The Fit Nation

https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/25e2835f41aad499102b7dccdf750ee9842e9a75fa2931cd1ba6fa84c47eafd5?s=96&d=&r=G I do a stretching routine every night, partially based on what I’ve picked up in books and classes on Yoga, and partially based on physical therapy exercises I’ve accumulated due to rehabbing from various ailments or injuries. I find it is a lot more relaxing and enjoyable if I do it mindfully, paying attention to each exercise rather than simultaneously watching TV. I recommended this as a coping strategy here back during Covid. Unfortunately I tend to get out of this habit if there is something especially interesting on TV. The last time this happened was during the NBA playoffs last year. When they are first on there is a large backlog of games to watch. So I decide it’s OK temporarily to watch them while doing my stretching. But the playoffs ended last June, and I hadn’t got back to doing the routine mindfully till now. So much for the excuse “temporarily”. For the ...

https://ift.tt/u2kHaeQ I’ve spent the last few days mostly doing long brisk rides, but the only hard day was Friday. This is enjoyable. I’ve found as long as I don’t do a hard day with intervals, recovery is great, I feel fine by the next day. Here’s what my training looked like since my last post: “E” means a brisk long ride, “UH” means upper-body hard day, and “LH” means upper-body hard day. On “UH” days I did 50 minutes of arm-cycling and training with resistance bands, plus some body-weight “core” training. The rest was easy biking. I was a bit wiped on Saturday after Friday’s hard ride so it was nice to go easy on Saturday, and I had recovered well by Sunday (yesterday). I will keep going this way for a month and decide how to proceed after that. View From the Top of Diana Road Yesterday, with the fog receding from the Santa Cruz Mountains This training violates classic base training protocols like that of Dr. Phil Maffetone or Arthur Lydiard who recommended avoiding any ana...

https://ift.tt/6lPkdQH I had a fun week of riding this week. Tuesday I went “round The reservoirs” and out and back on Casa Loma road with my group, a favorite local ride. This was on my upright wearing my SI joint belt and my SI tolerated it fine. I’m still doing well standing for longer periods of time a couple of times a week on the upright. I’ve also been able to walk a lot farther without issues. I’m glad of that because visiting my brother in Phoenix, or other times while traveling, I like to walk a lot when biking is not as convenient of an option. My other rides and upper body workouts all went well, except Wednesday when I became a little too preoccupied about my heart rate during the ride. It turns out I’d accidentally taken an extra dose of metoprolol the night before which was keeping my heart rate lower than the range I shoot for. What I enjoy most is a nice brisk steady state ride, which usually works out to an average heart rate in the vicinity of 110 for me. I’ve decid...

https://ift.tt/GY4tbEI http://www.Amazon.com/books This is the title of a fascinating book by Dr. Raphael E. Cuomo, a professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The main thesis is that addictive behaviors make us more susceptible to cancer. And addiction is not just substance abuse like drugs, alcohol, or smoking, but occurs in many other forms that are prevalent in our modern society. These include addiction to social media or other “screen forms” and craving unprocessed foods. Dr. Cuomo shows in detail the ways in which these grow cancer risk, by a variety of mechanisms like weakening our immune systems, increasing chronic inflammation, throwing off insulin signaling, and debilitating repair mechanisms. Fortunately, this all can be improved by lifestyle changes like reduced screen time, better sleep, better diet, and exercise. This list is remarkably similar to what you would read about related to lifestyle and aging, so for me this was more motiva...

https://ift.tt/Brejzop We’ve been having a bit of a heat wave lately but it is still cool in the early mornings so I’ve been getting out on my rides early. Wednesday I had a long adventure of 50 miles including lots of riding in the hills West of town, which took a little over 3 1/2 hours. Friday I did another 3 hour + ride, this time staying more on the East side. Yesterday I did an upper body hard day including strength training and arm-cycling, then went for about an hour on my upright. This was mostly standing up to pedal, which continues to get better, with no I’ll effects on my SI joint. On Uvas Road Wednesday, a little North of Uvas reservoir Paronama of Uvas reservoir On Wednesday

https://ift.tt/bvoj9T0 I’ve discussed in previous posts how I like to pedal standing up on an upright bike. This is challenging aerobically, and feels a little like running which is great for a former runner. But lately I haven’t been able to do it much because my SI joint complains. This is not too bad by itself but can be an early sign of sciatica flaring up which I definitely want to avoid. I’ve mentioned having problems with this in the past . But I remembered that my SI joint belt can help with this so I’ve been trying it on my rides recently. Little by little I add in more standing, and today I was able to get away with quite a bit of it without issues. I did it over at Anderson Lake County Park and the dirt paths near the Coyote Creek trail. I had forgotten how this allows me also to handle rougher terrain because your legs absorb a lot of the vibration when standing. Coyote Creek Flowing Through Anderson Lake County Park- Live Oak Picnic Area I have also been avoiding lon...