Thursday, April 15, 2010

Physical Fitness

As much as it pains my considerable vanity to admit it, I am overweight. Not "oh, golly, I sure could stand to lost ten pounds" overweight, either. No, I'm a good 50 lbs more than the healthy weight for my frame. And I hate it. I hate that I can't do a pull-up and that I get winded walking uphill. I hate the way my clothes hang on me -- they really don't "hang" at all anymore -- and the way I look in photographs.

In classical Greece a high premium was placed on physical fitness. This didn't mean starving oneself to achieve the rail-thin body type women in today's society are expected to maintain. It meant that men and women were expected to be strong, healthy, physically fit individuals. Men attended the gymnasia where they were put through rigorous training to keep them fit. They had to remain fit well into what we would consider older age in order to properly defend their city-state.

In Sparta men and women were taught to wrestle from a young age. For all that the film 300 got wrong about Spartan culture, the spirit of how they portrayed youth was fairly accurate. Greeks fought in the Pankration style, which is remarkably similar to our modern Mixed Martial Arts fighting. Imagine for a moment a society in which citizens are encouraged to actively participate in philosophy, local government, and the UFC. The Greeks, very simply, were badasses.

All of this makes my own weakness and general poor health seem more than laziness. I feel like I'm failing at my religious obligations. So I'm doing something about it. I've started weightlifting according to the StrongLifts 5x5 program, which uses barbell training and lots of squats. Tomorrow will be my third day on the program, or one week. I'm already feeling stronger in my core, and more than a little sore in my thighs (the squats are working!). I am not modifying my diet except to add more protein after workouts. I'm hoping to build muscle and strength and to burn body fat more effectively. In my experience cardio training just doesn't work as well as weight training for overall physical fitness. I'll be recording my fitness milestones in this blog. StrongLifts 5x5 promises to get me to a place where I'll be able to bench my ideal body weight (130lbs) and deadlift 1.5 x my ideal body weight (about 200 lbs). Right now those numbers seem impossibly high, but the program is designed to add weight in five pound increments each workout in order to train your muscles to lift heavier weight.

I'm a little concerned about becoming a gym rat, one of those people who talks all the time about how much they can bench, how much time they spent at the gym, or what they weigh. I can't stand those types of people, and I promise that my blog will not become a place for that kind of self-involved rhetoric. Also, I don't judge anyone who doesn't choose to exercise. How could I? I've been a lazy lump for years, and I'm only changing my lifestyle now because I'm sick of myself. I read recently about how no one ever makes a conscious change in their life until they are "at a 10". You can be fed up for years at a 9.5 and still not be ready to change. Then one day you wake up and with a sense of peace and grace and you are ready to change. You are at a 10. My "10" moment came when I went to put on my favorite butch hipster shirt -- an awesome vintage fitted western button-down piece that my dad gave me -- and found that it was too tight to squeeze my pudgy belly into. The beautiful mother-of-pearl buttons gaped open around my distended middle.

I'll never be a Pankration fighter. I'll never be a Spartan warrior, and I'll never look like Gorgo from 300 unless I starve myself. But I can be better. I can be stronger. I can be healthier. I can change for myself and for my Gods.

13 comments:

  1. I'm proud of us for doing this, baby! I feel better already, and I am looking forward to being fit again. Go us.

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  2. Good for you both! Spring is a nice time to start a physical fitness routine, IMHO. One of my only solaces in this area is the abundance of parks to hike and walk in, so I've been getting more exercise lately myself.

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  3. I _really_ enjoyed this article. You make a good point about getting (and staying) fit and healthy being a religious obligation. I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're right.

    Which god(s) do you think is appropriate to honor with exercise? There were funeral games to honor the dead and there were of course the Olympics. But if you also wanted to align yourself with one or more of the theoi, which do you think would be appropriate?

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  4. I'm inclined to see aspects of many of the Olympian theoi honored through exercise and athletics. Apollo and Aphrodite lend themselves to grace, physical perfection, and mastery of form. Ares challenges us to break old routines and to keep a competitive spirit. Athena is the mistress of all skill and is excellent for maintaining an attitude of strength and success. I'm sure there are others. Hercules comes to mind as an ideal figure for adoration during weight lifting.

    It will come as no shock to anyone that I personally am devoting my own routine to Athena. A surprising amount of weight lifting is mental attitude and Athena excels in that arena. She also traditionally lends Her favor to heroes and athletes, and She provides me with the skill necessary for proper form. I am, admittedly, partial. ;)

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  5. 0_o coincidence!

    I started exercise as a devotional act to Artemis and Heracles this week... the weight don't bothers me (my father is a fat guy, but is very strong and agile), but the idea of my weak muscles drive me crazy, and as a half life smoker, my lungs capacity is half of what could be...

    WHen I read "All of this makes my own weakness and general poor health seem more than laziness. I feel like I'm failing at my religious obligations." I thinked - wows, I could write exactly the same words!

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  6. Exactly. I think that holding oneself to Arete includes physical fitness and strength along with morality, piety, hospitality, and wisdom. I like to think of Arete as personal excellence.

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  7. Hercules did spring to mind for weight lifting. I hadn't thought about Athene, but you're right that Her domain could include the appropriate attitude when approaching arete.

    What about cardio? Might Artemis be appropriate to pray/dedicated exercise to? It seems like as the Huntress in the domain of the wild, that conditioning through running would be something She would approve of. Thoughts on that?

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  8. I can certainly see Artemis in the role of a "patron" of runners. Emulation of Atalanta as a hero also springs to mind, as she was so associated with the footrace in myth.

    In an very abstract UPG way I can also see Hestia related to cardio work. Just as She stokes the fires of our home's hearths/hearts so could She be said to hold sway over our bodies' hearts. I'll have to think on that metaphor more. It just came to me!

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  9. Good points. Hermes also would certainly apply to running!

    I hope you don't mind, but I quoted you on my Spark People page here: http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=AMORA55555

    You've really inspired me to get into shape!

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  10. Wow, thank you! Best of luck on your new fitness regimen. Keep me informed as to how you're doing with it. Maybe we can keep each other motivated! :)

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  11. Will do! Would you like to join me on one or both of my SparkPeople teams? I'm active in two:

    the Couch to 5 k program: http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp instructions for the program are here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

    and

    and

    Pagans Balancing Weight Loss: http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp?gid=4763

    The Couch to 5 km program seems like a good fit (for me) because I have a lot to lose and it's structured to gradually ramp up week by week. And the Pagans Balancing Weight Loss team helps me tie fitness together with my spirituality. We could help each other. : )

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  12. I joined the Pagans Balancing Weight Loss team! Thank you for introducing me to SparkPeople. I think it will be a valuable tool for my fitness goals. My username on SparkPeople is glauxnest. :)

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  13. Excellent and gladly! I'm Amora55555, but you might know that from my page. I'll look for you, and I'd be happy to be buddies once you make your page, so we can encourage each other. : )

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