Talking to parents outside my son’s taekwondo class, I hear women say, “I can’t join class because I can’t do the jumping jacks.” You could substitute in run, trampoline. laugh or sneeze hard, or any high impact cardio activity. For so many women it isn’t possible to do these activities without leaking urine. And it seems this is just a problem many women endure. WHY?? You don’t have to! …
The gift of groundedness, or, my third attempt at being a runner
Every so many years, I try running. Since my mid-20s, I’ve tried to be a runner THREE times. I love the idea of being a runner. People talk of having dreams of flying. I dream of running. Fast. Of gliding, foot fall after foot fall, wind in my hair due to my speed. The latest attempt at becoming a runner was this summer, when I signed up for a local…
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the view from the mesa
I live next to a beautiful mesa in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. To review that fourth grade geography, a mesa is flat on top, like a mountain with the top peak chopped off. Like a plateau. I blog about doing taekwondo, my extra workouts, more recently adding Figure 8 workouts for a core focus. I’ve talked about WFPB and how I’m eating healthy. Nothing has really shifted. The…
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My Orange Belt Test!!
It’s like being at Disneyworld (or your favorite amusement park). You’re having fun, riding the cool theme rides, seeing the entertainment–it’s all good. You’ve avoided the crappy food, the crowds are small and you are remembering the sunscreen. Smooth. What a great time! Suddenly, your group heads to the next Fast Pass ride: the biggest, baddest roller coaster in the park. No one bats an eyelash, everyone else is excited,…
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Does practicing martial arts mean you like to hurt people?
In a class at our Summer Expo, working and practicing in one of the many classes, I was admonished by someone with “oh, you don’t like to hurt people.” In the moment this felt like negative feedback, and I had a momentary flash of shame, of not feeling “tough enough” in class. Wait…Hold it just a minute. So…in my head I was asking this person, so you do martial arts…
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Was I an imposter at Expo?
Summer vacation means Expo! 3 days of Taekwondo in a resort setting. While non-TKD family members relax, the students work our way through three days of practice, learning and workouts. Before we left, I was nervous about the Expo. I think part of me has imposter syndrome. I walk into a class full of athletic practitioners and I don’t feel like one of them. I know I look different and…
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onward, to orange!
I was stunned. After being out of class for two weeks while in Ireland, and coming back with a nice cold that found me while traveling and has been far too clingy, Mr. Ninja handed me my orange belt testing invitation!! I was stammering and babbling because we all remember my test anxiety for the yellow belt test. (Oy.) Do you think I’m ready? Wow, this Saturday. But, I…
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Prehab
Prehab. I love the idea, and part of my ‘workout routine’ so far has been keeping my chubby, newbie self from getting injured in class. Reading a Runner’s World magazine, I saw an article on prehab and loved the new word! Yoga and pilates are tops on my list for cross-training prehab. Many of the joints that get injured are the least stable ones–knees and shoulders. Working out a totally…
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Can a shiny sticker lure me out of the doldrums?
I’ve quoted Sherlock before, about how “the Universe is rarely so lazy” to allow things to happen by mere coincidence. And this week exemplifies why I believe that. Every time I get in the doldrums about my progress in Taekwondo (Argh! Damn you, Jumping jacks!) and weight loss, Mr. Ninja shifts something in class or I am gifted something from the Universe. Over the weekend, doing my workouts and…
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Black Belt Fitness: Never think you’re at a disadvantage because you start late
Ah, all those book reports from elementary and middle school… while sometimes a dreary assignment, for many of us it also conjures memories of earning free pizzas from Pizza Hut (Book It!) I’m including a book review because in my quest as a middle age, squishy around the middle, non-athlete learning taekwondo, it answered questions and made me feel better about my path. To quote Black Belt Fitness, “Never…
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