Thursday, June 26, 2008

Day 98, More With Less

My favorite thing about the PCP is that it's a big thumb in the eye to the commodification of health. With an investment of just under 4000 yen (40 dollars) I was able to obtain every piece of equipment I needed to get in the shape I'm in.

If you want to know, that 4000 yen included:

  • A jumprope

  • Resistance band set

  • Push-up bars
And that's it. And I only use this equipment for 10% of my exercises. The other 90 is my own bodyweight and some chairs.

You don't need a gym membership, you don't need any contraptions, you don't need specialized supplements, you don't need special workout clothes, you don't need anything that costs money. All of these companies are feeding off people's desire to be better by furnishing useless junk and not actually educating anyone about the real truths behind getting fit.

This shouldn't surprise anyone, if there is cash to be made someone will be there to take advantage of it. I just want you to remember, reader, that none of that stuff will ever help you get in good shape. The only thing that will do that is when you truly have had enough and decide to get fit. Then nothing will be able to stop you.

I leave you with some people who really inspire me with their creativity and ingenuity and get awesome results with even less money than I expended on the PCP.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

About not needing workout clothes: a woman would need a good sports bra, that's for sure, haha. (And obviously good shoes)

Which way did you jumprope? Both feet push up at the same time and hop the rope? Or was it one foot at a time? I haven't jumped rope since elementary school, but I'm getting dangerously bored of my treadmill. And I'm very interested in what you now have: the ability to not get winded very quickly when walking/running places.

Anonymous said...

And that video is great. Love it.

Patrick said...

Actually since most of the PCP is done inside any old shoes will do and I do a lot of things barefoot.

But point taken on the sports bra.

I jump all kinds of stuff, both feet up, running in place, crossed arms, double jumps.

When you do it everyday you get pretty good at the thing.

Anonymous said...

I consider myself so lucky I grew up juuust before the internet took hold of the world. I was a freakin' active kid! Maybe that's why I never gained weight even though I ate my heart out. (I say this because you mentioned all those different types of jumping rope that we used to do at school recess, hehe.)

Patrick said...

Ha ha, I grew up juuust before the internet too, but I also grew up riiight at the height of the Nintendo Entertainment System and thus never went outside and was an overweight pasty mess.

So I really sucked at jumprope when I started. I couldn't do 10 in a row! Practice pays off.

Anonymous said...

Do you ever do any other tricks with the rope that don't include jumping? I vaguely remember in school having to make a "figure-8" with the rope, looping to one side and the next then opening the rope and jumping it. It seems like something you could do really fast and mix it up especially if you have mad nunchaku skills. Good for coordination maybe?

Anonymous said...

Hey, I just hopped on the PCP bandwagon! We're about the same weight, so I'm basically just cribbing off you. Big thumbs up for the PCP. I used to run 40 miles a week and eat "healthy" vegetarian frozen meals, but I've never felt as good as I do after only 11 days. Really, it just takes about a week of buckling down and getting the habits, then it's easy-peasy. Please write the book.

Oh, and if you ever go back to egg-white smoothies - add a little cinnamon and nutmeg, et voila - eggnog for dinner!

Patrick said...

Mmm, eggnog... just in time for the... holidays?