Q: to match an hour of jogging, during quarantine we would need to either step up/down on a platform, jump-rope or squat, but for how long, and how often can you put up with it?
A: you would give up soon.
The absorbency required is too high ! Sugar coating is not optional in the form of jogging path
Consider taking some non-yoga classes when my self-motivation wanes.
Q: how do I freeze membership, say, for a few months?
A: “You can freeze your membership at any time by reaching out to our Customer Service team.” I would want to minimize freezing. I can accumulate credit for a few “down months”.
Q: typical price (in c$ i.e. classpass$) of a yoga class in Singapore? I know pricing is dynamic, depending on location, time, popularity etc
A: 4-6 common, at non-prime locations
Q: rollover for corporate plan?
A: 5 credits rolled to next cycle. How hard is it to clear it? 2 sessions would often use up c$8.
— how it compares to the realYoga credits (roughly $20/class)?
RealYoga credit has no expiry 🙂 but expensive 🙁
When I want to restart yoga, I would probably combine classPass + real Yoga for a few months.
Timing flexibility .. On a given day, classpass gives more time slots, due to multiple studios, at the standard rate.
class size .. often better/smaller than realYoga. Some teachers better able to remember me
cancellation .. 12h, worse than realYoga
— some locations are probably cheaper
— specific studios
— my bookings
slowdown of decline is the real goal. Steve also felt similarly.
improvement is rarely a valid goal. Positive feedback is rare.
One type of visible improvement is “endurance” in a tough pose.
Steve spoke some truths that other instructors couldn’t
* sugg: hold longer, like yin yoga, and rest in the pose.
* sugg: need to relax much, much more. If you are tense, then the muscle can’t stretch
The pain in the affected body part … is part of the process. It would improve over time. Should not be uncomfortable at the whole-person level meaning you must be able to relax with the pain. It’s possible.
I guess there’s a harmony between the pain and the relaxation.
k_tyrant_of_rmSelf k_Promethean_struggle .. k_def_of_success
In a way, burn often focuses on quardrant-II [non-urgent-but-important], the tough jobs that deserve lots of sunshine….
When thinking in terms of burn/rot, there is always a harsh, imposing self2judge at the back of my mind. This self2judge maintains a destructive self-hate, and implicitly considers self1 too lazy and weak… No surprise, because by my superhuman standard every human shows visible weaknesses.
(I also demonized masturbation, egg yolk …. all based on unfounded health theories.)
I used to set an self-expectation of such high self-discipline that every human would Fall short, including grandpa, Wenqiang, .. but I thought my standard was normal and achievable if I simply Try Hard. Now I’m older and wiser. I know these standards are too hard for mere humans. We humans are not machines. No one has such strong will as to force the body to do all the painful things. In real people, the strong motivation comes from within, from a desire, not from harsh self-discipline.
If the wellspring, the flame, the pulse inside a student is insufficient, then neither parent, teacher or herself can force it with willpower.
— successZ+successC => burn = materialisticRoti+selfDiscipline… I think this is a pretty good characterization of the vague concept of “burn”. Now I think my sense of ‘burn’ is always a mix of strenuous [1] self-discipline over the lazy self + [2] materialistic ROTI.
As a consequence, when I’m focused on successE [carefree ezlife, wellness, harmony…], I don’t feel the burn.
Note successZ is more than zqbx! Therefore, t_zqbx has a only a partial overlap with t_burnOrRot.
[1] Without the self-discipline, I don’t feel the burn. Absorbency and zqbx are similar phrases
[2] I didn’t say “strategic”
— Bigger Eg: My diet is arguably the best eg — so tough, unenjoyable, b
ut I could put up with it because my level of suffering is lower than other people feels. If you ask me to cut further and further, I will experience too much “pain” in terms of self-deprivation.
— Bigger Eg: Yoga is another unimaginable achievement — a physical shortcoming, painful, hopeless, no visible progress, No hope of sustained improvement, therefore a /Promethean torment/
In lower-middle school, I beat myself up over stretching. One of The earliest and most painful experience of my life. Today, I still hate myself frequently because I couldn’t get myself to “practice yoga at home everyday”. Well, those (mostly women) who can are probably too weak for daily exercise, continuous learning, …See girls with Grade-A flexibility
Now, against all odds, I did 2 sessions a week for 8 months in Bayonne.
Willpower is NOT the catalyst.
— Eg: How about early rise? In 1993 I once beat myself up for not getting up by 6am. For 25 years since, it was impossible to keep up early rise beyond 10 days. Now I have lasted about 2 months !
Self-discipline and brute force willpower has Never been the turning point in early rise.
— eg: jolt: self-care blogging under stress — requires effort to become effective, but I often think of it as indulgence. It has high ROTI (just not materialistic).
Self-care blogging often generates self-hate ! Unfair. I deserve more tender care and sympathy.
— eg: coding drill: I guess many of my friends don’t enjoy it as they feel high effort low chance of ROTI.
Contrast Ashish and Deepak who keep practicing. Even if chance of passing is rising slowly, thhe practice slows down the decline.
— eg: reading about Sec1 posting — feels thankless and no “burn”. Requires effort but there’s no materialistic ROTI !
In 2018, I set a budget of USD 10k to hit+keep 60kg #Kyle. Bindi said $100+/session. She said a package costs $1-2k with quantity discount.
I believe Bindi that once I pay such big amounts, I would feel motivation and commitment, providing the last 10% boost I need to reach my target.
Q: unhealthy dependency?
A: On my deathbed I would probably say NO.. It is worthwhile
A: costly, poor availability/sustainability but what are the other choices? Without trainer, the choice is stagnant BMI.
— xp: Piano .. Do I regret spending the money? Not much.
How about UChicago experience? Yes regretful .. too much t$cost
— criteria: trial session. Bindi said “Yes possible to have trials with that many trainers.” I think they would trust me as I look serious. Free trials are the standard practice, and a standard part of doing business.
— criteria: session count and frequency
— criteria: his/her preferred locations. Ideally TPY or RFP
— criteria: cost per month. Will fundamentally influence my commitment
— criteria: age, gender .. non-issue. I probably prefer the very young or the part-timer.
— criteria: email reader. The trainer can respond by brief emails or phone apps
— criteria: friend referral? Avoid !
— criteria: what if a trainer is a jack of all trades? Not sure maybe he/she could help me.
— criteria: qualification for nutritional .. Need a coach/counsellor rather than an expert nutritional specialist.
How about referral by the polyclinic dietician? To get subsidized rate, need to get referral by a polyclinic doctor!
The Raffles Doctors said that doctors are specialists on disease prevention, while trainers are specialists on welleness enhancement. Many doctors don’t know how to improve wellness [weight or fitness…] Trainers can have more knowledge than doctors in those domains. They would provide diet + workout professional guidance on your journey to BMI goal.
— goal: muscle-up
— goal: flexibility? LG2 I don’t think I can improve much. I think this topic will pop-up and take up lots of hours, so best discussed by mail.
— goal: 62.0 -> 60 kg sustainable for a month. Achievable. Have been too tough to do it myself.
I told Bindi this is probably the #1 goal.
— input from a Raffles doctor .. This doctor reiterated that trainers can be effective for my BMI goal.
A trainer may hear your goals, and still suggest more muscle build-up. BMI may increase
This reflective blogpost .. written after in-depthdiscussion with Platinum yoga salesman.
— I once said that “a dependency is unhealthy if costly or non-dependable”.
Well, in many places commercial yoga would be unavailable (not dependable).
As I told Platinum salesman, U.S. and Philippines both offer cheaper classes. Even there, price is still a luxury, unsustainable. What if one day I move to a location without classes, or what if I can no longer afford? Admittedly, the current cost is some small percentage of my income, but I stand resolute against that view. I aim to save 70% to 80% of my income so this cost is a big chunk of my disposable income, something like $100/M.
A secondary factor is the tcost. I have to pick the session, commute, arrive in advance, wind down. Total tcost was about 3 hours in Bayonne. Even at 2H/session, it’s very hard to maintain 2 sessions/week for months.
— self practice .. For a sustainable practice, I must rely on myself.
The Platinum salesman had a valid argument that my self-practice is far from enough, so I told him “Climbing one flight of stairs 5 times a week, or even one squat 7 times a week consistently … is also far from enough but challenging and beneficial for some.”
It’s harmful and counterproductive to be fixated on an unrealistic target. As long as I fail to practice enough hours of weekly yoga, the commercial trainers would always say “You need to practice more”.
In reality, 99% of guys in my age group won’t do 3 sessions a week (not even once/month), so these centers are basically implying that “Most of you need to pay someone to help you achieve what you should (but can’t) achieve by yourself.” Harmful propaganda, similar to the brainwash by tuition center or weight-loss supplements.
“rule of toos” for jogging, esp. knee protection:
— Capture the absorbency, When I have it for an “heavy” item.
— Novelty is an absorbency boost. Here are some items being boring because too familiar:
At GardensByTheBay fitness corner and TPY stadium, I feel more absorbency against boring strength training.
Fort Caning fitness corner is so-so.
In all other fitness corners like Blk 155 downstairs, I feel poor absorbency. I think key is visibility to the onlookers and passersby.
Some gyms put workout equipment right in front a big window, so gym users are easily visible from the busy street outside. Visibility can serve as a potent motivation.
(This analysis is based on 5 min of chat + some brief email exchange, not a lot of data.) My perception of him affects my perception of my son and many overweight friends in my circle.
Deepak said compared to diet, exercise is relatively easy because he can do about 1H of exercise everyday. I tend to dismiss Deepak’s claim on exercise. Perhaps he was doing relatively light exercise, perhaps for 1H each day for a few months. Reality is…