Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

Fit more fun into your fitness while exploring the outdoors.

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To pop or not to pop, that is the question

Gross!

Someone once told me not to pop a blister. He said, “blisters are natures band-aid” don’t pop them. Then, not too long ago I saw a Dr. Oz segment suggesting that we pop our blisters. It’s all very annoying and confusing as I find that I’m always at a loss for what to do when I get a blister.

With that, I decided to look into the matter. Here’s what I found.

If the blister isn’t too painful, try to keep it intact. Unbroken skin over a blister provides a natural barrier to bacteria and decreases the risk of infection. Cover a small blister with an adhesive bandage, and cover a large one with a porous, plastic-coated gauze pad that absorbs moisture and allows the wound to breathe. Don’t puncture a blister unless it’s painful or prevents you from walking or using one of your hands.

If you need to drain/pop a painful blister, follow these steps:

  • Wash your hands and the blister with soap and warm water.
  • Swab the blister with rubbing alcohol, and sterilize a clean sharp needle with rubbing alcohol.
  • Puncture the blister at several spots along the edge. Apply antibiotic ointment and cover with a bandage.
  • After a few days, remove the dead skin with a sterilized tweezers and scissors. Apply more antibiotic and a bandage.

And so now we know…

P.s. The above advice is taken from the MayoClinic.com


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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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Cherries!

Yummy, but don't eat too many!

I really like cherries. The other day I got to thinking about cherries and why they crack sometimes after you rinse them. I know that the crack is no a big deal but it looks gross, so I either toss the cherry, or cut off the crack and eat the rest. Yea, I know it’s ridiculous.  Anyway, I decided to look into the cherry cracking matter, here’s what I found.

Basically a cherry has a skin (they call it membrane, but I don’t like that word) that covers the fruit. Evidently, during the late stage of development, there’s an explosive increase in growth, the size of the cherry increases at a rate of one square centimeter (a sixth of a square inch) per day, which is a large rate of growth in relation to the small size of the fruit. Apparently, the insides of the fruit grows really fast but the outside skin remains the same size and is expected to stretch to cover the inside fruit (like a balloon filling with air). When the cherry gets wet, it puts a strain on the skin, and sometimes it cracks. Very interesting, don’t you think?

Since we’re talking cherries, here are a few tidbits you might like.

  • Washington State produces more than 50% of all the sweet cherries in the United States. Washington cherry season is June – August
  • The Rainier cherry, is yellow with a red blush, was made from a cross between two dark red cherries, the Van and Bing
  • Each American eats approximately 2.6 lbs. of cherries per year and there are approximately 53-pitted cherries in one pound of cherries (I have already eaten my quota!).
  • One cherry has 5 calories. One cup contains about 90 calories and 3 grams of fiber.
  • Cherries are a good source of vitamin C.

Personal lessons from Kelley

  • Watch that you don’t eat too many cherries. Remember, they’re high in fiber, which can be dangerous (get where I am going with this?). Trust me.
  • Cherry juice stains your fingers and cloths. Just so you know.

Enjoy!


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Coconut Water, not just for the shipwrecked anymore

Coconut Water

A couple of years ago my coach at the time suggested I try drinking 100% coconut water to rehydrate after a hard workout. Sadly at the time his words went in one ear and out the other. Now, years later I’m finding that the cloudy liquid inside a coconut has become highly popular and is currently all the rage.

Basically, coconut water contains more potassium than most sports drinks along with a huge list of other impressive claims: it cleanses your digestive tract, fights viruses like Herpes and AIDS, raises your metabolism and I even saw some data that suggested that it promotes hair growth (soak your bald head with it).

In the end, 100% coconut water is a naturally refreshing drink full of electrolytes. Use it to rehydrate after an intense workout. I think it tastes pretty good, although my friend Jacks thinks it tastes like “toilet water.” My suggestion to her was put it in the blender with some frozen fruit and whip up a post workout smoothie. Try it with frozen banana chunks, strawberries, add some yogurt, whatever floats your boat.

What the heck…give it a try, I’m glad I finally did.


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Iron, not just for Popeye!

Popeye The Sailor Man

You know that you need to make sure that get enough iron in your diet, but do you actually know why?

Iron does many things in our bodies but mainly it carries oxygen from our lungs throughout our bodies. Iron also helps our muscles store and use oxygen. Too little iron in the body will result in iron deficiency and eventually anemia. The terms anemia and iron deficiency, are often used interchangeably but there is a difference. Iron deficiency refers to depleted iron stores without functional or health impairment, anemia, being more serious, affects the functioning of several organ systems.

How do you know if you’re iron deficient? — It’s pretty clear. Do you feel tired all the time, dizzy; get headaches, or leg pains?  These are a sampling of the symptoms, and are especially common in women and intense exercisers.

So, how much iron do you need? — Premenopausal women need 18 milligrams of iron daily and men require 10.

Think you need more iron? — First you need to understand that there are two kinds of iron. Heme and non-heme iron. Heme comes from blood or meat and non-heme comes from plant sources. When consuming iron from non-heme sources you’ll need to help your body absorb the iron by also eating Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps your body absorb the non-heme iron foods you eat, especially when the food containing non-heme iron and the vitamin-C rich food are eaten at the same meal.

Here’s where you can find the best sources of iron — If you opt for the heme form of iron, go for animal products such as liver, clams, salmon, oysters, and sardines. A nice steak will work too. Good non-heme sources are: oats, soybeans, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, spinach, eggs, black currants, fish, dried fruits (figs, apricots), nuts, fortified breakfast cereals, chocolates, tofu; almonds, avocados, beets, dates, kidney and lima beans, lentils, peaches, pears, brown rice and wheat bran, and sesame seeds.

Fun fact — Cooking in a cast iron skillet increases the iron content in food. The longer the food is in contact with the skillet, the more it absorbs.

Just for fun pay attention to your iron intake for a few days and see how you measure up. I’ll bet you aren’t getting enough. Figure it out and prove me wrong! Here’s a chart to help you calculate.

P.s. You do realize that I am not a doctor, right? I just research things that interest me and then share the broken down, nuts and bolts version with you. If you think you have a health problem of any sort it’s important that you contact your healthcare provider.


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Is it Friday yet?

Geez, I’m not feeling it this week. Not feeling the love! Call me Cranky Kelley. Why? Who the hell knows? I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Everything in my life is moving along smoothly. I have everything and more that should make a person “happy. ” I think the problem is that I need an adventure, some “drama” or some “trouble,” something problematic to talk about. Doing the same wonderful thing day after day does not suit me. I need trouble.

With that I feel that I’ve become boring. I can’t think of anything to talk about that is in the least bit interesting. I have notes on Iron Deficiency and Dry Skin, things that might interest you, but alas…they bore me so I can’t finish them.

When I was young my Dad told me, “ If you don’t bring anything to the party, then you don’t belong there.” Meaning, if you don’t add positively to a situation, then you’re a drip! Another saying I subscribe to is “If you don’t have anything interesting to say, shut the hell up!” That’s how I’ve been feeling the last few days. With that, I shall shut the hell up and offer you a few words that I have stolen from various magazines.

  • Slice a bagel lengthwise into thirds. Keep the ends and toss out the center. You will have the illusion that you’re eating the full bagel, and you’ll save 120 calories.
  • Eat Canadian bacon rather than sausage or regular bacon with your breakfast and you’ll save 100-200 calories.
  • Eat a tablespoon of peanuts and a tablespoon of chocolate chips instead of a pack of Peanut M&M’s and you’ll save 127 calories.

There you go…


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Like a dog sits for treats, I exercise for cookies

I made some cookies this weekend. They were “healthy” cookies. Meaning, the original recipe had been revised to cut calories and fat in an effort to make a healthier, more figure friendly treat. The problem I have with these sorts of treats is two-fold. First, I find that people think that because something is low-calorie/fat that makes it okay for them to eat twice as much. Second, in my experience these “healthy” foods usually aren’t as fulfilling as their not so healthy counterparts and not worth a single calorie, certainly not 100 plus.

While I’m very conscious of what I put into my mouth, I’m clearly of the thinking that if you’re going to eat something, it should be the very best of it’s kind available to you. Meaning, it should be fully worth the calories it contains.  With that, I am mindful of the relationship between what goes in my mouth and what has been, or is expected to be immediately burned off.

Example: Yesterday I didn’t do much. I cleaned house, baked cookies, talked on the phone for hours and worked on the computer. Sure, I moved around but I didn’t burn off any extra calories. Due to my low-level of movement I chose to eat foods that reflected how I spent my day.  I had yogurt and fruit for breakfast, a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch with some cherries and a big salad for dinner. For a snack I did treat myself to 3 of those “healthy cookies.” After all, I needed to test them. Today however, I went on a 10-mile trail run and participated in an hour of yoga along with a few other household duties. Due to my extended exercise I allowed myself to eat a little more than yesterday. The AM portion of my meals was pretty much the same as the day before, but for dinner I had a yummy pork chop smothered in a mushroom/onion gravy, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. For dessert, I shared, homemade strawberry shortcake, with vanilla bean ice cream.

Do you get where I’m coming from? It’s pretty simple. Skip the “healthy” cookies, unless you actually like them. Either way, you gotta burn ‘em off. Don’t forget, always choose foods that are freshly made of natural, organic ingredients rather than ingredients you can’t pronounce. Make your eating experience worth the calories and you’ll eat less and feel better.

It’s called The Common Sense Diet.


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Petite Chunkage

Happy Friday Everyone! This week seems to have flown by. I hope it’s treated you well.

Today, I’d like to send you away for the weekend with a few small chunks, things that have flown my way this week.

A client of mine didn’t understand why she’s felt incredibly hungry this week — Folks, when you work out your body gets hungry! Food is fuel. Your body needs fuel to operate, just like your car. The more you work it, the more it needs. Just watch what you eat. No cheese puffs. If you want it to work, and keep working, you need to feed it.

Nap time — I hate naps. Naps are for kids and usually make me cranky. This week however, I took a nap on three different occasions. I’m still cranky but at least I can stand up and focus my eyes. If your body wants to sleep, let it. When you’re tired is when you are most likely to injure yourself during exercise, or in my case walking down the street. Listen to your body. Do what it says.

If you’re gonna ride a bike, learn to fix a flat and take flat repair gear with you on every ride — If I see one more person standing by the side of the road with their bike turned upside down waiting for someone to come pick them up, I am going to scream. Be smart, be self-sufficient.

Yep, it’s been raining — They’re calling this month Junuary. It’s funny but then it’s not. Remember: Those cold and rainy training days are the days that later pay off and help you reach your goals. Endure!

See you next week. I’m making Cowgirl Cookies this weekend. Will let you know how they turn out.

Be smart…


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Workout Wednesday – The Cheek Challenge

Last week I offered you a Plank Challenge. Did any of you do it? I hope so but based on the zero response I don’t have high hopes. Seriously, how much easier can I make this fitness business? There ain’t no magic pill or shot, folks.  You gotta move your body.

How about this – Squeeze your butt cheeks together, that’s super easy! All you gotta do is stand there and squeeze! Do it while you’re washing dishes, making Xerox copies, on Facebook, waiting for the bus, wherever! Squeeze your butt cheeks together like you’re trying to crack open a nut, squeeze really hard, hold for 10 seconds and release. Repeat this exercise 100 times throughout the day. There’s no easier way, it’ll boost your butt, work your abs and burn some cals! Try it! Don’t worry; nobody will know what you’re up to!

P. s. Today is June 1st. That means you have only 21 days to get ready for the first official day of Summer. I’m just sayin’!


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I am one filthy hot mess!

Since I workout outside, there’s never a time when I don’t finish a workout without some sort of chunkage attached to my body in one way or another. Along with the chunkage my clothing is always soaking wet and often salt (from sweat) infused. I look pretty bad sometimes. Today an old Chinese couple seemed very impressed with, or possibly concerned by my appearance as I bounded through my stair climbing/run. I have no idea what they said as they smiled politely and yammered, they had quite a bit to say. It was the hand gesturing that made me come to the conclusion that it was my sweat-covered body and dusting of salt that caught their attention.

My point — No mater who you are, post workout you need to take the time to stretch, eat and clean your body, preferably in that order. You need to stretch out your muscles, feeding them with oxygen rich blood to alleviate soreness, prevent injury and prepare them for future workouts.

Eat as soon as possible after an intense workout — The rule of thumb is to eat a small protein/carb rich meal within one hour of your workout. I eat as soon as I can muster the strength. This window of time is when your body is best suited to replenish what it’s used during your workout, supporting better recovery. Eat real food or suck down a “recovery drink.” I’ve used both, but I prefer real food.

Hit the showers — You stink and there’s fungus growing on those wet cloths and in all your cracks and crevices. The best thing to do is to immediately change out of your wet cloths, stretch and eat. After you’ve eaten, get in the shower and loofah up. Don’t forget to moisturize, all that sweating dries your skin.

After that I usually lay on the floor with my legs up to rest my legs. Do what you like, just make sure to be good to your body and let it recover so it’ll be even stronger for the next workout.

Ooh! Don’t forget to rehydrate with water while you’re doing the above!

P.s. If you liked this post, you may find this earlier MS post interesting.