Feminist reflections on fitness, sport, and health
Snow is in the headlines.
Winter is coming: It won’t be long until most Ontarians see their first snowfall
It’s been an extremely warm fall and while I’ve enjoyed it, it’s also felt very climate-doomy. Now the warm weather is coming to an end and I’m thinking about winter riding.
My shoulders have been cranky again lately – tight and sore and really, really particular about how I sleep.*
When my shoulders especially unhappy with me earlier this week, I decided to take some stretching advice that I read recently and hang by my arms from our chin-up bar for a little while to see if it would help.
And since I’m trying to do three minutes of fun movement every day for the next few weeks, I hung there for a bit longer than I would have otherwise. It was really hard BUT it was also really helpful and I felt much better afterwards.
In case you were wondering, what I was doing is called a modified dead hang (a name which sorta skeeves me out) – I was lightly resting my toes on the floor behind me while I bent my knees toward the floor.
I was modifying because the bar is not high enough (and I am not strong enough…yet) to do a full dead hang and this approach puts most – but not all – of my body weight on my hands, arms, and shoulders and gives me a good stretch without being entirely too difficult.
I always liked that swing-by-my-arms kind of movement when I was a kid and I would like to be able to do more of it now but it is entangled in the whole ‘need to build upper body strength – gotta have pre-existing upper body strength in order to do the movements I enjoy’ conundrum that tends to plague me when it comes to exercise but I’m working with it.
Speaking of conundrums, after doing the modified hang I discovered that there are just as many people saying that activity is bad for your shoulders as there are people who are saying it is good for you.
I recognize that every person’s body is different and that it is hard to give all-purpose advice but it would be swell to have a little less fuss about every damn thing.
Anyway, all of this is to say that my fun movement challenge is going well and that I am one of the people who will benefit from hanging around like that.
How about you?
Any fun movement lately?
Done any hanging around?
*Sometime last year I learned that curling my arm under my pillow while I sleep (as I have done for as long as I can remember) is actually a terrible thing to do to my shoulder. (Apparently that position is one way that various physical therapists stress a shoulder joint to determine range of movement.) So I had to teach myself to sleep with my arms in a different position (not easy!) which took a lot of getting used to. And I still end up with cranky shoulders – just less cranky than they used to be.
In case you missed it: on Tuesday, Christine blogged about her tea-sized plan for the rest of the year, which was this:
3 minutes of fun movement every day between now and December 31st. What will that include? I have no idea!
Well, here is one idea for you, Christine, and indeed all of you, dear readers: go to a local park, and find new and wrong ways to play on exercise equipment. Creating your own photoshoot of the play garners extra points.
Not sure what I mean here? No problem. I’ve got an explanation and photos.
Explanation first: a week ago, while visiting my sister and niece and nephews, we took a number of walks down by Congaree river. Happening upon one of those park exercise stations, we proceeded to find ways to use them that were not intended by their manufacturers. Here are some examples.
I’m not sure what the original purpose of this machine was. And it certainly didn’t matter, as we enjoyed finding new ways to use it.
Finally, there was artistic expression on the machines.
We went on to have our lovely walk, but this stood out as one of the more fun outdoor experiences I’ve had recently.
So, a challenge to you, dear readers: go out, find some playground equipment or other structures, and see what different ways you can find to enjoy yourself with it. Bring a friend if you can, as someone needs to take pictures…
How’s that for a tea-sized end of year challenge?
In January, a dear friend of mine set a very fun resolution for 2024 – to try a bunch of different types of tea to find one that she enjoyed. Previous to this resolution, she would happily drink coffee or hot chocolate but she had always found tea kind of bland and dull.
I’m happy to report that her resolution has served her well. She has found a variety of teas that she likes and she highly recommends taking on resolutions of this sort – the kind that lets you try new things with little or no risk.
My friend’s resolution came to mind this morning as I was thinking about the fact that there are only about 6 weeks left in the year and that I am, once again, planning to Finish Soft instead of trying to hustle through to the end of 2024.
I think I would like to take on some sort of end-of-the-year resolution that matches the low-key spirit of my friend’s tea explorations but is about movement/meditation /well-being and that will add a bit more fun into my day-to-day without feeling like another big project on my to-do list.
So, in a tea-sized end-of-year resolution, I’ve decided* that I am going to do 3 minutes of fun movement every day between now and December 31st.
What will that include? I have no idea!
I’m going to have to take it day-by-day – an plan that both delights and terrifies my ADHD brain – and let anything count.
And to add to my fun, I’m going to make a visual record of teeny drawings and text to keep track of what I did.
Got any ideas for me?
*I literally decided this while writing. The initial draft of this post said that I hadn’t decided yet – What a daredevil I am! (bahahaha – I assume you can read the sarcastic tone there.)
I did it!
This was my ZRL race on Zwift making all the difference in terms of exercise intensity minutes.
For awhile now I’ve been getting lots of exercise– bike commuting, dog walking, physio, weight lifting– but not so much intense exercise.
My Garmin logs movement minutes but also intense exercise minutes and sets a goal of 150 minutes a week. Ditto the Google Fit app on my phone though they often arrive at different numbers of minutes accomplished.
Anyway, just sharing the news here. I did it!
There are 43 days left in the year. I’m aiming for working out 400 times in 2024.
Where am I so far? 356 workouts so far in 2024.
So let’s do some basic math. I need to workout 44 more times to make it to 400. And there’s 43 days left.
Will I make it? It’s tough, but doable.
That’s my favourite category of thing really. Tough but doable.
And it’s good to have a goal in mind to keep things going too far off the rails over the holidays.
I wasn’t a fan of October is new January. See OMG October is the new January?!?. Catherine didn’t like the sounds of it either. See So much for October theory…
But as get closer to the end of the semester (two weeks of classes left) and the holidays, I like having a fitness focus. The movement is good for my emotional health, if nothing else.
I don’t know about you but the end of semester and the holidays can be a stressful time. Last year I managed my 400th workout on New Years Eve, Yoga with Adriene. Maybe I’ll do the same this year.
“‘I follow in the footsteps of women adventurers from history who were ignored’ Adventurer Lise Wortley on why she’s recreating female explorers’ expeditions in costume.”
Listen on BBC here.
You can follow Lise on Instagram here.
Her website, Woman with Altitude, is here.
I had one of those doctor’s comments the other day that always gets my back up. You know, it began with “at your age.” My age?
Apparently at my age weight and weight loss isn’t as important as maintaining muscle. And as you age, when you lose weight, it’s more likely that it’s muscle that you’re losing.
From an article in the Globe and Mail, by Alex Hutchinson, We need better guidelines to deal with age-related muscle loss.
“You might be relieved to hear that the creeping weight gain of middle age – a pound or two (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a year starting in your 20s, on average – eventually grinds to a halt. By the time you’re in your 50s, you’ll typically start slowly shedding weight. Don’t celebrate yet, though. There’s a good chance that the weight you’re losing is muscle – precisely what you need to hang onto to stay metabolically healthy and independent into old age. “
You need to be sure you get enough strength training in and make sure you’re eating enough protein.
Okay, my doctor might be on to something but still the “at your age” comment rubbed me the wrong way. Lol.
I’ve written lots about this in the past. Maybe I could have shown him some of my posts!
Past posts:
CW: discussion of road traffic deaths, focusing on cyclists, walkers, runners.
Today is the 32nd year of communities gathering to remember their friends, family members and neighbors who died on roads and streets. Starting in 2005, the United Nations officially adopted the third Sunday in November as World Remembrance Day, as “the appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic crashes and their families”.
I was reminded of this day by Mass Bike, an organization that offers bike education and advocates for safer streets and roads for cyclists of all ages and types. Today they are sponsoring a Ride for Your Life and rally at the State House in Boston. There they will remember the fifty pedestrians and eight cyclists who have been killed in road violence so far this year. And, they will advocate for legislation to make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
Which leads me to this: until recently, discussions around bike safety have often centered around what individuals on bikes do: are they wearing helmets? Are they using lights? Are they obeying traffic laws? Why were they riding in this place very late at night or early in the morning?
Questions like these implicitly place the responsibility for bike safety on the cyclists themselves. But this is the wrong focus. Research suggests that the type of road infrastructure that creates both awareness of shared space and provides physical barriers between cyclists and drivers has significant effects on road violence. In Boston, where I live, there are a number of ways roads have been refashioned to increase awareness, visibility and safety. You can look here for more info, and some illustrations are below.
Cities in places like the Netherlands and Denmark have very advanced road infrastructures for cyclists and pedestrians, but here in North America, we lag far behind. Maybe today is a good day for you to take a walk or a ride, write your local politicians, or talk to your friends and neighbors about bike and pedestrian safety. Of course, any day is a good day for education and advocacy. But there’s no time like the present, and you’ll be in good company with others all around the world.
I regularly share my #3GoodThings on social media. I started a few Novembers ago and the habit has kind of stuck. These are hard times and sometimes it can be hard to find good things. But tracking them also makes me look out for good things. That’s a good habit too.
I love that the habit is spreading.
My friend Todd is posting #3GoodThings in his life and 3 good things in the news on his blog, Go Outside Today.
The blog’s Cate, aka Field Poppy, is also posting 3 good things on social media, with the added bonus that they’re posting in French!
Reading the good things that other people find in the world gives me a boost too.
What #3GoodThings did you notice in the world today?
