May 14, 2010
Freelancing, Uncategorized, fitness, food
2 Comments
Ordinarily, I either swim right when I get up, then have breakfast, or have breakfast, then go for a swim. What I don’t ordinarily do is get up, work for a couple of hours, swim on an empty stomach, then eat. But if you want very ordinary food to taste delicious, try it. Makes oatmeal taste like filet mignon.
I really had to push in the pool today. I swam after my shift, which means I have about 50 minutes to get my mile in before I get kicked out of the pool for the aquafitness class.
Now by swimmer’s standards, taking 50 minutes to put in an 1800 is sllooowww. If you can’t do a mile in less than 40 minutes, many triathlons will discourage you from competing[1].
However, since my only real goal is to challenge myself a bit and get my body moving, that doesn’t matter so much. However, I’m sure to get faster by the end of the summer just because my body will get used to it, and I’ll have to push a bit to get my heart rate up.
I treated myself to a short soak in the hot tub afterwards as well as a long, hot shower. So, I’m feeling pretty mellow at the moment.
And now, to write. Working on finishing up one book, starting an outline for another, and writing a few articles. Swimming and writing makes the day good.
[1] This is usually a water safety issue. Swimming against the tide is no damn joke, and if you can’t do a 40 minute mile, there’s no way in hell you’re strong enough to be in serious open water.
May 5, 2010
fitness, mental health, rant
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I’ve been slow getting off the mark with my 50 mile challenge. But I swam a mile today, gosh darn it! It took 50 minutes, which surprised me, as I was sure it’d be a least an hour[1].
Last year when I was talking to a friend about the 50 mile challenge and asking her if she was going to do it, she commented, “I couldn’t do that. I’d lose count.”
I didn’t try to convince her, as I think the real reason she wasn’t doing it was a much more valid one. She didn’t want to. But I got to thinking about keeping count.
My pool counts a mile as 1800 yards[2]. That’s 72 lengths of a 25 yard pool, my friends, and is going to take between 40 minutes and an hour for the average lap swimmer to complete. If you’re counting down by lap, not only are you going to lose count, you’ll probably get bored.
I don’t just hop in the pool and start counting down from 72 doing freestyle. Forget losing count. That would be daunting[3].
What I do is sets of laps[4].
1 X 50 Freestyle, backstroke and breastroke 150 yards
1 X 100 Freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke 300 yards
1 X 50 Freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke 150 yards
1 X 200 Freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke 600 yards
1 X 50 Freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke 150 yards
1 X 100 Freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke 300 yards
1 X 50 Freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke 150 yards
Total Swim: 1800 yards
What this really means is that I never count higher than eight, what with 200 yards being 8 lengths. But it is also a lot easier to face. By the time I’ve warmed up with the shorter sets, 200 yards of a stroke isn’t particularly intimidating.
I also had a funny thing happen in the locker room today. Like many women in the gym, especially ones with really long hair who need to dry it, I walk from the showers to the lockers with my hair twisted in a towel, but otherwise am not wearing anything.
It really quiet, only another woman and I. She was swathed in a towel and dressing under it. She commented that she admired my confidence about walking naked to the lockers. She sounded really kind of sad and wistful.
I turn around as I’m putting on my underwear. She’s about 5’7”, and maybe a size 8. Had I seen her first, I would have suspected condescension. But the vocal tone combined with the careful draping of the towel made it clear enough.
I made a joke of it and asked if she had kids. When she said no, I commented, “Eh, well, giving birth will blow away any body modesty.”
The thing is, that she felt badly about her body was hurting her. I think it was a bit of a shock to her that the body modification you can achieve in a gym wasn’t necessarily going to cure it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for working out and all that smack. Obviously, what wit me being there and all. But I’m not there to make myself acceptable to what I think outside perception is. I wish I could have thought of something to say that would have helped her. I wish I’d commented that her body is fine the way it is. I wish I’d commented that you don’t have to fit a physical mold to earn the right to live.
I just hope my example said something to her, as the pain she clearly felt really bothered me.
[1] Note to competitive swimmers: I know, I’m slow. Go laugh at me somewhere else.
[2] Yes, a real mile is 1780 yards, but that’s not divisible by 25 yards – the length of the pool.
[3] And courting a rotator cuff injury
[4] This will look familiar to competitive swimmers, though a bit of a light workout.
April 30, 2010
fitness
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The gym is doing its usual summer 50 Mile Club. You try to swim 50 miles between May 1 and August 31. It’s a fairly challenging workout program, but I usually sign up. (This translates to about a 1,500 yard swim every week day, so is no slouch of a workout)
This year, I need to get ear plugs, though. I got some serious water in my ear last year that just wasn’t going away and messed with my hearing pretty badly. I should probably break down and get new goggles, too. Almost three years on a pair of goggles is not bad at all. My latex cap and my bathing suit are both just fine, however. The suit won’t be fine at the end of this summer, but that’s okay.
This is also going to mean I’m going to have to get into the gym a little earlier on days my family comes in with me. Hopefully they won’t want to strangle me for this *grin*.
I wish I could find some decent waterproof earbuds, though. 60 lengths of the pool every weekday can get a wee bit tedious with no music or books to listen to. I own a waterproof box for my iPod, but I’ve never found a pair of ear buds that could stand up to a serious swim. Prolly why I never see such things in the pool. It’s not like most of the gym patrons can’t afford ‘em.
I’m also going to throw in some weights at home just to make sure I’m getting the bone-building stuff. That’s the one area where swimming is weak. It’s not a weight bearing exercise in any way, even if it is pretty good for strength. But if I’m swimming 45 minutes or so every day, damn’f I’ll hit the gym for a weight training session, too!
Do you find the occasional physical challenge fun? If you like them, what do you like to do?
April 8, 2010
fitness
2 Comments
Sore today, most specifically mah butt.
Laugh all you want. When you do Stiff-Legged Deadlifts with proper form, it works da bootay, which is more or less why I do them.
Believe it or not, this is not a vanity thing. Women, listen up. A significant discrepancy between your quad strength[1] and hamstring strength[2] can have a destabilizing effect on knee strength putting you at risk for knee injuries, such as an ACL[3] rupture[4]. This strength discrepancy is a bit more common in women.
Now, I don’t know that my own ACL injury was in any way exacerbated by a strength incompatibility. I expect in my case it was considerably more of a Rule One issue. If you’re 35, short and around 200 lbs, it might be that a flying side kick is not the best activity choice for knee health. Just sayin’.
But be that as it may, if you’re considering strength building work, don’t neglect the butt[5].
[1] That’s the muscles in the front of the thighs.
[2] That’s the muscles in the butt to the knee.
[3] Anterior Cruciate Ligament. It’s a twisty little ligament in the front of the knee that’s critical to knee stability. You CAN rupture it and then compensate by working out to strengthen the muscles to stabilize, or you can get the surgery. I’m not an athlete and could have gotten away with not getting the surgery, but I’m here to say I’m glad I did.
[4] B.-O. Lim, Y. S. Lee, J. G. Kim, K. O. An, J. Yoo, and Y. H. Kwon. Effects of Sports Injury Prevention Training on the Biomechanical Risk Factors of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in High School Female Basketball Players. Am J Sports Med. September 1, 2009 37:1728-1734.
[5] Admirers of the female rear, you may give me tokens of gratitude for this wisdom in the form of chocolate, flowers, books, or very good vodka.
March 31, 2010
fitness
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Normally when I do my swim, I’m fixated on getting a certain yardage in. Today I tossed that and went for time rather than distance. You see, I have a bad habit of swimming mostly with my arms, kicking mostly for balance and not getting the propulsion I could if I used my kicks properly.
So, I did some kickboard drills for the first time in at least 30 years and am beginning to see why the woman who passed me on my lifeguard cert all those many moons ago made me promise I’d work on my legs. No wonder I am such a slow swimmer!
Do I really need to bother with this, what with being a lap swimmer rather than a competitive swimmer? Well, no, not really. All I’m really worried about at the end of the day is challenging myself a bit physically and getting an endorphin fix so I’m as mild-mannered as a little lamb.
On the other hand, there’s no harm in drilling to become a more balanced swimmer and getting the benefits of a proper full-body workout. I do get my heart rate up kicking!
There were several aqua-joggers in the pool today — from a woman recovering from a marathon last weekend to a woman stubbornly resisting having to use a cane due to arthritis. I find the range of fitness levels in the pool and the different fitness goals incredibly comforting. To me, it’s cool what you can get out of a water workout.
I’m wondering, though, if anyone else does something that’s as flexible as water workouts on dry land, and how do you like them?
March 25, 2010
fitness
1 Comment
I lifted weights for about eighteen months before I got up the guts to step into the free weight room. I had been reading a lot on the Internet with posts of people (mostly men) sneering at women whose bodies did not meet their criteria. I was afraid of being mistreated or people acting like I didn’t belong there.
I was thinking about that this morning when I was lifting. I was having a hard time with something, and was offered help. Now, I work at the gym in the mornings, so I knew every one of the guys up there in the free weight room. I like ‘em. They’re decent people.
The thing is, these people were plenty nice to me long before I worked at the gym. (I went there for about a year before I got to cheap to pay for a membership and started working there instead).
I say this because if you like lifting or are interested in trying it out, don’t let fear of not belonging stop you. I’m even going to get myself in trouble and give you the Secret Gym Rat Initiation to the Cool Kids Club:
- Go to a gym.
- Go into the weight room.
- Pick up something that feels kinda heavy to you.
- Put it down.
- Pick it up again until you feel a little tired.
That’s it. You’re done. You belong and are One of Us.
March 15, 2010
fitness, mental health
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I have felt just chilled to the bone lately. No, it’s not especially cold outside. In fact, it’s a balmy 40F outside right now. It’s the damp, and I know it.
Damp, raw chill is probably my least favorite weather. Even the swimming pool felt really cold to me before I began my laps today, and they keep that pool pretty warm – usually around 75F. I usually stay pretty warm for several hours after a good workout, but not today.
I’m working snuggled under my slanket today with a rice-filled warmer at my feet and drinking a hot cup of tea. Tea is more warming to me than coffee. I’m not sure why.
I saw an interesting question the other day about swimming. “Will swimming make my shoulders broad?”
Interesting question. The real answer is that yes swimming will most certainly aid in shoulder development. Whether or not you find that desirable is your call. I will point out that you’re not going to look like a member of the East German 1970s women’s swim team without two things A) Steroids and B) Their training schedule. Good luck with that. Me? If I put in three miles of laps in a week, I’m all good.
Which, in this rambling post, brings up another point about steroid use. While not in favor of chemical performance enhancers, meeself, I sometimes think people have a rather unclear idea of how these things work. No-one takes steroids then sits on their butt playing video games and expects to win athletic contests. It’s the drugs and incredibly grueling workouts that do it. It’s not a magic pill (or shot).
And in the interests of even more rambling, I’m noticing I really do respond well to playing video games that feature bright, sunny weather with blue water and sand. I have not wanted to hibernate nearly as badly as I often do on gray, wet days when I spend my coffee break on WuHu Island. I think that surrounding myself with sunny, tropical images is probably a positive thing. I sometimes wonder if Nanny constantly burning things on icky days was a similar thing. I think I get my solar-powered tendencies from her. We might love water, but it’s the combination of water and sun that’s the thing. The only time I’d want to visit the far North or the far South would be sometime around the Summer solstice, I think. I’m hoping for more sunshine than this spring. Last year’s spring and summer were reminiscent of that Bradbury story “All Summer in a Day” and I think another one like it will send me buggy.
And speaking of coffee breaks, mine is over and I need to get back to work.
March 9, 2010
fitness
1 Comment
I actually used the weight room rather than do body weight stuff today.
For all that I’m in favor of body weight exercises and really think that there are dozens of paths to fitness, I gotta say I like freeweights better. Oh yes, body weight exercises travel well, what with only needing about six feet of floor and no equipment. But having that bar across your shoulders is cool. Well, it’s cool to me.
That’s important. What do you like to do?
I think that in our chasing fitness (or sometimes just waving cheerfully from our chairs and getting on with our blogging), we get too into the perfect workout, or what we thinking we “should” be doing.
If you’ve decided being more active is important to you, finding something that makes you feel good is important. I don’t swim and use free weights because they’re The Ultimate Exercise. I swim and use free weights because that’s what I’ll do. Sure, sure, I can come up with a million reasons why I’m Right to Do What I Do in terms of great exercise and Why People Who Do It Different Are Wrong. But, I have a friend who hates exercise for the sake of exercise. Oh, she’ll paddle twenty miles in a kayak. Show her a mountain and she’ll hike on up it chattering cheerfully all the way. Don’t try to put her in a gym. She’d be miserable. And I’m sure if it were her way, she could come up with a million reasons why she is Right to Do What She Does and Why People Who Do It Differently Are Wrong.
Both of us would be wrong, too.
So, if you’re into being active, what do you like?
January 20, 2010
fitness, goals, writing
1 Comment
I’ve been reviewing my work Screw Skinny, Get Fit and I realize that I’ve been messing around on this project for too long. I need a big, huge deadline that’ll embarrass me if I don’t meet it to get my lazy butt in gear about this thing.
So, here’s the deal.
I’m going to be offering ScrewSkinny for sale in PDF or PRC (that means you can read it on a Kindle, or in Mobipocket) starting April 1, 2010. I haven’t set a price yet, but it’s going to be under $10. If I get another big contract, I’m just gonna have to give up some knitting time. This is gonna happen no matter who else wants my literary excellence.
This book is not for the athlete. It’s for someone who is sedentary who wants to build or maintain health and fitness. If you have an active, outdoor lifestyle, you’re all good and don’t need this. It’s for someone who’d rather knit or play WoW. Yes, there is a strong geek focus.
I discuss levels of ability, including handicaps of various sorts, and explain why The Perfect Workout is nonsense.
November 3, 2009
fitness
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Hey, you gym bunnies? I have a heads up for ya. Some day you may wind up seeing a fat chick in the gym. No, really. I know that the media says we don’t exercise (because exercise magically melts the pounds away the second you step on a treadmill, dontchaknow?), but some of us do.
Now many of you are thinking, “Oh hey, cool. She’s decided to work out. That’s great!”
You know, you’re right. Choosing to be active is a great health choice in many cases. That’s why we do it, right?
Since chances are good that you prefer to be benevolent and supportive, I’d like to offer a few little tips.
- Unless you know her really, really well, don’t say “I’m proud of you” the second you see her in the gym.
Yes, there are people who need the strokes and the hand-holding. Do you know that person well enough to know if she needs it? Be sure before you say something like that. The whole “I’m proud of you” thing can come off just awfully condescending from a stranger, even if your intention is to be benevolent. When she’s done her first pullup, though, feel free to throw confetti and blow horns.
- Be aware that body consciousness exists.
It may be the custom to parade around in the altogether in your locker room, regardless of age or body type. (It is in my gym!) However, it might take awhile before any new person (fat or not!) is necessarily comfortable with chatting with someone they don’t know well totally naked.
- Unless asked, don’t monitor her progress.
Again, I know people like to be supportive of positive life choices, and that’s cool. There’s a difference between having someone be supportive and finding that someone has tried to make a project out of you. The latter is a real pain in the butt.
- Do be inclusive.
While I’m sure you know the rule about not bothering someone in the gym with headphones in, if she’s not wearing them, being friendly is good. You and I know that all it takes to be a member of the Cool Kids Club in a gym is showing up, but it’s not common knowledge among the uninitiated. Let ‘em know they belong.
- Don’t make assumptions about her fitness goals
She might be trying to take fat off. She might be working on her strength and not bothering with body fat percentage. She might be rehabbing an injury. Unless you know what her fitness goals are, your advice is probably useless. Wait to be asked.
Do I blame social gaffes on chasing someone away from the gym? Not entirely. If you really aren’t into being there, you’ll probably find just about any reason not to. Still, if you want to make sure your gym is a welcoming, inclusive place, it’s a good idea just to be matter of fact about people being there rather than making a big deal of any one particular class of person showing up.
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