Fit Blogger We Love: Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness

Crabby McSlacker, not slacking at all.

When we first started blogging, Cranky Fitness was one of the blogs that we always went to for a laugh. Funny, smart and many times poignant, it’s continued to be one of our faves year after year. So a couple years ago when Tish and I got to meet THE Crabby McSlacker at a blogger event, I was geeked. And, guys, we know Crabby’s real name. It’s Jan Graham! A talented life and wellness coach (check out her site here), she’s a talented lady, and she let us pick her crabby and hilarious brain for this Fit Blogger We Love feature! Prepare to laugh, guys …

Q&A With Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness

When and why did you start your blog? To answer that I had to go back to the archives, and then I discovered Cranky Fitness has been around since 2007! Which in blog time, makes it about 127 years old. No wonder I feel like I repeat myself all the time. As to the “why,” the first post says I started it because I felt: “Fitness advice, for the most part, is too damn cheerful.” Yep, that sounds about right.

How did you come up with the name of your blog? Crankiness comes fairly naturally, but I think I might have originally had a long-ass title. I forget. But I do remember carefully Googling both “Cranky Fitness” and “Crabby McSlacker” and being surprised neither was in use.

What’s the most rewarding thing about blogging? Getting free exercise gear and food from sponsors! Oh, er, I mean, the wonderful people who read and support the blog and the great community of fitness bloggers out there. Truly, that’s totally the best part. I’ve been really lucky to get to hang out with awesome thoughtful funny “Cranketeers” who leave comments that are much more informative and inspiring than my blog posts. Though I do admit the product-whoring opportunities are pretty sweet.

What’s the most misunderstood thing about your blog or healthy blogging in general? Judging by the huge number of people who Google in and then milliseconds later run for their lives never to return, I’m thinking some people must think Cranky Fitness contains useful health and fitness information. Then they arrive and find Lolcats and swearwords and sundry complaints about healthy living.

What’s your favorite post and why? One of my faves to look back one was the gay marriage post I wrote after our Provincetown wedding. Of the more than 100 comments, not one was negative, and this was back in 2008!

What workouts do you love? Cardio with music! I get a total “runners high” off that combo. However, I’m too klutzy for actual classes that involve dancing, so I take my tunes on the elliptical or go off for a run and pretend no one can see my embarrassing fist-pumps or shuffling or butt-wriggling.

What workouts do you love to hate? Strength training. Abhor it! Torture! Misery! Much cursing and sighing and procrastinating! However, I like having muscles and I haven’t figured out any other way to get them.

What single piece of workout apparel could you not live without? A super-supportive sports bra. Or two. I’ve been known to double up. Anything to keep the boobage in the right time zone.

What’s the most embarrassing song on your workout playlist right now? At the moment I’m listening to podcasts with some very random dance tunes; there’s one that seems to be all about some woman and her perfume. And it’s probably one of those misheard song lyrics things, but I could swear part of the chorus is “do you wanna guinea pig?” But that seems unlikely, doesn’t it? I mean, sure, they’re cute little pets, but really, we can all have one? And how do you ship a guinea pig?

What are a few of your fitness confessions? Up until recently I had ONE pair of workout shorts that I’d actually wear; the rest just sat in the drawer. Now I have two — yay! But I do not do laundry with nearly the frequency I work out. Let’s just pretend it’s because I’m trying to be “eco-friendly” that quite frequently my workout shorts have not been freshly laundered.

See what we mean? Hilarious. Tell us, what are you a little cranky about when it comes to fitness? —Jenn