The Outdoor Journey

Avoid stretching before exercise?

By John ⋅ September 24, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

While this is not earth-shattering news, kinesiology researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas have confirmed that pre-activity stretching may actually hinder athletic performance. The study, which appears in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, investigated how two typical stretching techniques for the hamstrings and quadriceps muscles affected [...]

More on my semi-retirement from triathlon

By John ⋅ September 1, 2008 ⋅ 3 comments

I’ve been trying to write a follow-up to why I have chosen to semi-retire from the sport of triathlon, but I keep getting myself into corners and making the damn thing far more melodramatic than the subject deserves. To keep it relatively short, I just turned on the webcam and started blathering away.

Poetry in motion: Sofia Boutella

By John ⋅ March 2, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

Let’s talk about beauty in motion. This has nothing to do with endurance multisports, yet everything to do with balance, both in the figurative and literal sense. Today’s subject is the incredible Sofia Boutella. I first saw Sofia on the Nike Women promotional DVD in 2006 and was blown away by her moves. Here’s your bit of Sunday eye candy from an amazing athlete:

Best damned quote of the week

By John ⋅ February 22, 2008 ⋅ 3 comments

In Direct Lines , Steve Ilg, coach, yoga & meditation instructor, tells a masterful tale of his return to the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathalon as a soloist. After writing about the various mountain spirits and the near-religious experience of racing up and down the mountain, comes this gem on the final leg of the [...]

My Secret Yoga Asana

By John ⋅ October 29, 2007 ⋅ One comment

Yesterday I spent my second Sunday afternoon in a row deep in sweat and breath as I return to the formal study of yoga. The class was called PowerFlow and our lovely instructor Jules of the Yoga Sanctuary took us through 90-minutes of asanas that had me sweating profusely and my tight hips creaking [...]

My Not-So-Triumphant Return to Yoga

By John ⋅ October 23, 2007 ⋅ 3 comments

Yoga and I are back together once again…and it hurts.
In Sanskrit, yoga means “union,” as in uniting yourself with the divine…however you choose to define the latter. In my language of Hakskrit, it is a union with sweat, pain, and the occasional “how come flabby arms over there can hold that pose (asana) while [...]

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