h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This week, I've had three achievements. In yoga class, I managed a balance I'd previously really struggled with and made a good fist of it on one side, although the second side wasn't so good. I have also managed to do a horse's head on one side, hooking my fingertips together. It's been ages since I could do that. I'm still not that close on the other. The last one was today, when I managed to do a shoulder stand. I'd been rather frightened of doing this in class, but I used a block under my upper back, which gave me the lift I needed to be able to continue into the pose.

I really liked what little yoga I've done, I keep meaning to find a local class that would be able to accomidate me (I am bad at remembering poses, and its easiest for the instructor to just 'put' me into pose as sometimes its hard to follow quite how to do it right, just from verbal instructions) since I started at the gym, I've regained a lot of suppleness, including some I don't think I've had ever before... i can touch my toes properly* - well actually beyond my toes to the floor I normally do, to stretch further Keep up the practise and you'll soon be nailing all the poses/positions

That's brilliant, 2Legs! I imagine if you do enough yoga, then muscle memory will help with the poses. Like you, I can touch my toes and well beyond. We must both have good hamstrings. I used to be able to go into a crab just by bending backwards, but haven't been able to do that for a while. It came as a bit of a shock to find I couldn't easily do a shoulder stand.

crab? err.... hand over all the way back to the floor behind, with the back arching sort of backwards?! I'm not even sure with my fractured spine that would be a good idea I might have to try though - I coudln't touch my toes when I was a kid!; and now I can?! - I'm reverse growing up, mind, I think my shoulders will soon be muscle bound, if my upper arms, shoulders and back increase anymore in muscle bulk - I think I'd remember the yoga poses eventually, with enough practise; its trying to remember the name to go with each pose I think; but the last time I did the yoga, was a while ago now, I was probably still suffering the after affects of the stroke/hemoridge in January 2015, so my memory is probably better now again I think well, its not worse anyhow NO gym today, but we did an hour and ahalf river walk, plus I did five minutes pushups this morning and some stretching but we're back at the gym tomorrow for gymsunday.... its a bit like skisunday only less boring than watching the TV

Yes, that's how you do a crab – you bend backwards supporting your back with your hands on the back of your legs first, then reach over with your arms, although I remember first learning to do it going backwards against a wall, going progressively downwards with your hands until both reach the floor. You have to start the right distance against the wall otherwise the bend it too much. I may be able to do it again one day, although I've got other challenges to overcome before that one. I wouldn't advise you to try at present, with your back, though.

Great that you can now touch your toes. Little Fish, when he was young could touch both his ears with his feet - he used to call it a telephone. Now, I don't think he can even touch his toes.

I suspect that something like yoga would help you not become muscle-bound. Walking's also good. I could probably do with doing more, but I really like a purpose to a walk.

Oh... I'm the same with walking... unless its got an actual destination; with something to be done, at the destination, I get very bored of it... - especially I guess as I can't exactly enjoy the view looking about, in the area one is walking; when younger and sighted I did an weful lot of hiking, all over the UK, which I loved, but I guess not being able to see, it just looses a lot of its appeal, as that was just fabulus to see the actual wilds of the country and proper hills and little hidden away rivers and suchlike... - of course dieting as wel, its not so easy to just say make the ned point of the walk a pub - that used to work in the past too of course - often we do a longer walk in the evening, on purpose, if we're going to the pub; including one very nice walk where we walk all the way into town, by the river, then come back towards our house by th e streets; and end up at a pub that would be about a 5 or 10 minute walk from our front door, having taken 45 minutes to an hour to do it - which is a good extra pints worth of beer calories

Well today was the gym... but I was not on form today, maybe just tired from the walk yesterday, or because its hot out, and we'd been out for coffee earlier in the mroning, with the LGBT group/gang.... - did the weights fine, a fairly good bash through most of what I normally do for a workout, but then was so I couldn't even manage ten minutes on the exerise bike home via the Turkish shop, and bought something new for eating.... - sure I must have tried it in the past, but not for a long while OK... I'm addicted to houmus now thats fabulussly tasty; had some for lunch on bread with a new pickled pepper we got a jar of lunch was so low cal, less than 200 that I made an effort to cook something a bit more calorie dense tonight, least we end up hypoglycemic - risotto with a bit* more cheese than I'd useually put in (34 G each rahter than 20 G0) was chicken and fresh mushrooms we bought this afternoon too, from the Turkish shop got in more fruit too... - even our shopping is getting rediculusly healthy now!; go to gym... home via a trip to buy houmus mushrooms and fruit if we're really bored tomorrow, might pop back to the gym again, just try do a cardio session, and then if energy persists, throw in some weights at the end back there on Tuesday anyhow, with my PT

About the food - was listening to something the other day about modern food not being as full of minerals and vitamins as it was 50 years ago, due to modern farming methods, which causes people to want to eat more to feel full. I try to eat organic, but it's not always possible - and it is undoubtedly much more expensive.

absolutely; its less even just the farming practises used 'today' - magnesium is a good example, the post second world war 'dig for victory', follow-up; making the UK food self reliant, means that ever since the late 40s, early 50s, farminmg has got so intense, just full stop; basically all we put back into the soil is the useual PNK type fertalises; al the tiny minner nutrients are long ago leached out, and drawn out of the soil by previous years, decades growing on the same land, giving deficent in the tiny amounts of the minner nutrients... magnesium, selenium, gold, etc., etc., - and yes, we do as humans have a few enzymes in our body, that absolutely require a tiny amount of gold; its all to do with bonding chemicals to chemicals, and gold has a particular binding afinity (electrons I guess), that in at least one human enzyme, means its the only metal/nutrient able to do the job - I'm trying to take a little extra zinc ATM, to help with my acne (side effect of the steroids) think it might be helping a bit again I think zinc has a role with some bits of the immune system, hence its ment to help with acne (I keep meaning to look into making some creams myself, with sinc in, as that is ment to be good too) I'm getting quite tired of constant achne, all over my back and breasts, and constantly in pain from it - I'm not sure to what extent organic fuit n veg has more of the smaller nutrients, - I tend to just get as 'good' or 'natural' as I can, as it useually tastes better - I find the stuff from this little independant row of shops we use, far better than the supermarkets; and useually its cheaper; like the 2 KG bag of cooking onions, for £2, which is so much cheaper than the cooking onions from Tesco's in town (and tastier, crunchier, fresher, and . . just better)

OK.

I'm adicted to houmous now - had it on toast, instead of marge/butter, this monring, along with my hard boiled eggs, for breakfast - and had houmus on toast last night, for supper

I alternate breakfasts between porridge and fruit and a fried breakfast.

So ... does houmous replace cheese for you?

replace?! shh...... I think.... I honestly think.... its better than cheese! my breakfasts are very predictible.... if its not eggs, its grilled bacon with mushrooms, grilled.... if its not grilled bacon and mushrooms, its eggs... - hardboiled eggs, of course - I find I need something rather substantial in the morning, to soak up the steroids otherwise they physically hurt my tummy... afterall the steroids can cause perforation of the small intestive and peptic ulcers and stuff in the stomach (sometimes it feels like they're doing that, hence the substantl breakfast) Mind, I've done really low on calories today, randomly.... only up to about 380, and that after breakfast and lunch... I think the salad at lunchtime was just extra low cal for no particular reason.... fish and boiled new potatos with salad for dinner tonight soon I think...

ahh... rather too* low on calories I guess.... that 'lighheaded' 'dizzyness' I've had all day isn't just* the heat, or just the low cortisol.... It was (at least partially) hypoglycemia.... - dinner cooking.... but stil going to be very low on calories for the day, so I ate one of my tiny choc egs I got for Easter (yes they're still all pretty much uneaten!) ... ahh... I feel a bit more 'with it' I think I'll be feasting on houmus tonight later on as even after dinner and the choc egg, I'm barely up to 900 Calories for the day hmm.... unless we go to the pub of course

I really like slow cooked lamb. If you make a stew-type dish, you can stretch it for a couple or three days. You can be quite creative in the way you cook it, too.

oo.. I've dome some fabulus slow cooker stews recently, though not so much of course this time of year... - stretching - makes me look ultra frugal! - I was getting about 1 LB decent butchers meat, beef or goat we seemd to get a lot last winter/autumn, then with a ton of veg, mushrooms, lots of diced onions, spices, garlic, and to make it lst for days, a couple tins of drained beans, borlotti, pigeon peas, kidney, whatever we fancie.... I was getting something like about 8 or 10 portions of it, from just 400 -500 Grams meat, as it had so many beans and veggies in it... - we'd mix it by serving with potatos one day, rice the next, then with bulghur etc Oh, often with some tinned tomatos in the stew too - I'm going to work on a recipe for a insaine portions of veg, soup, to make a big pot of for the winter, which, with no meat in it, oughta stay fresh and not go off so quick, to have for lunchs during the winter - we may need a bigger slow cooker

Pt was particularly sadistic today..... " which would you like to do first, the bench press or the squats, or soemthing else?" . . . so I chose..... and he knows that's then one I find easier, so we do soemthing differnt to start bench pressing, inclined bench pressing, squats, bicep curls, dips, pull ups, leg raises, leg lifts, wrestling with the PT, some other stuff with weights I don't know the names of..... reverse flys on the bench.... more squats, more bench pressing, more wrestling, more time in the climbing frame doing dips and pullups and things just over an hour got more hummous on the way home! and another avodado..... avocado, tuna, coleslaw, and hummous wholemeal wraps about to be made for lunch with cucumber I think too and mayb e some lettuce then I really must shower - I think I deserve a short trip and a couple pints at the pub tonight though Just phoned endocrine nurses to try organise my testosterone injection for the end of the week, defiantely noticing I'm getting low on it now, exercise tollerance is a bit lower and I'm just ... a bit more lacking concentration etc...

I've not seen a gym with a climbing frame. I'm still not yet in the space to do gym work. Yoga, pilates, t'ai chi and qigong are moew suitable for me at present.

I really liked yoga, and pilatiz, the little bit I did a couple years back, at the cancer support place I started visiting - the climbing fram thing.... its sort of got two handles that stick out at the front, waist height, or a bit higher, for doing dips; some foot rests at the side under them, then above it, about 6 FT up, is the bit to hold on for doing pullups... then turning round the opposite way, and backing into it; there are two arm rests, and a back padded bit behind you; you sort of jupm up, feet on the side bits, and arms onto the arm rests, do do leg lifts and raises etc... - probably other weird body contortions you could do inside it... - i its a really nicely designed small bit of equipment, that you seem to be able to do several differnt things in... all sort of metal tubing, with some bits obsiovlsy designed for holding onto, plus the little bit of padding in a couple areas, that makes some of it quite obvious, but I think you coudl probably adopt what you did, to use it alternative ways too - actually the bits you can hold on to for the pullups, have a cross bar inbetween them, so you could do the monkkey grip version if one was insane enough to think that a good idea - in the gym we use its half way down the wall betwen the bench press bench, and the squat rack, so I tend to jump in to it, in between the two, just for 'a break'

Oh, I know what you mean - I used to use something like that when I worked in Wolverhampton. I don't know if there's something like that in my current gym. I used to use more free weights and a bench in those days too.

I mainly use the two bench pressing benchs, and the 'cage' for squats, for most of my weight lifting; if I want to do bicep curls, or upright rowing etc, I just use the same bar I use for the squats, as I'm already by it; its just easier than walking round to where they keep th e individual dunbells... - though I use the dunbells of course for doing err, reverse flys I think they are, and occasionally use the bench near the dunbells to do presses etc with them, just for some variety Sometimes I use teh lat pull down thinggy, which is a sort of weight at the end of a pully type thing, and also another weight on a pully thing, which does some muscles in the forearm.... no idea what taht is called - oh, and a few times I've done deadlifts, which is a seperate rack/cage next to the one I do squats in, although I could do it in the squat rack too if I moved the bars at the side to the right height Now... if I can persuade cardiology at some point to let me lift heavier weights, I can get properly into power lifting

Do you go on the treadmill/running machine? This is what I probably need to do most. I don't particularly enjoy doing it, though.

NO... I don't tend to use the tredmill much, though I have done a bit at times; mainly I seem to use the exercise bikes, or the cross trainer/ski machien, for cardio; but we do a lot of walking over the course of the week, and often try to get in a couple of longer walks... - like today I had a hospital appointment in the afternoon, so rather than get the bus, we walked an hour to the hospital; then got the bus home; with a ten minute walk or so to/fro the dept in the hospital at that end, plus a 15 minute walk home from bus stop this end; then we went to our local pharmacy, and back, which is another 15 minutes walking.... there arn't many days we do less than 45 minutes walking, just round the town, or to/fro the pub, or gym etc

I try to move very quickly in the gym, when doing weights, so move between one set and the next quickly, keeping my heart rate (and sweeting up), - normally I'll do, say a set of 20 squats, then a couple minutes stretching striaght way, then jump into the climbing fram thing, and do a set of dips, and leg raises/lifts, and straight from that onto the bench pressing... then more stretching and straight over to the inclined press, then straight back to the squat rack, more stretches, and then som bicep curls, upright rowing etc, then into more squats, and then back into the climbing fram after a few more stretches; that does tend to make the weights fairly cardio intensive too; as your heart rate doesn't drop much, especially as I'm not useing megga-heavy wegihts; also, whilst doing the weight, weights, although moving between them fast, I try to slow down each lift; maxamsing the muscle usages; so its muscle work lifting and then again muscle work slowely lowering... - pretty much makes each curl, or bench press twice as hard, as compaired to where I just quickly do a set of them... well, that's my logic.... but I am trying now, to make at least two of the four gym sessions a week, more evenly split, ATM I seem to prefer 45 mins weights, then 10 or 15 cardio; trying to make that 30/30 split, I.E., 30 mins on each, for at least two of the four sessions, to increase the cardio that way

Well, yesterday was gym, today was hospital (but got the long walk in; my legs know this!), tomorrow and Sunday we'll try do the gym - assuming I don't get megga ill when I start the new liquid levothyroxin tomorrow... - and assuming my leg doesn't suddenly start hurting from the Intramuscular testosterone injection I had at hospital today (it doesn't normally) - doubt I'll notice any afect for a few days from the testosteorne, but my levels should rise up again in a week or thereabouts, and given I was doing the workouts easier enough, last week, when my testosterone should have been at its lowest, I oughta suddenly really find them easy in a weeks time! - maybe just start doing more reps per set, like I did yesterday for some reason

Just reading your list of things you do makes me a little tired. I was supposed to go to the gym for yoga early yesterday and had cancelled the pilates at lunchtime because of the guttering work, but my son had a problem with his travel card, so I drove him into work and was back in time for the workmen to do the job. It was quite funny to listen to them as they had an argument about how to do it.

All of which was good for me, as my back had been twinging from one of the yoga stretches, so a little recovery time wasn't a bad thing.