Take Up Your Bed and Walk

Sometimes you just gotta move ahead on faith. Last weekend, on my kayak trip in Black Canyon, I was able to canyon hike for several sandy miles, scramble over boulders, and do a bit of ladder and rope climbing to get up to some of the hot springs. I was also able to work [...]

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Reboot of the FF2FF Exercise Program

Week in Review
It’s been a mixed bag this week on the “Flabby Forty-nine to a Fit Fifty” exercise program. I lost another pound and I finally got my goals and motivations posted. I fell off the wagon on my hydration program – too many sodas in place of water. That will change this week. [...]

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Week Three of FF2FF Exercise Program

I took three days off from the FF2FF exercise program and reevaluated due to nerve pain in my leg. My plan is to start over on the ab and core exercises as soon as the last of the pain is gone and just gently stretch and do the easiest core program for a week or [...]

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Sunflowers in the Arizona Sunshine

It’s getting close to the last hurrah for the wild sunflowers that dot my yard and line Arizona’s roadways in the late summer. They are definitely getting close to “bloomed out.” These two pictures were taken about a week ago in my front yard. The ones I saw today, on my return trip from Phoenix, [...]

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Don’t Just DO Something, Sit There!

Warning: Rant
For all my philosophical outlook yesterday, I’m not so emotionally detached today. I’m angry and I’m bummed out. Not only did I have the old nerve pain down my leg while I was out watching the Aurigid Meteor Shower last night, I still had it when I woke up this morning. I’m struggling with [...]

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Playing Around the Edges

I’m not waiting until the end of my workout week to make some changes in my exercise program. I have one potential problem developing that needs addressed and there is one potential improvement that I can make right away. Why wait?
Nerve Pain
The good news is that I’ve finally got some sore muscles! My abs are [...]

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Week Two of “FF2FF” Exercise Program

From a Flabby Forty-nine to a Fit Fifty:
Evaluation of Fitness Goals for the Week of Aug. 23 to 29, 2007
1) Flexibility and core strengthening exercises. Yes. Observations and Log. Yes. Flexibility Assessment. Two days later than planned, but yes.
2) Increase water consumption by 10 %. Yes.
3) Identify and write down three motivators, things. Yes. Find [...]

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Damn the Hormones, Full Speed Ahead!

In researching my exercise program I’ve run across a lot of statistics. Some are quite depressing, if taken at face value. It seems, between the ages of 30 and 75, that we are fated to lose:
8% of our brain weight
16% of our muscle mass
25% of our bone density
37% of our muscle strength
44% of our oxygen [...]

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Finding the Sweet Spot

I’m keeping up with the 20-30 minutes of core conditioning and stretching per day. In fact, with the exception of the pushups, it’s too easy. I haven’t been sore at all. So, I did some more research and tomorrow I’ll up the difficulty level. This is the tricky part.
I had just been doing what I [...]

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Exercise Reality Check

Day Three of FF2FF
So far so good, as long as I keep to a realistic view of what is possible right now. Yesterday, in addition to my 30 minutes of flexibility and core conditioning, I also walked one mile (easy 3 mph pace, flat ground) and spent some time researching my upper body conditioning program.
Today, [...]

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Day Two Of FF2FF

Fitness Goals for the Week of Aug. 23 to 29, 2007

1) Do 20 to 30 minutes of flexibility and core strengthening exercise each day for at least six of the seven days; listen closely to my body to determine where imbalances and dysfunctional movement patterns lie. Notate observations in daily log for use in designing [...]

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From a Flabby Forty-Nine to a Fit Fifty

The Goal
I’m in the midst of reviewing the last year and determining what I want to accomplish this coming year. I tend to use my birthday the way a lot of people use the New Year, as a time to reflect and set “resolutions.” At this point, I know there is one overarching goal that [...]

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Five Best Weight Loss Tips From an Old Firefighter

As an ex-firefighter (female) with a lot of weight to lose, I decided to apply what I knew best. So far, I’ve lost 34 pounds and am feeling great. Here’s what has made the difference for me:
1. Know Where You’re Headed – I was going to title this “Get Directions from Dispatch,” but it’s [...]

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Time to Get Serious

Stepping on the scale this morning told the tale. I’ve lost 34 pounds the last year, four of those since my first weight loss post. This means my rate of loss has slowed from about four pounds per month down to two pounds per month.
That’s alright, since I am well over half way to where [...]

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Building Healthy Habits – Summer Salads and Exercise

This is a followup to a previous post on how I lost thirty pounds. I’ve lost another three pounds, not as much as I had hoped to by this point, but still definite progress. At thirty-three pounds down, I’ve hit the “two-thirds of the way there” mark. The best part is that, though the poundage [...]

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