burntcopper | 'You think that was impressive?'

COLD. Seriously, cold. Have yet to remove leggings in office. Weekend was fucking freezing. Oh, and it snowed this morning. Not much more than about an inch, but you can tell people are now used to it since all they did was eyeroll.

Sulking slightly because Owl City is still #1, but very amused at Glee's version of 'Don't Stop Believing' slowly edging up the top ten. That and the fact that the original is apparently one of the best-selling singles of all time in total sales.

Being a bit amused by twitter. As ever, being followed by people I don't know due to random phrase usage. Including one ballerina due to a swan lake mention. Who's quite funny. But seriously, what is with all the american atheist twitters following me? I can't remember the last time I mentioned the fact that I despise religion aside from the JP2 self-harming revelations when we were taking the piss out of him.

Query for the exercise people : does doing more sit-ups do anything for your general core strength? I know it firms up your abs, but wasn't sure if it's any good for the rest of it. (brought to you by Heather trying to figure out a way to force herself to sit up straight. My posture is fine as long as I'm not sitting down) In other body-related news, moobs reduction surgery is on the rise, mostly related to obesity/weight issues. AUGH. If it's a weight issue, surely it's considerably less painful/traumatic to just fix your diet than go under the knife? I think this is one area of cosmetic surgery where women mostly only get it for non-vanity reasons.

Oh, and success: Weirded out the new office eyecandy as I was constantly glancing at him last week to figure out who he reminded me of. Turns out to be a cross between Alex and Ben Daniels (him off The State Within and Law and Order UK. The man has an Olivier. Does he have no shame?).

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Which kind of sit-ups/crunches are you doing? The sitting right up ones, or the pilates-style shoulder curls (keeping the small of your back firmly on the mat)? IIRC, the latter are significantly better for working both abs and lower back. Bicycle crunches are evil, but even better.

After testing, appears to be closest to the pilates style.

oh, and did you watch BH?

If it's a weight issue, surely it's considerably less painful/traumatic to just fix your diet than go under the knife?

Not really, it's usually post-weightloss to remove excess skin and correct floppy droop. Tbh, a breast reduction is the only procedure I'd have done for the same reason: was a DD-E from 15-19, am now a C.5, but spent a decade yo-yoing between a D-DD-E every week or so (hormones, weather, travel, hell eating too much soya/wheat would affect it). I built up my under chest muscle to handle large boobs and kept the toning up, and even that can't do anything about the excess skin.

I know, ew!

Feh. Don’t talk to me about posture: I’ve got the world’s worst. After this last weekend I’ve entirely lost contact with my shoulder and neck muscles. They blank me in the street, now. Won’t return my phone calls or anything.

I’m still at seven sit-ups a week – that is, every morning I sit up, and every night I lie back down again. Obviously, this is a situation that cannot continue. What with that and my serpentine posture, pretty soon I’ll have to take a job as Frankenstein’s lab assistant…

due to a good couple of years working at a desk with really bad posture, I screwed up my shoulder. And was told by the physio that I need more back muscles and better posture. Now have better posture (and a mouse that resembles something from old skool trek) but still working on it.

Also, i have noticed that you have no lisp. Precisely how are you going to pass the entry test?

My lisplessness is bound to put me behind the class at the Institute for Grovelling Operations Researchers, I must admit. I’m hoping that my extensive knowledge of unnecessary – ha ha, excuse me, recreational surgery will get me through on points, though…

Situps: beware, possibly evil.

Too many rather-too-enthusiastic (tethered foot inclined) situps when I was 22 is the reason behind the last 15 years of back trouble and chronic not-fun lower back aargh.

Admittedly, your mileage may vary; I'm tall and thin ergo back trouble was always a possibility; and was going through my idiot jock 'I-am-indestructible-smell-my-testosterone-rawr!' phase.

If you're going to work on abs, I'd suggest bicycle crunches or ab crunches; more effective, less chance of injury; also pilates and similar core exercises.

(Two sets of thirty bicycle crunches works for me, back permitting.)

For general posture: have you considered martial arts of some sort? - they're good for general body awareness and balance - and things like the fencing en garde position are posturewise nigh-on back-optimal; I still occasionally slouch at the PC, but I know instinctively what a good back position should feel like.

(Also: stabbing people is fun. Though people sometimes look funny at you if you start quoting Star Wars or producing cheesy swashbuckling banter on the piste.)

Moobs: there are some men who are genuinely dealt a bit of a short straw in terms of body fat or persistent injury. There are also those who seem to think that you can swill lager, guzzle kebabs and do no exercise while looking muscular indefinitely. One bunch I have some sympathy with; the other, not so much, really.

Anyway, it's stabby stabby time...

One other thing; on a general principle: don't just work on one muscle group; it can screw up your posture and increase your likelihood of injury; work on everything if possible.

used to be a thai boxer at uni, which I loved but that martial art wouldn't know decent posture if you smacked it in the face with an elbow. Like I said, I have good posture when I'm doing anything but sitting long hours at the computer.

Seems I'm looking at pilates at this rate.

Pilates not bad: was doing it on Monday evenings for a few weeks last year before new job's hours got in the way. Much of the moves appear to have found their way into other exercise regimes, so we were doing stuff and I was going 'oh, this is just like the stuff we were doing at *foo*'.

What I got last year (and finally got around to putting up) were the mounting brackets for a pair of hook boots and a bar; dangling by your ankles from a bar attached to the doorframe is actually not too hard on the back, you can stretch and twist and inverted situps are pretty effective on the abs; the only downside (apart from looking silly) is the temptation for

clanwilliam to treat me like a pendulum.

Re core strength, a colleague of mine swore by one of those big exercise balls - for sitting on in lieu of a chair at her desk. It seemed to work for her, although I can imagine it's the sort of thing you'd either love or would be driven crazy by.

I had one. They took it away from me due to so-called health and safety when we moved offices because it hadn't been officially prescribed. (I'd nicked it off someone else)

I think that's possibly something of a sore point, given entries passim.

Oops, hadn't been aware of that.

'You think that was impressive?'

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