I CAN HAZ A PULL UP?
At the climbing gym, there is a contraption that allows you to do pull ups with assistance. It's a beast of a machine that allows you to stand on a movable platform, which levers weight. When I first started climbing, I'm not sure where I was at. I wasn't looking at the machines, I was looking at the colorful rocks on the wall. At some point though, I could do a pull up with 18 lbs of assistance. Then for the last month, it was 6 lbs. Which is REALLY, REALLY close.
Let's rewind a little more. I have never been able to do a pull up. I remember in elementary school they'd have all the fitness requirements, I think set by the good 'ole PRESIDENT of the USA and I would pass every single one except pull ups. Which at some point, went up from the requirement of 0 to 1 for girls. I was at 3/4's. They didn't round up. This never changed. For most of my life, even when I was MVPing high school sport teams, I could not do a pull up. Sometimes if I jumped up to the bar, I'd kick my way up, but the beast machine doesn't allow you to kick, because you are standing on a platform. No pull ups for me.
The other night, I thought I'd give the BEAST MACHINE another try, before climbing with Molly and Laura. Just for kicks, I took off all the weight, instead of the 6 lbs I have been putting on. And then, I got on, and pulled...up...and up...until, my god, the platform wouldn't go up anymore! And my head? ABOVE THE HAND HOLDS!!!!!!!!!!! PULL UP, DONE!
There's only two things I'd like to attribute to this feat. (1) Losing about 10 lbs over the last year (maybe half year). While I have certainly been this weight before, it's been at least a decade, since when I first started driving. As in, driving myself to McDonalds. And KFC. And my friends. And then so my mom wouldn't know, I would eat her meals too. Hi Mom, sorry to have to tell you this in a blog.
Which links us directly to (2) eating sustainably. Turns out, to no one's particular surprise, that McDonalds and KFC are not sustainable. Neither is pretty much anything you can impulse buy. And even if it is, it's definitely not more sustainable than cooking it my own kitchen, with passive heat considerations, with compost, and with reusable utensils. So when I walk or bike past these things, I no longer hear their call. I don't see commercials since I don't watch much live tv. Also, eating less meat, even if the meat is sustainably grown in the first place, is more sustainable. To that end, I probably eat about a quarter to half of the meat I used to. It was not only a painless move, but a fun and creative one, since I've found more and more ways to cut up and cook the meat my meat CSA delivers. So to losing 10 lbs without trying and to being able to do a pull up at a ripe old age of 25, I thank you green gods, for always making my life better.
Let's rewind a little more. I have never been able to do a pull up. I remember in elementary school they'd have all the fitness requirements, I think set by the good 'ole PRESIDENT of the USA and I would pass every single one except pull ups. Which at some point, went up from the requirement of 0 to 1 for girls. I was at 3/4's. They didn't round up. This never changed. For most of my life, even when I was MVPing high school sport teams, I could not do a pull up. Sometimes if I jumped up to the bar, I'd kick my way up, but the beast machine doesn't allow you to kick, because you are standing on a platform. No pull ups for me.
The other night, I thought I'd give the BEAST MACHINE another try, before climbing with Molly and Laura. Just for kicks, I took off all the weight, instead of the 6 lbs I have been putting on. And then, I got on, and pulled...up...and up...until, my god, the platform wouldn't go up anymore! And my head? ABOVE THE HAND HOLDS!!!!!!!!!!! PULL UP, DONE!
There's only two things I'd like to attribute to this feat. (1) Losing about 10 lbs over the last year (maybe half year). While I have certainly been this weight before, it's been at least a decade, since when I first started driving. As in, driving myself to McDonalds. And KFC. And my friends. And then so my mom wouldn't know, I would eat her meals too. Hi Mom, sorry to have to tell you this in a blog.
Which links us directly to (2) eating sustainably. Turns out, to no one's particular surprise, that McDonalds and KFC are not sustainable. Neither is pretty much anything you can impulse buy. And even if it is, it's definitely not more sustainable than cooking it my own kitchen, with passive heat considerations, with compost, and with reusable utensils. So when I walk or bike past these things, I no longer hear their call. I don't see commercials since I don't watch much live tv. Also, eating less meat, even if the meat is sustainably grown in the first place, is more sustainable. To that end, I probably eat about a quarter to half of the meat I used to. It was not only a painless move, but a fun and creative one, since I've found more and more ways to cut up and cook the meat my meat CSA delivers. So to losing 10 lbs without trying and to being able to do a pull up at a ripe old age of 25, I thank you green gods, for always making my life better.