Best Table Tennis Shots of 2011. Voted sport most likely to convince me that we all live in The Matrix.

Staying Strong as We Age. "The changes that we’ve assumed were due to aging and therefore were unstoppable seem actually to be caused by inactivity. And that can be changed." … Perhaps the most heartening article on aging and exercise I’ve seen.

Sitting for long periods of time is looking pretty harmful. I’ve read other reports that suggests the 8 hours in the chair pretty much negates the hour in the gym, perhaps not for sports, but for long-term health (and for sports I’m sure the glute deactivation, hip flexor tightening, and back rounding don’t help). I have toyed off and on with the idea of a treadmill desk, but in the end I just don’t want to sink the money or space into a treadmill.

So a standing workstation has looked like a nice compromise, and today I put one together. I wanted cheap and easy, so I built something to sit on top of my workbench rather than my office desk, because the workbench is already higher, and I know I can build something that looks nice enough for the workshop, but not really nice enough for the office. Here it is:

Cost about $90, almost all of that in 3/4" pipe nipples (8) and floor flanges (12). The MDF shelves are 16" x 36" by 3/4". The legs have a flange on one end and rubber feet on the other end, and the flanges screw into the bottom of the unit. The uprights between the first shelf and the second shelf have flanges on both ends. In all cases, you thread the flanges onto the pipes really tight and then you screw all the flanges to the shelves. The top shelf is set slightly to the back relative to the bottom shelf.
I don’t think I’ll want to stand all day, so I’ll probably move from my office to the workshop periodically.
Rock solid, very happy with it. Posting this from it right now.
P.S. I also bought this"wireless keyboard/mouse combo":http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VANO7C/ ($45) to keep in the workshop, and"this router":http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LIFB7S/ ($70) to get better wireless coverage in my house. Pleased with both so far.

Ross Enamait, whose training products are my favorites, has a new double DVD set out on training the hands, neck, and core: The Missing Links. If you’re new to Ross, he walks the walk, total monster:

Tony Gentilcore turns in this great piece on improving your squat: Squat Like You Mean It. A bunch of useful mobility exercises that should help you (and hopefully me) get deeper.

Always a happy day when Ross Enamait posts a new training video, RossTraining.com Compilation II. Badass, as usual. He also has an accompanying post describing the equipment he uses.

The incomparable Jerry Rice on training and his awesome hill workout. He was such a joy to watch.

Nice, this fantastic catch by Andrew Fleming made SportsCenter.

I’ve only been following the World Cup on my periphery, but after reading The Genius of Messi.

Messi simply does things — little things and big things — that other players here cannot do. He gets a ball in traffic, is surrounded by two or three defenders, and he somehow keeps the ball close even as they jostle him and kick at the ball. He takes long and hard passes up around his eyes and somehow makes the ball drop softly to his feet, like Keanu Reeves making the bullets fall in “The Matrix.” He cuts in and out of traffic — Barry Sanders only with a soccer ball moving with him — sprints through openings that seem only theoretical, races around and between defenders who really are running even if it only looks like they are standing still. He really does seem to make the ball disappear and reappear, like it’s a Vegas act.

… I had to find some video. There’s some real magic in there. The ankle-breaking direction changes look effortless, and all while controlling the ball so precisely. Really, great, even in small screen contextless clips. (via kottke)

How cool is this?: NYC’s public basketball hoops are handmade by blacksmiths.

This Conditioning Research handstand tutorial link brought the Bar-barians blog to my attention, which “keeps track of all of the developments in the Bodyweight Scene, with a special focus on all of the pull-up crews in NYC.” A month or two ago they posted two 2009 highlight videos, Top 10 Moves of 2009 and The Top 10 Strongest Moves of 2009, both filled with impressive feats. If you don’t feel like watching all 20 minutes (although I think it’s worth it), here are my favorite parts:

• Cleive: behind the legs clap pushups at 4:48 (1st video).
• Cruz: muscle-up hurdles at 5:33.
• Rick: slow muscle-up with obstacle at 9:16.
• HFK: 1-arm coffin at 5:35 (2nd video).

Pretty sure HFK stands for Hannibal For King, featured in this unbelievable video.

Coincidentally, if you are inspired to improve your pullups, the Jason Ferruggia post, Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Pull Ups also came across my newsreader today. Sound advice.

Great shot of Usain Bolt with a cheetah cub: