Work, play, functional fitness…

Last week was a pretty good week.  To be honest, it was probably “more good” mentally than physically, but as the weather improved, so did my mood.

From Saturday to Friday I ran a total of 36 miles – which is WAY more weekly miles than I have done in a long time.  This was in addition to walking and biking. 

So I woke up yesterday feeling accomplished for the week, but knowing the annual chore of cleaning out the chicken coop was ahead of me – good times.

I headed down and saw that the coop was not nearly as bad as it was last year.  Since this year we got much less snow and it was not as cold, the chickens were out a lot instead of being in the coop continuously for days and weeks on end.

I know some of you out there might have chickens, and if you do, well, you know they are not the most elegant of creatures.  The floor of the coop was a mixture of hard packed chicken crap and old shavings, and the walls were decorated nicely with sprays of poopage. 

Marc had been waiting for a day to get up and tar some spots on our roof, and it was finally warm enough, so while I worked on the coop, he was up there working. 

I pulled the cart up to the door of the coop and began the task of raking and shoveling.  I filled the cart up and then realized that it was going to be HEAVY.  I thought that I would not be able to haul it away and dump it myself.  But I did, and it wasn’t even that hard.

It took a full 6 loads and change.  I also had to remove some extremely heavy stone blocks out that we put the water on and surprised myself by lifting those suckers up from the floor and carrying them into the yard.  Then, after at least an hour of scrubbing down the walls with water and bleach, I had to haul in the HUGE bales of new shavings and get them spread.

Here is the finished product – the chickens were SO PISSED ( ):

 

There was a huge feeling of accomplishment getting this done.  But I also realized – THIS is the reason to work out and stay healthy. 

It’s all well and good that I can run a few miles at a time – this might come in handy if we experience a zombie outbreak and I have to run from the fuckers.  But while running keeps me fit, it’s isn’t exactly what I would call a practical “skill”.

But being able to lift and haul and clean – the ability to do this for several hours without stopping - that is functional fitness. A skill that is useful for everyday life.

I get so into the mindset of working out just to work out – if you know what I mean.  Having demands that I put on myself without really a purpose.  Or running a certain amount of miles just to “earn” enough to have that bagel.  Am I making any sense to anyone?  This is the “working out” mindset of the times. 

It’s like those guys on Survivor with GIGANTIC biceps who can’t do shit when it comes to practical challenges or tasks.  I know some skinny Amish kids could easily outlast them!  Because their daily work is functional.

So, anyway, I was pretty happy with getting this done, and today it’s going to be even warmer, so I worked yesterday – hoping to play today!!