No, not porn sites, either. They are sites like Askmen and a few others, but they are basically sites that you can go to in order to learn things about "guy" stuff. Things like whether to tuck your shirt in with those pants. Or whether to carry a camera bag as a version of a purse for guys. Or whether plaid shorts should be matched with brightly colored shirts. Or why a certain type of cologne is a better one than another. Things like that.
Well, the other day I was looking on these sites for things about some mild forms of exercise. Things for people that aren't totally overweight, but could stand to lose a few pounds. Or maybe not even people that need to lose some weight, but for people that could use the cardio and basically just get into a bit better shape.
I was surprised when I found out that one of the things that some of the sites was talking about as a good form of exercise was skateboarding. I would have never really thought about skateboarding as a workout, but I guess when you think about it the sport has all the makings of something that could help to get someone in a bit better shape. It's got cardio from pushing, it's got walking when you're going up a large hill, and one thing that you don't really think about...it exercises core muscles because you are constantly having to balance on the board. Basically, they said to think of it as one of those balance balls but on wheels and a bit more manly.
So I started thinking...I like skateboards. I haven't done it in years, because I never really got to learn to do any tricks on them. But with using it as an exercise, you don't have to really do any tricks. So I started looking around, and found something that I really like.
It's called a "longbaord." It's effectively something that was designed in Hawai'i for people that liked to surf but couldn't get out on the ocean everyday. It's a skateboard that's quite a bit longer than a standard skateboard. It's also quite a bit more flexible, so it moves like a surfboard on the sidewalk. There is also a really big contingent of people that use them for downhill rides...at speeds of up to 80 MPH when the hills are large enough and steep enough.
So I started thinking that maybe it would be something that could be fun for me to do, and also get me a bit of exercise. Right by my house there are a few big hills, and walking up them would be good exercise for riding back down them...not to mention just riding in general should help me get outside more and get some exercise.
This is the one that I'm interested in. It doesn't LOOK much longer than a standard skateboard in the picture, but that's because everything about it is larger than a normal skateboard. The board itself is 40" long, as opposed to a standard deck's 30" length, and the wheels are 76mm wide, as opposed to the 52mm of a standard deck. So basically, everything about it is larger than a standard deck, so it LOOKS like a standard deck because it's all proportional.
The nice thing about this deck is that it's an "off brand" that's basically made by a guy working in his garage in California. It's not nearly as expensive as many of the decks that would be very similar to it, and it seems to be as good of quality. I also like the looks of it. The bottom is just plain wood, as opposed to so many of them that I have found that have obnoxious pictures on them. I might order one in the next few days...the only problem is this one isn't on Ebay right now, and I'm not sure why. All his other boards are still there...so we'll see if it's just not on there for now because it sold out or what.
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