Thursday, May 31, 2007

Cross-training Without Oil

This weekend I went bicycling and skateboarding, and worked in the garden. Yesterday I carpooled part of the way to work and skateboarded the rest of the way. Today I took the bus to work, carpooled home, then mowed the lawn with a manual push mower, worked in the garden some more, and turned the compost pile. There's plenty of exercise to be had in a world without oil.

I forget where I heard this, but someone said that Americans are people who pay others to do their yard work so they have free time to drive to the gym and work out. It's kind of true, but maybe not for much longer.

3 comments:

Jane said...

I love this way of thinking! It's so true. Even something as simple as running outdoors instead of running on a treadmill (using electricity!) -- it's pretty surreal when you can break out of your usual way of looking at things and see how strange the usual way is! Thanks for this post. I'll remember it whenever I'm hitting the pavement instead of the gym.

Jane said...

P.S. Okay, clearly you've got me all riled up about this because I'm still thinking about it... a main reason people run on treadmills is that there is not a safe, inviting place to run. Seems like an effort for well-lit, well-maintained walking and running trails and tracks in everyday, easily-accessed spaces would be a huge and a necessary intervention to cut down on the energy consumed by workouts.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the comments. You're right, more walking and running paths would help. Also free weights, and activities like Yoga and Tai Chi don't require any artificial power.