Getting healthy and fit in real time, in real life…

 For the past few years, the transition from August to September has heralded the playing of that Christmas favorite so marvelously sung by Andy Williams: “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of Year.

While a particular retailer has utilized this song to portray the unbridled enthusiasm of parents preparing their equally unenthusiastic children for school, I ascribe to another interpretation, admittedly of particular interest to the males species of this planet and of which I humbly acknowledge my membership.

That’s right. It is that time of year where 99% of the male population (the other 1% is travelling somewhere on business) goes into For Your Eyes Only training camp.  And I am not talking James Bond here. This is a training camp to prepare for another season of a television-viewing gauntlet so ominous and so daunting that only ‘professional’ viewers can participate,  let alone survive.

 I am referring to the start of the CFL and NFL seasons, Hockey Night in Canada and the continuing of golf,  soccer, baseball and other popular sports too numerous to list in one blog.  And if it is not challenging enough to come up with the most bizarre, yet acceptable, excuse known to the universe to secure a seat on the couch for Saturday and Sunday afternoon matches, enter The Challenger:  

The leaves on the front lawn.

Never before has such an innocent and beautiful example of Nature been held in such dubious repute by millions of men throughout the globe.

“Hey – they looked fine on the tree. There was no need for them to change color and fall.”

Sorry – Nature does not work that way.

“And we are to believe that it is merely a coincidence that their falling on the ground and our requirement to pick them up just happens to occur during the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?”

Sure.

The conspiracy theorists (crazy sports fans) say that, in ancient times, women prayed to the gods of falling leaves in August as a loving reminder to men that they should be working and getting exercise beyond the sweet warm days of grass cutting and pleasant strolls around the block. These same conspiracy theorists have gone strangely missing but I would suggest that, the next time you are raking your front lawn, sift through your neighbor’s pile of freshly-raked leaves and we’ll talk.

Gentleman – Grab your rakes or you will miss the fourth quarter as well!

And before you utter one word against that exquisite piece of nature, think about the exercise you are getting and how it might add years to your life. 

I repeat – years.

Who’s leafing…I mean laughing now?

Next week:  AMAZEing Corn Fields

Have a week of good health.

Rick

Well, I’ve thought, I’ve plotted, I’ve read fitness articles and still, low motivation. I do walk more around campus and beyond, so I’ve got that going for me. I walked back to the office with Shierly the other day and felt GREAT. I didn’t hit an afternoon slump. What I did determine about my inner workings is “I’m at a cross road in my life!”. How did that manifest during the week? I explain below:

I’ve been spinning my cognitive wheels about how I’m going to put in the next 50 years. The last 50 have been fun, full of adventure, love and loss, triumph and adversity. I won’t trade a second of any of it. Looking ahead seems uncertain. Then, a light bulb went on in my head….get back to school.

I was a fair student until I started to pay tuition. I became a much better student when I was plunking down my hard earned cash to get an education. Going to school and flexing the brain muscle has always given me an energy and creativity that I’ve been missing in the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, raising two active children has taken a lot of time, but they are becoming more independent every day and I find myself home knitting or perhaps going for a stroll around the neighbourhood. What I’ve lacked is purpose. In waltzes the best UBC employee benefit, tuition credits. I’ve signed up for a couple of continuing ed courses that interest me greatly and I start this week.

I’ll see if actually getting back into the classroom inspires me and perhaps cleans the cobwebs out of my cranium. If that goes well, I think I’ll sign on for some credit courses and start working on another undergrad degree or maybe post grad. The possibilities are absolutely endless at UBC. Now I have to decide which direction to take. Just thinking about going to school has given me a new spark. The positive side effect of going back to school is my children can actually see that learning is a life long endeavour. I’ve spent seven years nagging the tribe about getting homework done, I guess now its time to put my pencil where my mouth is!!

Til next time

P

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We’re barely into fall and I’m already sick with a cold.  I remember when I used to rarely get sick but now I seem to be getting sick at least twice a year.  I always just get a cold and nothing serious but I am a bit concerned by the frequency.  My symptoms are usually always the same – sore throat, runny nose, feeling dizzy and tired – that get progressively worse for the first few days before I start to recover.

So it was with great interest when I read Suzanne’s flu prevention plan: http://www.hse.ubc.ca/healthpromotion/healthyubc/Healthy_UBC_Newsletter/healthyubcoct.html#flu.  Suzanne shares some tips on how to stay healthy during the flu season.  I have followed most of the tips Suzanne mentions in a conscious effort to prevent the flu/cold but I still managed to get sick.  The only thing I wasn’t able to do was to avoid people who are sick.  This was very hard to follow when everyone around me has been ill – family, friends, co-workers.  In an effort not to spread my germs to people around me, I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer with me that I use constantly.

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