Dance Dance Revolution and the Return to Fitness
On New Year’s Day I awoke feeling a bit bloated, no doubt from all the rich food of the night before’s party. I stepped on to the scale to see the largest number my tall and characteristically lanky frame has ever evoked: 203.
Wait–when did I pass 200? I’m pretty sure I started December at around 195.
The situation inspired immediate action: I geared up to take the first jog in about 6 months, a half mile south to the Albertson’s grocery store. The quest was to get replacement heads for the dish washing wand (ours had just fallen off and we had a slew of dishes to wash from the small dinner party we hosted the night before). Continuing my fit of physical activity, I jogged back up Broadway, whereat I stopped inside the Goodwill located a block from our place.
It was there real inspiration hit: I resolved to find a cheap TV modern enough to hook up a PlayStation 2 to. You see, I LOVE Dance Dance Revolution. I rock 7-footer songs with ease, and 8-footers out of breath (when I say “footers” I’m referring to the difficulty of song steps, rated on a 1 to 10 foot scale). I do so with flailing limbs and upper body flourishes that tend to make even people who generally respect and look up to me laugh with mixed feelings of awe and shame for what that grown man is doing.
Don’t care, love it.
But I haven’t owned a TV since getting rid of all my stuff before moving to Argentina back in October ’09. Ergo, I’ve not enjoyed my zany passion in over two years. Since moving to Denver I somehow always dismissed the idea of doing so because I didn’t care to integrate a proper TV into our living room and lifestyle.
Until this fine New Year’s Day. Whether a matter of subconsciously denying myself the indulgence, or simply overlooking the fact that I could, it hadn’t ever occurred to me that I could just get a crappy TV sufficient to play DDR on. And that’s just what I did.
Fifteen minutes and twenty eight bucks later I was proudly carrying out some dusty 21-inch gem from the 80s. At home 5 minutes later I set it on my desk, dug out my neglected PS2, dance pads, and stack of six DDR games (Max, Max 2, Extreme, SuperNova, SuperNova 2, and X), and fired up my old friend for the first time in 26 months.
Joy. Such joy.
The winter season creates a sort of cabin fever over time, and you bet my body noticed the gradual coming down in activity since all that biking in preparation for the century ride. To return to vigorous, fun physical activity after a holiday season laden with my mother-in-law’s fab homemade cinnamon rolls (and other attendant rich foods) was just the ticket to feeling awesome again.
I’ve played DDR almost every day this month. That, plus a bit more yoga, a little bit of running, and about two weeks doing the Slow Carb diet (out of the 4 Hour Body) has me weighing in today at 194. DDR in the winter: such a good way to stay active through the cold months.