We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
We had a major incoming flight of warblers Friday night, so Sat. morning was full of warbler calls. I only know the calls of the most common warblers, but it is better to learn their calls rather than straining your neck for an hour to peer into the treetops.
Interestingly, that same flight left last night and there is nary a warbler this morning. Birders love those big flights that arrive overnight.
If you have poor memory for bird song, there is an iPhone app for that: Merlin Bird ID. It is not 100% accurate - but what is?
21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
21:2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;
21:4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."
21:5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
21:6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
There are sort-of 2 things that people term "cardio" exercise. One is about endurance (eg swimming laps, mountain hiking, treadmill jogs, etc). Maintaining endurance is good, but it has little to do with heart fitness unless one has cardiovascular disease or some other form of heart ailment.
It requires intensity to properly stress the heart muscle. Like weight-lifting, the intensity is what demands muscle strengthening and improved vasculature. This does not take much time out of your workout schedule. Heart rate is a good measure of exercise intensity. Here's how to know your cardio stress level. (It might not exactly apply if you are taking blood pressure meds that limit heart rate.) Or you can go by how you feel - if you are winded by a one-minute sprint and need 30-60 seconds to catch your breath, you probably got your heart rate up.
Here's a good 10-minute cardio workout, with jump rope. He calls it Beginner but it is pretty good:
In my neck of the woods, Catbirds and House Wrens arrived from wherever their real homes are. Catbirds mewing in the lilac bush. What could be better, despite life's challenges?
Also, a Sharpie buzzed me. I think he would happily eat one of those migrating Catbirds.
Cut some Lilac blooms for Mrs. BD, and picked up a Dunkin Hot Chocolate for her too.
At Maggie's Farm, perhaps we discuss weight training more than the other aspects of fitness. That might be because weight training requires more technique to get it right.
However, it seems to me that daily Calisthenics would be the thing to do if you had to pick one thing. Why is that?
A cali routine puts every muscle to work. It doesn't build big strength much, but that's another topic. A cali routine involves lots of HIIT cardio. A calis routine works on balance, and general athleticism. And, unlike heavy weights, an hour of calis does not require any special recovery time so it can be done daily.
It is more fun to do these in groups or couples, and it is more fun to rotate from one thing to another. It doesn't matter what level you work as long as you push it. One hour goes by fast.
Here are some of the things we do:
Warm-up (5-7 minutes): Jumping jacks, jump rope, high-knee running in place, etc.
Push-ups (any sort) Kettlebell swings Box squats (with or without weight) Heavy rope slams Ladder drills Box steps or box jumps Planks Inclined TRX pulls Leg raises Heavy ball throws and chest passes Lunges Burpees Rower sprints Heavy rope slams or arm machine sprints Chin-ups (assisted) Hand-weight curls Superman Kettlebell Farmers Walks Sit-ups wall-to wall sprints Bear Crawl Wall sits
If not heavily sweating, nothing is happening. Add on a 10-minute treadmill walk to cool down. You do not want to put a horse up wet...
Not new, just new to me. We've posted about all of the varieties of Italian pestos (?pesti) in the past but this one is worth trying: Olive Pesto. Marcella says it's best with grilled or fried vegetables.
Chop one hard-boiled egg roughly in blender. Add to blender 6or 7 pitted green Italian olives, 2 tablespoons capers, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and plenty of ground pepper. Blend briefly - it should have some chewiness and some creaminess.
For regular "Fitness for Life" people, two days/week of heavy weights (powerlifts) is good. (That is part of the Maggie's Fitness for Life program - plus 2 days with HIIT Cardio and one or 2 days of calisthenics and endurance "cardio". 6 hours/week is not too much for anybody).
(A reminder about Powerlifts: These are mostly full-body, or multi-muscle group/compound exertions: Bench Press, Deadlifts, Barbell Squats, Rows (dumbell, TRX, seated, barbell - whatever), Military Press, and pull-ups or pulldowns.) Depending on general health and taking into account past injuries, these are sturdiness basics regardless of age or sex. Ordinary people should not push their powerlifts two or three days in a row because recovery is needed. For a good discussion about powerlifts.
So-called Accessory Weight Exercises are good time- fillers, and do not need the sorts of recovery that the powerlifts do. Here's a partial list:
Curls of any sort Tricep exertions of any sort (dips, push-downs, skull-crushers) Shoulder shrugs Leg machines (ham curls and quad lifts) Calf lifts
Do any of our readers do Accessory Weights and, if so, what?
Saw a flock of around a dozen this morning which I believe are the first arrivals here from their home grounds in Central America. These acrobatic fliers are the most common of American swallows. If you have an open barn, you will get their poo all over your tractors and stuff. We would always put a tarp over the tractor.
You can read about these cool birds at All About Birds: Barn Swallow
I also saw my first Tree Swallow of the season this morning.