This Video Makes Me Miss the 80's

photo credit: laughingmonk

Courtesy of That'sfit, which has collected some cheesy exercise videos, this is probably the gayest aerobic exercise video that I've ever seen. (In both senses of the word--it's incredibly cheerful.)

It's not embeddable, but just click here to see it.

Sure, spinning and kickboxing and boot camp classes may be efficient and effective, but does anyone else miss the high kicks and grapevines and camp glory that was "aerobics" in its heyday?

Sigh. Sometimes I sure do.

You Versus Your Cat: Who's In Charge?

Photo: E. Bartholomew

Remember how I warned y'all that we have visitors in town and I that I'm taking time off from health and fitness blogging? Well, I wasn't kidding!

Today's topic: Who calls the shots in your house, you or Fluffy?

As it happens, there's some new research relevant to the question, and some silly pictures, but I'm mainly curious about what you do about the whole training and discipline question. Do you let your pets boss you around?

(And note: while this post happens to feature cats, I'm very curious how this issue plays out for dog owners as well).

Cat's Rule

In our house, the cat is much more skilled at behavior modification than we are. She has trained us to feed her what she wants to eat; to wake up when she thinks we've had enough sleep; to carry her up and down the stairs when her arthritis is acting up--she can even get us to turn on water faucets and wait for her to finish drinking by boycotting the water dish. We, on the other hand, have trained her... to do absolutely nothing she doesn't feel like doing.

"Lie Down, Maile! ... What a Good Girl!"

How does get away with it? Well, for one, we are mere humans and she is a cat. However, one of our favorite commenters, Mary Anne from Kentucky (who blogs over at Solarity) sent in a study revealing how cats vocally manipulate us. One of a cat's secret weapons? It's called "solicitation purring." They apparently have a very specific purr they use to get our asses out of bed and do their bidding.

Is anyone surprised?


But Some Humans Fight Back!

Got a cat who jumps on counters? Here's one hilariously geeky solution: The Blender Defender. It's either really clever or really crazy. Probably both.

And I keep hearing that cats can be trained to use toilets,

Photo: trainedcat

and even to do circus tricks!

Photo: ehfisher

Alas, not in the Crab/Lobster household. Cuddling and purring, though, she's pretty good at. I guess we can't complain!


How about you folks? Is your pet in charge or are you? Any cute tricks or helpful tips?

The typical CF reader

What blog do I read? Is this a trick question?
Photo courtesy of Jurvetson

If you’ve been reading the comments that we get here, you’ll know there really isn’t such a thing as a “typical” reader. They come in all different shapes, sizes, attitudes & approaches to health and fitness.


Still, this was my idea of what a typical day-in-the-life would be for three average Cranky Fitness readers.

6 a.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Sleeping
Dan Dogged: Lacing up running shoes
Jack Rabbit: Already out on the running trail

7 a.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Sleeping
Dan Dogged: Cooling down
Jack Rabbit: Heading in to work

8 a.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Sleeping
Dan Dogged: Eating healthy breakfast
Jack Rabbit: At work sending out "looking busy" emails so everyone knows how hard he works

9 a.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Driving to work while putting on mascara and scarfing down a McBreakfast
Dan Dogged: Prioritizing items for a To Do list
Jack Rabbit: Already had two cups of coffee, sent 20 emails, and fired a couple people

1 p.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Reading Cranky Fitness
Dan Dogged: Reading Cranky Fitness
Jack Rabbit: Reading Cranky Fitness

5 p.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Sneaking out for a drink with "the gang"
Dan Dogged: Finishing the last item on his To Do list
Jack Rabbit: Firing a couple more people, just to keep in practice

6 p.m.

Cyndee Sloth: "Well, just one more drink. I'll be extra good tomorrow."
Dan Dogged: A relaxed dinner (salmon & salad) with the family
Jack Rabbit: Dinner at a fashionable restaurant with a date his secretary fixed him up with

8 p.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Watching TV while chowing down on pizza
Dan Dogged: Watching TV while lifting weights
Jack Rabbit: Writing a nasty email to his secretary about her taste in friends

10 p.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Settling down to play games on the computer
Dan Dogged: Drifting off to sleep
Jack Rabbit: Sending more "looking busy" emails to his boss

11 p.m.

Cyndee Sloth: Thinking about going to bed "... well maybe just one more game."
Dan Dogged: Snoring
Jack Rabbit: Surfing internet chat rooms under the alias "lonely boy"


After a year...

Cyndee: Gained 10 pounds. Can't figure out why.
Dan: Maintained weight.Increased average running speed.
Jack: Got voted Most Annoying Employee and was let go during the last re-org.

Moral: Reading Cranky Fitness has been shown¹ to help people become thinner, fitter, and blonder, but even reading this blog on a regular basis is not enough to keep you fit all by itself.

Are you a typical reader? Does this day-in-the-life even remotely resemble your day? (Me, I can kinda relate to Cyndee...)


¹Merry's Book of Meretricious Statistics, Morally Ambiguous Publishing, Inc., $29.99 at your local bookstore.