New Gear for a Minimalist (Cheap Ass)

ROUND 1- How I didn't throw up in the mall

That's not a block of blue cheese, but a "pull boy" for helping with swimming technique and building upper body strength. Practice doesn't make perfect, but perfectly-executed practice will make my swim stroke much more efficient. Right now, I drag my legs. That's okay, since kicking of the legs sucks up over 50% of a swimmer's energy. BUT, even though the human body is mostly water, my legs are mostly Sasquatch hair and rock-hard muscle-- very sinkable. By practicing keeping my hips up near the surface of the water, it makes me feel like I'm swimming downhill--it feels very easy. Very much more better and FASTER.

Unfortunately, after my first day using my pull boy, I accidentally misplaced it at the pool locker room. It was a lesson in detachment, I guess. Honestly, sometimes, I forget I'm taking a shower. (This week, for example, I even went to work, forgetting to brush my teeth. I haven't done that since...EVER. Luckily, as long as I'm eating raw, I don't build up nasty smelling tongue and teeth, and I can pretty much just rinse my mouth out with water). So, anyhoos, I had to have a few hard days in the pool, without the pull boy, risking reinforcing an inefficient stroke. 

ROUND 2- back to the mall--yuck!
I was feeling particularly worthy of a man-pamper this Friday coming home from work. So, I ventured back into the mall and bought some new equipment for training. Of course, I bought another pull boy. I also bought some webbed hand-fins, despite my swimmer friend, Clare's sage advice. And, as you can see below, I also went outside of the box and I got some new Saucony running shoes. They technically qualify as minimalist shoes, although they feel like a step backwards, in the clunky direction, compared to my Zoots. The fact is, I'm really enjoying running on the trails around the neighborhood and I've run my Zoots' tread paper thin and I need something a bit more insulated from the ground's coldness. Compared to how much I'm enjoying the trails, the pavement might as well be boring old treadmill. I will reserve my Zoot's for treadmill and pavement.

Here's the new training gear. Bananas are sleeping in my bedroom too, trying to get warmer and ripen by jumping inside my new trail running shoes and inside my neoprene hand-fins. You'll notice a bottle of Hippie Heinbaugh's Hardcore Holiday Homemade Manly Danly Handy Lotion. These guys are my favorite new micro-sponsor. I'm going through lotion like crazy since the chlorinated pool really dries out my skin.

Gear for gear's sake is over-rated as far as exercise and fitness, but when it comes to competition, it's essential to put all the tools to good use, in service of the goal. The only remaining gear stuff I have to take care of is to get my bike tuned up before I ramp up the outdoor riding mileage.

Here's an absolutely beautiful vid of what you might call an all-natural athlete. No gym membership. No gear, (unless you count swim trunks). But all of these exercises could just as easily be done in the buff. 

And speaking of in the buff, here's another great group of minimalist athletes, that we all could learn something from.