Is the World Shrinking?

Has anyone else who likes to walk and walks with a smart exercise tracking device noticed this kind of thing?

On my workdays, when the weather is decent, I walk after lunch on a local walking path.  It's the same walking path.  It's been there since the spring of 2020, when it was built.

I understand there can be minor deviations in the number of steps I take but I pay more attention to mileage.   

For the last almost year and a half, I've worn an Apple Watch.  It tells me that my total distance is around 1.01 miles.

But recently, it's suddenly decided that I am only walking .87 mile.  Same routine.  Different distance.

How can that be?  Is the world shrinking?  Is there some entity messing with distances and we aren't aware of it?  (Do scientists need to investigate)? Or does Apple Watch have its own opinions about my physical activities?

One other thing I've noticed is that I don't seem to have a good sense of how fast I am walking.  Sometimes I think I'm walking fast but the watch says I'm not.  Sometimes, I feel like I'm dragging but the watch disagrees.

OK, then, feelings of "how fast" are subjective.  I don't hold it against my Apple Watch.

But how can distances be subjective?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Fall(ing)

Today, in the northern hemisphere, it is the first day of fall.

When many of us think of the word fall, what do we see in our minds?

Corn stalks, pumpkins, and winter squash?

Or do we see something feared more and more as we grow older?  

This week (September 21-25) is National Falls Prevention week.

In 2015, after several falls, I took a falls prevention class. The class taught us exercises, and featured guest speakers, including physical therapists and a vision specialist.

But now, the coronavirus has put a temporary end to these type of classes.  Now, our local Office of Aging has issued an Autumn Walking Challenge which started yesterday, and ends on October 30.

By signing up, my spouse and I received a packet with:  "a log to record miles, tips on setting walking goals and preventing falls, information on using a pedometer to count steps" (both of us will depend on our iPhones to do that) and "creative ways to walk in your own home". (That last one is actually what convinced me to sign up.)

"All those who complete 12 miles or 12,000 steps are encouraged to enter our prize drawing by mailing their walking log to the Office of Aging".  When we got the packet, the criteria was actually "those 55 plus who have walked 12 times or completed 12,000 steps".  So, even if you are not in good physical shape, you can still participate.

On "Final Lap Fridays" you can visit the Office for Aging Facebook page and share a picture or post about your progress, if you are on social media.

We can't wait to get started.

We hope that, one day, when people think of the word "fall", this is all they will think of.

 I've blogged about falling several times. Here are several of the links.

Getting up again 

Fear of falling 

The Dutch Falling Cure 

Attending the wake

We have to find alternate ways to exercise besides a gym (still have trepidations about being in an inside gym) and walking outside.

What about you?  Are you thinking about the months ahead?

Closing August Out #SkywatchFriday

Our slide into fall is getting faster and faster and faster.   The days get shorter every day.  Some of the cloud patterns (my spouse, who is an amateur meteorologist, says) are changing into fall patterns.  Some days, there is actually a little chill to the air (to me, anyway) in the morning.

I decided to share some photos of August skies that seemed interesting for whatever reason.

Let's start with the dramatic, at what has become a favorite noontime walking area for me. Actually, all but one of these pictures were taken in places I like to walk.

Another day and in a different spot, you can get a totally different view.

How about a highway/cloud sandwich?  I was walking along in a county park, when it seemed to me the clouds were sandwiched between two overpasses.

I call this one "tomato sky".  This is in our community garden near Binghamton, New York.

Finally, on still another favorite walking trail, the clouds seemed to be hugging the hill on the left.

Are you ready for more skies?  Here's the place to go: thanking Yogi for another #SkywatchFriday.

What do you see in your skies today?

The Peleton Controversy

Would you like an exercise bike that costs around $2,245 (or more) whose main selling feature is a large internet enabled screen that allows you to stream live or taped exercise classes (via subscription), so you spin along with others while an exercise instructor motivates you, like in a live spinning class?

A company called "Peleton" which makes and sells such bikes has suddenly become a household name, due to a commercial which has gone viral - for some of the wrong reasons.

As someone who 1.  can't afford a Peleton exercise bike and 2. someone who used to own an exercise bike, which ended up as a device to drape my clothes all over when I was too lazy to hang them back up, I am watching, with great amusement, the controversy over a Peleton exercise bike.

The original commercial is at the end of this news feature, but first, you can enjoy some of the paradies it has inspired   Be aware, some of them contain strong language and are Not Suitable for Work.

The comments at the end of the news article I linked to are...kind of interesting.

Normally, I don't have much interest in what goes on in the Twitterverse (after all, I have a full time job) but this one caught my attention.

My thought? I think, whatever kind of exercise you do and keep on doing is the right exercise for you.  I did water aerobics once to twice a week for almost 20 years but finally quit it.  Now, I walk and do some exercises to relieve back pain and to help with a frozen shoulder I've had for a year or so.  (Both exercise routines came from physical therapy, I might add.)  I also do some balance exercises learned at a balance program for seniors I attended in 2015.

But some people need a lot more than that.  And, how would you feel if the love of your life got you an exercise machine?  Would you be thrilled?  Or insulted?

In case you want to exercise in other ways, that can easily cost zero. (iPhone and sports equipment optional.)

Remember this commercial for the iPhone 5 from 2014?  I was one of the "Chicken Fat" generation, as I was in elementary school when this Meredith Wilson song came out in 1962.

In all honesty, if my spouse bought me an exercise bike, I would probably slug him with it (if I could lift it....hmmm, about that weight work I need....)

I say, instead, "Go, you chicken fat, go!" It's such a catchy song.

So, I will ask my readers (especially any who may own one of these):  what do you think about the Peleton controversy?

This Week in New York Wildflowers

A week's worth of walking on the Vestal Rail Trail, Vestal, New York, produces not only physical fitness but looks into nature.

Rubus odoratus is a wildflower I first discovered several years ago, and I found it blooming today. 

This is also known as the purple flowering raspberry.  Although it is not a raspberry, it is a member of the large rose family.  I understand the fruit, while it looks like one, doesn't have much of a taste.  The leaves are maple like and that is what first attracted me to this years ago.  I've also learned it is an important flower for the bumble bee.

Speaking of true bramble fruit, I used some special effects with this picture but it appears nature beat me to it.  See the middle where a fruit once rested?

Elderberry, so very fine.  This bush is close to the end of its flowering season and soon enough, the tiny berries will be ripe.  How I miss being able to pick these from my neighbor's land when I lived in Northwest Arkansas, although it's been over 30 years now.

Last week, I found one wild rose still in bloom.  It wasn't, today.

And finally, there's a mystery flower.   I should know what this is but I don't.

Walking isn't just about walking.  It's for fresh air, discovery, and, yes, learning.

What did you do today?

Young (and Motivated) #MusicMovesMe #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to the #AtoZChallenge and also a Monday music group I participate in called Music Moves Me. So...yes, you guessed it.  Today it's all about the letter "Y"

<!-- end LinkyTools script —> Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only on this music train, please!)   First, there is XmasDolly,   Her co-conductors are:   Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Cathy of Curious as a Cathy and me.  Callie of JAmerican Spice pops in from time to time.

Our guest conductor for the month of May is Kim of the ReInvintaged Life,

She has chosen (drum roll) Motivation Monday’ – songs that motivate you to clean house, run errands, work out, or what have ya.  So, for me, that's energetic songs with a pounding beat.

And I'm a little stuck because I have to blog about songs beginning with Y and all I could think of at first was slow songs like "Yesterday".  Well, actually, I wasn't stuck for long.

The first song was so obvious.  Years ago I used to go to the YMCA for water aerobics classes.  One of the songs we would exercise to was - Yup.

This one, from 1978:  "YMCA" by the Village People.  And we even did the YMCA dance where you form Y, M,C and A with your arms.

Let's continue with (You Can Still) Rock in America sung by Night Ranger, a group I was able to see in concert several years ago.

1986's "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi.

1980's You Shook Me All Night Long, by AC/DC.

Haters gonna hate, but I have a sweet spot in my heart for bubblegum music.  So, yes (and you can skip this one if you want)  from 1968, I bring you (or not) Yummy Yummy Yummy by the Ohio Express.

From 1986 - Dead or Alive's  You Spin Me Round (Like a Record). Anyone here remember records?

Last but not least, this is going to be a memory - maybe not a great memory, but a memory- for all baby boomers.  This song is stuck in my mind forever because of having to exercise to it in elementary school.  I've even blogged about it before, so, without further introduction, I bring you Robert Preston - Chicken Fat

And that, although it doesn't begin with a Y, is a Wrap!

Tomorrow, the last day of #AtoZChallenge

The Nature Stories Around Us

Where I live in upstate New York, the students have left (well, most of them) for the summer.  But much remains.  In the morning, around 4:30 am, the birds start to sing and, for a half hour or so, the morning is theirs.  Their singing tells stories we humans will never know.

Then the sun rises on a walking trail called the Vestal Rail Trail that, years ago, was a railroad track.

Now, thousands of people walk, bike, roller skate or run on it.

This past Sunday, the trees were blooming,telling their own stories.

Sunday, the pink dogwoods were still in bloom.

Sadly, much of what you see blooming at this time of year are invasives, not native to this area.  Still, many of these blooms smell so nice, even as they choke out native vegetation.

Like this honeysuckle.  What story does it tell?

Or this honeysuckle.

Many enjoy the scent of the invasive Russian Olive, but I don't.  (And no, olives don't come from these trees.  One could wish, though.)

And finally, while not an invasive where I live, these black cherry trees have such sweet smelling blooms.  I understand, though, that they are now considered invasive in some parts of Europe.   I know the story this tree tells - those blooms are among my favorite.

I wonder how many people walk past these trees, intent on exercise, without stopping to smell the flowers, without pausing to learn their stories.

Stories, all around us, and too many of us are wrapped up in our own story.  Maybe that's not all a bad thing, but, on occasion, I just need to escape.  When I do, I'm thankful nature is there for me.

Happiness Through the Fog

Yesterday, for the first time, I participated in a Senior Walking and Running Festival.

About 175 senior participated in this event, sponsored by the Office of Aging, a major provider of assisted living/other types of housing for seniors, and others.  Some of the participants were upwards of 85-89 years old (the highest division). 

The starting and finish line

It was foggy out there on the Vestal Rail Trail, when the race started at 8am.

Off we went, into the fog.  There was a 1 mile walk and run, and a 5K walk and run. My spouse and I chose to compete in the 5K. This was our first certified 5K walking event, although we have exercise walked for years.

The foggy trail stretched ahead of us.

Eventually, it started to brighten up, with sun glistening on the leaves.

We passed the Traci's Hope memorial.  Traci Gibson was a woman, diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 31, married with three young children  Her boys were six, four, and five months old. Traci had everything to live for.  Sadly, Traci passed away at the age of 38, but many continue the organization she started to help men (yes, men) and women with breast cancer.

We completed the race in a little over 50 minutes.  To my amazement, I came in fourth in my division (because of some back issues, I wasn't walking as fast as I could) and my spouse came in third in his division (he hung back for most of the race to walk with me).

After all the awards were given out (basically, if you showed up you got a medal), we all toasted our participation with sparkling grape juice.  The spokesman for the organizer toasted us, hoping we all would have many finish lines to cross in the future.

That is my wish for you, my dear reader, today - a long and happy life, with many events to celebrate.

Falling Friday - Fear Prevention

Falling.

When you are young, it is no big deal.

Frank Sinatra sang about it in the context of failure - pick yourself up, start all over again.

But, as you age, many have vision issues.  Then, you lose muscular strength.  Eventually, you may even lose the ability to pick yourself up if you fall.  Seniors become fearful.  They stop going out.  They lose their independence, sometimes just from fear of falling.

Experts say one of the leading reasons why we become more prone to falling is because we lose muscular strength in certain areas.  That is why so many anti-falling programs emphasize exercise.

This doesn't mean we have to work out at the gym for hours, either.  The program I participated in last year, Stepping On, recommended eight exercises. Four are done daily and four are done every other day (or, three times a week).

As always, a disclaimer:  if you are prone to falls, have a professional teach you the exercises.  I can't emphasize this enough.  This can be done by a trained instructor or a physical therapist. We were taught by trained instructors and two physical therapists.

I am not a qualified falls prevention instructor, so I turned to You Tube, and I found a video that has instructions for two of the exercises I do.  One, the "sit to stand", I was taught to do daily.  The other, the side leg raises, we do three times a week.

Our instructors taught us that many people do exercises too quickly.  For the "sit to stand" she recommended we pretend we were an elevator.  As we rose, she called out:  first floor! (pause briefly). Second floor! (pause briefly).  Third floor!  (Then the same, as we sat.  Slow and pause.  Slow and pause.

Could it be that exercise, which I hated so much when I was young, may just be the Fountain of Youth we have all be looking for?  Maybe not youth, but it may save us from a cause of decline all too common in seniors.  And that fear, which robs us of quality of life.


Do not go gentle into that good night.

Winter Wonders - February Has Finally Arrived

February is the month that you can depend on, here in the Northeast.  It will be relentlessly cold.  There will be snow on the ground.

Until today, that wasn't true for 2016.  This has been the strangest February in my memory.

But finally, there is snow on the ground.  The cold is coming to my part of upstate New York.  Saturday the forecast high is 6 F (-14.4) Saturday night, they predict a low of -5 (-20.5 C).

As much as I hate winter, I must admit there are some things about winter I don't mind.

Beautiful January and February sunsets.

The opportunity to crochet.   I've been working on this washable wool blanket for my son since August of 2013 - so long, in fact, that neither color of yarn above is being made any more.

Snow?  Remember snow?  It's back.  Too bad I have to go out in it.

And, orchids. A Mother's Day (May, 2015) orchid purchased by my spouse is reblooming.

Coal House, Vestal Rail Trail, Vestal, NY 2-7-16

Goodbye, mild weather.  Hopefully, the next few cold days will be temporary, and we will be back to our unusually warm winter.

I just hope that my experimental camilla survives the coming cold blast.

Is your weather seasonal, or strange?

The Abandoned Skates and the Lonely Christmas Tree

Today, we should be getting our first "more than a dusting" snow accumulations.  Perhaps, tomorrow, I'll have an actual winter post to offer for my Wednesday Winter Wednesday feature.

So today, let's mourn (or celebrate) the end of our snowless streak.

This Sunday, spouse and I took a walk on the Vestal Rail Trail near Binghamton, New York.  As I've blogged about so much, we had an unusually mild winter until last week.  After a few days of seasonal cold, it started to warm up again.

Sunday was showery and in the 50's (high of 11.6 C). When we started to walk, showers threatened, but I wanted to see what sights awaited us.

Before I do, though, I wanted to show you something special.  About halfway through our walk, the sky opened and we were drenched.  We decided to turn around, as the rain beat down on us and our one small umbrella. 

But then, the rain stopped, and nature apologized with a sight we usually don't see in January.

Stranger sights awaited.

Scatterings of green leaves here and there.  This is not a normal January sight in upstate New York.

Shortly after we began our walk, we passed these abandoned skates lying near a bench on still-green grass.  Green grass-another never before seen sight in upstate New York.

The skates were still there when we came back. Oh, if we only knew their story.

Or the story of this living Christmas tree, ornaments dancing in the wind.

What was your weekend like?

Finding Time for Anti-Falling Exercises

I'm sitting here, 7pm on a Thursday night, and realizing that I have not done all of today's balance exercises.

"I'm too busy", we all say to ourselves.

One day, we won't be too busy to sit in a rehab center, or in a hospital room, or even worse, lie in a nursing home, if we injure ourselves one too many times by falling.  Hit your head, and life as you know it may be over, as it is for the mother of one of my in laws. Broken hips equal a low life expectancy in a senior, and my spouse's 103 year old aunt broke a hip last year.  Falls can break bones in any of us.

I've been lucky - so far.  I am 62 years old.  I have fallen several times already with resulting bruises but no broken bones.  Yet.  This past May, I decided to take matters in my own hands and attend a falls prevention class.  Here in the Binghamton, New York area, we are fortunate because of our large senior population, to have a number of these programs.  They are inexpensive and well worth your time.

So, how do we find the time in our busy lives to practice falls prevention?  Here are four ways to balance time with balance exercises to help our balance.

1.  Exercise first thing in the morning, right when we get up.  That works for me - sometimes.
2.  If we take mass transit, exercise at the bus stop.  Some exercises can be done holding a bus stop pole, for example, heel stands.
3.  Do you work?  If possible, devote 10 minutes of your lunch to the exercises.  If you have a desk job, you can do two of the exercises sitting down (sit to stand, and leg raises).  In fact, the sit to stand exercise can be one of the most important exercises you ever do.
4.  At home, do you watch TV? Several of the exercises can be done while watching TV - for example, raising your legs while in a sitting position, and rotating them.

It's all about practice.  (And remember, it's best to learn these exercises from a professional who teaches balance/fall prevention. )

Practice your balance today.  Your life may depend on it.

Do you have problems with falls?

This is day 6 of NaBloPoMo, brought to us by BlogHer, where hundreds of bloggers have committed to blogging every day in November.  I invite you to click on the link and visit other participating blogs.

Some Exercise for Sunday

iPhone commercial

Today, a throwback from June of 2014.  It's a good time for some exercise.

Touch down every morning....

Do you remember this song?

Chicken Fat

In my 1950's/1960's childhood, chicken fat was something my mother would render out  and make a treat called "gribenes" for me as a childhood treat.  I would accompany my Mom to the butcher, where she would pick out a chicken (already deceased) and I would watch the butcher cut the chicken up. Then she would make the magic happen at home.

I haven't eaten crispy chicken skin (a by product of the chicken fat rendering) with onions in many years, and I am not even sure I would enjoy it today if you fed it to me.  But chicken fat is part of my childhood memories.

Children grow up. There is something we still need to do, as adults-move around. And dare I use a word I hate, exercise.

Speaking of chicken fat, there's another childhood memory I need to disclose.  The first time I watched this iPhone commercial, I was transported back in time.

It was this song.  The Chicken Fat song (see above, because I can't get it positioned right in this post, in its full 6 minute version).

Baby boomers (and even some of subsequent generations) in the United States may well remember this song.  And if you click on the above video, you will soon know the song even if you don't now, because this song is one of the worst earworms ever created.  I will warn you, don't click on either video unless you want to have this song in your head for the rest of the day.

What is so addictive about the Chicken Fat song?  Well, it has everything to do with a physical fitness program created by our President in 1961 to encourage Americans to exercise.

Meredith Wilson, of The Music Man Broadway fame (remember 76 Trombones?)  wrote this song for President Kennedy's physical fitness program in 1961.  It is sung by Robert Preston, who starred in the 1962 movie based on the Broadway show.

Yes, there was trouble in River City, and in the rest of the United States.  There was too much chicken fat, and not enough exercise. Can you believe it - in 1961 we were already too sedentary. This song's purpose was to encourage us all to change that.

The song (the 6 minute version, that is) has explicit instructions for doing various exercises - no app needed.

Thousands, if not millions, of American children have exercised to the full, six plus minute version of the song.  Meanwhile, iPhone/Apple has pared the song down to about a minute, in a commercial called Strength, featuring people exercising with the help of something that didn't exist in 1961- their iPhone apps. And yes, all the apps are for real.

In a strange way, I love the revival of the Chicken Fat song. It drives my spouse crazy, that commercial (he doesn't remember the song) but I love it.  And I love seeing the apps at work.  Most of them are free, too.

Too bad our country holds lots more chicken fat than ever before. And I am one of many Americans who fights it, daily. Just think, what if this revival of the Chicken Fat song caused an old fashioned exercise revival?  Wouldn't it be, as we used to say years ago, awesome?

Go, you chicken fat, go!

Do you remember the Chicken Fat song?  Did you have to exercise to it?

Why I Pretend to Walk a Tightrope

I'm not properly serving my readers just by posting pictures of lovely flowers.

Even though I saw the first roses of the year blooming in downtown Binghamton, New York, yesterday, that isn't enough.

I am a midlife blogger, after all, and I want to share important things I've been learning recently with you. 

I am going to start a Friday feature, at least for the month of June, blogging about what I am learning in my falls prevention class.

I am not going to get into the actual exercises, but I want to blog about what I am learning in general, because this is knowledge that needs to be shared.  Not all areas of the world have these kind of classes but we are all at risk of falling one day.

We all face that risk, if we haven't fallen already.  If it isn't us, it is a loved one who has fallen.  A mother. A father. An aunt or uncle.

Quoting from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Website:


"What outcomes are linked to falls? (Citations for these statistics are available on the website)

• Twenty to thirty percent of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries such as lacerations, hip fractures, and head traumas. These injuries can make it hard to get around or live independently, and increase the risk of early death.
• Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• About one-half of fatal falls among older adults are due to TBI.
• Most fractures among older adults are caused by falls....
• Many people who fall, even if they are not injured, develop a fear of falling. This fear may cause them to limit their activities, which leads to reduced mobility and loss of physical fitness, and in turn increases their actual risk of falling."

This very thing (fall with a TBI) happened in my in law's family earlier in March, and they are still dealing with the terrible aftermath right now.

So, what is the number one thing we can do, even in midlife, to help prevent falls when we are older?

EXERCISE.  (There's more to it than that, but exercise is a great start.)

But not just any exercise.  For years, I had been doing water aerobics and walking.  Now, I find it is not enough.  I will not share "how to's" for the actual exercises, as they must be taught by trained people (we were taught by physical therapists) and practiced, and seniors must be sure they can do these safely.  We do these exercises at the beginning of each class before we learn other things.  I will say that four exercises (balance) are done daily, and four exercises (strength) are done three times a week.

Which is why, every day, I now walk a tightrope.

Not a real tightrope-I am not in training to be the next Nik Wallenda.  You will not see me on tightropes across canyons, or skyscrapers.  Nor will you see me trying to break tightrope records at the Wisconsin State Fair.

No, the tightrope walk I do each day is imaginary. Well, the tightrope is.  The walking is real.  Touching a counter lightly, I balance, one foot in front of the other.  Then, facing forward, I walk.   Eventually, I won't wobble and I will be able to walk backwards, too.  Eventually, I may be able to stop touching the counter.  What you won't see is a video of me doing this.  I will say the obvious:  my balance needs a lot of improvement.

Leon Russell, who sings the song in the video, is 73 and still touring.  Fantastic!

I intend to keep improving my balance.  I am also doing strength building exercises.  I also have a bad back to consider in my future exercise plans.

So, what about you, my reader?

I was interested in this video I found on the PBS (Public Broadcasting) website on "How to Walk a Tightrope".  This sounds like a fun family activity.  It's never too early to start your children on a path of good balance.  Or you, if you are younger than I am. (I'm 62).

Starting on Friday, join me for Falling Friday to learn more about what I am learning about fall prevention.  None of what I will share is proprietary information - much of it is already online.  But learning in a classroom setting is better than reading a blog, and I encourage you, if you have fall prevention classes in your area, to encourage your loved senior (or yourself, if you have fallen or are at risk of falling) to seek out an evidence based class.  And, after the class is over, keep exercising and learning.

Tomorrow - another change in my blog.

Donut Days

Today, in the United States, it is National Doughnut (or Donut, depending on how you spell it) Day.

What is a donut?  It is a round dough, with a hole in it, that is typically deep fried but can also be baked.  A variety of frostings, glazes or toppings can be applied.

I know that all too well.  I used to work, many, many (many, many, many) years ago in a Winchell's Donut House near Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.

It was not like any job I've had before or since, which is what I wanted to blog about today.  I didn't sleep too well last night, and, for some reason, I ended up thinking about this job and some of the regular customers we had in the store.

We had one customer, who I will call Cigarette Smoking Customer or CSC (not to be confused with the 90's series The X-File's Cigarette Smoking Man).  CSC was obviously ill.  Yet, he smoked, and one day, he confided to me that he had a serious smoking related illness that would probably kill him.  But he could not quit smoking, and figured, at this point, it wasn't worth trying anyway.

How true this is about so many of us!  We develop habits we know are bad for us, and they have such a hold on us that we can not stop, even when we know we are doing serious harm to ourselves.

Or, we keep engaging in the same behaviors.  It is hard, for example, to incorporate new exercises into our lives, even if it is to do something that benefits us, like prevent falls.  I have back issues, and sure enough, a couple of days ago something went "pop" in my back when I was (ironically) walking.  I've been struggling with pain and difficulty in moving since. 

I keep saying "I am going to do something about this.  I am going seek out an exercise program that will strengthen my core, and if this happens again, I will be better able to cope."  Meantime, because of the injury, I struggle to keep up the new routine of the falling prevention exercises.

I haven't started to find that exercise program for my back yet.

I've been talking about going outside of my comfort zone this month.  But, will I?

You'll have to keep reading my blog to see. 

In the meantime - guess who won't be eating a donut today.  Working at a donut shop destroyed my love for donuts.  Perhaps how that happened would be a post for another time.

Chicken Fat

In my 1950's/1960's childhood, chicken fat was something my mother would render out  and make a treat called "gribenes" for me as a childhood treat.  I would accompany my Mom to the butcher, where she would pick out a chicken (already deceased) and I would watch the butcher cut the chicken up. Then she would make the magic happen at home.

I haven't eaten crispy chicken skin (a by product of the chicken fat rendering) with onions in many years, and I am not even sure I would enjoy it today if you fed it to me.  But chicken fat is part of my childhood memories.

Children grow up. There is something we still need to do, as adults-move around. And dare I use a word I hate, exercise.

Speaking of chicken fat, there's another childhood memory I need to disclose.  The first time I watched this iPhone commercial, I was transported back in time.

It was this song.  The Chicken Fat song (here, in its full 6 minute version).

Baby boomers (and even some of subsequent generations) in the United States may well remember this song.  And if you click on the above video, you will soon know the song even if you don't now, because this song is one of the worst earworms ever created.  I will warn you, don't click on either video unless you want to have this song in your head for the rest of the day.

What is so addictive about the Chicken Fat song?  Well, it has everything to do with a physical fitness program created by our President in 1961 to encourage Americans to exercise.

Meredith Wilson, of The Music Man Broadway fame (remember 76 Trombones?)  wrote this song for President Kennedy's physical fitness program in 1961.  It is sung by Robert Preston, who starred in the 1962 movie based on the Broadway show.

Yes, there was trouble in River City, and in the rest of the United States.  There was too much chicken fat, and not enough exercise. Can you believe it - in 1961 we were already too sedentary. This song's purpose was to encourage us all to change that.

The song (the 6 minute version, that is) has explicit instructions for doing various exercises - no app needed.

Thousands, if not millions, of American children have exercised to the full, six plus minute version of the song.  Meanwhile, iPhone/Apple has pared the song down to about a minute, in a commercial called Strength, featuring people exercising with the help of something that didn't exist in 1961- their iPhone apps. And yes, all the apps are for real.

In a strange way, I love the revival of the Chicken Fat song. It drives my spouse crazy, that commercial (he doesn't remember the song) but I love it.  And I love seeing the apps at work.  Most of them are free, too.

Too bad our country holds lots more chicken fat than ever before. And I am one of many Americans who fights it, daily. Just think, what if this revival of the Chicken Fat song caused an old fashioned exercise revival?  Wouldn't it be, as we used to say years ago, awesome?

Go, you chicken fat, go!

Do you remember the Chicken Fat song?  Did you have to exercise to it?

Physical Fitness and An Adult With Autism

Every year, our local "Y" sponsors something called the Corporate Challenge, where people from different companies in our area compete in a number of road races for the fame and glory of themselves and the company they work for.

In 2009 I wrote the below post.  Yesterday, I completed my eighth Corporate Challenge.  I still walked the predicted mile, where you guess your time and try to walk the mile in your exact time.

Once again I didn't win. 

Last year, the event was postponed due to rain, the first time that ever happened.  While cities in Texas ponder if they should drink their toilet water (no, I'm not linking to THAT post yet again), we wish that we could send rain their way, at least on days like this.  Instead, once again, I raced in the rain. (And hurt my back - how, for Pete's sake, do you hurt your BACK by walking????)

And now, in a masterful segue, I will devote the rest of this post to "B", my brother in law, who has autism.

"B" has never walked a Corporate Challenge.  He has never run one.  In fact, I can't remember the last time he ever exercised.

That has become a big problem, because "B" is in his 50's, and, as anyone who has reached that age can testify, things start happening to your body if you don't exercise.

Things happen that aren't good.  In the interest of preserving "B"'s privacy, I will not divulge those health issues "B" is experiencing except for one thing that I do need to share - "B" has asthma, and has had it for many years.

He fears physical activity.  The reason he gives us is his asthma - at least, that's the reason he gives us.  He will walk, maybe a round around the local mall, but that is it.  He fears an attack. In fact, the one time, many years ago, that my spouse took him for a walk, his mother was unhappy with us afterwards, and I know that "B" observed that.  So, it may be a type of learned helplessness.

When his mother had more mobility, she used to mall walk with friends, and he sometimes went with her if she needed a walking companion.  But, that's in the past.  My mother in law can't mall walk any more (she has problems walking, period) and so "B" is not moving.

So, we can't figure out what to do to motivate "B" to move more.   We live 150 miles away, so we are not in his life on a regular basis.  Many times, when we are down there, it is to help his Mom out, celebrate a holiday, or some other occasion where we aren't making time for exercise.  Unfortunately, the neighborhood where "B" and Mom lives has no sidewalks, and walking far is a dangerous thing. In fact, the entire community is not set up for walking.

There is a rail trail - we've used ourselves but it is not sunny, and slippery green stuff grows here and there on the trail.  He would rather walk in the mall, I suspect, which is more familiar to him.

So, what to do to get him moving more?

I hope someone reading this can comment with some suggestions.  Because, "B" has to move.  He has to, for the sake of his health, asthma in consideration, but I do know that people with asthma can exercise with proper precautions.

In the meantime, here is my post from 2009.

Just Racin' in the Rain.....

Just got back from the 2009 Corporate Challenge, an annual event in our area (and maybe nationwide). Employees of various businesses compete, in good fun, in various walking and running events. I'm not a runner, so I did the one walking event, the Predicted Mile. In this race, you race the clock, not others. Participants predict the time they will finish the mile in and the person closest to their prediction wins. The key here is that you can't have a watch or any other way of telling time on your person.

This is my third year of participating and it is a blast.

The first year it was held in August and it was in the 90's, with runners collapsing and ambulances responding. Not a pretty sight. Last year the weather was pretty decent. This year, the heavens opened.

It's been raining since last night with a few breaks. At noon, my walking partner and I did 1 1/2 miles, with rain at the end. Tonight the rain started about 5:30 and it didn't let up. The runners loved it. As for the walkers...well, my new walking shoes aren't so new anymore. But it sure beat being in the 90's.

This year's Corporate Challenge had the highest turnout in 10 years, and they had to split the walkers into two groups. 41 companies, large and small. It's a good event and I hope to participate in the coming years, too.

I'll know tomorrow if I (ha ha) won.