Somewhere along the way strength training fell off my routine over the last six months.
I injured my lower back in the winter. Part of my recovery was limiting some types of movement. I had to be very careful with what activities I did to not further aggravate my lower back.
While strength training helps recover from and prevent lower back injuries I found myself sticking to my physio but not much else.
Dumbbells with rubber coating are nice a quiet when I put them down.
Michel and I started back with a Peloton 30 minute full body class on Sunday. He loves Andy as an instructor and I love heavy metal music. Thankfully Andy has a few heavy metal workouts so we were both pumped to get back at it.
I prefer my workouts to feel like a rock concert.
The first class I used three pound dumbbells to warm up and five pounds for the core movements. I focused on form.
Two days later my pecs were tender. What? Even with that light of weights?
Last night we did the same class again right after work. I bumped up to 10 lb weights for some exercises but stuck with fives for the rest.
I caught sight of my reflection during a suitcase squat. I appreciated how strong I felt and how quickly my body was responding to training.
How I feel in strength class, jacked!
Michel looked at me. “I love you so much. Thank you for doing this with me.”
He is starting to hate strength training a bit less. He credits that to us making it a date. I love that we can modify moves, swear and complain in our basement without bothering anyone else.
It is no small feat, to regularly carve out time for strength training. I had thought with me being retired I would feel an abundance of time. It is surprising how many demands are on my time. My expectations have also changed. I suffer from being an optimist and underestimate how long a given task will take.
Our goal is to lift weights three times a week. I do love it. I feel badass and the heavy metal music makes my heart sing.
Metal is working class opera. I love the big feelings, intense vocals and shredding guitar. The music gives a place for my effort filled grunts and complex thoughts about my fitness to go. It’s a winner.
There’s big news in sports this week: Serena Williams is officially back playing professional tennis. winning a straight-sets doubles match with her partner, Canadian Victoria Mboko, over the 3rd seeded pair in the Queen’s grass court tournament in London. Mboko was unfortunately injured during the tournament, having to withdraw from further play for the time being. Williams plans to play with a different partner in the Berlin open next week.
Not sports news, but nonetheless reported by the NY Times and other venues: Serena Williams has been taking Zepbound, a GLP-1/GIP weight-loss drug for weight loss.
Williams, 44, said that she made the decision after trying just about every other avenue. She had not wanted to take “the shortcut,” she said on Oprah Winfrey’s podcast last August, but, Williams said, getting to where she wanted to be after her two pregnancies was not working through training alone.
“I couldn’t beat the weight. It was the one opponent I couldn’t beat,” Williams, who manages her treatment through Ro, a telehealth company for which she serves as a paid ambassador, said.
And oh, do the commenters have comments! But first, some facts:
Serena is one of the greatest athletes of all time, having won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, two Serena slams, 367 match wins, and lots more here.
We FIFI bloggers love writing about Serena, including here and here and here and here.
Serena has had two babies and is 44 years old, which means that biology wants her to weigh more now. Biology is very persuasive with bodies.
Exercise, even intense athletic training (especially for women), doesn’t bring about weight loss. Studies have shown this, and you can read about them here, here and here.
Commentators, including both professionals and randos, never miss an opportunity to offer opinions on Serena’s body size, shape, age, clothing, work, parenting, you name it.
Serena is taking a GLP-1 drug– Zepbound, which is tirzepatide, for weight loss.
She is a paid ambassador to a telehealth company (Ro) that sells Zepbound, and her husband is an investor in the company.
Now, to the comments. But– humor me–one more little thing:
Why, oh why, do so many people have so many utterly unfounded, unsolicited and unwelcome opinions about Serena Williams? I mean, really. For example: In a 2019 poll, one in eight UK men said they thought they could take a point off her in a tennis match. This was after her 23rd Grand Slam win. I’d love to watch them try. If you doubt at all, check this out.
Okay, now to the NYT commenters’ comments. They include a wide range, of which some are below.
They minded that Serena’s doubles partner wasn’t mentioned enough.
They implied that by playing doubles, Serena wasn’t really back; after all, she only had to cover half the court.
They implied that taking a GLP-1 drug is like doping.
They said confused and false things (some wildly wrong) about the effects of GLP-1 drugs on muscle mass (fact: weight loss of any sort tends to reduce muscle mass)
They also said Serena was:
Self-prescribing (NO)
Offering medical advice (NO)
Doping in general (offering no evidence that she has and there is NO evidence that she has)
Doping because GLP-1s are performance-enhancing drugs (NONONONONO—I will be blogging more about this next week)
Then there were the science-splainers. This one was my favorite:
“it’s[GLP-1 effects] a consequence of how your body prioritizes what to break down for energy. This is governed by individual biology..”
NO. DEFINITELY NOT. SO NOT.
This one just made me mad:
I don’t understand the argument that she couldn’t beat her weight issues. I remember a time, way before GLPs when people lost weight the good old fashioned way I.e eating less, working out and staying active. When Serena, who during her prime years was one of the fittest and most athletic tennis players of all time, now says the only thing she couldn’t beat was her weight, this leaves me scratching my head.
DO YOU NOW? Because there was NO TIME IN HUMAN HISTORY in which many/most people lost weight the old-fashioned way and kept it off. Also, Serena is a woman who has had two children, one while still playing world-caliber professional tennis. And she is now 44. Which brings me back to the biology fact from the first fact list.
If you admire or love or respect Serena Williams even a fraction of the amount I do, you’ll now be on your guard against this newest pile of anti-science-and racist-misogynist nonsense. But I can’t leave you all riled up with nowhere to go.
I leave y’all with my favorite auto-correct comment:
what a terrible message to send to youth antlers.
Yes, let’s all be on our guard to protect those youth-antlers from GLP-1s in the wild.
Protect the antlers of our youth now from GLP-1s! Vamoose, I say!
I love the gift of time over the holidays. No alarm. No paid work. No chores (we did them earlier this week). It’s lovely and relaxing.
Michel has returned to spinning on the regular indoors. We are taking time today to get our strength training back in our schedule.
It’s a common experience to have an ebb and flow to routines. Thankfully the breaks are getting shorter as we get older.
Being less fussed about a break makes it easier to pick it up again. Literally no one cares if I’m perfect at sticking to a routine. Everyone celebrates any workout I do get in. Yay!
I’m rewarded with more pain free days when I get strength training in and that is very motivating. Yay!
Plus all my silly little physiotherapy exercises have taught me there are infinite ways to challenge my body. No fear of being bored. Yay!
I hope you are getting time to do what you want today. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
There’s nothing dumb about dusting off my dumbbells!
Since these posts are about making space for ourselves in December, today I’m considering our mental space.
When I have a busy time ahead, I often forget that making a list makes things better.
Not only does it clear out my brain but it also lets me see just how much I am trying to take on in the weeks ahead. Seeing it all written (or typed) out helps me to notice if I am taking on too much (almost certainly), if there are unnecessary things crowding my to do list, and if there are items I can reschedule or ask others for help with.
I know the suggestion to make a list isn’t new but since I often find myself ‘too busy to make a list’, I thought you might find yourself in the same situation.
So, here’s your gentle reminder that making a list frees up some brainspace, helps you to see the sheer volume of little tasks that are bouncing around in your head, and it can help you decide which tasks are vital and which can wait.
Meanwhile, though, if a list will add to your stress, feel free to ignore me. You are the boss of you!
And, as always, I wish you ease and peace of mind as you make some extra space for yourself in your own life.
In other news, here are your movement and mindfulness links for today:
Step 1: Strength training!
Here’s a strength training workout from Senior Shape Fitness called “10 Minute Full Body Strength Workout for Beginners & Seniors” and the still image shows the instructor side-on facing to the right. They have their long dark hair in a ponytail and they are wearing dark blue leggings and a light blue top. They are lifting small blue weights and smiling. The wall behind them had a blueish tinge and there is a thin tree with large leaves on the right side of the image.
Step 2: Meditation
Today’s video, “5 Minute Meditation for Focus & Clarity | Beat Procrastination & Distraction”, is from Lavendaire. The still image is of a person sitting in a meditation posture (cross-legged, upright, eyes closed, arms slightly forward so the backs of the hands are on the knees) The person is wearing white pants and black shirt and looks very peaceful sititng on a white couch with a two photos of a grassy field on the wall behind them.
I was going to title this post “You’ll never know when you’ll lift your last sailboat” when I realized that it’s the functional impact of my recent health news that will hit much harder.
What’s the health news? I’ve been diagnosed with a hiatus hernia–see here for what that means. It’s also called hiatal hernia. They’re the same condition.
I’m trying not to be dramatic about this, given that in the scheme of things the health news could have been much worse. I’m aware of that since some of the diagnosis involved ruling out the much worse things that could have been causing my symptoms.
What the diagnosis means for me, among other things, most immediately, is no more heavy lifting or intense efforts on my bike.
I think of myself–and this matters to me, perhaps more than it should–as a strong person. I know that’s connected to feeling good about my size. I’m large but I’m large and very strong.
I am all about lifting heavy things and intense efforts on the bike. Power and speed are my go-to fitness places. Rawr!
But no more. No more heavy lifting and no more racing. I feel like my entire fitness personality will need a rethink!
The pamphlets on living with a hiatus hernia all talk about the importance of exercise for weight loss and emphasize that low-intensity activities are just fine. You can still do lots of gentle movement, they say reassuringly.
Gentle movement!?
That is not at all reassuring.
Readers may know how much low-intensity exercise bores me. And you know for sure what I think about exercising for weight loss.
I’m giving myself some time to pout and mourn, but it’s very clear my life will need to change.
I won’t miss planks and crunches. They’re on the no-go list along with heavy weights and intense efforts. There’s also to be no more pull-ups, and lots of yoga poses aren’t recommended either. No cobra or camel but chair pose is okay. Fine then.
I don’t know yet how bad it is and if surgery is called for (most likely not), but I’m not really writing today to talk about the medical issues. I have an excellent family doctor. I feel very well cared for by the Canadian health care system. I’m lucky. And to be clear, I’m not looking for medical advice. I’m writing mostly to share the fitness impacts and the way I’ll need to adapt my fitness story.
Tracy has blogged about entering her 60s and changing her thinking about fitness. For Tracy, it’s now more about walking and yoga, less about racing, and more about sustainable fitness that will see her through the decades ahead. I confess that hasn’t been my plan. With my big knee surgeries behind me, I wanted to get back to fast cycling, heavy lifting, and intense efforts. Now that won’t be happening, and I am trying to come to terms with it.
Swimming seems to be fine according to most things I read. All my swimming is slow swimming. Maybe this is the thing that finally gets me into the pool. I have a month free membership at the Y that starts today.
There’s always aquafit. I did aqua yoga Saturday morning. And there’s seated bicep curls. (Yawn. ) Long slow bike rides are still good. We’ll know more as I track what does and doesn’t aggravate my condition. There’s also physio to help with a hiatus hernia. I might try that too. See the video below.
In addition to all the movement advice, there are some serious food impacts. I have already given up afternoon coffee (all coffee in fact except for one in the morning), carbonated beverages, and chocolate for dessert. I’m moving on to eating smaller meals and not eating late in the evening. The medication I’m taking requires 3-4 hours between meals. It’s also recommended I eat a few hours before exercising. (And I know the fussy eating regimens are familiar to many of you. Not me. I’ve always been able to eat a normal sized meal and hop on my bike. But no longer.)
Anything else to worry about? There’s also some worry about tightly fitting sports bras and any clothing that fits snugly around the waist. I guess I’ll be switching to bib shorts for the bike.
Sorry if this sounds a bit dramatic. I know slowing down with age is normal. I’ve been siding with team “it’s normal but not necessary, you don’t have to slow down” and yet here I am, now deliberating slowing down.
It feels like a lot right now.
I’m giving myself time to get used to this news.
By the way, my family doctor was surprised I even went to the website the specialist recommended and read the exercise section. Most people, he said, just ignore that and keep doing what they’re doing. Just take it easy, he did, but keep moving.
He makes it sound so simple. But he also seems like not an over-thinker.
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 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!
Way back when, BTB (“Before The Blog”), I hurt my back pretty badly. First, there was a fall when skiing. Then, there was the Australian beach crash. I talk about the beach incident here. For years after those accidents I put my back out doing simple things like taking off my cycling shoes or sitting too long at my desk.
All of that prompted me to get a standing desk and I’ve used one at work for more than a dozen years.
So for the past bunch of years, since moving to Guelph, I haven’t had very many back issues. I figured I’d solved that problem.
Until last week.
After three days of bike riding, followed by hot yoga, and then weight training, I spent way too much time sitting at my desk. I was tired and somehow never moved my desk to the standing position.
I followed the very long sitting at my desk day with a night at the movie theatre. When I got up from the movie theatre seat, there was that horrible low back pain that I know so well from the past.
The next day I was okay sitting, and okay standing, but moving between those positions was very painful.
I thought, in that doomy and pessimistic way that gets us all sometime especially in this political climate, that that was it. My back would just hurt forever.
Sarah nagged me into stretching. And I ordered a new set of yoga balls to use on my back when I’m sitting.
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.
I definitely snuck down to our car last Saturday morning to get some dumbbells. The oak stairs at the bed and breakfast creaked with each step.
Out of consideration for the guests below us, Michel and I modified our workout to be low impact.
Plain 5 lb dumbbells sit in front of a blue antique glass beauty set that includes a perfume sprayer. Boxes of Chanel No. 5 sit in the background.
We washed up then took our bags and weights to the car. Other guests, decked out in cycling gear were enjoying the 7 course breakfast. We went for a walk until our seating time.
It was worth the wait.
Breakfast of oatmeal, fruit, smoothie, coffee, juice all served in crystal drinks ware and blue and white chins. There were croissants and soufflé too!
As our trip through New Brunswick continued we worked out in the kitchen of our next stay.
This open kitchen meant we easily fit two sweaty humans in there.
The best spot, bar none, has been the two workouts on the deck of my parents’ house. They overlook the St Croix River that forms the US border with Maine.
5 lb dumbbells sit on the deck railing. Beyond is the lush riverbank.
Was is a bit quirky to pack our dumbbells into the car?
Yes.
Was it awkward?
Sometimes.
Was it worth it?
Absolutely.
We had committed to doing a 4 week strength program. I wanted to figure out how to make it work on our vacation.
It felt good to keep the consistency. It was fun to figure out when & where. Our families were very supportive.
I’ll definitely keep fitness as part of my vacation planning in future.
