Category: juggling

Every Minute Counts in Physical Activity for Health Even If Your Step Counter Does Not Count It!

If you want a quick read for how every minute counts in physical activity for your health, see the JAMA article “Physical Activity for Health—Every Minute Counts” (Katzmarzyk PT, Jakicic JM. Physical Activity for Health—Every Minute Counts. JAMA. 2023;330(3):213–214. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.11014).

Just for fun, I tried to see if about 5 minutes of juggling would result in a change in the step counter on my cell phone. Unfortunately, it didn’t but I sure could feel the effort!

As the authors state, public health recommendations for physical activity set a bar of 150-300 minutes a week of moderate intensity aerobic activity to get substantial health benefit.

But you benefit from just about any increment below that level. Your step counter probably won’t register it, but you can feel it.

I made a short demo video to show what good exercise juggling is. I didn’t cut any mistakes (and obviously increased the speed on it because 5 minutes is a bit long). Anybody can tell I’m pretty puffed out at the end.

Try juggling for physical activity!

Learning to Let Go in Juggling

A couple of days ago, Sena asked me to watch her as she practiced the toss and catch in juggling 3 balls. She could do the one, two, three, catch pretty well but for some reason couldn’t let go of the ball in her left hand to move forward to the one, two, three, four catch series. Toss and catch by the numbers makes it a little easier to get to the point where you just let go of the balls you need to toss to keep the 3-ball cascade pattern going.

As I write this, I’m reminded how difficult it is to explain juggling the cascade pattern to someone instead of just showing them. When I stood in front of her and could count the throws, she could toss three balls and catch, no problem. But she was frustrated because she couldn’t see how to move past the toss 3 and catch drill. She was sometimes even doing a toss 2 and catch because she was tossing so fast.

I stood next to her and could see part of the problem, which is that she was not letting go of the key ball. In fact, she was aware of it and would try to push the wrong ball up in an effort to keep the pattern going.

This is hard to convey by writing or talking. But the idea behind keeping the balls churning in the cascade pattern is to continually throw a ball from your hand so as to empty it in order to catch the next ball coming down.

So, we counted the throws out loud together. We both started with two balls in the right hand and one ball in the left hand. We counted “one” when we tossed the first ball from the pair in the right hand. We counted “two” when we tossed the second ball in the left hand. We counted “three” when we tossed the third ball remaining from the pair in the right hand. When that ball reached the top of its arc, I noticed Sena was not tossing the first ball she had caught—which would have moved her into a toss 4 and catch, with two balls ending in the right hand. As it was, she was stuck in the toss 3 and catch, ending with two balls in her left hand.

This is really hard to keep track of by talking about it.

I had previously made slow motion videos of the toss 4 and catch, but it was still too hard to follow. And I couldn’t slow my own demonstration standing right next to her in an effort to show her what she needed to do—which was to let go of the ball in her left hand when the ball from her right hand was at the highest point in its arc.

In spite of the difficulty in talking it through—she got it. She actually could do toss 4 and catch several times in a row!

It was a eureka moment.

Move Your Way!

I saw the HHS Move Your Way campaign regarding the new strategy on encouraging older people to exercise, namely the Midcourse Report: Implementation Strategies for Older Adults.

There are many ways to get and stay fit. We could all do better, including me. I exercise pretty much daily for about 30 minutes. Following that, I usually sit in mindfulness meditation for 30 minutes.

The report says we should do moderate intensity aerobic activity for at least 150 minutes a week and muscle strengthening activity for at least 2 days a week.

I do a combination of stationary bicycle exercise, weight exercises with dumbbells, planks, body weight squats. I also do one leg stand, one minute each leg.

And juggling is great aerobic exercise. I struggle a bit with advanced thumb wrestling.

Sena Looks Out the Window

Yesterday Sena practiced her usual 2 or 3 minutes of juggling and then took a break to look out the window. She likes to see how the garden is coming along in the backyard.

In fact, lots of things go on in our backyard garden and beyond. Critters are entertaining. We’ve seen all kinds of birds, deer, turkeys, and even cats catching their dinners.

There are some pretty talented mousers who hunt on the property. Sena got pretty excited when she filmed one catching what she thought was a mouse.

Juggling with New Safety Goggles

I got new safety goggles the other day. They’re to protect me when I juggle. They’re made by Sattron and Sena got them on Amazon at a good price for 3 pairs. They fit over my eyeglasses. These were my old eyeglasses, which I’ve since replaced with brand new ones. I’m still a little nervous about wearing the goggles over those.

The goggles come with a cleaning cloth and the bows are adjustable. They adjust at the temples up and down through 15 degrees (up, intermediate, and down). It’s hard to move them. You have to really crank them. I don’t think they make that much difference. The length adjustment is a little quirky. You pull them out or push them back in. It’s a ratchet setting adjustment. The soft silicone nose pads will leave smudges on your glasses.

They’re anti-fog, anti-UV, but unfortunately not anti-drop. On the other hand, when a juggling ball drops on my head, I’ll be protected because they’re impact resistant.

Juggling and The Wings of Change!

The other day we were at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area mainly to see how juggling goes outdoors for me. We filmed the event for posterity.

It turns out that “wings” had a lot to do with it. I juggled next to Hilde DeBruyn’s sculpture “Winds of Change.” It’s my favorite sculpture, although the winds of change are dictating that the Iowa City Parks Dept. is again going to accept new sculptures for this year which will replace all of those currently on display.

Wings figured in a different way and you can tell by how I react to the bugs flying around. We picked a nice spring day when all the winged insects were buzzing around in my face.

The level of juggling difficulty goes way up when gnats are zipping up my nose, my ears, my mouth, etc.

Always Wear Safety Glasses When Claw Juggling!

I just got a new eyeglass prescription a few days ago. I figured a year was long enough to wait after my surgery for an acute on chronic retinal detachment of my right eye. My vision in that eye has changed quite a bit, but I think new glasses will help a lot.

My old pair of eyeglasses is pretty beat up. Juggling has not helped. I’ve knocked them off my head a couple of times lately. That has not helped the poor fit.

I’m also practicing a new juggling trick called the claw. The throw and catch techniques are very different. You have to claw catch the balls from the top. I end up slamming them on the floor or off my groin. Juggling takes dedication and sacrifice—but there’s a limit.

I think I need safety equipment. I’ll be getting new eyeglasses, but it might be a good idea to get a pair of safety glasses. I just happen to have an old pair of plastic safety glasses from the time Sena bought me a battery-powered pole saw for tree trimming in the back yard a few years ago. Talk about safety. It takes at least as much agility and coordination to dodge a heavy falling tree limb as it does to dodge a juggling ball.

The claw trick puts a vicious spin on the ball and it can fly anywhere at meteoric speed. Controlling the arc and direction to fit the cascade pattern is quite a challenge. Balls frequently ricochet off each other, which is why I don’t drink my coffee during juggling practice. Practicing the claw reminds me that juggling is great exercise. I’m flying all over the place, lunging, leaning, and ducking.

But I might need a helmet.

Sena Letting Juggling Balls Sleep

Sena has been letting her juggling balls take a nap lately. The reason is that she has been very busy in her garden. The balls are either on the floor where she drops them—or placed neatly on a footstool.

I left my assistant coach to encourage her to practice. Unfortunately, he’s been sleeping on the job.

However, last night she practiced because I could hear balls dropping!

Claw Catch Circus Juggle

I found another juggling trick I might be able to handle. It’s the claw catch. I saw a number of YouTube demonstrations. As usual, I tend to confuse them.

I slapped the balls down instead of catching them. And I think I’m going to need safety goggles or just quit wearing my eyeglasses when I juggle. I miss a few throws and the ones I do get look pretty wild. That’s how I get my exercise.

The claw catch really does look better if you use both left- and right-hand throws. I hope my left shoulder holds up. Being ambidextrous will help me do continuous right and left claw catches—maybe.

Thoughts on Gaming Disorder

I just read an interesting article in the latest print issue of Clinical Psychiatry News, Vol. 51, No. 5, May 2023: “Gaming Disorder: New insights into a growing problem.”

This is news to me. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual lists it as an addiction associated with the internet primarily. It can cause social and occupational dysfunction, and was added to the DSM-5-TR in 2013 according to my search of the web. I’m not sure why I never heard of it. Or maybe I did and just failed to pay much attention to it.

There are studies about treatment of the disorder, although most of them are not founded in the concept of recovery. The research focus seems be on deficits. One commenter, David Greenfield, MD, founder and medical director of the Connecticut-based Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, said that thirty years ago, there was almost no research on the disorder. His remark about the lack of focus on recovery was simple but enlightening, “Recovery means meaningful life away from the screen.”

Amen to that.

That reminded me about the digital entertainment available thirty years ago. In 1993, the PC game Myst was released. Sena and I played it and were mesmerized by this simple, point and click adventure game with intricate puzzles.

Of course, that was prior to the gradual evolution of computer gaming into massive multiplayer online role-playing and first-person shooters and the like. It sounds like betting is a feature of some of these games, which tends to increase the addictive potential.

Sena plays an old time Scrabble game on her PC and other almost vintage age games. I have a cribbage game I could play on my PC, but I never do. I much prefer playing real cribbage with Sena on a board with pegs and a deck of cards. We also have a real Scrabble game and we enjoy it a lot. She wins most of the time.

This is in contrast to what I did many years ago. I had a PlayStation and spent a lot of time on it. But I lost interest in it after a while. I don’t play online games of any kind. I’m a little like Agent K on Men in Black II when Agent J was unsuccessfully trying to teach him how to navigate a space ship by using a thing which resembled a PlayStation controller:

Agent J: Didn’t your mother ever give you a Game Boy?

Agent K: WHAT is a Game Boy?

Nowadays, I get a big kick out of learning to juggle. You can’t do that on the web. I like to pick up the balls, clown around, and toss them high, which occasionally leads to knocking my eyeglasses off my head. I usually catch them.

Juggling is a lot more fun than playing Myst. I would prefer it to any massive multiplayer online game. I never had a Game Boy.