Just Fit Enough

I raced in a regatta yesterday.  I struggled in making the decision whether to race or not.  You see, I'm quite used to racing in peak condition.  And I'm not right now.  I haven't trained nearly enough to win a race.  But, in the end, I love racing so much that I decided I would.

And I'm glad I did.

It turns out that I'm "just fit enough".  Just fit enough for 4 minutes - give or take a few seconds - of gut wrenching, lung bursting, heart galloping exertion.  Just fit enough to maintain a decent stroke rate.  Just fit enough to even have a kick at the finish.  Just fit enough to help both boats to a third place finish.

Then I got home and Adam Kreek, 2008 Canadian Olympic gold medal rower, was on my Facebook feed.  Watch and enjoy.

And stay fit enough!

Sitting is Bad For You

I came across this TED lesson while I was sitting at my computer this morning.  I posted it and got out of my chair.

Stay on your feet.  Move.  Your body wants to!  Needs to!

Life is NOT a Battle

People are taking up the fitness craze in droves.  But, as it turns out, the mentality of working out to exhaustion every day is super UNhealthy.  To live with the military attitude that life is a battle is not good for your body or your mental well being.  It's all about balance.

So next time you get off your chair, be kind to yourself.  A gentle walk will take you further into a healthy old age than an overkill workout will.

Read here about the militarization of exercise!  Yikes!!!  Bad trend, I say.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Social science has been exploring how our perception and vision affects our approach to exercise.  The results of their experiments are fascinating!  There are a few things that predict how we "see" exercise as easy or hard.  One is our own fitness.  Fit people tend to "see" exercise as easier.  Another is motivation.  People who are highly motivated "see" exercise as easier.  But the most fascinating part is what they found about how people "see" the world around them and the effect on how they "see" exercise.  As it turns out, people who are focussed and not attending to everything in their line of vision "see" exercise as easier.  That's great news!  It suggests there may be ways for us to adjust our perception of exercise and "see" how easy it is to stay fit and finish strong.

Never Leave the Playground

Stephen Jepson is 77 years old and plays all day as if he were 7.  He supports play and movement at all ages to improve your life.  He wants all of us to have better balance - to avoid falls.  And he believes his approach builds brain cells and memory.  He is a marvelous inventor of toys and activities and an inspiration for us all.

Stay active.  Never leave the playground.

Watch the Growing Bolder video here.

Stephen's Never Leave the Playground website is here.

Hole in One at 103

Gus Andreone recently became the oldest PGA member to score a hole in one.  It's only been 75 years since he last scored one!

Gus golfs three times a week at a par 90.  His personal formula for longevity is not complex. “It’s all about just being yourself, keeping your old regular pace,” he says. ”You just have habits you do every day. You don’t live outside of what you do every day.”

“I take a spoon of honey every morning in my coffee. Every morning,” says Andreone. “Before I get out of bed, I do a certain set of exercises that help my knees, back and hips. It works for me.”

Gus is more evidence that we just have to KEEP MOVING!

Read about Gus' hole in one here!

Guinness Book of Records at 91

Margaret Hagerty is amazing.  She's 91 and has run 81 marathons - the most recent is the NYC Marathon.  Margaret holds the Guinness Book Record for being the oldest person to run a marathon on 7 continents.  Amazing!  But what makes this an even better story is that she didn't start running until she was in her sixties.  She went to a stop smoking clinic at 64 and has not looked back.

Read about her here.

Running Makes You a Better Walker

I like walking.  It's easy on my feet and gets me outdoors.  Check backward on this blog and you'll see lots of support for walking as a way of life.  Or at least as an essential component of it.

But runners are better walkers.  Turns out that walking into old age isn't so great at holding off your ability to move with ease and agility.  Running is.

This is a great article that outlines the research that was done into both running and walking in your mid 60''s and beyond.  Runners have a similar "fitness" to sedentary college students!

Looks like I need to pick up my pace.

Read:  Run to Stay Young

New Gym for me

My favourite gym, Living Strong, closed down last August.  I'm glad the weather has been fantastic, because I've been able to extend my outdoor fitness activities - rowing and hiking.  But the weather is getting cold so it's time to get back to the gym.

This winter I've decided to work with a new personal trainer.  I've known Sue Spencer of Gulf Islands Athletic Training for a long time.  She coached and trained my daughter as a soccer player.  What I like about Sue is that she is my age and still playing soccer.  She's active and athletic.  We share many of the same ideas and attitudes toward being an athlete.  And she's competitive.  

My goals are simple:

1.  To rekindle my motivation to work hard.

2.  To get stronger (see my previous post about weight training and aging)

3.  To be in top cardiovascular shape by spring break.

4.  To make a difference in the boats I race in next July.

So far we're learning routines and creating muscle memory for the dynamic warmup Sue supports.  I've been twice and I really like it.  This morning a woman came in who is much older than I and she whipped through the dynamic warm up as if she was 20 years old.  There's hope...  :)

Here's to a great winter of training!

Fighting the Effects of Aging

It turns out that athletes over 50 can help themselves overcome the effect of age on their athletic performance.  Weight lifting does it.  And I don't mean body weights or high reps - I mean heavy, muscle-building weights.

Weight Lifting Improves Athletic Performance in Master Athletes

Walking Should Be Your First Choice

Walking has been compared to "super foods".  It's required for health.  This article makes a great case for making walking your first choice.

This exercise is the superfood of fitness, experts say

Extend Your Summer

We've had a fantastic summer here on the west coast.  Long sunny days in abundance.  It's the second half of September and we're still swimming in the lake!

I thought I'd share some of what I've been up to...

Fishing has been spectacular this season!

 Tofino has had great beach walking weather.

And the rowing has been awesome, of course!

Get outside and extend your summer.

102 Year Old Cowgirl

Although Constance died a couple years ago from a complication arising from a fall from a horse, her strength and fitness is still an inspiration.

Will you be saddling up and riding a horse at 102?  The best way to get there is to follow Constance Reeves' advice.  Get out of your chair!!!

Hippocrates Believed in Walking

Yep.  The same guy the Hippocratic Oath that doctors take is named after.  Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, told us to walk.

New Milepost

So today I thought I'd test out where 10,000 steps takes me.  Back to the SeaWalk, I walked 5000 steps in one direction then home again.  Again, I began at Willow Point - very close to Frank James Park - home of the Canada Day event "Transformations on the Shore" - where huge logs become this:

photo by Norm Hamilton

And here is 5000 steps away!  (Actually 4,973.  But close enough!)

This walk took 1 hour and 23 minutes.  It was 8.38km.  Good one!

Where do YOU walk?

10,000 Steps a Day

I discovered that my older model iPod nano - which clips on to my shirt - has a built in pedometer.  Great music and a bit of accountability, too.  So today I tried it.

They say you should walk 10,000 steps every day.  I always think I walk quite a bit.  Turns out 10,000 steps is a long, long way!

According to my iPod, today's walk was 4.76km.  I took 5529 steps.  (And burned 239 calories, apparently.)  In order to make 10,000 steps today I need to go back and do it again.

Check out these walking resources:

The Walking Site

The Mayo Clinic's Walking Advice

10 Minute Abs

Time is a big issue.  I work full time.  My family is dispersed, so seeing them takes time.  And I am committed to working out.  So any workout I can do at home in less than half an hour is great for me!

Here's an abdominal workout you can do in 10 minutes at home.

Basically, you set a timer to go off every 30 seconds.  Pick 20 exercises.  Switch when the timer goes.  Non stop.

Some suggestions for picking your 20 exercises:

http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/l/bldynamicabs.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/13/muscle/abdominals

http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises.htm