A Philosophy of Exercise: Six Pack?

Matin Serain, France-trekearth

A good friend of mine has stated that I look a bit like 'The Thing' from the Fantastic Four. Well, looking at my recent photos, is there a supposed resemblance? I am pretty certain he is meaning I look like The Thing based on muscular body shape...

Not because I look like a monster, made of rock. Except maybe to toddler friends. Since as long I can remember I have always exercised/worked out regularly; back when I was four when we lived in Port Coquitlam my brother would take us out to play ball hockey.

I played ball hockey for many years and was a better than average scorer. A good but not spectacular player on forward and defence.

Now in order to do something different but similar, I play soccer with a friend and his family. I am not, because of only average pace, particularly good at scoring, although my shot is getting heavier. I am good at defending because 'The Thing' can simply get in the way.

I have never been a particularly fast runner.

I have discovered that I am quite good a playing 'football' goalkeeper, that is at least with ball hockey nets being used on the outdoor grass. That is the nets formerly used for playing ball hockey which are many times smaller in dimension than the tradition soccer/football nets.

I state this humbly, very humbly, but in our small group, I have never played organized soccer/football, but whether I play primarily with the 'younger guys' with the speed, or with the 'older guys' with the muscle whichever teams I play in goal for usually has won the match. And this has been for a two to three year period now. And I give up few goals.

And yes I am playing against Mr. Bobby Buff that has played organized soccer and kicks the ball at me close to full force; getting dangerously close to my head from Mr. Buff and his brother-in-law that last few times. But that is sport.

Philosophically, I am a decent goalkeeper because I studied goaltending mentally watching years of National Hockey League games and to a less extent years of UEFA European football matches.

I put the mental knowledge to use and as well my fairly fast hand and leg reflexes from working at martial arts for decades and martial arts weapons since after the Manchester, England bottle incident/attack in 2000 seem to kick in and assist me as a goalkeeper to stop fast and quick shots often.

Even though I am not a classic by North American standards 'cute six pack', when I see my MD my blood pressure is excellent as are my statistics.

The point here?

At work I see so many of the workout techniques with the workout classes taking place and I can very much see why persons would be very unmotivated to perform such stressful and unnatural acts for a prolonged period.

Such an approach has never interested me whatsoever.

Not to mention to have to associate in a gym that smells of body odor, chemical cleaner and leather combined with no open window ventilation for security reasons.

Almost as bad as working out in a washroom.

I think philosophically and practically that people that are hesitant about exercising or working out should find something that they like to do that will burn sufficient calories, not digesting too many daily calories.

If one likes to dance, dance. Or perform ballet or whatever. To pick up boulders and rearrange them whatever.

I reason a person needs to really enjoy the exercise and workout routine to continue with it for years and years and for it to not become quickly a tedious and boring routine.

Perhaps there is so much pressure in Western society to have a 'near perfect' like body that exercise systems are developed to tone all the muscle groups, but these types of workouts are in my mind often unnatural, tedious and boring.

Perhaps in many cases such systems do not provide a person with a motivation to continue for years and years?

This is why I play soccer.

I walk, while I no longer do this as workout  because I walk approximately fifty miles a week at work.

I workout with martial arts with weapons and dumbbells. There is some light running.

My MD has basically told me that I will not have a six pack body anyway.  I realized this on my own.

In other words I am too muscular, and the facts are quite simply that many if not most people in Western society will not ever have the supposed near perfect body either and so persons should have effective exercise systems that burn significant, sufficient calories that provide continued motivation for years.

Not ones they might be part of a cookie-cutter six pack exercise program.

Even acknowledging while a six pack look might often be more ascetically pleasing, it may not be practical for each person.

The Thing: Marvel

Having second thoughts?