My husband received new Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles for Christmas.
The trekking poles made a huge difference when we hiked in the Italian Dolomites this past fall, so we thought it would be good for him to have a pair of his own.
The area has had terrible landslides and the trails were closed in some places. The mountain hike led us through all types of terrain, or as my husband commented “the Dolomites has complex geomorphology” Go figure.
The rain finally gave us a break and everyone is soaking up the sunshine. I joined the group golf lesson at the Mid Pacific Golf Club and worked on my driving skills. After an hour, I thought I’d improved. Sadly, a later round of golf showed that many more hours of practice are needed.
The highlight of the morning? We saw President Obama on the course.
Saw this and thought it provided a clear explanation of why net neutrality is important.
For the record, Costa Michailidis is running for Congress in 2018, as an independent candidate for the US House of Representative in New York district 3 against Democratic Congressman Thomas R. “Tom” Suozzi. Other than that, I know nothing about Mr. Michailidis except that I agree with him on this issue.
Despite the various aches, pains, and torn up knees, we’ve traveled a lot this year:
In February, we cruised through Asia – visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We got to ride an elephant and saw temples in Siem Reap, including the Angkor Wat temple complex.
In May, we did a quick trip in the British Isles and France. Highlights of that trip included visiting Eric and Helen at their new home in Ripe, East Sussex. We then took a cruise that included biking on the island of Sark- an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France.
We had to rent bikes because, with a population of about 600, Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.
Worth reading is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, about the people of Guernsey [also a Channel Island] during World War II, their taste in books, and the impact the German occupation had on their lives.
Dublin, of course included a trip to the Guinness Storehouse, as well as various pubs along the way.
![2017 Lismore, Ireland [County Waterford]](http://kickboxingdiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0985-e1514086595347.jpg)
It was a treat to see Monet’s Gardens at Giverny, France. Some of his most famous paintings were of his garden in Giverny, with archways of climbing plants entwined around colored shrubs, as well as the water garden, formed by a tributary to the Epte, with the Japanese bridge, the pond with the water lilies, the wisterias and the azaleas.
Taking a break, we made our way to Las Vegas, Nevada in July. We watched the NBA Summer League and had a great time.
September saw us in the Alta Pusteria Valley, in the northern Italian Dolomites. It’s an area renowned for its 3000m jagged peaks of pale, heavily-eroded limestone that shoot up from green pastures and pretty meadows and is recognized by UNESCO as a unique and spectacular mountain environment. We stayed in Dobbiaco, Italy and hiked trails in the area.
Walking sticks were a must as it was unseasonably snowy. The days and the hiking trails became a little unpredictable. We will probably do something similar in the future as we met great people and had a ball.
We took a quick cruise to Mexico in November, stopping at Cozumel and Costa Maya to see the Chacchoben Ruins.
Wrapping up 2017 in Hawaii, healthy and happy. Taking golf lessons at the Mid Pacific Country Club, starting to work out again with my Body Opponent Bag, tennis and enjoying walks in the sunshine.
Mele Kalikimaka everyone!
We joined the Mid Pacific Country Club in Lanikai! We picked up a couple of used golf club sets at Roots & Relics in Honolulu. Mid Pac has a gorgeous golf course and we can walk there easily. Although I’ve never played before, Bill and I played 9 holes this morning. Bill did well while I picked up my ball a lot but the day was great and we had fun.
I was surprised at how little the clubs cost relative to all accoutrements. Golf bogs, golf bag carts, shoes, an club-appropriate clothes…. We are looking forward to checking out the gym, dining rooms and social events at the club while we are in Hawaii.
Between the knee and hand/arm issues, I’ve not done regular, strenuous exercise in over a year. We have committed to getting back into it. This morning, we walked 2.5 miles and played a bit of tennis before the rain came down.
I was happy doing basic hula hooping in the living room while listening to 1980’s music. 10 minutes in one direction and 10 minutes in the other. Hula hooping burns 210 calories in a 30-minute workout, or 7 calories per minute. I wore my Fitbit Blaze tracker and got credit for steps as I did the work out. It was a win-win!
I wrapped up with 20 push ups so today wasn’t completely cardio-centric.
Time to get my knees back into the game! Found some very gentle knee stretches and knee strengthening exercises on the Sparkspeople.com site. I’ve supplemented their text with videos.
Knee Stretches
Chair knee extension: Sitting in a chair, rest your foot on another chair so the knee is slightly raised. Gently push the raised knee toward the floor using only leg muscles. Hold for 5 – 10 seconds and release. Repeat 5 times on each leg.
Heel slide knee extension: Lie on your back, with left knee bent and left foot flat on floor. Slowly slide the left heel away from your body so both legs are parallel. Hold for 5-10 seconds, return to starting position. Repeat 5 times on each leg.
Knee flexion: Sitting in a chair, loop a long towel under your foot (resting on the floor). Gently pull on the towel with both hands to bend the knee, raising your foot 4 – 5 inches off the floor. Hold for 5 – 10 seconds, then release. Repeat 5 times on each leg.
Hamstring stretch: Standing, put one foot in front of you, toes up. With hands on the small of your back (or one hand holding a chair for balance), bend the opposite knee and hip (not your lower back), until you feel the hamstrings stretch. The upper body comes forward at the hip. Hold for 5 -10 seconds, then release. Repeat 5 times on each leg.
Knee Strengthening Exercises
For the past few months, I have been working out with my Body Opponent Bag using the Fig
ht Trainer app. I had limited myself to only to boxing rounds but decided I would do a basic kickboxing training session today.
My warm up was 2 minutes of jump rope and the 10 minute workout I included under Guidance/Exercises on this site. (Do it twice and you’ll burn about 170 calories.)
| Minutes: | Combination Moves: |
| 0:00–2:00 | Jab, cross, hook, uppercut lead with left (30 seconds each) |
| 2:00–4:00 | Jab, cross, hook, uppercut lead with right (30 seconds each) |
| 4:00–5:00 | Front kick (30 seconds each, left and right) |
| 5:00–6:00 | Roundhouse kick (30 seconds each, left and right) |
| 6:00–7:00 | Side kick (30 seconds each, left and right) |
| 7:00–7:30 | Combination (left foot forward): Jab, (L), uppercut (R), Front kick (L) |
| 7:30–8:00 | Combination (right foot forward): Jab, (R), uppercut (L), Front kick (R) |
| 8:00–8:30 | Combination (left foot forward): Jab, (L), cross (R), Roundhouse kick (L) |
| 8:30–9:00 | Combination (right foot forward): Jab, (R), cross (L), Roundhouse kick (R) |
I did the Fight Trainer basic kickboxing session at a really slow pace and was doing well. Unfortunately, I realized that I completely forgot how to do a back kick! Just in case anyone else wants to refresh her/his memory:
I’ve been feeling weakness and pain in my wrists these days, especially while playing tennis. I found a couple of web sites that offer wrist strengthening exercises.
It suggested the following to increase in the overall strength of your upper extremities will also help to improve your hand and wrist dexterity :
Seated Wrist Straight Curls – This is to develop your flexor muscles. In a seated position, with your forearms on your thighs and palms facing upward, with a 5-, 10-, or even 20lb weight in hand, flex your wrist upward. Keep the forearms well placed against your thighs for greater stability and isolation of the wrist and forearm musculature. Be careful to place the wrist three to four inches away from the knee to allow the full range of motion. Take caution not to overextend. Do 3 sets of 20 repetitions.Another web page provided exercises and an explanation of e I found: 3 Wrist Strengthening Exercises To Prevent Yoga Injuries
In order to protect the wrist, it is essential that we place more weight on the mounds of our thumb, index, and middle finger and less so on the ring and pinky side.
Most often, due to weak upper arm and shoulder strength, our weight automatically falls on the outside of our hands. This weight on the heel of the palm will lift the index finger off the floor placing a great degree of tension on the ulna, which isn’t designed to bear as much of a load. To protect this sensitive joint, more weight should be placed on the heel of the hand while at the same time, using the fingers pads to distribute the weight evenly.
Other exercises suggested were:
Ball Squeeze
Take a stress ball or tennis ball and grip it in your palm as firmly as possible with your fingers. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat about 10 times. Switch hands. There are a few variations you could do with a ball squeeze.
Tow
el Wring
Take a dry towel and twist the towel in opposite direction, as if to squeeze the water out of it. Hold the contraction at the end for a few seconds. Be mindful of overstretching as this can aggravate your already injured wrists. Switch sides and repeat 8-10 times.
The stitches are out from my finder after hand surgery. The surgeon had to remove scar tissue and repair the tendon. So far, my hand looks pretty good. Oddly, i have two fingers that are swollen and cannot bend instead of just the one. I will be trying to stretch them out and exercise them while traveling through Ireland over the next couple of weeks.
Until I return to the surgeon for evaluation, I thought I’d look online for some ideas:
Make a Fist
Make a gentle fist, wrapping your thumb across your fingers. Stretch only until you feel tightness. You shouldn’t feel pain.Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Release and spread your fingers wide. Repeat with both hands at least four times.
Claw Stretch
This stretch helps improve the range of motion in your fingers.
Hold your hand out in front of you, palm facing you.
Bend your fingertips down to touch the base of each finger joint. Your hand should look a little like a claw.
Hold for 30 to 60 seconds and release. Repeat at least four times on each hand.
Finger Bends
Finger bends strengthen your flexor tendons and increase the mobility of tendons across your fingers. To perform this exercise, place your hands palm side up on a bench. Keeping your fingers straight, gently bend your fingers at the knuckles as far as possible. Hold this position for a few seconds. Bend your wrist and fingers backwards as far as you can. Hold this position for a few seconds and return your hands to the starting position. . Perform 50 repetitions of the exercise each hour you are awake, Perform this exercise on both hands.
Rubber Band Strengthening
Using a rubber band can strengthen the tendons in the hands post surgery. To perform this exercise, place an elastic band around your thumb and fingers. Keeping your elbow straight, Stretch the elastic band by opening your fingers and thumbs. Hold this position for three seconds. Slowly return your fingers and thumb to the starting position. Perform this exercise until fatigued.
Hand Open and Close
Curl your fi
ngers and thumb making a tight fist then straighten your fingers as far as you can go without pain and provided you feel no more than a mild to moderate stretch
Repeat 10 – 20 times provided the exercise is pain free.
Finger Adduction to Abduction
Begin with your fingers together a
s demonstrated. Spread your fingers apart as far as you can go without pain and provided you feel no more than a mild to moderate stretch, then return to the starting position.
Repeat 10 – 20 times provided the exercise is pain free.