Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

Fit more fun into your fitness while exploring the outdoors.

Category Archives: Well-being


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The Skin-ny

When I left my hella fun advertising job to become a trainer, I though… Yippee! Now I get to be outside all day making people sweat. And with that, I’ll sweat and get super healthy right along with them. Yippee! The way the life of Kelley was meant be!

Well, fact is I am outside a lot, and I do sweat a lot, but the part I didn’t think about was the added stress this new life would place on my skin. See, sweat is good as it releases toxins from your body and cools you down, but if your skin isn’t clean and debris free it tends to get what they call congested. I call it zitty. Not that you need to know, but lately my skin has been seriously zitty, most likely because of all the gunk in the air that sticks to my sweaty skin.

Since I know enough to not wash my face or shower more than a couple times a day (because over washing will dry it out), what I need to do is make sure that once my skin is clean that it’s properly exfoliated and de schmutz.

With that, I took a gander at my friend Justine’s website. Justine is the esthetician who’s been making my skin look beautiful for years (and I hear she’s pretty good with the wax too).  You can check her out at Skin Remedy.

Anyway, I swiped the following info from Justine, I trust she won’t mind.

How to get rid of zit causing blackheads:

Here’s an easy mask that you can make at home to start on the path towards being blackhead free!

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tbs. ground oatmeal
1-drop tea tree oil (optional)
3 drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sufficient amount of honey to create a paste

Mix everything together and apply strictly to the affected area (any area). Leave the mask on for 2 minutes, and gently rub in a circular motion for an additional minute…And voila! Blackhead free skin!

Justine doesn’t say but I would guess you should do this twice a week.

I’m off to mix up a batch now…

P.s. Your cell phone is the number one reason for congestion on your cheekbones. Think about it…you move it from one sticky dirty place to another, uck! Quick fix, wipe down your phone every morning and night with disinfectant wipes. Justine recommends, 7th generation chemical free wipes.

P.s.s. You fellas need to do this too! This ain’t just a chick thing!

P.s.s.s. I love you Justine!


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Lanterne Rouge

Kelley's Red Lantern

It’s not whether you win or lose it’s how you play the game, right? Well, we don’t always feel that way but it’s true. When I was racing bikes I heard one of my teammates husbands say to her as we were leaving for a race, “don’t come home if you don’t win.” He’s now her ex husband, I believe.

In bike racing an award is given to the last rider to finish the race, it’s called The Lanterne Rouge. The idea behind the Lanterne Rouge is to celebrate finishing the race rather than giving up. Riders often compete to come in last rather than just near the back as the rider that comes in last is remembered, while those who finish a few places ahead are forgotten.

The term Lanterne Rouge translates to Red Lantern and is derived from the red lantern that was placed on the caboose of a railway train.  The engineer would look at the light from the engine to make sure that no cars had come uncoupled.

In life, as in athletics hanging on is not easy when things get ugly. It’s much easier to give up, but where’s the challenge and sense of pride in that? Finishing what you’ve started and giving it your best effort is a major achievement and worthy of praise.

In my life I have taken first place, I have taken The Red Lantern and I have given up. I’m very proud of my wins and my last place finish, but I hugely regret the times I gave up, and the things I have not been brave enough to attempt.

Lets remember to celebrate the effort, as well as the outcome. As one of the Race With The Bus participants said to me as he was walking away, “we’re all winners.”

Happy Humpday!


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Mud and mirrors

You get beer after your wreck your shoes in Seattle!

Happy Monday!

Wha’d ya’ll get up to this weekend? I’d love to hear your reports. But alas, few of you actually participate in my attempt to be “social.” Does my breath stink? Wait, you can’t smell my breath via the web. Not yet anyway, I hear they’re working on an app for that.

Well, here’s what I did. I went to my first Hip Hop dance class. Yep, I sucked. A white girl with rhythm I am not. It was fun, but a little stressful. Nothing like being in a room of about…50 people, all of whom you assume know how to dance. At the same time, being forced to stare at yourself in a massive wall of mirrors while you’re jumping around. I saw things shake in that mirror that had no business being attached to my body, they seemed to have a life of their own, and it severely offended me!

Once I realized that looking in the mirror wasn’t going to help me, I started to look around for people to follow. That however, was not an easy task, some of the folks seemed to be interpreting the dance differently from that which was being taught. You’d think I’d be happy to see other “dancers” dorking out (I have no idea why I just typed that phrase, but I like it) but it confused me even more.

In the end, I found a couple of women that I could follow and that made all the difference. Although, once they moved out of my line of sight I was dead in the water (more like, chub in the mirror).

The bottom line is, I had a great time because I was being challenged, pushed out of my comfort zone. The teacher, Micaya was beyond amazing. In all her cool, thinness, she completely understood every single person in the room and their struggles that day. The kind of teacher/person that makes everyone she comes across feel better for having met her.

I see another Hip Hop class in my future, not because I particularly care about being some great hip-hop dancer, but for the insane “fun” of it.

Lastly, while I was working hard not to knock anybody over in hip-hop class, my friend Dawn was working her inner Goddess at the Warrior Dash, in Seattle this weekend. What’s a “Warrior Dash?” According to the website it’s it “fire-leaping, extreme run from hell”. Yikes! I can’t wait for her report! I’ve seen photos and I gotta say, I’m crazy jealous! Stay tuned, Dawn was wearing a video camera on her chest, she & her hubby Mark are working on a video, which we’ll share here on Motion Starved very soon. No shit, this is gonna be something to see! Stay tuned…

See ya Wednesday, in the mean time, do something “nuts”…!


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Oldness

Seriously?

Nancy The Guit (as I like to call her) had a birthday this past weekend. According to Nancy she is now “old.” It was hard for Nancy to turn “old,” just as it was for me last year. When we’re kids we learn that birthdays are something to be celebrated, that they’re “our special day.” We get attention and gifts, and we eat cake, yippee, a day to look forward to.

But then, we get older and we become sensitive to the number attached to that special day. We get stuck on those double digits representing the years of our life; numbers that are reminders of the approaching deadlines for the goals that we had hoped to achieve and may have missed. At which point, celebrating is the last thing you want to do (although cake is still welcome).

In spite of our best, educated intentions, The Birthday Dreads take hold. You can’t stop them and nothing can be said to make the transition from young to (your perception of) old any easier.

All you can do is let the dread/sadness run its course. It’s okay to be emotional but there’s no point in making a big deal of it and fretting. Like everything in life, you gotta let it flow.

With that I would like to remind you of a few good things that come with being “old:”

  • A good thing about getting older is that you’ve seen a lot of things — You’ve felt things, seen things and lived through them. With that, you come to know who you are, you become more confident, have greater perspective and make wiser decisions.
  • When we’re old, we have a better understanding of others — We allow people to be as they are, we’ve come to realize that there’s no need to change anyone, it wouldn’t do much good to try anyway. We appreciate those who have been kind to us and let go of those who have not.
  • In case you’re concerned — People don’t get grumpy when they get old. It’s grumpy young people that become grumpy old people. As you age you’re more emotionally (except for the days when your hormones go through the roof) stable making you happier/less grumpy.
  • And — When you get super old, they let you to into the movie for really cheap and public transportation is practically free!

In the end, let the good times roll and stop thinking about where you haven’t been and start thinking about where you want to go next…


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Independence = freedom

Chilly water, only the brave dare...

During my workout class at the beach tonight, I spied a notably chubby 30 something fellow stripping down to nakedness, aside from his remarkably tight swim trunks. I peaked at him as he dropped his trousers, hoisted off his shirt and stuffed them into an equally over stuffed backpack. As he wrenched on his fluorescent orange swim cap I found myself commenting to my clients about how he needed to join our abdominal workout. You see, this fellow wasn’t the sort that most of us would find suited to bare himself in public and certainly not wearing such an ensemble. He was quite a chubbster, clad in gear that only emphasized that fact.

As the snarky comments slid from my lips I immediately felt horrid. Who the hell was I to say such things? This fellow was proud and clearly not affected by the “rules’ of the world. He was living his life and doing as he pleased. For this I should be giving him props and envy his moxie.

To the chubby fellow I say, “You go boy.” I support your independent ways and I apologize for my shallow thoughts and snarky words. I confess to you that I’m a woman who swims only to keep from drowning, and frankly, I could use a few ab exercises myself. To you I say, live and let live, may the force be with you, and you’ve inspired me to take a plunge into the ice-cold bay in my less than appropriate swimming costume (that’ll be a story for another day).

To the rest of the world, may you all enjoy a wonderful, safe, Independence Day weekend. And if you happen run into someone who’s not exactly the way you think they should be: Stop for a second and look past the exterior, you might witness something inspiring.

I’ll be back on Monday, until then, travel, celebrate and exercise safely…


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Crumbs in my keyboard

Standin' tall

It’s come to my attention that I’m spending a large amount of my time on my blog and not enough time bringing home the bacon. With that, I’ve decided to post only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Three days a week should allow me more time to score some bacon and put some punch into my posts. At the very least I hope catch a few of my errors.

In turn, this slow down will allow you more time to keep up on all the engrossing information I choose to share. Five posts a week is a lot to read and I know you read every one of them. Right?

So, enjoy your Tuesdays & Thursdays off, if you need something to do in place of reading one of my posts, I suggest walking up a hill, up some stairs or around the block. Easy as that.

Tomorrow I’ll be back with a very important reminder. The image at the top of this post is a clue…


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Sometimes you gotta just suck it up and dig deep.

I have a really nice house with a really nice yard, a really needy cat and lots of good friends, all of which are constantly calling for my attention. If it’s not one thing it’s another, the cat vomits, the lawn needs mowing, friends need calling. There’s always something to do. My point is, it’s hard to get out and do things that require more than just a little effort. Specifically things that take a significant amount of guts, or offer a challenge.

For example; last weekend Penny and I participated in a trail run/race that took us up 3,000 feet in the air within the first 3.5 miles. After that we still had to climb another 2,000 feet. Translation; up, up and up till you think you might puke, then down, around and up some more. Pen took second place in spite of the fact that she has a full-time job, two babies, a husband, a house and a very needy dog. Pen did so well because she dug deep and sucked it up. She knows no other way.

This weekend SarahSwitchblade participated in something we call The Double Dipsea. It’s another trail run/race. Translation; it dips from a mountain top to the sea and back up again, hence The Double Dip-sea. Switchie took first place in this torture fest. To my knowledge she didn’t puke, although my guess is she thought she might, more than once. Switchie too has a house, a bike racer husband whom she supports, pets, a job and all that.

When my Dad rode his bike across Iowa a couple of summers ago he didn’t wear socks with his Topsiders (not exactly “proper” cycling shoes). The ride was 7 days, and 500 miles filled with wind, rain, heat, pork chops and corn. Dad’s ankles bled the whole time. At one point I said “Dad! Your ankles are bleeding!!!!” Dad said, “What? No they aren’t!” Given that Dads ankles looked like hamburger, I then realized that he was sucking it up, doing what he need to in order to complete his challenge, so I shut up. Dad, has a very big job, a very, very big house, a wife, a not so needy dog, a cat and 3 grown, problematic children.

I know stepping outside of your comfort zone is hard. It’s hard every time you do it. It’s hard for me, for Pen, for Sarah for my Dad, for everyone. We’re all everyday people.

Remember, it’s not about “winning” something, it’s about making the effort, having the experience, or in my case, the story. Because in the end, it’s all about the stories!

(Am I right Pen? Switchie? Dad?)


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Happy Monday

I’ve decided to take a “Personal Day” today. I trust you understand. It’s been a long weekend.

In my absence I suggest you consider partaking in some sort of lusty act. I’m talking about stretching your horizons a bit. Look into a Poll Dancing class, Massage for Couples… you get the picture. Run with it!

I’ll be back tomorrow…


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Stuff is just stuff but what’s the etiquette on borrowing?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately as I’m missing some things that I could really use about now. I guess I could ask for them back but I don’t think I should have to. I guess it’s just me, I tend to return the things that I borrow and I forget that not everyone thinks like that. You see, I once drove 100 miles out of my way to return a book.

Anyway, I was curious about how others felt about the etiquette of borrowing so I decided to ask Google. In the end I found only what I already knew, but managed to forget.

  • If you loan something out, don’t expect to get it back. If you cannot live with that thought, don’t make the loan.
  • If you borrow something, treat it as the most precious and valuable item on the planet. Even if it’s just a paperback book. Return the item promptly and heaven forbid, if you lose it or damage it, tell the truth. Then move heaven and earth to repair or replace it while apologizing profusely.
  • It is very important to remember that whenever we borrow things from others, it is essential that we promptly return the said item, without waiting for the day when the owner asks to collect it. At that point, the owner may already be irked or annoyed.

Somewhat satisfied with my findings, I’ve decided to let my missing things go, after all I don’t have to dust them anymore (I hate dusting!), and if I decide that I can’t live without them, I’ll simply go shopping (I love shopping!).

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend, see you on Monday…


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Something to think about

Grace — It’s accepting life’s victories with ease—and showing the same style when things get a little bit harder. Grace is making the extra effort, but making it look effortless. It’s a runner’s legs moving through space and a stranger’s unexpected act of kindness. Grace is discipline and generosity, strength and trust. It is the art of living in the moment. Because true grace comes when you listen—and act with your heart.