Fitness – Mind over Matter

Look, Listen, Learn 

Biking to fitness

I have been lucky in that I have had to do a lot of traveling for my work, and perhaps that’s why I am so enthusiastic about it and want to simply get up and go. You may not have had as much opportunity, but you’re looking to do ‘something’. Join me, and let’s explore together. I want to bring to you stories of places I have been, things I have seen, people I have met; some of the ups and downs of my travel experiences; to present you with options for places to go, things to see, activities to participate in, but equally as important, a sense that life isn’t just a slow decline to retirement. I am hoping that by following me here, and by telling me of your experiences, we can build up an active resource that shares experiences from around the world, and covers health and fitness, travel, hobbies, and any other major topic that will benefit us all. I hope that we can create an online community that will build friendships and global connections. This desire is partly because of my terrific experiences traveling through South America, and as a host to visitors from other countries to my home. These experiences have shown me the generosity of people and the many things we can learn when we are ready to simply look, listen, and exchange.

Getting back into shape… NO! to dieting

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am not a guru, nor am I a fitness enthusiast. One thing that was brought home to me very early on when I left Asia and went back to Canada, however, is that I had some real serious work to do in terms of getting fit enough to travel long distances and to enjoy a lot of leisure activities that I wanted to participate in. Fit body, fit mind, and all that. So you will find on this blog site information on health, fitness, maybe even some information on food and discussions on different tracks people have taken to maintain their level of fitness. I will occasionally write about my diet (I despise that word – I don’t ‘do’ diets) – those posts will simply be a record of what I have eaten, and how the changes in consumption affect my body (this may include information from nutritionists – but it won’t be a ‘diet’). Every person is different, and every person has different ‘dietary’ needs, all I am going to provide is what I have done, why I have done it, and what the effect has been, for me. In a similar vein, I will include posts on some physical activities I undertake. I may go into a gym (I really don’t want to, but sometimes…..). I will relate the reason why, and what results I have obtained. Again, this is just reporting the facts, not trying to get you to follow an exercise regime, it is purely a record. My motivation is to remain in reasonably good shape, but not necessarily build up bulging muscles – I’ve never had that kind of physique, and I don’t intend to start now, but there’s nothing wrong with attaining it or maintaining it if that is your choice. For me, I simply want to reduce my body fat, and maintain reasonable muscle mass. (Think of a tough old goat that still hops and skips up a mountain side instead of the Incredible Hulk bouncing over in one bound).

A trestle bridge near Victoria, British Columbia

Have Shiny New Bike, Must Conquer Hill!

Now, about that business of going back to Canada and realizing I had to get in shape. I DIDN’T go to the gym. I bought a bicycle – not only for the sake of fitness, but also to make me feel like I was doing my thing in the fight against global warming. The first 300 meters from my front door to the traffic lights was downhill, but the moment I turned left, there was this really mean, slow steep incline of a hill that went on for nearly 1 kilometer – the first day I attempted that on my brand new 24-gear bike, I darn near collapsed half-way up. I was down to 2^nd gear, and wasted more breath on cursing the hill than was good for me. 

It looks easy, but you’re seeing only 30% of it. Many a biker has come to immensely dislike that hill.
Photo courtesy of Amy Tang

From that first foray (the entire one-way trip was 5 kilometers) which took me nearly 40 minutes, I slowly improved, and by the time winter started to roll around, I was doing the same hill in no less than 16^th gear, and the time was down to 15 minutes – I was still cussing the hill every time I had to go up it because it was the making me work hard the minute I got out my front door, but I was beating the darn thing, everyday.