These things are essential to living off the grid. All of these, I accomplish without leaving my small apartment.
“What about exercise?” since I’ve started this journey, this question has plagued my mind. “Can I still get an effective workout while living off the grid, so to speak? What about going to the gym?
Since we entered the world, we were already born to buy. It is very difficult to reverse it. We always find ourselves walking around in the mall or surfing the internet, looking for the next stuff to buy. We are addicted to window shopping. A lot of people, including I, are trying our best to counter this, however.
After six (6) months of trying CC
In terms of fitness, let's ask ourselves what our culture tells us to buy? Perhaps barbells, dumbbells, running shoes, smith machines, drugs, etc. For what? To maximize our workouts?
Luckily, I’ve come across Paul “Coach” Wade’s book, “Convict Conditioning”. It outlines six basic exercises using only your own bodyweight.
“Pushups? That’s effortless!” others might say. To be honest, that’s what I also uttered at first. Okay, I’ll admit, pushups are stress-free compared to bench presses because of the barbells. Somehow, it doesn’t bother me. Because it only means that, without the barbell, the movement for a bench press is also very easy.
Better yet, try one arm pushups if you dare! Or try one arm pullups! Remove your leverage to make the movement more difficult.
Although it’s not 100%, I’ve been decreasing my consumerist lifestyle. For instance in my workouts, I don’t pay gym membership fees simply because I don’t go to the gym. I exercise at home with very minimal equipment. Nevertheless, I still get a hardcore full body workout.
I am like the protagonist in a zombie apocalypse movie. I live off the ground. I do what I can with what little I have. The poor man’s workout!
I can exercise anywhere. So even if I travel for work or for leisure, I can still keep on track of my program.
I don’t buy protein shakes, creatine, or any other supplements. I am not dependent on certain products. I eat rice, meat, and vegetables with the occasional pizza. I get my nutrition from all natural sources.
So what happens if all the merchandise and equipment we depend on disappears? Can we make our own product from what raw materials we have? Can we become producers instead of merely consumers? I encourage other people to lessen our reliance on corporate products and outside forces. I encourage everyone to start manufacturing things for their own needs.
I say these while I take another sip from my tarragon tea. The sun slowly rises. ***
After a year of CC training
