Exercising just because it is good for you

As you have probably guessed by now, I generally enjoy the exercises that I engage in. I get energized dancing to lively music, get lost in thought while hiking a scenic mountain trail, and appreciate the calm, focused feel of a yoga class. Yes, all of these forms of fitness not only excite me but make me a healthier person. However, I will be honest and admit that I am not always eager to break away from my gardening so that I can attend a core strengthening class. These classes involve using muscles that I don't think about on a day to day basis, but are reported to be very important in overall fitness, particularly as one gets older. Doing exercises to improve one's abdominal and torso muscle strength can also help with back issues, if performed correctly.

I regularly attend classes that are called "core conditioning" or "pilates" classes to help with my core strength. I was introduced to pilates about 13 years ago, when I moved to Asheville.  The term "pilates" refers to the founder of this particular form of exercise. The man was Joseph Pilates, born in Germany, but migrating to the US in the 1920's.  Joseph Pilates was a gymnast, bodybuilder, and diver. He wanted to constantly work to improve his physical conditioning, and developed a set of mat exercises that emphasized using core muscles and breathing techniques. He and his wife offered classes to others, and these exercises gradually became well-known, particularly to dancers. This type of core training was very useful to ballerinas, who need extraordinary core strength and endurance.

Pilates has now become popular in most gyms around the country. Even if a core conditioning class is not actually called a pilates class, it usually has many of the poses and moves that were first used by Joseph Pilates. I can say from experience that core training classes are not easy. It is important to have a trained exercise professional to explain and demonstrate the correct form, so that one does not end up injured. Most core classes last 45 minutes to an hour. Some have background music. I actually prefer that, as it seems to make the time go by faster for me.

Although I don't really look forward to core classes, I always try to go once or twice a week. I feel that my posture has improved since going regularly, and I rarely have any back issues that are so common as one ages. I went to two different core conditioning classes at my gym last week. They were different, as one almost had a calm yoga feel to it, while the other was a more intense and concentrated core workout. Both were beneficial, and I like the fact that there is a little variation in the way that an instructor may teach a core class.

If you have never tried a core conditioning or traditional pilates class, I suggest that you try it. Be sure and communicate with the instructor if you have any back issues before the class. I plan to go to a core conditioning class tomorrow morning, even though it is supposed to be a beautiful morning in which I could be planting seeds in my garden. But I remember Joseph Pilates, who started these exercises so that he could improve his overall fitness. Sometimes we have to do things just because they are good for us!

Last Salsa in Sarasota

One of the joys of my life while in Florida is going Latin dancing on the weekends. My husband Rich and I found a Latin dance club in the area years ago, and we have been trying to become adequate at salsa dancing ever since. In my opinion, salsa is the hardest dance that I have ever tried. The beat is unusual and hard for many people to follow. Salsa is also the best exercise of any dance I have done. I pride myself on pretty much being able to boogie all night long if given the chance, but I will find myself getting a little tired after the band plays several salsas in a row.

We started going to this club about 7 years ago. When we started, we had taken group salsa lessons in Asheville, and a few lessons here in Florida as well.  We both had the motivation to learn, as we love Latin music. I had an added advantage of going to zumba classes, where we do a lot of salsa moves. We kept at it and would go to the Latin club to practice the few moves that we knew. The best thing about this club was watching all of the "regulars" who would dance at the club every week.We even had names for the people that we watched time after time. There was the "surfer dude", a middle aged man who always wore shorts, tee shirt, and jumped as he danced. The Rasta man had dreadlocks and was a killer dancer.  One couple was an older, married couple that we referred to as the "mean couple". They never smiled, particularly at each other. One night we noticed that the husband was not there, but she was alone, smiling and dancing with other men.  We wondered - was there a hired killing?  And then there were the really amazing dancers. There was a woman who looked liked a Latin dance princess on the dance floor. She combined salsa with ballet moves, and when she was dancing, I couldn't look at anyone else. And the club manager was a young, good looking man who could even make a 70 year old woman look good on the dance floor.

We began to think of these people as our "dance family", even though we never talked with any of them. And that is what made our last night this season at the Latin club special.We finally saw and talked with two people at the Latin club that we knew! One was our dance instructor in Sarasota, Henry. Henry gave us private lessons several years ago, and I learned quite a bit. He kept telling me that I needed to "stand up straight and stick out my booty" in order to have the correct salsa stance. I told him this was impossible for me, but kept trying to make it happen. As a result of his instruction, we both became better and more confident at salsa.Then we saw the man who had recently installed our tile floors. He was an artist at laying tile, and he had told us that he went to the Latin club with his wife. It was great to see two people at the club that we knew personally!

It was a joyous night, with the band, the lively dancing, and a willing partner. Dancing is great entertainment and good exercise. And when Rich and I dance at the Latin club, I lose myself in the moment. For those of you who think you might like to dance, but are afraid, go ahead and give it a try - particularly you guys out there. Women love men who dance! You never know - you may actually enjoy it! As for me, I am going to keep dancing until I end up on my new dancing show - "Dancing with the Nobodies"!

Exercise and Inspiration

In my quest to attempt every group exercise class at my gym, I tried a different class several months ago. This class, called Balletone, combines simple ballet moves with core exercises, similar to pilates. I had always been fascinated by the description of this class. One of my regrets in life is that I never took ballet lessons, as many young girls and women do. (unless, that is, you count the one year at age 5). It is generally easy to spot the ex-ballet dancers, even in a dance exercise class;  they have a certain stance and poise that is unique. One day I was talking to a woman in my dance class who said that she loved Balletone.  Her name is Rose, and she explained that it was an excellent class to help with balance and flexibility, both of which are very important parts of fitness. She further explained Balletone's benefits, including helping her to recover from a foot injury.

Encouraged by Rose, I decided to finally give it a try. The ballet moves on my toes were certainly challenging but I loved pretending to be a ballerina.I didn't even mind the corny piano music! What I realized was how great the moves were for balance, and also for strengthening my feet, which have always given me problems. I have been going to Balletone since then, once a week, and it is one of my favorite exercises.Part of my reason for writing  about this experience is that the main reason I went to the class was because of my friend, Rose, inspiring me and suggesting that I would probably benefit from this class.

Other people have given me inspiration to experiment in different areas of the fitness world. My friend Ellen, in Asheville, would tell me about all of the classes that she had done on a particular morning. She would do a zumba class and yoga, or maybe spinning and pilates. I was impressed that she could do several classes in a morning, because I had never even tried it. She made me think about this possibility. Now I sometimes take a zumba class followed by a core conditioning class, for instance, and actually find it helpful. I still haven't been inspired by Ellen to try spinning again. (excellent exercise, just not for me), but one never knows!

My husband Rich had always expressed his praise for push-ups as being one of the best overall exercises.I knew that I needed to do regular upper body strengthening exercises, but always seemed to hurt my neck when I used the machines in the gym. I was getting frustrated by my flabby arms, and actually googled "how to get rid of flabby arms". The main solution given was push-ups! I started doing them regularly, several times a week, and could really tell a difference in my upper body and core strength. More importantly, I did not have the neck or shoulder pain that I had previously encountered. I continue to do push-ups at home, and I thank my husband for inspiring me. (although he has reminded me several times that he had been trying to tell me this for years)!

Inspiration from a friend or family member can be a powerful tool in starting a fitness routine, or adding to a current one. I try to keep an open mind now instead of being locked into my same routine, as I have found new fitness activities that have helped to balance my life. I appreciate Rose, Ellen and Rich for their inspiration.  I also thank Carolyn, who got me to try Dance Trance. I am grateful to Allen, who helped me to realize that I could walk much further than I thought I could, and dodge cars at the same time! And who knows - maybe my friend Lou will eventually get me out on the tennis court again!

A Pie for Pi Day

The math lovers out there know that today, March 14, is Pi Day. This day has been designated to honor the circle constant, Pi which = 3.14159. It is also Albert Einstein's birthday, according to our local newspaper. As an added bonus, this year is the Pi day of the Century, because of the date, 3/14/15, being the first five digits of Pi. Although I am not a certified math lover, I do appreciate the significance of this day, and have made a pie in honor of it. It was a good excuse, anyway, as I have been wanting to try the "Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie" from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds cookbook.

The Black Bottom Oatmeal pie had my interest because it has chocolate in it. As much as I enjoyed baking and eating the pies from this cookbook, I will say that there are very few that include one of my favorite foods, chocolate. In this pie, the chocolate is on the bottom, and this is covered with a mixture of brown sugar, eggs, dark Karo syrup and oatmeal. This pie kind of reminds me of a pecan pie without the pecans. In fact, the Elsen sisters refer to it as "poor man's pecan pie". The crust is the usual delicious butter crust.

I think that I made one mistake with this pie. The cookbook sisters clearly state that you need to let a pie cool 2 to 3 hours before cutting it. I could not wait 2 hours this time - I just had to cut into that fragrant pie. As a result, the pie was rather runny and gooey. Runny and gooey tastes good, but is not so easy to cut into slices!  I decided to stop at one small piece, and I put it in the fridge overnight. The next day, the pie was nicely set up. It does have a pecan pie taste and I love the chocolate flavor. The verdict is that this pie is very rich and very tasty.

I have extra pie crust, so I think I will make another pie to celebrate Pi day. Certainly a day as important as Pi day of the century could use another pie. And so could my sweet tooth!

Fitness and Motivation

I had planned to walk to the beach today. It was a picture perfect day, and the 5 mile round trip walk seemed like a perfect activity. However, while it seemed like a great idea, I couldn't exactly get motivated. Then I remembered the little ice cream/coffee shop right across the street from the beach. The last couple of times I had done this walk, I stopped for a scoop of ice cream. That cup of Chocolate Brownie ice cream was my motivation to do the walk.  Off I headed to the beach, when halfway there, I realized that I had forgotten to put money in my beach bag!  I briefly considered going to the shop and asking the shopkeeper (who had remembered me last time) if I could give him an IOU and bring him the money later. However, I realized how pathetic that was, and continued my walk. I consoled myself by enjoying the beautiful beach weather.

I think that getting motivated to do exercise is the hardest part of implementing a fitness routine. It is just difficult to get started! Who wouldn't rather stay inside by the fireplace when it is 32 degrees outside instead of heading out for a neighborhood stroll to get some exercise? Or why would you choose to go to a group fitness class when you could sit in front of the television with a glass of beer? I consider myself to be pretty disciplined with regard to my fitness program, but I struggle with motivation sometimes, just has everyone does.  So, how does one get motivated to "move it"? I have a list of 5 things that motivate me to do the work. Maybe this will help some of you consider ways to keep participating, even when you don't really want to.  So, here goes:

5.  I know that I will feel better if I do it.  Exercise really does make me feel better, not only physically but more important, mentally!  I have a more positive mood after exercising.  Also, a lot of exercises really challenge me mentally!  Yoga requires focus, dance makes me memorize  new routines, and hiking requires me to pay attention to which direction I am headed. All of this is good for an aging brain.

4.  Many physical activities make it possible to see beauty in nature.  Whether it is hiking, kayaking, biking, or walking, one can appreciate so many scenic experiences in these exercises. Hiking in the mountains enables one to see the blossoms of spring and the brilliant colors of the fall leaves. Kayaking provides amazing views of water and wildlife.(though that is not a regular activity for me).

I have wonderful pictures from doing these activities, and great memories as well.

3.  If I exercise regularly, I can occasionally eat those "bad things" that I like so much. That is why I write about pies as well as exercise!  That doesn't mean you can go crazy on your diet.  But it is nice to have that piece of pie, or that dessert you really want at dinner's end without total guilt.

2.  Exercise will hopefully improve my overall health so that I can live a better, happier life. No one can say with total certainty that keeping fit will make you live longer or happier.  I admire and love my 94 year old mother-in-law.  Her philosophy for many years has been that she doesn't exercise and therefore she doesn't hurt herself.  She really believes that has contributed to her longevity and good health.  But I also believe she has really good genes!  For most people, exercising will keep your weight down, and help prevent diabetes, high blood pressure, and many heart issues. I think exercise is worth it if I might be able to prevent a chronic health condition.

1. And finally my main motivation to exercise is :  Vanity  Yes, I am embarrassed to say that I don't want to gain too much weight and not be able to get into the clothes that I want to wear!  I have always loved clothes and fashion. My grandmother, who is on the far right of the top picture, with my grandfather beside her, enjoyed dressing up. In fact, she loved to talk about how she won the "best dressed" award at her school. I believe that she had flapper tendencies at one time.Maybe it is inherited from her. All I know is that I love to dress up and look forward to "Project Runway" marathons. When I moved to Asheville and spent many hours in the garden, I usually wore overalls. In fact, I wore them all of the time! So much that I didn't realize that under those overalls, I was putting on a few pounds. I couldn't get into my dress up outfits.When I started to take my fitness seriously, I could wear cool clothes again. One way I motivate myself, if I have been working particularly hard, is to go to a clothing store and try on different clothes. I usually don't buy anything - I just want to see if I can wear fashions that I would like to wear. I realize that I am an extreme case, but there may be some of you out there, both men and women, who can be motivated by pure vanity.As I see it - whatever works!

I hope that I can continue to be motivated to keep my fitness routine. As for now, I put a ten dollar bill in my beach bag. I am already prepared for tomorrow's beach walk!

A Balancing Act

One of my beliefs has been that moderation is the key to happiness. I believe that is true in most areas of life:  food, exercise, and alcohol consumption, for instance. In fitness, if one pursues a single sport, like tennis, for example, that person might sometimes have recurring injuries because of using the same movements repeatedly. That is one reason that I appreciate the idea of cross training - doing several different exercise activities instead one exclusive fitness regimen. But is it also a good idea to stray from the idea of moderation and go for that one life's passion that you adore?

I can say without hesitation that gardening is my true passion. I know this because I can spend hours in my landscape and not even realize how long I have been there. When I first moved to Asheville 14 years ago, I would work in my garden through sun, rain, wind, and freezing temperatures. Once I was digging in a steady rain, and my next door neighbor had a puzzled look on his face and said, "You must really love gardening to be out here right now". It didn't stop there - I often would fall asleep thinking about what I was going to plant the next day. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and have a brilliant idea about a landscape design that I needed to try. I didn't do these crazy things on purpose - they just happened because I was so absorbed in the gardening experience.

I continued with my ultimate passion until I created my Monet inspired garden. Of course it wasn't a finished product - true gardeners know that your garden is never complete. It is like a painting that you keep working on but is never really completed.  The garden continues to evolve based on the weather, your changing ideas about what you like, and your ability to maintain all that you have planted!  But that is part of what makes gardening so intriguing to me. My garden could look quite different from year to year  There were new ideas that I had to try.

I no longer have that garden.  Now I have a new landscape and I am in the process of starting a garden  This one will be different. I am at the point in my life that there are many other activities that I want to pursue. I want to practice yoga on a regular basis, walk all over Asheville, dance as often as possible, bake pies, write, and take classes  Yes, I realize that there other things out there in addition to gardening!  And it is actually freeing to know that. As much as I loved my garden, I sometimes felt chained to it. And even though gardening is indeed an exercise, I needed more variety in order to be healthier.

If you have a fitness routine, exercise, or hobby that you enjoy exclusively, consider that there are a lot of options out there,  It is wonderful to have a life's passion, just as I still have for gardening. However, I have changed in many ways since I have been participating in other possibilities.  I have lost a few unwanted pounds, met new friends, discovered numerous forms of exercise that I enjoy and found another passion - dancing!  I am "branching out" to enjoy all that life has to offer. I feel more balanced, and perhaps that is a good idea.

Bourbon and Pie

The Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds cookbook is one that I have made before. We had two thin slices of this delicious pie before I gave it away as a gift to my sister- in- law, who loves every pie in the cookbook. This time, I am making it for guests, but hopefully will enjoy more than 2 thin pieces of this scrumptious pie.

The ingredients are simple:  pears, bourbon, and a few spices. The most difficult part is peeling and slicing the pears. (a lot easier than apples, though!).  The crust is the usual butter crust.  The pears are mixed with spices and flour, but the secret ingredient is bourbon.  (As I have stated before, the Elsen sisters love to use alcoholic beverages in their pie recipes). The topping is an oatmeal/brown sugar/ butter mixture.

This pie is truly delectable from the first bite and 30 seconds later when my plate was clean.  The combination of the pears and bourbon is unique and inspiring to the taste buds.  My husband, an admitted non-sweet eater, ate two slices last night, and the guests haven't even arrived yet!  He has already asked me not to give any extra to the guests to take with them.  Delicious and easy to make are the two requirements I have to make a recipe over and over again. This one definitely fits the bill!

Dancing the Night Away

My goal is to try to participate in a physical fitness activity each day of the week.  However, I sometimes have days when I just don't feel like going to the gym, or exercising in a formal way. That day always seems to fall on Saturdays - Saturday is often my exercise day of rest. And yet, Saturday night is when I like to go dancing, as a lot of bars and restaurants seem to have live music or dance music on the weekends.  And I am actually getting a little exercise, although that is not why I dance on Saturday nights.  Dancing is just good for my soul!

A couple of weeks ago, I went line dancing with my female dance friends at a local establishment.   Line dancing is popular with many folks because you don't have to have a partner.  An instructor was available to teach us about 5 different line dances. This type of dancing is most often  associated with country western music, and this was the case at this place.  We did our boot scootin' to Vince Gill, among other country greats.  But a Maroon 5 song was thrown in for good measure for those who want more music variety.  I had line danced many years ago when I lived in Atlanta, and used to go out with my single girlfriends, but realized quickly that I was pretty rusty with country steps like "coaster" and "sailor step", not to mention all of the turns that are required in line dancing.  But it was fun to dance in a group like that - no partners, but just dancing in a group, all learning some new dances.  After the formal class, the line dancing continued, and I observed many "regulars" showing off their steps.  It was impressive to see people of all ages having such fun moving to the music!

Since I love dancing so much, I feel very fortunate to have a spouse who also likes it.  I know many women that want to go dancing, but their husbands refuse to go. I think a lot of it has to do with feeling like they will not do well, or look silly on the dance floor.  What they don't realize is that most people are not looking at you!  Rich and I have been doing swing and Latin dancing for years. I like to think that we have grown to be better dancers through the years.  We certainly know how to dance with each other!  But it really doesn't matter how good or bad we are - it is a special activity that we enjoy together.

If you love music and have always wanted to try partner dancing, do it!  You can take group lessons, which are not very expensive.  This is also a good way to find other people to dance with, as often there is dancing after the lesson.  For singles, Latin dancing is good because the music is great and
most folks go there just to dance. We have noticed that at most of the Latin clubs, many different people dance with one another - it is not just married couples like us who are out on the dance floor. Swing dancing is very adaptable to many different kinds of music, such as rhythm and blues, pop music, and jazz. And it is relatively easy compared to most of the traditional ballroom dances, like foxtrot, waltz, and rumba.

All I can say is that my life would be a lot less lively without weekend dancing.  I love music and movement, so dancing is a perfect outlet for me.

 As I like to say to myself:  "Life is dancing: all the rest is just details!"