Overwatch's Zarya Got Me To Start Lifting Weights. Overwatch features characters with body types and backgrounds that are not often seen in pop culture, let alone first person shooters.

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For many of us who rarely see ourselves reflected in media, this cast can seem radical and even life- changing—especially in my case. Zarya, Overwatch’s Russian strong- woman tank, inspired me to start weightlifting. I’ve played video games since I was five, when my siblings and I got a SNES for Christmas. I came of age with a lot of first gen FPS games. I played DOOM and graduated into Goldeneye, Counter Strike and the Half- Life trilogy (yet to be concluded). As I got older, FPS games fell out of my rotation. I moved on to RPGs after Morrowind and eventually got into MMOs where I could make my own character and role- play.

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I wanted less ultra- fast twitchy action and more of a holistic gaming experience where I could find more emotional fulfillment than piloting a rugged action dude with a mysterious backstory could offer. I still like action games, but for years I mostly got my fix from platformers, twin- stick shooters, and the occasional single- player FPS game like Devil Daggers. In role- playing games, I tend toward a “type” of character. I didn’t realize it for years, until my partner pointed it out while we were playing Final Fantasy XIV. In real life I am a whopping 5’4” woman with anxiety problems. In video games, I tend to play huge Amazon women. I regularly max out height and musculature settings, though the options are often disappointing.

FFXIV is a refreshing exception. Here is my toon, a Roegadyn: Playing as musclebound women in games is one thing, but actually being a big buff woman wasn’t something I ever entertained in real life. Every time a character editor forced me into a petite- framed bombshell, it reinforced ideas about femininity and how women’s bodies should look. Physically strong women are difficult to make in games given the limitations of most character creators, and this made them all the more impossible to imagine in real life. And like many women, my understanding of “exercise” was limited to cardio like biking or running. The idea that I could actually become strong was absurd to the point that it never struck me as a real possibility. When it crossed my mind it was such an alien thought that it seemed like a wild fantasy.

When I first saw this ad for MAC's new . I wasn’t initially sold on the game—it had been years since I played a competitive FPS—but when I saw Zarya I decided to pick it up. Here was a game with a big, buff lady built right in!

In Overwatch, Zarya is a champion Olympic weightlifter and the strongest woman in the world. Even though she could be seen as somewhat stereotypical, she was exactly the hero I needed, both in- game and IRL. Once I had the game installed, I played as Zarya almost exclusively. Anyone can hop on Overwatch and play as Zarya; her presence just feels normal.

Her backstory is built into the game’s lore and stories, further cementing her as part of Overwatch’s world. Download Ubuntu Server Virtual Appliance. The fact that she just existed in the game felt more important than any character I ever created.

She wasn’t an attempt to push character editors to their limits; she was a main character in a AAA game. This was something I’d never experienced before, and it inspired me. I saw years of body policing and conditioned beauty standards for what they were, both in games and in real life. The fact this female character in a game could be celebrated for being strong so easily made me realize that I could be strong, and I resolved to try. A few days into my first Overwatch binge I bought some dumbbells and started exercising.

I had no idea what to do with the weights, but some quick googling led me to an introductory dumbbell- only workout program. I started doing squats and other exercises in my living room using the instructions from my dumbbell program and how- to You. Tube videos featuring shirtless fitness bros. There seemed to be endless bodybuilding dudes on You. Tube providing instructional videos on how to lift weights, but virtually no women. I cringed when You.

Tube bros said things like “and this movement will give you great aesthetics and the ladies will love it,” but I was learning what I needed to learn. So I’d simply shake my head and look at the framed picture of Zarya on my wall (yes, there is a framed picture of Zarya on my wall). I had been pretty much sedentary for several years, and those early dumbbell workouts were gruelling. Despite how exhausting they were and how sore I’d be days after each workout, I committed to sticking with them. Zarya is an Olympic weightlifter, and Overwatch happened to come out in an Olympic year. I soon found myself watching the women’s weightlifting events at the Rio Olympics, where I found a bunch more real- lifeheroes. Before the 2. 01.

Olympics, I had no idea what Olympic weightlifting was. The strength, speed, and precision of the athletes performing the two competition lifts, the snatch and clean and jerk, blew me away.

I decided that this was the kind of lifting I someday wanted to do. In order to learn Olympic lifting, I’d have to learn to use a barbell.

I’d never been in a weight room, but by September I grew confident enough with my dumbbells to book a few sessions with a personal trainer (his name is Paul and he is charming). How To Install Mod Chip Ps2 Fat Version. The first time I put a barbell on my back to squat I was so nervous that I felt a little sick to my stomach. I squatted the bar as Paul instructed, my trunk wobbling and my knees knocking. Paul was unbreakably positive as he explained in detail how to brace my core, lead with my butt, and force my knees apart to stay stable. By the end of the first session I was able to squat 6. My quads and butt burned, I was sweating so hard it looked like I just climbed out of a pool, and my upper back was sore from the metal where the bar had sat.

Barbell squats were a whole new way of engaging with my body, and I felt it in muscles I didn’t even know I had (especially the next day). But I felt strong as shit!

It might have been the post- exercise endorphins, but I felt like I was glowing after that first training session. I was instantly hooked on weight training; I wanted to feel the rush of a difficult workout again. The feeling of strength and power from pushing my body to its limits was liberating and empowering, and although new, it felt natural and familiar. Over the next six weeks, Paul taught me most of the basic barbell movements, like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and overhead presses.

Learning these was exciting. Every workout pushed my body in new and different ways as I discovered different muscles and how to use them. I also started a nutrition plan, which constituted eating a ton of protein and dramatically cutting back on carbs. Paul designed the program to support my lifting, and my total newbie drive in the gym extended to my meals.

I found it easy to jump into eating well. I by and large stopped drinking, and I went from eating pizza three times a week to eating lots of chicken, fish, and vegetables. Eating well and lifting weights regularly had me feeling amazing, sleeping well, and motivated me to wake up early for the first time pretty much ever. I rapidly started seeing progress and kept on ratcheting up the weight until I felt strong and confident enough to commit to learning the two Olympic lifts. The snatch and clean and jerk are unique in the world of strength training. They’re referred to as “ballistic movements” because they require not only strength, but explosive power, speed, and finesse to lift the bar from the floor to above your head extremely quickly. They also require a great deal of shoulder and hip flexibility, core strength, and technique.

It’s not enough to be able to move the weight; in these lifts you need the control to catch it properly in the bottom of a squat (called “receiving” the bar), then stand up with the weight.

This Treat Camera Gave My Cat Trust Issues. My cat, Artemis, is a bustling career woman. She has many jobs that she juggles between stealing my hair ties and spilling her kibble; in addition to serving as the Mayor of Fluffingsville, she runs a network of freelancers as Editor- in- Chief of Catmodo. Since both of us are busy most of the day at our respective places of work, we forget to check in on each other. Thankfully, Petcube’s newest gadget, Petcube Bites, lets humans check in on their furry companions when they’re apart. It also lets us fling treats at them on command which is both heartwarming and mildly horrifying. What is it? A super smart pet camera that doubles as a treat dispenser.

No Like. It traumatized my cat. The Petcube Bites looks like a shrunken down, shinier version of the monolith from 2. A Space Odyssey, the main difference being that the aforementioned totem did not hold up to two pounds of treats. You’ll have to load up the device with your pet’s favorite snacks in order for the magic to happen—Petcube recommends treats about an inch big. Since Artemis is but a wee kitty, her treats were a little smaller than the recommended size, which proved to be (mostly) okay. There was also an unusual aspect to the setup, wherein the Petcube mysteriously didn’t work for three days.

One day it randomly started working—but I attribute that to my shitty Wi- Fi more than to the Petcube. If you too have crummy Wi- Fi maybe invest in a new router before investing in a treat dispensing pet camera. After downloading the Petcube app, you can link your phone up to the monolith, accessing the device’s camera. The Petcube senses motion in front of it, which lets you see what your animal’s up to but also takes weird videos of your feet if you step in front of it.

Seeing your cat or doggo’s adoring face through the app is definitely heartwarming, but fair warning: watch your goddamn feet so weird photos don’t end up on some dark corner of the internet. Not that Petcube is going to sell pictures of your feet or anything (the images are in the app on your phone), but you can never be too careful these days. While the app saves your videos automatically, the quality isn’t great. Don’t expect Nat Geo- worthy screenshots. In truth, Petcube’s app isn’t bad, but it’s also not great.

There are some issues with scrolling, making it difficult to see the most recent video of your floof. But the app does let you select the distance at which you can fling the treats, which extends up to six feet in range. After loading the treats into the Petcube, my boyfriend and I selected a short- range toss for the treats, which makes sense because I live in a small apartment in New York City. Just load the treats, they said.

It’ll be fun, they said. But oh, dear reader, how wrong I was.

The Petcube shot out Artemis’ treats precariously and with abandon, like a frat boy throwing his drink at a guy who wore the same Vineyard Vines zip up as him. The whole thing was like a cannon of delicious nightmares—needless to say, my cat was horrified. Make no mistake, she still ate the treats—but after the incident, she pretty much veered away from the machine. I was able to catch it all on video but filmed it vertically like a jabroni. I’m sorry. Overall, Petcube Bites is fine. Despite bad camera quality and an okay app it does what it’s supposed to do and it’s kind of cute. I’m not sure I’d pay $2.

Sunday. Artemis couldn’t be reached for comment on the ordeal. READMEPetcube Bites is good if you live in a place bigger than mine, which is approximately the size of a hermit crab’s shell. Your pet may or may not appreciate it as much as you do. Your pet may never forgive you for this indignation.