Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

Fit more fun into your fitness while exploring the outdoors.

Tag Archives: 411


by 4 Comments

Spears of green

Asparagus Season

I figured I should talk about something less shocking today with all the butt crack business yesterday, so I decided to chat about Asparagus.

Asparagus is not my favorite vegetable but and after looking into it I found that there are some pretty interesting things about asparagus that I bet you don’t know.

The basics — Asparagus is in season from mid April through June and is mostly grown in Michigan, California and Washington State. It is one of the most nutritionally well-balanced vegetables in existence and leads nearly all other produce in a wide array of nutrients. Asparagus contains only 20 calories per 5.3 oz serving and 3 grams of fiber. It’s very low in sodium and an excellent source of potassium, vitamin B6 and folacin (folic acid).

Did you know — Asparagus is a member of the Lily family? So are onions, leeks and garlic.

Strange but true — An asparagus spear can grow as much as one inch (or more) in an hour, and can grow 10″ in a 24-hour period, when weather conditions are just right. Not that’s crazy!

White asparagus — Is achieved by growing the stalks under mounds of earth so the sun does not strike them to produce chlorophyll. White asparagus is considered to be slightly milder in flavor and a bit more tender than green asparagus.

Why does your pee smell funny after you consume asparagus? — From my research, nobody seems to be able to agree on this.  All you need to know is that if your pee smells after eating asparagus (and not everyone can smell it) you are not alone and it’s natural so don’t fret.

How to store it — To maintain freshness, trim the ends and wrap a moist paper towel around the stem ends, or stand upright in two inches of cold water and cover with plastic. Refrigerate and use within 2 or 3 days.

How to pick the best asparagus — 
Look for firm, fresh, spears with closed, compact tips. Larger diameter spears are more tender according to my research but I always found the skinny spears to be better. You can decide for yourself.

Cooking asparagus — Trim stem ends slightly and cook fresh asparagus for about 5 minutes in boiling water for a crisp and tender result. Or, trim ‘em toss ‘em in olive oil and roast in the oven for a few minutes till tender. That’s Kelley Style.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus — (Now this sounds hella good!)

1-pound fresh asparagus
8 to 10 strips bacon

Wash and trim asparagus spears. Cut bacon strips in half crosswise. Wrap one-half strip bacon around each asparagus spear, leaving tip and end exposed. Lay on a cookie sheet with sides. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bacon is cooked. Serve warm or at room temperature.

There you have it, the low-down on asparagus. Enjoy…


by 3 Comments

Do you have a kink in your crack?

That is one crooked crack!

Don’t laugh! It’s not funny even though it sounds really funny!

A crooked butt crack, or crooked gluteal cleft, is not uncommon and could be the sign of a potentially serious problem. According to Dr. Barbara, “it’s probably the sign of a torqued pelvis, could also be a sign of scoliosis, or a short leg.” YIKES!  Either way, it’s the sign of a dysfunction and if you read my post The anklebone is connected to the knee bone, you know that everything is connected. If your pelvis is torqued, sooner or later that will effect your back, knees and ankles.  Not a good thing in general and certainly not if you plan to stay active and perhaps live a healthy, “physically comfortable” life.

So… drop your drawers and have a look in the mirror. If you’re crooked, at the very least have your posture assessed by a professional, or like Dr. Barbara suggests get an x-ray to decipher the culprit. You gotta read the signs if you want to keep it together as you age. Don’t let this message slip through the crack (Ha!).

Tomorrow maybe I’ll talk about asparagus, something a little less dramatic. Maybe not, depends on my mood.

Wake up! It’s Monday!


by Leave a comment

A public service message from The Sample Lady

I got an email from my Mom today. It’s a bit of a rant as she’d had a hard day at the market. If you read my St Patrick’s Day post you know that my Mom is The Sample Lady at a “health food” store and has a bit of a gritty attitude when it comes to her job and the people she deals with on a daily basis.

Below you will find my mother’s email to me. I’m sharing the meat of the document word for word, I feel the contents are too good for only me to enjoy. Lessons for us all are contained herein.

Store Sampling (a loose definition)

Providing customers an opportunity to try a product before they purchase it and/or introducing a new product to customers.  And, when all else fails — how to get rid of crap you can’t sell before it goes “out of date.” Take note!

What Sampling is not

  • Lunch
  • Afternoon snack for little kids
  • Free food for teenagers
  • Supplemental meals for mooching employees
  • Free treats for a family outing

My Daily “Gross-Outs”

  • A woman reaching into the paper sleeves of freshly baked bread and squeezing each loaf — with her bare hand — to test for freshness.
  • A normal appearing man opening the door, reaching into the empty popcorn machine — and again with his bare hand — scraping up any and all popcorn residue left behind.
  • A regular “Old Fart” sampling olives with his bare hands from the olive bar.
  • A little kid washing his hands in the drink-sampling dispenser.
  • A woman sharing her sandwich — bite for bite — with her dog.
  • Kids digging into the bulk barrels with both hands — also eating from the bulk bins.
  • Little kids fondling rolls from bakery bins.
  • Woman spitting sample back in cup and handing it back to me.

Other things that piss me off

  • Stupid customers asking if sampling spoons are “clean” — no really, we collect up the dirty ones and re-use them — duh.
  • People eating lunch as they shop and not paying
  • Customers leaving dirty sampling cups, toothpicks ad napkins on sampling tray, they belong in the trash!
  • People taking samples without even making eye contact while on their cell phones.
  • People “loading up” on samples — as many as they can carry in both hands

Love Mama

After reading this I’d like to lock myself in the house and never go near a grocery store again. I guess the lesson here is mind your manners and remember that not everyone out there has much sense. Get your food from places that have the least amount of potential fondlers. Farmers markets are good as there are fewer people involved. Or, grow/bake/cook your own food. Do ya feel me?

Stay tuned — next week we’ll be looking at our butt cracks. Is yours crooked? If so what does that mean?

Enjoy the weekend. See you Monday, and happy April Fools Day!


by 1 Comment

Recovery is counter intuitive

It’s hard to believe; sometimes the best thing you can do for those super sore muscles is to workout. We call it “active recovery.”

I know how it is — You worked out really hard and your legs hurt, all you can bear to do is to lay on the couch because it hurts to walk or even get out of a chair. The problem with not doing anything is that you’re not encouraging oxygenated blood to flow through those taxed muscles. With that, the stiffness (metabolic waste or muscle pooh as I like to call it) will take even longer to find it’s way out, allowing the spunk to come back into your legs.

The general theory is that your muscles grow and get stronger while you rest, not while you’re working out. I believe that. Work out hard, then let your body repair itself becoming stronger while you “rest.” However, when I say “rest” I don’t mean sit on the couch and do nothing. I mean actively recover.

Active recovery workouts are low intensity and low volume workouts in which the goal is to get blood into the muscles to enhance recovery. In addition, active recovery  loosens up stiff muscles allowing them to perform even better the next time you tax them.

An active recovery workout really just means to keep moving, be active. Go for a long walk, easy jog, take a yoga class, go for a spin on the bike, play with the kids, just keep moving and have some fun. You can lay around when you’re sleeping (or dead as some like to say).

Got it?

P.s. Same rule applies for a hangover. Keep moving to cleanse the body of those yummy toxins.


by 1 Comment

Unflappable

Just don't look up!

It’s the week before the big Fight for Air Climb. Yikes, 1,197 steps up 52 floors. That’s a lot’a steps and it’s all taking place in the stairwell of the B of A building here in San Francisco. If I wanted to, I could start stressing myself out by thinking about what’s in store for me this Saturday, but I won’t do that. I know better. Why bother, it won’t make the event any less painful and certainly won’t make this week pass any more smoothly.

Here’s the plan — My training is complete. It takes 3 weeks to reap the benefits of training so there’s no need to go out and hammer out another hard training session. I’ll exercise this week but won’t do anything that might stress my legs. Lots of yoga and easy endurance work. All I can do is trust that I’ve trained well and let my body rest and recover from the past weeks of intense training. I’ll make sure to drink plenty of water, get lots of sleep and eat right, keeping the fiber flowing. I sure as hell don’t want to carry any extra stuff up those steps. Know what I mean? I’ll make sure I have the cutest possible outfit ready to wear. Shoes ready to go and all the information I need to smoothly pick up my race packet and timing chip on event day. Early in the week (today actually) I’ll make sure to read all event info so I know the exact details of what I can, and can’t take with me in the stairwell, where I can park and so on. I don’t want any surprises the day of the event. It’s important that on the big day all I have to do is show up, and race. I’ll get everything done before hand so I can focus only on doing my very best.

So there you have it. I am confident and ready to go, unflappable. On the day of the event I will find a nice pair of buns and follow them up the stairs all the way to victory. I will feel no pain and dance up the steps to the rhythm of my smooth breath.

The best part of all this, when it’s over I get to come up with a new way to torture myself. A new goal, get ready!

P.s. It’s not a good idea to try something new the day of an event. New shoes, new food, stuff like that. You don’t want to find that GU gives you the runs while you’re ascending an indoor stair case or running down the road with thousands of people, same goes for shoes and cloths you don’t want to find out that your new stuff chafes. Stick with what you know works. This is no time for surprises.


by 4 Comments

Train your feet?

Foot Love

I’ve had many wonderful trainers and coaches in my life but not one of them has ever told me to train my feet. Fortunately, I managed to figure this out on my own through various aches, pains and research.

If your feet aren’t fit then how do you expect the rest of your body to be? Your feet support three times your body weight when you walk, when you run they support seven times and when you jump, 10 times your body weight! Think about that!

When we exercise we usually focus on everything but our feet.  When your feet hurt that affects your ankles, knees, hips and lower back. Remember, The anklebone is connected to the knee bone.  Keep your feet in top form, and they’ll support the rest of your body making everything you do in your life a little easier.

Here are a few suggestions on how to keep your feet happy.

Stretch your arches every day – I like to sit on my shins, butt resting on my heals with toes curled under. You can also stand with your toes against a wall (one foot at time) and lean slightly into the wall until you feel a stretch along the bottom of the foot. Do each foot twice. If you don’t like those ideas, just sit on the floor and pull your toes back with your hand. The idea is to stretch the bottom of the foot.

Stretch your toes – Squeeze your toes together (they might crack) and hold for a few seconds, then flex them up. Do this a few times every day.

Don’t forget – Ankle Circles and Toe Points to keep the supporting joints flexible.

Stimulate the bottom of your feet – The soles of the feet are extremely sensitive due to a high concentration of nerve endings. Post workout give ‘em a nice soapy scrub with the loofah to wake up all those neurons & synapses. A little lotion massage after is always a good idea too.

Rule of thumb – As soon as you’re finished working out take off your shoes. Your feet will swell from the workout (or hard day at work) so give em’ room to breath.

Running Shoes – Replace your shoes every 300 to 500 miles.

Best foot friendly places to run – Rubber Track, Treadmill, Grass, and Dirt.

Any questions?

Giddy up!


by 1 Comment

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!


by Leave a comment

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?


by 2 Comments

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…


by 3 Comments

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.