Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

Fit more fun into your fitness while exploring the outdoors.

Author Archives: Kelley


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How many colors is it?

Good eats!

I love Rainbow Chard! Okay so it’s not pizza, but you can put it on pizza if you we’re so inclined. I’ve done it. No sauce just sauté the chard in olive oil, add lots of garlic and lay tons of chard on a Gruyere covered pizza crust with a few pine nuts on top. Yum-a-saris!

I’m talking about Rainbow Chard today because it occurred to me that since it’s “rainbow” it might cover more than just the “green” vegetable color category. You know how I’m always telling you to eat 5 colors a day? Well, I wondered if Rainbow Chard got to claim more than one color. While I couldn’t find any hard, written evidence that “Yes, Rainbow Chard is allowed to claim a rainbow of colors” I’m guessing it can.

Here’s why — Because each color category represents different nutrients and antioxidants. That’s how each piece of fruit or vegetable gets its color. So, it would make sense that the yellow-stemmed pieces would be high in carotenoids and flavonoids (good sources of vitamin A), and the red & pink pieces would contain more Lycopene, like in tomatoes. While all pieces get to claim green which contains lutein, a substance that can maintain healthy vision. The different colored pieces can’t be the color they are, sans the above chemicals, or phytonutrients. Hence my conclusion that Rainbow Chard counts for 3 colors. Green, yellow/orange and red/pink.

Either way it’s yummy, Rainbow Chard’s pink, orange, yellow, and red stalks are sweeter than light or white varieties. Pick a bunch with deep green, crisp leaves and you have just chalked 3 colors off your list for the day (in my world anyway).

Here’s how I like to prepare my Rainbow Chard

  • 2 bunches Rainbow Chard
  • Lots of olive oil (I probably used 1/4 cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • Lemon zest (I used about 1/2 lemon)
  • Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Sauté chopped chard in olive oil and garlic till tender. Garnish with lemon zest, S&P. Serve as a side dish as is, or my fav — toss into pasta or gnocchi with a little pecorino cheese on top.

Like I said, yum-a-saris!

P.s. Chard is in season through April so now’s the time!


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Small bits

I made it!

Focus. They say all you have to do is “focus” and you’ll get what you want.

I am gonna let you in on a few tips that help me focus when I am trying to ride my bike, run, stand in Tree Pose or even write.

When you’re distracted you loose your focus. That’s obvious, in order to do what you need to do, you need to give “it” your full attention. Period.

Say you want to, climb Mt. Tam on your bike. To keep from panicking and loosing your focus, break the journey into small chunks. Same rule goes for running a marathon, 5k, or whatever. Break your mission into small, easy to digest bits.

It’s actually pretty easy, just focus on getting yourself to the first hill, or make your digestible bits mileage markers. Take it 5 miles at a time and think only about those five miles. Same goes for riding your bike, take it a few miles at a time. Climbing Mt. Tam with a pal? Concentrate on getting to Mill Valley, up to 4 Corners, Pantoll Station, and so on. You get the picture.

Another thing that helps me through tough workouts or events is not to look too far up the road. If you’re planning to run from The Marina Green across the GGB, whatever you do, don’t look across the bay at the bridge, you’ll surly panic and loose your focus. Remember, small bits!  When you’re done, you can look back at where you’ve been, pat yourself on the back and say, “Holey shit! I made it!”

On to the next…

Couple o’ things I want to mention

  • Sunday Streets begins this weekend – Get out and play in the street! Route goes along the Embarcadero.
  • Every Monday they offer $2 pints and specials on bar food at the Park Chalet. The food’s not fantastic but it’s a great place to hang post ride or run along the beach.

Get my meaning?


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Never underestimate

Friday, March 11, 2011, the day we all waited for the tsunami to hit San Francisco. We waited and waited but alas, like the snow, it never came. A blessing in this case.

I decided in case the 600-mile an hour wave did show up, I would take my stair running workout to the Lyon Street steps rather than to my favorite place, the Baker Beach Sand Stairs.

Off I went to Broadway and Lyon. Clad in my ultra cute Lululemon togs with the purple trim and a too tight Nike tee that showed off my previous days arms and pecs workout. My hair was finally long enough to pull back and I was feeling like All That!

10 minutes of warm up exercises, a mile run and I was feeling like a million bucks. My goal, 5 times up the 286 steps. A goal that didn’t seem too high as it was not uncommon for me to climb more than that in a work out. If I reached today’s goal it would mean that my base was firm and that next week I would be ready to add a 6th round, confirming that I was more than ready for the Fight for Air Race in two weeks.

Up the steps I went. “Push, push” said the voice in my head. Swinging my arms from cheek to cheek I found my rhythm and was doing great. The second time up I took the steps two at a time (that was hard!).

Feeling the burn, but still confidant I noticed a woman who had managed to stay just ahead of me. I wondered when I would have to navigate around her and that annoyed me. From what I could see, she was “elderly,” covered from head to toe in black sweat cloths and a big floppy hat. I waited a second at the bottom to allow her to make some progress, surly she would get in my way at some point, after all I was All That.

About ¼ of the way up the stairs for the third time I noticed “Grandma” slowing down so I made my move and picked up my pace expecting to blow past her. To my surprise Grandma was working me! Sensing me, never looking back she moved faster and faster, matching my gain, toying with me, keeping me just off her heals.

As we approached the last 50 steps the woman started taking two at a time jumping from step to step! In epic fashion neither of us looked over at the other, we were neck and neck now, flying over the steps in unison as we approached the final stretch. I was in shock! Who was this woman? The voice in my head now yelling, “GO! GO!” I made the crossing of the final step first. “You won” the woman said, but frankly I couldn’t see at that point. My glasses were fogged, eyes full of sweat and my breathing so labored that I couldn’t respond. If I won it was by a very thin hair. I walked a few feet to get my legs back but by the time I turned around GM had already started to descend the stairs preparing to come back up again. Ugh I thought!  Not again, I’m screwed!

I only made it back up the stairs one more time (4x’s total). GM was ahead of me the whole time. I didn’t (couldn’t) challenge her.  While my ego was certainly put in check I was very much inspired by this woman.  I’m going back next Friday to look for her. Something tells me she’s a regular, someone who enjoys being fit and enjoys “working over” those whose egos are badly in need of adjustment. A woman after my own heart! All I can say is, YOU GO GIRL!


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Wake up!

 

Some of us are more flexible than others, it’s all relative so don’t stress if you aren’t as bendie as the person next to you. However, it is important to know that if your muscles are flexible then your veins and arteries will be agile and flexible too. That’s a good thing.

We’ll talk more about flexibility later. Today I’ll share a few of my favorite moves, they’re super easy to do, anytime, anywhere. Do them every day to wake up the muscles in your feet and lower leg.

Ankle Circles – Slowly circle your foot 20x’s in each direction.

Point & Flex – Point your toe, flex your foot, repeat 20x’s each leg.

Alphabet Foot – Trace the alphabet with your foot. Point your toe and start writing.

Don’t forget, Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday. Tis the season to get in shape!

Shake it up this weekend, I’ll see you Monday…


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Anytime is a good time for exercise

It's all exercise!

The point is to get exercise; it doesn’t matter where you are.

GP-2011 admitted today, “I’ve been a BAD GP. Still doing my work outs, and been pretty good about sticking to my limited wine during the week, but totally off the rails with my food. I love to chow!” While this is not the best possible news, I’m happy to hear that GP is exercising. Exercise keeps your metabolism running high; it flushes the body of toxins and keeps your heart beating. Eat badly, but never stop moving.

Short on time, or just lazy? Try this 10-Minute Go-To Workout.

Warm up – Slowly rotate your foot 10 times in each direction. Shrug your shoulders and swing your arms (open close, open close).

Leg Swings – Hold onto something. Swing right leg 20x’s from right to left across the front of your body then switch legs. Now, swing each leg from front to back. Stand straight engage your core and swing your leg up as high as your hip. 20x’s each leg.

Jumping Jacks – 1 minute

Push Ups – Any style you can muster. Do as many as you can in 30 seconds.

Triceps Dip – Place your butt on the edge of a bench/chair or desk, place your palms on the edge just next to your butt. Feet hips width apart, bend the elbows, slide off the chair, dip down so that elbows are bent at 90 degrees and then all the way back up. Do as many as you can in 30 seconds.

Jumping Jacks –1 minute

Wall Squat – 1 minute. Sit in a chair position (with no chair!), with your back against a wall and your hands palms-up, resting on your knees. Keep your heels directly below your knees and at a 90-degree angle; your shoulders should be rolled back, and the back of your head should be against the wall. Keep your face relaxed, and breathe.

Plank – 1 minute. Get into a push-up position with your elbows and toes on the floor, while pushing the area between your shoulders toward the ceiling and keeping your stomach pulled in toward the lower back. Keep your butt tight and your eyes looking at the floor.

Jumping Jacks – 1 minute

Stretch – 2 minutes

Extra credit – Add more abdominal reps (any style), do this entire circuit once or twice more, or stretch for another 3 minutes.

Print this out – Take it with you when you travel. Do it in the morning before work. If you want more ideas, for God sake – ASK ME!


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Look where you’re going!

Rule #1 — Your bike goes where you look. Look at the ditch and you go in the ditch. Notice that the camera in this video, which is mounted to the riders helmet is always pointed just up the road, always focused on the best line of travel. Never does he look over at the many hazards, not at the dog and not at the tape when he gets close to it. He safely navigated this insane ride by looking only where he wanted the bike to go. And that ladies and gents, is what they call a man with superior bike handling skills.

Take note. Think about this the next time you’re out on a bike.

P.s. Watch this video in full screen or up on the wall if you have the capabilities. It’s cra-zy!

P.s.s This insanity  happens on the streets of Valparaiso, Chile. The Valparaiso Cerro Abajo Race is a legendary urban bike race.


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Spread the love

I love you!

This photo warms my heart! I love the dogs, they just love, love, love all the time, no matter how cranky you are.

My neighbor is a nasty woman. I’ve known her for 30 years and she’s always been nasty. It’s a shame, there is no visible reason for her to be so nasty but because she’s so mean her life has become miserable. Everything goes wrong for her; she has no friends, can’t keep a job and spreads her nasty attitude so nothing ever changes for her. Guess she never heard that you get what you give.

Seriously, on those days when you’re in an especially good mood doesn’t it just seem like things fall into place? Everything goes right and more often than not the love just snowballs and everything in life seems easy and wonderful.

Since Valentine’s Day I’ve been doing a little experiment.  I didn’t tell anyone, it was my secret. I decided to make a conscious effort every day to take niceness to the next level. All I did was pay a little extra attention to the people I cross paths. I didn’t go crazy I simply paid attention to the people around me. I was uncharacteristically patient and nice while waiting in line for half an hour at the post office. I chitchat with the boy behind the counter at the grocery store for longer than I normally would have and smiled at strangers rather than snub them. Stuff like that.

On my way to do errands the other day I walked past the man who owns the restaurant across the street from my house. He was taking in the “open” sign. For 3 years we have been crossing paths and for 3 years we have smiled and said “hello”. Today when he said “hello” my lips smiled extra wide and I asked him how his day had been going as I had noticed that his restaurant seemed busier than usual.  This small effort turned into 2 hours of chatting, lots of good coffee and a really yummy brunch that my new friend prepared for me in his closed for the day restaurant. More importantly it felt really nice to be nice. I felt good, my new friend felt good and now we are both rolling the Feel Good Snowball.

After my brunch I went home to clean up the garbage that my nasty neighbor had tossed over the wall into my yard. I considered tossing it back over to her side but I couldn’t do it. My initial reflex was to toss it back thinking it would say, “you Crazy Cow you can’t toss trash in my yard and get away with it!” She had made me angry and I realized that she was spreading her nasty–tude and melting my Feel Good Snowball, I wanted no part of it. I picked up the trash, put it in the bin and that was the end of it. Feel Good Snowball still intact and rolling.

Be nice. It’s infectious and it’s fun to see where your snowball will roll, and whom it might roll into.

I leave you with a quote.

If you would like to spoil the day for a grouch, give him a smile.  – Author Unknown

 


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Help wanted

The hills are alive

People ask me “how do you come up with things to write about every day?” My response is, “It’s easy, I just write about what crosses my path.”

Today while chillin’ at the nail salon waiting for my manicure to dry, I thought “let me check Twitter and see what folks are yacking about on this rainy Sunday.” Scrolling through the tweets I spotted one that read “Unusual 10-Second Exercise For Fat Loss That Doesn’t Even Burn Calories – But Fat Disappears!” Normally these messages only serve to annoy me so I scroll right past them, this time however I had to take the bait.

Here’s where things take a turn for the absurd.  The Twitter feed took me to a website titled FASTWEIGHTLOSETIPS (all one word, all in caps). That in itself made my head spin. Negotiating the page full of ads and paragraphs of miserably spaced copy I came to the gist of the “Unusual 10-second Exercise.”   Here goes – unedited, directly from the FASTWEIGHTLOSETIPS site itself (although I had to fix the word spacing it was just too much to bear!)

Iח a word… HORMONES!

Yουr hormones aren’t doing tһеіr job. Due tο a long list οf things іח ουr food supply аחԁ environment, ουr hormones аrе really messed up аחԁ unbalanced.

Bυt tһеrе′s a way tο stimulate уουr hormones іחtο being balanced again. A simple way.

Tһаt way іѕ spinning around Ɩіkе children. Yου know… іח a circle wіtһ уουr arms out. Yeah, іt mау seem ridiculous, bυt tһіѕ motion stimulates уουr Endocrine System іחtο working іt’s “magic” wіtһ уουr hormones.

Here’s a simple outline tο ɡеt tһе mοѕt out οf spinning.

1. Spin clockwise.

2. Spin around 5-15 times (depending οח уουr level οf dizziness).

3. Spin οחƖу until уου аrе slightly dizzy.

Yου MUST follow those 3 rules. It wіƖƖ take уου a few times tο realize һοw many spins іѕ rіɡһt fοr уου. Don’t ɡеt tοο worried аbουt tһаt. I suggest уου ѕtаrt οff οח tһе low side οf 5 spins јυѕt tο bе safe.

It’s a powerful exercise. Jυѕt bесаυѕе іt’s easy аחԁ unusual (fοr weight loss) doesn’t mean уου саח ɡο crazy wіtһ spinning. Tһіѕ exercise doesn’t need tο burn calories bесаυѕе іt goes down tο a much deep level іח weight loss… hormone-induced weight loss.

One last piece οf advice. Yου wіƖƖ need tο ԁο аt Ɩеаѕt 5 sets οf spins everyday tο ɡеt tһе best weight loss effect frοm tһеm.

Lets be fair, It may work. I can’t say because I’m not about to spin around in circles five times a day. Frankly, it would make me puke and that would mess up my hydration level, which would definitely mess up my hormone levels causing all sorts of other problems.

However, if there were anyone out there reading this that would like to take a stab at weight loss by spinning I would absolutely love to hear about it. Seriously, anybody want to take the Thin by Spin Challenge? Let me know, I see some really good stories coming from this…


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Random bits

Happy Friday!  I know some of you are pretty happy the week is over. I hope the weekend serves you well and you find yourself rested and recovered in time for Monday (or, is that a stupid thing to say?).

Today I’m sharing some tips from my friends.

  • Drink your water – Marathon Louie thought he was “all that” by doing a nice tempo training run and then attempting what he assumed would be an easy spin class. Unfortunately with all the training ML lost track of his hydration level. With that, the double workout proved too much for the lean, fit gent. Post “spin” Louis spun himself right onto the floor and awoke to find himself sprawled out and surrounded by some very nice EMT’s. His advise. Drink up!
  • Wash your stuff – Skinny Scott wanted me to remind everyone to wash their fruits and veggies. Even the ones that you plan to peel. It’s not just about obvious dirt, it’s about all the nasty stuff that gets on there from all the different folks handling it.  Mr. Skinny found himself with a case of “The HoneyMustards” after eating a mango that he peeled but must have picked up some fungi from the cutting board. Best way to wash your stuff is to run lots of water over it. Just to be safe, Skinny suggests washing the pre-washed lettuces that comes in a bag. Need I say more?
  • Sleepy? – Nancy The Guit wondered why she was tired all the time.  She was sleeping well at night, eating right, getting plenty of vitamins and her hormones were in check but she still felt sleepy all day.  What’s up with that, she thought so she asked her Doc and found that she was taking twice the recommend dosage of melatonin.  She’s now cut back and behold, she’s not tired anymore. Watch your dosage, take the recommended 3 mg at most and when you wake in the morning turn on a bright light to trigger your body to stop making it’s own melatonin. More is not better!
  • GP-2011 says “lube your business” – Body Glide is for beginners, too. There’s nothing like getting ass-burn, or chafed cheeks from a vigorous workout. Anywhere you sweat and have a little friction is prime real estate for chafing—arm pits, thighs, butt cheeks. GP recommends body glide, Vaseline, A&D ointment—she’s even used her kids’ diaper creams—use whatever you’ve got, but the body glide is greaseless, easy to roll on, and doesn’t smell like baby powder. Better lube your business, or you might feel the burn—and not just in your muscles.

Learn from their mistakes, I’ll see you on Monday. Next week I’ll come clean and let you have a look at my abs.  We’ll see if all those crunches from my ab challenge did me any good. Stay tuned…


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If they worked for Granny…

Recipe for recovery

Remember your Granny’s support hose? Ever get a look at a pair of those uncomfortable contortions? They looked like a full-length girdle, sort of. The good news is they’re back in fashion, although now they’re called Compression Socks.

Anyway — Compression Socks or sometimes-called Recovery Sox are currently all the rage. Essentially they’re a knee-high version of Granny’s support hose. Their soul-purpose is to create an upward flow of blood through the lower legs helping to get unoxygenated blood out and replace it with fresh oxygenated blood. A desired effect for anyone who wishes to increase circulation in the legs. I.E. athletes, diabetics, folks that work on their feet or sit for long periods of time.

Fresh oxygenated blood is what athletic recovery is all about, which is why athletes are willing to drop $30 plus dollars for these magic socks.  I have a pair thanks to my friend Mo.  At first I thought “gee, thanks Mo…what do I do with these? They’re ugly.” Now I am addicted to them. I can’t say for certain if they help my legs recover but I know they don’t hinder recovery and the squeezy feeling is oddly nice.  Kind of a tingly massageie feeling. I even sleep in ‘em sometimes.

Get your Google on if you want more info, or take a risk and pick some up.  They’re socks. Everyone needs socks and these are magic socks!