Fitness Friday & a Freebie

FITNESS FRIDAY:

Hoping to make this a regular feature of my blog, but so I don't bore you all to tears, I'll try to include tips that are relevant for everyone when I can!

TALES FROM THE SCALE:

Yes, I totally lifted that title from Cathy Zielski.  But hey, it's too good not to use!  My good news for today is the scale is back at 178.5 which means I dropped that nasty little 1/2 pound I had gained last week.  After a week of very healthy meal choices and staying below my calorie goal, it also means that my body has once again reached it's former "happy weight" and I will struggle to lose from here out.  That's okay! I knew this was coming. I will do my best to make sure the numbers don't siderail me into unnecessary depression.

Even better news - where it really matters to me, my waist is down 1.5" from 3 weeks ago and my abdomen is down 2".  Since I tend toward the typical "apple" shape (carrying most of my excess weight around my middle) these numbers THRILL me! Weight around the middle is the unhealthiest of all excess weight to carry and is linked with increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer. So anything I can do to lessen that risk is great by me!

BODY WARS:

On the exercise front - I am now treating at Physical Therapy for both my knees and my back.  I've developed some trigger points in my right upper hip and right lower leg. I'm getting a lot of education about how the muscles, tendons, and joints of the body work together and the likely causes for the current pain issues. 

With my knees, the chondromalacia (also known as patella femoral syndrome or runner's knee) is a direct result of the disintegration of the cartilage under the knee cap - that's aging and you can't change that part.  But it can all be exacerbated by 1) overpronation - which I do and is easily treated with orthotic inserts and 2) weak quadriceps muscles combined with tightness in the hamstrings and iliotibial band - guilty on all fronts.  So my exercise therapy is designed to strengthen my quads and stretch out the hamstrings and ITB.

With my back, I apparently have a weak/tight gluteus medius muscle (upper hip) as well as a nasty knot in the soleus and/or peroneus longus muscles which sometimes feels like shin pain.  Again - stretches and strengthening.

In the meantime, I am cleared for limited use of the stationary bike and treadmill at the gym, as well as upper body strength training. I remain banned from the elliptical machine, walking hills, and Zumba class. In fact, I've now been informed that Zumba may never be a good exercise for me. Can you say BUMMER????

So here is my plea to all of you who are currently fit and not having body issues... stretch! Every day!  Don't end up like me. It is really important to undo the stresses we put on our muscles on a daily basis with a nice stretching program.  Information abounds with a simple Google search and most stretches can be done for free, with no special equipment, no gym membership, in the comfort and privacy of your own home  (unless you are Amy and currently "Living In It" in which case privacy is a rare and treasured commodity).

Okay off my soapbox! I still have my lovely cold and if DD1 is any measure, looks like this is one that gets a little better then comes back - repeatedly. Yay.

You're still here? Oh cool! Thanks for hanging with me... if you are still here, I assume you are waiting for this...

FREEBIE!:

I've been working on calendars for Christmas gifts and as part of the process, I created this little bit of word art.  Then it occurred to me that I could share!  So I saved it in a .png file with a transparent background.

Those of you who use Photoshop already know what to do with it.  If you're not a digi scrapper, you can still just print this out on a piece of cardstock and use it as a paper element - but I'm not real sure on how that works.  The art is roughly 6" wide by about 2.5" tall, but can also be resized.  If you want to use it, download it HERE. (Choose "regular" download and type in the security words and then choose "save" to add the file to your own hard drive.) Ignore all the crap about long downloads, etc. - it took like two seconds when I tested it.

And if you do find a use for it, I'd love to see what you do with it! :)