GETTING IN SHAPE VIA YOUR SMARTPHONE.
Hooked on podcasts! (And running.)
My secrets to those of you who have been in a rut regarding exercise:
STRAVA, SPOTIFY, & PODCASTS.
Over the holidays, while staying with my folks in good ol’ northern Ca., I had a strange epiphany. I had finally installed the Strava App onto my phone and decided to see how many times I’d have to run around in circles before I hit a mile. It was kind of fun, just hanging out in the backyard getting my cardio in. Around the same time, I got an offer to join Spotify Premiere at .99 a month (for three months.) So I started running around and listening to music I like. When I jog around to music, you’d be surprised where I go music wise. I can be listening to old Metallica one minute, than some Minor Threat, U2, Vangelis, Classical music, whatever I’m even curious about. Spotify is beautiful because if I’m curious about a certain music act I’ll check them out, or if there’s a band I haven’t heard in a while that I miss. I’m all over the map. A lot of oldies, reggae, whatever. The song I’ve been playing the most is “The bottom line” by Big Audio Dynamite. Oh, I actually check out my own tunes on there under “Jeremy Ferrick.” When I was in India I uploaded a bunch of my lo-fi tunes to Distrokid who than put them on itunes for me. I’d already had a bunch of tunes up there anyways. I have a few studio cuts too, but mainly pretty lo fi versions of my songs. Anyways……
So I don’t run like I used to. I used to do Cross Country in Junior High. The First time I lived in Venice Beach I used to go jogging EVERY DAY FOR MILES. In 2002 I did a marathon in Dublin Ireland. Living again in Los Angeles (for several years without a car) I ran all over the place. In India the summer of 2013 I began running with my friend Vignan Insaners, a man of infinite endurance who is actually also a Doctor and Fitness Trainer. I did a timed lap of quarter mile where I did better than I had in ages. I felt like I was on my way back to really getting in shape. But than I kept pulling muscles! It got to the point where after a couple of miles I’d be limping and barely able to walk.
Skip ahead a couple months and me and my brother and friend Snack are going on all kinds of bike rides in Thailand. That’s really my sport of choice. Well, last spring I was living again in Los Angeles (North Hollywood this time.) I was near an outside bikeshop which gave me the inspiration for a story I’ll be writing called “BIKEWARS.” After a few visits I picked up a decent mountain bike for $50. I don’t even know what the brand of the bike was but I began riding it everywhere. I even rode it to a member of the band foo fighter’s birthday party at a recording studio because A band I like was playing. I had my bike locked up to a post and since I was at the party fairly late, I took an offer from a friend to receive a ride home. The next day when I took a bus back to my bike, it had been stolen. All that was left was the broken lock. I than resolved that it was onw time for me to get a car. I had been wanting one for years, but this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
So, because I had thought about driving Uber earlier but did not have a car, they had my email on file and told me that I could get a financing at a Toyota Dealership in North Hollywood. I ended up buying a Toyota Yaris and doing Uber the last nine months. (I’m doing a lot less now because of rate cuts and trying to figure out a different income revenue after a pretty sad Saturday of Uber and delivering food via Postmates.
Anyways, since I got the car, I have to admit, I’ve been getting a lot less exercise. Before, even if I was taking public transport, I’d have to run or walk to the bus or train. Now I could just drive everywhere. Don’t get me wrong! I love the conveniences A car and not having one made it really hard to lug my gear when I was playing music! But I got a little bit lazy about exercising. So lately, I’ve been trying to get back into it! The thing is, I realized I had to start slow. So back to running around with Strava and Spotify. It’s great to run around and listen to music. But guess what else is great to listen to while exercising? PODCASTS.
I’m addicted to podcasts. I love comedy so I listen to Joe Rogan, Marc Maron, and Duncan Trussel’s podcasts. And they’re about so much more than comedy. I love the James Altucher podcasts, the Tim Ferris podcast, and more that I’m discovering. My point is, if you’re going to listen to a podcast, why listen to it in your room? Listen to it outside while you’re running around getting fit! A lot of the time, especially if you’re listening to Joe Rogan or Tim Ferris they kind of get you pumped up too. So that’s my two cents about getting in shape right now, via smartphone.
