OT: Health and Fitness Thread ‎III

Aeroforce

Registered User
Apr 28, 2012
3,525
6,003
Houston, TX
No way to sugarcoat - this has been a brutal summer in Houston. Triple digit heat with excessive heat indexes, compounded by no rain. I've taken on a me-against-the-world mentality and have soldiered on. Psychologically it helps having June and most of July in the rear view mirror, but there's still a long way to go. Hopefully no hurricanes, but with this kind of heat, the waters in the gulf are favorable to develop storms.

For years I've had this idea to somehow combine my two main interests - jump rope and music. I started writing short songs to accompany my freestyle routines. I completed three short ones and have a longer one I'm hoping to film this weekend. I also have an aerobics song coming out next Tuesday.

Some friends think it's odd, but I get a lot out of doing them. Here are the three short ones if anyone is interested:

This one uses variations on double unders.


This one has various sprints, similar to what boxers use to train.


This was my first attempt at syncing the jumping with the music. I choreographed the jump first, then wrote the music.
 

Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
93,159
5 miles in the heat.

Get busy living, or get busy dying.


AWJy0ZcCJmILe (1).gif
 
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Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
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I never thought the day would come, but....

I ate a celery stick.

On purpose.

And I liked it.

Of course, it's better when you spread some Laughing Cow cheese on it and sprinkle with Everything But The Bagel seasoning. But I actually ate one plain and didn't gag.

I also had some "no sugar added" chocolate. It was fantastic!

I don't know who I am anymore lol

20220801_173459.jpg
 

TD Charlie

Registered User
Sep 10, 2007
38,404
19,895
I never thought the day would come, but....

I ate a celery stick.

On purpose.

And I liked it.

Of course, it's better when you spread some Laughing Cow cheese on it and sprinkle with Everything But The Bagel seasoning. But I actually ate one plain and didn't gag.

I also had some "no sugar added" chocolate. It was fantastic!

I don't know who I am anymore lol

View attachment 574178
Nice! I don’t mind plain ol celery, but after one piece I’m done. Covered in peanut butter, now that is a snack i can crush
 

Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
93,159


I feel this. lol

Finally getting my energy back a bit from Covid, trying to increase my walking back to where it was.
 
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Aeroforce

Registered User
Apr 28, 2012
3,525
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Houston, TX
I may have gone for my last bike ride, which is a shame since I enjoy it so much. It's been a stressful summer on many levels, so last night I decided to go for a ride to clear my head. I was cycling through the residential neighborhood where I live.

Inevitably there are always some near catastrophes involving motorists, pedestrians, squirrels, etc., but last night when I was about a block away from home, I noticed a small woman walking an enormous dog she was having trouble controlling. He was extremely aggressive, too.

I wear a helmet, signal turns, have front and rear lights, stop at stop signs, etc., which is a good thing. After getting through an intersection with a stop sign, I looked ahead and the dog appeared to be about to break free. I made an emergency turn but didn't have enough room and would have made too sharp of a turn to avoid the curb.

So my bike crashed into the curb and I flew off the bike into someone's lawn. It happened so fast, but I recall extending my arms like a diver. It was an amazingly soft landing, and I didn't even have any scratches. My bike took quite a hit, but miraculously survived. The chain was out of sync but I didn't even have to get my fingers oily to fix it. The gear shifts took care of that.

A day later I chuckle that at 54 I'm still somewhat physically resilient. But the fear of what that dog would've done to me, plus how bad the crash could've been, has me reluctantly not wanting to go for any more rides.

I have a friend who is a dog walker in Philly, and she has had countless unpleasant encounters walking small dogs from high rise buildings, getting in and out of elevators with people with huge, aggressive dogs. Between that and texting drivers, speeding drivers, pedestrians walking in the middle of the street with ear-buds, etc., it's not worth the risk and frustration.

Rant over - I just now have to find another reason to don the spandex. ;)
 

DarrenBanks56

Registered User
May 16, 2005
12,592
8,696
Starting to feel it in the left knee and both hips.

Not sure how many more seasons I’ve got in net.

Sucks getting old.
same.
im especially sore after a hockey game. especially left knee and left shoulder. prob sleep 4 hours a nite because of shoulder.
cant quit tho.
im still pretty good and i will never step foot in a gym.
i do hockey and hike a mountain maybe 3x a week.
 

Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
93,159
It's amazing to me, now that I've cut out sugar for the most part, how much I don't even have a taste for it anymore. It's only taken me about five months to reach that point though lol.
 

BNHL

Registered User
Dec 22, 2006
20,023
1,466
Boston
same.
im especially sore after a hockey game. especially left knee and left shoulder. prob sleep 4 hours a nite because of shoulder.
cant quit tho.
im still pretty good and i will never step foot in a gym.
i do hockey and hike a mountain maybe 3x a week.
I couldn't walk up stairs after hockey,couldn't crouch at all for years. 5 years ago I started biking about 12 miles a day every other day,95% of knee pain is now gone. Road biking,no standing. Shoulder joints,knee joints,spinal joints all get minimal blood flow. Thousands of very low resistance movements targeting those areas forces blood and all it's healing properties into those areas. Easy stretching included. Most people give up before this long and tedious task works. It took about 1500 miles of biking before my knees got to where they are now,about 130 hours of riding in 8-10 months. I am making the assumption we're talking about arthritis or some microtears or tendinopathies and not major injuries.
 
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CharasLazyWrister

Registered User
Sep 8, 2008
24,999
22,320
Lunenburg, MA
It's amazing to me, now that I've cut out sugar for the most part, how much I don't even have a taste for it anymore. It's only taken me about five months to reach that point though lol.

It doesn’t go away completely, but I’ve noticed my craving for sugar drops significantly even after working to resist it for only a couple days.

I have a friend years ago who started avoiding it almost entirely, and like yourself, within a few months she said she no longer had any desire for it. I keep wanting to commit to something like that myself, but ice cream in the summertime is too much for me to walk away from haha
 

BNHL

Registered User
Dec 22, 2006
20,023
1,466
Boston
It doesn’t go away completely, but I’ve noticed my craving for sugar drops significantly even after working to resist it for only a couple days.

I have a friend years ago who started avoiding it almost entirely, and like yourself, within a few months she said she no longer had any desire for it. I keep wanting to commit to something like that myself, but ice cream in the summertime is too much for me to walk away from haha
Sugar intake sparks the same sections of the brain as any narcotic. It is an absolutely addictive substance. Worse than that,it is at the root of so many maladies,t's impossible to count. Anything with sugar should have a skull and crossbones warning,it is pure poison in all of its forms,cane,honey,fruit,agave. Even natural,safe substitutions like stevia will continue to trigger that addictive signal in the brain.
 
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Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
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It doesn’t go away completely, but I’ve noticed my craving for sugar drops significantly even after working to resist it for only a couple days.

I have a friend years ago who started avoiding it almost entirely, and like yourself, within a few months she said she no longer had any desire for it. I keep wanting to commit to something like that myself, but ice cream in the summertime is too much for me to walk away from haha
I am not into diets that say you can never eat X Y or Z again. I mean, come on, I'm still going to have the occasional cookie ;) or piece of cake, or ice cream. And doing so will not mean that I'll immediately gain five pounds. But I have definitely cut my consumption of sugar significantly. And sugar free stuff does not necessarily taste "unsweet" to me anymore.
 

TD Charlie

Registered User
Sep 10, 2007
38,404
19,895
It's amazing to me, now that I've cut out sugar for the most part, how much I don't even have a taste for it anymore. It's only taken me about five months to reach that point though lol.
I buy sugar free, no sugar added, or low sugar options of whatever I can find. I usually don’t buy soda any more either.

I crave my soda constantly. Every day starting at about 9am. I had a glass today actually, for the first time in probably a month. If i had another glass I’d probably wake up to a migraine tomorrow.

Caffeine and sugar run my life lol. I’ll admit it
 

Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
93,159
I buy sugar free, no sugar added, or low sugar options of whatever I can find. I usually don’t buy soda any more either.

I crave my soda constantly. Every day starting at about 9am. I had a glass today actually, for the first time in probably a month. If i had another glass I’d probably wake up to a migraine tomorrow.

Caffeine and sugar run my life lol. I’ll admit it
I drank a lot of Coke and Mountain Dew. Stopped it cold turkey on March 10. I've done that before but I think this is the longest I've ever gone without it. First week or so was hard but once I got past that, I really don't crave it anymore. I think if I tried Dew now, the sweetness would make me sick lol.

Caffeine does weird things to me. I bought some Crystal Light with caffeine a while back and it set me off. I don't drink coffee or black tea, so I pretty much don't get caffeine at all these days.
 

TD Charlie

Registered User
Sep 10, 2007
38,404
19,895
I drank a lot of Coke and Mountain Dew. Stopped it cold turkey on March 10. I've done that before but I think this is the longest I've ever gone without it. First week or so was hard but once I got past that, I really don't crave it anymore. I think if I tried Dew now, the sweetness would make me sick lol.

Caffeine does weird things to me. I bought some Crystal Light with caffeine a while back and it set me off. I don't drink coffee or black tea, so I pretty much don't get caffeine at all these days.
That’s awesome. Major props on being able to fight off the cokes for that long. I have given them up many times before, but always go back. At a restaurant I’ll usually order one, and still every few months I’ll buy myself 1 can for a particularly tough day. Not having the 2 liters and 12 packs in the house is key though

You’re absolutely right about the first week being the worst. The headaches are insane. Now i will actually get a headache if I have TOO MUCH caffeine, which I guess is better than requiring it and having a withdrawal headache.

Walmart sells some nice store brand drink mixes that also have about the same caffeine as a smaller cup of coffee. I’ve been drinking those and seltzer waters for a couple years now. No sugars. No calories. But I’m sure it’s now destroying my teeth!
 

Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
93,159
The rather hilly 10 mile race around Massabesic Lake in Manchester.
Great job! I would have been in 2734th place lol

Or more likely an ambulance

Or even more likely, still in bed lol

In summary, I don't think I'll ever be a runner lol
 

Bruinaura

Resident Cookie Monster
Mar 29, 2014
47,291
93,159
The scale has been all over the place since I got Covid in early July. Lost over 8 pounds that week, then for the next two months it was gain, lose, gain, lose, plateau.... blah.

This morning I get on the scale.... lost 9 pounds.

*blink*

Stepped off, back on again..... same result.

Honestly have no idea what's up with that. I did get a ton of sleep this week, which I never do. Maybe my body is just getting back on track after the last couple months which also included colonoscopy prep.... 🤷‍♀️

Next week I'll probably be back up by five pounds lol
 

Beesfan

Registered User
Apr 10, 2006
4,974
2,138
That’s awesome. Major props on being able to fight off the cokes for that long. I have given them up many times before, but always go back. At a restaurant I’ll usually order one, and still every few months I’ll buy myself 1 can for a particularly tough day. Not having the 2 liters and 12 packs in the house is key though

You’re absolutely right about the first week being the worst. The headaches are insane. Now i will actually get a headache if I have TOO MUCH caffeine, which I guess is better than requiring it and having a withdrawal headache.

Walmart sells some nice store brand drink mixes that also have about the same caffeine as a smaller cup of coffee. I’ve been drinking those and seltzer waters for a couple years now. No sugars. No calories. But I’m sure it’s now destroying my teeth!

There are some decent caffeinated seltzers that have a caffeine dose of about half a cup a coffee and taste normal.

My wife and I drink a lot of seltzer. I think the effect on the teeth is overblown, but at some point you have to pick your poison anyway. It has to be better than carbonated drinks that also have sugar or artificial sweetener.
 
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smithformeragent

Moderator
Sep 22, 2005
34,382
28,257
Milford, NH
I’ve been garbage this week.

Need to ramp up my marathon training, but first week of school for the students and I’ve been battling a cold.

Just slept most of the ride up to the lake.
Going to try to run around North Conway later while the wife and mother in law go baby shopping.
 
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BNHL

Registered User
Dec 22, 2006
20,023
1,466
Boston
I may have gone for my last bike ride, which is a shame since I enjoy it so much. It's been a stressful summer on many levels, so last night I decided to go for a ride to clear my head. I was cycling through the residential neighborhood where I live.

Inevitably there are always some near catastrophes involving motorists, pedestrians, squirrels, etc., but last night when I was about a block away from home, I noticed a small woman walking an enormous dog she was having trouble controlling. He was extremely aggressive, too.

I wear a helmet, signal turns, have front and rear lights, stop at stop signs, etc., which is a good thing. After getting through an intersection with a stop sign, I looked ahead and the dog appeared to be about to break free. I made an emergency turn but didn't have enough room and would have made too sharp of a turn to avoid the curb.

So my bike crashed into the curb and I flew off the bike into someone's lawn. It happened so fast, but I recall extending my arms like a diver. It was an amazingly soft landing, and I didn't even have any scratches. My bike took quite a hit, but miraculously survived. The chain was out of sync but I didn't even have to get my fingers oily to fix it. The gear shifts took care of that.

A day later I chuckle that at 54 I'm still somewhat physically resilient. But the fear of what that dog would've done to me, plus how bad the crash could've been, has me reluctantly not wanting to go for any more rides.

I have a friend who is a dog walker in Philly, and she has had countless unpleasant encounters walking small dogs from high rise buildings, getting in and out of elevators with people with huge, aggressive dogs. Between that and texting drivers, speeding drivers, pedestrians walking in the middle of the street with ear-buds, etc., it's not worth the risk and frustration.

Rant over - I just now have to find another reason to don the spandex. ;)
I bike for an hour every other day,no roads-ever. Mountain biking or Trail riding. In winter I use a Wahoo Smart Trainer and my bike in the basement,using Zwift.
 
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