My current fitness project since August is rehabbing a house. This is a house that required a total retrofit on the interior in addition to plumbing and joist work. I was not involved in any of the plumbing or joist work, but I have painted the entire house from top to bottom by myself and assisted in laying floors.
The results on the interior of the house are just spectacular. Another great benefit, is that doing all of this physical work, I have realized the following benefits:
- lost 10 lbs without changing my eating habits;
- toned my arms, legs and butt–sculpting and building real strength
- improved my core strength
- improved/acquired some useful skills
I’ve not painted in 25 years—since we last built our home. All subsequent painting was gladly paid for to let others perform. With this rehab house, that will eventually be purchased by my daughter, we were on a very, very tight budget. So Mark and I marshaled our collective energy and skills to take this house and make it a livable home at an affordable price.
Mark is very skilled as he is an electrician and has excellent carpentry skills. Me…well…I’m a great sourcer/scrounger, and a pretty good eye for color, and I can paint fairly well. So over these last 3 months, I’ve
- pulled up carpet
- removed carpet tack stripping with a hammer and wonderbar
- brushed, rolled paint over every square foot of wall to include all the trim
- climbed up a ladder a thousand times
- moved flooring boxes, this way and that
- laid flooring, this way and that
I do my regular, sedentary work too! But this work has consumed 2-4 days per week, and represents a marked, sustained effort from my baseline of activity. How great it has been to see both this house and my body transformed. As any can see from this online journal, I have a great deal of difficulty sustaining a regimen of activity for oh-so-many real and made up reasons! That being said, this has been sustained…and real…with results.
None of this work involves any true cardiovascular load, and I know that is important. But comprehensive muscle work and sustained work load has been good to my body. I have to admit, though, (and it pains me), that I expected my body to be able to absorb the work demand better. Simply put…I’ve been tired…and I’ve not been less tired as the project wore on. I might assuage myself and say that it is because that the more that I can do, the more that I’ve done, so my body is not acclimating because I’ve made additional demands on it over the course of this work.
Perhaps my husband was right when he said at the beginning of this ambitious project: "You are no spring chicken". I surely am not.
How wonderful it was to get back into a long-lost pant size and to have my "comfortable pants" now too baggy to be comfortable. I just closed on another house. It will be sold to an unrelated party, so my physical participation will be that of procurer/scrounger and project manager. However, there is some carpet to pull up, tack strips to get up and walls and cabinets to clean. I’ll do some of that–but my college student son is looking for some holiday work.
I know how quickly results can evaporate…so I’ll need to keep moving and working. I am motivated to keep my body within its current bounds.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
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November 22nd, 2011
leisa
My body seems to have rolled out the red carpet for every traveling virus and bacteria making the rounds. My last upper respiratory set me back a couple of weeks. Mark and I loaded up our bikes last weekend and went to Pocahontas State Park (our first visit there, about 50 minute drive). My lungs were still toast. But it was great recon; though it was an excessive strain physically.
Weather and health now seem conducive to getting some traction toward fitness.
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April 2nd, 2011
leisa
First the firewood. Weather is a’coming, so provisioning for firewood is a must. Our heating bill last month was $400….and we have two wood stoves. Ugh…. This is the second winter where our typically mild Virginia winters were supplanted by atypical bitchin’ cold temperatures. And we have had it much easier than our surrounding brethren as the precipitation has been subdued.
When Mark indicated that we needed to rustle up some firewood, I strapped on the monitor and said, "I’ll do it; I need a workout." A few armloads of firewood does wonders for the heart rate, abs, legs and arms. I’m really beginning to appreciate the workload that ordinary activities can put on a body. That such duties (cleaning, firewood gathering, and even laundry when making multiple trips up/down stairs puts a load on one’s cardiovascular system is very motivating to me to do those chores. It is also a reminder of how poor physical condition makes it difficult to engage in everyday things.
So….there’s my workout. Now for my motherly advice. I had drinks with a friend of mine who is just a couple of years younger than I am. He indicated to me that he was training for a popular run (Mamont 10K). He also indicated that he had a heart rate monitor and that he was using the age-rated methodology for figuring his heart rate. I told him how enthusiastic I was about heart zone training–particularly for older folks like us, or for newcomers to fitness (my own sporadic attempts at fitness render me a perennial newcomer which may account for my enthusiasm) because of the dangers (and pain) of overtraining out of of the gate.
I have not found the "220-one’s age" to be very accurate. Accordingly, I promised to send him the article that can be found here , by Sally Edwards. [To my eye there is an error in the heart rate zone points (zone 1 = 1 pt, zone 2 = 2 points) rather than the one point assigned to all categories. Anyway...that's just me, and because I use this heart zone point training system (in the loosest and most inconsistent way, I say with great shame), I felt the need to point it out. ] That quibble aside, it is a great exposition, and I hope that you’ll take time to read the article.
My friend sent me an e-mail and told me he had taking the 1 mile walk test and had calculated his maximum heart rate at 183 (heart rate at end of 1 mile plus an add on for one’s fitness level). He compared that to using the the modified age computation (from the aforementioned article), as follows:
Males: 210 minus 1/2 your age minus 5% of your body weight + 4
Females: 210 minus - 1/2 your age minus 1% of your body weight + 0
That computation gave him 181, so he felt comfortable with that. (My heart rate is actually higher than what the age modified indicates, and I’ve tested that in real life on a trail run on the 3rd hill. I had my "oh shit" moment when I looked at my heart rate monitor because I felt that I was closed to dying, but I was determined to not walk up that hill. I looked at the monitor, and I stopped…regained my senses and then walked!). He then launched into his running and getting into the 170 area, at which time he would slow down, and then start again.
My friend (at 48) started running in January. He should not be running in the 170 area. That is too hot. Now, let’s be clear. I’m a business consultant and not an exercise expert. However, I believe that I was within my bounds of study and experience in warning him that spending time in this zone was an accident waiting to happen. I stopped reading his e-mail and picked up the phone.
We have a joke between us that I should start a website called "youneedto.com" because I have the irritating habit of saying, "you need to. . . ". I began, "This call is a PSA from youneedto.com. You need to slow down. You are going to fast, too hot too soon." When we had talked before, he indicated that when he was running that he was dripping wet with sweat and huffing and puffing, so he thought he was getting a good work out. With his e-mail, I understood why.
I encouraged my friend to find a pace so that he run comfortably in his aerobic zone. Once he gets fitter, he can work on getting faster. Trying to get fast without getting fit is a recipe for disaster.
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 02/09/2011
- Time: 18:43:00
- Total Time: 00:37:54.00
- Average Heart rate: 134
- Max Heart rate: 164
- Calories: 249
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February 9th, 2011
leisa
"Other" is general household EPA cleanup. I was in Zones 1 (40 minutes) and 2 (20 minutes), the later being more of a recovery period–but it was movement, and I’ll take it.
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 02/06/2011
- Time: 10:53:00
- Total Time: 1:08:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 115
- Max Heart rate: 145
- Calories: 447
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February 6th, 2011
leisa
This year is starting out with great difficulties: flu ran through the family, and we’ve attended more funerals in the last 4 weeks than we have in the last 4 years. I suppose we are at the age (>50) where friend’s and their elder parents are succumbing to the inevitability of life: death.
I’ve not recorded many workouts, but suffice to say that it has been cold, and I have been helping my husband with firewood chores. It is a great workout. We have a pneumatic splitter, which takes some of the backbreaking work out of it. But wrangling large pieces of 50lb plus sections of tree to split does engage the arms, back and legs.
My husband cut up an oak that appeared to have been struck by lightening—a blackened core through the middle of the tree. Dead trees are alive with all sorts of interesting things. In one section, we found hybernating, large black ants. Their antennae would move when you touched them, but for the most part, they were nearly dead to the world. Among the ants were some mite-like creatures. Just a few of them, but clearly parasitic. We moved the stump aside.
While splitting another section, an iridescent blue-tailed skink fell out. It was very cold, and he was barely moving. Fortunately, I had not hurt him. I picked him up, and gave him to my neighbor who warmed him in his hands while I moved the log aside. When warm enough to move, we put him back in his groove which lead into a hollow place where he was lodged. When he was safely ensconced in his wood burrow, I place the other half of the log on top; otherwise, he would have frozen for lack of insulation.
For the most part, the tree was a 24-hour McDonald’s for woodpeckers whose handiwork we could see.
I told Mark that I need to go back to my habit (some 10 years ago) and rolling out of bed in the early a.m. and getting my cardio in. My mind and body seem to want to re-embrace that exceptional time of the day where the world is just beginning to wake up.
This a.m. it was raining and cold. I did not let that be an excuse, as it never used to be. I have the technical fabric gear to ensure that I was warm, breathable, and dry. I was, and the weather absolutely was not a factor. Though a miserable morning, when I was out in it, I embrace the special solitude and quiet that a gentle cold rain offers. I also heard a bird songing…and that was a reminder that spring will be here soon. Ella came with me. It is the first time I have taken her with me without a leash. It was very pleasant (we live in a closed neighborhood with little traffic). She explored, immersed herself in a beaver pond, came when called when a couple of vehicles came by. She also pointed a bird. Not much of a bird dog as she cannot abide by gun noise. But she’d make a good companion for a bow and arrow hunter!
My other two are incapable of listening and minding. Macy is a dawdler, and Daisey is the great runner–I just cannot have her galloping through yards and risk her running in front of an infrequent car.
Workout:
- Type: Walk
- Date: 02/05/2011
- Time: 07:14:00
- Total Time: 00:39:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 139
- Max Heart rate: 157
- Calories: 167
- Distance: 2 miles
- Average Pace: 19:28.83/mile
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February 5th, 2011
leisa
I managed a three-fer today. I headed upstairs for my workout. I have a really nice room over my garage that a terrific place to work out. I have a nice Smith machine, free weights, bosu, stability ball, yoga mat (in addition to a nice sofa and a reading nook).
I strapped on my heart rate monitor to do cardio and strength–keeping my heart rate up over 130. Boy do I feel good. I did steps on the bosu, on 3 different step stool heights. I did some ab work, dead lifts, and more steps whenever my heart rate fell. It felt good to combine all of this ’stuff’ and have a nice stretch afterwards.
I received some sad news today that my GF’s father passed. I had a chance to visit with her, her Mom, and her sister last Thursday. I was able to say to her father how much I loved him and to thank him for the many kindnesses he had shown to me. My GF and I were very close friends in high school, and I spent much time with her family at a time when it was important to me. He was very ill, and his passing was peaceful.
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 01/10/2011
- Time: 18:09:00
- Total Time: 00:20:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 136
- Max Heart rate: 164
- Calories: 131
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January 10th, 2011
leisa
Ii elected to take just Ella with me on a road walk/run. I had to sneak through a neighbors avoiding the front field of view of my two other vermin who were outside with Mark trying to coax some ball time out of him.
Did a mix of walk/run with a few minutes talking to an older neighbor.
I’ve been ’sneaking in some moves’ using Callanetics-esque moves in arms, legs, butt and abs. Not large enough workouts to post, but intense enough work to already see (and feel) the toning results. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Callanetics, they are exercises that essentially get your muscle in a contracted position and then very small moves are used to move in and out of the position.
The result is a very deep and effective workout of the muscles engaged. For example for ab exercises, you would lay on your back, with knees bent, feet on floor. Putting your hands on the inside of your thighs (back of hands touching), you will pull your upper body up. Maintain the position, but let go of your inner things and extend your arms out. Now move just an inch up and back. Your muscles are already engaged holding your torso stationary and the small moves are engaging other muscles. You’ll find ab muscles that you didn’t know that you had.
Since starting my routine, I’ve not done a good job with my strength and flexibility. With this 2nd 12-week phase, I’m incorporating both.
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 01/08/2011
- Time: 13:08:00
- Total Time: 00:39:14.00
- Average Heart rate: 134
- Max Heart rate: 171
- Calories: 168
- Distance: 2 miles
- Average Pace: 19:36.47/mile
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January 8th, 2011
leisa
(I wrote this post on my other website, and I thought I would share it here).
A New Year! And conflating the first two words, we get, "anew ."
–adverb
1. over again; again; once more: to play the tune anew.
2. in a new form or manner: to write the story anew.
Source: Dictionary.com
The New Year is a natural demarcation line between the past and the future. However, it is worth noting, that the only "time space" in which we can take action is the present. There is not a thing we can do now to change the past, and whatever we imagine for ourselves in the future will not come to pass unless we take steps now to ease that unfolding. Our being more strong, happy, rich, compassionate, learned, skillful (pick your area) will not happen if we do not make the decision today to take action toward that goal.
In conversation with a colleague some years ago, he was relating to me a conversation he had with his son in making decisions. He then stated a very simple question he had posed to his son:
Over the years, when I am tempted to dawdle, dither and defer–the three "D’s" that contribute to the deplorable state of do-nothingness–I invoke this mantra. It has amazing power to spur action.
Our resolutions, then, are a time for us to begin anew. The product of our introspective efforts during this contemplative time requires three things.
Thing 1: Set a goal/objective
Thing 2: Concretize the needful things that must happen to reach our goal (identify what actions/steps are needed when).
Thing 3: Measure our progress toward achieving those steps.
I will add Thing 4: Adopt a reproachful mantra to chant when you are too tired, sick, bored, busy or stressed: "If not now, when?"
I promise you that if you invoke that mantra, you will empower yourself. As the queen of the three dreadful D’s, dawdling, dithering and deferring, I can state that those words have real power. Yes, it is mildly coercive that question, "If not now, when?"
I believe that there is a range of people in life that fit with in the polarities of people who catapult themselves into action sans thinking and those who cocoon themselves within thinking sans action. I preach to you (and myself!) today as one who is occasionally rooted in the polarity of thinking sans action.
I’m not sure which is worse, action sans thinking or thinking sans action, but I do know this: Thinking + action = a higher probability of a successful outcome than either of the other two choices. Self discipline is the antidote to most of the ills accompanied by either of those polarities. Yes, this is a soap box post, but I am preaching mostly to myself.
I resurrected my resolutions from 2008. I consider these resolutions (revised date of 2011) a balanced scorecard for my life. Having turned 50 this year, I do feel that I’ve crossed (or tripped) over a threshold of sorts.
If you want to peek under the hood of those, you can do so here . It isn’t finished, but I did want to share the idea with you. Woefully, I’m one of those people who requires a resolution under the category of "Fun".
The software that I used to create this list is FreeMind. You can find it here . It is free software, and you can download it at the link without fear of harming your computer. It is a simple, yet powerful program that will help you harness your creativity and transform your ideas into actions.
I wish you a Happy New Year–a year filled with successful transformation of your ideas into actions, and may those actions yield their intended consequences. And if not….may you have the flexibility and alacrity to adjust accordingly.
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January 2nd, 2011
leisa
I should chronicle my NY’s Eve dinner party preparation as a workout. Between cooking and cleaning I don’t know how many calories I burned, but I do know that my gas tank was completely empty when I hit the bed. Being horizontal was blissful. I did not get out of bed until 11 a.m., and I NEVER stay in bed that long.
We had a beautiful dinner. I found some primroses on sale at the store. I bought 12 of them, and for $20 I had a beautiful centerpiece for my table with two white candles in the middle and a green candle at either end. I’m generally not very good with tablescapes.
I’m glad the Thanksgiving - New Year’s feed bag is now gone. The holidays are a past memory–replete with snow for the first time since 1976 (or so). Back down to business with the exercising. As it was raining and cold, I exercised upstairs. I did a mix of cardio, weights and stretching: arms, abs, legs. I feel good as I type, and I know that I’ll be pleasantly sore. (I invoked my "if not now, when?" mantra).
Workout:
- Type: Strength Training
- Date: 01/02/2011
- Time: 17:40:40
- Total Time: 00:20:00.00
- Calories: 146
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January 2nd, 2011
leisa
Just .75 miles, but I made this a hot workout.
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 12/03/2010
- Time: 04:57:00
- Total Time: 00:16:14.60
- Average Heart rate: 151
- Max Heart rate: 167
- Calories: 190
- Distance: 0.75 miles
- Average Pace: 21:39.64/mile
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December 3rd, 2010
leisa
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