<p>Buying new toys was the foundation of my home gym as I cancelled my gym membership some 25 years ago and instead bought one new piece of equipment each year. Over the years I bought and sold pieces until I finally ended up with the current incarnation of my gym that even I can’t rationalize making any additions to (plus my wife no longer permits me to enter an exercise equipment store up chaperoned).</p>
<p>The only exception is indoor cycling training. No sane human being can find an iota of intrinsic motivation with indoor cycling. Whether it be the dynamics of a spinning class or the use of structured workouts, it is only through extrinsic motivation that I can plow through the mind numbing tedium of riding inside. I suspect it’s much the same for all you runners whose souls are shriveling from your treadmill workouts. So here, I am constantly looking for that new piece of indoor cycling equipment to spark new life into these workouts. But now comes the conundrum. If my Wahoo Kickr ever loses it’s magic, I’m really up a creek. :)</p>
<p>Deb922, glad to hear you’ve added a couple more cold weather items to your running wardrobe. It’s important to be wearing the right stuff in temps like that! I hope the new jacket and thermal zip top serve you well.</p>
<p>Nice long hike this afternoon, exploring some more terrain at a nearby state park. Did a 5.2 mile loop up and over a small mountain. Wore the microspikes, carried the snow shoes. Trails were packed, but it was still like walking on sand. Really nice place to hike. Lots of interesting terrain. Huge three story boulders. Up and down, up and down. Bit off a big more than I could chew and finished the last half hour after sunset. Fortunately, I got down the last of the steep bits before the sun set and just had to finish up walking a smooth snowmobile trail, so it was no problem. Temperatures in the upper teens, lower 20s. Still trying to warm up.</p>
<p>Garmin says I burned 1150 calories.</p>
<p>Made a clementine vinaigrette that I used on salad and sauteed shrimp for dinner. Yummm. </p>
<p>Those North Face jackets look awesome. The second one looks like a power stretch fleece with some panels of thinner fabric to vent body heat. That should be great. The other one is terrific, too. That Windstopper is good stuff and works great with the breathable panels.</p>
<p>Sounds like a good hiking day, Idad. My legs are still sore from my hike on Monday. Decided to do hot yoga today and that was it. Weather guy says my part of MA is going to get 15 inches tomorrow. I’m headed out for the gym before the snow starts–it’s supposed to start in the afternoon.</p>
<p>I suspect my legs are going to be sore tomorrow. 4 miles is about my limit in the snow and I did 5.2 today. There’s a 3 mile subset of what I did today that is probably my perfect snow hike</p>
<p>Deb922, love that jacket!
And I too wondered where the “warm” 20s went. Hill was very crispy - def a face mask day At 7 am it was subzero.</p>
<p>So I’m happy that the guy working on our roof ice dams appears to have made enough progress to stop the leak. But the new and precarious ice mogul I have to get over in the snowshoes within a foot of the pool is a wee bit treacherous!</p>
<p>Idad, that article makes sense to me in terms of satiety. There’s clearly something protective in fat. I did a low fat diet once about 15 years ago. It seemed not coincidental that I contracted a very wicked form of pneumonia. I’d never been that sick in my life, nor have I since. Although at the time it was completely irrational, I was convinced there was a connection and that said low fat diet somehow compromised my immune system. Maybe one day we’ll find that there was something to my intuitive sense…or perhaps it was coincidental. </p>
If part of your low fat diet was cutting out dairy, you may have wound up deficient in vitamin D, and that will definitely compromise your immune system.</p>
<p>Got to the gym and worked out with my trainer. Followed it up with 50 minutes on the elliptical. Got home before the heavy snow–we are supposed to get 15 inches. I see a shoveling workout in my future.</p>
At 7 am it was subzero.</p>