Well I survived day 2 of strength training. Today the big focus was on building up strength doing chest presses on the bench. You had to do 2 sets of 3 rounds of 5 reps at 65% of you maximum which for me was 45 lbs. You then in each set did to other exercises such as bent over rows and dead bugs. Funny, for the dead bugs after I the first round I asked if it was 10 total or 10 per side and the instructor said I could do whatever was best for me as some people really struggle with this exercise so it was 10 per side for me because I find them pretty easy. Anyways, I successfully got through all my chest presses and can’t wait to see what we are going to do in the next class.
Yesterday was a pretty busy day for me. I did my early morning bootcamp class. Next it was out for an 1 1/2 hour walk followed by coffee with the gang. After that I did a 1/2 hour walk then I was off to have lunch with a retiree group. I got home and was determined to do another 2 hour walk down to the beach and back despite being 2:30pm and in the mid 20’s. While I got through it, trust me when I say it wasn’t easy.
Now there are some things I do when it is warm out (the first one is usually do all my walking in the morning). Firstly I scope out which side of the street is going to have shade. This allows me to walk in slightly cooler temperatures at some points. Secondly, I come prepared with a seat rag because I know I am going to be soaked by time I am done. Finally, while I don’t carry water with me, there are 3 water fountains along the route which I always use and I know the locations of where I can buy extra water if need be. I also always make sure to drink water as soon as I get home to ensure I am well hydrated.
I’ve already talked about all the other stuff I do walking this time of year. You know wear a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and light walking clothes. I did all of those things yesterday but by time I had done that 10 km walk I was drenched with sweat and completely wrung out. The worst of it is the bloody hill I have to climb to get back home.
Oh well, I still got in over 30k steps and 20km yesterday. And, I didn’t die trying to do it.
I have been crazy busy the past week or so. I have had multiple dogs that needed to be urgently rehomed. I have to say so many of the rehoming coordinators from other areas really stepped up and made this happen. While I loved the home I placed the Lagotto into last week, today was the best. It was a pomchi whose owner had gone into care and he apparently was nervous around new people. Not with us, he got very comfortable right away. Then when it was time to give him to his adopter he willingly went into her arms. Yet another successful transfer.
Today was my first day in my new strength training classes. It was interesting because there were women of all shapes, sizes and fitness level there. Some of them were actually taking their first ever class with the fitness centre which I thought was awesome. Again this is a 4 week program in which we will be measuring our results. I always seem to think that I can’t lift very much so I am hoping to build some confidence over the next 4 weeks.
So today was testing day and we were doing 1MR’s. Ok, I had no idea what that meant and was too embarrassed to ask. Basically you start with a lightly weighted barbell and do 10 reps. You then add weight and do 3 reps, more weight and 2 reps, more weight and 1 rep then your maximum weight for 1 rep (1MR stands for 1 maximum rep). There were only 3 exercises involved and I vowed to give it my best.
We started out with deadlifts. Now I have been doing these for 2 years so am pretty comfortable with my form in doing them. Usually if I am using dumbbells and I use 2, 20lb weights but hell, I needed to find my maximum and so by time we were done I was deadlifting a total of 105 lb! Next it was on to low bar squats. I am not going to describe these because I am still a little confused about them Bottom line is I found them to be very uncomfortable and so did not push myself ultimately only doing about 60 lbs. Finally it was on to a bench chest press. I heeded the techniques I was given last week when I could only do 3 reps at 75 lbs and this week pulled off 2 perfect reps at 70 lbs.
I get this is only session 1 and there are still 11 to go but if nothing else I walked away with confidence that I can do this. My next session is Thursday with one of my favourite instructors and I am going to get her to help push my boundaries. I so plan on building my strength over the next 4 weeks and can’t wait to see the results.
Wow what an awesome week exercise wise. I decided I really wanted to start pushing myself again and so I committed to walking a lot every day. Even on Sunday which is the day I tend to scale back a bit I walked for hours. As of today I have averaged 30,700 steps each day which works out to about 20.5 km (13 miles)/day. It has really been a long time since I pulled this off. On top of the walking I got in 5 fitness classes (I had to skip this morning’s as I was off on an excursion with my husband). Next week’s goal is at least as much walking with 6 classes.
At my strength and mobility class the other day we were doing bench chest presses. I had committed a while ago that I would not use a barbell without weights (remember some of the barbells themselves weigh in at 35lbs) and I have kept that commitment. On round 3 I decided it was time to test myself so I picked a barbell loaded with 40lbs so a total weight of 75lbs. Sadly (to me) I only got through 3 reps though the instructor thought that was great and gave me kudos for at least trying. I, however, had expected better of me at this point.
But an opportunity to improve has popped up. Starting next week I will be doing a 4 week strength gain program. I will be attending at least 2 of 3 classes a week (let’s be honest, you know I will attend all 3) which will be focusing on improving strength and form. Apparently they are also going to be measuring outcomes to track everyone’s improvement. I’m kind of excited about this since it will give me the chance to really try and concentrate on a new area of fitness.
There is 1 downside to this, the class time. Currently I do the 5:30am class Monday – Friday and the 8:00am class on Saturday (it is the earliest class that day). However, the strength classes are at 6:30am on Tuesday/Thursday thought the Saturday time is still 8:00am. Normally I do the class then go for a 2 hour walk and so I needed to rethink how I can do this without seriously messing up my entire day. And so, Tuesday and Thursday I am going to do a walk from 5:00-6:00am, do the strength class then another walk from 8:00-9:00am and that will keep the rest of the day on schedule. I am not too worried about losing any endurance in walking given the fact that the other 5 days I will still be doing at least 1 2 hour walk.
I’m actually kind of looking forward to doing this. For the past 2 years I have focused more on my overall fitness especially my cardio endurance. Now it’s time to try something new and see what results it brings.
Wahoo! I get to spend a couple nights all on my own. Well at least I thought it was going to be a good thing until I realized that I have to look after the 2 dogs and 2 cats, I have to cook for myself and I am responsible for things like getting the recycling out tomorrow. I like it much better when someone else takes care of all these things for me. Oh well, it’s only 2 nights.
We are having a bit of a heat wave right now so I thought it would be a good time to do a quick post about being safe in this heat. While most of it is pretty common sense, it never hurts to take a few minutes to just make sure you have everything covered. Here where I live we are not good at dealing with heat (or cold) because we normally have weather that is pretty mild. However, we always seem to get a system coming through that brings what to us West Coasters is considered to be extreme.
I want to state that before I hit the gym in the morning I always have my breakfast. I know several of the other participants that say never eat until after class and I really don’t like that. For me, I want to make sure that I have fuel in my body before I start trying to burn it but hey, to each their own. I also make sure I have a large water bottle (note, it has to have lots of ice because I only like water really cold). I then make sure to hydrate through out the day especially in this heat to avoid becoming dehydrated. We are lucky in that our home has a/c (otherwise our upstairs area would be completely unbearable) and I use it to keep both me and my pets reasonably cool.
Today I did an early morning 10km walk followed later by 2 5km walks. Trust me that last walk at 2pm was brutal because it was so hot. I did the smart thing and planned my route to ensure I took advantage of as much of the shade as possible. I also threw on some sunscreen because even with my leftover Mexican tan my skin needs to be protected. I also am never out in the sun without sunglasses as I have a couple of small cataracts and one of the best things you can do to protect them from growing is to wear sunglasses when it is bright out. I will also often wear some sort of hat if I am in the sun for more than an hour to help prevent overheating. Finally, not really a safety issue but I am never out in the heat without some sort of cloth to help keep the sweat out of my eyes.
But I think the most important thing about being safe in the heat is to check on anyone you know that is vulnerable. Today at my caregivers’ support group I reminded the participants (all of them are seniors) to try to keep cool and make sure they are hydrated. So take a moment to check in on your family and friends to make sure they are equipped to deal with the heat.
I hear the city of Vancouver has voted to lower the speed limit in residential streets from 50 kph to 30 kph (30 mph to 20 mph). The rationale behind this is it will keep pedestrians safer and will reduce the likelihood that they get seriously injured or die. I laughed and laughed when I heard this. Then ironically, I was crossing the street to start my walk on the promenade this morning, I stood at the edge of the crosswalk and the vehicle in the left lane stopped at the last minute when they saw me. The vehicle heading in the opposite direction who was at least 1/2 a block away at the time sped through the crosswalk and shouted out ‘sorry’. Oh and the speed limit on that street? You bet, 30 kph so I feel much safer.
I was due to have my annual mammogram last month. Unfortunately, I had a scheduling conflict so had it postponed until July 3rd. I showed up on time for my appointment only to be told the screening mammography machine had just broken down. Crap! They rescheduled me to July 24th but a cancelation happened and they could get me in yesterday. The called on Tuesday (I was in a group session but took the call sure they were going to postpone it again) and they asked if I could take an earlier appointment. I showed up yesterday only to learn that once again the mammography machine had broken down. But, they had come up with a work around. They took 3 of us into the hospital itself (screening is done in a separate building) as they had decided to use the diagnostic mammography machine for those of us who had had multiple appointment changes. Phew, finally got it done.
I have a screening mammogram every year because my Mom had stage 4, terminal breast cancer. I am very adamant about getting this done as Mom’s cancer means I am more at risk. According to BC Cancer there are 3 reasons to get a screening mammogram;
- They save lives. It is imperative that the cancer be found when it is small allowing for more treatment options and a better chance of survival (1 in 8 women in BC will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
- They are safe and effective. As well they are considered the international gold standard for detecting breast cancer early by finding lumps 2-3 years before they are felt. Research has determined that there is more than a 25 per cent reduction of death from breast cancer among those that are regularly screened.
- Breast cancer risks increase with age. 80 per cent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women 50 years or older (there is an argument that screen should start at age 40 to be most effective).
If you go for your first mammogram they will likely advise you that you may be called in for further testing. I know when I had my 1st one done the tech let me know that 10% of women who receive mammograms are called back but that less than 10% of those women are actually diagnosed with breast cancer. She told me to definitely not panic if I was called back, chances are everything would be fine. I was really glad she told me that up front because if I had been called back I would have convinced myself that I had cancer.
The bottom line, screening mammograms are important for women who have a family history and more importantly for all women 50 and over. So if you fit into one of those categories and have not done a screening mammogram or don’t do them on an annual basis, please suck it up and get it done. Yes, they are not pleasant but ultimate they could save your life.
Recently we had our deck replaced. It had developed many soft spots and was getting to the point that it was unsafe. It ended up being far more expensive than we thought it would be so I joked we will have to spend all of our spare time on the deck for the rest of the summer. My husband seems to be taking that seriously. The reality is because the deck is so nice and the layout is much better, we all are spending a lot of time out there. As well, we have had several friends over to enjoy sitting out there with us. While it was costly, I now think it is well worth it.
A friend posted on FB the other day about her mental health. She noted that she knew she had ADHD and depression but she had recently hit her lowest point ever. She paid to see a psychiatrist in the US (she’s American) and was diagnosed as bipolar. They are now working on an effective treatment plan which may take some time. She says she posted about this diagnosis because there is still so much stigma attached to mental health issues and we need to change that, I couldn’t agree more.
When I was in my 20’s I remember people I worked with who would take stress leave. When this happened the rest of us would talk about how that person was scamming the system. How could they be that stressed, we asked. We discussed how stress wasn’t an illness and tried to figure out why doctors would so easily validate this type of leave. Oh, and if we heard the person was doing things like going to the gym or on a vacation, well that just proved they were faking. I am so glad I would later learn how wrong we were.
As I became more and more involved with health and safety in the workplace I started learning that mental health issues can manifest as physical issues. It started with changing the narrative from stress leave (which doesn’t exist) to sick leave due to stress related illness. If I heard people talk about stress leave I would correct them every time. I eventually taught a course regarding stress in the workplace and would draw a body on a flipchart. I would then ask participants to use sticky dots to place on that body to indicate where they felt it when they were under a lot of stress. When they were done the participants were always surprised to see all the dots particularly on the head, back of the neck, shoulders, stomach, etc. I explained this is how we know that stress impacts us physically.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that we need to start pushing the narrative that mental health is health, end of story. We need to remove the stigma of mental health issues as being seen differently from physical health. We need those suffering from mental health issues feel comfortable about seeking help and treatment rather than worrying that they will be looked down upon. We just need to make mental health issues a normal part of health care.
I am happy that my friend decided to put her situation out there. I am hoping that it will start a very important dialogue and take more people down the path of removing the stigma around mental health issues.
Went for a very early morning walk today and saw something awesome. As I was leaving the pier and getting back onto the promenade I saw a teenaged boy, maybe 15 or 16, with a man who was obviously his father because they looked so much alike. Off they went starting to run. They ran together for quite a while then the father told his son he didn’t need to stay behind with him. So then son picked up his pace probably so that he could get a good run in while the dad just carried on at his own pace. It was really nice to see.
Every Friday it is circuit class at the fitness centre. Our normal instructor was on vacation so we had a sub but someone who’s classes I enjoy because they are often brutal. I was a little worried about how tough the circuit class would be and the instructor didn’t disappoint. As always she seems to have a repertoire of what seems to be unique exercises and they are challenging
I often take myself out of my comfort zone and try things that intimidate me. For example, standing on what appears to be a very large elastic band doing pull ups. The first time this was set up in a class I thought, no way. That band looked far to flimsy and unstable and given the fact when I blew out my knee it was by having a significant fall, my head said, don’t even think about it. After a few rounds of exercises I decided to overcome my fear and successfully did those pull ups and have had no problem doing them ever since.
Yesterday it was bar bell snatches. This is where you bend down to pick up the bar bell, keeping close to your body and then ‘snatch’ it over you head. Now don’t get me wrong, I do dumb bell snatches all the time which is the same concept but you do it with a single dumb bell using a single arm. Even that move took me a while to get used to. However, we were given the option of just doing dumb bell snatches so I decided that would be better for me though I acknowledge I used a significant weight.
We got to the 4th and final round of the circuit and I thought, I’m not letting that one exercise intimidate me. So, as I was doing the exercise before the snatches I walked by the instructor and asked if she would coach me a bit on the snatches which she seemed thrilled to do. And so I bent down, picked up the weighted bar bell, pushed through my legs and snatched that sucker over my head. Don’t get me wrong, it was really hard but I conquered it and managed several more snatches in those 45 seconds.
I just can’t let challenges intimidate me. Yes there are things that my cranky knee simply will not let me do like bench step ups but that’s understandable. There is not a single exercise that I thought to be intimidating that I have tried where I wasn’t successful. I find once you do it, going forward it just won’t look that bad.
Moving forward, unless I know it is something the cranky knee will not be able to do, I’m going to give all exercises a try. You know that old saying, you can’t succeed if you don’t try.
It was yet another glorious day to walk down at the beach. It’s funny because yesterday I was doing some work with a senior and she mentioned she walked the promenade at the beach most days. We got to talking about how much we liked walking the beach. Seems we both appreciate seeing things like the beautiful bay, wildlife, even the pigeons and seagulls. We both agreed when you do that walk it is just so interesting.
I have tried to do everything over the past 10 months while waiting to see the specialist to help my ankle heal. I have better shoes, I wear my brace, got new orthotics, I avoid high impact activities, etc. And yet it is still swollen all the time though some days more than others. I really need to come up with a new plan that doesn’t involve giving up walking or my beloved fitness classes.
I’ve decided I need to start getting diligent about icing my ankle a few times a day. The biggest concern I have is we are only about 2 months before my sister and I go on our cruise and I don’t know that I will be able to my dress shoes on. Yes, I have some flats and sandals that might work but one of my favourite things about cruising is dressing up for dinner and shoes are an important part of that.
I have been pretty good about daily doing the exercises I was shown by my physio therapist and I know that has had some impact because I am no longer in constant pain. Any thing in a fitness class that seems to irritate the ankle I stop doing (interesting that the angle of my feet when doing a plank is an issue). In general I think I have done everything that I can except the using ice.
Here’s hoping that adding ice to my routine will help shrink my foot.
I know I have done a good workout at bootcamp when near the end I think I’m too old for this shit. Not to worry, I’ve felt worse and often times it has been with the same instructor. But really I am always happy when I feel that way because it means I had worked hard. When I checked my FitBit when I got home I realized it had really been a good workout based on the number of calories that I burned.
As I am back out walking about 3 hours a day I thought now would be a good time to review crosswalk safety. This is once again because in the past 2 weeks on several occasions I have had near misses. In each of these I could have been seriously hurt if I had simply asserted my right of way instead of always being of defensive.
Let’s start with pedestrian responsibility because we do have to be diligent as well. Always try to cross at a crosswalk and if there is not one nearby, cross at an intersection. It is imperative that you make eye contact with approaching drivers to ensure they see you. Never, ever assume they will stop simply because you are in the crosswalk, you would be surprised at those that speed up to try and beat you. This is particularly true at controlled crosswalks (the ones with the flashing amber lights), make sure cars are going to stop before stepping out into the street. At intersections with stop lights, only enter the crosswalk when you see the white walking symbol. Do not enter the intersection if you see the red hand regardless of if you see the time ticking down and you think you can make it to the other side. Please remember some of that time is for cars that have a green light and are turning right/left through the intersection. The seconds ticking down mean how much time you have to finish your crossing. NEVER enter the crosswalk if there is a flashing or solid red hand, period. These are not just about you being safe but also about being a courteous pedestrian.
As for drivers, if you see a pedestrian approaching an uncontrolled/controlled crosswalk JUST STOP. Really it is that simple. Walking home the other day a woman sped through a controlled crosswalk that I was trying to use. She had ample time to stop but instead saw the flashing lights and sped up intentionally looking forward so that I guess if she hit anyone she could say she didn’t see them. And if there are pedestrians in the intersection, wait until they have completed the crossing before you turn into or go through the intersection.
I can never get my head wrapped around how drivers losing a minute to patiently let pedestrians cross is worth this risk of injuring or worse killing someone. And for pedestrians, is it worth risking you life by not obeying the rules of the road? I don’t think it is hence why I am always careful.
Be safe out there!
It was a nice day for walking today. I got in an hour after my bootcamp class early this morning. I then did an hour walk each way to an office where I do volunteer work. While I love my 2 hour walks to the beach and back sometimes it’s nice to just break the walking into small segments as I tend to do on Tuesdays. The important part is that I got it all in today.
Yesterday was a fun day with my sister. We belong to a 55+ activity centre and through out the year they do all sorts of excursions. This can be anything from a local wine tour, seeing a live theatre production, traveling to one of our many islands and much more. During the summer it becomes even more fun when they do their ‘mystery’ tours. Literally you buy a spot on the bus and you have no idea where they are going to take you. We tried one last year and had a blast so signed up for 2 more this year and yesterday was the first one.
So we get on the bus and the tour leader hands us each an itinerary which goes like this, leave for stop 1 at 9:50, spend 30 minutes. Leave for stop 2 at 10:45, spend 1 hour, etc. Really, you don’t know where you are going until you get there and quite frankly I think most of the time the volunteer bus driver had no idea where he was taking us. But hell, that is all part of the mystery.
We started out at a lovely park to explore. It had just stunning foliage including a greenhouse with all sorts of tropical plants. We then went to an animal rescue organization that focused on reptiles. Seriously, we saw every type of lizard imaginable but they also had things like tortoise and most importantly baby bunnies. Then we were off to lunch at a deli at a turkey farm so we had, wait for it, turkey sandwiches. Next we went to another amazing rescue organization that focuses on alpacas who’s fur they harvest to make all sorts of wearables. Besides the alpacas they also had llamas, donkeys, ducks, chickens, pigs, a turkey and 2 camels. We even got to feed most of the animals so it was a riot. Finally, a quick stop to a greenhouse where we were all treated to beautiful bouquets of flowers.
I have to say it was just an awesome day full of fun and a ton of learnings. While it was an all day event I still managed to get in bootcamp and 2 hours of walking which I figured was pretty good. Bottom line, it was nice to just have a little fun with my big sis’. Can’t wait for the next mystery tour in August.
gwennefarrell 