Well today went kind of funky. I got an email this morning about a dog that needed an emergency foster as his owner had gone into the emergency room at our local hospital. Turns out the owner was visiting from Quebec so had no one to take the dog. I thought I had found a foster but unfortunately the dog was freaking out at the foster’s adult son and wouldn’t stop barking. And so, I now am looking after a very handsome 8 year old, 4lb chihuahua who is settling in nicely. We are hoping his owner gets released from hospital on Tuesday but I guess Pierrot will be joining us at the Farmer’s Market tomorrow as we are not keen on leaving him alone with all of our pets just quite yet.
Yesterday I was at my normal Friday circuit class and thought, wow, does my body feel like its nearly 60 year old age today. The stupid ankle was sore (ok, may have overdone it both Wednesday and Thursday), the cranky knee was really stiff and my back was bugging me (fortunately it felt muscular and not nerve related). I got to the last round and in doing barbell cleans I told the instructor that my body felt my age and for the 1st time she had me go down in weights. And I get it, time to listen to my body and give it a bit of a rest for a few days. By rest I mean not 4 hours of walking, just maybe 1 and by Monday I should be back to the normal routine.
The problem is my obsession with my Fitbit and let me be clear, I am obsessed. I check each and every day to make sure I have hit my step, cardio, kilometer, calories and zone minute goals. Seriously, if I don’t I am mortified. However, I know for my own physical and mental health I need to break that obsession and allow my body to recover. That meant this morning for the 1st time in I can’t remember how long I did not check my Fitbit stats. As a matter of fact I have not looked at it all day. Strangely, I did not keel over and die for not looking at it. I will do the same tomorrow and quite frankly not go back to checking it until I am back on track on Monday. The goal is to break the obsession.
Ok, I’ll be honest, I will go back to being obsessed really quickly it is just I have given myself permission to ignore it for a few days. Oh, and I deadlifted 140lb today which of course is friggin’ awesome!
Last day of strength bench press training today. I had so hoped I could do as well as I did with the back squats on Tuesday but right at the beginning of the class the instructor tempered our expectations. Apparently since the squats are all about strength in your legs, it is easier to increase the amount of weight you are lifting. However, our upper bodies have far less strength so she recommended only going up 5lb at a time. After a nice warmup we got to it and I was surprised how much heavier 85lb was compared to my original max of 70lb. I had 3 tries at doing 90lb but just couldn’t do it. Oh well, I increased by 15lb and that is quite an accomplishment.
The weather is about to get really crappy the next several days. They are predicting a lot of rain starting tonight which of course means the dreaded treadmill. I am really not happy about this. I have so enjoyed almost exclusively walking outdoors for the past 2 months. Truly I am really tanned meaning I am all set for Mexico. And, because of the strength classes, 2 days a week I had been trying new routes so that I could walk to the gym.
What actually bothers me the most is that I am going to have to cut down on the amount of walking I have been doing. Most days over the past several weeks I have been walking 4 hours a day plus doing a fitness class. Some days I do two 2 hour walks other days the walks get broken up but still I get in 4 hours. Moreover, I have been targeting walking up a hill 3 times a week and have been meeting that goal. That is all going to stop once the rain hits.
The problem I have is that I can’t do more than an hour on the treadmill at one time because I find it seriously boring. I absolutely hate just walking basically in place and in my garage which quite frankly does not have the nicest scenery. I am determined to get in at least 2 hours a day which I admit is better than nothing. As well, the stupid ankle has been bothering me a bit so maybe this will be a good move. As well, given the strength training I have been doing maybe I can add an hour of weight training (in the garage) to the mix.
I will get through the next 5 days or so and then get back up to my regular walking. Sigh, reading this I realized that I am absolutely obsessed.
Today it is smoking hot here. I did my usual Tuesday walk to the gym, strength training class and then walk home. However, by time I got home I realized there was no way I could walk to the office where I normally volunteer at and then walk home at 2pm when it was expected to be 30 degrees. So instead I grabbed a quick shower and then headed out for a 10km walk at 9am. Yes, it was still hot out just not as bad as it got this afternoon.
This week is the last week of the strength training class. Someone recently asked me if I felt like I was getting stronger and I said no, I just feel like I am gaining confidence. But I am getting stronger and today proved that.
Tuesdays have been back squat days. I truly hate these as you put a weighted bar across your back below your shoulders and you do a squat. I can honestly say the release the front of my shoulders felt every time I have completed a set of these over the past 4 weeks was huge. Still today was my last kick at the can so I wanted to get my best one rep maximum. We were supposed to start at 50% of what you originally did for your 1RM which for me was 75lb or basically doing 5 reps with just the bar bell (it alone weighs 35lb). Then you were to add more weights and do 3 reps. Finally you were to get up to your 1RM and do 1 rep. The instructor decided I couldn’t start with an empty barbell so she had me add 2 10lb weights. Hmm, it didn’t kill me. Then I added 2 more which of course put me at the original 1RM or 75lb. But then I kept going, adding more weight and doing a single rep. By time I was done my 1RM was up to 110lb!
It was quite a thrill to have added nearly 50% to my original squats. I guess I am stronger and these classes have worked. I have bench chest presses on Thursday where I hope to go from 70lb to 100lb. Last post I mentioned for the deadlifts I had gone from 105lb to 130lb so I am hoping to finish those off at 150lb.
So I did what? Well, I killed my squat strength training and it feels great.
Today was the end of week 3 of strength training and it was deadlift day. Last week I had managed to slightly increase my maximum from 105lbs to 110lbs. This week, with the help of a very encouraging partner, I really decided to push myself. During the last exercise I managed to lift 130lbs! Yes, that last lift was a bit tough but I got through it. Can’t wait to see what I pull of next week.
I have one of those Fitbit Premium apps that monitors everything. I really like to check how I do in terms of steps, calories, distance, cardio minutes, sleep (not usually very good) and other health indicators. These all help me determine how hard I need to push myself (really, 6 days a week I push myself pretty hard) and they often work as a motivator. I’ve been doing this for 5 years now and normally it helps me stay on track.
Yesterday however, I got really pissed off at my Fitbit and basically ignored it for the day. I checked it first thing in the morning and it told me I was not training hard enough and was at risk of losing some of my fitness level. It told me I needed to up my cardio load target for the day to between 269 and 369. Cardio load is a personalized score that lets you know how hard you pushed your heart. Thursday I had the same target but missed it by 12 points which is no big deal according to me but Fitbit seems to disagree.
The reason this kind of ticked me off is because Thursday I walked 36,000 steps or 24km. I clocked 485 zone minutes (heart in active or peak zone with peak zone counting as double). I did a total of 5 hours of intense activity! How in the hell could I be at risk of losing some of my fitness level?
So I took a day off of Fitbit yesterday and just focused on my personal goals. Funny, yesterday was my best day of the week and I am proud of how hard I worked. Well that and deadlifting 130lbs today 🙂
Today is the 7th of the month which means we celebrate my ‘lil bro’. We decided after the 1st anniversary of his passing that we wanted to stop doing the tradition of Chinese food and instead do something different. Last month we went to a casino which he loved doing. This month is was a picnic in a park with some chicken. It was awesome and I am so glad we are changing ways to remember him.
Yesterday I had an amazingly fun day. My sister and I went on a Marvelous Mystery Tour. The original plan was for me to do a 2 hour walk before getting on the bus at 8:00am but the weather decided not to cooperate. When I got up at 4:00am it was teeming down with rain so opted to at least get a bootcamp class in instead. It took a lot of effort during the day to not berate myself about the lack of workouts but my mantra was 1 day wouldn’t hurt me.
We started out heading to the International Buddha Society Garden and Temple. Now to be honest I would not have picked that as a place to go but it was absolutely lovely. The gardens and statues were so beautiful and peaceful. And I learned so much such as Buddhism actually started in India, I always thought it was in Asia. It was well worth visiting.
Next stop was the London Heritage Farm, a farm originating from the early 1900’s. We got to learn about the family who had originated the farm, their history, tour the farmhouse and then the farm. We also learned they do afternoon tea 2 weekends a month and a few times a year they do a high tea. Wouldn’t you know the next high tea is on my sister’s birthday so you bet I have reserved us a table. Then talking to the next door neighbour today she insisted I book 2 more seats for her and her Mom. Can’t wait for that.
We continued on to this lovely seaside village called Steveston where we had lunch. We also got some time to tour around and we found a sweet little gift shop where we got a few little trinkets. It was then on to Lulu Island Winery (seriously what else would be a better way to end the day) where we had a tour of the vineyard, production area followed by some wine tasting.
1 day doesn’t make a difference and I was back at it with 4 hours of walking and a strength class today. What did make a difference was just enjoying myself for the day. Bottom line, it was a fun day.
Well I did it today, walked 5km to the gym. Then, I did the strength training class. Right after the class I walked home. According to the instructors walking before and after strength training helps you get the most out of exercising. For me it was a chance to try something new and do an entirely new walking route. Oh, and the instructor who got me to do this was right, I can walk there in an hour because it is exactly 5km.
Saturday we did our deadlift training. I do find this one a bit challenging because there are so many things to concentrate on when doing the lift. However, the instructor is awesome and ensures that your form is correct. As a matter of fact I truly believes she has eyes in the back of her head because she immediately goes to participants who need some adjusting. She worked with me on making sure I was really lifting with my glutes. I realized yesterday as I was walking up a steep hill that I had absolutely used my glutes because holy cow were they screaming at me while doing that hill.
Today was squats which I hate. We started off with low back squats which is where the barbell sits below your shoulders as you squat down and come back up. As we were increasing the weight this week I got a little concerned. Funny, I did the 1st of 5 sets and thought ok, something in my form isn’t right. And so I adjusted on the next set and I knew I had done it correctly. You see, doing those squats correctly you feel an enormous relief at the front of you shoulders when you put the bar back in the rack and that is exactly what it felt like for the remaining sets telling me I was definitely doing it correctly. Oh, and the extra 5 lbs, didn’t even notice it.
We also got to do front squats today which I had never done before. For this you hold the bar with the tips of your 4 fingers on each hand, pull the bar as close as possible to your throat (it is supposed to feel like you are choking), rest the bar basically across the top of your shoulders, point your elbows as high up as possible, look up towards the ceiling and do a squat. Now during our warmup we worked on loosening up our shoulders using a dowel. The instructor noted at that point that she already knew some of us had really tight shoulders and this would be challenging. I started my first rep and she came running over and told me to stop. She said there was no way I could successfully do this exercise without a modification because my shoulders are way too tight. So instead I used a crossed arm method which allowed me to point my elbows up and successfully do the move. I was absolutely ok with that but still a little uncomfortable with the feeling that the bar is choking me.
As we were finishing up today the instructor came over and told me I am doing really well. I often joke during the strength classes about being an old lady because I have at least 20 years on most of the participants but quite frankly that doesn’t stop me from trying. Ok, some of them lift really heavy weights but I am holding my own. I have improved each week and have built a lot of confidence. Bottom line, I think this training is really working for me.
Today was strength day and it was working on deadlifts. Now I have been doing some form of these for 2 years but I have learned that I have been doing them wrong. I have also learned there is a lot to have to think about while doing them correctly. Bend down, butt out, weight on your heals, chin tucked in, lock in your lats, pull in your stomach, big inhale and then push through your legs to pull up the weight (today was multiple reps at 80 lbs). By time we hit the 4th set I think I had mastered it and am quite sure that by next Saturday I will be back to square 1.
This weekend is the BC Day long weekend which means it is Sea Festival and Semiahmoo Days (Semiahmoo being our local first nation). My husband, sister and I planned to head down to the beach, walk the promenade and scope out the vendors, grab some lunch and finish up with some no sugar added gelato. However, Wednesday I learned that massive barriers had been set up to make this difficult.
While I was out walking I saw notices posted on the bus stops. This was important because using the transit system is how my sister would get to the beach. I started scoping them out and realized the planned detour of buses made it impossible for the Persons Living With Disability (PLWD) community. Here’s some examples, from the area we planned to be at to get a bus back near home my blind and mobility challenged sister would have had to walk more than a kilometer then climb up a steep hill to get to the bus stop. WTAF! Better yet, to get a bus at the stop a little west from there she would have to climb 4 blocks up the dreaded Oxford Hill (you know, the one I use for intense training). Who the hell came up with these detours because they obviously are completely able bodied.
So, I recruited an advocate from the PLWD community who reached out to the City. The City advised that all they did was advise the bus company of the closure of our Marine Drive and it was the bus company who decided on the detours. They also said that because they were closing a couple of the beach parking lots they were going to add many additional handicap parking spaces (a note here, I walked all of those parking lots this morning and there was NOT ONE additional handicap space allocated). I then phoned the bus company who said no, they fully advise the City of the planned detours and the City has to approve them. The kind fellow from the bus company suggested maybe my sister could take a taxi home. Great solution that because the City is throwing a party that my sister who lives in abject poverty because of the pittance they give her while on disability should spend money because our City has decided not to make it an event accessible. I have filed a complaint with the bus company.
My next steps, I am going to contact the City directly. I will start by calling them out on the misinformation they have provided about additional handicap parking. I will then ask them why they are so out of touch with the PLWD community. I will demand that on the planning committees for all future City events that the PLWD community be represented. Finally, I will let them know that if this ever happens again I will gather everyone I can to file a complaint through our Human Rights Tribunal.
While I am able bodied, because of my siblings I am very cognizant of accessibility issues. From that I continue to be an advocate so that they have the opportunity to participate in the events in our City. By the way, there is a parade tonight and the City has arranged to transport able bodied participants from the parking area to the parade staging area. Maybe, just maybe, they should have thought of providing a shuttle from our uptown to the beach area for PLWD so that they too would have easily been able to join in the fun.
Oh, and the sugar free gelato was amazing!
Today I realized, I am all caught up. Now that may not sound like a big deal to many of you but for me it is huge. Everything that I have outstanding weighs on me like you wouldn’t believe. Today I made a concentrated effort to scratch everything off my list and it actually happened. What a nice way to head into the weekend.
I have been pushing myself lately and quite frankly I am enjoying it. I am walking an obscene amount and doing either bootcamp or strength training every day (except Sundays). I am not only building strength but also confidence. Seriously, I’m nearly 60 years old and feel awesome with the exception of general aches and pains but what the hell. Today at strength class I was on a team with 2 women in I would say their early 30’s yet I was the one pressing the heaviest. What the hell? How did that happen.
When I got to the gym today the owner was taking the 5:30am class. We got to talking and she said I want you to do something. As always I am game and she said before your Tuesday and Thursday strength training I want you to walk here. Then when the class is over I want you to walk home. I thought she was insane but she told me she lives close to me and it is only 5km so she knows I can easily do it. She also told me that doing that walk after strength training will be awesome for me.
I had to think about this for a bit because it is a complete change in my routine which is hard for me. However, I thought, why not? What is the worse that can happen other than I keep getting even more fit every single day. And so on Tuesday next week (assuming the rain holds off), I am going to try this. I can’t see any downsides but I can see doing even better than I am now.
Here’s hoping it goes well and I can report about how great it was. Does it sound like I am trying to convince myself?
Ok, today started off a bit odd. It’s Tuesday so that means strength training. Of course the class doesn’t start until 6:30am so I still get up at 4:00am and do an hour walk before heading off to class. Except, I got up, had breakfast, got into my vehicle and headed off to the gym. It wasn’t until I saw the 5:30am instructor show up that I realized what I had done. What the hell, I decided I might as well stay and do the bootcamp class then the strength class. It was a bit of a different way to start the day but I got through it.
About 15 years ago I found a lump in my armpit. It was soft and pliable but still, it was a lump. I went to my doctor immediately and he told me it was a lipoma and not to worry about it, it was completely benign. Still, I watched it carefully and over the years and it never changed. I really stopped thinking much about it a while ago.
So what is a lipoma? Apparently it is just a lump of fat. They are slightly more common in women and usually appear between the ages of 40 and 60 though they can crop up at any age. The general description is that they don’t spread to other tissues, they are painless, tend to be round or oval shaped though usually symmetrical, move when you touch them and smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter. Healthcare providers are not sure what causes lipomas though though they are inherited (can’t think of anyone in my family who has had one other than me). There is no real treatment for lipomas though they can be removed if they are bothering you.
Now why am I discussing this now? Well, the other day I was in my show shaving my armpits (ok, that might be too much information but it is part of the story) when I realized my long time lipoma had just disappeared. When I got out of the shower I checked in the mirror and sure enough it was basically gone. I did some research to see if maybe losing weight or excessive exercise could cause them to disappear but the studies that have been done are inconclusive. Also, it is noted that in most cases lipomas don’t disappear without medical intervention so I guess mine was just special.
I’ve decided my narrative is going to be it is because my upper body is pretty much all muscle and so the lipoma no longer had a comfy home. Not sure if there is any truth in that but I’m going with it anyways.
It has been a big week for me workout wise. I walked a total of 239,521 steps for an average of 34,217 per day. This works out to a total of 159 km (99 miles) which is an average of 22.7 km (14 miles) per day. I also attended 6 fitness classes. I’m pretty proud of what I accomplished this week but also acknowledge that I have really pushed things this past 2 weeks. As such I have decided tomorrow needs to be a recovery day. What that means is the maximum amount of steps I want to put in is about 10,000. Then, Monday I’ll be back at it.
Today was the 3rd strength class this week. One thing I am realizing is how imperative it is when you are lifting heavy is to have the perfect form. Don’t get me wrong, normally during classes if an instructor notices you are doing something incorrectly they will come over and make adjustments. However, in these classes the instructors are watching us constantly and if you are off the slightest when lifting they work with you to get it right.
For example, Thursday was chest press day. I’ve done tons of these over the past 2 years but I learned on Thursday better placement of my hands, how to lower the bar properly and how to thrust the bar upwards for the lift. Today it was dead lift day (first I learned that there are actually 2 types of dead lifts, conventional and Romanian). I have known for a long time that doing a dead lift properly means the power needs to come from you hamstrings and glutes but just making adjustments to how close together my hands were or hinging more than bending helps with that power. It also meant I was able to deadlift 110 lbs today, not bad for a nearly 60 year old woman.
But I also learned that I have to be clear on my limitations so that if the instructor needs to provide me with a modification they are ready to do so. The instructors all know I have the cranky knee and stupid ankle but I don’t think I have ever really explained how they can limit me. Today we were doing glute bridges (also known as hip thrusts where you lay on you back with knees bent and feet on the floor and you thrust your hips up towards the ceiling) which I am pretty good at. But the instructor came over and said to work the muscles the way she wanted me to I had to bring my feet closer to my butt so that my knees were bent more. I moved them closer and she said still need to bring my feet in. That’s when I told her I can’t, I don’t have proper range of motion in my right knee and it won’t ever really bend more than what it was at that point. She spun on a dime and said ok, move you feet a little further away from your butt but do the bridge with your toes pointing up so that only your heels are touching the floor. She told me that was now my permanent modification.
These strength classes are a new challenge for me and I am loving them. Well so far because Tuesday is going to be low bar squats and I really hate those things. Still I’m going to give it my best shot.
gwennefarrell 