Forms of entertainment have long been blamed for a myriad of predicaments. Violence and sex in video games have been the talking point for the many Helen Lovejoys of the world, but even as we strive for realism the issues tend to bore me. It isn't because I don't think they aren't issues, I just believe that they are blown way out of proportion with far too much misinformation being spouted by supposed "experts." Heck, video games even deform our skeletons now! By the way, so does carrying your bookbag on one shoulder and various forms of hard labor. There is at least one issue I do get behind though, weight gain.
Weight gain from hobbies - either viewing TV and movies, sitting on the computer, playing video games or crocheting - is a bit more clear cut than how sex and violence may or may not affect us. The calculation is a simple breakdown of time and how much energy we burn. If we aren't exercising as much as we used to because of some life change, then we aren't burning the same amount of calories. If we continue to eat the same amount, then poof, added blubber. The issue is fairly personal to me because I was the freakishly skinny guy in high school. I graduated at 5'8" weighing an amazing 125 lbs. Yes, that skinny. After WoW had been available to me for nearly a year, I managed to balloon to the 160 lb range.
I am a realist. It wasn't WoW's fault at all, but my own. Not only did I exercise less during that time frame, but I ate poorly. Shoveling whatever quick-to-cook food I had available into my pie-hole with reckless abandon became a favored activity. It certainly had its consequences. I did need about 15 of that 35 lbs to be at my correct weight, but the kind of weight I gained was the horrific trans-fat, saturated-fat, high sodium kind. To combat this, I created a rather stupid, yet easy regiment for myself during WoW's common downtime. Through the course of a raid I would try to bang out the following basic, Jack Lalanne approved, exercise regiment.
- 100 Sit-ups
- 30 Push-ups
- 20 Pull-ups
- Few minutes of jump rope
I know it isn't much, but the key is that everything is easily accessible and entirely plausible given the short intervals of downtime. Not to mention the fact that every bit helps. The jumping of rope doesn't happen often since the house shaking annoys those around me, but I do my best to make up for it with additional sit-ups. It is certainly no substitute for a full session of cardio, but the additional exercise along with less snacking at the computer and eating better food allowed me to return to a slimmer, fitter me. A pair of wireless headphones lend the freedom needed to perform these acts of self maintenance with little impact on my AFKness (yes, a made up "word").
This little blog into my personal life makes me come off as a Weight Watchers spokesmen, but I was afraid that I may fall back into bad habits when I
returned to WoW in the middle of TBC. It's been well over a year since I rejoined and I remain at a weight I am happy with. Luckily, I remembered my personal history and made sure to stay away from the quick morsels and constant snacking upon my return to Azeroth. Does anyone have their own regiment for a healthy WoW life style? A few of you left comments on the
Distracted Gaming post about exercise, do you still buff up during your downtime? Has anyone gone through the growing pains that I did? Any meatheads know any easy to perform maneuvers that I can add to my repertoire? I don't have any weights to speak of - or the room to house them - so benching and such is out of the question.
Oh, how could I almost forget to link the
WoW treadmill that we have discussed in the past? For a bit less impact on your knees, there is another cardiovascular experiment via a WoW cycling setup (pictured) known as
Warbiking. We humans are crazy, creative beasts.
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