Being Kind To Myself Was Key

June 11, 2013

Three years ago I would regularly squat 165# for reps. I wasn’t competitive, just enjoyed lifting and this was a comfortable point for me to concentrate on. About 2.5 years ago my left hip failed and I had to quit squatting. After the total hip replacement and PT I tried again but scar tissue, muscle imbalances, and adhesions meant it every attempt was painful. I starting entering in powerlifting competitions anyway. Would start the entire competition off squatting the bare bar. On recommendations from strength friends, I sought an ART and Graston specialist last summer and dealt with the adhesions. [...]

Read the full article →

Preview of FitBloggin13. Dealing with Injuries

April 23, 2013

The last weekend in June I will running a Round Table Discussion on Dealing with Injuries at FitBloggin13.  The following is the beginning of the discussion outline.  What else would you like to include in an hour roundtable? ————————————— Injuries are maybe inevitable if you’re active.  They often occur at the worst time- when you’re nearing a milestone or training for a special event.  Years later, we can tell any unsuspecting soul what we were doing when we broke our leg or tore our rotator cuff. The past is only important, though, for how it influences our present and future. [...]

Read the full article →

Moving Toward Menopause: Your Hair

April 22, 2013

Recently a number of online friends moving into their 40s and higher have begun asking me questions about menopause.  What should they be on the look out for?  What changes might they make?  What to worry about? So I’ve decided that occasionally I’d write about some of the common experiences of going through “the change” before I completely forget how the experience went down. I’m starting with a very common thing, your hair.  It doesn’t get mentioned much -and when it does it’s often in a number of other symptoms.  But it’s one of those things that you can start [...]

Read the full article →

Meeting Ellie

April 18, 2013

Ellie. A Review. Several months ago I was approached to try the pvbody subscription service for fitness clothing.  Unfortunately, it was day that negative comments and reviews hit the blogs so I chose to wait.  When the Ellie line finally debuted, I was more than willing to give the clothes a go.  I’ve been working out in the same 2 pairs of pants/ 2 pairs of capris and rotating t-shirts for over 2 years, and felt the need to shake things up. I liked what I saw in the Ellie line and wished I were 30 years younger to take [...]

Read the full article →

Deep Breath

April 9, 2013
Image from flickr.com

Deep Breath. There is a someecard going around on Facebook–you’ve probably seen it–where the woman equates a woman’s brain to having 2000+ tabs open in your browser at once.  It’s a good explanation of too many occasions but it’s not necessarily a permanent condition. Or I think it shouldn’t be. As I sit here writing this, my mind is going over the grocery list and what to make for supper.  I take a deep breath and slowly exhale, bringing my focus back to this page.  You be the judge at the end if I was successful. The times I give [...]

Read the full article →

Goals for April

April 2, 2013

I like to set goals that are reasonable, measurable and have a time limit. After considering things for a few hours the other day, I came up with goals for April. Goals for April: 8-hours of sleep a night. 7-consecutive days of tracking food, exercise, and health metrics. 6-days of moving a week. 5-hours at most of TV per day. (I normally have it on in the background when I’m home. NOT that I’m actively paying attention to it.) 4-days of weight training a week. 3-inches of knitting a day. 2-days of yoga per week. (either in class or using [...]

Read the full article →

Define a Strong Woman

March 14, 2013

A Golden Oldie originally posted in 2009. I’ll let you in a (not so little) secret: I Strength Train. Five to six days a week I throw a large gym bag into my car and drive 4 miles to my local gym. After a 10 minutes warm-up on the cardio machines, where I am surrounded by other women, I head to the very back of the room. Here the dumb bell rack running under a half-wall of mirrors holds pieces of iron from 10 to 110 pounds. Flat benches, incline benches, racks, and platforms stand ready for use. There are [...]

Read the full article →

Honor the Philosophy

March 6, 2013

“Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.” – Bruce Lee What is your fitness philosophy? Are you honoring this philosophy every time you work out? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and recognizing that while part of my workout IS honoring part of my philosophy, most of the time I’m avoiding exactly what I know I need. In doing so, I’m dishonoring the philosophy I claim to believe. My goal is to honor that philosophy and hopefully see the results that I believe will occur. Spurred on a little bit by [...]

Read the full article →

Clearing the Way

February 22, 2013

I’m concentrating on fixing my diet and exercise routine (again. Still?) Right now, I’m clearing the way around the house.  Call it Spring Cleaning for the Body and Soul! Part of it is fun and easy: finishing up the 3/4 empty bags of foods, the left overs, the craft projects that have been sitting around waiting for something to happen. Part of it is not so fun: cleaning up the visual clutter beyond these items. Part of it is HARD: figuring out the mental stuff that initiates these things. I always spend a good amount of the winter clearing things [...]

Read the full article →

Prepping for the first spring Comp.

February 18, 2013

My training in concentrating on getting ready for my first spring competition now.  Although there is a small weight-loss goal (I need to get down 8# to get into the weight class I want to compete at), most of my work time is spent in training the 3 lifts I compete in. SQUAT The most technical lift and the first lift of the day. Also my most difficult one since the hip replacement. To qualify, with the bar on your back you must squat down to the point that the bottom of the hips (the crease where the legs join [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries