Saturday 13 February 2016

DAY 13: Silk Purses and Sow's Ears

If that's not the weirdest blog title, it must be close.  I am guessing that some of you (maybe many of you) are not old enough to have heard this idiomatic expression.  It goes sort of like this:  "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."  And I think the gist of it is that you can't manufacture some fancy, refined quality item out of ordinary, everyday cheap materials.  For the most part, I would agree with this.  But I don`t think it ALWAYS holds true.  I believe that, sometimes, you CAN make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, figuratively speaking, of course.  Here's what I'm driving at.

Yesterday, I had conversations with two different people who, independently of one another, told me that they had "discovered" a way to use time that would otherwise be wasted.  In one case, it was waiting for the photocopier to do its thing.  In the other case - well, I don't want to go into details, but let's say it involved someone who was zealously hydrating. . .  They both discovered that you can use this time to do squats.  The silk purse here is the fitness benefit of doing squats.  They will be stronger and more agile.  And the sow's ear, I guess, is unavoidable wait time.

The best part of this whole story, to me, is that I see people looking around and finding opportunities to make wasted time into productive time that benefits their own wellness.  I think it reflects a positive fitness attitude that can pull an exercise opportunity right out of thin air.  Like when my brother made improvised kettlebells out of washer fluid bottles:  4Kg with handles!  Free!

So keep your eyes peeled for sow's ears.  You might be able to make your own silk purse.

3 comments:

dave said...

That was a great workout day! with the added benefit of instability in the containers!

Yesterday I was bumming because during my workout i got called back to a meeting and didn't finish. So for the rest of the day I was feeling a bit annoyed about it, so as soon as work was over i went back to the gym, finished the workout, and did a PB for my interim exercise (static inversion for time - 1:32.)

Thanks for all your comments and wisdom Rich - this has certainly made for an enriching experience.

Marilyn said...

Message from Mom/Marilyn Guess what! My first morning lap turned into a lap and a half! The stiffness in my legs was gone when I woke up, and I felt good, so I just didn't stop when I got back to my door. You and David amaze me with all you can do - just don't overdo anything....I really enjoy your blogs.

Kristi said...

This comment is directed to you uncle Dave. The first time I did the plank for a PB (probably like a week or 2 ago), I managed 3:01. Today (Feb. 14), I got up to 4:30!!! I know I can go for 5 minutes. After about 2.5+ minutes, it turns into a head game for me. AND... my total plank time for this month so far is 81:27! Half way through the month and I am more than half way to my goal of 150 minutes! Even better news.. I can probably shoot for more than 150 minutes :D