It started off so promising. An icy Monday morning I hopped on my commuter bike with new studded tires. They gripped through ice and wet leaves. I felt so bad ass.
The ride home was equally wonderful. A bit chilly but it felt like a win.
The Tuesday we got a good amount of snow.
Wednesday the ride in was terrible. I shared an honest video recounting how the road plow had filled the bike lane with snow banks, that it was garbage day and we still had piles of leaves in the lane too.
I felt deflated. Defeated really.
The snow has since melted.
I’m feeling positive about trying it again next week. Fingers crossed the weather is on my side.
A short video showing black painters strapped to a blue step through bicycle. There are neoprene sleeves over the handle bars.
There was a time, not so long ago ( a year ago) where most of my strength training was done alone, on machines at my work gym.
I had a solid routine of twice a week for an hour. I got stronger, especially on the leg press.
Injuries outside of the gym meant I could
No longer do most lower body machines. I started working out at home with body weight exercises and some dumbbells.
I’m now firmly a fan of dumbbell exercises. Through the two Total Strength programs I’ve been exposed to a wide variety of movements.
The exercises ensure a full body workout that includes flexibility, balance and range of motion.
I like the option of picking different weights for each exercise to tailor my workout.
I especially enjoy sharing this time with Michel. It’s become our touch point four times a week. We laugh, grunt and encourage each other.
When my sister Anj was visiting she joined us. She loved that she could jump in and grab the weight that felt good for her.
Not taking it too seriously and modifying moves makes success achievable.
Nat and Michel squint into the sun on a beautiful fall day. They are wearing black shirts because they are very cool people.
After a summer and fall of traveling with our dumbbells I don’t see me leaving them behind anytime soon. Oh. And I definitely need to go buy some 25 lb ones!
It’s the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend. I kicked it off with taking Friday off for my birthday.
In the run up to my birthday my colleagues got me a card and this giant donut from Boxcar Donuts.
A donut the size of your head with orange frosting. There are brown, yellow and orange sprinkles on the sides. “Thankful” is written in chocolate frosting. It has a whip cream filling. Delicious!
What does a fit feminist do for her fifty-first birthday? Shake things up!
Usually we would host our kids & their partners for Thanksgiving dinner. This year my youngest and her girlfriend are in British Columbia. My oldest son’s beloved is on deployment.
I thought it might be a bit, well, sad to be home and just the three of us.
So I reached out to good friends and asked if they wanted to chip in on an AirBnB. I found one with a hot tub on a river with kayaks. They agreed!
Michel and I are continuing our Total Strength 2 workouts on Peloton with Andy Speer.
My “heavy” dumbbells are now 15 lbs, up from 10 lbs. The classes are feeling good.
Today is a rest day and I’m putting on a big spread. I like serving up our big celebratory meal early in the weekend so we can enjoy lots of leftovers.
On Sunday Michel and I hit 29 years of marriage. We will be calculating our “years of bliss”. Spoiler, it’s NOT 29. There were tough years but thankfully the balance tips towards bliss.
Here’s to a weekend filled with food, fun and friends. 51 is off to a grand start.
The Ausable River and dock of our weekend stay. The water is light brown due to the sand.
It’s not my Peloton instructor Andy’s fault. He has a reasonable expectation that I can count the number of sets I can complete of 6 reps of 4 moves.
I mean. IT IS COUNTING IN MY FIRST LANGUAGE.
It’s as easy as one, two three, right?
Uh. No.
My beloved and I wrapped up week one of our latest strength training program with a 10 minute baseline test. A four minute warmup and six minutes to complete as many sets as possible.
A Strava screenshot showing Andy at full extension of a single arm shoulder press.
Sets were 6 single arm shoulder presses with a medium dumbbell then 6 split squats, repeat on the other side for a total of 24 movements.
The switching of sides challenges my vestibular system. I have a mild impairment and I am improving my balance with exercise. I know it takes a lot of cognitive work for me to move an asymmetrical load.
I suspect that is the point of a single shoulder press, engage your core and glutes to stabilize while pressing upwards. It’s a great move.
I completed the test using my 10 lb dumbbell. I was not at muscle failure at the end of the test. I think I completed six sets? I do not know. Counting reps and staying balanced pushed my set counting aside.
I find split squats, one leg forward, one leg back, very challenging. I do not get the full range of motion to 90 degrees in both legs. I tend to fall more into a lunge.
Screenshot of an instructor demonstrating a split squat. Note the two 90 degree leg bends
I get nervous about dropping past the point of positive control and hitting my back knee on the floor.
I’m using chairs and other assistance to explore going deeper outside of workouts.
Suffice to say, I was challenged in some ways for the test while also feeling validated that I’m stronger and more competent with these two moves. The end of the program test I won’t have a numerical baseline but I’ll use this post as my qualitative baseline.
I hope you are getting the results you want from your workouts!
I do love those big gains when I start something new. In August I told you about Making muscles with Michel
In the post I shared the results of the initial strength test. On September 15th Michel and I did the final test for Total Strength.
It took us a month to complete the scheduled workouts that should have happened in 3 weeks. Pftt. We did not care.
I didn’t really increase my weights much. I often used 5 lb weights because my left elbow tendons were causing me some grief.
My approach to the program is committed but not serious. I don’t push past my comfort. I modify movements. I swap out others.
The results?
My squats in 1 minute went from 22 with body weight to 33 holding 20lbs. Yay early gains!
Knee pushups saw similar results starting at 12 very wobbly ones to a set of 17 good form ones. Yippee!
Imperfect adherence and mediocre effort can still yield results, even over a relatively short period of time.
Go do the thing you said you’d do… most of the time. Half ass it or go through the motions. Even your minimum effort supports your fitness goals.
It all counts.
I’m thrilled to have left behind my “all or nothing” thinking when it comes to fitness, especially strength training.
I’m enjoying these moments with my beloved. We are finding joy in our sweaty basement workouts.
I hope your workouts are giving you what you need too.
Nat holds the camera to take a selfie with Michel. Her arms are looking burly and she is smiling. Michel is looking over her shoulder sporting a red t-shirt and a dapper salt and pepper beard.
It’s been a year of me using a smart watch to track activities and workouts. Let’s take a look at the numbers.
I’ve tracked 674 activities on Strava. WOW!
Some are workout snacks, like 10 minute warm ups or stretching. Others are the morning dog walk. Some strength training. Lots of cycling.
I’m definitely more consistent at tracking activities. I’m not sure I’m more active than the previous year but I certainly have more data.
My resting heart rate is slowly trending downward. It was at 65 bpm last year and now 60 bpm.
I’m getting marginally more sleep.
My step count hovers around 9,500.
One thing that I have not done is add workouts or activities to close an exercise or move ring.
If my goal is 60 minutes and my walk was 59 I’m ok with that. I’m not looking to optimize or maximize my steps or exercise. I’m going for more consistency.
My watch has definitely helped me measure that. I’m celebrating by going out for a ride this morning. It’s so nice out!
It’s late summer in little London, Ontario. The nights are fresh, the mornings crisp and the days are warm.
It’s the kind of weather where I’m comfortable on my commuter bike Myrna. A light sweater and the morning trip is easy. A bit of rain? No problem. It’s still warm. Easy.
It feels a bit like cheating. Getting a 10 minute ride twice in the day with no effort.
Lately I’ve been appreciating the difference between activities and workouts. They both involve using my body and are part of my lifestyle. Thanks to having a smart watch for a year I’m seeing those two things come together in a surprising way.
Apple watches have an “Active energy” metric that calculates the calories one burns with movement.
I was surprised that my workouts only account for a third of my active energy.
Huh.
While I record my cycling commute I do not consider it a workout. I am wearing my office wear. The goal is to take it easy and not get too sweaty. I like recording so I will have my total distance cycled this year. I think it will be more than last year.
The weather will change. Fall is a couple weeks away and sometime in the next 4 months we will get snow. But for now it’s gorgeous outside and it’s easy to keep to my cycling commute.
A white bicycle symbol painted on asphalt with a dusting of golden leaves.
