Old Habits Are Hard To.....Bring Back

[jmfargo]

This used to be fun, even though sweat was streaming down my face by the end of it, I couldn't breath, and all I kept hearing in my head were remixed 70's and 80's songs over and over again. Sure, my legs were as strong as jelly in a blender and felt like snapped rubber bands, but I would smile, grin even, and the world would be a better place.

Then I stopped doing Dance Dance Revolution. It's kind of like every other workout routine I've ever done in my life. It just fades away into obscurity for one reason or another, and all I've really done is put off the bulge, not beaten or stopped it. A pause, not an end.

So I'm back to this. I'm not grinning and happy, but that will come when I'm better at it again. My muscle memory for the songs I enjoyed the most is gone and I have to really concentrate to hit the arrows to the beat, or hit them at all. It doesn't help that the dogs go crazy because I'm hopping around all crazy like, or that MaiTai, the littler, younger, and more curious one comes over to investigate, thus making me worry that I'm going to step on her and snap her in half. But I can't blame that, I can only blame myself.

I like Dance Dance Revolution (affectionately known as DDR), and want to start doing it again. I know it's not a good work out routine, and it won't really do much for me, but it's action, and I don't get active often. Even one hour of activity a day will at least help me keep my weight in check. Healthy eating will help with the rest, and I've got enough damn kitchen toys that I should be able to come up with something healthy to eat.

I'm tired. This stuff's not easy. It'll get fun though. Eventually.

Oh, and just so you know: This post isn't about me getting into a work out cycle. I'm done with those. The next time I write about working out will be to say "Hey, I'm down to (x) pounds because I've been doing (y)!" Instead, this post is about how I wish I'd never fallen out of step with DDR. HA! Out of step! I kill me!

Yeah. That's right. Alf. I went there.

Comments

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Don't get me wrong - what you see those kids doing is an absolutely amazing workout. Where I am right now, however is the stage where I kind of plod around the pad, stepping indecisively on the arrows, slow and steady. Well, maybe not steady, and sometimes not so slow, but compared to what most of those kids do I may as well be standing still.

[(Anonymous)]

You're wrong there though.

DDR is like many other physical activities. So long as you push yourself, it's going to be a good workout. Just because you're not trying The Legend of Max or Paranoia Eternal right now doesn't mean you can't get a good workout from it. As you get better, it gets easier to do. Songs like "Castles in the Sky" on Light used to tire me out, but as I got better, they became easier, and like a drug, I need to try harder and harder songs just to get the same effect.

So, just make sure you're doing songs that are at the limit of your ability, and you'll both get better, and get a good cardio workout.

-tt (just about to start my evening hour of StepMania, after 3 episodes of Batman ;) ).

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I guess in actuality I realize that I'm wrong about it not being a good cardio workout if I push myself, which I do. The problem, however, is that if I tell myself I'm working out, I'm bound to failure, and so I tell myself I'm just trying to get to a level where I can match what I've seen you and Earl do with such ease.

I have to keep pushing myself to hit that, because the two of you are so good. Thus, I guess it'll be a good cardio workout because I'll be pushing myself that hard, but I can't tell that to myself, you know?

[(Anonymous)]

That's probably a good way to think about it. Once I start, I don't think about 'working out', I think about 'ooh, those are cool steps, I wonder if I can do that one', or 'that's a good song, I'll try that!'

The first 20 minutes are a warm up, usually songs between 5-7 difficulty. After that, it's a free-for-all. I tried another 10 last night, and even using a chair for a rail I couldn't get through it...

When it comes to DDR/StepMania, I think Variety is definitely the spice of life. I would suggest getting StepMania, and finding a Playstation2->USB converter that WORKS.... unfortunately, that's the hard part. That way, you aren't limited to the 71 songs in Extreme, and can play the 1,000s available online.

If you DO decide to go this route, I'll try to help you find a PS2 -> USB adaptor... I already know the new ones at Radio Shack DON'T work. (The problem is most adaptors don't let "left & right" or "up & down" to happen at the same time... and therefore you'll automatically miss the Jumps...)

-tt

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Where you do your warm up is as hard as I can do, and that's normally a straight failure for me. My warm up begins on, like, 2s. 3s if they're slow.

I'm getting back into it though. I've picked a few of the songs I particularly enjoy, and learn the more difficult steps on those. I figure if I can get it down for those, I'll at least be getting my legs back into the mode that they need to be in to do the harder ones.

I've thought about the StepMania thing, and it's not a bad idea. What adapter do you use? (Or did it come with the pad you have?) How much am I looking at spending if I go this route?

[(Anonymous)]

The reason I bought the pad I did was because it came with USB, so I wouldn't need an adaptor. Well, that and it's a nice thick padded mat, not one of those stinky thin ones, it makes a big difference!

http://www.stepmania.com/wiki/USB_Adapters

It lists USB Adaptors, but I think it's woefully out of date.
As for cost? Under $20! Think of that, less than $20 to get 100x the DDR you have now :)

Some of the adaptors they suggest:
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=23&products_id=93&PHPSESSID=b3ea7d8d3cfef44ec66dd601cc578781
(I like the sound of this one, because it SPECIFICALLY STATES that ALL 16 BUTTONS CAN BE USED SIMULTANEOUSLY! Sure, you only care really about 4 of them in particular, but still, they spell it right out there!)

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=161&products_id=1697&lsaid=200674

http://www.positivegaming.com/shop/index.php?viewitem=19

I would rather be able to walk into a store and buy one, so it can easily be reutnred if it doesn't work, but good luck with that, no place around here seemed to carry any adaptors (except Radio Shack, and those don't work).

-tt