn syrup and other less-than-desirable ingredients as well. Most importantly though, all of the stimulant drinks on the market, man made or not, can be habit forming. Because the adult population is so full of unapologetic coffee addicts, not many people stand up against caffeine beverage machine. We're mostly just trying to make sure that we drink enough coffee to avoid the debilitating withdrawal headaches. In 2006, somebody let Red Bull buy our local major league soccer team. The New York MetroStars became Red Bull New York . It's not that energy drinks are all bad-- they certainly DO improve concentration as well as boost energy. The problem is that their hip, youth-focused advertising obscures the amount of caffeine present, and the cross-promotion with sporting teams and events can make the drinks seem like sports drinks , even though they actually have dehydrating properties. Drinking too many energy drinks can cause nausea, convulsions, and various other negative effects on athletic performance. I'm sticking with water. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/13002 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12992 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:09:04 GMT In most sports, the careful analysis of video footage can improve technique. I've become a better athlete both trough watching professionals and through watching footage of myself. A lot of times, you won't realize that you've got bad habits until you see them on screen. My cycling form could probably be better, but when I'm on a road filled with dumptrucks and cabbies, I'm more concerned about safety than speed. A safe, efficient ride will usually be just as fast as a reckless, rushed ride, anyway, once you factor in stopping for traffic lights and jammed intersections-- I try to ride smart, not hard. In the spirit of safety, I spent a little while at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge this week videotaping cyclists. I couldn't really evaluate anybody's habits unless I followed them around, but safety starts before you even turn a crank. Here's what I thought of a couple people's safety setups: This is a nice bike. It looks super light and fun to ride, so it bums me out that the cyclist is being so careless. Those pants are baggy enough to get sucked into a moving chain. When it's cold out, you might not want to roll your pants up, so you should either tie your pants back somehow or wear taller socks. The cyclist's vision looks obstructed by his tightly tied hood as well, and he's wearing dark colors to boot. Good thing his bike is so fresh, or motorists would never see him coming. No helmet on this guy either! If you can afford such a nice bike, there's no excuse to be helmetless. Unfortunately, it's very common C- Here's an example of a more street-smart cyclist. He's wearing a helmet, and his pant leg is rolled up. Hopefully he has some lights for the night time though, because he's dressed in pretty non-visible colors. His bag also looks like it might be a bit loo low on his body, leaving the strap exposed and potentially able to get caught on something. Having a bag higher on your body keeps it closer to your center of gravity as well. B http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12992 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12982 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:53:25 GMT Everyone knows about figure skating. It's an Olympic sport, and it's regularly featured on prime time television. Fans like figure skating because it's a visually appealing spectacle with musical accompaniment, dramatic lighting, and shiny costumes. It's also been the arena for a number of scandals in recent year that really turned me off. But lucky for people like me, all of the cool things about figure skating can be translated onto rollerskates for a more accessible, open, and egalitarian sport-- jam skating. When I visited Toronto a few weeks ago, I caught this guy practicing his moves in a park, and he put on a little show when I asked if I could film him as he sailed by. Jam skating has its roots in the disco explosion of the 1970's, when the overall popularity of dancing was through the roof, and roller rinks got in on the action as well. I love activities that operate in the crossover space between athletics and arts, and dancing on a pair of roller skates meets the criteria perfectly. It's also way more accessible to the masses than figure skating-- at the most basic level, because it doesn't require ice. If you live in a place with skateable ice in the wintertime, you're golden for figure skating, but wayyy more people have access to hard surfaces for roller skating. The lower the entry barrier is for a sport, the more accessible it is, and the less it excludes people. If we want sports to bring people together, we should be getting down with accessible sports that include everybody! These days, dance skating has been expanded to include moves from breakdancing and crumping. Check the video and boogy down-- it doesn't matter if you're old or young, if you like disco or hip hop. These are the Georgia Jamskaters and they hold it down. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12982 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12962 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:41:59 GMT I've been going to punk rock shows since I was a kid, and after years of careful deliberation, I've decided that moshing is a sport. Thing is, there aren't any hard and fast rules, so everybody has a different idea about how the game should be played. Sometimes it leads to hurt feelings, sometimes to fights, but also to a wonderful diversity of partial and full-contact athletic maneuvers. My first exposure to the idea of 'moshing' was in the early 90's, when Alternative Rock bands like Nirvana brought moshing into the mainstream media. A lot of the media attention was devoted to the negative effects of bad concert behavior, including sexual assaults and trampling deaths. Bad stuff. But the practice of moshing, or slam dancing as it was frequently called in the 1980's, is far older, and is ideally no more dangerous than any other sport. Moshing can run the distance between completely harmless and total inconsiderate endangerment. Early punk rock dance moves like the pogo and the circle pit have been subsumed under the larger category of mosh moves, and they involve bouncing around a lot. The video above is from a performance by the band Good Clean Fun, and it's a great example of the aerobic workout and social outlet that is the circle pit. Different kinds of bands are associated with different kinds of mosh. There's a martial-art inspired mosh involving aerial spin kicks and tae-bo style punches, for example. It can provide an excellent aerobic workout, but requires a lot of space to practice without needlessly endangering others. I rarely think that it's safe or appropriate. My favorite concert events are the dogpile and the stage dive, because they involve people climbing on top of each other. It reminds me of the dogpiles I would end up in when an organized sports team won an important game-- except you you don't have to beat anybody or win anything to do it. Unfortunately, it's not all triumphant singalongs and camaraderie. In the middle of a loud concert, it's tough to enforce any kind of regulations on dancers, and it only takes a few mean spirited people to ruin things. Sometimes a band needs to step in and act as referee for a minute. The Washington D.C. band Fugazi was famous for believing that moshing prevented the physically small and non-aggressive from enjoying music, and stopped a number of shows to ask people to leave in exchange for a refund. I've also seen bands demand that the crowd make room for girls to dance. Like at a hockey game, fights do happen. Some people actually think that it's part of the game , while others would like to see it get stopped. I personally am not down with the violence. I just want stage dives, high fives, and good times. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12962 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12959 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:26:11 GMT Last time I went to visit my parents' house, they were dogsitting for our neighbors while they went away to Florida. The dogs were super rambunctious, jumping on tables and furniture constantly, barking at anything that made a noise or a movement within a hundred yards of the house. Their first owner purchased them with the intention of breeding them, popping out some puppies and making a bunch of cash. He ended up getting in over his head, and didn't have the time to devote to raising or training the dogs properly. Thankfully the animals have found a caring home since then, but they're still somewhat scarred by their time getting treated like a source of quick disposable income. Dogs can be a lot of things, but I don't think it's right to treat them like fast cash. The group Mush With Pride is an organization of sleddog racing enthusiasts who want to provide guidelines for the fair treatment of dogs. They propose that we should think about sled dogs as animal athletes-- it's interesting, because I had previously thought about sled racing as a human sport. Really though, humans are the trainers and coaches. Dogs are the athletes, and they should be treated in a way that will facilitate the best possible performance. Of course, there is still the issue of free will. These dogs are born into their training regiments, they don't have much choice in the matter. It's good that a volunteer organization like Mush With Pride is out there trying to protect dogs. Except that they advocate killing dogs with deformities or who don't perform up to expectations. Imagine if we killed human athletes for performing below expectations. I don't think that would fly. If my parents had told me that I was going to spend every day of my life training for some sport of their choosing, I wouldn't have been happy. Some people would argue that these dogs have been bred for generations to make good athletes, but I don't know if I buy that argument. It's not even that I'm against the sport of sled dogging-- I actually think it's pretty cool. I just think that people should be aware of the things going on beneath the surface. If you or anyone you know is looking to bring a dog into the house, you could consider adopting a sled dog. You'd be giving an athlete a nice place to spend his or her retirement years. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12959 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12937 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:25:53 GMT The thing that makes watching sports different than listening to a recording or watching a movie is unpredictability. The spontaneous decisions involved in playing a game are what make every athlete different, and new matchups almost always produce new, interesting results. Although a lot of the music and performance we're used to experiencing each day is scripted, there are a bunch of improvisational music games and sports that unfold spontaneously. Becorded and written music is so easy to distribute to large amounts of people, but performing a piece composed on the spot is an exercise in creativity that will never be obsolete. A lot of people are familiar with Capoeira, the Afro-Brazillian martial art/dance sport-- but did you know that all of the music is improvised? The leaders of the musicians play instruments called berimbaus and regulate the game. If a game becomes too aggressive, the berimbau player will step in and direct the participants. It's kind of like a dance boxing match with drum-playing referees. Other people have invented games that are totally musical, with minimal physical aspect. Avant-garde nyc saxophonist John Zorn is well-known for his game piece, Cobra . In this video, you can see a man holding up giant cards to prompt the musicians on what will come next. The results are interesting, though not very hummable. The whole thing made me laugh-- but it's proof that you can make a game out of anything, and I'd love to try my hand at a round or two. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12937 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12912 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:55:01 GMT This week I've been thinking about indoor training a whole lot. I still prefer to get my exercise outside, but there's no denying the effectiveness of a focused indoor workout to enhance every kind of performance. I really mean every kind of performance-- athletic performance, sure, but also musical, dance, acting, even mental performance. My core-strengthening routine has done great things for me whether I'm riding a bike, pushing a skateboard, behind a drum set, or running through my day to day activities. The 'core muscles' of our bodies are our abdominal muscles and back muscles, and a workout that begins at the core and then works outward toward the extremities is more effective than a thousand bicep curls. The core of our bodies supports the functions of our head and limbs, so a well-trained core will result in better balance and coordination, two attributes that will improve just about any kind of performance. I use a balance board most mornings to engage my abs, my quadriceps, and my brain. A balance board is a wooden plank that the user balances on top of a rolling object, and according to the balance board wikipedia entry, regular use can prevent sports injuries and promote awareness of the user's body in addition to strengthening core muscle groups. It's also a ton of fun. Commercially available balance boards are pricey, but all you really need is a roller and some wood. This morning I found a how-to on building your own balance board. Check it out-- building your own balance board could cost under thirty dollars, but make sure that you don't cut corners. It's important that your balance board has stoppers on both ends, underneath the plank, so that it doesn't roll straight off of the roller and leave you on your back! Also, make sure that you won't get splinters from the wood that you use. When you start out, put your balance board on top of some carpet. It will make the board roll slower while you get acquainted with it-- and it does take some acquainting. The trick is to engage your thigh, butt, and ab muscles and bend your knees. Balance boards are quickly becoming popular outside of the skiiing and surfing populations who popularized their use, because they're effective and fun. Try one and you'll see. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12912 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12904 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:11:53 GMT Tara's post about gym membership jogged my memory on all sorts of gym activities that I haven't thought about in years. When I was in high school I worked as a swim instructor at the YMCA, and I would spend my breaks in the weight room doing strength training. I certainly noticed an increase in my muscle mass, and the cross training was good for my performance in the water. Indoor gyms are nice because it really doesn't matter what the weather is like outside, you can train whenever the gym is open-- if you really like summer outdoor sports, training in a gym is a great way to spend the winter getting ready for your primary sport's season. No matter what it is you're into, you can find a way to train indoors. But I haven't stepped foot in a gym since I left the YMCA. Even though I saw great physical results, I decided that gyms just weren't for me. They may not be everywhere, but whenever I went to the weight room I would see at least a handful of huge, burly weight-lifting addicts pushing their max-out limits and grunting while they tried to lift as many weights as possible. Their strength was pretty impressive, but all in all I found it really distracting. A lot of people treat weight training like their primary physical activity, but it's actually most effective when used in conjunction with some other kind of exercise, especially cardiovascular exercise. Weight training alone will can make athletes into a hulking mass-- an efficient body type for more weight training, I suppose, but not quite as much for other sports. A healthy athlete needs to elevate their heart rate consistently in order to strengthen it, but weight training usually involves a short period of exertion followed by a period of rest. Circuit training is the practice of moving through a weight training routine without stopping in order to keep one's heart rate up, and it's one way to add a cardio element to weightroom exercise. I'm a strong advocate of swimming, the ultimate no-impact all-body workout, but the options are nearly endless if you really think about it. If you spend the winter in a gym, make sure you get a safe and balanced workout! Remember, there's more to working out than pumping iron. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12904 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12898 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:45:51 GMT They paved paradise to put up a parking lot-- the nature lover adapts --that was written by Cedro, a blogger whose entry on urban hiking really tickled my fancy. It's easy to get bummed out when you live in a city and you haven't touched the earth's natural surface in a few weeks, when you haven't been able to see the horizon unobscured for months because of bridges and buildings. Outdoor activities are a little bit less easy to get into when the space you inhabit was designed to facilitate rapid movement and economic transactions-- but man-made environments are environments nonetheless, with their own intriguing ins and outs. We might not be able to climb a mountain, but there are a lot of unused spaces to explore where mankind has come and gone, leaving playgrounds for urban outdoorspeople to play in. Urban Hiking is a term that refers mostly to strolls through urban environments, but there is a lot of overlap with urban exploration, the activity of investigating abandoned or forgotten corners of the man-made city. Humans move on fast, often times leaving behind massive relics from projects undertaken years ago, piles of trash which hold the history of a city hidden from everyday view. Unfortunately, many intriguing old structures are also unsafe to explore, and investigating them can be considered trespassing. Luckily, there are a number of projects in major cities aimed at turning unsafe piles of wreckage into public space-- for example, the high line, an abandoned elevated train track in Manhattan, was a hot spot for urban explorers, but with no official entrances or staircases, demanded treacherous climbing from explorers. I hope that the trend continues, and cities continue to rehabilitate the wreckage of yesteryear and make it an outdoor destination. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12898 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12880 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:03:16 GMT It rained sheets of ice cold raindrops all day yesterday. I spent most of the day inside, wondering if the forecasts mentioning snow could be correct. This winter already seems to be gearing up for a kind of coldness that I haven't seen in a couple years-- the farmer's almanac predicts that this year's winter will bring colder temperatures and more precipitation than average. Opening day at our local ski slope is set for next weekend, so hopefully the ski industry can recover from the last few years of warm slush and low revenues. I'm super excited about the beginning of ski/snowboard season, even if I take issue with the sports sometimes. Compared to most of my other favorite sports, snowboarding is totally inaccessible. You have to either live near mountains or drive for hours to get to them, meaning that most people will never know the luxury of taking a couple runs after school or work. In addition to the geographical obstacles, putting together a snowboarding setup will cost a couple hundred dollars minimum-- the board, boots, jacket, bindings, lift tickets.... contrast that with basketball or skateboarding, sports where one initial investment will keep you participating happily wherever and whenever you choose. Then there's the issue of the snowboarding industry, and industry that has been criticized for pushing new fashions on consumers year after year, leading lots of riders to treat the slopes like a fashion-show runway, where the newest colors and designs are supposed to represent some kind of progress or improvement. It can be off-putting and intimidating, but it's not all bad. There are a number of programs including Stoked! Mentoring and Burton's Chill program that get kids onto the slopes who wouldn't have a chance to otherwise. I think it's awesome to expose kids to the joy that is sliding down 1,000 feet of white mush, but it's a shame that for so many people, snowboarding and skiing are just too difficult to really get involved in. Maybe one day there will be an affordable way for everyone to snowboard, but until then I'll be waking up before dawn, sleeping on floors, and averting my eyes from the newest, flashiest snowboard fashions. Just one more week... http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12880 http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12865 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:02:23 GMT Happy Thanksgiving, folks. There's nothing more comforting than a big, fat meal with the people you're close to-- for a lot of sports fans, however, the Thanksgiving meal is just a warm up. The main event is watching football. The majority of NFL games take place on Sundays, and are televised in the regions where the competing teams are most popular. Thanksgiving football is unique in that it has largely been hosted by the same teams, in the same cities, year after year. Before the National Football League existed, Thanksgiving day football games frequently occurred on a local level. However, by the early 20th century those traditions had faded. It wasn't until 1934 that the owner of the Portsmouth Spartans decided to move the team to Detroit, transforming the team into the Detroit Lions and using a Thanksgiving game to generate hype for Detroit's new team. It was a success, and the tradition began. Other teams wanted to get on board, and the Dallas Cowboys have made a tradition out of Thanksgiving play as well. Sports have the ability to really bring people together, and in the case of Thanksgiving Football, generate nationwide interest in games hosted by the same city year after year. The NFL Thanksgiving classic has become a part of my family's holiday ritual, and I know we aren't alone. Happy football day, everybody. http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/blog/view/12865