Ostepenia, multisport fun, reads & eats

Your guide to everything under the moon, the Amber Moon, 6/23/2024

Next Hello Sunshine will be out about 7/14/2024, because life happens.

I recently had my every-5-years bone density scan. Five years ago I was normal. This time, my results said: osteopenia.

Going into this scan, I admit I was curious, and only slightly concerned this might happen, for 3 reasons:

My PCP, unbeknownst to her, amused me when she suggested I add “light strength training“. In my head I replied: Girl, I lift heavy s*** (LHS).

And then: please stay in your lane. This is MY area of expertise. It may start out light, and as you learn form & technique it progressively gets heavier.

I was at a craniosacral therapy training several years ago and the presenter asked if anyone knew what Wolff’s Law was. I was the only one to raise my hand (does this really surprise you?). Wolff’s Law states that bone adapts & remodels in response to the stress placed upon it. So if I’m lifting light weight, how much is it going to strengthen my bones? Not much.

I started upper body lifting last summer, and have added lower body in as my knees have gone through physical therapy & beyond. I’m feeling stronger. Thirty plus years in this field, I know what to do. Reading Next Level and ROAR by Stacy Sims, PhD reinforced the need to LHS to improve bone density.

Ladies, I highly recommend BOTH books get on your reading list ASAP.

Past Pilates class participants have increased bone density through the only change they made – twice a week Pilates classes with me. If they can do it, so can I.

With this also being a side effect of my immune system medication & steroid inhaler, I don’t know how much I can reverse it. But I am going to do my darndest.

Interested in doing something positive for your bone density? Here’s an article I approve of. Ask questions. I’m here for you.

It’s all about showing up. Sometimes you come away with bling.

Last weekend was my first multi-sport event of the season: TriWaco. I’d signed up for the Sprint Aquabike (500m swim, 16 mi bike), but due to all the glorious rain we’ve had, the water had a high bacteria count, and the swim was canceled. They offered us the opportunity to postpone until next year. I seriously debated. I decided to go ahead and ride, so I could use this as a gauge of my progress.

My goal was cadence. With the asthma inhaler use up of late (increases heart rate, therefore cannot use as a measure of intensity), I had cadence as the variable I’ve been training. Goal: 80-90 rpms for the majority of the race.

Keeping cadence up lets the heart do the work, not the legs. Legs typically have enough work to do. I like to sit around 75-80 rpm naturally, but I’ve been working on it since knee #2. In the end, my average was 83. Average unreliable heart rate: 129. Not very high for an event.

I definitely slowed down throughout the race (my perceived effort stayed the same). My legs definitely said I was working harder than my unreliable heart rate & reliable breath rate. I’ve still got a ways to go.

And I got 2nd in the event. Now granted, there were only 2 women in the event (2 men as well). I was 3rd of the 4 of us doing the event.

I showed up. I have 2 brand new knees. What’s your excuse?

Side note: It also made my day when I went up there to get my award, and the announcer recognized me from volunteering. “Oh! It’s our volunteer!” And she then announced I was a volunteer too (big smile on my part). I’m sure it was my cool t-shirt cut from Saturday (see photo) and sunshine personality they remembered. Yeah, I took the sleeves off the volunteer T, and they mentioned how good it looked. *snicker* Of course it does. It’s sleeveless now!

Blueberry reads

I finally finished Stacy Sims ROAR, Revised Edition: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life. There were so many good things in there. I’ll admit, 1 disadvantage of listening is I either integrate the material then & there, or I can’t recall all the good stuff. Cuz there was so much. Read it.

My next ear worm is Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Still lots of very interesting stuff here. For example, melatonin lets our body know it is time to sleep, but does not create sleep. What we need for that is a sleep coupler: Adenosine. Our brain produces it naturally, and when it gets to a threshold, we sleep. I’m still waiting for the author to tell me know to improve it. THe usual things, of course, help, but aging diminishes the quality for our sleep. I want to know more!

Amber eats – summer time favs

The heat hit a few weeks ago, and it seemed like my food wants changed overnight. Does that happen to you too? This time, the avocado smoothie returned with a vengeance. For breakfast, or right after a bike ride. Avo, kale, coconut milk, ginger, agave, protein powder. YUM. I admit, the first few times I made it I heard Stacy Sims voice saying get your nutrition from real food instead of smoothies. Especially your protein. I keep repeating it almost daily anyway. I’ve also shifted more toward salads, though the fresh veggies from the garden are helping with that too.

How did your eating shift with summers onset?

Summer group programs

Please note there will be no Viniyoga on July 3.

You can register for Masters Swim thru the City of Taylor.

Track will resume Sept 3 with our 5k/10k program. For those in The Quack Pack, we may have a few random run & bike sessions this summer, in addition to Masters swim.

Viniyoga, Pilates & EUTM are online & thru the studio. This is also the last week for EUTM. Time for a change.

Taylor & virtual updates

Openings are subject to change. These openings are a reflection of this exact moment in time.

• 6/25, 12-3p is open
• 7/11, 215p (30 or 45 min only)

Austin updates

Fridays are in flux. With adding the 830a class, I’m limiting my work hours on the other end til 330 (both locations). Trying to stay in my 8h start to finish work window. Which means Friday in Austin is now 130-330p. If you’ve got something already scheduled later than that, I’m still honoring your time, of course.

Openings:

• Wed, 7/17, 1 & 215p

Thank you!

I always appreciate when you read all the way to the bottom. I’d love to hear if something here resonated, peaked your interest, or made you think!