<p>Dad II, one possible cause or factor involved could be stress.</p>
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<p>I only plan on averaging 1 mph (including stopping to pant) going uphill on these mountain hikes. On the half mile section that included scrambling up that rock in the photo (and a lot of rock scrambling in general), I only averaged 0.6 mph. One thing I’ve learned is that coming back down the steep bits really isn’t a whole lot faster. A lot easier, but not a lot faster. On more level terrain, I can average 2 mph on these hikes. Rocky footing and a back pack is not like walking on a road.</p>
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<p>Ahhh… to be young. We did skiing with my daughter, but looking back, hiking would be terrific family exercise with kids. Although, I suspect it’s not all peaches trying to keep young kids moving! I see a lot of young parents hiking with very young kids in back carriers.</p>
<p>I remember carrying my youngest on my back at times until he was at least 8 years old! “I’m tired.” “Are we there yet?”</p>
<p>My D said she kept urging her son on with reminders of the “cool bridge” they were going to see when they got to the end of the hike (actually the halfway point.) It was very cool…a LONG (did I say long?) narrow pedestrian bridge over a deep gorge. She said the 2nd time they did the hike, he was much better at keeping going. :)</p>
<p>DadII–I don’t know, but I would get it checked out by a doctor. That’s pretty high. Brief online research tells me there may be other causes besides the ones you listed, but only a doc can tell you for sure.</p>
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<p>It’s a pretty unique piece of gear. It works both the arms and the legs, so it is amazingly effective at sucking the air out of your lungs. And, because the resistance is an air fan, doubling your speed quadruples the energy required. No adjustments at all. Just pedal a little faster and it gets a lot harder. Perfect for intervals because you don’t have to adjust anything. Just pedal faster to work and slower to rest.</p>
<p>Downside. It’s not the kind of thing you can do while watching an hour of TV. You can do that by pedaling slow (and it’s used in rehab facilities for that), but I try to never be on it for more than 20 to 30 minutes. Doing intervals on an Airdyne is universally good for everyone who does it, but universally miserable for everyone who does it.</p>
<p>Upside. In home use, you’ll never wear it out. And, your kids won’t wear it out after you are gone. And, your grandkids after your kids are gone. Plus, parts are widely available (either on line or from old school Schwinn bike dealers).</p>
<p>A quick and dirty (or should I say “sweaty”) 2.25 miles on the treadmill - limited on time today!! Did do intervals of 45 secs each at 5.5, 6.0 and 6.2 as opposed to my usual 4.8-5.0. Somethin is better than nothin, right??!</p>
<p>Dad II, there are, as you may know, two basic forms of hypertension, dietary and essential. You’re describing essential, which means it is a systemic response to what are probably genetic driven issues. Most people have a mix of both forms and treating dietary hypertension is a good start for everyone. </p>
<p>An example of essential hypertension is that attacked by an ACE inhibitor. These drugs - which are now into other generations - lower blood pressure by inhibiting the release of angiotension, a hormone that causes blood vessels to “tighten”. Most angiotension issues seem to be genetic, not dietary. It’s usually pretty easy to control with a “pril” drug like lisinopril, etc.</p>
<p>DadII:</p>
<p>I’m not a doctor and, even if I were, there are way too many contributors to high pressure to even begin to guess what steps you could take. If those readings are an accurate picture of your blood pressure, I think it’s pretty unlikely that a simple diet change will make enough of a difference. There’s a big genetic component.</p>
<p>What I would do as a first step if I got those readings would be to buy a good quality home blood pressure monitor – one with an upper arm cuff. I have the previous model of this one:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Omron BP785 10 Series Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor, Black/white: Health & Personal Care](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Omron-BP785-Series-Pressure-Monitor/dp/B004H4B3W4/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1363637112&sr=1-2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Omron-BP785-Series-Pressure-Monitor/dp/B004H4B3W4/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1363637112&sr=1-2)</p>
<p>It has an arm cuff. When you hit start, it takes three readings, 60 seconds apart, and averages the three readings. It stores 200 readings in memory and you can upload to the computer to look at charts or export to EXCEL. It has a switch for two users, so that – for example – a husband and wife can both use it and have separate memories.</p>
<p>Blood pressure varies a lot. It’s the highest first thing in the morning. Mine tends to be lowest for several hours after exercise, when my heart rate is also a bit higher. I take readings throughout the course of the day, over a couple of week period, so I can hand my doc a graph and a good, solid average. That helps, in my case, because the one reading they take the minute I hop on the doctor’s bench, is always the highest reading I ever see.</p>
<p>Well, I am more and more sore as the day progresses (kettle bell). Not so much butt- seems more inner thighs and lower hamstrings.</p>
<p>After a weekend of really ridiculous eating I am about 3 pounds over where I want to be. Seriously need to do better this week. We had dinner parties Fri and Sat night. Sunday night I had a bowl of cereal and a beer for dinner! Irish Cream donut (and one other) for breakfast yesterday. 17 miles on Sat does NOT cancel all that crap out!</p>
<p>idad–and the instructions on my home BP meter says “sit quietly for 5 minutes before taking BP.” They do NOT do it that way in the doctor’s office…it’s pretty random whether you will have rested long enough or not. Maybe you just ran up the stairs, late for your appointment!</p>
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<p>Can’t argue with Amazon Prime!</p>
<p>I have the green ones. I think they work almost as well as the pink ones! 
All the various lunges and hip flexion stuff will be fantastic for you to balance the running. </p>
<p>And, then, there are the Painful Pushaways…</p>
<p>[Nicole</a> Sherzinger’s Favorite Ab Exercise - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJRoWXuzZug]Nicole”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJRoWXuzZug)</p>
<p>Oh God. And you were watching her hands the whole time, right iDad? :)</p>
<p>Refrigerator done! Even carnivores for whom this is not a scheduled annual exercise could benefit, ahem…</p>
<p>Had a three day weekend off work. Spent it cleaning two bathrooms, Tv room, LR, master BR and dining room. Didn’t get to kitchen or other bedrooms. Wow, am I getting old and slow. But sooooo happy my bad low back is much better that I didn’t mind squandering my time off cleaning.</p>
<p>Today, returned to gym for first time in about 3 weeks. Did 45 easy minutes on elliptical, low resistance. Feel pretty good.</p>
<p>Looks like the way you’d train to become spiderman. Ouch.</p>
<p>I did my final run in week 7 (day 3) of C25K on medium to medium-firm sand today. I used the HR monito to adjust the pace to keep my HR under 150. So slow but steady. It poured rain and after a lunch of ginormous fresh gulf shrimp, we hit a few local shops to seek out warm weather attire for the kids here from the north. </p>
<p>We have two BP machines at home and use them almost every day. They’re available for about $20 at our local Publix pharmacy. They’ve given H (and me) great piece of mind. Get your BP checked out by your doc, Dad II.</p>
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<p>Actually… yes! I was in awe of how far all three of them were able to extend their arm. I can’t get anywhere near that amount of extension. Doing them from my toes, I started out sliding the ValSlide less than a foot. I’ll try a set in my workout today and report back. It’s a very tough exercise.</p>
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<p>iDad, you didn’t tell us you had plans to join a monastery… ;)</p>
<p>Pleased to report, btw, that everything in plastic containers in the fridge was still recognizable and at worst on the verge of needing to go. Not bad, eh?</p>
<p>Seems like you could do a similar exercise with the Abs Roller Plus but you’re using two hands at a time. I do it with bent knee but I could try it in a pushup position.</p>
<p>Cleaned the stairs to the attic. Cleaning the attic tonight. There isn’t a lot of heavy stuff up there but I’ll have to work around an 9 ft television antenna. I’m going to change one of the flood lamps that burned out years ago to an LED replacement flood that I bought a few months ago on a closeout.</p>
<p>I’d been thinking about getting a walk in, but it started snowing and it’s blowing sideways. I’m taking a break right now, but hope to do something before dinner. Gained a couple of pounds last week. Grrrr. Hope it was just salty restaurant food. Of course it’s restaurant week here, and we’re going out with friends tomorrow at a fabulous place.</p>