The Fit Nation

https://ift.tt/NOrLQ2W First I want to wish Happy New Year to all my readers! My birthday is January 12th, so at the New Year I’m usually trying to clean up my lifestyle a bit as a birthday present to myself (and also as payback for recent Holiday overindulgences…). This year I was inspired by reading Dr. Michael Greger’s new book How Not To Age . I’ve read and reviewed several books on healthy aging and longevity, and this is my favorite. Dr. Greger has a team of researchers helping him, so all his books are all backed by strong scientific evidence. This book gives solid advice on eating and other lifestyle habits for healthy aging. It also makes clear that I lifestyle change is necessary, by showing there are surprisingly few magic bullets like supplements or pills that actually work. This is a very long book with several major sections, so I can’t do it justice in a short review. Some of the tidbits I came away with were: Whole food plant-based eating is definitely the best f...

https://ift.tt/zdRO68e I went for a ride in between rainstorms. It was a bit cold by our standards but pleasant, with a gray and wintry sky. The sun came out a little later, revealing some still-remaining late fall color, which was pretty nice for this time of year. Passing By Coyote Ranch Nearing home after the sun came out

https://ift.tt/TIlBD8S I came across an intriguing article about smart training equipment for your home gym on porch.com here . This is a rapidly evolving area that I must admit I have little experience with. I have a “smart trainer” for my bike, that can be hooked up to the internet, and will actually adjust the resistance automatically to match whatever terrain I’m riding on in a virtual session. I’ve never actually used it in that mode, but I have a friend who does with his and really enjoys it. This is just on example of the kind of thing smart trainers can do in various applications, both cardio and resistance training. The article has a lot of useful advice about smart training, wearable fitness apps, and home fitness equipment in general. https://porch.com/advice/home-gym

https://ift.tt/NRGlozQ We’ve had Considerable rain this week, which is great because it gets us back on schedule for rainfall this season. But it hasn’t been as great for riding. Tuesday was forecast to be scattered showers in the morning so I went for a ride and it turned out to be pretty much steady rain. I persisted anyway, remembering the motto my brother taught me “if you’re gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough”. Fortunately I had pretty good rain gear so didn’t get too wet. Less fortunately, I got a flat several miles from home. It was just a slow leak though, so I was able to pump it up, ride about 1/2 mile, then repeat when it went flat again. I now have a thornproof tube on that wheel so hopefully it will be more reliable in the future. Wednesday was steady rain again so I just rode my stationary bike and did my upper body workout. Finally we were past this yesterday and I actually saw the sun on my ride. A few nice days are now forecast until through Christmas. Entering Parad...

https://ift.tt/s2c3WBa A recent study reported in Neuroscience News shows that being socially active and exercising are both protective of brain health. Participants in a longitudinal study who reported being more socially active or exercising more on a regular basis showed less decline in various measures of brain health over 12 years, including thinning of a part of the brain associated with memory, and decline in cognitive performance. Dancing is a nice way to combine social activity and exercise ( https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2022-10-06/dancing-can-slow-and-reverse-ageing-process/101324714 )

https://ift.tt/slQOWDY I went pretty hard on Tuesday on our group ride, so yesterday I took it easier. I toured around to the east and northeast of Morgan Hill, including some dirt riding near the Coyote Creek trail, for a relaxing 2 hours. View From the Top of Diana Ave Looking North From the End of McDonald’s Lane (off Diana Ave) Late Fall Colors From Anderson Visitor’s Center

https://ift.tt/cv8lQuM Results of a recent study challenged the notion in psychology that suppressing negative thoughts is not a good strategy (it is commonly believed it will later cause a “rebound” wear the thoughts return). The participants who practiced suppressing negative thoughts had significantly improved mental health outcomes with no sign of a rebound effect. This is encouraging news because this is equivalent to what is done in meditation- when negative thoughts arise, one is taught to “let them go” and return the attention to what is being focussed on (such as the breath or a mantra). https://www.onlymyhealth.com/reasons-and-management-of-negative-thinking-1683813681

https://ift.tt/8KS4pYg Yesterday was scheduled to be a hard day for my lower body so I did a long cruise on the Coyote Creek Trail out to the velodrome in Hellyer Park and back. It was mostly in zone 2 pace , which is brisk but pretty manageable. After a bit over two hours of that I threw in the sprints with long recovery in between that I discussed recently , and then a cooldown. Total riding time was 3 and a half hours. This was an enjoyable workout and I felt pleasantly tired the rest of the day. I was fortunate with the timing because it was nice for my ride but then got rainy later in the day. Beautiful late fall day in Hellyer Park, taken from next to the velodrome

https://ift.tt/isHvmYR https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/oct/preventing-dementia-meditation-still-under-investigation A recent study examined the improvement in psychological well-being in seniors who underwent an 18 month meditation program. They spent 9 months performing mindfulness meditation and a further 9 months doing loving-kindness meditation. The were compared to a control group who spent the same amount of time on English-language training. Significant improvements in the meditation group were found in measures of awareness, connection and insight, with no similar changes in the control group. Meditators with lower levels of psychological wellbeing at the start of the 9 months showed greater improvements than those who already had higher levels of wellbeing, so this is especially helpful for those who need it the most.

https://ift.tt/qsxvSYK Yesterday I took my recumbent for a brisk cruise on the Coyote Creek Trail. It was foggy when I started but it broke up during my ride, which ended up being pleasant and sunny. Usually it stays clear for the rest of the day when the fog breaks up, but it got overcast again later in the day. This morning it was foggy again when I rode and a light mist was falling. That also made for an enjoyable ride of a different type.

https://ift.tt/XJAOa70 This week my group rode up into the hills southeast of Morgan Hill towards Gilroy. We took the beautiful Burchell Road to its end at Hecker Pass highway. After crossing the highway (carefully due to potential for fast traffic) we picked up the bike path that leads to the Gilroy Sports complex, passing the Uvas Creek Preserve on the way. We took a side trip through Christmas Hill Park , which I had not been to in years. I’d forgotten how nice it was. After reaching the sports complex we took Santa Teresa Boulevard back to Morgan Hill and lunch, for a bit over 30 miles riding. The next day I had an errand down in Gilroy so I took my e-bike on a more direct route down Monterey highway. Although this can be busy it is still safe due to a wide shoulder and bike lane. It was pretty quiet and pleasant at the time I went. My e-bike has 3 levels of assist. I had it in 2 on the way down and got to my errand in 47 minutes. I discovered another bike path I was unaware of f...