I am actually in the middle of two other posts for our blog here but I am not going to have either of them ready in time to post for tomorrow (I’m typing this on Monday night).
One of those posts has been in progress for a while but the other one was a fun idea that I came up with late on Monday afternoon and I won’t have time to finish it this evening. I was busy being low-key annoyed with myself for my semi-regular habit of coming up with fun ideas when it is pretty much too late to pull them off when I realized that I have often thought of event-themed posts for Fit is a Feminist Issue on the day of the actual event and it is probably too late for our readers to give them a try.
And THAT made me realize that Tuesday the 27th would actually be a useful time to post Halloween-themed workouts because we would all have time to actually try some.
So, here we are!
I’ll post my too-late-to-pull-off-today idea a little later in the week and, in the meantime, I’m actually doing a Halloween-themed post in plenty of time.
I’m calling that a victory!
Now, these workouts vary in length but please remember that you can do just part of the video if you are pressed for time or energy or you could do the shorter ones more than once, I guess. 🙂
Have fun!
Tag: fun
Nat’s reasons for riding
My post last week about how my 100 km ride did not go as planned generated a lot of discussion across my social media platforms. The conversation is ongoing!
I have marvelous friends who are supportive, encouraging and unapologetic when calling me out on being mean to myself. I’m very lucky.
There were several gems I have mined from those discussions. Today I am looking at a question my gym buddy Rob asked me.
Why did I want to ride 100 km?
The first answer that came to mind was that I wanted to test if I was ready to ride longer than 100 km.
I’m very comfortable completing the MS Bike Tour. The two days of 80 km supported every 20 km felt great. It’s a different challenge to ride continuously in 50 km blocks. I underestimated that gap and was disappointed.
The myth of linear progress
I wanted to complete a 100 km ride as part of a story of physical fitness that showed progress.
When my results were similar to the ones I had 12 years ago it felt like a set-back.
In chatting with my friends in Randonneurs Ontario they shared stories of struggling to have consistent times on a given distance.
We spoke about routes, conditions, health, training, age and injuries.
There are a lot of variables that affect how long it takes to complete a route. Only some of those are under my direct control.
Is that the real reason?
Rob invited me to push against the first answers to validate if that is really why I wanted to ride 100 km.
Hope
What I wanted out of the ride was some evidence that my longest distances are ahead of me.
Ten years ago I completed the People with AIDS Bike Tour from Toronto to Montreal. It was 600 km over 6 days. The longest distance on a given day was around 135 km.
Between then and now I quit cycling in 2020 (during the pandemic) then re-started in 2023.
I’ve been inconsistent. Without a capstone event after the MS Bike Tour my distance peters off each year. I have not used the indoor trainer in the winter.
New goals
What I really want out of cycling is more adventures with Michel. We are getting ready to try some rail trails this fall. I got a trailer to bring our dog Lucy along.
Active living
My big picture goal is an active life that supports my physical and mental wellbeing. I really enjoy shorter jaunts and I want to extend that to longer rides.
Consistent Riding
There is no secret to going longer, faster and happier on a bike. It’s time in the saddle on a consistent basis.
Training for the PWA ride had specific milestones to meet in order to be allowed to ride. There were distances to hit, an average speed above 20 km/hr and a deadline for back to back 100 km days.
Unstructured fun
In the shoulder season my focus will be fucking around and finding out. I will try some wider tires and some rail trails. I will get on my bike 2-3 times a week in addition to my utility cycling.
Thank you
I wanted to wrap this up with a giant thank you to my friends and family. I never imagined my writing about being disappointed with my 100 km would illicit a tsunami of responses. Texts from Nova Scotia and British Columbia and every province in between!
Messages from folks showing they had read every word and could relate. Thank you for reading my posts and connecting over our shared experiences of try to keep these bodies doing all the things.
The Future
I’m still thinking about my mid and long term cycling goals. I’ll be sure to let you know once I settle on them.
Getting back to it…again
I’m probably not alone in having stops and starts in my fitness routines. My favourite themes over the years have been about starting small, doing less, getting over injuries with small steps. And that’s where I am again after deciding that I would not participate in winter running this year. It’s been a long winter. I got out there today after a four-month hiatus.
Since I’ve never really managed to stick with a consistent running routine for more than a few months at a time since just before the pandemic, I feel as if I am starting at the beginning.
Today was the first nice day of nice spring running weather, where I could run in shorts and a t-shirt. And so I chose it to be my day one of the beginners running program, Couch to 5K.
Couch to 5K is probably the most widely used learn to run app. It’s a nine-week program designed to get someone from not running at all to running for 30 continuous minutes over the course of three runs a week for nine weeks.
It starts easy and that is just what I want after a long hiatus. Week one has three runs the same: 5 minutes warm up walk, and then 8 intervals of 1 minute of running followed by 1 1/2 minutes of walking, and closing out with a 5 minute walk.
I’m going in with beginners mind because despite having many kilometres under my feet, I feel like a newbie. And I’m open to learning something new about what I can do and how I can do it.
I have let go of what I “used to be able to do,” and am focusing on what I can do today.
Will report back at the end of April!
January 20 is Take A Walk Outdoors Day
Today is Take A Walk Outdoors Day and I plan to celebrate by, you guessed it, taking a walk outdoors!
This isn’t a new thing for me, of course, I take a walk outdoors with Khalee most days, but I am making a point to get a good walk in today.
For the record, I also took a walk outdoors on Monday, even though it was just Take A Walk Outdoors Eve. It was a very drizzly day and Khalee was not a fan. She insisted on turning around to head home after just a few minutes but I’m still counting it as a walk outdoors.
Note: Are there entirely too many ‘official’ days for ordinary things? Maybe. Do I enjoy choosing to celebrate some of them all the same? Hells, yes! If it adds fun to my life and does no harm? I am IN.
As I was writing this post I did a quick search to see how many of my posts mention walking. It turns out that I have written 668 posts for Fit is a Feminist Issue and at least 192 of them mention walking. That includes posts for Making Space and Go Team so some of them may not be about my own walks but I still find it interesting that there are that many. Also, that 192 doesn’t include some posts that are about walking but that didn’t get picked up by the search function for some reason – like the poem one linked below.
Here are a few of my favourite posts about getting out for a walk:
Seven Things Christine Noticed On Her Sunday Walk
Khalee Solves Christine’s Problem (a poem?)
Christine and Khalee Try Walking Meditation
Just For Fun With Christine and Khalee
The health benefits of being outdoors is one of those things that I “know” but I realized I had never actually looked it up before so I did and I found this article from the Canadian Psychological Association that you may want to have a look at:
This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Yasmeen Ibrahim, Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student, and Shannon Johnson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University.
Another thing that sprang to mind while I was writing this was the Latin phrase Solvitur Ambulando which means “It is solved by walking.” I don’t speak or read Latin but I came across that phrase years ago and I love how it landed with me.
I took it literally when I first heard it – that walking around can help you figure things out – but I have since found out that it is also about solving complicated abstract problems by taking practical action. It works in all directions, really.
And in confirming the Latin spelling, I came across this delightful ‘sketchplanation’ of the literal interpretation of the phrase by Jono Hey
And seeing as I am pretending to be all sophisticated by sharing a Latin phrase, I’ll lean into that and share a quote (that is about walking and not about walking) from a poem that I love called [Traveler, your footprints] by Antonio Machado.
Traveler, there is no road;
you make your own path as you walk.
~Antonio Machado
Now, as good as it is to take a walk outdoors and to recommend walking outdoors, I know that that’s not always possible for everyone. and from what I understand, you can get some of the benefits of walking outdoors, of being in nature, and the like from looking at pictures of nature and, I assume, watching videos of people’s nature hikes.
So, in the spirit of focusing on things we can do instead of getting all caught up in the things we can’t do: If you are not able to get out outside today to take a walk (or to propel yourself by whatever means you usually do) then here are a few nature walking videos that I thought you might enjoy watching at home – whether or not you are walking/moving at the same time.
Have fun!
Nat’s fitness secrets to success in 2026
A new year often brings a sense of renewal. I’m not one to make resolutions in January. It is a good time to check in on goals and make adjustments. Steady as she goes!
I’m stacking the deck in my favour for a good 2026 by ensuring each day has movement in it. Daily dog walks, cycling commutes, strength and flexibility. I’m set up for success and have fully ditched “all or nothing” thinking.
Resilience
I’m bracing for bad stuff too. Experience has taught me along with all the great things comes a healthy dose of hard stuff, horrors even.
It’s the complicated gift of middle age, being pulled in many directions without falling apart.
Going through tough stuff has taught me I’m a good hugger. Olympic level hug giver right here. Happy to demonstrate at any moment.
I hold hands at hospital bedsides very well. I stay careful and kind now, even when I’m really upset.
I’m more resilient thanks to my fitness adventures.
So my wisdom to share on this year’s fitness goals is here for you if you need it.
It all counts
Watch didn’t record? Garmin dump your ride? It’s ok if it didn’t end up on Strava. Your body knows you did it. Data is only one measure. You were there. You did it. Go you!
Say it again, it all counts
Barely got to the workout? Had to wrap up early? Needed to lighten the resistance? Take a lighter weight?
AMAZING! You showed up for yourself and invested in your wellbeing. Well done!
You don’t have to like it
There will be days it sucks and you don’t enjoy the workout. You will always feel a sense of accomplishment regardless of how it went.
If a given activity is really chapping your ass switch it up. Ditch the weights and do a cardio dance class. Yoga pissing you off? Take up a martial art. You don’t always have to like it. Way to go!
Confidence comes from trusting yourself
You know when you are sick and need to rest.
You know when you need down time.
You know when you need help staying motivated.
You know who to go to for help.
You know a lot!
Trust yourself!
Plans rarely survive encounters with reality
The beautiful plan will fall apart. That’s ok because you knew it would happen and made flexibility part of the plan. Please, please, please break up with perfection.
My MVP (minimum viable plan) is 60 minutes of movement. Walking, cycling, stretching, dancing in my underwear. It’s adaptable.
Weather is sweet? I’m on my bike.
Back getting tight? Add another walk and do some yoga.
Bike out of commission? Grab some dumbbells.
You get the idea.
Messy is good
Challenge yourself to be a bit of a wreck. Not all moments are instagram moments.
Exploring the edges of your capacity is exciting and helps you grow. It’s not necessary every day but totally required to keep monotony at bay.
Team up to survive
It’s a fitness wasteland out here. Team up in person or virtually with workout partners. You will get more workouts in more often. Harness the power of positive peer pressure.
HAVE FUN
I’m serious. Play disc golf, beach volleyball, snorkel with manatees, whatever makes this year different than last year. Be silly and do stuff. That’s part of fitness too.
That’s it
Thank you for reading this far. I hope you gleaned some gems that you can keep for 2026.
Spoiler, this is the advice I need so I wrote it down. Hopefully I don’t forget!
LETS GO 2026!
Wishing you all the best as the light begins to return
This year may not have gone as you hoped. Or maybe it went brilliantly.
Whether you suffered losses, didn’t meet goals, or had a year full of joy with friends and fun activities, I hope that 2026 is (even) better for you.
Just remember, no matter how you choose to celebrate the return of winter, you should do it in style.
Making Space 2025: Day 8
Hey everyone,
For my own amusement, I decided to choose today’s videos by searching ‘8 minute workout’ and ‘8 minute meditation’ to match the fact that today is the 8th.
It’s true that it doesn’t take a lot to amuse me but I consider that a good thing. 😉
In this section of the post, I usually add a little extra idea for your day. This time, I thought of all sorts of fun 8-themed activities for you to try today but eventually decided to offer this suggestion instead:
Today, please try to do just one thing that is for your own amusement. That might mean wearing your favourite hat, listening to a favourite song, dancing in the hallway, adding cinnamon to your hot chocolate, doodling in your notebook, shaping your pancakes like diamonds or sending heart emojis to all of your friends.
It really doesn’t matter what you decide, the important thing is that it is something fun for you* and that it doesn’t necessarily serve any other purpose besides amusing yourself.
As always, I wish you ease and self-kindness as you make your way through today.
Here is your movement practice for today:
And here’s your mindfulness practice:
* For the record, I am not advocating that you have fun at someone else’s expense nor am I suggesting that you do anything harmful. Just had to get that out there. (Yes, I overthink everything. Even this note.)
Some Spooky Exercises for Halloween 2025
Ok, so they aren’t all that spooky but I thought you might like to try one (or more!) of these themed workouts that I found recently.
You’re going to workout anyway so you might as well maximize your fun, right?
Camping together gives women autonomy and community
I recently went kayak camping with 6 friends at a remote Ontario provincial park called Killarney. Over 6 days and 5 nights we kayaked on a lake to 3 different camp sites. It was a chance for some holiday rest but also some active challenges.
Each site stop meant packing and unpacking my (borrowed) kayak: sleeping gear, food gear, hygiene gear, camp chair, bug repellants, clothes, and drying line. These were stored in dry sacs that kept stuff dry in inclement weather or if the kayak tips. We also agreed to each pack out our own garbage, which had to be stored every night in our kayaks to avoid attracting animals.
Though I was a girl guide and did family trailercamper trips as a kid, I am newer to camping where you haul your own gear, purify your own water, eat primarily rehydrated food, and eliminate in a “thunderbox”. On every trip I learn more through observing others and asking questions to find what arrangements suit me best (eg, tent vs hammock for sleeping, what vegetarian foods I can take, etc.).
I’m on my own to make sure I can carry what I pack, I pick up after myself, and I keep myself clean, dry, sated, and injury-free. Although this seems like regular adult stuff, in nature with no other amenities than what I carry, I must plan ahead and be self-sufficient. As one of my friends said during the trip, “Doing this as a woman, as a group of women, is empowering.” (Another one said camping is having fun while being mildly uncomfortable.)
What is empowering is not just taking care of yourself but also working together as a group. These women harnessed 7 kayaks in a trailer safely for highway driving, navigated to a remote provincial park, kayaked to multiple camp sites, used fishing gear, arranged in pairs for food prep and clean up, found wood, set up big tarps in case of rain, and shared anything that was needed, from extra salt to insect repellant to tampons to skin bandages.
For nearly a week were on our own but also together: travelling, paddling, swimming, fishing, card playing, plein air watercolor painting, food and drink imbibing, mosquito repelling, storytelling, and looking out for each other.
I am grateful to have learned so much about the tricks and tools of kayak camping from these women. It’s given me a sense of accomplishment and pride in a hobby that’s fun but not always easy or convenient. I’ve chosen from here this quotation, attributed to Madonna (who may or may not also be a kayak camper), to sum up my thoughts:
“As women, we have to start appreciating our own worth and each other’s worth. Seek out strong women to befriend, to align yourself with, to learn from, to collaborate with, to be inspired by, to support, and enlightened by.” – Madonna
What do you do, on your own but also with others, that gives you a sense of personal autonomy as well as community?
What Counts as Winning
A few years ago, a group of 40+ women organized a “chill” low/no-contact indoor rec soccer league. The idea was to avoid the intensity, aggression, and injury risk that can make adult rec sports feel more stressful than friendly. Stories like those on this Reddit thread confirm that too much competitiveness can make rec soccer less fun.
Our soccer building keeps league-wide policies: in this new league we couldn’t self-officiate or prevent too-skilled teams from registering. Most players still wanted to play on their own teams and keep score. So, how do you ensure a new league will be fun and friendly when many elements stay the same?
We have tried a few things: captains keep a group chat, and referees are asked to be aware of rough play. This year, each team nominated a “player of the game” from the opposing team—a small gesture to recognize effort and positivity, not just goals. Since its inception, I’ve enjoyed playing in this league and am grateful to those who have supported it so far!
Still, as play has improved over the past few years, I’ve noticed a shift in the intensity level of some games. It has made me wonder: how can we maintain the spirit of “chill”?
Here are some on-field ideas teams could adopt or maintain:
- Drop back for any line or goal kick.
- Stop play as soon as the keeper has the ball or is on the ground.
- Discourage any arguing with referees calls. All concerns about calls go through captains.
- Take a very short rest/water break within each half, even with subs (Ayso, 2024).
- Rotate players across positions.
- Teams who notice a skill gap, or when there is a goal difference of >4, pass a set number of times before shooting (Rabinoviz, 2015) or only make ground shots.
And some off-field ideas:
- Each new season captains create a play agreement they share with their teams.
- Keep communication flowing between refs, captains, and players throughout the season.
- Encourage post-game socializing between teams.
- Skip playoffs (especially shootouts) and just extend the season.
- Check in with players occasionally for feedback.
- Individuals can reflect after each game, or the season: Did I have fun? Did the other team help me to have fun? Did I help the other team to have fun? (Thanks to Sara for this idea.)
The goal isn’t to restrict play—it’s to shape it in a way that reflects our shared values: community, fun, safety, and mutual respect.
Around the same time I was reflecting on all this, I read Sam and her colleague’s article, “The Virtue of Aggression in Sport” (2025). I’ll admit, the title gave me pause—given that I was sharing an update about a league trying to minimize aggression! But the authors draw a thoughtful distinction between unacceptable violence and “controlled physicality” (para. 1). I’ve heard a few league players express similar views: physical intensity can be part of what makes soccer feel satisfying. It doesn’t have to mean harm.
The article makes the case that some aggression is appropriate, even desirable, insofar as “those who are highly motivated to win will pursue their goals vigorously” (para. 3). And I don’t disagree—it’s important to clarify what kinds of aggression are acceptable and unacceptable in competitive sports.
Sam’s article makes valid philosophical arguments, but I think our chill league strives to align with its broader point about defining what kinds of physicality we allow. We can pursue the goal of “chill” by creating a space where fun, fitness, and community are the measures of success. Ideally, “winning” isn’t about the scoreboard—it’s about how we feel during and after the game: connected, respected, and glad we showed up.
After playing in our last regular game of this season, I realized one more thing: I care less about physicality and more about avoiding situations where negativity and aggression/competitiveness feed each other. For me, it is essential to maintain positive feelings of goodwill and care for everyone on the field.
So, as the league evolves, I hope we keep deciding together what kind of experience we want to have, then actively working towards shaping that experience. I plan to keep pursuing (vigorously) the goal of keeping a positive vibe on the field: that’s a win for me.
Rec sports players: how do you keep things positive and fun, even with varying levels of skill, intensity, and physicality?