Everyday Systems

Well lookee here...I have a new blog!

I like having themed blogs. The first one was about cementing the No S rules. The second one was all about endurance, completing marathons and even a 50 miler! The third was embracing moderation.

This one? I want to get strong. I've been googling senior power lifters. I read about a 77 year old woman who deadlifts 205 lbs. I wanna be like her.

First step is pull ups. I'm almost there.

My journey to strength will be fueled with the No S rules. No tweaks, vanilla S all the way.

Lets go!

Good luck! It's always fun to hear what mischief you're up to

Hi Gingerpie

I've got all kinds of mischief planned! Here's what's coming up in the next couple months..

At the end of December I'll be heading to Phoenix for my annual "big walk". This year my goal is to walk 100 miles in 6 days. I've tried to complete 100 miles before, only to come up short of my goal. This year I'm taking the entire time of the race, 6 days. I'm confident I'll finally be able to do it this time!

When I get back from Phoenix, my True Strength class begins. I'm going to work on lifting my weight on my barbell deadlifts. My max is 205lbs, I hope to get to 250lbs.

April 23 is the next strength contest. I want to enter the female master's division. You have to be over 50 to enter (I'll be 59). And you have to complete at least one pull up (I'm working on it).

I also have to work on my Vanilla S habits. Like my pull ups, I'm almost there. No Snacks and No Seconds habits are rock solid. Gotta strengthen my No Sweets habit...

Most excellent. I powerlifted and tried Olympic lifting in my 30's. It was enjoyable. There was something about lifting in my garage when it was 100+ degrees during those Sacramento summers. Good luck to you.

Thanks for the support Over43!

I've always been a "cardio" gal. I never would have thought I'd be pulling and pushing such heavy weights. I just finished shaving down the calluses on the palms of my hands!

I'm working out of town all week. Usually when I'm on the road, No S is pretty easy. This week...not so much. It's a slippery slope to Thanksgiving. Then abandoning the rules until New Years. I need to take a U-turn and get back on track, pronto!

I've been slowly weaning myself off the "No Sugar on N days"habit. My sweet tooth has been very hard to tame.

I'm cautiously optimistic that I have it under control.
Most of the time.
OK, maybe just some of the time...

I need to find a dentist that will extract a sweet tooth.

When he is done (or she) you will get a sucker.

Hiya Over43! How are you doing?

I read an article the other day called "Commit or kill it". In a nutshell, this means if you have been chasing a goal without success, maybe it's time to re-evaluate. Maybe not abandon the dream, just change it.

As many of you long-timers know, I've been attempting to live a Vanilla S life for years. No Snacks, No Seconds are easy on N days. No Sweets on N days? That's the rule I may need to kill...for now.

EDIT...I've been doing some serious thinking about Vanilla S. I want to commit to it, not kill it. I don't want to be ruled by a damn cookie, even if it's chocolate chip.

Excellent plan! Makes so much sense to me to have a doable plan and that philosophy of commit it or kill it is making me think about some things... Thanks for that!!:)

Thanks for the comment lpearlmom!

I have several goals and plans that I have either tweaked or thrown away. Maybe it's because I was born in April and am a Taurus but I can be very stubborn sometimes (lots of times!).

Sometimes it feels good to let go of ideas and expectations. I know I'm moving in the right direction when I feel a sense of relief making the decision.

I've been experimenting with various forms of cold therapy.

I regularly go for sessions in a cryo chamber. Here's how it works..

Whole Body Cryotherapy is a hyper-cooling process that lowers a person’s skin temperature to approximately 30° F for a period of up to three minutes. This is achieved by having clients step into a cryosauna where their bodies are enveloped with extremely cold air at temperatures ranging from -133° F to -274° F. During this time, thermoreceptors in the skin send signals to the brain to send the blood to the core to maintain core body temperature with a process called vasoconstriction. Toxins are flushed from peripheral tissues and blood is enriched with oxygen, enzymes and nutrients. The body activates all of its natural healing abilities and releases endorphins for further benefit. Upon exiting the cryosauna, the enriched blood flows back through the body through a process called vasodilation. As a result, whole body cryotherapy is very effective for athletic recovery and muscle repair, reduction of chronic pain and inflammation, and an overall enhancement of health and wellness.

I've also been experimenting with a vest that has cold packs inserted. The cold packs are supposed to stimulate my body's "brown fat". Brown fat increases your metabolism.

I'm a big fan of fasting and have been doing so 1-2 days a week for a long time.

Cold therapy combined with intermittent fasting and No S. Hmmm...I've never committed to all 3 at the same time.

It may be time to find out.

I hope I don't burst your bubble, but marathon swimmers tend to accumulate brown fat, but they are not notoriously slender. Look at Lynne Cox or Martin Strel.

Hi Noel!
I guess too much of any fat is a bad thing. I'll try to stimulate the brown fat I have, not add more of it!

If you could see me now..

I'm typing in my big vest filled with ice. Got the window open to maximize my cold exposure. Drinking a glass of wine with a snack because my S days go from Friday at noon to Sunday at noon.

Life is good (and a little bit crazy).

It's summer here, and I almost went to get a coat when I read what you were doing. Good luck with the experiment!

(And I'm dying to know: did you have ice in your wine or not?)

Hi Giada (that's a very pretty name).

My husband looks in the freezer and says "What's this?". I say it's my ice vest. I've done so many crazy experiments, he just shrugs his shoulders and says "Ok".

Ice in my wine? Now you've got me thinking...

Guess what, cold therapy is COLD!
BRRRRR....

Dang it, we accumulated quite a bit of snow overnight. I wasn't able to get to kettle bell class this morning. Hubby and I may go for a hike this afternoon, if the snow starts to melt.

Sunday is usually a fasting day. I'm amazed at how acclimated I've become to intermittent fasting. I remember when it was tough to go half a day. Now I can easily eat dinner one night, fast the next day, then have my next meal for lunch the following day. My No S compliance sometimes is shaky but I'm solid with a regular fasting schedule.

This is the time of year I am especially grateful to have found No S.

The "diet" and "new year resolutions" chatter is all around me. I'm so happy that I no longer get involved with all of it.

Keep Calm and No S on!

Happy Holidays to my No S peeps!

Next week I head to Phoenix to walk for 100 miles. I'm taking the entire 6 days to get it done, this works out to about 16 miles a day. That's a moderate goal, some people will be doing 50-100 miles a day! Moderation is always my goal!

walkerlori wrote:Happy Holidays to my No S peeps!

Next week I head to Phoenix to walk for 100 miles. I'm taking the entire 6 days to get it done, this works out to about 16 miles a day. That's a moderate goal, some people will be doing 50-100 miles a day! Moderation is always my goal!

Ha! Doesn't sound very "moderate," but that's awesome!

Happy Holidays Merry!

Seems like there are lots of ways to define moderation. Back in 2008, when I first started No S, I was completing marathon distance races or beyond on a regular basis. The past couple years I've been tapering off, mostly I do half marathons or 10Ks.

I'm breaking the 100 miles into 16 mile chunks to make it manageable. The race begins on Monday, December 28 and ends on Sunday. As long as I stay consistent, I know I can do it. Kind of like No S!

I love this!

That's too cute!

Pretty amazing about the 100 mile walk. I live in Phoenix and never heard of it!☺️

Enjoy & let me know if you need any restaurant recommendations or anything.

Linda

Hi Linda!

The race is called Across The Years and it's held at Camelback Ranch in Glendale.

Registered people can bring a guest to walk a couple miles around the track with them. If you're around Glendale next week and need some extra exercise, come on out!

PS...I love Arizona. I lived in Tucson and would move back in a nano second.

Omgosh that's so funny I live in Peoria & Glendale is literally right across the street. Maybe I'll come check it out!

We really like it here too but it did take some getting used to with the hot weather & all. It sure is beautiful this time of year though--enjoy!!

Linda

I hope AZ weather is better than NM. Lots of snow outside and it's still falling.

I have an early flight tomorrow. The race starts at 9, I'll probably get to the track around 10.

I'm going to take a hiatus from weighing myself. Seems as if the only time I veer away from No S is when I step on the scale. If the number is too high I start researching "diets". If the number is low I feel entitled to add some mods to Vanilla S. The mods eventually lead to a higher weight. Higher weight equals a new "diet". And on and on it goes...

Dang, we have alot of snow outside. I can't wait to get to dry Arizona!

Hi, Girl! Yes, moderation must be in the eye of the beholder. How many hours will it take you to walk those 16 miles each day? If I'm a tourist, I try to get a few hours of walking in each day. Or doing day hikes . This sounds like it might be analogous to that. But I don't think I've done it so consecutively, except when I was hiking in the Himalayas. But I have to admit I sometimes felt that we were acting like the Japanese were chasing us in WWII. Why were we pushing ourselves so hard? However, after about five days, it started to feel so easy!

Hi back at you oolala!
My walking style will definitely be "Tourist-Like". Or perhaps at an Urban Ranger pace. My only goal is to do the 16 miles a day, regardless of the time.

The most extreme, hardcore group does the 6 days (except for me). Most of these people will be completing hundreds of miles. A few will do over 500 miles. They bring tents and RVs to take naps. People literally fall asleep walking or running.

Me? My plan is to wake up whenever I do each morning. Stop at Starbucks then head to the track. Log in 16 miles, then leave until the next day. I think I'll schedule a couple afternoon massages.

Besides the 16 miles, my other goal is to stick with Vanilla S. I'm confident I can achieve both these goals.

Awesome I'm excited to hear how it goes!

Wishing you all the best with your walk - your plan sounds great.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me some smiley faces

Good luck with your trek(s). I love to walk. Don't do anything competitively but have walked to a little nearby town on many occasions - 15 miles roundtrip. We live at a huge sailing lake surrounded by walking trails so there are lots of like minded folks around.

Have fun and let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the support everybody!

I'm halfway done...50.17 miles as of today. I feel great. The most important step in walking 100 miles is to preserve your feet. Every night I've been pumicing down any hard areas and making sure they stay lubricated. So far, so good. No blisters or hot spots.

I'm happy to report that I have not eaten any snacks. The track is a 1 mile loop, at the start there is a "food tent". It is filled with food 24 hours a day. All I've taken from the food tent is water.

Despite the many miles, my appetite hasn't increased. I've been sticking to the No Seconds rule.

Onward to Day 4!

Awesome--keep up the great work!

Amazing! You're doing great!

Thanks for checking on me. My No S friends are awesome!

I'm up to 62 miles. I have a massage scheduled for this afternoon. After my massage, I'll take a nap and then go back on the track for a couple more miles.

One of the perks of walking so long is that I can hang in my hotel room when I'm done for the day. Last night I got in bed at 8 and watched Shark Tank re-runs for a couple hours. It was great!

66.14 miles.
Time to get in bed and watch Shark Tank.

90.24 miles.
Less than 24 hours to go, unless I tumble down a hill, I'm pretty confident I'll get 100 miles completed.

If you do 100 miles, you get a belt buckle. The belt buckle gets larger as you complete 100 mile increments. The largest buckle is for 500 miles. Some people on the track will be getting the biggest buckle.

And hey, it's 2016! I'm determined to do a Vanilla S year. That's one of my goals this year. Besides getting that dang 100 mile belt buckle..

95.24 miles
It's an S day.
Life is good!

Amazing! Hope you make 100! Good for you!

Congrats walker. You always inspire me to keep at my own training. It's great to see you doing so well. I'm "only" going to do 19 miles of the rachel carson trail challange (near Pittsburgh, PA) this year because that's what my daughter wants to do (she's only 12 so an adult will have to stay with her) but I have to start training now because of the hills. Oh, to have young legs again! - it would also really help if I could drop an additional 15 pounds but I'm not sure that is a sustainable long term loss. Well, we shall see.

Have a great week!

Thanks guys!
100.17 miles!
Now I'm heading to Las Vegas for a couple days. Tonight is a fabulous buffet at Caesars Palace. And it's an S Day!
WOOHOO!

YAY !!!! We knew you could do it.

Now enjoy Vegas and especially the buffet - you have earned it.

Yay! Have a great time in Vegas--you earned it! Sorry I never made it out there but maybe I'll check it out next year. 😀

walkerlori wrote:Thanks guys!
100.17 miles!
Now I'm heading to Las Vegas for a couple days. Tonight is a fabulous buffet at Caesars Palace. And it's an S Day!
WOOHOO!

You Da Woman!

Thanks for the supportive words my No S friends!

Tomorrow is my first full week of work since vacation. I'm actually looking forward to the structure. Being on vacation physically causes me to be on vacation mentally. In other words, time to get back to No S!

My next feat of strength happens in 15 weeks. That's when the next Tactical Strength Challenge occurs at my kettle bell gym. I want to register in the masters division. In order to do so, I need to keep working on doing a pull up, dang it!

Doing a pull up is tougher than not eating sweets on N days. I'll keep working on it (the pull up and the no sweets rule).

I used to be able to do 100 push ups straight, and 60 parallel bar dips. At the same time I could do maybe, five pull ups. Keep it up.

Thanks for the support Over43!

12 weeks until my big pull up challenge. Not there yet but....I'm making progress. I'm working on doing negatives, they're getting easier but will never be easy. Patience Lori, Patience!

It's funny, seems like the more I practice pull ups, the more I want to stick to the No S rules. My red days are getting less as my pull up technique improves. There must be a mental correlation somehow.

Speaking of N days, I've been testing out eating my meals earlier in the day. Tonight I go to strength class at 7pm, I ate my last meal at 3. I'm noticing that if I eat early in the day, I don't have the urge for a dessert. The good thing about failing so many times is that you see your patterns. My failure times on N days are almost always from 4-6pm. If I eat my meals before that time, I am usually satisfied without dessert.

I'm going to keep this experiment going for awhile. On N days, I'll eat earlier. S days will still be S days.

My strength trainer is the voice of reason!

On Monday night, I was once again attempting to do a dead hang pull up. Another try, another failure.

I said to the guy next to me "The only way I'll be able to do this is to lose some weight".

The trainer overhead this conversation. He said to me "If you have 2 arms, you can do a pull up. Keep training and don't worry about the number on the scale. If you lose weight fast, you'll lose muscle. You need muscle for pull ups. Just keep training and trust the process".

Keep calm and No S on...

One more thing..

One of the owners of the cryotherapy place I go to is an Olympic athlete (yep, I still freeze for 3 min every couple days).

Jarin is a sprinter that runs for Trinidad. He will be in Brazil for the summer Olympics. He trains 6 days a week. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday he trains 2X a day.

I recently asked him about his diet. He is so structured about his workouts, what must his diet look like?

He said "I eat whatever I want, in moderation".

If an Olympic sprinter, whose job is to be in tip-top shape, believes in moderation, so the heck can I!

Awesome--sounds like you've surrounded yourself with some really smart people!

Hi Linda!

Husband and I did a 10K race this morning. Before I embraced moderation, I only registered for half or full marathons. Now, 10Ks are my favorite distance!

Viva la moderation!

Good job Lori. Keep working. I think it is assumed that world class athletes are eating tofu and hummus, but I would imagine most are moderate in their eating approach. I always think of the Babe Ruth phenomena, beer, hot dogs and snuff, and dominate everyone you play against.

Whew, that's a big walk! Congrats!! The longest I have done is the usfreedomwalk.org. It's something like 76K if you do all the trails on Saturday and Sunday. You get to see a lot of DC. I highly recommend it.

In case you're looking for next year's challenge, there's another one in MD called the Kennedy Walk, but I haven't yet done it.
http://www.kennedy50.org/

Hi Over43!
Hi Sarah! Thank you for the walk suggestions, I'm going to check them out..

Still working on pull ups. It's kind of frustrating to not be able to complete one yet. I need to relax and trust the process.

Still working on Vanilla S. It's kind of frustrating to not be able to complete a 21 day challenge yet. I need to relax and trust the process.

One more thing..

The more I stick to No S, the more I can't tolerate listening or reading any "diet" info.

I used to be obsessed about learning about the latest weight loss information.
I loved watching all the weight loss tv shows, like The Biggest Loser.


Now they annoy me.

Pull ups are SO hard! I really tune out all traditional diet noise at this point. No longer tempts nor interests me at all.

I can't remember the last time I was able to pull off a 21 day streak. Don't let it get to you, you're doing great overall!

Linda

Hiya Linda!

Big progress on Project Pull-up this afternoon.

I completed 2 chin ups! From a dead-hang!

It's not a pull-up but I'm heading in the right direction!

I'm 100% compliant on No Snacks and No Seconds. On N days, I'm down to a small pc of chocolate after dinner.

Progress all around!

Woot--yay you!!

What's the difference between a chin up and a pull up? They both sound impressive.

And yes, pull ups are harder, I'd say, for women at least, than not eating S's. I think it's easier to NOT do things than to do things. I've been able to NOT eat many times over the years but replacing the eating with much better activities is still proving challenging, shall we say.

I like the shift to moderation. You know, those long-lived people in the Blue Zones rarely push themselves anywhere as hard as a person does in a half marathon. But they almost all live in hilly areas that they walk in just about every day, and most of them manual labor gardening. Consistent moderation wins again!

Hi oolala!
The difference between a chin up and a pull up is the hand positions. I've got 8 weeks to train for a pull up. I still have a long way to go but I'm not giving up!

I did a half marathon last weekend. Since I scaled back to 10Ks, it was mentally tough to do 13.1 miles. I crossed the finish line but I was complaining for that last 3 miles.

Hi! I'm just catching up on your check in. Good luck with your pull up challenge! You're doing great, in your efforts to follow the No S habits. I'm in a very similar place; I'm totally fine with no seconds, I'm usually good with no snacking; it's the no sweets that is still a challenge for me.

Hi Cgal!

I went down the "diet" rabbit hole for awhile.
But I pulled myself back out!

My crazy brain decided that I needed to lose weight to do a pull up. Ten lbs would be great, more would be even better.

The good news is that I quickly realized that dieting isn't the right path. This week I'm back on No S with my one dessert a day (if it fits on my plate) mod.

I hope to be able to do a pull up at the Tactical Strength Contest on April 23. I'll continue training. I'll stick to No S. The contest is held every 6 months. If I need 6 more months, so be it.

Good work! I think you have a lot of physical expectations for yourself. It's fun to have nice goals, but also to be okay with where you are, especially when it's just between you and you. (Mine have more to do with relationship interactions. Can be harder to justify mistakes. ) I'm sure most long-lived healthy women will never be able to do a pull up. But you can keep chipping away at it! Just revere the fantastic abilities you have right now, too.

Thank you for the wise words oolala. I'm going to remember them!

I'm glad you're back to No S, and I like your mod! I may end up doing something similar. Do you eat your dessert with dinner, or have it separately, later on?

Hi Cgal.
My mod is that I can have a dessert on N days but it has to fit on one of my 3 plates.
So far, it's working for me.

Great! I might try that! Thanks!

I've been doing vanilla s......

but I need to be careful about proclaiming that I'm doing vanilla s.

Seems like as soon as I make grand proclamations, I crash and burn.

I'm doing vanilla s on the down low....

Not to draw a lot of attention to it, but does vanilla for you mean real vanilla, no mods at all? Can't remember if you've ever done it for long.

Hi oolala!
Currently, Vanilla S means the rules Reinhard created.

....plus a bit of fasting.

is that a mod?

perhaps.

For me, at this time, it seems to be working.

For now.

It's a mod for sure; I'm doing a little, too.

Interesting detail. walkerlori.

Have my own daydreams about push-ups...

Al Kavadlo, a bodyweight workout star, says in reference to eating that exercise keeps him honest.
And, indeed, it helps me feel my body and, I think, remain on the straight and narrow.

Where r u at with push-ups? And r u doing anything in the way of exercise to get there?

I like the desert mod.
I'll personally have anything I feel like having, when it occurs to me, on the condition that I make it my meal, and not an extra.
It helps me not to bottle up cravings and then find them in the driver's seat all of a sudden.
Thus, about once a week I'll have a bread-and-chocolate-cake lunch.

Good luck, to you, to all of us.

Hi oolala and jackn!

BIG NEWS.

BIG BIG NEWS!

At least for me.

I can do a pull up!
2 pull ups!
From a dead hang position, which is the criteria for my upcoming tactical strength competition on April 23.

Boom!

I was tempted to do a "diet", just until the contest. I resisted, mostly followed No S and kept on training.

Holy cow, it worked!

Keep Calm and No S on...

Woo hoo!! That's awesome!

This is absolutely wonderful, walkerlori.

I can relate.
I'd been reading up on bodyweight exercise for long, and much of it seemed, and still does, way beyond me.

I didn't want to become a hotshot athlete, but pull-ups seemed an essential part, and I couldn't do any.
I do inverted rows, holding onto a sheet hung on the bar.

One day...
One day, however, mindlessly and casually, while not exercising, I hung on the bar with a supine grip and... found myself rising to a chin-up.

I thought I died and went to heaven.

I was incredulous that I didn't repeat the experience till next morning, when I found out I could do two...

That's where it's been for a while.
I've added other, minor, hanging exercises, and I do hope to one day pull off a pull-up, but I'm not insistent, just walking the path.

And you definitely feel the body as you do this.
Handstands, too, while I do them against a wall, are telling.
Though, really, all exercise makes you talk to the body more than the usual autopilot state.

Walkerlori, good for you.
Good for you, gal.

And thanx for sharing.

S*&t, howdy, that's impressive. It sounds as likely for me as my becoming an astronaut. It's a good thing I don't want to be an astronaut! but I have thought of hanging a bar I could hang from on my deck. Hmmm.

walkerlori wrote:upcoming tactical strength competition

What's that?
Can you share a little?

Btw, I so identify with your 'no diet' move.

jackn...The Tactical Strength competition is on the same day at gyms all over the world. It consists of 3 movements. Barbell deadlift, Pullup and Kettlebell snatches. Each contestant is scored, you can see how you preform against people in your age group. It is held every 6 months.

Wow, this Saturday is the big day. My deadlifts have been increasing, this morning I lifted 225 lbs. I completed 1 pullup. Tried for 2 but conked out.

After the workout, I stopped at my favorite coffee shop for a bagel. A carb-laden, wheat filled, far from paleo bagel.

It was delicious!

How'd you do?

Wow strong work! Also, great job on resisting the temptation to diet. We all know how that ends.

This Jewish girl is very passionate about her bagels! Glad you found a tasty one.

Keep up the good work!

Linda:)

Thanks for the kudos Linda!

oolala..Next Saturday is the big day, April 23. Which is also my birthday. What better way to turn 59 than lifting lots of weight! Plus, my birthday falls on a S day. It's a win-win situation!

I see what the competition is about, Walkerlori.
Never heard of it, though I did use to play gym rat for years.

I'm glad to find out you're 59, and surprised.
Given your feats of fitness, I was sure you were very young.
Gives me hope as to pull-ups, as I'm pushing 58 myself...

Good luck on Saturday, and please share.

Hey jackn! Yep, I'm kinda old. The good thing about it is I can enter in the Masters competition, not as many old women participate!

Last night was our last prep class for the competition. I attempted to do a pull up and much to my dismay, failed miserably.

When I came home, I was tempted to google "3 day diets".

Luckily, I came to my senses. I hope I can complete a pull up on Saturday. If not, I'll try again in 6 months.

I would rather fail at doing a pull up than get back on the diet train.

Yes, I hear ya.

For what it's worth, anything I can do in the morning, I can do less well or not at all in the evening, which is when you tried the pull-up.

And I should think the competition will take place in the morning.

I had to magnify your picture to understand what it showed.
I think it's beautiful to someone our age doing that.

Thanks so much for the kind comment jackn!

I went to the gym this morning to do a pull up. My mind was beginning to sabotage me. Last night I was actually thinking about not showing up on Saturday. This is the same type of thinking that hooks me into "diets". Crazy thoughts.

I completed 2 pull ups this morning. Tough but do-able.

I'm amazed at how twisted my thinking can become. Trust the process, trust the process, trust the process. Get out of my own way. Stop overthinking everything. This doesn't just apply to pull ups...

Before the contest begins on Saturday, we have to step on the scale. What you weigh influences how you're scored. For example, lighter weight contestants who deadlift more than a heavier contestant gets a higher score. And the heavier people get a higher score on pull ups than the lighter ones.

When I get weighed, I'm going to close my eyes. I have no idea what I weigh no good will come from knowing the number. If I weigh higher than I think, I might sabotage my pull up.

I'll do my best no matter what I weigh..

Sounds good.

Good luck tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the big day.

Here's what I hope to accomplish..
Deadlift 235 lbs
1 pull up
100 kettlebell snatches in 5 min.

Tomorrow is also my birthday!
I usually don't celebrate my b-day, I would rather forget that I'll be older.

This one is different. I'll be 59 freakin' years old. How much strength can I gain before I turn 60? I may want to find out.

Yippee, it's done!

I deadlifted 235 lbs.
Completed 1 pullup.
Completed 110 kettle bell snatches in 5 minutes.

In a couple days I'll know how I ranked among the other women across the US who were in the Masters Division.

The next Tactical Strength Challenge is on October 1. I'm committed to keeping to No S until then. No crazy diets, just the 3 rules.

It's a super duper S day. Besides being Saturday, it's my birthday! Time to eat some cake!

Yay!! Amazing job! And happy birthday !!! 🎉🎂🎁

You're such an inspiration! I've been thinking about making fitness goals instead of weightloss goals. Seems like a much healthier attitude. You've really helped me see that.

I close my eyes at the doctors. I don't want to know either!!

Linda )

Thanks so much Linda.
I'm tickled pink at my results!

I'm doing much better with fitness goals instead of weight loss ones. They're more fun!

Happy Birthday! You've lived longer than Prince! And he was damn skinny his whole life.

Congrats on your amazing strength results.

"I'm committed to keeping to No S until then. No crazy diets, just the 3 rules." I (that's with a double capital) will hold you to that.

Wonderful news.

Never mind the ranking.
Divisions do go by age, don't they?!

Each one of the women in the Master's Division is a star.

It's an S-day: Stupendous results, and the Sixty-second (?) birthday of a Star.

Keep it up.

"I'm committed to keeping to No S until then. No crazy diets, just the 3 rules." I (that's with a double capital) will hold you to that.

HA! Please hold me to it oolala! I need to squash my "diet brain" once and for all!

Hmm, I wonder if you can do it without going on a mirror/media image diet...And adding a few other "exercises."

But no premature optimization!

My diet brain comes and goes but I think you're doing pretty great overall!

Hi Linda!
Hi oolala!

The results are in. I placed 15th in the female Masters Division. Women over 50 all over the world competed. The top female was from South Africa.

I'm happy with my ranking. I'm even more happy about my attitude...
I didn't look at my weight at the weigh-in. On the ranking list, I saw what I weighed.

What I weigh was just a number. I wasn't happy or motivated to change it. It is what it is.

Same with my ranking. I don't feel the need to "be #1". I did my best and that's what counts.

Holy cow, I think I may be evolving into the person I want to be!

Fifteenth worldwide...
Darn good.

Congrats.

But yes, the attitude is the prize.