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

It’s definitely ‘that time’ of year again- the time when I reevaluate my daily cycling commute to work.   Now I can deal with the early sun sets, and even the late sun rises- at least up to a point.  But with autumn in full swing we are beginning to experience overnight temperatures that we haven’t seen since early May.  And that means cold mornings.

8^o C  That’s where the rubber of my bicycle tires stops hitting the road. Eight degrees Celsius separates me from the pack of more committed cyclists. There is no special feature of this particular temperature: it’s not a physical constant (25.12 / π ) or otherwise cleverly related to some governing  universal law of nature.   It’s a comfort thing.  I found myself close to the cusp on Wednesday: beautiful, sunny fall morning, but definitely ‘crisp’.  Cycling through the lower,  shaded streets of Kitsilano was cold and I looked forward to getting onto the hill on 8^th avenue.  The exertion there that I normally see as a chore was a welcome heat generator.

I have considered investing in the cycling garb that would see me through more inclement weather but I always have reservations about how much use I would get out of it.  And I rationalize the end of my fair weather cycling regime by doing my own risk assessment for commuting.

When the temperature drops dramatically overnight we are often left with condensation on the streets in the mornings and in my books that’s equivalent to light rain.  I draw my second line in the asphalt at wet roads.  The odds of our city streets being wet by morning dew,  rain, or even that white stuff that shall remain unnamed, are pretty high as we slide towards winter. So when our clocks are changed on November 1^st I will have darkness and potentially wet streets conspiring against my bicycle commute.   And at that time of year you can bet that 8^o C will seem balmy!

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Last week I was fortunate enough to get to blog about my experience doing yoga at the UBC Rec Centre.  Because of that, UBC Bodyworks invited me to come try out a yoga class at their facility.

This class was an iyengar class, which is not something I’m used to.  I was really pleased at how small the class size was, because Terri (the instructor) took the time to position each one of us practically on every yoga position.  That type of one-on-one care hasn’t been something I’ve gotten a lot of in my other yoga experiences, but I guess that’s more typical with Iyengar style (but I’m not sure about that!).  Also, we used a lot of props and belts and such (also typical of iyengar), which made things a little more interesting.  Although the class was held in Osbourne gym, I was impressed at how quiet it was there.  I also have to admit that it was a really great group of people- we chuckled a little when we couldn’t hold a pose, and it was nice to be doing this program with other faculty/staff (BodyWorks focuses on adults who work or live at UBC).  Honestly though, I still really like having yoga in a yoga studi0- where it seems less like a workout and more inclusive of peace and restfulness, since it’s a bit more stress-relieving for me- but it was nice to also work my body (which can also be a form of stress relief!).  It’s just about priorities right now- if I didn’t already work my body with climbing, I think I would use yoga like this more as a toning program.   Instead, I’ve discovered that the yoga I need has to be movement and peacefulness all wrapped up into one.

Terri should be proud though today- I showed off one of the poses to a colleague and I could barely display it for a moment, since I’m so sore! (we started doing it first, leaning up against the wall).

Thanks very much to Brian at BodyWorks for letting me join in and for Terri for being so welcoming!

Suzanne’s Sneaky Ways to Increase Water Consumption

• Sneak it into juice (half juice, half water- I do no sugar added juice, I might add, because it’s got lots of flavour!).
• Carry around a water bottle (thanks to UBC Public Affairs for my new A Place of Mind bottle that I got at the Staff & Faculty Welcome Back BBQ).
• Water is my panacea.  Don’t feel well? Then I must be dehydrated! I don’t have much energy? I better drink more water! Want to change the world today? I drink more (tap) water.
• Stop wasting my money buying drinks that don’t hydrate me (I save money by not buying as much juice, as many coffees, etc).
• Always order a water with my meal (along with something else if I want to drink something else too) and have it replenished at least once during the meal.

(P.S. In terms of my Battle against Coffee- I had a coffee on Monday [and was surprised that no one gave me a hard time about it when I arrived with it in hand at the Place of Mind information session!])

 P.S.S. Feel better Jolene!

My Best Thing Today: Finishing Work right now (at 4:45!) after running full-tilt all day [and feeling scatter-brained].

Further to the plethora of modern equipment, weights and machines that we can access to maintain good health these days, I have another addition. To be honest, I cannot say it is new. I cannot even say it is a machine. It is white in colour, weighs about 6 to 7 lbs, can move about by itself and talks…er clucks at times.

Flash back to the 70’s. It is 2:30 am. An old beaten up Ford pick-up pulls into your driveway. You nod to the driver and get in. The two of you don’t speak while driving to your destination: a rectangular barn built of aluminum, 150 feet long, 100 feet wide and four stories high. Beside the barn, is parked a semi with a 60 foot long flatbed trailer.  There are rectangular crates piled 5 high on the flatbed.

There are 4 other guys waiting outside the barn. No one is talking. An older gentleman, clearly the owner, comes out of his house and leads everyone through a side door in the barn. You climb up the narrow, steep stairs until you reach the fourth floor. It is pitch dark for the exception of tiny red lights located at the ends of the room. The floor is solid white. You notice that it moves here and there. Now and then, you hear a soft clucking sound. The whole scene brings back sweet memories of childhood; Christmas morning and looking out of the living room window onto untouched rolling fields of freshly fallen snow from the night before.

“Ok boys – let’s go.”

You are returned to the present, bending down, putting three chicken legs in your left hand, then four in your right hand. Gently, you lift up the 7 chickens in their upside down position, walk with your load held slightly apart from your waist to an open hatch at the side of the barn. There, you hand over your 7 chickens to the truck driver. He puts them in one of the rectangular crates, adds 7 more from the fellow behind you, then closes the lid and stacks the crate.

This procedure is then repeated until all the chickens from the 4^th floor are loaded on the truck. Then the crew moves to the second floor and repeats the process. You continue this throughout the wee hours of the morning until you load all 4 floors of chickens onto the truck.  You have eight chicken catchers for twelve thousand chickens. It will take 4 to 5 hours depending on the experience of your crew.

From an exercise point of view, you have been working your arms and shoulders, knees, waist and back with weights between 18 and 24 lbs for quite an extended period of time. Certainly longer than your average gym trip. 

I was in the best shape of my life that summer.

And only ate red meat come to think of it.

Next week:  Fall Gardening and Even More Fresh Air
Have a week of good health,
 
Rick