Physical fitness.

[temporal1]

Page 150 / Today / 2020 Thanksgiving Day
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php ... start=1490

Thanksgiving Day.

i was just leaving for my walk when a neighbor texted they had a plate prepared for me!
a welcome and unexpected surprise.



i had a diabetes check yesterday, my doctor is happy!
A1c = 7.5, i’m down 16 pounds since last year. next appt in 4 months.

walking has made the difference.
i’m not sure about winter weather, but i’m preparing to walk whenever possible. so far, i’ve walked in wind+rain, sometimes sustained winds of 40+ mph. not a blast, but i’ve done it.
not sure about snow+ice. snow is possible, ice is a deal breaker. below zero temps, probably not, esp if windy. i’ll have to judge day by day.

several weeks of this, then spring.

doctor warned the virus is “all over” the county, to be careful. walking is good.
i’m not out a lot. i wear a mask, wash hands, keep a distance.

and pray.

On MD, Mr Jim and some others mentioned they used a helpful internet website (now app) for tracking meals, calories. i’ve been using the FREE version regularly this year.

My Fitness Pal
http://www.myfitnesspal.com

i’m hopeful for this thread to be about helpful websites, apps, reports, gadgets, personal experiences, recipes, foods, etc.; choices we can make to help our physical bodies.
how mental/physical obstacles are met. or not.

in the past, Valerie has helped me understand how to deal with diabetes.
i’m slow to learn, but, “i feel like” i’m finally “getting the knack” of what i need to do overall:
diet, exercise, meds, sleep. stress.

it’s not 1 thing.
it’s a myriad of “small things” on a regular basis. (underlined “myriad!”)

On a recent walk, a neighbor stopped to chat. i believe she’s younger, but can’t walk due to joint problems. My mother suffered with this. The pain involved.

What are you doing? Suggestions?

[temporal1]

2019 / ragpicker
“I lost 100 pounds in one year”
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php ... 259#p52259

Physical fitness isn’t just about losing weight. Some need to gain.
Most can strengthen, increase endurance, stretch muscles, exercise lungs, etc.

This thread can be about all of it.

[temporal1]

A new find.
Easy to use calculator.

Calories Burned HQ: Calories burned walking
https://caloriesburnedhq.com/calories-burned-walking/

How many calories do you burn walking?

Most people burn an average of 100 calories per mile walking.
(Your) weight and the distance you walk are the key factors that determine how many calories you burn.

Below you’ll find an easy to use calorie calculator for walking. Use this to get a calorie estimate specific for your weight and type of walk.

[steve-in-kville]

I walk a lot. Ran some 5k's in the past. Recently took up rucking, which is a cool way of saying a walk with a weighted pack. Physical fitness is important as it allows me to deal with my mental heath without meds.

I am experimenting with intermittent fasting (IF), which was all the rage for a while but has obvious health benefits.

[temporal1]

I walk a lot. Ran some 5k's in the past.

Recently took up rucking, which is a cool way of saying a walk with a weighted pack.
Physical fitness is important as it allows me to deal with my mental heath without meds.

I am experimenting with intermittent fasting (IF), which was all the rage for a while but has obvious health benefits.

i’d not heard of rucking, but, coincidentally, i just added (light) wrist weights to my walks.
i used them years ago.

i used to be pretty active, not an athlete, at all, but mostly swimming 40-100 lengths of a pool, and walking. i did some “intermittent walk-jogs” which i thought were pretty effective. by memory, i think i would alternate walking-jogging, matching time for time? 2 minutes walking, 2 minutes jogging? or something like that.

i’m thinking of adding this at some point, IF i feel secure i’m beyond tendonitis i dealt with in one ankle MOST of this year! ugh. for months i walked slowly, and limped.

at the beginning of October, i happened to see an ad for orthopedic shoes. i’m very good at ignoring ads! but, this ad caught my attention and haunted me. i’ve never worn orthopedic shoes. i found myself studying the ad. 25% off, free shipping, 60 day returns.

but, buying shoes on the internet?? i was 100% sure they would not fit.
finally, i decided to order their hiking boot style, hoping for good ankle support. (60 day returns!)

They fit great. Comfortable. Soft inside, sturdy. Total surprise.
By the end of October i realized: pain-free.
Without trying, i noticed my speed and distance increased.

Now i added light wrist weights. i feel it.
mostly to help with posture, upper body strength. i loved swimming for this. i miss it.

i’m not planning to add more of anything over the winter.
My goal is to continue THROUGH the winter!
If i can manage that, i will be happy.

Some days, weather adds to the effort. Walking in 40+mph winds is more work.
If i can make it through winter, that will be an accomplishment, in itself.

i have a few friends/family who have done different organized walks/runs/marathons.
One has gone to Boston at different times.

i’ve had fantasies of joining different local walks/fund raisers. never been that focused or organized. it’s not off the table. just not a big priority. i had an uncle who became a medal-winning senior swimming athlete! he was very spry into his 90’s.

i’d like to buy a second pair of these hiking boots.
before they raise the price and cheapen the quality. “the American way.”

https://www.orthofeet.com/collections/o ... c490&_ss=r

my walk is mostly on oil+chip country roads. some across a field. hard on soles.

[steve-in-kville]

Your feet need to get conditioned for it, for sure.

Someday I'd like to do a fundraiser and ruck like 100 miles or something. Not sure what organization I'd raise money for, but I have time to figure that out.

I heard of people carrying two bricks wherever they go as a challenge. Or a kettlebell.

[temporal1]

Your feet need to get conditioned for it, for sure.

Someday I'd like to do a fundraiser and ruck like 100 miles or something. Not sure what organization I'd raise money for, but I have time to figure that out.

I heard of people carrying two bricks wherever they go as a challenge. Or a kettlebell.

100 miles!
It would be fun. Even to witness/read about.

When we lived in Vermont, we day-hiked mountains.
We dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail.
https://appalachiantrail.org/

How much weight are you carrying?
My wrist weights are 1 pound each, for me, plenty. i like to be hands-free.
They are something like this:
https://www.schoolspecialty.com/abilita ... en-1543198

They aren’t easy to find these days. i’ve had mine for years.
Some use cans of soup for weight. My hands could probably do this.

Speaking of this, i want to add, weights are not for everyone. There is potential to throw muscles/joints off. i’m kinda watching myself, to make sure i’m not inadvertently stressing anything.
The wrist weights can be hand-held, too.

My first day with weights, 3 miles, i “felt it” about half-through, but did ok. No sore muscles the next day. (Don’t laugh. too loudly.)

My daughter suggested a walking app. i like it. i use the free version.
it’s very detailed in tracking whatever path:

STRAVA
http://www.strava.com

[steve-in-kville]

How much weight are you carrying?

Maybe 25 pounds currently. Most competitions require 35. I recently learned there are rucking marathons (26.2 miles!). It would be neat to do something like that one day.

I think for certain areas of the military, one must ruck 35 pounds, 12 miles, under three hours.

[temporal1]

.. my doctor is happy!

i saw my GP for an annual check thursday. i now have 2 happy doctors.
i’m not sure how to act. i guess i’ll just go ahead and be happy.

i think med staff are stressed and seeing lots of added problems this year.

i didn’t tell them, i began walking because the early pandemic reports were “so bad,” if i caught it, due to age+diabetes, i would be sure to have a hard time, if not permanent damage or death.
the lungs seem to be hardest-hit. no family, no visitors.

i decided i’d better work on getting stronger, esp to exercise lungs.
so. even with tendonitis, i felt i needed to do the best i could, with what was possible. walking.

much to my surprise, i’m now pain-free. i was pretty sure i had a chronic problem that i was just going to have to live with. it happens.

How much weight are you carrying?

Maybe 25 pounds currently. Most competitions require 35. I recently learned there are rucking marathons (26.2 miles!). It would be neat to do something like that one day.

I think for certain areas of the military, one must ruck 35 pounds, 12 miles, under three hours.

This is just amazing.
i looked up rucking. as you say, it’s a military workout, and civilian sport/competition!
Very interesting. There’s a lot to learn about it. Anytime weights are added, technique becomes very important. BE CAREFUL! Men seem prone to back injuries. Protect your back and joints.

The benefits of rucking
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles ... f-rucking/

8 tips
https://cellucor.com/blogs/training/what-is-rucking

A loaded march is a relatively fast march over distance carrying a load. It is both a common military exercise and a civilian activity. A loaded march is known as a forced foot march in the US Army.
Wikipedia

When i was young, backpacks were (literally) a foreign concept.
We hauled our books, gym clothes, lunches, everything, in our arms, walked back+forth to school.
My brother reminded me, we walked back+forth for lunch, too! No backpacks.

We vaguely knew students in Europe regularly carried rucksacks (i believe that’s the word we used). But, honestly, they looked both handy, and weird! We couldn’t really imagine using them.

Backpacks caught on!
Since, they’re everywhere, in every size/material/color/style imaginable.

i always thought they were super, so much better than carrying everything in arms.
so much better for posture! - as long as not too heavy, and the weight is distributed correctly.

IF i add weight, i’ll plan for it to be in some type of backpack. good idea.

when i was young, i wondered why we didn’t have rucksacks like the European children.
and, i thought the different cultures that balance loads on their heads was good thinking, too.

[temporal1]

i have a pet peeve about walkers, joggers, bicyclists.

they so often wear black or dark clothing in low light or darkness.
as a driver, it’s scary.

i was talking with my daughter about this recently, she agreed, and said it’s a common problem in the Seattle area, the short days, rain, etc. and all these cool physically-fit people in chic black, out exercising day+night! i’ve been there enough. yes. it’s true.

and, all those cool distracted drivers hitting things in broad daylight.

it’s December!
i had to rush to get back from my walk before dark, neighbors’ lights turning on!
it was pretty, though.

i just “put my money where my mouth is” and bought a reflective belt-like thing.
i like it. it’s a nice quality, easy to adjust, easy on+off.

i’m going to wear it.
i hope my neighbors will get similar. there’s lots to choose from. not expensive.