Month: February 2021

Working Out When You’re Experiencing Depression
habits · self care

Working Out When You’re Experiencing Depression

Marjorie11 Comments

Feature image credit: Anthony Tran, via Unsplash

I have experienced depression off and on for most of my life.  I also now experience symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder which can feel a lot like depression, with moments of low moods coming seemingly out of nowhere, triggered often by nothing of which I am aware.  It can be very difficult to maintain exercise and nutrition habits while feeling like crap for days at a time.  The nature of depression is to feel like nothing matters, to feel like life is beyond our control and out of our depth.  These are not motivating, inspiring feelings!  So what do you do if you find yourself feeling low and notice it impacting your healthy routines?

I try to start with some self-compassion.  My self-talk can be especially self-critical during these times, and it’s important for me to notice that and counteract it with less judgy thoughts: I’m doing the best I can; I’m just having a hard time right now.  These moments come and go and they don’t define who I am or how I live my entire life.  If I can remember this last point, that the feelings of low mood are just that, feelings, and by definition feelings are impermanent and changeable, it goes a long way to helping me feel ok with where I’m at in the moment.  It’s just this moment, not forever.

Related to this last point, I try to focus on what I am doing rather than what I’m not.  Most of us don’t throw in the towel on EVERY healthy behavior when we’re feeling down.  Still brushing your teeth and taking a shower?  Still eating breakfast and taking your medications?  Took some time to connect with your sweetie?  All these count and are good.  If you can talk yourself into taking a walk or doing 5 minutes of exercises, that’s great, too!  Give yourself credit for doing that much and know that tomorrow, you might feel up for more. There can also be an element of emotional inertia to these small behaviors, when I can find that doing one small thing for myself helps me feel more up to doing something else I know is good for me, too. 

Speaking of taking a walk, I have found that time outside is one of the most restorative things I can do for my mood.  I almost always feel better.  Sometimes, all I want is to sit on the porch or do a little gardening.  Even that much is a boost. Especially in winter, any moment of sunshine or even just a bright patch of clouds relative to the darker grey around them seems to help.  If your outdoor space doesn’t accommodate some gardening or lounging, or the weather is too miserable, try setting up in a sunnier window.  Put a comfy chair where your face will get hit with some light and take a moment to bask.

During moments of depression, it is especially important that we connect with others.  If you have a routine of exercising with others, even virtually, you may find that these connections help to lift your mood.  I’m very introverted and I don’t seek out a lot of time with others, but I still benefit from feelings of connection.  I try to spend more time playing or snuggling with my cats, to hang out with my husband, or to send notes to friends I haven’t heard from in a while.  Even exercising to a familiar old workout video can give me the illusion of company and help me feel better.  I also like to relisten to beloved audiobooks while I go on my walks or to put in the actors’ commentary for one of the Lord of the Rings movies to play in the background while I’m lifting!

Finally, I try to notice when my depression-related behaviors seem more unhelpful or counter to my long term goals and gently attempt to prevent them from becoming new habits.  I don’t expect myself to never soothe myself with food or to always go to bed right on time.  However, if I find that emotional eating has become more of a norm, or I’m fighting going to bed early enough night after night, then I try to gently redirect those behaviors.  I notice when I’m eating when I’m not hungry and consider if there’s something else that would feel good.  I notice that I’m staying up too late again and consider turning out the light 10 minutes earlier.  This isn’t time for drastic, life-changing transformations but gentle nudges back in the direction of my health and long term happiness.

Feeling crappy sucks. But, there are things we can do to help us move through it and make it slightly less awful.  We will come out the other side; we will feel better again.  I’m going to keep trying to give myself the time and space to be where I am now to know that it is not where I will be forever.  When I can, whatever exercising I can do will help to reduce the impacts of my depression and trauma, and may reduce the length of time that I experience those feelings.  If you can relate, I hope you can also give yourself the space to do what you can do today and be kind to yourself along the way!

Marjorie Hundtoft is a middle school science and health teacher.  She can be found getting a little sunlight in her eyes, picking up heavy things and putting them down again in Portland, Oregon. You can now read her at Progressive-Strength.com .

Photo description: Woman sitting in a sunny windowsill reading a book. She is wearing a white tunic and boots. Photo credit: Thought Catalog IcU, via Unsplash.
fitness

It’s World Yoga Day

marthafitat55
Image is a cartoon by Sandra Boynton celebrating World Yoga Day. It shows various creatures in different yoga poses.

I came to yoga late. I think it was because I associated it with looking a certain way and being a certain size. A friend introduced me to hatha yoga about 15 years ago, and I quite liked the mix of bodies and levels of experience represented.

My favourite is yin yoga. I have very tight, cranky muscles and ligaments. This yoga practice helps me focus as it stretches me out. Throughout the pandemic I have heard of many people picking up yoga for relieving emotional tightness and anxiety. My friends have found online yoga classes to be helpful.

If you are new to yoga, look for someone who is wiling to provide modifications for various body types and abilities. It is perfectly acceptable to use props like blocks and bolsters to get you in the position. No one starts off being able to get into crow position or reach a headstand. Begin where you are, even if you start at breathing.

Be well, stay well.

charity · cycling · fitness · Zwift

Make Your Own Route Badge!

Sam B
Red Dress Day Route

I love it!

Someone designed a tool to make your own Zwift route badges.

I made one for the Bike Rally’s Red Dress Day. What’s the Bike Rally? It’s a charity ride, normally from Toornto to Montreal, to raise money for the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation.

We don’t ride the whole thing in red dresses but on one special day, the short ride into Kingston, we do.

And yes, I’m registered for this year though I am not sure what form the ride will take. You can sponsor me here.

body image · competition · fitness · golf

Badass golfer tells off slimeball amateur

Sam B

Feeling comfortable in athletic clothes is something lots of women struggle with, whether it’s track cycling’s skinsuit, rowing’s unisuit, or even regular garden variety running clothes.

See No way am I wearing that! Body conscious clothing as a barrier to entry to women’s sports.

What women athletes don’t need are men like Rudy Giuliani making “unsettling” and “highly inappropriate” comments about their outfits.

That’s what he did to golfer Michelle Wie West who took to Twitter to fight back.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says 'THE LL Gist 유 GIST LรID 3H1 10 "" WHAT THIS PERSON SHOULD HAVE REMEMBERED FROM THAT DAY, WAS THE FACT THAT I SHOT 64 AND BEAT EVERY MALE GOLFER IN THE FIELD LEADING OUR TEAM TO VICTORY. INA CLASSY AND BADASS RESPONSE TO LEWD DISGUSTING FORMER MAYOR. YOR.'
From The Gist, read and subscribe here, https://ca.thegistsports.com/newsletter

commute · cycling · fitness · racing

Competitive cycling and everyday commuting: Not as distinct as you might think

Sam B1 Comment

Normally we think of everyday bike riding as distinct from competitive cycling. I’ve been part of many community groups focussed on active transporation–hi GCAT!–and such groups spend a lot of time staking out room for people riding bikes as transportaion, as opposed to people who take on the identity of ‘cyclist.’ No lycra required!

Mostly I think that’s a sensible thing to do, even as someone who moves between these worlds. I bop around town on my Brompton, I trundle over the snow on the trails on my fat bike, I ride gravel paths for recreation, I Zwift indoors, and I ride my road bike some pretty long distances with friends. Clearly I’m a cyclist and I’m an everyday bike commuter.

And then I read this piece on the cumulative benefits of micro commutes. It’s about the training benefits of everyday riding.

“Most Dutch citizens can calmly and competently navigate cobbles, traffic, corners, bumps and berms in the rain. Commuting by bike or foot as a child is not only good for the development of skills and health but is also the best way to build long term athleticism.”

It’s the everyday cycling that makes so many of the Dutch excellent racing cyclists. Think about running and Kenyan young people, Michael Barry writes. Young people gain skills and confidence that translate into sports excellence.

Getting kids on bikes is good for the environment. It’s good for their health and everyday fitness.

It also turns out to be good for sports development and athletic skills and confidence. I started to think about that link and the connection between young girls and everyday movement. Girls move less than boys starting at a very young age. Part of the story no doubt has to do with the gendered nature of the protection paradox. We want what’s best for our children and so we protect them from risk. Not shockingly, it turns out parents worry more about girls than boys.

If boys are allowed and encouraged to ride to school more than girls, we see how the gap in skills and confidence develops. If we want to encourage equality in cycling as a performance sport we ought to care about boys and girls riding their bikes to school.

Riding bikes along a canal

Hand drawing of bike; front wheel is a sad face. When good bikes go away…
cycling · fitness

When good bikes go away…

catherine w2 Comments

We are creatures of habit. We don’t like change. Change is hard. But what can you do when one of your favorite bikes is no longer being made? This is the situation for die-hard fans of the Surly Pugsley, Surly Troll, and perhaps its most beloved bike, the Surly Long Haul Trucker.

The Long Haul Trucker has been, for years, the workhorse of the bike touring world. It’s tough, it can haul lots of gear, and parts are easy to come by. Joe Cruz of Bikepacking.com says in this obituary-of-sorts:

On a personal note, my first Surly was a Long Haul Trucker. That decision was probably inspired by the fact that when you typed “touring bike” into the search bar back then (probably Yahoo!, or who knows, maybe even Ask Jeeves), a boatload of photos featuring gear-bedecked LHTs were usually the first to be found. Surly had that market cornered. 

Oh yeah, other companies did and do make touring bikes. But the classic Long Haul Trucker, it will be missed. Here are a couple of pictures below– fully loaded and ready to roll, and in action.

  • A green LHT, fully loaded and ready to hit the road.
    A green LHT, fully loaded and ready to hit the road.
  • A woman riding a loaded LHT by some pretty blue water.

Full disclosure: I’ve never owned a Surly Long Haul Trucker. But, I know lots of people who have.

Another full disclosure: Surly is making a new version of the LHT with disc brakes and different geometry. But it’s not the same. Hence the nostalgic outpouring here.

But surely you get this, right? Tell me, what bikes or boats or other gear are do you have oh-so-fond memories of, but which are gone now, replaced by newer but not better-to-you models? Feel free to unburden yourself; I’m here and I’m ready to be very sympathetic.

And maybe we can also dish about the new models coming out this year… 🙂

fitness

I know it’s an ad but I like it

Sam B2 Comments

Thanks Under Armour.

This looks, to me, like an inclusive ad done right. It’s not thin white women. They don’t have perfect bodies. They’re working hard and having fun. Count me in.

Nicole shared this to our bloggers’ Facebook group and even though it’s an ad (I know) I wanted to share it with you.

Better yet, I thought I might buy a bra because–padding aside–they sound great. And I just remove the padding in sports bras. I clicked through on the ad and it gets betters on the website. There are actually women with stretch marks.

Look!

A brown skinned woman’s belly with stretch marks wearing a cute purple Under Armour bra.

OK, back to our regular, non-ad content.

Have you found any inclusive fitness ads you’ve really liked? Please share links in the comments.

fitness

Catching lotuses with my vagina (#reblog, #bloglove)

fieldpoppy1 Comment

We’re reblogging some of our favourite posts of all time this week at the Fit Feminist blog… this one stands out for me because I had so much fun writing it. Someone asked me recently how my pelvic wall was doing and I had to shamefacedly admit that I’m a pandemic slacker on this front. Back to the boops!

#reblog #bloglove #healthyvagina

Two women dancing the twist in 1962. On the therapeutic value of doing the twist(s)
fitness · injury

On the therapeutic value of doing the twist(s)

catherine w6 Comments

Last week, I tweaked my lower back. Or hip. Or something. The main thing I know is that I felt extremely ouchy when trying to walk or sit down or get up from sitting down. How did this happen? Who knows? I was busy living life while being 58, and it happened. Or course this can happen at 22 or 72 or never, so we’re really back to who knows…

I responded in the usual ways: rest, heat (I prefer heat to cold in these case, but YMMV), and anti-inflammatories (again, YMMV). In addition, I spent time on the internet looking up stretches and other exercises for sciatica or piriformis or lower back pain. I know, I know– this wasn’t an advanced search based on expert advice. But I’ve done enough tweaking and wrenching with accompanying physical therapy to feel like I can at least get started on some gentle movements and see if I need more qualified adult supervision in order to feel better.

And guess what?

It’s working!

In particular, the exercises that involve twisting are helping a lot. Most of the ones I’ve been doing are related to yin yoga poses. And they feel soooo gooood. Here are a few I’ve been loving this week.

  • Easy supine twist with top leg bent, knee on bolster.
    Easy supine twist with top leg bent, knee on bolster.
  • Regular supine twist, knees bent and to one side.

The twist comes in so many luscious variations. Here are some more:

  • Supine twist, holding top knee across body.
    Supine twist, holding top knee across body.
  • Supine twist, legs crossed and swung to one side.
    Supine twist, legs crossed and swung to one side.
  • Supine twist, top leg swung across body and straighten out to side. This feels great if your body agrees to do this.
    Supine twist, top leg swung across body and straighten out to side. This feels great if your body agrees to do this.

In addition to going side-to-side, I’ve been bending back and forward some, too (when it feels good).

Gently stretching the back muscles with sphinx pose, or more deeply with seal.
Gently stretching the back muscles with sphinx pose, or more deeply with seal.

This isn’t technically a twist, but it does involve bending and stretching, so I put it in here. On the same principle, I also mention the following two stretches, one of which is a bit twisty:

Two seated forward bends: the side body one feels great and can be turned into a twist by, well, twisting. The forward one is non-twisty.

I would be remiss if I didn’t add these two classic twisting poses that I do very often: seated spinal twist and figure four (which can be done on the back or seated or standing).

  • Seated spinal twist.
  • Figure four, this one done on the back.

Doing these twists in gentle ways this week is making my back/hips/glutes/self feel very good. So I thought I’d share the yumminess of good feeling with all you good people out there.

Do you like twisting exercises or stretches? Do they give you joy? Do they give you a pain in the neck or back or shoulders? What do you do when you’ve gotten really ouchy? I’d welcome any tips.

fitness · Guest Post · tennis

Loving Serena (Guest Post)

plwatson301 Comment

by Lori Watson

            Many of us were rooting hard for Serena last week, and many of us have been rooting for her on and off the court for over two decades now.   Her loss to Naomi Osaka was heartbreaking and hard to watch; it never seemed like she hit her Serena-stride.   Were she to lose at playing her best, it would be easier to accept, I think.  After the match, the reporters at her press conference and many subsequent opiners immediately zeroed in on whether she would or should retire, interpreting her gestures at the end of the match as a secret signal that she would never play at the Australian Open again. This may be it, they said.  In her presser, they hounded and hounded her for a statement about retirement.   So much so, she shut down the interview, declared “I am done,” and left the room appearing tearful.  That moment and the further speculation in the press got me, one super-sized Serena fan, super-sized pissed off.

I began to reflect on the narrative framing the last few years of Serena’s career—the race to 24, beat Margaret Court—the homophobic villain in the story—the can she do it as a mom, can she have it all, be it all, is the G.O.A.T?   Few humans could survive under that pressure, let along thrive.  Meanwhile, she has played four grand-slam finals since her return from maternity leave, two semis and one quarterfinal—in four years!  Few players on the tour will ever achieve even that much less is her standing ever likely to be touched, the 23 grand slam titles, the doubles-titles, the gold medals, the 73 WTA titles, and on and on and on.  And, yet she and we, her fans, feel the pain of the one elusive, so far, accolade: the 24th.  Of course, that accolade is false, premised on a false narrative—Margaret Court played prior to the Open era, so what that she won 24 under much less competitive circumstances?  Serena need not account for herself to any of us—not the media, not her fans, not the 24ers.  She is still playing unbelievable tennis.  If she were anyone other than Serena, the talk of retirement would be laughable in the face of her achievements in just the last four years.  A player that consistently makes it to the finals, semis, quarterfinals, wins other WTA tournaments on the regular is a super-star on that basis alone. 

Our need for a hero, projected onto Serena, through the false narrative of 24 (ride or die), needs to end.  Of course, we want to see her silence any critic once and for all.  Of course, the power of her will to win, her spirit, inspires us to believe that if you just want it bad enough, anything can happen.  But, Serena has nothing left to prove—to herself, to you, to me, to the world.  She is the greatest of all time, about that there can be no doubt.  But, like any hero, the tension between wanting them to prove it again and waiting for them to fall to the Earth drives the criticism.  Were she to take that 24th, then the march to 25 begins, or the could she have surpassed it only if… she didn’t become a mom, she played more when younger (she and Venus took time away from tennis to cultivate other aspects of their lives and were roundly criticized for it), and on and on.  We live to love our heroes; we live to take them down.  But, not this hero, not this time.  Serena can play just as much or as little as she likes, and I am gonna’ watch, grateful for every moment she lets us witness her.

TENNIS-AUS-ATP-WTA
Serena Williams, Getty Images

Lori Watson is a Professor of Philosophy at Washington University in St Louis. She’s also a Serena Williams super fan.