After battling a migraine that kept me from work, drinking some recovery Coffeetree, checking out some houses, and eating cart food, I road my bike 42 miles (mainly in the dark and in the rain, due to the obviously late start). If you have Oscar Swan's book, it's in there under Log Cabin Rd. Ride, though Soupie contests that perhaps we made a wrong turn, in that at some point the rode went at a 90 degree angle, and perhaps we were not supposed to do that on this ride. Oh well, after a good hearty ride, my head's starting to hurt again so I need more water and some sleep, and I can surely put my fork down on the day and say, "Satisfecho!"
In other news, I have been trying to get more upper body strength. More swimming back in my schedule, and more free weights with the arms. I have a hard time holding bikes over my head at work, which I have to do more often in a day than you'd think, and while some arm muscles I can do reps of 10 or 20 lbs., others I can only do reps of 3lbs. How embarassing! But I will be a fearless killer soon, and by fearless I mean able to mountain bike in the mud without hyperventilating, and by a killer I mean lean and svelt. Sure, I have two jobs, work on a farm, and have poetry to write, publish, and read at scheduled events (such at July 10th, if you're in the PGH area, at Most Wanted Fine Arts Gallery), but a little tough love on the bod will do me good.
A good added rule is to think, every time I go to eat something, "what is this doing for my body?" and sometimes the answer is, "something awful!" and I resist. Other times the answer is, "giving me a lot of sugar and fat, which I need right now," and I eat, but in somewhat more sensible amount. Most of the time, though, knowing the question is about to come up helps to pre-emtively choose more healthful foods, such as vegetables from the garden and a side of tempeh and pasta rather than pizza, or the pho tofu (soup) rather than the sesame tofu (deep fried).
I've also added aloe vera juice to my regimen, and drink it a few times daily with my water. It's fairly citrus-y in flavor, and I like it best with some Gatorade powder as well. The benefits of aloe vera juice are muscle recovery, organ/intestine strength, proper bowels, and is an over-all internal healer. While I do still get headaches (see above), my knees have been bothering me, and I am still fairly convinced that I broke my lower rib a while ago, I feel quite healthy in general and have been riding strong.
4 comments:
sounds like you need to strengthen shoulders rather than arms. I would try yoga plank pose or push ups to strengthen both shoulders arms and back.
Also, if you are talking about side arm raises with the dumbells, 3-5 pounds is not bad as side raises are for the shoulders and you wouldn't want to lift 20 pounds there. Just thinking. Enjoyed your blog and glad to ssee you writing again.
For indigestion and bowel function, try yoga. lay on floor pull right leg to chest really compressing the abdominals. Then release. DO the same with left leg. Then pull both knees to your chest and release and let blood flow. Keep all poses for 20 seconds. It works for me.
Another one is to put your butt up against the wall with feet on wall forming a 90 degree angle. The blood flows backward into your bowels and legs. It is great for constipation and your tired legs feel fabulous.
Thanks! Those are all helpful poses, Mom. I do try to keep up with the yoga fairly regularly, and start each gym visit w/ yoga (though I need to make my gym visits more regular as well). I had yoga poses/exercises on my ipod but I think the app has expired. These are all great ones to keep in mind. And yeah, it is mainly my shoulders that need strengthening, my biceps and triceps are surprisingly big/toned. I need to work on my shoulders and pectorals.
try walking pit bulls and you will get good biceps!
i bought some aloe vera juice at lotus asian grocery in the strip...i'll let you know how i like it
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