When I manage to drag myself to the gym, I usually have about the charisma of a mole. I start to sweat before I even get on the treadmill, I spend a long time finding some trashy tv show to watch on the screen, I pant and moan, then I start the treadmill, then I look around anxiously to see if anyone is disapproving of how out of shape I am. It's very inspirational.
But all that is about to change, for I have seen the light. And the light looks like this:
This woman is having FUN. At the GYM. Not only does she make a jog on the treadmill look totally enjoyable and graceful, she does it with completely unselfconscious panache. I loved her after I saw this video, and then I loved her a little more when I saw this interview with her, in which she explains how the video came to be (not as creepy as it seems), and says that she was happy with it going viral because she hoped it would help people get inspired "to start living a healthier life," to get out there and work out, even if they struggle to lose weight as she has.
It's an inspiration just to see a non-Beyonce-body mastering Beyonce-moves, and a reminder that yes, working out can be fun—for any of us.
Read More:
7 Exercises That Are Really Fun
How to Defuse Your Exercise Excuses
But all that is about to change, for I have seen the light. And the light looks like this:
This woman is having FUN. At the GYM. Not only does she make a jog on the treadmill look totally enjoyable and graceful, she does it with completely unselfconscious panache. I loved her after I saw this video, and then I loved her a little more when I saw this interview with her, in which she explains how the video came to be (not as creepy as it seems), and says that she was happy with it going viral because she hoped it would help people get inspired "to start living a healthier life," to get out there and work out, even if they struggle to lose weight as she has.
It's an inspiration just to see a non-Beyonce-body mastering Beyonce-moves, and a reminder that yes, working out can be fun—for any of us.
Read More:
7 Exercises That Are Really Fun
How to Defuse Your Exercise Excuses
| Photo: Thinkstock |
Which is why it's so wonderful to hear about the Rahimi sisters, my new favorite teenagers ever. According to an article in The Globe and Mail, these girls train 3 times a week in a gritty gym once used by the Taliban for public punishments, hoping to qualify for the Olympic games and eventually win the gold for their country. As the Globe reports, "Female boxing is still relatively unusual in most countries, but especially in Afghanistan, where many girls and women still face a struggle to secure an education or work, and activists say violence and abuse at home is common."
Under the Taliban sports were prohibited for women, so the thought of an Afghani team heading to the Olympics is pretty incredible. And how great that it's a super-tough sport like boxing! The very existence of these female fighters challenges stereotypes that have had a dangerous foothold in this part of the world. As the girls' coach Mohammad Saber Sharifi said, "We want to show the world that Afghan women can be leaders, too; that they can do anything – even boxing,” their coach. And you must see the full article for an awesome photo of the girls in action. Ka-pow!
Read About More Amazing Girls:
The Homecoming Queen/Football Star
The Fossil-Finding First-Grader
| Photo: Thinkstock |
According to Fox News, a robber walked into an Olney, Md bagel shop and handed the cashier a note that said "I have a gun. Please give me the money. Don't make any noise.." (At least they said "please"!) The cashier handed over the money and the robber ran away. Unluckily for this would-be criminal, the husband of the bagel shop owner took off after him. And this husband happens to be a marathon runner. The robbers were apprehended within - ahem - 2 minutes.
What's not to love about this story? Here is a world were the robbers are cartoonishly bumbling and seemingly harmless, where the victims prevail, and where all that marathon training really comes in handy. Something to consider the next time you want to skip the treadmill at the gym.
Read More Feel-Good News:
A high school supports its homecoming queens
A community rallies to find a lost cat
| Photo: Thinkstock |
I love a good story about an older person staying young by
doing amazing things (that I myself am too cowardly for) – and Lloyd Kahn is
just such a man. As he told ABC News, "I started skating when I was 65,
but the first ride I took I fell and screwed up my wrist, but I kept at it.” Kahn, who thinks that too many people give up
as they get older, said, “Every day, I really do want to have some kind of fun.”
Well, Mr, Kahn, I’ve been taught to listen to my elders, and this is some wise
advice I am super into. With the proper padding and a helmet, of course.
Visit ABC News for the whole story, and to watch a video of the 76-year-old skater in action!
Read More:
The unexpected hobby of a famous poet
5 ways to stay youthful as you age
What would it take to change your life for the better? It may be less than you think—we've got mini-makeovers to help you upgrade everything from your workout to your weekend. #27: Exercise your brain along with your thumbs.
You can zone out with another round of Angry Birds—or kill time with these apps that work your brain.
 |
Unblock Me
A frustrating yet addictive puzzle game in which you manipulate rectangles to free one from its blockade. iTunes, free; full version 99₡. Android, free.
7 Little Words
Each puzzle consists of seven clues that lead to seven mystery words made from 20-letter groups—let the brain racking begin! iTunes; free.
Simple Physics
Design sturdy structures—a skyscraper buffeted by hurricanes, a roof bearing a mountain of snow—without breaking your project budget. iTunes; 99₡.
Trixel
You have a limited number of moves to navigate this visual puzzle, flipping tiles to match a set pattern. iTunes; 99₡.
Keep Reading
I have spent far too much time studying the cats in my house and wondering—deeply, for long, embarrassing periods of time—how I could possibly turn into one and spend the rest of my life napping in the pool of sunlight on the warm, beige carpet, not so that I don't have to go to work or don't have to fix the broken water purifier in the kitchen or don't have to beat myself up for not learning Spanish or even taking a self-improving pottery class....but so that I don't have to exercise again. It's not that I am lazy. I am tired. I am busy. Most of all, I am uninspired about slapping on some jiggle-enhancing Lycra pants and lugging myself over to the dreaded giant purple ball over which I am supposed drape myself and engage in stomach-firming crunches.
Meanwhile, miles and miles away in Brooklyn, a 15-year-old boy is keeping busy watching a different kind of animal. Henry Lim, who, as the New York Times reported won a Young Naturalist Award from the American Museum of Natural History, has been observing the troop of six baboons who live in 4,000 square foot rock enclosure at the Prospect Park Zoo. Baboons, apparently, have 67 previously identified behaviors observed in the wild, which include: approach, look, grunt, lip smack, carry on back, genital inspect, eyebrow raise, short running attack, grimace, and sleep. But as young Henry told the Times, there is a "60 percent chance that a baboon will spend time sitting."
In addition, he produced a stopwatch for the reporter and recorded the following observations of one particular male baboon:
2:00pm: Sitting
2:30pm: Sitting/shake fur
3:00pm: Sitting/scratching
3:30pm: Sitting
Reading this, it dawned on me that I no longer have to wish I were a cat. For all intents and purposes, minus the hair, I am a baboon.
3:00pm: Sitting/scratching
3:30pm: Sitting
Reading this, it dawned on me that I no longer have to wish I were a cat. For all intents and purposes, minus the hair, I am a baboon.
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