It was 56 degrees this morning and a super great day for walking long distance. You must take advantage of the fall weather and build your strength, endurance and distance for the next couple of months before the weather turns really cold. The fall weather is a perfect example of wearing the “layer” look. As your body heats up from walking, you will shred your top layer (wrap it around your waist) and keep walking. Now is a good time to start to prepare your walking wardrobe for the cold weather. I am referring you to WICKERS.COM
Wickers Sportswear which is a wonderful resource and site for purchasing sportswear from insulated underwear to outside jackets, pants and tops. Take a look like I did and I believe you will be pleased. A gentleman wrote to tell me to say that he really like the Nordic Poles to help him keep his balance on ice and snow. You may want to look into those as well. I recommend Exerstrider because this site has a great selection of poles in which you may find your favorite ones. I use Exerstrider because they are light-weight and easy to make adjustments according to your body height. So, enjoy the fall weather and start preparing for winter by clothing your body correctly and get some Nordic Poles to help you keep your balance and will help to prevent you from falling. No more excuses as to “I can’t walk because of the weather!”
Tags: Cold Weather, Exerstrider, Nordic Poles, Rosalie Lynch, walking
Why do we stop and start in reaching our goals? So many people achieve their momentum and a crisis in life stops our momentum. It is almost impossible to get started again and re-gain our momentum.
Gaining momentum in our lives runs into difficulty when we run hot and then run cold. Let me explain it this way. I was reading an illustration on “not stopping” in our efforts in reaching our goals and it involved water.
If you want to boil water you will do three things: 1) put the water in a kettle; 2) put the kettle on a stove; 3) and then turn the heat on. If the heat is turned off, even for an instant, the water will not boil, even though the heat is turned on again later. If one continues to turn the heat on and off the fact remains that the water will never boil.
To relate this to real life when we want to achieve a goal we 1) create our business plan; 2) plan our action steps; and 3) and then implement. All of a sudden we experience a set-back or failure. It is not advisable to go back and re-do what we have created; it is time to “adjust” and create an alternative plan or action step or the method of implementation. Unfortunately many people just give up and say something like “well, that didn’t work” and throw the project out the window.
No one had a greater commitment and staying motivated to a walking exercise program than I. My father died and my world shut down. My motivation and commitment disappeared. My energy evaporated. After a few months a friend told me that my past walking program is “out of the window” so I had to create new ways of walking so that I would look forward to a new adventure in my life. Upon research, I discovered there are 22 different walking styles to choose. My kittle of boiling water had been turned off so I had to get a fresh kittle of water and heat it up; which is what I did. With making a few adjustment and adding new ways of walking, my commitment, motivation and enjoyment came back.
In the same way, if there are gaps in all of our lives that stop the momentum it is important to create a new plan of action and get started with renewed commitment and motivation and maintain your concentration.
Tags: change plans, Gaining Momentum, motivation process, never give up, Rosalie Lynch, staying focus
Have you heard that people are beginning to take part in the “new” barefoot running exercise based on the new book, “Born to Run”?
I grew up when life was simple and natural. As a kid it was normal to go outside and play in our bare feet. I remember the feel of the grass on my feet and the fun of jumping in a pool of water barefoot. I also remember bee stings, cuts and bruises that my mom or dad would always “fix” for us and send us on our way back outside. I recall putting my bare foot to the metal pedal of my bike and feeling the power of speed. There were only two times we wore shoes: 1) at school and 2) at church services. Ah, the good ole days. Kids wear flip flops or some foot covering now when they play outside. However, the sensory perception and knowing what is going on in the earth beneath our feet is an experience they are missing.
Considering the fact that almost all of us are wearing improper shoes and damaging our feet only highlights that we need to spend time finding, purchasing and wearing the proper shoes. And, go barefoot whenever we can–safely. Barefoot running or walking encourages mid foot strike and preventing hard unnatural heel strikes and encourages natural posture and motion. It is only in the past 30 years that running shoes have become laden with padding, arch supports and technical advances that countless studies and medical professionals show are doing more harm than good. People are realizing that barefoot is really a way to go. Can this be contributed to people looking for back-to-basics, simplicity and natural ways of living – going green, so to speak?
For the majority of people barefoot is the healthiest way to be for the body. However, it is too risky for most of us to strip off our shoes and go for a barefoot walk/run (unless on a sandy beach). I have read that “The VivoBarefoot shoe has a uniquely thin and puncture resistant sole (a patented technology) that gives all the protection of normal shoes and the health benefits of walking barefoot”. If nothing else, it is recommended that you walk barefoot around your home – inside and outside – to see if barefoot walking is the “new” activity for you.
Tags: exercise, feet, Healthy Walking, Rosalie Lynch, Walking Barefoot
Many people are looking for changes in their lives. They are searching the Internet; they are talking with their friends, family and even strangers; and they are going to religious services to seek out how to make a change and have a different life.
However, in the beginning taking charge of our life can become a difficult task to accomplish. My experience in taking charge of my life was fun in the beginning, hard in the middle and then once accomplished forgetting about the long term effects of the change. It is like a dieter that starts a diet, loses the weight they wanted, was proud and healthier, then went back to their old eating habits and gained the weight back.
A dieter like this is shocked when they wake up one morning and see their weight back and shouts: ”What happened, I thought I took off this weight?” Yes, they did take the weight off and felt great and went back to their old life and the weight was back. My change had to do with medical problems and establishing an exercise program to walk once again. It was hard, but do you know what made the difference in my life? It contained 3 steps in processing a written plan for me to establish in my mind.
1) Why do I want to change this in my life – write down your answer!
2) What is my motivation and what is my commitment – write down your answer!
3) Start at that very moment – don’t say “I’ll start this weekend”. Don’t do that – start immediately at this moment.
I will share my walking motivation statement with you as an illustration of creating a motivation statement. I read this each and every day and it motivates me to get up and move by body by walking. Don’t use abstract language-make it personal. The “who”, “what”, “why” and “when” language needs to be incorporated; such as: Continue Reading »
Tags: exercise, Healthy Walking, motivation process, Rosalie Lynch, walking
People are too busy to take care of themselves! Our schedules are back-to-back with our “to do” list that has to be completed before we lay our heads down on our pillows each and every day. How did we get so busy that we can justify stopping by a fast food restaurant for our food; having a microwave in our kitchen that cuts cooking time down to minutes and seconds; have 2-3 cars sitting inside and outside of our garages for quick transportation; we can even purchase what we need over the Internet which is quick; we have cell phone where we can go and talk at the same time; we can send a message to someone while walking by texting just to mention a few convenient items we have that our parents did not have.
As many people enter the Baby Boomer stage in life, are they so busy that they can not help take care of their aging parents? Aging parents are left in their homes, apartments and trailers waiting for their kids to drop by and say “hi, do you need anything”? The loneliness sits in quickly when a person thinks they are forgotten. There is one thing you can certainly find time to do for your parents (if you are fortunate enough to still have them in your life and they live relatively close to you) you can help take them for a walk. Did you know that community involvement prevents loneliness?
Think about it for a minute.
When you take your parents for a walk they become a part of their neighborhood. They may see people they know and have the opportunity to say hello. They will notice new stores, restaurants, and gardens. They will have the opportunity to watch the trees and flowers change colors with the seasons. And mostly, they will feel like they are a part of their surroundings and will enjoy being a part of their community. And, walking is the most beneficial exercise a person can do for their health.
Why am I recommending you take your parents for a walk? It is because it is safer if they have a walking buddy. There are people in the world and in your parent’s community who do not love them as you do and may choose to harm them because of their age. Your parents protected you so many times when you were growing up and now it is our time to take care of our parents, in my opinion.
Tags: aging parents, baby boomers, Healthy Walking, lonliness, Walk, walking
We are intelligent people who know that:
- doing regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health.
- it can have a big effect on cutting your chances of disease, and also on how much you enjoy life.
- it isn’t always easy to fit exercise into a busy day.
- Increasing the amount that you walk can be a good way of doing this, without having to find time to go to the gym.
Many goal driven people find that having a target, and being able to see how you’re doing, helps keep them focused. They have trained their brain to exercise 5 days a week or they keep an Action Journal writing down what they have accomplished in their exercise program. I am aware that runners and walkers can purchase pedometers that record their miles and steps and you can download them into your computer. This particular software produces colored charts and helps you set your goal for the next day. This is extremely helpful to keep people focused and motivated to advance to the next goal.
You might want to start by measuring how much you walk in an average day. Then you can set yourself a target beyond that. The usual advice is to aim for 10,000 steps a day. Recording your daily total may help you achieve your target. You can then make walking 10,000 steps part of your usual daily routine.
Many years ago my personal trainer designed an exercise program especially for my development. Everytime I did an activity I would have to put a check mark by the activity or write down how many repetitive action steps I took. She would check over my record and increase my production.
Find your way to keep with your exercise program and vary your method of exercising by cross training. It will make your work-out more enjoyable.
Tags: goals, health, Rosalie Lynch, staying focus, walking
Cross training is any fitness activity other than your primary sport. Cross training is used to improve your fitness level and stay active. If the weather, or your attitude, prevents you from walking outdoors or your schedule gets hectic and you want or need a different activity for a particular day that will help strengthen your muscles and keep your endurance powerful, you will want to cross train.
Most active people need a variety of activities in their daily routine. They are not satisfied to sit around; however, they can very easily get bored doing the same exercise day in and day out. Even going to the gym becomes routine to them. On those “boring” days there is a golden opportunity to cross train in an exercise they do not normally use.
If you are in a walking training program for a marathon the trainer will say to you that you have 2 days off this week. It is best not to sit on these days off, but to use those muscles by riding a bike, swimming, walk instead of run and be active with a different type of exercise. Continue Reading »
Tags: Break Boredom in Exercise, Cross Training, Healthy Walking
I have read that one simple vitamin deficiency is causing the increase in diabetes, arthritis, many cancers, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, and a host of other preventable diseases. Nearly 100% of people with the diseases listed above lack the proper amounts of vitamin D in their body.
Our lives have changed so much from when our grandparents and great-grandparents were outside, working, walking where they were exposed to the sun every day soaking up the rays on their skin. Sun is a great source of vitamin D; however, in today’s world we manage to get 30 seconds it takes to walk from our cars to the building and stores we are entering. And if we do actually go out in the sun, we cover ourselves with sunscreen and hats which blocks the vitamin D production. There are dangers in being over exposed to sun. Do you remember when people use to lay outside for a couple of hours, some falling asleep in the sun, to get a beautiful tan? How about golfers playing 18 holes and developing skin cancer? These illustrations are not what we are talking about in receiving the benefits of sunshine on our skin. When you participate in the above activities, it is necessary to use sunscreen and wear hats for protection.
I was shocked when I learned that half of adults and 40% of all children in the United States are deficient in vitamin D. The Food and Nutrition Board of the US does make recommendations on the amount of vitamin D people should receive by age categories; such as: Continue Reading »
Tags: Improve your health, preventive diseases, sunshine, Walk
Meditation Walking is defined as a method of walking and meditating at the same time and you may also hear it referred to as: Contemplative or Spiritual Walking Practices, Labyrinth Walking, Pilgrimages, Quests. Many churches and spiritual groups organize meditation walking for members of their congregation/group. Often they provide an opportunity for complete silence during the walks even if you are walking in a group. Everyone is silent and meditating in their own faith. Each person walks their own pace. They may stop and read a meditation book or write in their journal. Not only are they organized and offered to adults, they are offered to the teens as well.
The Meditation Walking is not concern about the activity of walking as it is on the spiritual side and nature. They concentrate on the stepping of their feet. Such as: there are four stages in taking each step when you walk; and they are: (1) lifting the foot; (2) moving it forward; (3) putting it down; and (4) touching or pressing the foot on the ground. By paying close attention to these four stages of walking meditation seems to provide a way of accepting the true sense of reality of body motion and the spiritual side of life. I know when I want to escape from my thoughts and problems. I concentrate on walking; such as, I say to myself “right foot forward; left foot forward” and I keep saying that over and over and soon my problems take a much needed rest and my brain can be active keeping track of my physical activity and soothes away the negative thoughts. I’m not sure that is spiritual; however, it does have a healing effect and I feel “refreshed”.
It reduces anxiety, stress and depression because you are going beyond yourself into the spiritual arena. I know my bother, a minister, goes every year with a group of other ministers on a meditation walk. He always says he comes back “refreshed” on life and helping other people. His walk is silent. He does not speak to anyone for a whole weekend and he writes in his journal his thoughts. Most of these types of walks are held in the outdoors, wooded if possible because there are fewer distractions.
Tags: a silent walk, meditation, spiritual walk, walking
If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk.
If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr
Well said Martin! It is extremely important each and every day we move our bodies in the best way we can! Be patient with yourself and do your very best in creating a healthy body.
Tags: Improve your health, Move, Walk
