What are some of the 'out of the ordinary' activities you do to keep yourself physically and mentally fit?

Youngster

Youngster

Member
I think we all know the more common ones like walking or doing crossword puzzles. Who out there is creative and resourceful?
When it comes to activities I need to do better. I'm looking for answers. What do you have for me.
 

Kumihimo and other crafts

Study languages

I enjoy playing trivia competitively with friends regularly

Reading books on subjects I know little to nothing about (finance, quantum mechanics, etc)

Volunteer at varied activities

Maintain a sense of wonder and curiosity about life and the world we live in

Card games are good for mental and social stimulus

Face to face conversation is nice in and of itself too
 
Farrah Nuff said:
Kumihimo and other crafts

Study languages

I enjoy playing trivia competitively with friends regularly

Reading books on subjects I know little to nothing about (finance, quantum mechanics, etc)

Volunteer at varied activities

Maintain a sense of wonder and curiosity about life and the world we live in

Card games are good for mental and social stimulus

Face to face conversation is nice in and of itself too
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I do the same as you, except for the first one! Kumihimo I don't have a clue what it is, but it has stimulated my curiosity to find out...😊.
 
Many typical or available things don't appeal to me, or I can't do them for some reason. So I've had to work hard at figuring out what to do with myself.

I had knee problems and did a suite of knee exercises, but they were boring and didn't help. Quite by accident, I found that rebounding (mini trampoline) helped my knees a lot. I'm no longer crippled.

In addition, I do hula hooping, flags, walking backwards on treadmill, and various other exercises, mixing them up so I don't get bored.

I practice my Spanish with two language partners: one local, and one in a foreign country.

I compile questions for, and host, an online trivia game. It seems a natural extension of who I am, as I love facts and learning. It's also interesting because it's attended by people from all over the world.

I recently joined a local board. I think it will be okay. Most volunteer work is too much like "work."

Last year I bought binoculars to watch the birds in a nearby tree. I never thought I'd be birdwatching, such a cliche.

If Toastmasters starts up again (post-Covid), I might join. I did it years ago to overcome shyness, and I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Although I have no science background (didn't even take it in high school), I'm now learning about physics, chemistry, and astronomy.

I still need to find more things to do -- that won't wear me out or be a hassle. Thank you for the thread. I'll be watching for new ideas!
 
Mind and Body activities:

- jig saw puzzles (on the internet);
- walks daily - 2 or more hours with Flash (dog);
- usually interaction from other walkers with or without dogs;
- emails to/from relatives and friends; my brother sends me a joke every day;
- send DAILY compliaints to daughter/sons/brother/sister/relatives/friends lolol;
- when I can't see my desk, I clear the junk mail;
- when I can't see the table/counters, I wash the dishes!!
- when there are NO CLEAN dishes, I wash them by hand (dishwasher is not working!!)
- gardening in spring, summer, autumn:
 
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NorthernLight said:
Many typical or available things don't appeal to me, or I can't do them for some reason. So I've had to work hard at figuring out what to do with myself.

I had knee problems and did a suite of knee exercises, but they were boring and didn't help. Quite by accident, I found that rebounding (mini trampoline) helped my knees a lot. I'm no longer crippled.

In addition, I do hula hooping, flags, walking backwards on treadmill, and various other exercises, mixing them up so I don't get bored.

I practice my Spanish with two language partners: one local, and one in a foreign country.

I compile questions for, and host, an online trivia game. It seems a natural extension of who I am, as I love facts and learning. It's also interesting because it's attended by people from all over the world.

I recently joined a local board. I think it will be okay. Most volunteer work is too much like "work."

Last year I bought binoculars to watch the birds in a nearby tree. I never thought I'd be birdwatching, such a cliche.

If Toastmasters starts up again (post-Covid), I might join. I did it years ago to overcome shyness, and I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Although I have no science background (didn't even take it in high school), I'm now learning about physics, chemistry, and astronomy.

I still need to find more things to do -- that won't wear me out or be a hassle. Thank you for the thread. I'll be watching for new ideas!
Click to expand...
I like most of your ideas but what are flags?
 
NorthernLight said:
Many typical or available things don't appeal to me, or I can't do them for some reason. So I've had to work hard at figuring out what to do with myself.

I had knee problems and did a suite of knee exercises, but they were boring and didn't help. Quite by accident, I found that rebounding (mini trampoline) helped my knees a lot. I'm no longer crippled.

In addition, I do hula hooping, flags, walking backwards on treadmill, and various other exercises, mixing them up so I don't get bored.

I practice my Spanish with two language partners: one local, and one in a foreign country.

I compile questions for, and host, an online trivia game. It seems a natural extension of who I am, as I love facts and learning. It's also interesting because it's attended by people from all over the world.

I recently joined a local board. I think it will be okay. Most volunteer work is too much like "work."

Last year I bought binoculars to watch the birds in a nearby tree. I never thought I'd be birdwatching, such a cliche.

If Toastmasters starts up again (post-Covid), I might join. I did it years ago to overcome shyness, and I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Although I have no science background (didn't even take it in high school), I'm now learning about physics, chemistry, and astronomy.

I still need to find more things to do -- that won't wear me out or be a hassle. Thank you for the thread. I'll be watching for new ideas!
Click to expand...
Looks like you keep yourself busy. Toastmasters sounds interesting. Are you sure those binoculars are for bird watching? :)
 
ArnoldC said:
Speed racing my RC cars. Gets me outdoors and keeps me active-physically and mentally. Takes a bit of skill, ability, preparation and a lot of concentration. Able to tune out everything but what I am doing at the moment. A
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Ever thought of racing RC planes. I've seen it done. Could get kind of expensive if you have a tendency to crash them.
 
Youngster said:
Ever thought of racing RC planes. I've seen it done. Could get kind of expensive if you have a tendency to crash them.
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Hey Youngster. I crash enough as it is on the ground. ;) Adding in a third dimension is just asking for trouble. :eek:

Were I ever to go RC airborne, it would be with a glider. They crash softIy. That and I think they are so cool. Kind of like kites, but without the tether. Spin flags look interesting. Regrettably, short of a hurricane, here in Houston we don't often get reliable winds aloft. A
 

What are some of the 'out of the ordinary' activities you do to keep yourself physically and mentally fit?​


Physical
No exercise, like treadmill stuff for me
Feels like I'm a gargantuan mouse on a wheel
Not productive to me

I work and play HARD
Actually, work is still play for me

swing low.jpg

Mentally
I write
NY Times crossword
Study The Bible
Oh, and do 'caption this' here on SF
 
Decades long:
Tahoe bump and fresh snow skier, Sierra Nevada backpacker, California statewide landscape and nature photographer explorer hiker, freestyle dancer. Life long reader of science and technology. Though retired from my hi tech career work, still regularly code in HTML, use Excel and MS Word at advanced levels, decades long Photoshop skills, and Windows command line computer skills. So yeah at 74 now, brain and body is well active to maintain decades of neural plasticity. Use it or lose it.
 
David777 said:
Decades long:
Tahoe bump and fresh snow skier, Sierra Nevada backpacker, California statewide landscape and nature photographer explorer hiker, freestyle dancer. Life long reader of science and technology. Though retired from my hi tech career work, still regularly code in HTML, use Excel and MS Word at advanced levels, decades long Photoshop skills, and Windows command line computer skills. So yeah at 74 now, brain and body is well active to maintain decades of neural plasticity. Use it or lose it.
Click to expand...
I have an interest in photography. I'd like to see some of your work. Do you have it online anywhere?
 
I'm thinking about writing a graphic novel.

I have two traditional novels in the works — one is at about 80k words and the other maybe 40k, but I haven't touched them in years. I lost my motivation.

At various times in my life, I've drawn cartoons. The last time was at my college newspaper when I drew political cartoons... Oh, I almost forgot... I drew political cartoons for a neighborhood newspaper back in the 90s. That must have been around the same time as when I drew them for the university paper. It's been so long, I don't remember. :ROFLMAO:

But anyway, I thought maybe I'd combine the two and use the stories from my novels for graphic novels, and maybe publish one chapter a month or so online to see if anybody liked them.

So I'm kind of fooling around with that idea. Later this evening, I'm going to lay out some panels with rough sketches and text, and see how that goes. It may be just another passing interest, but maybe not. I won't know unless I try.
 
My life with MS has taught me a lot. Use your "other" hand. Learn something new, preferably a craft or activity that require two hands.

My research on brain growth and maintenance says we need to constantly create new pathways in our brains. Think of it like driving on the same road from the store to home your whole life. Doing the same things the same way means your brain is using the same old road.

Put you toothbrush, mouse, coffee cup, wine glass, pen in your other hand. Your brain will create new pathways to do that task. It will awaken parts of you brain and actually produce new cells.

Very helpful is learning a new skill that require two hands, especially if the hands are doing different things. Crocheting and whittling for example.
 


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