Let's talk about tenure!!!

Just kidding. Not an appropriate topic for a Friday afternoon/evening.

I lose about 10 lbs a semester, which is both a curse and a blessing. It always comes rocketing back over breaks.

I gain, unfortunately, about 12-15 pounds over a school year

You got one of those inflatable exercise balls? They are good for stretching out the back and shoulders, and you can get a quick workout of sorts in with one of those and some weights/push up grips.

True, and L.A. doesn't even qualify for that. If there's one thing Los Angels isn't, it's dull. Unless you're talking about the weather. High-70s, sunny and dry 350 days a year can be boring, I guess.

Limbo does sound like the perfect description for the LA highway system though.

You got one of those inflatable exercise balls? They are good for stretching out the back and shoulders, and you can get a quick workout of sorts in with one of those and some weights/push up grips.

Hell, pushups / situps / squats / burpees.... self-resistance exercises will work you, although they can be kind of silly-looking.
Do a little bit every chance you get 5-10 minutes, that stuff adds up.

I started a program where I began doing 25 pushups a day in small increments (I could barely do 5 at a time). I added a pushup per day per week. I'm up to 49 pushups a day and I can do about 25 in a row. It's really a rewarding benefit curve. You notice a difference right away. You get an inadvertent core workout too.

You could also do this with an exercise ball.

Thanks for the exercise tips...it is pretty hard to grade all these papers while upside-down on a curved object, but maybe I'll give it a shot.

I started a program where I began doing 25 pushups a day in small increments (I could barely do 5 at a time). I added a pushup per day per week. I'm up to 49 pushups a day and I can do about 25 in a row. It's really a rewarding benefit curve. You notice a difference right away. You get an inadvertent core workout too.

Yup. Too many people figure, "Well, I can't do 100 in a row, so I won't bother working out at all."
If you can do 5, do 5. Tomorrow, try for 6. Etc.
If you can only do 1, do 1. Hold as long as you can at the top. Tomorrow, try for 2. Etc.
Doing something > doing nothing. And that feeling of being able to do stuff you thought you'd NEVER be able to, is the best best.

That's the bonus you are getting if you move into a good school district, not the teachers but you are surrounded by better parents and therefore better kids.

We have a county school system, not town-by-town. They are obliged to spread the "good" teachers around. You hit the nail on the head about the "better" schools being better because the parents are generally better educated and value education highly. One usually pays quite a real estate premium for those neighborhoods.

I enjoyed this discussion, which ended up having very little to do with Dallas Braden.

We have a county school system, not town-by-town. They are obliged to spread the "good" teachers around. You hit the nail on the head about the "better" schools being better because the parents are generally better educated and value education highly. One usually pays quite a real estate premium for those neighborhoods.

As you move up grades and more complex subjects, you'll see more direct teaching in classrooms. But yeah, it'll be great to see more one to one learning, but that's not possible.

Yup. Too many people figure, "Well, I can't do 100 in a row, so I won't bother working out at all."
If you can do 5, do 5. Tomorrow, try for 6. Etc.

I used to do sets where I started with
Set 1: 20
Set 2: 15
Set 3: 10
Set 4: 10
Set 5: 5

1 to 2 minutes between each set. By the time I got to the 5th set I could barely pick myself up off the ground. I did this maybe 5 times a week or so, and I'd try to fit in two 5-set blocks a day. After a month, my first set was 35, second set was (usually) 30, etc. It adds up fast, and it's a lot of pushups over time. If you're feeling ambitious, turn over and do crunches between pushup sets.

Also, feel free to take a day off if you're really feeling it, but no more than one day off.

I used to do sets where I started with
Set 1: 20
Set 2: 15
Set 3: 10
Set 4: 10
Set 5: 5

Good stuff. I always like ladders down, because they work with my own psychology, which is approximately "Goddammit you just DID 20, you can do 15 now" - or whatever lower numbers I have going that day.

If you're feeling ambitious, turn over and do crunches between pushup sets.

Also good stuff, although I'd add that you could do ANYthing instead of "rest" that works a different part of the body - squats, crunches, whatever.
Your legs can rest while you work your arms, and vice versa.
The important thing is, you can get a lot of work in very little time, and it beats the hell out of trucking out to some horrible gym somewhere.

Not so much teachers as supervisors or managers. Teachers assign huge amounts of homework and the process of doing the homework is where the teaching and learning takes place. At home. With no teachers in sight. Teachers check to make sure that the homework is complete, give a test, and let the chips fall where they may.

My MIL is a high school teacher. This year she's experimenting by recording her lessons on videos and having the (calculus) students watch the videos for homework. They then do the exercises in class where she can help and answer questions. From what I understand, she and the students love it.

"Two kinds of people become teachers: the ones who genuinely want to educate children, and the ones who want summers off."

What about the ones who just want to coach a sport?

Also good stuff, although I'd add that you could do ANYthing instead of "rest" that works a different part of the body - squats, crunches, whatever.

You really can, but I prefer sit-ups because it attacks your core muscles. Between the pushups and sit-ups, a 10-minute combination set daily is all you need to keep your core muscles strong. Mix in a brisk walk in the evenings, and you're set.

The hardest part about even the easiest exercise schedules is sticking to the schedule. Just do something everyday.

The hardest part about even the easiest exercise schedules is sticking to the schedule. Just do something everyday.

Agreed. And do it FIRST: I find that I can make excuses much more easily if it's lunchtime or after work, but if I just roll out of bed and get some work in, for the rest of the day I DID IT ALREADY W00T!

agree with 115 and 116. also if your climate and schedule allow for it, walk a half mile or so to lunch every day.

You really can, but I prefer sit-ups because it attacks your core muscles. Between the pushups and sit-ups, a 10-minute combination set daily is all you need to keep your core muscles strong. Mix in a brisk walk in the evenings, and you're set.

Yep, and that's a great point about the walk. I think many people absolutely ignore the benefits of a brisk walk as part of their daily fitness considerations. Keep your pace peppy - 4 to 4.5 mph is my happy zone, quick but not nearly a jog - and do 10-15 minutes in the evenings as El Hombre suggests above, and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how your body reacts.

The hardest part about even the easiest exercise schedules is sticking to the schedule. Just do something everyday.

I started a new, fairly serious exercise regimen in February after years of lab-bound neglect, and I had two rules:

1) Don't get hurt
2) Don't do anything that makes you miserable

Those are the two biggest obstacles to doing your exercise plan routinely, and exercising routinely is the only way to get consistent, predictable results.

Also, I hate to sound shillish, but keeping a proper record of your diet is extremely helpful, and the one aid that has helped me immensely is this one. They have a great database of foods, including heaps of specific restaurant dishes, and their mobile apps are easy to use and ensure you're able to keep your log even on the go.

Stockton was a hole in the summer of '94 when I passed through on a theater tour, and I doubt it's gotten any better.

Also, I hate to sound shillish, but keeping a proper record of your diet is extremely helpful, and the one aid that has helped me immensely is this one. They have a great database of foods, including heaps of specific restaurant dishes, and their mobile apps are easy to use and ensure you're able to keep your log even on the go.

Thanks for the tip. Exercise is easy for me, but dieting is a huge fail. When I took up the above exercise schedule, I lost about 15 pounds in six months. Then I strained my left labrum, was down for five months, and gained nearly 10 pounds right back. Now, I'm back on the horse, but find I'm back down to 20 push-ups, and I have to always be aware of pain in my shoulder. Dieting and exercise can be depressing.

Exercise is easy for me, but dieting is a huge fail.

Weigh yourself every single day. That takes care of almost everything.

The Central Valley is a mess. If we are to believe John Steinbeck though it's always been a mess. Perhaps we might attribute the same corollary as the Middle East - everyone's just pissed off all the time because it's hot as hell there.

Now, I'm back on the horse, but find I'm back down to 20 push-ups,

I hate the first day of working out after not working out for a while. It's the worst.

My MIL is a high school teacher. This year she's experimenting by recording her lessons on videos and having the (calculus) students watch the videos for homework. They then do the exercises in class where she can help and answer questions. From what I understand, she and the students love it.

This is known as the "flipped" classroom and was supposedly started by an HS Chem teacher a few years ago. It has started to catch on in a few places, what with the ease of uploading video to youtube and other media. I did variations on it a few times last year and am doing it again from time to time now.

It sounds like an interesting concept, but what happens if three or four of a student's teachers start doing it? It's hard to imagine kids are going to watch four hours of instructional videos every night.

I've done 52 pushups every morning before my shower, every day, for so many years I can't remember. At least 12 or 15.

Why 52 pushups? Because Willie Mays hit 52 homers in 1965. Duh.

Let's not forget that Stockton and San Francisco (amongst others) have franchises in the East Coast Hockey League.

I hate the first day of working out after not working out for a while. It's the worst.

The worst is the first day after the first day of working out after not working out for awhile.
Delayed onset muscle soreness + walking down stairs = no bueno.

I found keeping track of my weight every day is a benefit. But it was too hard to log my foods. So I started skipping a meal. I have lost a lot of weight eating a diet filled with butter, whole milk, white bread, etc., but I haven't been eating dinner or drinking during the week. You get used to it and it's pretty easy.

Is there anything worse for your health than being a serious high school/college athlete without a healthy diet? After I stopped organized sports at age 22 I kept eating 5,000 calories a day. That caught up to me quick.

That's why ex-NFL guys often blow up after they retire. A lot of them still eat like linemen long after they stop being linemen.

That's why ex-NFL guys often blow up after they retire. A lot of them still eat like linemen long after they stop being linemen.

They blow up or they shrink. Some have a hard time keeping their playing weight.

Virginia

1) Newport News
2) Hampton
3) Norfolk
4) Front Royal
5) Dumfries

It would seem that there are vast swaths of the Commonwealth that you have never visited, jack

No, really..if I expanded the list I would have included places like Danville, parts of Richmond, numerous small towns in SW Virginia, etc. All depends on your point of view I guess. The Tidewater just excels.