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!
My latest physiotherapy move is designed to help my shoulder stay seated in place.
Emily demonstrated the move, arm out sideways and bent at the elbow up. Gripping a tension band rotate the hand down, parallel to the ground and back up.
“Oh it’s like the waving cat statues!”
A white cat waves at you
“Yes!” Emily grinned “A Lucky Cat!”
It’s a classic silly little move that hones in on a weakness. I could only do 4 reps and completed the remainder without tension.
I’m grateful for more days pain free. I’m glad I’m seeing progress. It’s very slow but definitely happening.
Strength has returned to my left hand. The nerve pain has retreated to my shoulder. I have a buffet of simple exercises I use to keep the healing on track.
If I’m very lucky I’ll be able to have a full range of motion in 2026.
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.
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.
I’ve come to enjoy strength training. I had a run of a few years going into my gym at work. It was twice a week for an hour. Not enough for big gains but definitely enough to support my wellbeing.
I had a few injuries last year and I stopped going to the gym. There were so few things that I could do there that I couldn’t do at home it didn’t feel worth it.
When looking at my overall movement I had not been consistent at home. Yes, I was doing Physio exercises and the occasional strength workout but. It was sparse.
Michel wanted to get back to a regular strength routine. I am happy to take classes with him. We grunt, fart and laugh as our bodies ineffectually do things.
To put more structure to our training we decided to go back to a Peloton favourite, Total Strength with Andy Speer.
It’s a great 4 week program to begin/restart strength training. It’s 10 minutes of warm-up, 30 minutes of strength and 10 minutes of stretching.
I’m not great at warming up or stretching so this has been a welcome change.
This week we wrapped up week 1 with a short test.
A Strava screenshot showing a smiling Andy with open arms. The text announces the 5 minute strength test with Michel in my group.
What’s great about beginnings is the early gains. I got 22 squats and 12 pushups. I’ll let you know my week 4 results. They are sure to change.
I was talking with my RMT Kiet about restarting strength training. I shared that I was starting even easier than i thought I could do to build success.
He agreed that a common mistake is to go too hard too early and then folks don’t go back.
I focus on form, then get the speed up on reps and finally add more weight.
It’s a slow ramp up that works for me.
I hope you are finding fitness things that are working for you!
I have written many times about Outsourcing motivation Lately though I’ve been the one pushing us to do strength training. I enjoy it and find it easy to bring into my day.
Michel , on the other hand, is great at getting his cycling in but struggles to stick with strength training.
I was asking him if it was ok to write about his dislike. He said “I know it’s important but it’s not dislike, I really fucking hate it.”
Wow. That surprised me. So we have made the strength workouts some together time.
Adrian from Peloton is showing us a lung with some weights.
We are at 45 minute full body classes plus a warm up and stretch. We modify as needed. It feels good to have company and the time flies.
It’s nice to be able to support Michel’s goals. A bit of reciprocity on motivation feels good.
We pick classes where the instructor is a bit silly. Laughing helps.
I’ve also snuck in a few dance cardio warm ups to mess with his Strava feed. Hehehehe
Ok, so it wasn’t any fun but starting my week with two hours in the dentist’s chair sure makes the rest of my week seem very straightforward.
I know a lot of people get stressed about dental work but I’m not all that fazed by the procedure itself, I just hate the cursed chair.
Even though I know I am only leaning back a little, I always feel like I am practically upside down.
How I feel at the dentist. Image description: a black and white photo of a bat hanging upside down from a tree branch with its wings outstretched.
And, to make matters worse, once I am in the chair, I can never get my neck in a comfortable position for the procedure so I often end up getting a headache or a migraine after a trip to the dentist.
So, in the interests of migraine prevention, I made sure to take the day off yesterday so I could rest and take good care of my neck after I got home from the dentist.
And in the course of doing some (very gentle) neck stretches, it occurred to me that since I often have neck troubles, it might be helpful for me to do more preventative stretches on a regular basis.
That’s when I discovered the dilemma in my title.
Are my neck muscles tight because of how I use them (perhaps putting unnecessary strain on them) so they need to be stretched regularly?
Or perhaps my neck muscles are actually weak and they need to be strengthened instead?
Maybe it’s both?
Let’s be real here – it’s almost definitely both.
Luckily, a lot of the strengthening exercises I found are similar to stretches I already do but when you add reps, they magically become strength training instead.
And that makes them feel infinitely more doable.
So, let’s give it some time and see if combining the two will make some of my activities less of a pain in the neck.
I don’t know if it will help at the dentist though, I think that’s going to require a fancy neck support of some kind.
How do you think the dentist would feel about something like this? Image description: A GIF of a small light haired dog lying on her back holding a newspaper over her torso while her head is on a shiatsu massage pillow
PS – Have I talked about my neck before? Definitely!
Have I come to this same conclusion before? It is entirely possible.
