Nov
10
At the end of my kickboxing class last week we did a bunch of exercises using a stability ball — or fitness ball, or exercise ball, or Swiss ball, or big-ass rubber inflatable round whatsit — and I was kind of amazed at the workout you can get with those things. I mean, just the effort of not rolling comically off the top of it is a fair challenge, and once you master that, you can do all these crazy moves that isolate various muscle groups.
Plus, you can bounce on it, which is wicked fun.
So I bought my own exer-sphere, and let me tell you, I never would have guessed that there could be so many entertaining uses for a giant rubber ball. In addition to the exercises you can do with it, you can totally re-enact that classic boulder scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. You can freak out your household pets by rolling it at them. You can drape yourself over it backwards in order to stretch your spine, then use it as a weapon to fend off your advancing husband, who insists that your pose was a deliberate provocation for him to “get up ON that”.
Also, toddlers love giant rubber balls:
Babies, however, find them confusing:
Have I mentioned how much I am loving this kickboxing class, by the way? There’s something immensely satisfying about strapping on a pair of gloves and punching the bejesus out of a heavy object, and I am always weirdly thrilled when my knuckles are bruised afterwards. When I’m in class and the music’s blaring and everyone around me is panting and sweating and the sound of the bags being struck is like a drumbeat, I feel a savage kind of giddiness. It’s this clean, cathartic, positive method of experiencing aggression and violence, if that makes any kind of sense. Like I’m just forcefully pouring every frustration out of my body, and filling up that space with strength. Sure, sometimes I am more than a little convinced I’m going to barf a lung straight out my eyesocket, but man, there’s nothing like it.
Plus, you never know when the ability to shatter someone’s kneecap with a well-aimed back kick might come in handy. Otherwise you’re just watching Spencer Pratt strut by unharmed and thinking of what might have been.
Nov
9
I never did get a really good photo of these two guys, but what do you think — can you see the resemblance?
I like this picture better, because we told Joe to “look like a baby”. Apparently he thinks our child is a few beers short of a six-pack.
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My product review site:
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