Game Pass and Chill - #35

Hobbie

10 minutes in and it already seems like Cole is being cut off a lot. *sigh*

I audiofied my fitness... music wasn't working, but audiobooks or podcasts work great depending on the intensity of my exercises. When I'm riding my bicycle I go through books and miles as if they aren't there. 

Alfredo's idea at 30 minutes in would be such a game changer if the search algorithm could actually work that way. 

I played the Division for about 200 hours, within the first month and haven't touched it since. to get back into it should i start a new character or use my current one?

So what I'm getting is that Alfredo should be made to play one of the Crash Bandicoot remakes along with Geoff. They can compete to see who gets the farthest (or at least see who can complete the first level the quickest, lol). Granted, Alfredo would probably win, but it'd be entertaining. 

For Ashley, X:One 'Just Dance 2017' ?

Sad to say that the pricing on digital games has not changed in Australia. They no longer have to wait though! they just cost $99.95 AUD

Rock climbing is great, much more friendly and fun than the gym imo. I'm motivated to go all the time because I am usually working on a climb, and the move I couldn't complete gets stuck in my head and I think and think and think about all the ways I might be able to do it, or I think about how I can implement other people's friendly suggestions, so I can't wait to get back and try it again. There's a real sense of achievement in finishing each climb.

A lot of my friends ask me how I can go so often, because isn't it boring climbing the same walls over and over? Well climbing gyms are generally big enough that you most certainly do not run out of new climbs to try. As for the climbs themselves, they can be so different to each other it would be like comparing apples and oranges. You could find yourself on a slab (wall is leaning away from you) with tiny holds, so it becomes a challenge of balance and shifting your weight properly. You could be on a steep overhanging wall where your arms are burning like hell just from trying to stop gravity from ripping you off. You will be tested on your flexibility as you throw a heel hook up (stretch your leg outwards to the level of your torso) to lever yourself up to the next hold while cursing the tall people who can just stretch for it. There are fun and spectacular dyno moves, where you jump for the next hold in an impressive feat of body coordination accompanied by sheer exhilaration as you finally land the move you've fallen 50 times trying to get. And sometimes you will just need raw grip strength, the foundation of all climbing. (NB Beginner tip #1: you are slipping off holds because you have not developed your grip strength! You do not need chalk to dry your hands for a long time yet, trust me.)

There's bouldering as Cole has introduced but there are also easily accessible top rope walls, where there's someone belaying you as you climb up a 10m/30ft wall, which will feel like a completely different way to climb. 

(NB Beginner tip #2: Please don't dismiss climbing if you are scared of heights! It is a great and safe way to confront and possibly get over your fear, like a super tame version of what Burnie did on Toronto's CN Tower. Climb up halfway or so and come off the wall so you can get used to what it's like to have the harness take all your weight by kicking off the wall and swinging back a couple of times. Coming off the wall when the rope is tight will literally feel like sitting down. Have your feet in straight in front of you at 90 degrees like an abseiler so you don't scrape your knees, bending on impact with the wall to kick off again, and make sure the belayer is has the rope tight at all times as you are climbing so you don't freefall at all. If your rope is loose, stop climbing and yell at your belayer until they catch up. You will learn all this when you get introduced to belaying but staff sometimes don't highlight things like why you always need the rope tight or how to not scrape your knees.)

Once you get more advanced there is lead climbing, which is generally on at least 25m/80ft high walls where you clip in your rope as you climb, so when you fall there can be a much more thrilling 5m/15ft free fall before the rope catches you, which definitely makes you climb more carefully!

It's amazing too that different people could do some climbs completely differently because they have different body types. You see this up to the most elite level of climbing competition, where there are people who tend to muscle their way up competing against people using their amazing flexibility and everything in-between. (So excited that climbing will be in the 2020 Olympics!)

Overall, there's so many adrenaline rushes in all types of climbing that it is simply addicting.

Quite the opposite feeling of going to the gym, which I am nowhere near as motivated to consistently go. Lift, rinse, and repeat. Even in Blaine's new year's fitness post, he says he treats working out like brushing his teeth, which definitely sounds a lot like a chore to me, so I find other ways to motivate my fitness.

Climbing is the perfect marriage of physicality and problem solving and I love it. I'm happy to field any questions about climbing if you've bothered to read all the way down here! (I hope there wasn't a character limit)

PS And yes these people are strong too. I've seen people at my climbing gym train by doing sets of +40kg pullups on 1/4 inch holds. The endurance needed to finish long climbs is crazy. I agree that going to the gym helps, just like footballers, swimmers, sprinters, gymnasts, and a lot of other athletes benefit from training at the gym. Some people climb to supplement their gym routine which is awesome too, other people like me gym to supplement the climbing.

I recently bought and started using an excercise bike (with a nice comfortable seat) in my apartment to help burn off some weight. I just watch Anime while I'm on it and forget I'm even working out. So, I would say, try watching whatever types of shows your interested in ONLY while excersizing. That way, you're always just looking forward to it.

I guess that's not really "gamification", but when it comes down to it, you just want more incentive, so, close enough.

About gamifying sports, there is a cycling "mmo" called Zwift. As far as I know, you just need a turbo trainer (training dock for a road bike) that can connect to a pc, and a bike, ofc. It does a good job of turning cycling into a game, as well as managing your training routine.

I think the biggest mistake with Dragon Age Inqusition was that they removed the ability for your character to be a genuinly evil person like in Origins and 2. Hopefully they bring that back in 4, but from what I've heard about Andromida's choices I don't have much hope for that.