The Great Canadian Hobbies Thread - Page 4

GeneralLeeTPHLS · #61 Posted **Feb 28, 2023, 6:42 AM**

That's great to hear you're getting better Doady, I look forward to your next photowalk and what will come of it.

Doady · #62 Posted **Mar 1, 2023, 6:58 PM**

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. 2020 was a weird year with the pandemic and the lockdowns, and one day I wake up in bed with what turned out to be a broken shoulder for seemingly no reason, and things started to spiral out of control from there. My mind is clear again so things starting get back to normal these past few months. First time in years I started listening to new music and playing video games again, and I even bought a Switch a few months ago and I already have a bunch of new games on the shelf.

Hopefully the doctors will also allow me to ride a bike again but I will probably to have to do some maintenance because it has been just sitting there too long. Apparently I had the bike all decked out with bell and lights in late 2019 and the city has been building bike paths everywhere the past few years too so time to take advantage.

LightingGuy · #63 Posted **Mar 3, 2023, 4:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LightingGuy

I'm getting back into fitness after a year of basically doing nothing for exercise. Last year I was in really good shape (6 days a week, 50% cardio), and then fell off the wagon after new years. Now I'm getting back into it after noticing the negative physical and mental effects of longterm sedentary habits. Day 1 was swimming - felt exhausted afterwards, but glad to get back into it.

3 month update.

Aside from a brief break when I got COVID last month, I haven't skipped a single weekday otherwise.

The difference in how I feel has been pretty stark. Most notably has been my mental well-being.

I work for myself and have OCD, so stress/anxiety is something I have to constantly monitor and manage.

I didn't realize this at the time, but prior to exercising I spent a lot of time in my head with own thoughts (I also work from home usually, which adds fuel to the fire).

Now, I can honestly say that I'm calmer and more relaxed than I've felt ... ever? And the positive impact it has had on my life has been tremendous. And it gets me out of the house first thing in the morning, and talking to some real people. Much more effective than SSRIs, which I stopped taking 10 years ago.

My main goal now is to not let the habit slide, because I don't want to return to where I was before. Every time I quit in the past resulted from me being too competitive with myself - I constantly kept trying to up the game, but then it becomes more and more to manage, reaching the point of unsustainability. This goes great in the beginning, I see a lot of results really quickly, until at some point something breaks and the habit is ruined as a result:
- I get injured
- I get sick
- Vacations/holidays
- Work gets extremely busy

This time around I've completely changed my approach. All that matters is that I wake at 5am every single weekday, and show up at the gym, which is only a 5 minute walk from my house. When I get there I know which muscle groups I want to focus on that day, and I do whatever my body can manage that day. Then I go home eat whatever amount of food my body can take that day. Later I'll make myself a protein shake and have some healthier snacks throughout the day.

I have found this approach is still getting me results, albeit slower than in the past, BUT it's much more manageable and something I can actually sustain indefinitely, since I'm not pushing myself to exhaustion everyday.

HomeInMyShoes · #64 Posted **May 1, 2023, 2:48 PM**

Damn I love music and sound. Even when you suck at it, it is nice just to make sounds. So much fun.

Got a new chorus pedal...
https://soundcloud.com/homeinmyshoes...social_sharing

HomeInMyShoes · #65 Posted **May 19, 2023, 5:15 PM**

I've been having a lot of fun the last week taking two pedals and coming up with something from that each night.

A few of the oddities that came out:

• SoundCloud Link
wild strawberrry: Alexander - Sugarcube -> Wampler - Ethereal

• SoundCloud Link
light chrome green: Tech 21 - Blonde -> Empress - Tremolo 2

• SoundCloud Link
periwinkle: Walrus Audio - Fathom -> Subdecay - Tremcoder

Doady · #66 Posted **May 19, 2023, 5:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Damn I love music and sound. Even when you suck at it, it is nice just to make sounds. So much fun.

Got a new chorus pedal...
https://soundcloud.com/homeinmyshoes...social_sharing

Kinda reminds me of "Vapour Trail" by Ride, which is good!

HomeInMyShoes · #67 Posted **May 19, 2023, 7:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doady

Kinda reminds me of "Vapour Trail" by Ride, which is good!

Thanks. I have certainly had a lot of shoegaze and dreampop influence from a variety of bands these days.

Build.It · #68 Posted **Jun 27, 2024, 12:13 AM**

Just got a NordicTrac rowing machine, so now I'll be able to get a full workout every morning from my basement. 15 minutes for a complete cardio and leg burn.

GeneralLeeTPHLS · #69 Posted **Jun 27, 2024, 3:56 AM**

Since my last post, I've recently begun wood carving as a hobby, though we'll see how far I'll get into it with my other hobbies.

I also procured a DSLR recently (a Canon), and bought a Tokina atx-i 11-16mm f/2.8 CF lens for it, though I haven't really had the chance to use it yet...I do look forward to seeing it in action with night photography, along with the (77 mm) density filter I got with it.

jonny24 · #70 Posted **Jun 27, 2024, 1:22 PM**

Finally got around to ordering some cheesemaking supplies. I've been aiming to get into it for a year an a half and never actually do more than google recipes. I got a good book on it for Christmas.

Probably won't actually make anything until rugby is over, but it's a first step!

Build.It · #71 Posted **Jul 7, 2024, 4:50 PM**

2 weeks in and the rowing machine works really well.

The reason I got it is because I love the cognitive effect I get from running, but hate the abuse my body has to go through from it (constantly sore ankles and knees), and the amount of time you have to spend doing it. Plus with running you have to do other exercises alongside it or you'll get an extremely skinny upper body.

Rowing machine aolves all these issues:
- equivalent level of cardio as running
- similar cognitive effects as I get from running
- only takes 10 minutes per day
- also is a great muscle workout for the entire body (quads, glutes, back, biceps, triceps, core, VMO)
- it's low impact, so doesn't kill my knees and ankles. In fact my knees feel better than they've felt in about 2 years.

Great investment so far!

I'm going to get a weight lifting bench and some weights as well, so then on certain days where I have more time I can incorporate that into the workout as well. But for days where I have very little time, I just need to spend 10 minutes rowing and that's it! No excuses for not doing it.

Airboy · #72 Posted **Jul 8, 2024, 10:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Build.It

2 weeks in and the rowing machine works really well.

The reason I got it is because I love the cognitive effect I get from running, but hate the abuse my body has to go through from it (constantly sore ankles and knees), and the amount of time you have to spend doing it. Plus with running you have to do other exercises alongside it or you'll get an extremely skinny upper body.

Rowing machine aolves all these issues:
- equivalent level of cardio as running
- similar cognitive effects as I get from running
- only takes 10 minutes per day
- also is a great muscle workout for the entire body (quads, glutes, back, biceps, triceps, core, VMO)
- it's low impact, so doesn't kill my knees and ankles. In fact my knees feel better than they've felt in about 2 years.

Great investment so far!

I'm going to get a weight lifting bench and some weights as well, so then on certain days where I have more time I can incorporate that into the workout as well. But for days where I have very little time, I just need to spend 10 minutes rowing and that's it! No excuses for not doing it.

Depending of the rowing machine you have. There are some great programs you can use. Rowing Canada Avignon is also a good resource. Also gives some great challenges during the off season.

I use EXR rowing app during the winter months, Kinda the Zwift for rowing.

My wife had set up production for Holofit Rowing. Using mountain lakes in Alberta and one in BC.

trece verde · #73 Posted **Jul 9, 2024, 2:37 AM**

Football (soccer) is most of my life outside of work. What started as just a passion for playing several times a week turned into frequent 20+ hour/week commitments in playing, coaching, reffing, and administration.

Music is an on-again/off-again passion. Playing things with strings was a lot of fun until I broke my ring finger (playing in goal), but got picked up again after rehabbing a Fender accoustic 12 string during COVID, and getting the dust off my 5 string bass. Still don't play either often enough to do them justice.

Genealogy is another thing that became an obsession for a while, but which has levelled back to a realistic level. Currently maintaining a family history website with information about ~50 K family members.

Computers/electronics are both a job thing and a hobby; home networking is an extension of that.

Yes, I still have a job....