a photo of a snowy driveway taken from above Christine does NOT recommend the snow shoveling workout.
fitness · functional fitness · nature · winter

Christine does NOT recommend the snow shoveling workout.

Christine Hennebury1 Comment

Sooooo, we’ve been having a bit of snow here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Well, I can’t speak for the whole province, just for the Easterly island bit where I live but there is A LOT of here.

a photo of the railing from my front steps peeking out of deep snow.
This was the view from my front steps near the end of the storm that plagued us from Saturday afternoon until late Sunday evening. Image description: a nighttime photo of the rails of my front step with snow drifted so high that it covers most of the uprights. there is a piece of a tree sticking sideways of the the snowbank at the based of the steps and in the background the handle of my snow scoop is sticking out of the snow lump that hides my husband’s car. Even more snow, my snow covered truck, and my snowy street can be seen a bit further out.

According to official measurements at St. John’s International Airport, 166.1cm of snow has fallen since February 1, 2026 but different areas in the metro region have probably had more.

Over the course of the month I have had to incorporate snow shoveling into my workout routine pretty regularly – turns out that an hour of snow shoveling is the equivalent of 8kms in my 2026 walking challenge!

Then, last week, things went up a notch when the snowbanks on the side of my driveway got so high that I could no longer shovel snow up there.

NOTE: We only have one ‘side’ of our driveway because our driveway and our neighbour-on-the-left’s driveway is connected and I’m not going to just start dumping snow on their part of our joint driveway.

Then, on the weekend, the day after my husband left on a trip to visit his brother, we had a storm that lasted from Saturday afternoon to Sunday night and dropped a ridiculous amount of snow on us – over 60 cms.

Here’s what my driveway looked like (from my upstairs window) when the storm stopped:

a photo of a snowy driveway taken from above
This was a scary sight on Sunday night. Image description: a top-down photo of my driveway taken from my bedroom window. You can see that in our half of the driveway there are two vehicles. One is mostly covered with a lot of snow on it, next to it and between it and the road. The other is completely covered and the space next to the car and the snowbank is filled almost to the level of the car’s roof. The photo was taken at night and, in the light from the streetlight, you can see all the snow in the middle of my cul-de-sac and in other people’s driveways.

Normally, I am ok with shoveling and I sometimes even like it.

However, I do not enjoy shoveling when there is nowhere to put the snow.

I really tried to throw some up on the bank but half of it would tumble down.

I threw some of it closer to the house.

And I used my scoop to add to the pile of snow in the middle of my cul-de-sac.

After he finished his own driveway, a neighbour used his snowblower to clear along one side of my truck and to clear some of my neighbour-on-the-left’s driveway.

It took over three hours, even with my oldest son’s help (and my neighbour’s help), and every part of it was an exercise in frustration.

There was no satisfying rhythm of shoveling.

There was no sense of accomplishment – I mean, we obviously accomplished something…

A photo of two vehicles in a snowy driveway, one partially excavated and one cleared.
This is my driveway cleared enough for me to get out. You can see that a lot more work is needed though. Image description: a top down view of two vehicles in a driveway. One is cleared off and the other is mostly snow covered. There is a narrow path on the bottom right that goes between the snowbank and the car and there is a shovel and a snow scoop visible in the narrow path. The street beyond is snow covered and there are high snowbanks everywhere including a mound of snow in the middle of the cul-de-sac.

But it wasn’t possible to clear a wide path to the house (see the lower part of the photo, it’s like a roofless tunnel) and, in fact, the path has packed snow at the bottom from us walking on it while trying to shovel so it feels even more annoying.

It wasn’t possible to completely clear or widen the end of the driveway and it is really challenging to back my truck in.

But, clearing all that snow has been a good workout – if you define good as ‘Uses muscles I wasn’t even aware of and leaves me really, really, really tired’ but I do NOT recommend it.

In fact, if you can get away with just doing fun stuff in the snow (skiing, snowshoeing, building forts), I think that would be the best workout plan.

The cursing while you try to shovel snow higher than your head routine is like something an evil fitness influencer would devise to sell to unsuspecting followers.

The only difference between this workout and the one an evil influencer would be trying to sell me on is the fact that I didn’t have to dress up or smile while doing it.

a selfie of me looking grumpy out in the snow
This morning, I went to my Mom’s place (see below) to dig a path to the street for her. Another day, another annoying workout. Image description: a selfie of me in a beige sweater and green toque and glasses, looking disgruntled. In the background there’s a mountain of snow that plows dumped on Mom’s lawn -it’s almost as high as the streetlights.
a photo of a bungalow with a lot of snow in front of it
There was so much snow at Mom’s that it was hard to see her house. Image description: a photo of my Mom’s house taken from across the street. She lives in a blue bungalow and there is a huge mountain of snow on her lawn (put there by a plow) that is higher than her roof. And on the other side you can only see the tops of her windows and door and the peak of her porch roof.
fitness · Olympics · sexism

US Men’s Hockey needs a(nother) remedial course on respect for their female colleagues

catherine w4 Comments

This year at the Milan Olympics, the US women’s and US men’s teams both won gold medals against Canada. Yes, the men’s result was controversial, but I’m not here to talk about that. Although feel free to advocate for your team in the comments.

In this post, I come to bury the 2026 US Olympic men’s hockey team, not to praise them. Well, bury them via outing them for misogynist yucking it up with the US misogynist-in-chief, Donald Trump, who called them to:

  • congratulate them on their victory;
  • discuss travel arrangements, supposedly courtesy of the American military;
  • dangle the prospect of White house swag for them;
  • mock the US Olympic women’s hockey team, which also won their gold medal match against Canada (uncontroversially), prompting what sounded like near-universal approving laughter from the players.

Here’s what CNN reported about the locker room phone call:

[After inviting the men’s team to the White House for Tuesday night] Trump added: “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that.” If they weren’t invited, the president said, “I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?”

Members of the team laughed.

Uh, hold on a minute here.

Nadine from Unsplash wants us to just stop now, for a minute. Let's do that. image of a woman's hand indicating stop.
Nadine from Unsplash wants us to just stop now, for a minute. Let’s do that.

For the record, the US Women’s Olympic hockey teams have the following medal count since 2000:

  • 2026 Milano-Cortina: Gold Medal (def. Canada 2-1, OT)
  • 2022 Beijing: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 3-2)
  • 2018 Pyeongchang: Gold Medal (def. Canada 3-2, SO)
  • 2014 Sochi: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 3-2, OT)
  • 2010 Vancouver: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 2-0)
  • 2006 Torino: Bronze Medal (def. Finland 4-0)
  • 2002 Salt Lake City: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 3-2)

That’s a total of 7 medals: 2 gold, 4 silver, one bronze since 2000 for the US women’s teams.

What about the US Men’s Olympic hockey teams? Here is their post-2000 medal count:

  • 2026 (Milan-Cortina): Gold (6-0-0).
  • 2010 (Vancouver): Silver (5-1-0)
  • 2002 (Salt Lake City) Silver Medal

Adding it up, the men’s teams have won a total of 3 medals: one gold, two silver since 2000.

The 7-medals-vs-3-medals fact is one reason among many for the US men’s hockey team, instead of laughing along with and joining in on the sexist bashing of their fellow athletes, should instead:

Sit down and shut up.
Listen for a change.
Then do the right thing.

This bears repeating.

  • Sit down and shut up.
  • Listen for a change.
  • Then do the right thing.

Words to live by for all of us. But especially for these US male hockey players right now.

Hope you enjoyed the first half of the 2026 Olympic Games. The 2026 Paralympic Winter Games run March 6–15. I’m looking forward to them.

underwater view of the seafoam and waves Learning to swim as an adult
fitness

Learning to swim as an adult

Sam BLeave a comment

It’s Monday and for me this winter, that means adult swimming lessons.

I’m taking lessons at Making Waves Swim School here in Guelph. The downside is that the classes aee late in the evening–8:30-9:15, because they happen after all the kids’ classes are over.

Most of the other adults in the class can’t swim and are a bit nervous in the water. I’m not nervous. I float well and can tread water forever. What I haven’t been able to do is swim well enough to lane swim for fitness. But I’m getting there. Last class, I swam 6 lanes of front crawl, a bunch of backstroke, and lots of floating on my back and kicking. Getting there….

fitness

Making summer riding plans and pedaling for Parkinson’s!

Sam BLeave a comment
Promotional banner for the Spinning Wheels Tour, highlighting the event 'Fit is a Feminist Bloggers and Friends', taking place from August 8 to September 26, 2026. Includes a logo and a 'Join Team' button.

Sarah and I are getting ready for a summer of cycling, some of it in the excellent company of occasional blogger Susan F.

In June, it’s the Tour de Guelph and in September it’s the Spinning Wheels Tour. We’ve also got a weekend booked in April at Point Pelee National Park and another in May at the Pinery.

When we are home in Guelph, we’ll ride here on the weekends and on weekends at the farm, we’ll ride in the county. I might even organize some pre-work rides with other U of G people training for the Tour de Guelph.

Here is our Spinning Wheels schedule:

Event schedule listing for September 22 to September 26, including locations like London, Stratford, Guelph, Hamilton, and Niagara Wine Region, with a note on rider ability for all levels.

You can join our team or donate here.

And seriously, you can ride as much or as little of the route as you like. Some people will ride all the way everyday, some people are just riding one of the days, and others will ride a little bit each day. It’s your ride. It’s up to you. Last year we had the Wanda the Winnebago riding with us, as well as several support vehicles.

Check out photos from last year’s Spinning Wheels Tour here.

A man and a woman stand together in a park, both wearing cycling jerseys. The woman has short hair and is holding a small object, while the man is bearded and wearing shorts. They are smiling and appear to be enjoying the sunny day.

That’s Susan on the left, and Jeff, on the right. He was driving a support car the day we biked into Stratford.

5 things that would make Olympic ski mountaineering (Skimo) even more challenging
fitness · Olympics · skiing

5 things that would make Olympic ski mountaineering (Skimo) even more challenging

catherine w4 Comments

Have y’all been watching the winter Olympics? Maybe it’s just me, but it’s seemed even more thrilling and entertaining and awe-inspiring than usual. The women’s speed-skating, women’s and men’s figure skating, the hockey, all those flipping and twirling skiers and snowboarders, the fast-fast-fast downhillers– just wow. And of course the suspenseful curling.

But the ski mountaineering just blew my mind. Skimo is absolutely my worst nightmare of an athletic event. It requires the participants (who must have been willing at some point, though I don’t understand why) to ski uphill, taking off their skis to walk/trot up an inexplicable staircase, put said skis back on, trudge/trot to the top, take the skis skins off (making sure to put them safely in a pouch), and then ski downhill on light-and-skinny skis in an act that one commentator said was like “skiing a steep downhill on two pieces of dried pasta”.

That sounds terrible.

But then, I thought, maybe that’s what makes this sport so appealing– it’s the most tiring, challenging sport they could think of.

But, could we help them out and offer suggestions to make it even harder? I think we can. Here are some ideas I came up with.

1) Like the cross country ski race entrant Nazgul, the Czechoslovakian wolf dog (not to be confused with Heated Rivalry’s stupid Canadian wolf bird), they should allow dogs on the trail. Petting will be permitted, but competitors may not commandeer dog treats for themselves during the race.

2) For the relay races, participants should have to stand in line to buy another lift ticket. They need to make sure they have their credit cards ready, as the Olympic vendors won’t take cash.

3) Like the Tour de France, they could have photographers and team coaches on Sno-Cats, rumbling up and down the hills in between the competitors. Having them shout “go faster!” would be optional.

4)Allow spectators all along the course, screaming, partying, encouraging them with cowbells, and offering them beer hand ups during the stairs part of the race. Non-alcoholic of course, as this IS he Olympics. Honestly, I’m not sure if this will make their job easier or harder. The only way to know for sure is to try it.

5) Require that each competitor take at least 4 selfie photos and post them on social media during the race. So much of what happens doesn’t “officially count” unless it’s been posted, so why not include race results in that category? 🙂 Extra points for selfies with a spectator, and double extra points for a selfie with a dog on the course.

So, readers– any other ideas to make this sport even more chaotic and difficult? I welcome your suggestions.

Nat remembers her Gran
Sat with Nat

Nat remembers her Gran

natalieh (she/her)2 Comments

Joyce Lister (MacDonald) Sangster died on Wednesday after nearly 97 years on this earth. It’s easy to only see where a person is at when they die. It’s far harder to see them in their youth, especially when you didn’t know them then.

I’ve written often about Gran, our conversations and her influence on me.

Forget fighting genetics…

Conversations with Gran

…decorating in defiance of dementia

You might think “what else could she possibly tell us that she hasn’t already?”

Well strap in for the long read, ‘cause I got a lot of tales to tell.

Basketball

Gran was a vibrant and active woman. She played high school basketball and went on to play in the McAdam village women’s team after graduation. She kept the picture of her and her teammates in the den. The uniforms had crisp collars and pleated skirts. It was the late 1940s after all. She would travel to Saint John and Fredericton for tournaments. The journey taking 4 or 5 hours as there weren’t highways at the time.

Skating

My earliest memories of her are helping me ice skate. We would watch figure skating in the 1980s and she would tell me about how the sport started out “well it was basically a little hop and coasting on one leg back then.”

She was steady and graceful on figure skates helping me learn turns and backwards moves.

Cross Country Skiing

She had wooden cross country skis that we would carefully wax. Anj and I would take turns with her, breaking trail on our modern plastic skis both in McAdam and when she lived in Aroostook.

Sometimes we would pick the wrong wax and Gran’s skis would get clumped up with snow. It was hilarious.

Downhill skiing

She and Grandad would take Anj and I to Mt Farlange to downhill ski. A luxury we would never have experienced without her interest.

Snowshoe

There was snowshoeing, toboggan rides and snow forts.

We had our choice of traditional wooden snowshoes. One design we called partridge feet, round on the front with a long tail out the back. This is more widely known as Huron design. The other pairs were aluminum bear paws, oval with lacing rather than gut. It always took a bit to find our stride but then we would run around the woods, floating on top of the snow.

Summer fun

Summertime with Gran meant swimming, rowing a dinghy and splashing along in the pedal boat at the camp on Oromocto Lake.

We would have family get togethers in July, near her birthday. At first it was the extended Sangster clan, including my great grandparents and all of their descendants. As time went on it was down to Gran & Grandad’s family.

These gatherings always included lawn darts, horseshoes and Croquet.

Walking

Gran was famous in retirement for her daily walks. Her morning route took her by most of my family on my Dad and Mom’s side.

It’s 1999 and I’m kneeling next to Gran. She’s sitting in a grey velour chair holding my oldest son, Oli. There are decorative plates in the background that today hang in my dining room.

A foodie before that was a thing

Besides being incredibly active and fit, Gran was an amazing cook. Her cookies and pies, delicious. She loved feeding people and dessert was served after every meal. Bacon and eggs for breakfast was completed with a donut. Lunch was followed by pie or squares. After dinner, ice cream or cookies.

Big family meals meant a mountain of mashed potatoes that she would not stop serving until we had all undone our waistbands, begging to stop eating.

Growing food and flowers

She loved to garden, growing vegetables and cut flowers. Gran decorated for every occasion and had brooches and outfits for Valentines, St Patrick’s…all the things.

Gran sits at the counter at my parents’ house holding my youngest kid, Jean. I know it’s Jean because Gran has a Christmas tree brooch on and Jean was born on Halloween.

Painting

Gran was an avid oil painter. I would sneak photos of her works in progress. Gran always found fault with her pieces but I was in awe.

Two paintings, one of chickadees the other birch trees along a pond.
Four paintings. A red and white light house, a grey barn in a snow covered field, a red covered bridge and a fall stand of trees in browns and oranges. A scraggly note says “Gran’s Artwork 85/86”. I clearly don’t take after Gran in the penmanship department.

Crafting and Gifting

Gran knit, sewed and was generally crafty. She sent me a Christmas card and birthday cards for my whole family every year. Her beautiful script would be accompanied by stickers and a bit of cash. She loved hearing what we bought.

No hugs!

Things I wish were different with Gran. I wished I gotten her hugging more and saying “I love you”. She was very reserved, stoic even. Quick to smile and laugh, she was not demonstrative and neither are her children. I’ve taken up the cause of addressing the hug deficit in my family, much to the chagrin of most.

Gran, my dad, Oli is in my arms. We are outside of my hobby farm in Aylesford NS in the summer of 2000.

The last few times I saw her Gran no longer recognized me. Sometimes she thought I was my mom or another long lost relative or friend. While I thought I had said my goodbyes and that I was ready, it turns out I really wasn’t. I’m so sad for the lost time. She was an immense figure in my life despite being a very tiny woman.

In case you do know our family and want to leave condolences I’ve included her obituary.

Joyce L Sangster

We’re the Tour de Guelph Gryphons!
charity · cycling · fitness

We’re the Tour de Guelph Gryphons!

Sam BLeave a comment

Sarah and I have ridden the Tour de Guelph a few times. We’ve ridden the 100 km with our friend David and the 50 km with our friend Ellen

What is the Tour de Guelph?

“The Tour de Guelph is an annual, inclusive community cycling event in Guelph, Ontario, that raises funds for the Foundation of Guelph General Hospital and local Rotary Club of Guelph South/Trillium projects. Established in 2014, it offers various routes for all ages and abilities, ranging from 5 km to 113 km, focusing on community health and fundraising.”

This year we’re doing it again.  I’m co-captain of a University of Guelph Team, along with Amy Atkinson.  You can join us here. We’re the Tour de Guelph Gryphons!  https://secure.e2rm.com/p2p/edit/394033/fundraising/team/1045065.

Again,  we’re riding 50 km again to make the ride accessible to regular commuters who need a distance they can train for by the end of June.

If you’re in Guelph,  please consider joining us.  Thanks!

fitness

It’s a Good thing I’m Retired. Who Else Would Have Time For All These Exercises?

Diane Harper1 Comment

Race Against Time takes on a whole new meaning as you age. I’m no longer trying to get faster. I’m just trying to stave off what feels like the inevitable crumbling.

The orange silhouette of a woman is superimposed on a white clock face and black background, with the words Race against Time in blue, white and orange letters on the right side of the image. The image was found at: https://ability360.org/uncategorized/august-18-race-against-time/

That ankle injury I wrote about back in December is still bothering me. The muscle tightness is easing, but it looks increasingly like I have a partially torn hamstring.

While I wait for an ultrasound (next week, yay!) I am continuing with my other health care providers, who are giving me more exercises to do. It’s all good advice, but it’s a lot!

My massage therapist has had me doing at least 10 minutes of yin yoga each day. I have chosen to do YouTube videos to relax before bed. Sometimes they are done IN bed, which is rather nice, as well as being easy on my knees.

My physiotherapist has assigned balance exercises. My Pilates class focuses on bone health, fall prevention, and building up our cores so we can get up off the floor easily. This has proven surprisingly difficult, so every day I am trying to add in extra strength exercises and as many of the class exercises as I can remember.

Of course I am continuing with my regular activities. I made the mistake of doing absolutely nothing except a bit of yoga one weekend, and I felt like I could barely walk by Sunday night. Never again will I doubt the importance of active rest. Motion is clearly lotion for my body.

These cartoon bottles of lotion wearing blue caps and doing various exercises on a green background made me happy. The image is from the Queensland Health Facebook page, posted June 23, 2025.
fitness · yoga

Exploring Unorthodox Yoga Practices

Sam BLeave a comment

I’ve long been a fan of unorthodox forms of yoga.

I love yoga with goats, yoga with alpacas, yoga in the water, and yoga in silk hammocks.

Goat yoga! No longer can you go to yoga to escape the kids

I love snow yoga too.

The best is Snow-ga with Alpacas!

Snow-ga with Alpacas!

This weekend I did AquaYoga on Saturday and Anti-Gravity Restorative Yoga on Sunday.

Sam’s new favorite fitness class, or 6 things Sam loves about anti-gravity restorative fitness
Interior of a wellness studio featuring purple aerial silks hanging from the ceiling, with a person sitting in a silk in the background.

Do you have any non-standard forms of yoga that you love? Which ones and why? Let us know in the comments below!

How I Choose to Move and What it Means to Me (Nicole)
fitness

How I Choose to Move and What it Means to Me (Nicole)

Nicole P,2 Comments

My first (guest) blog post for FIFI was about my imposter syndrome when it comes to fitness. I talked about how, despite, my decades of dedication to fitness, I still felt like the kid who received a participation badge in gym class.

I haven’t felt that way in a while. I have often blogged about the WHY I am so consistent with my fitness. Thankfully, I learned long ago that my WHY was about how fitness makes me feel. How, no matter what else is going on, fitness leaves me feeling better. Some days that may be a smidge. Some days it may be the smidge that leads to a good workout – on another day. 

As I get older, the WHY just becomes clearer to me. Watching parents age and seeing, firsthand, the importance of maintaining functional fitness as one ages has become crystal clear. Of course, not everything is within one’s control, but where it is, doing what one can, within what works for them, can contribute to more freedom when one is older. Whether that means the ability to walk to the grocery store or lift a travel bag onto a train, every little bit can help. 

I have experienced, first-hand, the grief of losing parents and beloved pets and I have experienced how movement, even at a slower pace, can help you move through the sluggishness and omnipresence of grief. 

I long ago trained myself not to focus on society’s idea of results when it comes to fitness. If I focus on how fitness makes me feel and not how it may change the number on my pants — the WHY is more sustaining for me.

This doesn’t mean that I am immune to the perfectionist-seeking culture of “the perfect amount of protein/cocktail of hormones/supplements/cold plunging” that could make me exude the platinum version of Nic, both internally and externally. But, the grounding I have in my long-standing habits prevents me from taking the idea of perfectionism too seriously. I know it’s not possible. 

What is perfectionism to me, anyway? Is it important to me? NO. As I get older, the idea of legacy becomes more of a nagging question. Legacy for me has nothing to do with my outward appearance. It has to do with what others may remember about you. Especially, how you may have helped or inspired them in a positive way. 

A colleague, who is a few years older than me, recently told me that they have been discovering how much they enjoy strength training. They have been working with a trainer, in a safe way. They told the trainer, right off the bat, that they didn’t want to focus on losing weight or inches. They wanted to focus on feeling stronger. My colleague told me how well it’s been going and how much better they have been feeling. 

This isn’t the first time someone has casually mentioned to me that they have had this type of experience and that they were, partly, influenced by my approach to fitness and seeing me in action for awhile. Each time, this type of thing makes my heart sing.

As I continue through various stages of middle-age and beyond (poo poo poo), I am so glad that I have my style of training under my belt, and, hopefully, withstand societal pressures that come with this stage of life. 

A woman with curly blonde hair wearing black glasses and a heart-shaped necklace, smiling at the camera.

Nicole P. is experimenting with different gyms, continuing strength and conditioning workouts, doing some mat pilates and anxiously awaiting clearer sidewalks to return to more consistent running routines again.