Workouts and Posture #29

This past weekend Michelle and her husband competed in a triathlon.  Cycling, running, and swimming.  I'm not sure, but I think there were a hundred or more to participate.  The men's events were a 1/2 mile swim across a lake, a 22 mile road course bike event, and a 3.75 mile trail run.  I wish I had the ability, and training to compete in a triathlon.  I know of at least one senior at my fitness center who competes in these events.  I have not seen all of the results but I do know there was a 54 year old in the women's division who finished 4th overall behind one 30 and two 20 year olds. Hooray for her.

My workouts are going well.  I'm doing the treadmill daily, but am not doing any other walking than that. Still too hot for me to be out walking during the day.  Early or late.  My posture as many of you know has been a concern to me, and you know the exercises I do to improve my posture.  I still wonder about doing abdominal crunches and have been doing some reading on the subject.  First of all I know my posture and back ailments were a problem for me well before I started working out, therefore the ab crunches could have added to the problem only, not created the problem.  One article I've read in workout911.com  takes the position that crunches do not affect your posture.   Livestrong.com takes a more sensible position that doing crunches only and the number you do could affect your posture.  Also the other exercises you do combined with the ab crunches would be the ultimate factor in any affect to your posture. "Good posture is a matter of having a balance of strength and flexibility in all the muscles of your body."  That sort of supports what has worked for me.  I am doing two good lower back exercises that have, without doubt, helped my posture, while I continue to do a reduced number of daily crunches.   I can now lay completely flat on my back, which I could not do 3 months ago without pain.

I continue to stay with eating what I have found to be healthy, is good for me, and good to eat.  Oatmeal is my favorite. Every day for breakfast, and sometimes lunch.  It is low in calories (160) and is cholesterol free.  Oatmeal helps lower your total bad cholesterol, and helps with blood sugar control.   I have talked about this before, but oatmeal is great for losing weight.  It satisfies my appetite, and keeps me from wanting to snack.  So, if I am hungry at mid day, I'll eat oatmeal for lunch.  And the good thing about it is you don't have to eat just some small little tiny portion. You can eat oatmeal until it fills you.  It will keep you satisfied.  Remember, I do not add anything to my oatmeal.  No skim milk, no sweeteners, no fruit, just plain.  Try it a couple of times, you will begin to find that oatmeal has a natural sweet taste.  You can save the fruit and skim milk for a snack after dinner.

Next time we will talk about one of my least favorite foods....Cucumbers. Oh boy I can hardly wait....