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During peak riding seasons, I'll do one day/week of nothing but legs and upper body the other times (~ 2-3X/week). Riding doesn't really hit hamstrings or calves and muscle imbalances can lead to problems. My leg work has no direct quad work during peak riding seasons; I focus on glutes, hams and calves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allie1DukeFn
Legs are big muscles. Even a little more work than usual will make them sore.
You have to take into consideration that this calculation can change rapidly depending on your main body factors differences. Even a slight change in your lifestlye can result in a different metabolical factor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allie1DukeFn
Hi Cristina - sorry not sure on that one. My routine is to eat as soon as I get up then move on with the rest of the day. This seems to work for me and I find I have heaps of energy until lunch if necessary. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Cristina
mmmmmm breakfast
mornings are: brush hair and put in pony tail, wash face, apply oils and lotions, put clothes on, walk dogs, make dogs and cats fresh food, mix favourite juices together, give the cat his pill, let the dogs outside, eat breakfast, which is currently a small amount of Mueslix (yummy) with a sliced banana and a whole whack of prune activia yogurt (stepped away from the soy milk after the "stomach flu" last week and really like the yogurt on cereal thing). I'm usually eating about an hour after I get out of bed. heh After that, I make my lunch, hide dog cookies all over the house, change into my working clothes, then walk to work. All told, I have to be out of bed about 2 hours before I need to be at work and you'll notice I don't do makeup, don't have a shower in the morning, and I do so very little with my hair!! heehee
I think an hour after waking up is really good timing for eating breakfast. My only rule is that I eat breakfast before I really go out. When I broke my shoulder riding to work a bunch of years ago, I used to not eat breakfast until about 10:00 in the morning, 2 hours after I started work. As a result, I went about 27 hours without food and with virtually nothing to drink....and the surgery was still 24 hours after that! Lesson learned. You never know what will happen on the way to work!!
Now....if I could only follow my own advice and stay away from the hot chocolate at work.....maybe I could stop growing this silly "beer" belly!
Namaste,
~T~
[QUOTE=LBTC)Now....if I could only follow my own advice and stay away from the hot chocolate at work.....maybe I could stop growing this silly "beer" belly!
Namaste,
~T~[/QUOTE]
mmmm did someone mention hot chocolate. Yummy who could resist that. :)
yes. and my employers provide it for free in the lunch room. the b*****ds!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Trekhawk
:eek:
~T~
I get up, have a glass of cool/cold water (to kick start metabolism), do half hour low impact aerobics, tai chi or stretching if time (bump metabolism again) mooch about a while... have brekky (something like toast with banana and peanut butter, or toast and eggs - most important to provide a small ammount of fuel to start ones day) about 3/4 hour after exercise (or at least an hour after getting up if there was no time to exercise) and then head off to work...
I work really hard at eating a minimal ammount in the evening...
What is prune activia yogurt?Quote:
Originally Posted by LBTC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cristina
Tai chi is like martial arts in slow-mo... think kung fu or jujitsu but reeeeeeally slow.
It is aggressive in form, but not a martial art you fight with.
You work on breathing and centring your body and your thoughts. Your balance improves and I always feel more able to cope with my working week if I have had an hours concentrated tai chi during the week.
Because you move so slowly, you get a great large muscle workout - but although your body heats up, most people don't break a sweat cause it is not aerobic.
Its a wonderful all-over stretch routine too... see if you can find someone to teach you - I have learned through night classes with one of the local schools.
Activia is a brand of yogurt with live bacteria....prune is the unusual, but delicious flavour!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogmama
yum!
~T~
Activia - I don't think we have it in the colonies - at least not over here in the desert.
Thanks for the explanation!
So I guess that it can't be learned from the internet or books right ???Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRaven
You said it helps you to cope with your work. Do you mean like is relaxing you or what ?
I suppose that could be, however, I have traditionally hated yogurt, seriously not enjoyed it at all. And many of the newer yogurts that are out there are sweetened with aspartame or splenda which are very hard on my system, so I can't eat those at all. I hope that your doctor simply doesn't have the best information, but, even if he does, I'm really enjoying this brand!Quote:
Originally Posted by Cristina
Namaste,
~T~
ps...everything we buy is just marketing
LBTC - another way to enjoy plain natural yoghurt is to put it on toast. You spread honey first and then add a spoon or two of natural yoghurt and spread over the top - yummy.Quote:
Originally Posted by LBTC
I think this is from the Pritiken (spelling?) Diet, I have not used this diet but I knew a runner who had and put me onto the toast and yoghurt thing.
I never liked yogurt much unless it had enough honey and goodies in it to cancel out its benefits - until I had some yogurt when we were honeymooning in Greece. It was so much richer and deeper in flavor, almost more like creme fraiche. I approximate it by lining a colander with cheesecloth and dumping lowfat or nonfat Stonyfield in there and letting it sit overnight. I'm sure it's higher calorically, but I'd rather cut the portion and enjoy it more.
By the way, Tai chi was really my gateway to getting in touch with my very ignored body. My husband and I were both dealing with a lot of emotional/physical stress, and we started taking classes together. We left it behind for more strenuous workouts and yoga, but I like knowing that it's there for me when I am older or want a change. It's very grounding and fluid, and my husband found it was the only kind of meditation that worked for him - because it kept his body engaged in the process, too.
Mmmmm... Greek yoghurt and honey... :D
Hi there HelenQuote:
Originally Posted by Helen
I actually replied to this at length this morning, but the internet locked up on me, so will try and recreate what I wrote this morning... here goes...
How does tai chi help me cope with work... well, the best I can explain is that it "grounds" me. you have to focus on your breathing, and your balance, and shut out other thoughts... I guess some might talk about focusing on one's chakras... some might talk about universal energy entering through the top of your head and leaving through your feet... I think about it as reconnecting with the Goddess... however you think about it, the beginning of tai chi (sometimes spelt tai qi) is very much like meditation.
As you begin the form itself, you have to stay very focussed, so you tend to shut out all the peripheral stuff to being in the "right here and now"... you don't consider where the kids have to dropped off, whats for dinner, what your husband said, the deadline for the boss... nothing. You just focus on breathing and moving your body very slowly...
So, I find, when I have centred and grounded myself in this way - whether through a stretch routine, through tai chi or through meditation, I just find several days worth of stress seems much easier to cope with as the days wear on. And they do wear on... the expectations that we (as women) can hold down a job, hold together the family, look great, cook and clean for a household etc etc etc are huge from western society and it does wear us down.
I find this form of relaxation and meditation - as well as cycling/training - valid ways to ensure I have "me" time. And for some weird reason, women (in the western world) do tend to have to justify time they spend just on themselves...
But these forms of exercise increase my energy as well as my calm... and they make me a better person, as well as modelling the importance of aerobis activity, and self reflection to my children.
I hope this answers what you were asking. It doesn't seem to look like what I wrote earlier today... :cool:
Oh, and Helen, I forgot to say you can learn this from the net/books etc ... but it is very hard.
Often aerobics video tapes will be done in mirror image, but not tai chi - left and right are very important, so looking at/deciphering photos or video involve a bit of brain gym.
Also, it is good to have others there to help you with breathing and posture (though big windows give an ideal reflection if you are watching yourself).
I recommend joining a group and learning with a master... it is very individualistic - no talking through out really - just the instructions or encouragement from your leader/master... but very good to be part of the group while you are getting used to it.
Once you have mastered the form you are taught you can take it anywhere.
I do it in the park, in my garden, by the ocean, and people are so used to this kind of thing now I never get a funny look.
Good luck with it, hope you get a chance to try it and you enjoy it...
Because of some health issues, I have to be focused on my health more than I would like. But the good side of that is that I exercise and try to stay in good shape. I have noticed that alot of the women I know from church and other places are very focused on their children, sometimes to the point of really 'letting themselves go'. It might be my imagination, but sometimes I get the feeling that although they think I look great, I get the feeling a part of them thinks I'm either a. obsessive about it, or b. self-centered.
Because of my health I have decided not to have children, so I know I'm a little disconnected when it comes to understanding 'their' side. I know many of you have a family so I was wondering if you have a different opinion or have any of you ever felt the same way?
Thanks RoadRaven. So tahat you know, I already joined a group and I am very anxious to start my first Tai Chi lesson.Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRaven
Do you often practice at home ?
Do I practice at home, Helen?
Yes, I do... once you have the form in your head, you can do it anywhere (have even been known to do it in the office when it is mostly empty!)
To begin with though, I had to write the names of the different moves down til they became settled in my head... it is brain gym as well - a full body workout - looking forward to hearing how it goes!
I do have children, but I also try to take time for myself and concentrate on both my physical and mental well-being. (Although to be honest, concentrating on mental well-being with happy hours with friends, spa days, naps and the like is often more fun that the physical well-being). I've found that if I'm not happy with who *I* am then it's pretty hard to be a good wife and mother. You have to love yourself first.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bustertb
So, don't feel guilty for spending time on yourself. Your health comes first. I'm sure a lot of those other moms are actually jealous of you rather than looking down on you. My friends often say, "You're my role model for taking care of yourself." I generally hear this after I tell them about a girls weekend I went on or a spa day, of course, rather than after I tell them about a 65-mile bike ride!
Guess I was feeling selfish or self absorbed. Thanks for your reply. Glad to hear you are taking time for yourself. I agree, women need to feel good for themselves so they will be better mothers and wives.
When I've told people I've gone out for a 30 mile ride, just for the fun of it, they look at me like I'm crazy. Of course my idea of a night out isn't Chucky Cheese! Different things for different people ;)
Trust me. A 30-mile ride is a hell of a lot more fun than a night at Chuck E. Cheese. (Years ago I told my husband that any trips to Chuck E. Cheese with the girls were his domain. I refuse to go there!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rakekay
Isn't that the demographic for Chuck E. Cheese, small children and men!? :D :D
How long does it take for a normal person to learn at least one form ?Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRaven
I remember our trainer saying that we shouldn't come to this course with a goal in mind but I really want to get more flexibile and to strengthen my muscles.
Cristina... I mean brain gym, because Tai Chi is made up of a series of moves... you have to remember each of these moves as patterns, and eventually you fit them together, then you add on... its about memory - what form, what pattern, where to put weight on which foot... its not just bouncing up and down to music like aerobics (which i enjoy and is fun) - there is a huge ammount of focus and concentration involved in tai chi... fantastic...
When I started learning, Helen, I knew nothing, and going once a week for 1 1/2 hours a class was enough, we'd learn something each week, practice at home, and join it to something we knew, or begin something knew the next week
have a go, its great...
I am going twice a week for 2 or 2 1/2 hours a class. How often do you practice at home ? Do you practice all the exercises or just the forms ?Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRaven
Cristina, my understanding is that there are so many parts to each form because tai chi is a form of meditation.
Are you learning from a master?
S/he should be getting you to ground yourself/focus on your chakras/feel the energy of the earth/ whatever imagery s/he uses...
You should begin by focusing your mind, and then you take your body through these movements and eventually you should flow through them like a river, unthinking, molding yourself into each movement with ease like the river does over the stones and the river-banks.
To begin with, tai chi is brain gym because alot of it is rmembering, but as the movements become part of your muscle memory, then you can really begin to focus on just yourself and it becomes a moving meditation.
Great that you are feeling more flexible already... its an "easier" option for flexibility than yoga, I think. The other thing you should find improving is you balance and awareness of how your body fits and moves and space in your everyday life.
Helen, how often do I practice? - I try and do it every day - and I will work on bits I am unfamiliar with when necessary, but tend to try and do the whole form.
With new parts to the form, you should practice that piece within an hour of finishing your class, again within the 24 hours of finishing your class, and again within 3 days. That just helps to cement the new movements into your muscle memory.
I assume you are both enjoying it? Its not everyones cuppa but I get so much from it.
Of course I am enjoying it although I would have learned much faster if I had a little more spare time.Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRaven
LOL... yeah Cristina... being impatient in tai chi defeats some of its purpose...
So its giving you a disposition workouty as well as body and brain!
So pleased you are both enjoying it