Fun Exercise Experiment
Jun. 5th, 2018 06:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebA friend of mine had the brilliant idea of getting season tickets to Texas Typhoon, a small water park that also has a ropes course, and then we go play on the ropes course every week for exercise.
Today was our first day, and thus a bit experimental. So many experiments!
What to wear - the ropes course requires regular clothes; the rest of the park, a swimsuit. My friend's idea to wear a swimsuit under her shorts was the winner.
Hat - I decided to wear my big, floppy sun hat. Then it turns out they make you wear a helmet on the ropes course. But they let me wear my hat under the helmet. Can you say, "Beauty Queen"? Oh, no need. I'm nevertheless going to say wearing a hat was a big win.
Drinks - Um, it's hot, and we need to not get sunstroke. But who wants to pay $3 per soda? We are bringing drinks and leaving them in the car. Drinking before, probably during, and after. They also have cold water fountains, but my friend doesn't like plain water.
Earrings - I wore earrings I wouldn't mind losing too much. And they didn't fall out! I still like this strategy.
Keys - I figured out how to wrap my key chain around my wristband--big win. I even remembered to take my flashlight (and other keys) off first. Yes!
Credit card - You can link your credit card to your wristband. Sounds like a good idea, but mine was in the car when I had my first opportunity. Now I'm wondering if I should link my favorite or a secondary credit card.
Lockers - They exist, but are not included in the season ticket price. My friend just put her things on top of the lockers--she calls this a big win. I put my things in the trunk of my car. I still don't have a favorite strategy.
Shoes - We need shoes for the ropes course, but can't have shoes on the water slides, but can wear any footwear we like in the other watery rides. I really liked having my sneakers on the ropes course. I liked that the soles are pretty thick and inflexible. But I forgot to plan what to do about the water. I wimped out on running around barefoot and just wore my sneakers, thinking they would dry out okay later and that I would bring my Teva sandals next time. My friend tried the barefoot thing and it seemed okay so long as you don't go too long in one stretch, but though she doesn't like plastic sandals, she is thinking about getting some. I was thinking I should just go barefoot and toughen my feet. But I also realized that I could bring my worn-out sneakers.
The ropes course does indeed use up all of our muscles as expected. I could feel my core muscles engaging, and one arm was quite rubbery at one point and then we did another thing where I had to stop and rest in the middle. Twice. (We didn't use squatting muscles.) I think there are three levels of courses (plus an extra free area where they don't make you wear a harness and helmet). We did most of the ground level. We did one part twice--the part where getting some momentum going was very helpful, and the second time we both basically ran all the way across. It was nice to see improvement right away. And I have LOTS of room for improvement.
Speaking of which, it took me a hilariously high number of tries to get on my inner tube on the lazy river. Normally, I flop on top and then flip over, but that wasn't working for me. My back-up strategy of coming up from the middle didn't work because the centers of the inner tubes are smaller than usual and I couldn't fit my bent legs through there. Fortunately my friend had a good strategy. I tried and failed it several times. Then she explained again in very detailed terms while demonstrating. I succeeded on my third try after that. I know! Lots of room for improvement. Especially if I want to succeed at looking as graceful as my friend did. I successfully dismounted on my first try, fortunately.
I do have what I think of as a pre-blister on one hand. It had that feeling where if you ignore it and keep doing what you're doing, it turns into a blister. But we stopped in time! Gloves or fingerless gloves of some kind (like people use at the gym) might be a good idea; I don't currently have any.
Note: The ropes course does not open until 1:00 p.m. So we are basically doomed to do this in 100-degree heat. (Technically, my car told me it was not 100 degrees when I left the house, but it said it was 101 when I left to go home.) This early, our highs are supposed to average 95, then in the second half of summer, 99. But this year, we were hitting 100 by the end of May. Grr. Fortunately my friend and I are much better at handling heat than cold. So ha!
Cartoon of the Day - Today's Dilbert, Boiling an Ocean - "Dilbert: I told our boss his presentation had a low signal-to-noise ratio and he thought it was a compliment. Wally: I think you just invented my new favorite game."
Oh no.
Want to play that game? Hmm, I'm not coming up with anything myself.
Today was our first day, and thus a bit experimental. So many experiments!
What to wear - the ropes course requires regular clothes; the rest of the park, a swimsuit. My friend's idea to wear a swimsuit under her shorts was the winner.
Hat - I decided to wear my big, floppy sun hat. Then it turns out they make you wear a helmet on the ropes course. But they let me wear my hat under the helmet. Can you say, "Beauty Queen"? Oh, no need. I'm nevertheless going to say wearing a hat was a big win.
Drinks - Um, it's hot, and we need to not get sunstroke. But who wants to pay $3 per soda? We are bringing drinks and leaving them in the car. Drinking before, probably during, and after. They also have cold water fountains, but my friend doesn't like plain water.
Earrings - I wore earrings I wouldn't mind losing too much. And they didn't fall out! I still like this strategy.
Keys - I figured out how to wrap my key chain around my wristband--big win. I even remembered to take my flashlight (and other keys) off first. Yes!
Credit card - You can link your credit card to your wristband. Sounds like a good idea, but mine was in the car when I had my first opportunity. Now I'm wondering if I should link my favorite or a secondary credit card.
Lockers - They exist, but are not included in the season ticket price. My friend just put her things on top of the lockers--she calls this a big win. I put my things in the trunk of my car. I still don't have a favorite strategy.
Shoes - We need shoes for the ropes course, but can't have shoes on the water slides, but can wear any footwear we like in the other watery rides. I really liked having my sneakers on the ropes course. I liked that the soles are pretty thick and inflexible. But I forgot to plan what to do about the water. I wimped out on running around barefoot and just wore my sneakers, thinking they would dry out okay later and that I would bring my Teva sandals next time. My friend tried the barefoot thing and it seemed okay so long as you don't go too long in one stretch, but though she doesn't like plastic sandals, she is thinking about getting some. I was thinking I should just go barefoot and toughen my feet. But I also realized that I could bring my worn-out sneakers.
The ropes course does indeed use up all of our muscles as expected. I could feel my core muscles engaging, and one arm was quite rubbery at one point and then we did another thing where I had to stop and rest in the middle. Twice. (We didn't use squatting muscles.) I think there are three levels of courses (plus an extra free area where they don't make you wear a harness and helmet). We did most of the ground level. We did one part twice--the part where getting some momentum going was very helpful, and the second time we both basically ran all the way across. It was nice to see improvement right away. And I have LOTS of room for improvement.
Speaking of which, it took me a hilariously high number of tries to get on my inner tube on the lazy river. Normally, I flop on top and then flip over, but that wasn't working for me. My back-up strategy of coming up from the middle didn't work because the centers of the inner tubes are smaller than usual and I couldn't fit my bent legs through there. Fortunately my friend had a good strategy. I tried and failed it several times. Then she explained again in very detailed terms while demonstrating. I succeeded on my third try after that. I know! Lots of room for improvement. Especially if I want to succeed at looking as graceful as my friend did. I successfully dismounted on my first try, fortunately.
I do have what I think of as a pre-blister on one hand. It had that feeling where if you ignore it and keep doing what you're doing, it turns into a blister. But we stopped in time! Gloves or fingerless gloves of some kind (like people use at the gym) might be a good idea; I don't currently have any.
Note: The ropes course does not open until 1:00 p.m. So we are basically doomed to do this in 100-degree heat. (Technically, my car told me it was not 100 degrees when I left the house, but it said it was 101 when I left to go home.) This early, our highs are supposed to average 95, then in the second half of summer, 99. But this year, we were hitting 100 by the end of May. Grr. Fortunately my friend and I are much better at handling heat than cold. So ha!
Cartoon of the Day - Today's Dilbert, Boiling an Ocean - "Dilbert: I told our boss his presentation had a low signal-to-noise ratio and he thought it was a compliment. Wally: I think you just invented my new favorite game."
Oh no.
Want to play that game? Hmm, I'm not coming up with anything myself.