Spark the recreation!
You track the field with its particular topography, natural features, and man-made structures and design a flow of dynamic movement.You will become a catalyst for others by encouraging playful use of the local park/field you have adopted by personalizing and routinely producing the type of exercise and athletics you as a Terrainmaker have created.
We begin this important work by abandoning the treadmills and getting out and taking pride in threading through our local trees and hills. It’s time we embrace that great expanse and breathe in the natural flora. My general routine is broken into three parts: ball play, strength (body-weight resistance) training, and a “free” run (obstacles included). Now go out there and re-create your fitness.
But first, a word of warning: enter life at your own risk.. and while you’re here, be sure to enjoy the hell out of it.
Here are two musical videos to demonstrate the various modalities in the GiGF landscape:
March Forth!
Grass Is Greener Fitness 
Soon to be uploaded are the specs for routines involving an elementary school yard, a high school track and field, and a certain library’s unused backside. Stay tuned…!
As with daily life in general, exercise should necessarily originate from home, whatever the size or shape of the domicile. While some may prefer the insulated comforts of being indoors, the essential premise of this fitness model is to break out and breathe in the elements of the wide open spaces. We are seeking to withdraw from an artificially air conditioned environment and become conditioned by the variable climate and landscapes afforded to us in the great outdoors.
The following is a minimal requirement for the exercise regimen I have constructed for myself (as with everything on these pages, this is merely suggestive):
– Yoga ball and chair
– Dumbbell pairs: 35 lb, 25 lb, 10 lb, and 5 lb increments
I have organized the home workouts into three different routines, two of which are conventional muscle clusters, and the other being centered around core strength. I have grouped the first two according to counteracting and/or complementary movements which break down into 1) shoulders/triceps/chest (pushing exercises) and 2) back/biceps (pulling exercises).
So enough talking, here’s what the first circuit looks like.
A] (D)umb(b)ell (m)ilitary (p)ress (sitting on ball)- (s)oft (f)ailure
@ 15 reps
(Y)oga (b)all incline (p)ush-(u)ps- sf @ 15 reps (variable)
Weighted dips Yb to chair- sf @ 15
(C)lose (g)rip p-u’s- sf @15 (variable)
B] Elbow to opposite knee lying crunches- 48 reps (variable)
Weighted torso-focused boxing/ high to low- 75 reps
Lying leg raises- 21 reps
C1] Db mp- (h)ard (f)ailure @ 15
Forward/bent angled db raises- hf @15
D] Quick series of wrist/forearm exercises (e.g. squeeze grips, db
rotations, forearm curls)
C2] Db mp- hf @ 15
Db raises- hf @ 15
Yb incline p-u’s- hf @ 15
B] Same as above
E1] Overhead tricep extensions (each arm)- hf @ 15
Weighted dips- hf @ 15
D] Same as above
E2] Rear tricep extensions- hf @ 15
Weighted dips- hf @ 15
Cg p-u’s- hf @ 15
B] Same as above
F1] Db mp- sf @ 15
Db flys (back on yb)- sf @15
Yb incline p-u’s- hf @ 15
B] Same as above except half reps/faster pace
F2] Weighted dips- sf @ 15
Db flys- sf @ 11
Cg p-u’s- hf @ 15
D] Same as above except half reps/faster pace
F3] Forward db raises- sf @ 15
Overhead tricep extensions- sf @ 15
Db flys- sf @ 9
Yb incline p-u’s- sf @11
Cg p-u’s- sf @ 11
That’s our first routine, which we will attempt to complete in less than an hour. Let’s take a breather and then we’ll look at the second routine.
The seemingly enigmatic language of this text will gradually become clearer as this program (and my dexterity at wielding it) becomes more efficient. Like our mind and body, this is a work in progress, and obviously, for most of us, we have a lot of work to do. We’re merely breaking ground to build our temple…
Your text is logical and understood.
I find your insights thought provoking. Its not so common any more to see word-play and long sentences with big fancy words. I have become lazy over the decade, both physically and mentally. I have had some dark times. I read what you put up here and want to be what I am supposed to be. And I don’t need a membership no where. I had junkmail from a gym I was considering. After finding this site yesterday, I put the mailer in the trash.
I like your list of exercises. But I don’t see much on this site about diet. Other than the obvious avoidance of fast food and packaged crap, what do you eat to replace all the calories you burn? There is so much garbage on net about the topic, I’d rather ask you. Perhaps this can be your next assignment here.
As for me, its no more can’t. I quit my job of 7 years with a large company with my last day being Dec 21 2012. I am already successful in my own company doing the same type of work. I meet ALL the types of people, and am invited to there homes as a course of the job. But I know I have to be a success in my own mind to take this further. It is very odd for me to be the boss. I don’t work well with others. Already in my own way I have already been a puppet a pauper a pirate a poet a pawn & a king. But I still need to get my mind right.
Thanks for putting this together. Certainly you have some of this figured out.
words, words, words… Listen, Old Friend, there is much in the way of “self-improvement” crap on the net. It’s all fishy to me. I appreciate being in a place in your life that you feel compelled to rewrite the script, or the owner’s manual, or the blueprint by which we act. I hear you.
There’s no secrets here. I understand the same information that you have at your disposal, namely “raw is better”, “greens, beans, grains then onto monkey brains”, “buy local” and the sort (although I’m not altogether convinced of the validity of the second assertion). I would add here that- as a chef and impassioned baker- that I highly encourage enjoying your food, however conceived. The hallmark of this fitnaesthetic’s philosophy is joy in movement, and this must certainly describe eating as the fountain of our metabolic process as it is an inseparable determinant of energy flux.
I suppose a most eloquent expression for diet would be: enjoy your food in due time. Hopefully this is not too enigmatic, but, rather a plain justification for “eat what thou wilt” coupled with “all in good time”.
Stay thirsty, my (old) friend, and for shit’s sake, March Forth!
Now that the pushing is behind us, let’s turn our attention to the counteractive pulling mechanics. The quintessential pull-up is absent here because of a lack of any kind of sturdy assembly at my home, but it is a fundamental aspect of the park workouts and is easily conjured up on the monkey bars or a tree of suitable height. So for now, the second circuit is comprised of four basic exercises in addition to the same abdominal/core and wrist/forearm movements used in the previous detailed workout. Here we go:
A] db curls (alternating arms)- sf @ 15
(b)ent-(o)ver db rows- sf @ 15
b-o (p)reacher (k)nee db curls (alternating arms)- sf @ 15
b-o reverse db flies- sf @ 15
B] same abdominal trifecta used for previous circuit
C1] db curls- hf @ 15
b-o pk db curls- hf @ 15
D] same wrist/forearm series used for previous circuit
C2] db curls- hf @ 15
b-o pk db curls- hf @ 15
db curls- sf @ 15
B]
E1] b-o db rows- hf @ 15
b-o reverse db flies- hf @ 15
D]
E2] b-o db rows- hf @ 15
b-o reverse db flies- hf @ 15
b-o db rows- sf @ 15
B]
A]
This second routine bears a much lighter load than the first and can be filled in with the various aspects of the routine as seen fit. This leads us to the third phase of our home regimen, which I will leave open-ended due to the wide range of approaches, and move onward and outward to where the sky truly becomes the limit.
This great beyond of fitness culture is paramount to the discussion I am endeavoring to expand and explore. The more I look around, the more I realize how prolific and diverse this culture really is. It is my intention that we proceed together and develop this as an evolving, all-inclusive community; no membership required.