Grrl Power #398 – Run till you chum
Poor Sydney. I mean, rich, famous, superhero Sydney, but you know. The first person she saves from a burning building and she’ll be all “Yeah you better be grateful! You have no idea what I’ve been through just you save your ass. Make it count!”
Sandy and actually anyone else not in Arc-SWAT isn’t required to to morning PT, but a lot of them do at least some of it since the rest of the team is up and at it anyway. So long as it doesn’t bother you that pretty much everyone on the team will run you into the ground every day. Arc-LIGHT special agents have a slightly less vigorous morning PT, but some of them do the whole Arc-SWAT routine just to get that bro-nod when they pass each other in the hall. As you can see, Maxima doesn’t enforce a strict dress code here either.
If you were a supervillain, I don’t know if it would be a good time to attack the team when they’re all out in the open like that or literally the worst. I suppose it depends on your powers and that of your henches. There are still people in the HQ building monitoring things, too. (It’s about 200 feet behind where the camera is set up on this page, it’s not the silver one in the background.) It’s not like the place is cleared out. Dabbler doesn’t have to do PT, especially if she’s topped off from the night before. Jogging does nothing for Maxima either, even with the parked jeep option. Really it doesn’t do any good for Anvil, Stalwart, Hiro or Achilles, but most of them go do it anyway just for the camaraderie. There is a “super gym” on the lowest level they use that we’ll see eventually.
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Oh god, not the track!
So many bad memories.
oh tell me about it, i hate running but i still endeavor to run 5 k every 2 days. cuz its god for me yeah…
So you’ll be miserable, but at least it’ll last a long time.
ehhh i say i hate it but, really, the more you do it, the more you realize the high after you are done makes it worth it. just sucks for the ankles for the folowing day
“…the high after you are done?”
Isn’t it more like, the relief that you feel that you can allow a complete physical collapse at your own leisure?
;)
as you run, when you get tired, chemicals in the brain start to shut down in a certain order. The first regulates (slows) the brain causing mild euphoria when it runs out, if you stop running at this point you get a fairly major rush. The second when it runs out slows the brain back down. ending the rush. The third (I think, it’s been 3 decades) regulates (slows) absorption of ?dopamine? causing a mild drug-like high, this is when most non-marathoners stop. The 4th is when the ?dopamine? runs low leaving you exhausted, wasted and in pain.
https://theoatmeal.com/comics/running3
This helps explain a bit of it. Really all six parts are an amazing read though. But yes, runner’s high is something common to those who run often enough. My dad used to talk about it, as did my brother. I myself never got into running, but I like to think I got a small taste of it back when I used to take martial arts, at the end of a particularly trying class when I should have been miserable and exhausted but instead felt ready and even excited to do more.
“Do you want shin splints or stress fractures? Because that’s how you get shin splints or stress fractures.”
~Paraphrased from Archer
I know this to be fact; specifically, I wound up with stress fractures in left knee & right ankle because of boot camp.
For me it’s all about the back >..> Lower impact ftw!
Wow, okay, weird coding. Ate a good chunk of my post. Will have to remember that in the future.
But yes, tried “Couch Potato to 5k” and my back was screaming at me after the first week. Stick to the elliptical now.
that’s why i run every 2 days, it allows rest for my shins and ankles. proper shoes/soles and running technique is also important. i got a few tips for one of my friend who runs demi-marathons for the hell of it and the dude never let his runners knee slow him down haha. i’m sorry about your boot camp experience. boot camp it pretty famous for doing more damage depending on who your staff is.
For me, what sucks is the knees. I’m under doctor’s orders to run no more than I need to, but to walk as much as possible.
They get to run on a nice paved track? In Basic we had to run three miles in 18 minutes on a dirt track with rocks and gullies and mud. I was actually shocked though when I found out the Navy had lowered their Physical Conditioning Standards from when I was in.
Air force uses a nice paved track to run our daily pt on.
Oooh man, would be so easy to start the ol’e branch bashing XD My dad was career Navy and brother was Airborne Medic. Both used to run on the local dirt tracks on the weekends, just to keep things up.
You want to run on pavement?! Why?
Dirt is so much better, though rubber/whatever tracks are made of is probably even better for you.
Daniel here. Never was big on sports in school, which looking back was kinda funny cause I regularly got up to 35-40 kph on my bike & sprinted well. Now, my bike needs few repairs & maintenance, & my left achillies tendon stops me getting past a limping jog… :(
Poor Sydney. Looks like she is running way to fast to keep up with herself.
She’ll learn
Ah, yes…I know that feel, Sydney. First time running in boot camp. At that time, they expected you to run as a group with the rest of the Company, no one allowed to lag behind or get ahead. It’s bad enough running at your own pace, but they don’t even want you to set your own pace.
The PT for Elite Forces, like Sydney is now a part of, will demand fast improvement, even beyond “normal” boot camp. My heart goes out to Sydney, but my breath has already been taken from me…
She’s young, she’ll be fine.
If she wants to get STRONG, I recommend 100 push ups, 100 sit-ups 100 squats and a 10k run EVERY SINGLE DAY.
+1
With the air conditioner off.
Wouldn’t want her to get bald now would we?
+++++1
Maybe one of the unknown orbs helps with endurance or stamina or gives a ‘refresh’ and since Sydney generally doesnt strain herself (or she doesnt hold the orb while she’s about to die of exhaustion) she hasnt found that out yet.
I hated this too in boot, and in the Navy. But that’s because I didn’t know anything about pacing myself. I just assumed that you go as fast as you can for as long as you can – and that’s how I ran from elementary school all the way until I had a trainer explain it to me several years later. No wonder I was dead last, by a long shot, in almost every jog I tried to do. I was wiped out not even halfway through.
Seriously, what Sydney’s doing looks exactly like I would’ve done before someone clued me in, except for the return of the supercoffee.
Old Navy trick we learned in boot camp was that if you want to eat something before you PT, but know you are going to throw up during the run, eat bananas. They taste the same coming up as they do going down, so at least it won’t taste as bad.
Also, wouldn’t now be a really good time to test those other two orbs? Maybe one of them allows her to recover stamina faster, or prevents it from being worn out all together.
Maybe that was why we always had breakfast after PT when I was training with the Canadian military a few years (ok, decades) back.
In the US Navy, we had PT whenever they wanted to have PT. Before breakfast, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, etc…we even had PT one time right before taps and had to go to sleep tired and sore and sweaty.
ah, the good ol days in San Diego when they would close all the windows in the barracks and turn on the hot water in the showers and PT you until you wanted to pass out. This was considered character building.
Dad was stationed there XD I remember him telling me about those days. I thought he mentioned PT always being in the morning though? I remember him busting out the free weights and jump rope whenever he knew it was coming up.
I think you’re thinking of PFT, Physical Fitness Testing, not PT, Physical Training. “Official” PT was in the morning; though for Recruits, If I recall correctly, there was a second session at 5:30 pm, and of course any time the DIs decided they needed it. (My dad was a DI, and our Quarters were right across the street from the PT field–platoons of Recruits calling cadence as they trotted past the house–every-freakin’-morning!)
OxyMoron–your Dad was an NCO, amirite?
Air force pt was mainly in the morning before breakfast. (and sunrise) But that might just have been because at the time it was mid summer in a heat wave where the temp was 90-100+ every single day so it would be dangerous to do it during most other times. Still did a lot of marching all over the place and whatnot, but the running and pushups and so forth were done early morning.
let me reassure you old man lol. they still do it that way( unless thy want to prove a point or something haha)
I never bean in a miletery but I used to do an house of exercise in the morning and even I did that before breckfast. If mouthing else why carry around an extra wait of food.
HUH, let me TRY to understand that mess
“I never [been] in [the military,] but I used to do an [hour] of exercise in the morning[,] and even I did that before [breakfast]. If [nothing] else why carry around [the] extra [weight] of food.
Bravo! You really should get an award for managing to interpret that.
I figure if it’s ever done in the military, especially in Basic, it’s either as a punishment or because in war, there are times you’ll have to run just after eating. If you already are used to what it feels like, it’s easier to cope with and get into the “must be done no time to complain” mindset.
After rereading it I feel I should point out 2 things 1im severely dyslexic and 2 most of it is real words not picked up on a spell check.
Eh, it wasn’t a problem for me to read–my brother’s spelling was far, far worse. He could not hold basic spelling rules in his head. I have no idea how he ever managed to write papers in school–he regularly defeats spellcheckers and autocomplete. To this day, his wife has to write emails and text for him.
Grab one of the two unknown balls, see if it restores your stamina bar Sydney.
At the moment, she’s probably far too busy being miserable to even think of trying that. Besides, Peggy or some other higher up would probably think she was trying to cheat and just make her run a few more laps as punishment.
If I were her I would object to the fact that she’s being treated differently from people with always-on powers. Using powers shouldn’t be regarded as cheating in the first place.
As long as she lets go before she starts running again, and it’s only the flight Orb she’s not allowed to use
Good idea! But… needs to establish a baseline for “stamina recovery” first. Do that test in a week or so.
Is it better for Harem to have 5 bodies working out, or to ‘combine’ into one first? I would assume the former, at least once a minimum threshold has been passed
There is a very interesting question hiding below your question: Are al Harem bodies at the same level of physical fitness?
We know they can get injured individually, but what about the slow body progression. Can one of Harem get fat while the rest stays fit? (I know supers don’t get fat, but what about less fit?)
Or maybe go even farther. Can one Harem be lithe and have amazing stamina, but can’t lift more than say 200lbs, while another is jacked and able to lift over 1000lbs, but get them on a track and after half a mile they are winded? I would ask if this worked mentally, but since she’s a semi-hive mind, that would just be an act if anything.
Also, if they physically can be different, if they combine with that much difference, do they get all those stats added or averaged. Say if Harem 1 was able to run without getting winded for 5 miles, and Harem 2 could lift 1000lbs, and Harem 3 had the flexibility of a contortionist, would their combination be a Harem that could run for 5 miles, lift 1000lbs, and fit inside a suitcase, or would those stats be cut by half, or a third?
I don’t know about the stamina, but Harem’s lifting capacity with regards as to how man of her bodies are still together has already been explained:
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1302
“Normal fit 19 year old girl” But depending on her training, that can change. I’ve known young girls who are perfectly fit and can barely lift a box of wine but can run marathons. However, I’ve known others that can lift 500lbs dead lift but can barely run 100 yards. So “normal” is not stationary, which means the question still persists. Can she train her five bodies to target specific aspects of fit on their own and combine to get 100% of each of those aspects?
Well as trading to grow mussels uses the same process as healing I should say you can train each body in a different way. In fact it should be a fun experiment to see what difrent ruselts you can get by training the same base in difrent ways
normal fit for 19 year old means WITHOUT training (normal 19 year olds DON’T train). The 2 examples you gave are for athletes, which isn’t normal. To get normal, test 300 high school grads, eliminate the top 100, the bottom 100, and what’s left is the “normal range”
Oh, so we’re talking the mathematical normal, not the subjective normal. In that case, I can actually calculate her split and combined strength. Hold on.
*pulls out a calculator and some websites and begins calculations*
Alright, I’m going to calculate these deductions based on a few assumptions. First, by Harem’s profile, we know she is 5’8”, or 68 inches. Based on the Navy Physical Fitness Standard, the max weight they would allow for her height is 170lbs, or 33% body fat. She is obviously no where near this, so calculating based on her body shape and tone, we can assume she weighs approximately 120-130 lbs with less than 3% body fat.
Now for her abilities. I think it’s safe to say that she would be able to easily pass every Navy PFT given, so using the Excellent scoring (Navy scores in ranks of Failure, Satisfactory, Good, Excellent, Outstanding and Maximum) is what should be considered the an normal fit 19 year old since it’s in the middle.
This means, that she can do 90 sit-ups and 72 pushups in 2 minutes, and run a mile and a half in 12 minutes 30 seconds, which is pretty good. When doing a pushup, a person lifts about 70% of their weight, so giving the high end of what she may weigh (130 lbs), she can bench 91 lbs comfortably (meaning multiple reps). Maxing is a bit more of a tricky curve, as different sites state different equations for max benching, but lets assume since she’s a super that she can bench 105% her body weight for a one time lift, which is giving just a bit, or she can max bench 136.5 lbs.
So split into 5 parts, she can comfortably lift 91 lbs or max lift 136.5 lbs. Given that she double with every 1 less split, we can put it into a chart.
Count – comfy/max
5 Harems – 91/136.5
4 Harems – 182/273
3 Harems – 364/546
2 Harems – 728/1092
1 Harem – 1456/2184
So there you go. We have the mathematical calculation of Harem’s max lifting capacity. Granted, I DID assume several factors, but I think I explained why I assumed them well enough. If there is something I overlooked, please let me know and I’ll recalculate. I love doing this kind of stuff.
Also, if I’m pretty close on this DaveB, you can reward me with a cookie…or giving Waldo a cameo.
Your body fat percentages are extremely low for a female, 3% is very low for a male for a female it would cause a myriad of heath problems. She appears more like 13-15%, however with how busty supers are 18-20% is not out of the equation.
…that was meant to be 13%…I should really proof read BEFORE I hit submit.
Also, I agree with the fact that even that estimate might be low, now that I’ve looked up more on body fat in women, I can say that it is more likely within the 18-22 percentile. However, the calculations are still the same.
Strange…I thought DaveB had probably given you several cameo spots in the comic already, but no one could find you there…
;)
Not good enough. I at least want to see a sleeve at some point.
I’m interested in her ability to sustain her customization – if she can absorb and respawn a copy without losing hairdye, tattoos etc, she seems to be able to edit herself mid-‘teleport’. The obvious question then is, how much could she edit? Boost her fitness? Regrow a lost limb? Tinker with blood chemistry?
The copies stay in storage when not in use, so she doesn’t customize them via teleport, but rather with mundane means.
As DeNaro said, she can’t customize them via storing or teleporting, she has to do that the normal way, she just has 4 assistants who know EXACTLY what she wants done to help her do it. Which really helps if you think about it, you try something, you get 4 different angles to see if it works, maybe 1 or 2 actually working while the rest observe from other sides…
As for healing, can’t find it right now, but after the big Super-Brawl, the body of hers which got injured was “put in storage” until the doctor was no longer busy with other patients. I dare say that version’s still there, it’s only been a full day, a few of the team were hurt, plus she’s showing no sign any of her bodies are in pain, so she could still be waiting for everyone else to be 100%…
She doesn’t really absorb the copies, they just go in stasis when unteleported.
She only absorbs the ‘essence’ of each copy in order to strengthen the other ones
based on one of the vote incentives dave’s given us, i’d have to say that yes, all of harem is equally (and stunningly) fit. now, if those aren’t canon…
They’re canon, Sydney, Sandy, and Peggy talk about it in the shower before the press conference. Everyone with natural powers seems to have an idealized body, and are unlikely to stray far from that state unless they try very hard.
Well I chalk the idealized bodies up to just the super powers themselves. In games where I play characters with super powers, most recently the New World of Darkness Werewolf, I tend to make them eat a metric ton of food because the extra demand of calories by the powers.
As long as it’s not magic that you learn how to do like a surgeon learns to do surgery it works. Healing factor? You need those extra calories to build the muscles and bone back as quickly as you do. Death laser beams? You need a source of energy to pull from. Is it realistic? Not really, but it’s a halfway respectable justification for having abs of adamantium.
Nice touch putting Sandy there. Really drives it home how far Sydney has to go
I think I mentioned this a while ago, but should be interested to see what physically fit Syd looks like after a while of this kind of routine and training.
Shouldn’t Harmen be on the Who’s Who?
Harem’s just a background character here. So probably not?
I think the characters have to contribute something to the page to be in who’s who. Could be speaking role, could be a specific character standing somewhere to make a point. Here, it could just be anyone
Same with Sean the Seal: only those who have a speaking part and already been named in-comic. that’s why Sandy is listed
Part of me wishes Anvil or Sandy should have said…
On your left…
Upvoting this. ;)
That would be for leading a march, not PT on the track.
SK is referring to this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2E1mLUrBdY
Sandy, def Sandy… so much more burn that way…
Does remind me of returning to PT after Chrissy Break… some much pain…
After viewing that clip I noticed that Cap had his own version of ‘The List’ containing things to catch up on since his return. These were:
I Love Lucy (Television)
Moon Landing
Berlin Wall (Up & Down)
Steve Jobs (Apple)
Disco
Thai Food
Star Wars/Trek
Nirvana (Band)
Rocky (Rocky II?)
I think he and Sydney need to go out for some Thai food sometime.
big diff Cap’s list is things to learn about/watch/etc
Also, there were different lists shown on-screen depending on where the movie was released:
https://comicsalliance.com/captain-america-the-winter-soldier-movie-international-list-differences/
Interesting. I like the Aussie list, I’d recommend that…
As an Aussie I’d definitely recommend the Tim Tams :D
I have a few friends from the US and trying out Tim Tams on their visit here just about blew their minds.
Awww scraplets yes, TimTams are awesome! A definite strong reason I hang out Down Under…
I love how Star Wars in in all of them.
I love how Rocky is in all of them. And I may be trading in my geek card, but I prefer Rocky to Star Wars overall. Star Wars is a great sci-fi space opera, and tops on my sci-fi list, but when it comes down to brass tacks, I just enjoy Rocky more. It’s a more personal story, everything is smaller, more intimate and I find that far more appealing.
Yeah that would have been good.
Except for the teeny problem that it came out in 2014 and we are still in the flashback zone from 2011.
Irrelevant. The READERS are in 2016. We’d get it.
Also the fact that that was being used well before that movie (it was common courtesy to let those in front know which side you will be passing, that way they don’t move to the wrong side when hey hear you coming)
Huh. Everyone ‘is’ passing her on her left, even though as they are running counterclockwise around the track and thus the ‘slow’ lane is the inner, leftmost one.
That doesn’t make sense to me: they are running on the inside track, which is on the left, which means they are forcing Sydney to divert to the right every time they are passing her, they should be passing her on her right
How hard (and long)would Anvil have to run for it to do anything for her? I’m assuming “everyone else clear the field first” hard.
Which would then most likely also involve having the repair the field afterwards.
What are you going to do? Drop her from an airplane without a chute?
Actually, that could work. Although she would likely sustain some injury from the impact (depending on how far she fell), most (if not all) of the impact would be absorbed to give her an instant “charge up.”
As it is here, each step running is charging Anvil up.
I don’t know if Dave allows Anvil to absorb her own expended energy to charge up. This kinda leads to a perpetual motion scenario that makes her too overpowered as a character.
Dave’s said she gets a “trickle” from her footsteps. I think it acts as a maintenance charge though
Anvil seems to be a lot like Sebastian Shaw honestly. And Sebastian Shaw had a habit of punching a wall repeatedly each morning as a ‘charge up’ :)
Forgive me, I know it’s silly to inject physics in to a superhero comic, but Kenya’s foot impact while running would be as useless as Shaw punching a wall to “charge up”: as per the second law of thermodynamics, neither would get as much – never mind more – energy back from the action than they put in to it. Even with handwavium “super muscles”, some energy would always be lost to heating up that which they are impacting.
A lot of supers also fail Newton’s third law by that no wings, no jetpack, no balloon flight thing.
It has to be some sort of personal telekinesis or antigrav, but few if any comics that I can think of have ever tried to describe the actual mechanism aside from ‘jump in the air and try not to fall’.
The only explanation I can remember is “throw yourself at the ground and miss”.
Just watch out for depressed robots with sympathy-gun things?
While that is technically true, Canuck, that does not prevent you from storing energy to use later, or to somewhat offset the energy cost of running.
She is not using her absorbed kinetic energy to move. She is using stored ATP for that.
She is using normal muscle energy to move and then storing a portion of the resulting kinetic impacts from walking/running.
It’s not a “windmill powers fan blows windmill” situation. It’s more like a “solar panel powers fan blows windmill charges battery.” Not efficient in the slightest, but kinda works.
She is not using her absorbed kinetic energy to move.
Didn’t say she was.
Regardless, seeing as how they’ve a gun range, there’s an obviously better way to charge up…
Actually, most biological systems are actually fairly inefficient at storing energy. Kangaroos and related species store kinetic energy pretty efficiently as spring potential energy in the tendons of the lower leg and, to a lesser extent, the calf muscles, which gives them some of the most efficient energy storage and recovery in mammals. One study on red kangaroos worked out the energy storage efficiency was about 80%.
Spring potential storage is clearly not the mechanism that Anvil uses for her superpower. I suspect some sort of chemical storage, which is at best about 30% efficient, that is only 30% of the energy that goes in, can be used coming out. This means that Anvil using her own energy to “power up” means that she would lose energy at a slightly lower rate than the rest of us, but lose it she shall. To “Power Up”, she needs to absorb energy from an external source, like the guys that were hitting her on Tuesday night. Running is really only a means of locomotion for her, not powering up her kinetic energy store. If she uses the proper running technique, she could even use some spring potential in her Achilles tendon, just like a kangaroo, but not as efficiently.
To “Power Up”, she needs to absorb energy from an external source, like the guys that were hitting her
Or absorbing the impact of several dozen high-powered rounds at the gun range. Many a superhero campaign has employed such a tactic.
Well, the bullets would count as an external energy source.
She took no damage from being whip-lashed by Halo into Vehemence. I think a fall from a plane would be comparable and equally inconsequential. The height of the fall stops to matter after you reach terminal velocity.
OK then. To avoid terminal velocity, how hard would Max have to fling Anvil into the ground?
I’m not sure what you’re asking, but is the answer “faster than 11.2 km/s” ?
Keneth said “terminal velocity”, not “escape velocity”. As you fall through the air, gravity is accelerating you at about 9.8 m/s², but you are running into the air as you go through it, which acts as a form of friction, slowing you down. Terminal velocity occurs when the force of gravity pulling you down equals the force of air resistance; you will not go any faster than this without some assistance.
Terminal velocity is affected by your geometry. The harder it is for air to get around you, the lower your terminal velocity; the easier it is for air to get around you, the higher your terminal velocity. If you are in a narrow head-down orientation, with your arms and hands at your sides, you could achieve speeds of about 200 km/h. If you are in the classic sky-diver pose (arms and legs stretched out, horizontal torso), your terminal velocity drops to about 120 km/h. If your geometry includes a parachute above you, your terminal velocity drops to about 10 km/h. During the time that you have changed your geometry, so for a short time you are above your terminal velocity, the increased drag is rapidly slowing you down to your new terminal velocity.
Escape velocity is the theoretical speed one must achieve on leaving the ground to leave the gravity well of the body you are on. The Earth’s escape velocity is about 11.2 km/s. The Moon’s escape velocity is 2.38 km/s. The problem with throwing something straight up at 11.2 km/s is that it runs into the atmosphere on the way up and loses a lot of speed in the process, as you are way above terminal velocity during that time. The Moon does not have a significant atmosphere so chucking something at 2.38 km/s could get it away from the Moon, but you still have to contend with the fact that you are still in the Earth’s gravitational field.
<Science teacher mode off>
That’s escape velocity. I think Kenneth was taking about Max throwing Anvil faster than the terminal velocity (the velocity at which air resistance prevents a falling object from accelerating any further) of a person, which aerodynamic body poses aside is about 56 m/s. Naturally Max could throw Anvil through the air faster than that – even lethally so – but of course Anvil would immediately begin to decelerate because of the aforementioned air resistance.
Sorry if you already knew all this, I’m just feeling verbose this morning.
not quite, Anvil did mention that it hurt when she came down, but it was not far enough, and probably not as energetic an impact as falling from a plane would be, so while there IS a limit to amount of energy-input-before-damage-happens level, she was at the threshold of that limit during the Vehemence fight, and she would probably NOT walk away without physical injury if she fell out of a plane (i’m assuming you mean withOUT a parachute, no?) maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as a non-super falling the same way, but i surmise that she would indeed get hurt badly.
*Ahem* I’m not sure “That landing hurt my boobs” actually counts as hurting for the purposes of this discussion. Anvil was not bleeding, she was not shaken up, she immediately took action to rejoin the combat and was quite effective at it. All in all, it looks like getting Halo-lashed into the strong-man opponent was either of no consequence to Anvil or actually helped by powering her back up after she got drained by Death Tollbooth.
I’m sure that the “rule of funny” was in effect for Anvils landing since booblash is a very real phenomenon for well endowed ladies.
i all depends on what pace she adopts. not everyone runs at the same speed as shown in this strip( and in real life)
Well the good thing for Anvil is that she would absorb more Kinetic Energy by running than by walking normally.
If the Kinetic Energy aids her moderate super strength ( checked the character page :) then yeah it running will do her a lot of good.
Also even with super strength I still think most of Anvils muscle on display is the result of real and honest workout.
Eventually she’ll get a grip.
…Hopefully, before she loses her morning coffee…
Nope, sorry, the “Hruup” in the last box, under her last word box, says it’s too late for that…
It could just be a bit of a dry heave, or losing some stomach gas.
Sydney needs to find Max so she can nail her shoes again.
Hardest thing about running they get into you is to set a pace. The sprint at first and then can’t keep it up is the way to burn out like that. Find someone and don’t try and out run them. Just hold to that pace and try and keep in step.
I can completely relate, but it does get a bit easier after the first3 laps
yeah once you get past the initial shock, you body starts compensating and gets intoo a rythm
What if you collapse in a vomiting exhausted heap with muscles too sore to move before three laps are finished?
See a doctor, and if the doc clears you, start one normal lap in 10 minutes, rest 5, run another lap in 10, rest 5, and then a third lap before sitting down for a half-hour and getting some electrolytes into your system. Do that for a week, and maybe you can keep up with Syd here.
Then you really need to get off the couch more.
here is a tip. distance is important, not the time. just endeavor at doing 5 k, even if you just walk it. then jog 1 or 2 minutes and rest for 5 minutes while walking. as time goes by, reduce the rest time by a minute at a time and when you feel more comfortable then increase the time spent running. once you are able to slowly jog the whole 5 k THEN you can work on speed. this is how i got my running up. hope it helps
The sad part of this is that the human evolutionary advantage over all other animals is their ability to out last them. Humans could literally “run down” their prey, although it was not done at a run. It could be done over days at a walk, the animals never had a chance to rest or eat and could not cope with the relentless pursuit.
And now you’re giving people advice on how to cover 5 km…
Sooo, does Harem have to run with all five of her? Is it possible for one or more of her to be out of shape while the rest isn’t?
At first I thought the image of Anvil was cut and pasted from panel one to panel two,but I see 5 differences.
Yeah, was thinking that as well
So wait… if Max doesn’t get anything out of the pt running, what does she do? Is she in the mentioned supers gym doing weights or something? I kind of imagine her actually in a robe at this point with a cup of coffee watching out a window just grinning at Sydney at this point.
The best way for someone like Max to develop, say strength training, she would best divert all of the power she can OUT of her strength attribute, THEN lift weights according to the strength she has left over.
Yeah, that sounds like it could work.
We Cybertronians just go body building. As in we go to a body builder & upgrade our systems… :p
That was in one of the She Hulk comics.
She was in training for a match with some alien
(Remember Rasslor from Dial M for Monkey?)
LSS… By training in her human form she had a higher baseline
strength to be multiplied by her transformed state.
Just because she doesn’t need to run for fitness, doesn’t mean she doesn’t run to be part of the group
Reason she is not there as moral support for Sydney is probably because she is in morning conference with the top brass (also, maybe because she doesn’t want to intimidate Sydney even more than Anil and the rest are doing)
She probably runs because she’s a military officer–it’s how she was trained and it’s now habitual. She’d feel lost if she didn’t do PT.
Will we see more PT in future comics or will we get to Sydney’s media prep course?
If you mean: will even more pages be taking up by Sydney throwing up, probably not, DaveB has mentioned things will be moving faster now
But still never be fast enough for some people
PT trick, Juice or water to wash down a Fruit bar (perhaps a muesli bar if you can handle it it) or toast with something like Vegemite (Vitamin B complex and Electrolytes) and some low strength Caf pills or black tea with sugar when you first wake up (perhaps before you get out of your rack, for the fruit or muesli bar, not the toast or tea), more water till you evacuate, wile pre-breakfast settles jump in to a warm shower (don’t wash just a quick rinse for any stink you’ve developed over night and loosen the mussels up), if you had you movement before bed or woke up during the night just pee in the shower. avoid Diary especially in warmer parts.
Vegemite? Not unless you want to induce continuous vomiting :P
Hey, Vegemite is good stuff. You just have to use it properly. It’s not peanut butter, don’t lay it on thick, and don’t eat a spoonful. Less is more.
Marmite and Bovril are both far superior to your vastly inferior Vegemite :P
Vegimite! Australian for wet carpet! And masochism.
Children eat vegemite. There’s no masochosm involved. It’s an acquired taste, not helped by the way you Americans spread it out like it’s Nutella or something.
Math probably runs too. Assuming he doesn’t run on mountain sides or something ‘cus flat track is too easy.
And it bears repeating but… the “look at porn” order is gonna produce results very, very slowly. Way too much porn on the internet to be boring any time soon. Better order would be to take a nude figure drawing class. Make him stare at the naked female body wile ALSO doing higher brain function (figure drawing). Get him functional in a fight in as little as 3 classes. (Average person takes about 15~30 to chill out but…. Math)
Math runs up a mountain after a quick jog around it on a track of nails and fiery coals while barefoot with arrows and poisonous darts flying at him from all directions, which he has to catch or block without losing his stride. Then he starts PT.
Poor, poor Sydney . . .
I see she’s taken off her glasses for this run, just like she did with yesterday’s punishment run. Does that mean she at least won’t have to suffer getting a good look at the puddle of puke she just made?
Meanwhile, who is that purple haired girl with the pony tail in panel three?
Goth Harem
I get the big chunks!!!
Are…..you referring to Halo’s puke?
TMI, dude…TMI…
O.o
Also get used to sleeping in your Camies, with boots & LBE on and with your primary weapon (unloaded), possibly by the end of basic, but assuredly before the end of AIT you will be awakened some time between 02:00 & 03:00 to go on a combat exercise (minimum 3 days out to a week) initial equipment, whatever your sleeping in (not including your bunk).
I just want to imagine some of the guys saying screw it and come in nothing but boxers on purpose
seen folks who on Civi Street sleep in the Buff, they “Went to War” in their birthday suits, they had to beg borrow steal and scavenge kit on the fly, and that’s meant to be the objective of the exercise, catch you before you develop a healthy scene of paranoia and teach you how to act if you’re over run when your meant to be sleeping. unless you have family or friends that have served, it’s intended to catch you in your Skivies (as the Yanks say).
an other one was the D.I.’s sneak in to the Billet wile you sleep and hold their pram over the mouth of a random sleeping boot (making sure to keep the nose clear), once you had your panicked awaiting said Boot would as they where dressed have to preform silent skill at arms till first formation in front of the billet, if you made enough noise to risk walking the other boots you would instead run the PT course in silence till first formation. this teaches light sleeping and setting a 25% watch even when your in a “Safe” location. now days the D.I.’s just run a red permanent marker across the throat of some sleeping boot, and the whole platoon scores Extra PT and penalty duties till it wheres off.
Huh, odd, in the air force we had dorm guards 24/7. We did it in short shifts so noone went without much sleep but the only way into the building is through a locked door that only the guards (or presumably the TIs have keys) can open after going through the whole spiel about proving you have the right to enter there. I cant even imagine what would happen if the guards fell asleep though. Long ramble over, I cant see that sneaky stuff happening in the af along those lines at least.
Also tie your rifle to your wrist. Guys who have their rifle stolen by the drills while they sleep get a lot of extra laps and push ups.
Maybe, if she was in one of the regular forces (and that includes the ‘Special’ Forces), but Syd is now in the “Super Forces”
I kicked my Basic DI in the face when he tried to steal my M-16A1 POC whilst I slept. I was forgiven as I came out of my tent ready to fight, then apologized and called for a corp-man. Since I had been asleep, I was told that it was not my fault. I would have felt bad, but the DI took such pride in my reaction and paraded me in front of my platoon, informing them that this was he expected a soldier to react when someone tried to steal his weapon. Nobody ever tried to steal my weapon again, in Basic.
Heh… been there, done that, lost my t-shirts though…
Lvl. 99 games put out a request for suggestions on expanding their excellent Pixel Tactics line to other genres, including Supers. I put forth the suggestion of Grrl Power deck. Hope something comes of it as the idea of ARCHON and Machina Industries themed PT decks makes me happy. :)
The last time I was running laps, we actually had a designated spot.
Deep breaths, Sydney. I promise you, after a couple weeks or so of this, death wouldn’t feel like an improvement.
That probably doesn’t do much to make anyone feel better.
It just occured to me while reading this page–maybe Sydney’s unknown orbs are for *other people* to touch! Perhaps for something like power/knowledge sharing, healing, energy transfer, etc. Or maybe Sydney has to hold them, but touch other people/objects with them. Would be funny if she discovers one of them works like that, so then she keeps touching people with the other to try to figure out if it works the same :P.
Hmmm, possibly. Perhaps Sydney grabs the orbs, 1 part “see if they help” & 1 part “see if they help me stand up”, doesn’t notice bruises are healing/nothing happens till someone (Anvil perhaps) puts a comforting hand on her shoulder for a motivating “Come on, you can keep going, just set a pace, etc.”, only for Halo to suddenly power up off them & take off top speed…
Mind you, Mr DaveB has already decided what ALL the orbs do, so I guess he’ll just have to reveal it in his own time…
I’m betting there was some dairy in that coffee she had, and it’s having its revenge now.
Dairy always makes me throw up if I consume it before running :-P
maybe i’m thinking too much but, what’s sandy doing here? does archon PR departement has to be train for combat too? can’t wait to see ariana doing push up…
It’s explained in DaveB’s comments. No, she and the other non-combat types don’t have to join in, but they are welcome to do so if they want.
damn, i didn’t read the comment before speaking… forgive me great dave, i’m not worthy
Non of us are worthy my son. We can only hope to become worthy enough in the afterlife
Don’t feel like that, it was a valid query
Just because non-ArcSWAT members don’t have to run, doesn’t mean they don’t to still get the exercise and fitness, bet even Leon runs at least once a week if not more
Hey, Dave, nice butts. I know you’ve complained of your troubles with capturing the fully nuanced derrière a time or two in the past, but these look truly fine. Kudos.
I am improving but they’re still weirdly hard to do. This page involved a lot of reference photos too since drawing people running is also hard. So I had butt reference as well.
I hope you can continue to find the research material you need for further improvement. Your previous research in Boob Physics has been paying off quite well so far; even here on the running track, I can see how those shapes are getting altered by the “virtual gravity” as they’re running.
I’ve been a bit behind on reading lately, but I think you’re doing great, butt derriere‘s always room for improvement. Don’t be bummed out though – I’m complimenting you, love this page – very cheeky humor! I’ve rearly loved a webcomic ass I do yours :) I can always count on Grrlpower to tush my fanny bone.
Too bad that one particular person seems to be absent on the track this morning. You could’ve included something about Gluteous Maximus too.
As it is, I’ll give you a +2 for the number of references.
I know. I wanted to!!!!!! I was totally looking for way to include Gluteus Maximas. Made me totally grumpy that I couldn’t fit in. What a tail that would have been to tell.
PS. Thanks for the +Number Two that you mentioned in the end Hah. I get it.
Butt puns are easy when you are a Rear Admirer-al.
Anyone else think of Stuido C’s Race Pace?
As for Syd’s question, yes running does things for you. It builds up your stamina. It builds up your leg strength. It improves your cardio-vascular system so your heart pumps blood better (reduces chances of heart attack and stroke.) So jogging, in moderation, is good for you.
“All things in moderation, including moderation.”
– Robert A. Heinlein
Shame the health nuts don’t abide by that: instead of teaching moderation they are now banning sugar and salt from everyone’s food
Yeah, is that like “Obama is going to take away all the guns”? Sorry, but I’m calling bullshit. Some manufacturers may choose to offer low sugar or sodium versions of their current products or simply choose to make all of their product that way because they think that’s where the sales are, but that’s market forces, not “health nuts banning X and Y from everyone’s food.”
Sydney asked if jogging at a mild pace did anything for Anvil specifically
Exactly, its a reasonable question really. I mean, anvil absorbs kinetic energy, that alone might effect what sort of benefit she gets from physical activity of any sort. And on top of that, being super strong, it would be like, giving a worlds strongest man a set of 5 pound barbels and telling him to do arm curls with them. Yeah he can, but does it really do much of anything for him?
It would help in developing his stamina for long sessions, by helping to build up more resistance to fatigue toxins.
I’m a fan of swimming, myself. Less stress on your unrepairable major joints, with all the benefits of running.
But with the added risk of drowning :P
As someone still trying to remove the 60 pounds gained over a near-depressive 2 year period six years ago now, I can commiserate, Sydney, I really can.
Ah yes, the running portion of PT. Good times, good times. My wife still doesn’t understand why I refuse to join her in here half marathon running insanity.
Does ARCSWAT have any fitness standards they have to maintain? With all the different power levels that would be tough to do. For example, if they recruit a speedster does he have to run on the track as well? Or does someone with super strength have to do 6000 push ups in two minutes instead of 60 like I used to back in the day?
The official minimums are probably around special forces minimums, like SEALS, but nearly everyone on the team wildly exceeds them, and the standards themselves are flexible on a case by case basis, since superpowers makes for a big X-factor. They’re not going to kick the second fastest flier with an (as far as they know) invincible forcefield off the team if she can’t do 60 situps in 2 minutes.
Of course she lapped her five times ! She’s a giant with the ability to lift car like it was a feather. It doesn’t even make sense to make her run ! What the hell has any of this to do here ? Anf why does Sandy have to run ?
Check my comment below the comic. :)
Your comment is actually very nice and explains a lot. I still believe it’s one of those case where you push too far and the comic should hold better on its own. You probably won’t add the note to the book rigth ?
I’m not saying I dont generaly like the below comic coments. Not a huge fan of this page though.
For the most part, strength has no relationship with endurance. sure, Kendra can dead-lift a car over her head, but how long can she hold it there? Sustained activity (like running) also bolsters the endurance necessary for combat-capable elite teams.
Thats assuming someone with that much physical strength and the ability to absorb kinetic energy is even effected by running like a nonpowered person would be. Give a body builder a set of 5 pound barbels and tell him to do 20 arm curls. Did that do anything for him? His forearm outweighs the dang things and he probably never even noticed. Now let him absorb most of whatever kinetic energy he was using instead of just losing it. How much effect does it have now?
are you implying she’s charging up ? sure why not.
Still puzzled by the “everyone is suddenly running now” thing.
hehe. I wonder if Sydney is like me. Running on the track is the worst thing and can’t do it well but on the flip side can go forever on the trails.
Yeah, for some people, it’s the monotony of the track that gets to people, whereas with trails it has scenery and a fair deal of randomness, perfect for those with AD(H)D
I’m gonna be a bit of a pig now.
“The great failing of a comic page about women running or jogging is that it cannot capture the bouncing and the jiggling.”
I’m through being a bit of a pig now.
Actually, I can see DaveB‘s research in Boob Physics in play on this page…What we’re looking at is a “virtual snapshot” of how gravity reacts with…um, the mass…while running. Of course, wearing sports bras helps, they can’t really support all of the bouncing effect (especially with the more…well-endowed…people wearing them).
That gives me a random thought, Sydney probably wouldn’t need a sports bra, would she? Was about to write “probably doesn’t even need bras”, but I remember her taking 1 off after the big Super-Brawl…
Even women that don’t need bras for support (to prevent jiggling) need it to stop chaffing/ rubbing, and significant pokage or “cold room syndrom”.
On behalf of all women, I forgive you.
Sydney passes out just under her fifth lap and Peggy comes out with an apron and tosses it to her.
Sydney:What’s this for???
Peggy:Oh,nothing that a little KP wouldn’t solve.(Peggy points to the Archon kitchen and Sydney heads that way begrudgingly.)
So, someone who just threw up is going to the kitchen? NOT a good idea…
O.o
Or maybe Peggy will just yell out:
“Get the lead out you yard bird!”
I’d say it’s not a good idea to have Sydney anywhere near the food preparation areas in general.
I hated running in the Army the Captain would get a wild hair and we would go on an hour run around the post. There are three hills at Fort Knox Agony Misery and Heartbreaker the first two meet in the middle of a valley you run down one and up the other normally down Misery and up Agony. Heartbreaker is a special beast it is a 15 degree grade with parts that are a 10 degree and it climbs fast you can see it on maps if you look at main range road.
I have run up and down all three I hate running.
I don’t get the point of Sydney running. She’s pretty much useless without her orbs and they can’t be removed from her anyway (even by Maxima). A better use of her time would be studying the mating habbits of the Ethiopian swallow so she can tell when an animal controller is nearby. :D
There are minimum expectations for any combat-oriented personnel. Especially so for elite units. Sydney is going to need better endurance, which is something her orbs doesn’t do; if they do bolster her endurance, we haven’t seen any evidence of it yet…
That’s kinda the point. She’s useless without her orbs. They want her to not be useless without her orbs
Indeed. I think they’d prefer it if 1 of their powerhouses didn’t get 1 Hit K.O.ed mid fight, or pass out from exhaustion, so a little physical endurance would probably pay off…
As the other posters said, she needs to be in better physical condition to handle the rigors of active military police work. The stereotypical, fat, lazy, donut muching cops are usually stationed in low crime areas where the main concern is issuing parking tickets and glorified guard duty.
ARC-SWAT will need to be more on point wirth physical fitness and self defence. Sydney already took a punch to the face from Shadow Boxer that knocked her flat on her ass. She only made it out of that alive because he was stupid and decided to gloat instead of just going for a decisive kill right off the bat. If anyone with real killing intent gets inside her shield, she’ll need to know how to defend herself and have the physical strength and endurance the hold out until backup arrives.
Options and contingency plans are slways a good idea when your personal wellbeing is at stake.
I think Sydney at the least knows how to punch, and to SING. (Watch “Miss Congeniality” if you don’t know what that is)
I noticed that everyone, except Sidney, is running while leaning a bit forward. And that Sidney’s leaning back (especially in the first window). Is that because cartoon running has people leaning back or does she not know to lean forward (so gravity helps you move)?
I couldn’t really decide which would be more likely with her…
It’s probably a combination. She doesn’t know how to jog long distances, and has seen people do it in movies/cartoons
Its possible she is running too fast and her legs were getting away from her. Its surprisingly easy to do that, especially on a down slope. Never had it really happen on a flat track, but sydney doesnt strike me as the type to have much experience with physical training. And someone ignorant of just how far the distance she is told to run really IS may very well start off running too fast in the first place instead of pacing herself. Thats really an experience kinda thing. I had to learn the hard way what my “run forever” pace was and how far I could maintain a sprint for so I could finish strong instead of gasping half a lap from the finish line and turning into a wheezing shambling zombie.
First off, love this story. Binge-read it yesterday.
While not strictly relevant to this page (It’s necessary for Sydney to get in shape, and I understand the “bro-nod” thing) military and supers shouldn’t mix well.
Not counting previous/active military, supers are going to be WEIRD. Weird and military typically don’t get along. Also, supers are UNIQUE. People in a SWAT environment are going to have a lot of the same skills and mindset. Granted, that could be trained, but does it benefit? They’re going to have things only they can do, which was why they were recruited/assigned in the first place.
I commented on uniforms on one of the pages where Sydney was getting hers.
Mixing supers and military is likely to cause large amounts of institutional friction. While supers are not academics, here’s a chapter that explains some of what would be happening. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3024244/4/ (And a durn good episode of a SGC multi-xover)
Ah, Vathara. The writer who convinced me that every fandom should have at least 1 severely overthought and over-researched hyper-length AU fanfiction.
And also the one who helped with The Dragon King’s Temple- an amazing SG1 and Avatar crossover.
Yeah, the “Urban Legends” mega-X-over is kind of hard to keep track of.
Love her(?) “Petals” trilogy (Buffy/Bleach), and the “Project” Bleach AU trilogy, and “Thrower of the Dart”(Artemis Fowl), and “Kittens” (Cat Planet Cuties), and “Change of Fate” (Star Wars/Sword Art Online), and “Dislocation” (Log Horizon).
ESPECIALLY “Ethan Rayne’s Very Bad Day”! (Buffy YAHF)(Too bad it stalled out)
Read that entire story, thanks for the link. And oh yeah, there would be ohhh so much institutional friction. Been there, seen that, multiple organizations too. That was a pretty cool example verse too ^^