I love the Internet because it is awash with things it thinks we need to live happier, healthier and more productive lives. Plus, it knows the secret to six-pack abs in less than two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What could be better than that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And more and more when I hop on the Web, I\u2019m bombarded with all sorts of these challenges, health and fitness tips and advice columns \u2013 some legitimate and some questionable \u2013 that promise to turn me into better versions of myself \u2026 with rockin\u2019 abs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ll take a helping of that, please.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Name your topic or area of need and you\u2019ll find it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c13 tips to have more willpower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 7 most important exercises for men over 40.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKettlebell shoulder workouts to explode your conditioning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow to write advice columns with no expertise or first-hand knowledge about what kettlebells are or why you want them to explode your shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And they all have seemed to find me recently. Maybe it\u2019s because I\u2019m a sucker for news aggregating apps like Flipboard that corral and curate articles for me. That think they know what I need. And I must need A LOT because stories like these keep finding their way into my orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I decided recently that instead of cynically dismissing or maliciously mocking these articles (\u201cHow to turn kitchen utensils into a DIY gym.\u201d What? Scrambling eggs is going to give you better biceps?!? HAHAHAHA!) I thought I might try a few to see if they actually do anything for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nothing crazy, mind you. I\u2019m not going to start doing questionable stuff that might affect my health in a negative way. I\u2019m steering away from the ones that mention weights (I can barely lift anything over 5 pounds), supplements of any kind (beer is working quite well for me, thank you), or mystic crystals or cryptocurrencies. (Both of those seem far too legitimate \u2013 like science has already proven their benefits to society.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that still leaves plenty of other options for me to try, which I think I\u2019m going to start doing over the Christmas break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, I read an article on Medicalnewstoday.com about a study that says staring at a red light for only 3 minutes in the morning could potentially improve your vision. This sounds great to me. I am getting up there in years, my vision isn\u2019t what it used to be and going to the eye doctor means physically picking up a phone and making a call, which sounds excruciatingly hard and labor-intensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This study out of the University College London seems perfect for me. And all I need is a red light. Although, that presents its own set of problems. The only two options I can come up with are staring at the power light of the DVD player (which requires far too much hunching over for my tastes) or putting a concrete block on the brake pedal of my car and staring at the taillights in my driveway. Sure, I\u2019m going to make the neighbors think I\u2019ve gone completely insane, but in a couple of weeks, I\u2019ll probably be able to see them again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another one I think I will try was headlined, \u201c10 Minutes. 6 Stretches. 1 Routine That\u2019ll Make Your Body Feel Brand New.\u201d I could go for that! It was on a Web site called clearskinregime.com, which doesn\u2019t sound like the best place to get stretching advice, but the headline\u2019s promise certainly made an impression on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only problem is: I hate stretching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m a life-long runner who once received a religious exemption in high school to get out of doing stretches for track practice. Stretching always seemed like a waste of time. Have you ever seen a cheetah stretch before it chases down a gazelle? Of course not. So, why should I?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides, I\u2019m impatient, I\u2019m always in a rush and I personally like the way my hamstring feels when it seems to come unattached at the knee. Plus, I have the limberness of a 2X4. Why do something that you\u2019re bad at and hurts like you\u2019re being hit by a wet fish when you can hit the road without a care in the world whether your Achilles comes with you or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But \u201cfeeling brand new?!?\u201d Well, that\u2019s a whole new ball game, and if a few common and simple stretches will do the trick, I\u2019ll give it a shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve also found articles that promise to give me patience, which will make waiting on hold with an airline or sitting in holiday traffic all the more satisfying. And others that will help me focus and not multi-task all the time. Most of these recommend deep breathing and short meditation sessions, which is perfect because I can cram those in while I\u2019m staring at my taillights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve got challenges lined up for eating better, for reducing stress and even one that promises to eliminate the amount of hair that grows on my ears. (That one I\u2019m not too sure about, as it does involve diesel fuel.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wish me luck in my endeavors as I embrace this world of Internet advice columns and embark on some major challenges. I hope the search for a better me will be fruitful and life-changing. And if not \u201cbetter,\u201d maybe at least I\u2019ll be more limber, patient, focused and, if I\u2019m lucky, the proud owner of some rockin\u2019 6-pack abs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I love the Internet because it is awash with things it thinks we need to live happier, healthier and more productive lives. Plus, it knows the secret to six-pack abs in less than two weeks.<\/p>\n
What could be better than that? <\/p>\n
And more and more when I hop on the Web, I\u2019m bombarded with all sorts of these challenges, health and fitness tips and advice columns \u2013 some legitimate and some questionable \u2013 that promise to turn me into better versions of myself \u2026 with rockin\u2019 abs!<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll take a helping of that, please. <\/p>\n
Name your topic or area of need and you\u2019ll find it: <\/p>\n
\u201c13 tips to have more willpower.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 7 most important exercises for men over 40.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKettlebell shoulder workouts to explode your conditioning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow to write advice columns with no expertise or first-hand knowledge about what kettlebells are or why you want them to explode your shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[578,574],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2021-nutshells","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2332"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2333,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332\/revisions\/2333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}