Feminist reflections on fitness, sport, and health
Sometimes (actually most times) I am a big fan of doing what I want, not what I’m told to do. This extends to workouts, where I typically advocate choice, various degrees of challenge-options built in to the workout (like, if you want to challenge yourself, do this; if you want to take it easier, do… Continue reading “Just tell me what to do!”
So I turned 57 yesterday, and though I didn’t much feel like celebrating (because it’s hardly any sort of milestone birthday), I did. I took the day off and did only things I enjoy, starting with a 6 am workout with Alex and a hot yoga class a little bit later. I had lunch with… Continue reading The Liberatory Power of Aging (Tracy turns 57)
Early January is crammed with all sorts of advice about how to make those January 1st changes stick. I have often dissed the idea of resolutions as a sort of set-up for failure. But this year I’m actually in a change-is-good mindset, and I have high hopes for the blank page that a new year… Continue reading The two-minute rule: start really really small
I have run in Central Park since 1993. I’ll let you do the math. When I first got here, I lived on 113th Street and came into the park at its northwest corner on 110th. Then, six months later, I moved to 85th street and then to Riverside and 79th. So, for 28 years, I… Continue reading My Long-Term Running Relationship with Central Park is Evolving
For people new to fitness routines or for people looking to kickstart a routine that’s stalled (for whatever reason), starting (or starting over) can be so overwhelming as to be a deal-breaker. My favourite advice, and I have sung its praises many times over and in lots of different ways right here on this blog,… Continue reading On starting small
Content warning: post includes talk about dieting and weight loss I’ve been working out regularly for close to 20 years. That still amazes me when I think about it, because for the first 30 years of my life, I was not an active or fit person. I hated gym class, smoked on and off, hated… Continue reading Stop “looking for results from working out” and kick guilt to the curb
This morning, Sam posted about working out more during the pandemic: Are you working out more or less often during the pandemic? Sam is on Team More As an avid blog reader and writer, I knew that Sam was doing a lot of activity during the pandemic. It’s been cool to read about her Zwift… Continue reading Working out during the pandemic: notes from Team Less can be More
In most ways, this year, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been for me a year of doing less. I’m riding my bike outside now but no big distances. There’s (obviously) no big summer travel. Normally my summers involve academic conference travel, usually in Europe, with vacation tacked on to the beginning or end.… Continue reading Sam and Sarah’s Big Canoe Trip Adventure
Samantha recently posted this picture on FB from one of the YMCAs near her– it’s a cute veggie-bicycle graphic with an encouraging health message. Now, I love vegetable-collaged images as much as the next person. Here’s another cute one: Parenthetically, we should give due credit to the master of produce-collaged art, Giuseppe Archimboldo, whose famous… Continue reading What’s so great about more? Less is just fine as it is.
10 days ago I restarted my meditation practice. I’ve meditated off and on my whole adult life, and every time I restart, I always think to myself, “why don’t I do this all the time?” The answer is: it’s easy to let a new habit slide, and when it slides, it never becomes an old… Continue reading 5 things I’ve noticed from 10 days of meditation
