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<p>Disc degeneration begins at age 14. A large percentage of us have “bad backs” but do not know it because it is not painful.</p>
<p>It’s also important to remember that “core” is not the same as “abs.” Many people just work the abs but forget the obliques on the side and the muscles in the lower back. All of that forms the core. So while getting strong abs is important, getting strong obliques and back muscles is just as important.</p>
<p>I find that my posture is fantastic – without my even having to think about it – since my core has become stronger. To hold my stomach in, I don’t have to suck it in; I just need to stand straight and it all falls into place where it should be.</p>
<p>All of those plus the butt muscles (“gluts”). I never forget about the obliques when I’m doing 45 seconds of side plank! (also shown in the back guy’s NY TIMES video). The lower back muscles are the hardest to work and, I’m guessing, the most overlooked.</p>
<p>I know exactly what you mean by how strengthening the core muscles changes your posture. iPod nazi pounds it into me to tighten the core for every exercise. It’s becoming almost second nature. If I ever feel like my walking stride is getting sloppy or my pace is slowing on the excercise bike or I need to lift something, tightening the core instantly kicks it up a notch.</p>
<p>Well, I made it out for a nice hot walk this afternoon. 92 degrees. Just a little breeze. I did the hour and ten minute version of my hilly river state park walk. First time on a longer walk with the new booties. No numb middle toe for the first time. Yippee!</p>
<p>I wish it would cool off just a little bit. I’m getting exercise in, but it’s more fun when it’s not quite such an ordeal.</p>
<p>Glad the shoes worked out!
Just got back from my exhausting business trip to Maine. Glad to be home. Will update on my exercising later.</p>
<p>It was actually not too bad this morning. It got moderately hotter in the late afternoon. I was driving my daughter late this morning and it didn’t feel bad but it felt really hot when I left the office. You have to take that cloud cover when you can get it.</p>
<p>I made several trips to Manchester to Bangor and back last year and it was pretty tiring. Your ride is practically to Canada. At least you have good roads now thanks to ARRA. A few very long stretches were under construction last summer.</p>
<p>Humidity was down a bit so 92 this afternoon wasn’t horrible. It’s still hot, though, at least for this cold-blooded yankee. I long for those days when I had to debate whether I would be chilly in a short sleeve shirt. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of those!</p>
<p>Did I say that I utterly despise bug spray? We had some spill on the washer/dryer and that nasty stuff literally peeled the paint off the washer. I can’t believe that I put that stuff on my skin, but there’s nothing worse than being hot and sweaty and swatting bugs away constantly.</p>
<p>Idad…I’m sick of the heat as well. H and I went on a rare late morning weekday ride. Asphalt, very sunny, mostly flat. The good new is we went nice and fast. But we cut the ride short because I just couldn’t hydrate enough. We did 20 miles…had planned on about 30. Oh well.</p>
<p>You have to really watch it on a bike. You can be sweating buckets and not really know it because of evaporation in the wind. I learned that lesson the hard way riding motorcycles on hot summer days. Riding in a 50 or 60 mph wind, you have no clue. After a couple of hours though, you are just hammered. I learned to guzzle water all day.</p>
<p>Today was a rare day off mid-week. Sent 7 hrs. up and back to Iowa and attended a conference…no chance of exercise. Will be back in the gym tomorrow. Wore high wedge shoes…knee didn’t like it!</p>
<p>Yeah, my knee flairs up whenever I wear heels, too! </p>
<p>Yesterday was my day off. I need to do something other than walk to mix it up a little.</p>
<p>My friend who had knee surgery has trouble with shoes as well.</p>
<p>I’m very short and I’d love to wear heels, but anything with more than a half inch heel makes my feet hurt – not when I’m wearing the heels, but the next day. And the day after that. And, often, the day after that. So I wear heels about twice a year, just to remind myself . . .</p>
<p>lol idad. </p>
<p>No worries about heels here. I have a closet full of cute flats…and a few small heels when I need to really get dressed up (not very often!). </p>
<p>Finally getting some rain here. I’ll just have to don my raincoat and get out there. Bike ride tomorrow and I will drink LOTS more water. And we’ll look for a more shady route. Good point about the breeze idad. We go fast and I don’t even feel really hot. But I get so thirsty and I do get pretty wiped out after a long ride!</p>
<p>The place where I stayed my first two nights in Maine was very difficult exercise-wise. I can not even tell you how disgusting the motel (and I mean trucker motel) “fitness center” was. The roads were busy and there are not other motel options. I did a walk/jog (I’m not supposed to be running) around the premises and around a highway rest area where people go to walk. One day after work I went in town and walked/jogged on this trail by the river which was nice but not very long and then I walked around town through the gorgeous neighborhood of big,old wooden houses.
When I got to Bangor Thurs afternoon I went out by the river there for a walk/jog and Friday morning I did the elliptical at the nice fitness center. Turns out I was staying at a casino (who knew Maine had casinos) hotel and it was VERY nice. I picked it because I thought I would be running and it looked better for running than the airport hotels. The whole 30 minutes I was on the elliptical I was gazing longingly at the dreadmill and I finally hopped on, set it at a very slow speed and jogged a mile. I did touch the dial a few times to speed it up, but generally I honored the hamstring.</p>
<p>This morning I rode 35 miles with H and we climbed a total of 2800 feet during the ride. We went up some really long, hard hills and had some good downhills (which terrify me), too. Rode by Sheryl Crowe’s “house” (to call it a house is putting it mildly) and saw her horses. H says I’m doing better every ride, but he might be just saying that because I accused him of never telling me I do well.</p>
<p>I did a really intense workout today while watching the last hour of “Miracle” - the story of the US Hockey team’s road to the gold medal in the 1980 winter Olympics. It’s so much easier to work out when your adrenaline is flowing and you are watching others reach in deep to make the impossible possible I didn’t even notice my usual aches and pains and actually ran at a faster pace than normal.</p>
<p>Even knowing the outcome of the US v. Soviet Union game, my heart was pounding by the end of it, lol.</p>
<p>Bump.</p>
<p>Whatcha all been doin’? </p>
<p>I went to the gym and did my “lift heavy things over my head” regimen, then did only 20 minutes on the elliptical. Came home and did two miles with my doggies. All in all, a very reasonable day.</p>
<p>Just two miles on the treadmill at the Y. The heat wave continues in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Long bike ride. We picked a shady hilly ride today. And brought more water. Worked out fine. Didn’t seem as crazy hot…even though it did hit over 90. Need to do some at-home yoga tonight…the legs get stiff with all that riding. </p>
<p>Went to an big party at the shore yesterday and ate all the wrong things. Good but wrong 
That’s what they had! Not anxious to get on the scale!</p>