Try the sport of kiteboarding!

As with flying any kite, when kitesurfing you always stand with your back to the wind. If you are facing the same direction as the wind, the position of the kite from left to right is discussed in terms as if you are standing in the center of a large clock and the kite is near one of the numbers. Straight ahead is 12:00 and 90-degrees to your right is 3:00. To your left 90-degrees is also 12:00. The kite will always remain between 9:00 and 3:00 because if it goes any farther the wind will no longer hold it aloft.

Photo is courtesy of Matt Gibson who is an adventure travel writer and photographer.

Toning upper arms– for self-confidence!

Along with completing my next novel, I am toning upper arms. Are you ever self-conscious about upper arm flabbiness? Aerobic exercises such as swimming, running or bicycling do not work out upper arms specifically, but they are still beneficial activities for upper-arm firming, as they help you lose weight all over your body. Targeted exercises that utilize resistance training, coupled with a regular workout routine and sensible diet will help get your arms ready for short sleeves before you know it.  I’m doing 30 lady-style push-ups and weights.  My arms are getting toned like the women below, photos courtesy of Jupiter images, Comstock.

 

Here’s a great snack after a work out– an apple with cheese!

As I do on most days, I’m back from swimming laps at one of our community pools.  We have a small one in our backyard, but it’s too expensive to heat in the winter.  Today I chatted with a friend about eating healthy when super hungry.  Lana who has lost 50 pounds on Weight Watchers enjoys an apple with a wedge of low calorie laughing cow– 35 calories. I tried it, and a Honey Crisp apple and wedge is surprisingly filling!

What is your favorite aerobic exercise?

New Years Resolutions? A pool might not be the first place you think of going when you’re looking to either shape up and slim down.  I’ve always loved swimming.  My favorite spot is swimming in Lake Okoboji, from dock to dock, under docks, and across Millers Bay. No other workout burns calories, boosts metabolism, and firms every muscle in your body (without putting stress on your joints).  I’m heading for the pool– it’s 82 degrees in the water.

What is your favorite aerobic exercise?

Do a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving!

Are you thinking of more ways to add fun to your Thanksgiving Day or weekend?  I’m doing a gobble wobble with my granddaughter, Roxanne.  Many parks and charities across the country have started a new holiday tradition.  In Dana Point, California, the turkey trot is in the morning before everyone’s big feast.  It’s designed for all ages and is a charity event costing around fifty dollars for adults and twenty for children.  Sure, we will build up an appetite but will also burn calories.  If people are volunteering to organize and help, they are called “turkey basters.”  Here is the metal from last year–

What are you doing for extra fun over Thanksgiving weekend?

Release your happy hormones with fresh air!

Alaskans are among the most active people in the US says lead researcher Dan Witters.  In spite of cold weather they demonstrate good exercise habits.  Being active releases fee-good endorphins in the brain.  Breathing in fresh air fills our lungs with energizing oxygen.  Sunlight elevates our store of mood-brightening vitamin D even when it’s cloudy.

Exercise– for Body and Spirit

The Laser has been around a long time.  When we lived in Pines Lake (Wayne, New Jersey) I raced one.  Small boat dingy sailing is a test to sailing ability.  Winning has to do with “playing wind shifts”.

The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes simplicity and performance. The dinghy is manufactured by independent companies in different parts of the world, including Americas, Europe, Australia, and Japan.

The Laser is one of the most popular single-handed dinghies in the world. As of 2012, there are more than 200,000 boats worldwide. A commonly cited reason for its popularity is that it is robust and simple to rig and sail in addition to its durability. The Laser also provides very competitive racing due to the very tight class association controls which eliminate differences in hull, sails and equipment.  Next week the Irish Laser Regatta will take place off Dublin!

People appreciation

What a wonderful Mother’s Day.  My husband Gerry, daughter Janice, and I met up with son Johnny, daughter-in-law Jan, and granddaughter Roxanne to watch our grandson D’mitri’s lacrosse game here in Irvine, California.  After that we went to a Chinese restaurant in the Spectrum– Capital Dim Sum.  Food was high quality, and service was excellent.  It was a perfect day with phone calls and texts from our other two sons and daughter.  I’m so lucky.Johnny and Gerry are not in the photo.

Exercise– for Body and Spirit

Walk your way to more confidence!  Feel great about how you look simply by going for a walk several times a week!  That’s the finding of a new Gallup poll, which determined that people who were regularly active had a more positive self-image– regardless of their weight or appearance.  The reason?  Physical activity triggers your body to release endorphins, brain chemicals that make you feel confident and content.

Exercise– for Body and Spirit

My husband and I are going sailing tomorrow on the boat below which is a  Shields.   We take turns at the tiller.   With either job, crew or skipper, we get lots of exercise, pulling up the sails, adjusting them while tacking, and constantly moving from port to starboard.   We’re harbor sailors although we have a routine of going out to round the Newport Harbor buoy that clangs with a big bell.  Seals sit on it and bark at boats going by.   I love all the goings on in Newport Harbor and enjoy looking at the interesting hodgepodge of homes on the water.  We like a medium breeze although we don’t have to worry about tipping over in a Shields with its 5,000 pound lead ballast.