Category: Exercise

One of the super awesome benefits to losing weight

Morning,

Yesterday’s Kendo class was beyond superb!

True, alas, the person who flattened me last week didn’t bring his armor, but hey. That’s okay; I was able to spar against other extremely talented folks as well. And also true, alas, I was rather, ahem, not exactly skillful….but! I was able to lose myself a bit and counter a good number of strikes that came down on my head.

In other words, I did ‘way better than last week!

This morning, I awakened to a beautifully tinted bruise on my side. The colors are most engaging! :) And my first thought upon spying it was….pride. Not so much, pride that I’m black and blue, but pride that I’m in good enough condition that I can throw myself wholeheartedly into a young person’s sport…and make it my own.

This is a super side-benefit to losing weight! I’m so self-confident now that I adore pitting myself against challenges that would have left me whimpering last year.

You know, you can hear until the cows come home how wonderful it is to get healthy and lose weight….but until you actually witness the magic and see it manifest itself in your reflection, you just have no idea how truly superb this realization can be!

Which brings me to the point of this post. Losing weight and getting healthy isn’t only about being thin. No sirree! It’s also about letting out the inner you – that self-confident person whose courage has been stilted by that little voice of shame and fear. There’s even a discussion going on about that very topic here.

What do you think?

Best wishes,

Barbara

ps – One of my favorite treatments for muscle pains are below!

Fighting past the fear part II

Well! Today is Kendo class, my favorite martial arts weapons activity.

Last week, I was beyond utterly decimated in sparring; I was toasted past recognition. It was quite a character building experience, and I did make certain to use it to teach my kids rather valuable ideas about fear, bravery and the like.

Today, I have committed to myself that I will participate with 110% enthusiasm again. I have been analyzing my lack of skills, and realize that I need to improve my speed and coordinate. Towards that, I took a cane with me on my 2.4 mile circle walk, and practiced over-head strikes during the majority of the distance.

Yes, even I couldn’t justify swinging a wooden sword out in public. :)

So my arms are quite tired but hopefully the muscle memory is building. One of my kids loves nunchaku, another lives for sais…I’ve decided that the sword will be the martial arts weapon that I shall master. You heard it here first. :)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Kendo hails from the Way of the Warrior or the Samurais. Check out these neat things:

Corporate exercise ideas

Morning,

Long long ago, back before the earth’s crust cooled, I worked at a large telecommunications company…in a building surrounded by park-like lands complete with MacGyver geese and other assorted wildlife.

One of the neat things I noticed was many employees would walk around in groups outside during their lunch break. True, I never joined them (what, me, exercise?), but still it looked like quite a good idea.

Sometimes companies will provide workout stations along paths that are carved outside their building. These stops allow you to do jumping jacks, stretches, pullups, etc., assuring your body of a rather decent workout.

The opportunities for adding exercise to your desk-bound routine are many if you work in a large corporate center! Some ideas include:

  • Shunning the elevator up and down
  • Taking a 5 minute quick walk down the hallways every hour, carrying some heavy books
  • Volunteering to help move items from office to office
  • Joining an employee fitness club

Speaking of employee clubs, quite often you can find many extracurricular activities that will benefit your health! For example, I was a member of the Jujitsu club, the Lion Dancers Club and the Singles Club (president of that, actually….); it was a great way to meet folks with similar interests and enjoy fun activities.

Here are some examples of corporate employee clubs:

Who knows what interests you’ll uncover?

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – True, while I only played the cymbals, the Lion Dancing club was one to remember!

Acupressure, muscle rub, weight lifting and karate, oh my!

I’m intense.

Yes indeed, I finally have accumulated enough self-knowledge to realize, I throw myself in 110% whenever attempting new and/or challenging activities…to the point one simply has to wonder about my sanity.

Take yesterday. Please. Yesterday, I took my boys to Sesame Place and let me tell you, discovered that what is easy as pie to small boys is agonizing torture to dignified mommies like myself. I refer, of course, to the Bridge of Eternal Doom, otherwise known as the Nets n Climb – a delightful (she said, snorting her coffee in disbelief) 3 story structure made of ropes, nets and various assorted knee-bruising extras. My boys happily scampered thru this monument of shoe-lace knotting, requiring me to dash in after them.

So! You know those cute little rope tubes? Did you know there’s corrugated metal that supports them? And while little boy knees stay happily above this ferocious metal beastie, buff mommy knees produce metal-attraction-sensors that magically attracts black and blue marks?

No?

Aren’t you glad you’re reading this posting and learning? :)

That by itself wasn’t too agonizing. It was today that did me in, it was. This morning, I figured, golly! I didn’t get enough exercise except for bruising my body yesterday! Why not do my beloved 2.4 mile circle walk but add the unmitigated thrills of jogging 1.8 miles of it! Wheeeeeeeee!

Even that, gentle reader, was peachy. I was still alive and bleeping! But no oh no, I had to realize that today is ‘bash the body day’ (ie, become one with the iron at the gym), and tra-la-laed my way there with me hubby.

Now that….that…..that…..was utter exhaustion! So much so to the point that I dropped my intensity down 23 notches…which still wasn’t enough. My trapezius muscles were in utter fatigue, so I stopped my workout and applied some quick-fix acupressure. That provided some relief…and I completed my workout.

After I crawled to the locker room, I had enough sense to slather my body with menthol muscle-rub and give myself permission to slow down. Muscle rub and acupressure are truly gifts of the gods when your energy level is flatter than a steam-rollered breadcrust.

Which brings me to the point of this blog posting!! Acupressure rules and massage! Never be afraid to stop your workouts or your karate or your whatevers to take good care of your own aching muscles – that can grealy alleve pain and give you the fortitude to continue.

Here are some great acupressure and massage resources:

I’m lucky; I’ve learned one heck of a lot about acupressure and massage over the years, and can take care of my family/friends whenever pains get too much. It’s something you should learn too! Your loved ones will thank you for it.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some neat acupressure goodies are:

Kendo sword practicing builds strong arms!

Morning,

Yesterday I finally taught myself the 8 basic cuts while my kids were riding their bikes outside.

It’s *really* annoying to see teenagers completely whip your rear during practice…so I decided enough was enough.

As taken from USA Dojo:

The main cuts or thrusts that may be delivered in kendo are limited as follows:

  • (1) oshomen – a downward cut aimed at the center of the forehead;
  • (2) hidarimen – a diagonal cut to the left side of the face mask;
  • (3) migimen – a diagonal cut to the right side of the face mask;
  • (4) migido – a diagonal cut to the right side of the breastplate;
  • (5) gyakudo – a diagonal cut to the left side of the breastplate;
  • (6) kote – a cut at the right wrist or lower forearm;
  • (7) hidari kote – a cut at the left wrist or lower forearm; and
  • (8) tsuki – a thrust at the throat.

The neat thing about sword practice is it really does seem to build up your arm muscles. I really want to build muscle memory so I’m not so utterly devastated the next time I go up in sparring. Hey, perhaps I’ll be able to survive longer than 6 seconds! :)

Barbara

ps – The Martial arts are quite cool! Check out:

Why Calories Are King – Eat more to lose weight?

Morning,

One of the toughest things dieters have to realize is that eating less junk food is GOOD! But eating too few calories is BAD!

It certainly sounds counter-productive!! There are folks on weight loss forums who will declare they’re eating 1,200 calories or so…but the weight just doesn’t come off. Why oh why oh why oh!

The answer is actually pretty simple (not to mention horrifyingly maddening). Your body has a baseline requirement of calories for daily functions. You know those things, right? Breathing, heart beating, body digesting, liver liverizing, right?

Well! Put in too few calories, and your body will say, EEEEK! I don’t have enough fuel to be efficient!! I need to regroup and hunker down and slow down the metabolism (and hence, your weight loss) as much as possible!

There are some excellent postings about this such as:

I have personally experienced a success in breaking a weight loss plateau by eating more….so for me, it definitely does make sense!

Remember, when you craft your own personal weight loss plan and things “stop working”, don’t be afraid to research and test out different ideas. The world (ideally!) won’t end in a day…you should have plenty of time to always tweak your plans to optimal performance.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – want some nifty ideas about calories? Consider:

Exercises to get rid of a double chin

Alas, but it’s true. There is no such thing as ‘spot-reducing’. Heck, if there was, all of my weight would have first disappeared off my tummy, leaving me a robustly Rubenesque wench of wonder!

I actually have a fondness for double-chins, much like people have a fondness for an accident that force them to take better care of themselves. My double-chin was very much part of the catalyst that got me on my get-healthy kick; I simply could not stand the physical feeling of them flapping about.

But I digress. :)

So! Over my 35+ pound weight loss, I witnessed my double chin going bye bye (and you have NO idea how utterly wonderful that is!!). It did take time….probably about 6 months or so, I reckon, for me really to see a difference. Nowadays, dare I say it, when standing up straight I actually have a rather neat jaw line (and chin bones! They emerged! I haven’t seen those since the last Ice Age!).

But what if you are like I used to be, and confident you CAN spot reduce your chin? If so, please do enjoy the following resources I’ve uncovered for you.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – did you know some makeup supposedly can help?

The mysteries of the Incredible Shrinking Gym Towel

I just returned from 50+ minutes on the treadmill at my local gym. Generally my workout is a nice simple:

  • 1 minute at 3 mph
  • Put ramp to level 10, increase speed to 3.5 mph. 9 minutes or so of that.
  • Put ramp on highest level (level 15), keep speed at 3.5 mph. 30 minutes of that.
  • Decrease ramp gradually to level 2 and increase speed to 4.5 mph – finish the last 15 seconds at 5 mph.

It’s a rather challenging workout that keeps my heartrate between 140 and 178, depending upon what I’m doing. I end up drenched in sweat, mind you, and red as a tomato, but hey…I feel quite buff when I’m done.

Anywhos, I noticed something in the locker room today. When I first started back in 12/2006, I could barely cover my middle with the towel. But nowadays, there’s at least a 10 inch overlap whenever I wrap myself in said towel!

I’m also noticing that there are far more clothing choices for me at the department stores as well. No longer do I have to browse in the Big and Hefty Wench area – I can actually wear average to small sized clothing and don’t have to look like a full ship at sea when trying on different outfits!

Reality. It can really be a super thing to experience. :-)

Barbara

ps – and for those folks who love gym towels, consider:

Household chore, mopping the floor…the calorie-burning way!

I will confess – I always like trying to add some sort of exertion in any household chore that needs to be done.

Like most of humanity, we have a linoleum floor in our kitchen. And apparently evolution has progressed to the point that dirt from as far away as Outer Mongolia manages to flock to said kitchen floor during the most inopportune times.

Well! I could use (get this) a mop to clean it up. But hey, where’s the ice-skating in that?

Instead, I’ll wet up two household rags with soap and water, put them on the floor, step on them and then skate across the kitchen with the greatest of ease (okay, I shuffle, but hey, it still works). The benefits to this are:

  • It’s super-easy to hit all the trouble spots in one pass
  • I get a good workout on my legs/thighs/calfs as well!

The kids love getting into the action as well. ‘course, should that happen, I do generally end up with the Pacific Ocean on my floor…but hey. At least it’s clean once it dries.

Whatever works. :-)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Need some mops? Enjoy!

Witness the Magic – be brave, be strong, be true to yourself

Morning,

You know, every person has their own mental picture of who they are, and what they can accomplish, generally all neatly wrapped up in personal boundaries and static impressions.

The problem with this is you might be laboring under delusions that are no longer true! Certainly, years ago…the way you viewed yourself and your own abilities might have had a grounding in reality. You knew you’d never lose your breath in a dash across the marching band field, you knew you’d be able to handle a full day at 6 Flags with nary a whimper, you knew what your body could do.

But as the years advanced and the weight piled on….and your identity became solely SuperParent or SuperSpouse or SuperCommunitySaveTheDayer, etc.,…..there’s a good chance you honestly lost the real essence of what you are truly capable of achieving.

I’m here to say you MUST NOT let your pre-conceived notions of your own personal limitations crowd your inner self. Sure, you might not be in your 20s any more, and yes indeed, the word ‘perky’ might have waved a hysterical bye-bye to you after your first child! :)

But just because you’ve been SuperParent for the past 12 years doesn’t mean you should forget SuperSelf. Before you’re a parent, before you’re a spouse, before you’re a soul friend…you’re YOU….with your own superb abilities and gifts and insights.

Have you honored that lately?

During the summer, I was slammed in the face with this blindingly precious fact. I had taken my kids to see a revival of Fiddler on the Roof at a local theater. Now, back in the Dark Ages, I adored musicals and dancing and singing and simply enjoying the sheer sensual thrill of being alive. But in the years that followed, I neglected that aspect of me….I was too busy being a mom, being a wife, and being an entrepreneur to bother about such flighty things.

Well, at the final curtain call, as I was cheering in the standing ovation with the rest of the crowd, I realized….my gosh, I had forgotten to honor those joys that had provided magic in my life, all the years past.

I had forgotten to witness the magic, whatever it might be! I had forgotten to simply wonder at the beauty around me…I was too busy fulfilling my other life roles.

And then and there, I made a promise to myself – never again would I neglect this aspect of myself. I will make certain my kids never lose their ability to wonder at magic in their lives, be it voices that lift in song, viewing artwork that causes the soul to sing, or simply watching the early morning sunrise tint the clouds pink.

I’m pleased to announce that ever since that day (2+ months ago?), I have constantly challenged myself to uncover the ‘real me’ and the ‘real me’ abilities. I have slammed shut the little voice that says, you’re too out of shape to consider such and such an activity….and I’ve taken my kids white-water rafting, dove headlong into kendo/sword fighting, and even fought mock-scenarios in self-defense.

I might have ended up bruised and pummeled in some of the activities, but….I held my own to my best abilities and redefined just what I’m capable of achieving. And let me tell you, it’s ‘way more than I would have thought possible.

And that knowledge is something that helps bolster my confidence even more, for the days ahead.

So! I now challenge you, dear reader – are you set in your ways because mentally you view yourself so out-of-shape, you won’t even consider breaking your boundaries?

Has your exercise/get-healthy regime faltered because “you’ve never been able to get to a higher level before in your life?”

If so, remember, you’ll NEVER ascend there….unless you muster up the courage to actually try. Honor yourself and your hidden abilities! After all, you DO deserve the rewards.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Do you like Fiddler on the Roof? If so, look at: