Friday, August 28, 2020

National Geographic And Fitness

 




Ever since I got Disney+ for me and my wife (yes we are Disney Geeks, deal with it LOL), the majority of the time I spend on it is watching National Geographic, specifically the animal specials. I've always been fascinated by Animals ever since I was a kid but didn't really give it the real attention I do now. There aren't too many Zoos around here and the closest to an Animal Sanctuary I've been to is called Wolf People up near Sandpoint here in Idaho where there's a lady that educates people and raises Wolves on a piece of land. The last and only time I was there was when my friend Bud Jeffries came up here for a few days and he was doing some shows up here and stayed at my house. 


I've also seen some wildlife up close quite a few times around here and when we go to Tahoe for our family vacations. A few bears walking along near our cabins, deer constantly around our house feasting on our lawn and bushes, a couple of moose while camping and wild turkeys roaming. These shows are just a lot of fun to watch and get educated on the vast habits of wild animals. My personal favorites are on Primates (Gorillas, Bonobos and Chimps mostly) and the strength they possess is just inspiring. 


Because of my love of Animal Movements, these specials or at least an episode or two just make me want to get up and crawl around the house or have a little workout out in the Dungeon. The pure and natural aspects of moving like a wild animal pulls me in like the Tractor Beam did to the Millenium Falcon in Star Wars: A New Hope, it puts me into a state of mind where the freedom to roam is the best option. There's nothing wrong with doing stationary movements whether it's weightlifting, bodyweight, cables, club swinging or just doing Isometrics but the ability to move as animal-like as possible opens up another world of Fitness Potential.


The longest time I ever did an animal workout was 1 hr 22 min. and haven't gone anywhere near that long since but it was fun and never knew I went that long until I saw the stopwatch on my phone. I wanted to see how long I can go. Normally now I don't go near more than 30 and on average I do about 10-20 minutes depending on what I'm feeling that day and my energy levels. It is by far the most fun training I've ever done. All I do really is play my Animal Dice Game and just go. Having done literally in the 10's of thousands of Steps/Reps of Animal Movements, it's safe to say it's my all-time favorite training method. I love Combat Conditioning and doing Step-Ups and playing around with a Hammer and Mace but Animals are truly my go-to method of exercise bar none.


Watching what animals can do is an experience that truly shapes the way I look at certain things about life. Most people today don't appreciate the value of the Wild and what it means to be strong and fit in order to survive. We live in a world where we have become accustomed to showing off our bods, eating more and moving less, confused what is the best exercise program to do, sharing memes more than ideas and believing Bodybuilders pumped full of roids and supplements are the way to health. You don't need to be 5% body fat to be healthy and you don't need to look like Frank Zane or Arnold but it is important to use our bodies for long-term well being and be able to move with less chances of getting injured. 


Wildlife is unpredictable, there's no question about that, some of the most deadliest animals sometimes become friendly with other species you wouldn't expect. Animals do whatever it takes to protect their young although often if an offspring is too weak, it gets left behind which hurts to see and hear but if it means a way of needing to survive, you just see it unfold. The point is, movement is life but not to the point where you feel broken at a young age and overwhelming yourself with stress. We can't control what happens around us at times but we can choose how to adapt to it and overcome the odds.


Take the opportunity to move like a wild animal, not for the sake of just exercise but to feel the body from a different perspective and feel what it's like to be free and use your imagination. Imagine the results you can achieve that goes beyond weight loss and muscle building, imagine the possibilities of doing tasks with greater stamina and strength and what you can harness when you have to use your brain in order to work the movements. 

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