Month: September 2024

fitness

Doing something small when you can’t do anything big

Sam B

So it’s fall. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a calendar fall person or an equinox fall person,  I’m a professor and for me the start of the University year is fall in the ways that matter.

Autumn Equinox

I’m back at Zwift.

And if you’re a regular reader you might know that things aren’t going as well as I’d hoped.

So my plan? Last week I wrote,  “It’s time for me to start on a Zwift training plan. Likely I’ll start with one of the FTP builder programs, which I’ll do along with the weekly ZRL races.”

Roughly I thought I’d race in the ZRL (Zwift Racing League) on Tuesdays and do a social ride during the week.  Sometimes we do a casual course ride over a a team.  The weekend would be time for a serious training plan.

But the weekend? OMG. I’m behind with class prep, behind with writing,  the house is chaos,  and I had a day of visiting with one of the adult kids. We pickled things, they did a mountain of laundry,  we ate lunch with my mother,  and they introduced me to Kong: Skull Island.

Movie
Pickles
Lunch

It was a relaxing day.  I even napped. Likely I needed time away from work and a chance to just hang out. Thanks Gav!

But then Sunday rolled around and I still had a lot to do and a friend’s 50th birthday party to attend. Hey Joh!

That’s Joh on the left and me on the right

There was no way I had time for one of Zwift’s workouts. I looked at the menu of training plans and the shorter options caught my eye. Maybe,  to use Catherine’s recent term,  I could have an exercise snack rather than a full meal.

Here’s the workout option I chose. It was tough but short. 

In the end,  it reminded me of that slogan about perfect being the enemy of the good. Or the best dissertation being a finished dissertation.  In this case,  it’s the best workout  is the one you can actually squeeze in between all of the other things that also matter– families and friends and food and relaxation and class prep and writing.  It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that the house is still chaos.

fitness

#ReadListenWatch on a Monday

Sam B

READ

Does the body positivity movement just reinforce that it’s looks that really matter? I’ve been wondering about this recently in the context of embracing aging. Do we have say the older women can be beautiful? Does that increase the pressure on older women to continue to focus on our appearance?

https://x.com/LadyJayPersists/status/1835357267727683919?s=19

Here’s Zoya Patel in the Guardian on young women rejecting the body positivity movement.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/03/young-women-are-turning-their-backs-on-body-positivity-its-time-we-all-stopped-obsessing-about-how-we-look

LISTEN

Need a new soundtrack for your workout this week. Here’s SELF Magazine’s Pride Playlist for 2024. You can read about Katie Gunderman’s choices here.

WATCH

“Janja Garnbret is known by many as the greatest competition climber of all time, having won more IFSC gold medals than any athlete in history. But, not only is Janja Garnbret a trailblazer in climbing performance, she is also leading the way as a positive role model in the sport. She is determined to change the culture in sport climbing and bouldering, as she reveals in this unique behind-the-scenes interview. Adidas TERREX dive deep into the ‘taboos’ around mental health, sports psychology and disordered eating with Janja Garnbret. As a female athlete at the top of her game, Janja opens up about women’s beauty standards, training during her menstrual cycle, hormones and using her intuition whilst competing on the IFSC circuit and at the Olympic Games.”

orange halloween balloons OMG October is the new January?!?
fitness

OMG October is the new January?!?

Sam B2 Comments

No. No. No.

I was okay with December as the new January.  In general,  in life,  I’m an early bird.

I even blogged about it being okay to show up late.  Sometimes February is our new January.

But October?

A “productivity and self-improvement” account shared this on Instagram.

First,  let’s be clear.  I don’t plan on ever becoming unrecognizable!

I spent some minutes thinking about what kinds of self-improvement, what six things, would make me unrecognizable by 2025. Also, I am pretty sure I don’t want to be unrecognizable. I’m not a spy or anything.

I am not sharing the actual six things they recommend on that instagram post because we don’t need that kind of intensity on the blog.

Second, I’m all good with making plans to do hard things.

Third, I agree there’s nothing special about January 1st.

BUT FOR PETE’S SAKE PLEASE DON’T TAKE ALL THAT SELF-IMPROVEMENT (AND MOSTLY IT’S ALL ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS, BE REAL) PRESSURE THAT WE ASSOCIATE WITH JANUARY 1 AND SPREAD IT THROUGH ALL OF THE AUTUMN MONTHS WHICH ARE TOUGH ENOUGH FOR SOME OF US WITHOUT THE OCTOBER 1 RESOLUTIONS!

magenta outlines of shoe prints against a purple background Steps or time: Science says either. I thought so.
fitness · gadgets · Science · walking

Steps or time: Science says either. I thought so.

catherine w1 Comment

Hey readers– this news just in from science: for women in their 60s (which includes me), when measuring physical exertion, it’s just as useful to use step counts as time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity. What does this mean? Among other things, that you can use a fancy fitness watch, OR you can use one of these to keep track of your workout.

An old fashioned brass pocket watch with goldish green
I really like the gold-ish greeny numbers, although a wrist strap would be helpful.

How did science figure this out? Here are some of the deets from the study:

  • researchers examined the associations of moderate-to-vigorous activity time vs. step counts with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease
  • 14,399 women (ages 62+) from ongoing Women’s Health Study participated (thank you women!)
  • participants measured their physical activity with an accelerometer for 7 consecutive days
  • median time was 62 minutes/week or 5183 steps a day

And what did they find? You’ll like this: in both groups (steps and time), their relative risk of death from cardiovascular disease or other causes was lower compared to the rest of the participants in the Women’s Health Study. Which means that for those of us who like to count health-related things, we can count steps or we can count time. The study sums it up thusly:

Step count–based goals should be considered for future guidelines along with time-based goals, allowing for the accommodation of personal preferences.

Excellent. On numerous fronts. Please note, also, something that might not be obvious on first reading: in the study, the average step counts and time spent each week in physical activity were pretty modest: 5183 steps a day or 62 minutes a week. I’m not making any recommendations here (nor am I in a position to do so). Rather, I’m noting that modest amounts of movement were shown in this study to yield very nicely positive results. Yay for that!

But this leaves us with a problem: how to decide between counting steps and counting time for our workouts? I say, embrace either. Or both. Or we can follow the advice of Dick Van Dyke from Mary Poppins, and step in time.

However, for insurance purposes, I would not recommend doing your workout on a rooftop at night. Please use discretion.

Readers, do you use time or steps for some of your workouts? Which makes more sense or works better for you? I’d love to hear from you.

fitness

Beautiful views are always worth the hike (Guest post)

Jewel of Toronto

I took my second annual solo vacation to Medellin, Colombia this summer. Although I travel solo for work all the time, I am relatively new to solo vacations. I had passed through Colombia on my way back from hiking in Patagonia a couple of years ago and fell in love with the country; I had heard that Medellin was not only beautiful, but also safe for solo travel.

However, Colombia, and especially the city of Medellin, is still very much living down their infamy of drug-trade violence, kidnapping and poverty. Indeed, everyone from family, friends and colleagues asked why I was going and if I would be safe. Not only was I very safe, I am here to tell you that Medellin has done a lot to increase social welfare by not only investing in education and culture but also transforming public spaces in innovative and creative ways. It’s worth the visit just to learn about that.

But on to the Feminist Fitness!

I took a day tour to the charming village of Guatape in the lake district south of Medellin. We stopped along the way at another tourist attraction, La Piedra del Penol. I wasn’t particularly interested in this attraction, though I had read that the views from the top were quite spectacular.

La Piedra; a daunting 740 steps in the 30C heat (plus humidity).

I didn’t intend to do the climb; the views from the parking lot were quite beautiful so I slowly ambled my way through the tourist trap restaurants, games and attractions. Full disclosure; I have a vestibular disorder which affects my proprioception and I find stairs particularly challenging, and going down is more difficult than up. However, I’m always up for a challenge and by the time I got to the ticket booth, I saw that I still had an hour before I had to return to the bus. I figured I’d give it a go and, if I didn’t make it to the top due to my disorder, fatigue or time, I would simply turn around and come back down.

This was all I needed to psychologically gear me up for the challenge. Once my mental toughness was online, I just marched up those stairs. Okay, truth be told, I took two breaks, but I made it to the top in about 25 minutes, and it was worth it. Breathtaking 360 views unlike anything I’ve ever seen; hazy emerald lakes into the distance with stunning mountains on the horizon. Totally gorgeous.

Getting down was… a bit scary but unlike other climbs I’ve made (Blarney Castle, Hang Mau in Vietnam), there was a hand rail available most of the time! Getting down was fast and safe, to my relief.

I’m super happy I did it! It was great to use the strong self-talk I have in the gym in a new context. The experience also inspired me to recommit to doing all of the things until I literally can’t anymore. It’s so important for me to challenge myself because I find I am consistently stronger than I think, both mentally and physically. This made La Piedra a true life-affirming experience.

I don’t do selfies well (yet).

Jewel of Toronto is a feminist, fitness enthusiast, MBA living and thriving in Toronto. Her likes include pets, pizza and cool leggings.

advice · celebration · fitness · habits

Go Team 2024: Let’s Find Something To Celebrate

Christine Hennebury

Hey Team!

I started this post in my head while I drew our gold star and I started with a very different idea…

But once I finished our star, I realized that she looks so celebratory that I wanted to look for extra reasons for her to feel that way.

So, my friends, I’m hoping you will help her out by looking for things to celebrate in your life right now.

I’m not asking you to pretend that your frustrations and challenges or even your anger don’t exist.

I’m asking you to give yourself a moment, a breather, a chance to focus on something that is going right, even if it is a tiny thing.

Because I feel that taking a few minutes to focus on something good, something celebratory, can help fuel your resolve for dealing with everything else.

And because it feels good to look on the bright side when you can, even if it is just briefly.

So maybe your meditation felt good this morning – celebrate!

Maybe you can lift with just a little more ease – celebrate!

Maybe your friend can join you on your walk today – celebrate!

Maybe that ache in your heel has lessened a bit- celebrate!

Maybe your new dance steps were a little less confusing than they were last time – celebrate!

Or, maybe, like me, you are finding it easier to get back into the rhythm of taekwondo than you thought you would – a definite cause for celebration for me!

I dare you, I welcome you, I invite you to take just a glimpse toward what is going right and give it a grin and a happy nod.

Go You!

Go Team!

Here, of course, is your gold star for your efforts!

A cartoonish drawing of a happy gold star
Image description: a cartoonish gold star drawn on a white square. The gold star has a happy expression and is trimmed in light green with a black outline. The background of the image is covered in tiny green dots and the paper is framed in green with black trim.

fitness

To Read, Listen, and Watch This Weekend

Sam B

READ

Our Bodies,  Our Bikes

Our Bodies,  Our Bikes

“An homage to the classic Our Bodies, Ourselves, this encyclopedic, crowd-sourced compilation of essays, resources, information, and advice about the intersection of gender and bicycling covers a lot of ground—bold meditations on body parts, stories about recovery from illness and injury, biking to the birth center, and loud and proud declarations of physical and emotional freedom.

Includes accounts of bicycling while pregnant, tips about how to ride fast or what to wear when you need to look professional, stories of cycling with kids, biking with various experiences of gender, age, ability, sexuality, menstruation, chronic illness, an extensive and illuminating article about the vulva and contact with your bike saddle, thoughts about abortion and reproductive rights, and much more.

There’s something for everyone in here, and something to expand everyone’s idea of what’s for them.”

LISTEN

The Gist Podcast

“On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz dive into two complex NFL headlines. First, El and Steph revisit the lawsuit against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was recently accused of sexual assault after facing 26 civil suits accusing him of sexual misconduct.

El and Steph also discuss the developing story regarding the police detainment of Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and two of his teammates ahead of last Sunday’s game. The incident has come under serious scrutiny.

Then in part two, the gals preview the 19th edition of the Solheim Cup where the top women golfers in the U.S. and Europe will be facing off in Virginia as Team USA looks to take back the trophy and Team Europe chases a four peat. Who’s ready for the tee?”

WATCH

‘She just did it. With people telling her, you can’t, you can’t, you can’t. She did it’ Daisy Ridley teamed up with some inspiring female swimmers to showcase their amazing achievements. Young Woman and the Sea is now streaming on Disney+.

Diane reviewed it for the blog here.

These are still the reasons I ride, #tbt
fitness

These are still the reasons I ride, #tbt

Sam B

It’s September and some people seem to think it’s the season to put bikes away. It’s true that it’s starting to get dark in the evenings when I ride my bike home, but I still would much rather, in almost all circumstances, ride my bike to campus, to physio, and to run errands about town.

September 22nd is car free today and there’s that, but really that’s just one of the reasons I’d rather ride my bike.

Why I Ride ♥
cycling · fitness · Zwift

It’s the Season of Red!

Sam B

How it began: I wrote yesterday about getting started again on Zwift after three months of casually riding outside. The summer included my birthday weekend 60 km, the Pedaling for Parkinson’s Ride, also a some car camping with bike rides (Awenda and Pinery), and a memorial ride for Jeff Otto, a significant member of the Friends for Life Bike Rally who died on the first day of this year’s ride to Montreal. I also pretty consistently rode to work and to physio but it was all pretty low key day-to-day riding.

So yesterday was my return to Zwift.

Here’s my smiling face, my big screen Zwift set-up, and my knees. (Check out how well the knee surgery scars have healed!)

How it went: Bah, I made it just 10 km at race pace! I was a bit disappointed but in thinking about I haven’t been aiming for speed in awhile. Also, it’s the start of the school year and I’m extra busy. Finally, I did have personal training the morning of the race. So that’s an hour of lifting weights at 7 in the morning and then a bike race at 730 at night. I have some work ahead of me getting back to bike fitness and speed. On the upside, my knees felt great.

Check out the red:

You can see it was hard. The red is high end power.

Zwift Power Zone Colors Explained

  • Zone 1 (Grey, Recovery): below 60%
  • Zone 2 (Blue, Endurance): 60-75%
  • Zone 3 (Green, Tempo): 76-89%
  • Zone 4 (Yellow, Threshold): 90-104%
  • Zone 5 (Orange, VO2 Max): 105-118%
  • Zone 6 (Red, Anaerobic): above 118%

It got me thinking about fall and the colour of leaves.

Red leaves. Photo from Unsplash.

So it’s time for me to start on a Zwift training plan. Likely I’ll start with one of the FTP builder programs, which I’ll do along with the weekly ZRL races. Wish me luck!

femalestrength · fitness

The Power of Connection

Diane Harper1 Comment

I went out for dinner recently with two women who are dear to my heart but who didn’t know each other except as very casual acquaintances. I was privileged to watch it become a joyful celebration of girl power as the two spent a couple of hours talking about the martial art one loved and the other had loved but where she now was struggling to decide whether she ever wanted to take it up again.

I don’t do this sport. I have never even really wanted to do this sport. But I know just enough about it to follow along as they talked about all the issues that make the sport challenging for women:

Equipment that is hard to fit because of breasts and the difficulties of getting it adjusted because the people who make it are mostly men who don’t design for women’s bodies (though that is changing).

Equipment requirements put in place by men that make no sense for women (men absolutely need a cup for this sport, but a Jill is a hindrance and unnecessary).

The need many women have to be much more technical because they are fighting taller men with longer reach.

The different way many women process learning; they want more drills rather than just rushing in to bash their opponents and hope to learn something on the fly.

Representation matters! There were anecdotes about fan-girling over other women who do this sport, and the impact their presence on the field has made to women interested in giving it a try.

The feelings of inadequacy and discomfort with asking for help because you fear you are being a burden to others at practice.

The struggles to find time to practice because family responsibilities.

All the body issues: larger; shape has changed; returning after childbirth and years of raising that child; aging; injury.

It was joyful to listen to them talking through possible solutions. It was even more joyful to see them connect as they shared what aspects/positions/weapons forms they loved and why.

What was really striking was the universality of the issues. As these two near-strangers geeked out for hours, I could still join in with observations from the sports I do and the gender-based analysis work I used to do.

Diane, Mel and Bess, top. Below: Bess on the left and Mel on the right, doing the thing they both love.