Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"

Ooooooo! I liked this album much more than I was expecting! this 1988 Def Jam release was jaunty. Yeah, I just used "jaunty" to describe hip hop. Don't care. That's how much hip hop has permeated our culture. It crossed barriers and infuses the familiar Anglifications.

It's good to know where Flava Flav came from. Was never certain. Even more enlightening was Chuck D's flow. Flav's type of voice is not my personal preference, however.

So, some fitness epitomes. I've learned that the more I focus on 'what' workout I'm going to do then I take that much longer to get it done. Seriously, two hours laying in bed on Saturday morning trying to figure out if I want to drive (and pay for) one of our state parks versus an urban hike that would require an hour drive south to Fort Lauderdale. Sure enough, after wasting that two hours THINKING about where to walk, I could've finished my 90-minute walk.

Doink

So that was a good "you big dummy" lesson for me. I have my Something New in my album of the day. That's where my focus should be.

I know where this problem comes from; I was introduced to fitness via group fitness. Always having a dance rehearsal or drum corps practice to participate and be bossed around in, quite took care of needing to think about what sort of workout I was going to do. That was always sorted out by staff or motivated by which part of the show needed to be written or cleaned.

This is a similar habit preference I learned about while living in Hong Kong and joining a hiking club. I wanted to meet new people, both locals and expats, and also see much more of the country's natural offerings away from the pollution. What I figured out about myself was that I preferred slotting myself into the middle of the pack during the hike.

There was a lovely married couple who organized these hikes via Meetup.com. (Facebook hadnt been officially offered outside of colleges yet.) They ended up having to limit the group size to fifty people. Then one would lead and the other would take the rear for the less-hearty stragglers.

My comfortable spot was in the middle of the group. This allowed me to not have snap as many branches or rush to climb stone steps but also not feel pitifully out of shape in the rear. The additoinal bonus was that I could "just sheep" is what I call it. I didn't have to lead. I could just follow and not be in charge.

There are so many folks who believe I ENJOY being in charge. The reality is that I prefer being in small groups SHARING responsibility. It it healthy for me when I can trust someone enough to take charge of 'me'.

And it HAS happened. I trusted Toni enough to take my college graduation party preferences and run with the organization. I had an amazing day!

I trust Liz, Laurie, Sarah, and Hope enough to move and organize my new apartment during the end of the school year. A hellacious time for teachers. By the end of that non-chaotic day of chaos, I was able to lay my head on a be-linened bed with curtains hanging from my windows!

My point is, planning helps. I'd love a personal trainer but my student loans and teacher salary let me know that's not happening anytime soon. Meanwhile, I'm at least meal prepping on Sundays.

Stay tuned for the next post.

What helps you decide which workout you're going to do? Do you stray, too?