She Scares The Hell Out Of Me And Calms My Soul At The Same Time. Maybe That’s What Love Is—a Total

I can get my head turned by a good-looking guy as much as the next girl. But sexy doesn’t impress me. Smart impresses me, strength of character impresses me. But most of all, I am impressed by kindness. Kindness, I think, comes from learning hard lessons well, from falling and picking yourself up. It comes from surviving failure and loss. It implies an understanding of the human condition, forgives its many flaws and quirks. When I see that in someone, it fills me with admiration.

Lisa Unger (via toinfinityandswann)

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Jay Darko

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Fitness is NOT about losing weight or gaining muscle. Fitness is contextual. Fitness is being able to take on any Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual obstacle to become healthy.

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ALINE ANTIQUEIRA

Everybody in the world is seeking happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn’t depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.

Dale Carnegie (via letskeeplifesimple)

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@ brettm10

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the war mini fanmeeting // 170906

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@ roma.ba

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Gym stuff for hockey fic

I love both research and working out, so here’s a post about things that might add a little verisimilitude to your hockey RPF, if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Please note that while I’ve been weight training for many years, I’m by no means an expert, and I don’t have any particular insight into the details of hockey-specific training, so I welcome corrections/additions. Hockey players do a lot of agility and conditioning work that I’m not very familiar with.  

First, protein shakes don’t taste disgusting. Both whey powder and casein powder are tasty, if you don’t buy total crap—and believe me, NHL players are not drinking crap. It comes in powder form, and you mix a scoop with milk or water. Flavors include chocolate, vanilla, and mocha cappuccino (the best). Your favorite hockey player is not choking down an unpalatable shake. 

Strength training is organized into “sets” and “repetitions.” You do a certain number of repetitions of a specific exercise in a single set, then rest for a while, then do another set. I’ve seen references in stories to players “doing reps,” which is kind of nonsensical without naming the actual exercise! Doing reps of what? 

Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s almost impossible to converse during a set. You’re typically performing the Valsalva maneuver (holding your breath) during each rep, and you’re working really hard. Maybe you’ll chat between sets, but your characters are probably not talking to each other while they’re actively bench pressing. I can squeeze out maybe a word or two, usually “HELP” to my spotter. 

Now I will move on to addressing a few of the actual exercises hockey players perform as part of their dry land training regimens! We’ll be using videos of Penguins players as our reference material, because that’s what I’m into. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdKyEibE104 This is a very interesting video because Andy O’Brien is some kind of crazy hockey training genius. None of these exercises are traditional strength training moves; it’s all hockey-specific stuff that’s clearly designed to maximize on-ice performance. Every video I’ve seen of Sid working out is kind of bananas, but it obviously works for him. He seems to focus on agility and plyometric work versus pure strength training. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m4D8RkJjYE Here’s Tanger doing more run-of-the-mill strength training work, with some conditioning stuff thrown in. In order: plyometric work (jumping), agility work (footwork), weighted chin-ups (very hard to do), bench presses in the power cage, Bulgarian splits squats (AKA rear foot elevated split squats) (he is INCREDIBLY STRONG, this is A LOT OF WEIGHT), weighted inverted rows, more plyo work, and then some sled pushes because I guess he wasn’t tired enough already. Tanger has stated that working out is his hobby, and I believe it. This dude is intense. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwKvG0o68SI Now we move on to Geno. He starts off doing rack pulls (a deadlift variant) in a power cage (please do not arch your back like that if you ever perform this exercise). Then, he does some dumbbell squats on a BOSU ball (he’s holding dumbbells and standing on the BOSU ball). His legs are very skinny. He then shows us his pit stains. Then he starts doing something weird with a kettlebell (that’s the red thing he’s holding), this is I think some kind of hockey-related exercise that maybe his trainer invented for him. Next, some cable rows mixed with squatting, this is again probably a hockey thing. Then he goes swimming, and I don’t swim because I hate cardio. Then we have some kettlebell squats combined with overhead presses with the kettlebells. Finally, some push-ups with a modification to make them more difficult. My impression from this video is that Geno does not really enjoy or care about working out, but I still love him.  

I hope this is helpful! I’m happy to answer questions! Hit me up with any additional videos of players working out and I will do the scintillating play-by-play. There was a nice gifset of Carl Hagelin working out that I saw literally yesterday and now can no longer locate.

Edit: Thanks to ehghtyseven for hooking me up with the gifset of Hags, and I found video!

https://youtu.be/kh57BrH40tk?t=127 This is a nice workout combining strength work and conditioning. He starts with some power cleans with a barbell, which is a good movement for explosive power. Then he does step-ups onto a bench while holding a plate. I can’t tell how much weight it is, from the size i’m guessing 35 pounds. Then he does some bent-over side raises with dumbbells. Next, pushups. Then some modified crunches and other core work (I don’t know what that exercise is called) before he gets on the bike. More ab work, then single-leg glute bridges with his feet elevated on a bench. He has nice thighs. Then more core work and more step-ups. He finishes with some front raises with dumbbells, which is a total bro move. Hags wants to have sexy shoulders. I respect that.