Today is one of those rare days where I get to mash together several of my geeky passions- animals, fandoms, conserving resources, and fitness. It’s National Wildlife Day, so I decided to celebrate with a fandom known for its…wildlife? Sorta. Rare and unusual animals to say the least. Today we’re celebrating Fandom Fitness Friday with a special Pokemon workout.
Pokemon may not scream “appreciating wildlife” but there are connections. Yes, yes, the point of Pokemon games is collecting as many of the little creatures as possible. From the wild. And then making them fight each other. I get it. It’s definitely not on PETA’s “to play” list.
Connecting Geeky Love to Nature
But, guys. It’s a game. And honestly, I think there are ways it can help raise awareness and appreciation for, well, wildlife. For instance, one of the main creatures, Pikachu is a mash-up of two unknown (to most people) animals- the pika and the kinkajou. And while most resemble common animals, or no animal at all, it’s an interesting way to introduce all the different kinds of creatures we share this planet with.
And if we’re on this hypothetical argument about animals being captured in tiny balls, I’m going to show off more of my geeky-love by claiming the Poke-balls obviously have some sort of TARDIS-technology. They’re bigger on the inside. Kind of like Newt Scamander’s suitcase.
I was also impressed when PokemonGo! came out a few years ago. I mean, this was a great segue to experiencing nature. People were visiting parks more, getting huge doses of Vitamin N (vitamin D), and walking more. Sadly, it makes people more stuck in their smartphones now more than ever. And having played it with my husband, I can attest, it does not improve connections with other people.
Pokemon with a ZooFit Twist
So, when I put PokemonGo! away, I found another way to appreciate the gaming fandom of “gotta catch them all”. It happened when I visited a thrift store after Easter a couple of years ago.
I found a large container of plastic Easter eggs on a shelf. They were only a dollar. A dollar. Of course, I bought them. I immediately thought of an idea for a workout using the eggs. The Pokemon workout was born.
I went home and looked up all the Pokemon I could find. Then I created a list of about twenty, correlating them to different exercises. After that, I wrote those exercises on slips of paper and put them in the eggs– aka Pokeballs.
For our next workout, my husband and I went to a huge soccer field. We set up in the center of the field, and then we split the eggs and spread them all around the field. Then we worked out.
One of us ran out to grab an egg/pokeball, while the other performed a randomly selected exercise. When we returned, we opened the egg, releasing the Pokemon. We’d do the exercise written on the paper together for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, the second partner ran to grab a new egg, bring it back, and do that exercise.
We continued on, one of us running while the other performed the exercise, after we did it together for 30 seconds, until we ran out of eggs. We caught them all, and well, then released them.
Pokemon on National Wildlife Day
This workout works best outside. A large field would be great, like that soccer field, but any outdoor area will suffice. While you are performing Butterfree Sit-ups, look for the butterflies around you. Wurmple Inchworms, watch out for worms crawling under your mat. See the bunnies while you Lopunny hop.
Wildlife is all around us. I love that there is a day set to focus on it, appreciate it, and raise awareness. It’s even better when we can connect it to something we enjoy and love ourselves. So, connecting a Pokemon fun game workout with National Wildlife Day makes it a win-win. Add the reusing of Easter eggs throughout the year, and it’s a triple threat for me.
Fandom Fitness Friday: Pokemon
Rather than give you a set of exercises and tell you “Do this!”, I’m going to leave what exercises you choose up to you. Instead, I’ll give you a sample list, pulled from what I’m including in my Fandom Fitness book I’m working on.
1. Bulbasaur Burpees
2. Charmander/Charizard Dragonflies
3. Squirtle- Squats
4. Butterfree Sit-ups
5. Pikachu Push-ups
6. Jigglypuff Quickfeet
7. Primeape Lunges
8. Meowth Mountain Climbers
9. Growlithe Glute Bridge
10. Ponyta/Rapidash- Pony Kicks
11. Staryu- Sea star crunches
12. Aerodactyl Arm Circles
13. Hoothoot High Knees
14. Togepi Toe Touches
15. Wurmple Inchworms
16. Skitty Skaters
17. Wailmer Wall-sit
18. Litleo Lion push-ups
19. Ekans Sidewinder
20. Spearow Flyaway
21. Evee V-ups
You can watch the YouTube demonstration of the workout here: Fandom Fitness Friday: Pokemon.
Make your own Pokemon eggs, and go outside and have some fun. Tell me what your favorite Pokemon is, and how you can appreciate them in the wild a little more.
Live green, make workout fun while experiencing nature, and keep training positive.