Basketball game

Had a basketball game on Thursday night. We won!

We also had a ringer play with us, a friend of a friend. She was incredible on the court, very inspirational in her approach to the play. I recently read something in an article about the "dumb blonde" stereotype:

And if we think we’re surrounded by the not-so-intelligent . . . .”There’s a decrease in performance after an unobtrusive exposure to a stereotype about people who have the reputation to be cognitively impaired,”

I think this can also be said for sports (and Scrabulous). You slack off a bit when your opponent's not on your level. You do not play on the balls of your feet.

Well, this ringer, allegedly a woman who has seen NCAA Tournament Play time and plays ball 2x a week, encouraged us to keep up a quick game even though they had no bench and we were winning. And you know what? It felt good.

I also begged her for workout tips after the game because she's built the way I wish I were built. The genes I was dealt will certainly limit me, but she shared her approach:

As far as workout regimen – funny because I had been lifting more lately and I’ve had some guy friends tell me I was looking so much thicker…soooo, I stopped that. I work out a lot - I am a bit all over the place with what I do, but I like it that way. I usually play basketball 1-2 times/week, practice yoga 2 times per week, lift weights 2 times per week, and run on a treadmill 2 times per wk (not more than 20 minutes tho, as I’m prone to stress fractures). Obviously there is crossover there, where I usually lift/treadmill on same day.

Yoga is the thing that made me longer and leaner.

I definitely noticed the same shift in my body when I was actively doing yoga. Yet another reason to get back on the yoga kick.

I also spoke with a trainer last night about lifting, and he encouraged me to do at least 15 reps. Which would mean lowering my weight. So fine.

I wonder if I could stick with the high weight / low reps for my gluteus MAXXXXimus, though ...