I firmly believe in the value and power of crazy. Maybe not so much in the wearing hair shirts in public while declaring Fred Savage to be the antichrist kind of bat guano crazy… but more the kind of crazy that causes people to stop and stare a little bit while walking away shaking their heads. The value really lies in the idea of doing something others either do not want to do or will not do because it looks hard or might be a little embarrassing.
More often than not, I have found these are exactly the kinds of activities that have a more beneficial aspect than not for your life. Whether it’s dancing in public, acting like a complete idiot in a toy store to make your kids laugh or (in my case) doing some kind of really weird exercise… as shown in the video below.
Before I got this contraption (The Prowler in case you were wondering), I used to go out into this same parking lot and push/pull my SUV for exercise. It’s an absolutely fantastic way to combine strength and conditioning into one efficient activity… but you need to accept the fact that (a) people will stop and stare at you; (b) people will without fail ask you if your car needs a jump (which is actually a very nice confirmation of the inherent goodness in humanity); or (c) the local police will slowly cruise by and stop to say “Look… just don’t get yourself run over.” All 3 of these things have happened to me and I love it.
If I let the potential for embarrassment get in the way, I would have missed out on a really great exercise. Now that I have my Prowler, I am still going to get the looks… just no instances of people asking if my car needs a jump. No police encounters yet, but give it time. I have only gotten to use it 4 times so far. Those will come… I just know it.
The same with this blog. If I was worried about any negative comment someone might write on my posts, I would miss out on doing something I enjoy thoroughly and get a lot out of. So on I write and keep hoping that each post is better than the last. And Lord only knows I wouldn’t put up videos like the one in this post on YouTube if I was going to mire myself in what everyone else thinks because I know some people out there like or appreciate it, and that’s good enough for me.
So get out there. Be a little more wild than mild. I’m trying to do so, although some areas are easier than others. I feel no hesitation in doing certain athletic things that may cause an occasional raised-eyebrow, but believe me… in other areas? I’ve got a lot of work. And anyone who wants to join me for some Prowler pushes in the snow, just let me know…
Kev regardless of the publics varied opinions on the prowler and non traditional exercises that may look “unusual” , fact is they are very effective. Outside of the box thinking also applies to exercise techniques. Most of these exercises were developed by high speed specialized groups (ie.swat, military spec ops) to help them with job specific functions. It may look crazy and sometimes be embarrassing, but know fine citizens that the people protecting you from evil do very strange/crazy excersies. For free examples visit crossfit.com
Completely agree. It’s sad to think people will disdain something effective (and often a lot of fun) strictly based on the reaction of complete strangers they will never meet again.