Fitness Fellowship 2025: Check-in Nineteen

[sylvanwitch]

This past weekend, we finally got two full days of perfect gardening weather (dry and not too hot), so naturally, I'm partially crippled this morning. T. and I have an annual joke about how I inevitably "overdo" it when the weather finally turns but am somehow also surprised to find myself in agony. I'm pleased to report that this year, the pain is manageable and not nearly as pervasive as it has been in past years, and I attribute the relative reduction of post-garden-work pain to both yoga (which makes me more flexible and stronger) and weight-lifting (which also increases my strength). My neck and the tops of my shoulders are a bit stiff, but I am otherwise doing pretty well today.

I enjoy getting exercise that is purposeful, i.e. gardening, and am pleased that I am able to get out into the gardens once more. Do you have a regular activity that also gives you exercise (i.e. walking to and from work, taking a stroll on a work break, etc.)? It feels somehow like cheating to get fit AND achieve something else at the same time, doesn't it?

Anyway, as usual, please share how your week has been, fitness-wise and/or otherwise. :-)



Weight: 211.2, up again from last week. This is entirely my fault (see eating plan, below).

Exercise: I walked five days out of seven, did yoga four days of the four pledged, and lifted weights twice. But, the aforementioned gardening counted for plenty of walking, lifting, cardio, etc., over Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend, so I am counting those for lifting and walking as well, which means that I met my usual exercise goals for the week. And, as I noted above, I am super pleased that there were tangible effects of all my exercise on my ability to garden and do yardwork. Despite my pain today, I am much better off now than in years past, and I'm excited about what that means for my overall fitness.

Eating plan: I'm afraid pizza, strawberry shortcake (store-bought and definitely not vegan), and last night's fast food burritos played havoc with my weight. I knew Saturday and Sunday were going to be a combination of errands and gardening/yardwork, and I just didn't feel like cooking. I did have an enormous salad on Saturday, but I also had leftover pizza. Last night, I was so wrung out from all the yardwork that I didn't feel I could stand long enough to prepare anything, so I caved and ordered fast food "Mexican" (read: Americanized fast food burritos, tacos, etc.). These meal choices, combined with the VERY bad decision to buy a strawberry cake (sponge cake, whipped cream, strawberries) on Saturday's grocery run means that I definitely gained weight. Otherwise, I was actually doing well in terms of eating choices on weekdays.

Meditation: Fiton has guided meditations, and I tried two on two different nights with an instructor whose voice I find pleasing. I'll admit I was skeptical that an app-based meditation would work for me, but boy, did it! Instant stress relief. So, that's going into rotation as a regular practice.

Hydration: So. Much. Water. (I sweat a *lot* when I'm working or working out, so the warmer it gets, the more water I consume.)

Sleep: I have been getting to bed on time or early almost every night, and I've started reading a physical book for the hour before bedtime, which has been very helpful for falling asleep faster.



I'm sending you lots of good vibes for practical fitness this week, my friends! Good luck!

Comments

[luzula]

Yay for tangible effects of your exercise! \o/

I only went running twice, instead of three times. Let's see if I can do better this week. But aside from one night, I do think I was better at going to bed on time, though; I want to keep that up.

Weight is good. I am very busy, though--there never seems to be enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do...

[sylvanwitch]

I'm glad you're having less trouble with getting to bed on time. The difference it makes in my mood and energy when I *don't* is marked, so I am definitely on board with the trying to be good about it. Also, YAY for running and good luck fitting more in, especially given how busy you've been and are. I hope it's mostly a good busy, at least!

[oschun]

I always think gardening sounds like a great way to exercise without 'doing exercise' but it's not something I've ever gotten into. Our garden is small and very wild. S is supposed to be in charge of it but has no real affinity for gardening. He doesn't mind chopping and clearing in the area of land behind us but gets stressed about planting and growing things in the small bit that is technically our 'garden'. I'm even worse. The climbing rose that covers the front of the cottage is meant to be my thing. It riots wildly every summer and gets full of big fragrant flowers (and bigger spiders) because I mostly leave it to its own devices. I'm planning on learning how to garden once I retire :)

[sylvanwitch]

I am a hapless gardener. I don't usually know exactly what I'm doing, so I mostly work by trial and error. If something dies, I assume it either needs a different space or just won't work with my yard. Right now, my beds are all overrun with weeds, some of which are wildflowers and some of which are not. Which is which, I have no idea, so I may end up yanking things that I planted originally. You see that I am not the ideal gardener. ;-). I appreciate what you and S are wrestling with and promise there is no judgement here for you wanting to wait until retirement. Also, not for nothing, I think a climbing rose running riot sounds like something out of a fairy tale!

[oschun]

Our house does actually look like something out of a fairytale. It's why we fell in love with it and bought it even though it was more expensive than we could really afford. I walked out the front door the other day and some hikers were taking photos of it. There's a public footpath that runs alongside the house. I think they were surprised that I was dressed for school and didn't look like the high witch of the village. My cousin calls our house the witch cottage. It has its issues. One side of the house is actually underground because it's built into the hill. The damp is a bitch. S has a good eye and nose for mould and keeps on top of it.

The issue with the garden is that S and I have different attitudes towards it. I think I'm like you, willing to try things out, trial and error. He's not. I got bored very quickly with constantly talking about the garden when we first moved in and just let him take ownership of it. We don't argue about stuff that we disagree on. It's spring so he's doing guerrilla gardening in the overgrown pastureland that surrounds us. I should probably trim the wild roses tomorrow :D

[cornerofmadness]

glad the pain wasn't too bad (I miss being able to garden well. It's haphazard at best here)

[sylvanwitch]

I am a hapless gardener, as I noted upthread, so I relate to your remark here about being haphazard. I am sorry you can't garden, though, particularly if it is something you enjoy. (I know some people mostly garden because they think they're supposed to.) Gardening is time- and energy-intensive, and I suspect I will come to an age at which I cannot do it anymore.

[cornerofmadness]

I do enjoy it. I'm going to have to get some raised beds some day

[lenzes]

It's great that all the exercise paid off and mitigated the (unpleasant) aftereffects of gardening! And yay for finding guided meditations that work well for you! \o/

Goal 1 – walking: No walking. But last week was quite busy, so I expected that.

Goal 2 – push-ups: I know I'm repeating myself, but once again, two more incline push-ups! :D

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you! I'm especially happy that I have fewer gardening side-effects. :-)

Go, you, for getting those push-ups in on a busy week! I hope the progress there continues and that this week is giving you more chances to walk. Good luck! :-)