The Flowers Can't Wait

Those flowers are coming on strong.  They are not prepared to wait until I am ready. Spring has sprung and the bulbs that I planted in early May are all flourishing at once.

I have also planted some among the kale in the vegie patch.  It looks adorable. - healthy and cheerful 

Some Interesting Ideas - still interesting

 We made it to 20,000.  Hooray.  Thanks for your readership and attention

Here is one of the oldest blogs I posted.  It is still very topical.  

"Check out YouTube  link for Healing Foundation Animation.  It is a cracker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDN7R6qRpUg "

"Check out the blog - little people nutrition - for some excellent information about those tubes of food, specially yoghurt that people feed to children.  Yikes, sugar and salt

Here is the link https: https://littlepeoplenutrition.com.au  "

Zoom Classes in September

 

Zoom  - why not become a subscriber

September is upon us.  It will be a little different. As usual the subscriptions are being updated, new passcodes and some new recordings. However, there will be one week free from live classes – only 7 live classes for the month.

6^th and 8^th September - no live classes

So, Wednesday 1^st September there is a discount for all subscribers. At $15.00 it adds up to fifty cents a day for the month -

Thanks for your financial support. And when your payment arrives, I will send you the all-important passcodes for live and recorded classes.

NOTE: PASSCODES CHANGE FOR WEDNESDAY 1^ST SEPTEMBER

Time to take your better walk for a walk

 We have been concentrating on walking for a number of weeks - tweaking our technique. Do you remember the habit from each week? Here is a recap:-

• Propelling forward from the hips, instead of flopping forward with quads and knees
• Tread softly
• Allow the arms to swing 
• Embrace rucking by wearing a backpack.

Now let's put all that effort to good use. Let us plan to walk in a beautiful place.  A nature walk is restorative, but I also enjoy a city walk. 

We used to walk around the Kangaroo point cliffs on twilight.  It allows a view of the Botanic Gardens, the river with the watercraft quietly, gracefully moving hither and yon. There is a bonus - the sunset then the twilight and then the city lighting up for the night.

Now that is a walk.  

Remember your backpack and your water bottle.

 

Flowers

Those bulbs that I planted earlier in the year are ready.   Spring has certainly landed here. It is very pleasant to be outdoors at the moment

How is your garden? How is your street looking? 

Flowers for Sandgate

Better Walking - Try Rucking - Habit of the Week - HOW

 An easy way to boost your walk is to carry are knapsack on your back*. 

In the fitness industry, it is called "Rucking" named after the rucksack.

It has been a tried and true fitness regime, lots of research has been done in the military.  We know what is the optimum weight we should carry, which allows people to train maximally training WITHOUT injury.

Rucking is the best of both worlds.  I have heard it described as a cardiovascular exercise for those who don't like running AND a resistance workout for those who dislike the gym. It is good for the posture.  We strengthen those postural muscles.

Humankind has been a hunter/gatherer. So men had to carry what they hunted and women had to carry what they gathered. We were designed to walk a long way and to carry stuff home. I have heard of people wearing weighted vests to spread the load and put force through the bones. Great.  I think a good backpack preferably with a waist belt would do very well.  

Importantly don't load up with too much. Start with a light load the first week or so and enjoy walking a little straighter. Then as you get used to it add some weight.  The USA army reckons not more than 50lbs.  Gosh.

*We discussed Rucking in the Sandgate class on Tuesday and ended up singing the "Happy Wanderer".  

  Not your everyday class

Here is a link

https://fitatmidlife.com/what-is-rucking/

"Atomic Habits" - a great book by James Clear

Let's make "Good Habits" Automatic

This week I was talking to a couple of class members about motivation. Chiefly, I have been discussing how to get motivated to do the recorded classes.  " Motivation", itself,  is a bit of a trap.  We do good work, cheerfully, when the motivation is high. Great.  However, when motivation is low ......... well, you know what happens.

So let's take motivation right out of the equation.

One way to avoid the "Motivation Ups and Downs" is to make our exercise an automatic routine.  This means the formation of a habit.  It relies on establishing a regular pattern of behaviour.

While you are at it, take memory out of the equation, too.

For our usual postural Habit of The Week, I rely on my memory when I wish to perform the habit, hopefully, 100 times a day. - so, little and often is an easy and safe way to make a small improvement.    The idea is that these are small,  and easy to do. Doing these tiny tweaks leads to muscular adaptation without the risk of injury.

However, my memory is unreliable, so I appreciate James Clear's hacks which take memory out of the equation.
Here are two ideas from James Clear.

1.  Habit Stacking

The habit stack means put two actions together... for the first action choose something you do every day, at a regular time is ideal.  Then simply pair that action with some behaviour that you want to do.
For example, when you put the kettle on in the morning practice balancing on one leg.  Personally, I sweep the kitchen while the kettle is boiling.

2.  Make good habits easy, make bad habits hard.

While habit stacking is about clever timetabling, This topic involves organizing your environment.  Here is an example to illustrate- If I set out my clothes and walking shoes in the evening, it is easy to go for a walk the next morning. I made it easy, a no-brainer. I have to ensure that there is no barrier to my getting out the door. "Where are my car keys?"

Alternatively, James Clear says he wants to drink less beer, he puts the cans in the back of the fridge instead of the fridge door.

The Recorded Classes

There is a library of recorded exercise classes. How can we take motivation and memory out of the picture. 

• Planning - the night before, schedule the class, like an appointment - choose the perfect time
• Remove the barriers - take the phone off the hook, get the drink bottle ready, clothes etc
• Go on autopilot - Don't think about it, just do it.
• Find the link the night before
• Clear the loungeroom, (or wherever) before you go to bed

I imagine we are all doing some form of these strategies right now.  I would love to hear your ideas.  You can comment or email. 

Thanks Katie B and Sue.

ReplyForward

Thinking about Motivation

  Motivation? I could use some. 

The will to exercise is not automatic

When we all know how great we feel after exercise, but how come we don’t look forward to it, as much as looking forward to a chocolate?

The answer comes from David Leiberman’s book “Exercised”.  There are physiological reasons.  The answer lies in our caveman ancestry.  We evolved not wanting to waste energy.  Our energy was a precious resource so we try to conserve it – we need it to find food and to ‘reproduce’.  The rest of the time our ancestors saved their energy and rested.

Whereas modern humans have energy (and calories} to spare.  We have access to a lot of spare calories in our readily-available food and let's face it, life is physically quite easy.  (When was the last time you got up to change the channel?)

Instead, we need to be smart about it.  Our knowledge of the workings of the human body is helpful here.  We know that dopamine is the reward hormone and that even the thought of that chocolate or the holiday can get our dopamine levels to move upward.  The anticipation of the chocolate is, itself, fun.  However, the dopamine pathway is different for an exercise.  There is no reward in the anticipation phase, but instead, we get the reward after we have finished. There are so many benefits from just one session of exercise – improved circulation; less pain; clearer head; less stress; more flexibility.  I could go on and on. 

There is not necessarily any joy in a ten km walk, we might even dread the thought.  However, because we know the benefits, we need to encourage ourselves to do our exercise. Maybe figure out a reward for exercise.

Let me know what you think.  How do you motivate yourself?

ONLINE CLASSES

During this lockdown, I offered a free 60-minute class online. These online classes need only a very small space.  I exercise in my lounge on the rug that measures about 1.5m x 1.5m.

You would need  the internet at home to connect up. We use a chair, no arms please, weights, ball and cord. 

Your privacy is safeguarded.  I cannot see you, if prefer . And once the class starts, I mute everyone.  Don't you wish you had that super power sometimes.

These classes are not opened to the public, it is only for those on my email list, namely former class members. To take part in these classes, you must email me and request a link.  I will send you the link and a passcode.  If you are new, I recommend that you join up at least 5 minutes early so that we can sort out any technical difficulties.

I will send Don's phone number along with the link, because once the class starts, I won't be able to answer the phone.

Better Walking Part Three

 

Better Walking Part Three

Gentle initial heel contact

Follow by a controlled roll of the foot to a flat foot position.

This part of the story discusses the heel strike.  We have been “trained” by shoe companies to strike the ground hard with the heel. However, when we do this, a strong impact force goes through the front of the body. It is unnecessarily jarring.  In addition, the force is amounts to a “stopping” force, and therefore, we require more energy, again, to move forward.

What is the remedy?.
An easy way to remember this tip is to tread lightly with your feet as you walk or run. 

An excellent video, but fast forward straight to tip no. 8.  It occurs at 10 minute 33 seconds. A video called

How to Walk Properly -Top 10 Tips with Todd Martin MD.

Filmed in Balboa Park.  By the way, we have been to this amazing parkland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1A9zwvvskw

So, let’s not strike the ground too hard.

Let’s control the decent of the rest of the foot.

Tread lightly, but carry a big stick. And speaking of big sticks.

Stand by for another blogpost about exercising with sticks.