blah-014

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.

Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

1289: Bodyweight Exercises

For some time now I have been nagging every single soul who has had the misfortune of initiating an informal conversation with me regarding the extreme utility and functionality of Bodyweight exercises. To the uninitiated ( a.k.a un-nagged) let me start by saying "No, they are not exercises for reducing your body weight"( which I have come to realise is a huge fascination among a notable portion of web users)
As wikipedia puts it,

Bodyweight exercises are strength training exercises that do not require free weights; the practitioner's own weight provides the resistance for the movement. Movements such as the push-up, the pull-up, and the sit-up are some of the most common bodyweight exercises.

One of the side effects of stopping my gym visits--after realizing that my dad no longer needed the moral support and that the unique level of entertainment which is possible only in gyms (watching people watching themselves in the mirrors) was no longer that entertaining -- was the realization that I was not able to sleep properly (sic, considering my Kharagpur days)  without doing my quota of daily physical exertion. Enter Bodyweight exercises.

A few days of surfing on the web and practising the basics and I was hooked and sleep was even better than before (yes even better than kgp). What I find the most exciting about it is the fact that all you need is yourself (really you don't even need clothes :P). The first picture which blew my mind away was the Planche (One of the first things in life which I really really REALLY felt like I should do) Afterwards of course further research (sic) showed that Planche was just the beginning. Maybe Manna is something I wouldn't even be able to do even after a year of sincerity. The collection of Sommer's articles is pretty neat.




Planche on fingertips ( hmm. these freaky bboys. no form but still impressive strength.)


I was trying to follow crossfit WoD (Workout of the Day) for a couple of weeks now and was disappointed with having to substitute the WoD of some days with bodyweight exercises myself. Thankfully gymnasticbodies provides a nice (and tougher) alternative. I intend to continue both the WoDs. Recent discoveries would mean some additions to my Bucketlist's physical section.

On a connected fitness note, I made myself a pull-up bar ( not that i don't enjoy the callus on my hands due to pull-ups using the horizontal concrete slab)

In effect a perfect way to proceed for a beginner ( errrr..) is to follow crossfit WoD, Sommer's WOD, and tackling the BWC 20 level challenge one at a time.

You can check out my bodyweight bookmarks at delicious.
For some jolts to your perception about what is physically feasible do check out gymasticbodies' youtube library.
--
Planche progress: When I started I was able to do roughly 30 normal push-ups with effort. Now I am able to do 50 and in terms of balance can hold the frog stand for over 1 minute. But I guess the next step of proceeding to the tuck planche is going to be tough.
Running Progress: ran 7.5 km for the first time (36:30) half marathon does not seem unlikely in 2010.
Pull-up progress: 20 proper form (approximately) Hoping for One Arm pullups and chin-ups in March.

blah-012: Je me sens vivre

Je me sens vivre
rendition by Dalida

Je ne savais pas pourquoi je vivais
Je ne savais pas à quoi je servais
Maintenant, maintenant je le sais

Mes yeux ne sont fait que pour te regarder
Mes lèvres ne servent qu'à t'offrir mes baisers
Mon oreille à compter les battements de ton cœur
Et mes mains à saisir et garder ta chaleur

Et depuis lors je me sens vivre
Je me sens vivre parce que je t'aime
Et depuis lors je me sens vivre
Je me sens vivre parce que je t'aime
Parce que je t'aime, parce que je t'aime
Parce que je t'aime et suis aimée de toi

Mes yeux ne sont fait que pour voir ton réveil
Mes lèvres ne servent qu'à bercer ton sommeil
Mon épaule est formée pour le creux de tes bras
Et mon corps tout entier pour dormir avec toi

Et depuis lors je me sens vivre
Je me sens vivre parce que je t'aime
Et depuis lors je me sens vivre
Je me sens vivre parce que je t'aime
Parce que je t'aime, parce que je t'aime
Parce que je t'aime et suis aimée de toi

blah-013: Shehzad

خواب جدا رنگ بھرنا اور
کھنا اور حی کرنا اور
صحرا کا دک سمجھی کون
حونا اور گزرنا اور
گھر میں رحنا بات جدا
دل میں جان اترنا اور
جان دکر بھی لگتا حی
مجھکو حی کچ مرنا اور

-
A wonderful piece by Farhat Shehzad.
I first came across Shehzad at alt.language.urdu.poetry. I particularly liked his "Ek bas tu hi nahi" ( tougher to type in Urdu for a beginner like me :( and therefore just linked) The above piece is roughly romanized below. Do listen to an extraordinary rendition of the same by Jalota.

khwaab judaa rang bharna aur
kehana aur hai karna aur
seharaa ka dukh samjhe kaun
hona aur guzarna aur
ghar mein rehana baat judaa
dil mein jaan utarnaa aur
jaan dekar bhi lagta hai
mujhko hai kuchh marna aur

But the lines I love the most are from "Ek bas tu hi nahi"

uth ke ma.nzil hii agar aaye to shaayad kuchh ho
shauq-e-ma.nzil me.n meraa aabalaapaa ho baiThaa

masalahat chhin gaii quvvat-e-guftaar magar
kuchh na kahanaa hii meraa merii sadaa ho baiThaa

[Note: Urdu fonts necessary for proper display. Typed using XKB .  Apologies for any typos ( unable to right hai properly for instance) Seems like scim does not have a Urdu interface]