General Chat Thread - Please Participate
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@mtaratoot, I'm right there with you on the integration of novices into our activities: Everyone was new at some point, and it's good to remember that and support new folks enthusiastically.
Every year for some years now, I've volunteered at each session of rowing club's learn to row class (sort of an "assistant coach" role, at this point), 4 days a week for a month. The enthusiasm is contagious, but sometimes startling. (My favorite was someone, late in the classes, who said "one more row, and I think I'll have mastered this".
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They've now "graduated", and we're testing them on specific skills, after passing which they can start integrating into the club's normal groups and activities.
One of those activities is "open rowing", two specific evenings where an experienced rower volunteers to help carry boats, make sure folks launch/land safely, give tips, etc. I supervise that program, but don't necessarily attend every single session. (I'll go the first times for sure, because I'm coach-approved to observe/record the skills tests' completions.)
Besides that, I coordinate what's probably the biggest "friends rowing together" group, more recreationally oriented than a once-a-week that the classes' head coach coordinates. Our group rows M-W-F-Sa mornings at 8:30. I need the new folks to have passed the skills tests to be safe to row a single on their own when needed, but we usually try to get them to get in bigger boats (quads or doubles) with more experienced rowers to start, if we have the numbers to support that. It gives them a chance to get a little casual coaching, maybe focus on rowing skills without worrying about steering and traffic pattern, maybe sit behind a technically skilled stroke rower to copy movements, etc. Twice a week, that group is also getting coaching from the university's crew club coach.
Often, the new folks worry (especially in a quad) that their mistakes are messing up our row, but none of us feel that way. (Sometimes the "terrible" thing they did isn't even much noticeable to the rest of us in terms of needing to row differently to adjust.) In a month or two, if they join in regularly, they'll be a lot more relaxed . . . and more safe on the water.
It's a fun time of year, but maybe just a tiny bit more stressful.
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Or some really sturdy 2-post staking system? But that can reduce trunk strength, too. And a really tall fence might help with deer, if those are an issue for you.1 -
Stake them for the first year or two. The trunks will stiffen up. The tall grass bends in the wind. Trees do too. Either that, or like they do along the Oregon Coast, they can become Krumholtz.
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PEI doesn't have any deer. Plenty of smaller critter tho. I wonder if it's already too late to stake?
Or some really sturdy 2-post staking system? But that can reduce trunk strength, too. And a really tall fence might help with deer, if those are an issue for you.
Stake them for the first year or two. The trunks will stiffen up. The tall grass bends in the wind. Trees do too. Either that, or like they do along the Oregon Coast, they can become Krumholtz.
Not sure how old this one is... but I'm confident the tomato cage wasn't doing anything.1 -
Sunset from our upper deck...
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Goals: Get back in shape, gain muscle strength, increase mobility and flexibility for overall healthy active lifestyle.
Just started the Macros thing and I’m sure that will be confusing for a while
Ive been into making “ bowls”
Greek chicken and Korean beef bowls for this week
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Those are great overarching goals. You might want to add some smaller, more easily achievable goals. I can be anything from fitting better in your favourite jeans to specific numbers or distance of walks per day. Set yourself up for success by creating goals you are confident of achieving. Success breeds success!!ymnv7bt8hy wrote: »Goals: Get back in shape, gain muscle strength, increase mobility and flexibility for overall healthy active lifestyle.
Just started the Macros thing and I’m sure that will be confusing for a while
Ive been into making “ bowls”
Greek chicken and Korean beef bowls for this week5 -
Those are great overarching goals. You might want to add some smaller, more easily achievable goals. I can be anything from fitting better in your favourite jeans to specific numbers or distance of walks per day. Set yourself up for success by creating goals you are confident of achieving. Success breeds success!!ymnv7bt8hy wrote: »Goals: Get back in shape, gain muscle strength, increase mobility and flexibility for overall healthy active lifestyle.
Just started the Macros thing and I’m sure that will be confusing for a while
Ive been into making “ bowls”
Greek chicken and Korean beef bowls for this week
Welcome, @ymnv7bt8hy! That's great advice from @UncleMac.
I've found it really helpful to set what I call "process goals". Those are the things we actually do, i.e. actions we take. The outcomes - like fitness, strength, mobility, flexibility, etc. - flow from those actions we take, but they happen on their own time schedule and sometimes progress comes in fits and starts.
The actions, though, are 100% in my control, and I can be very specific in thinking about them and holding mysefl accountable. For an arbitrary example, if an outcome I want is to improve flexibility, maybe a process goal is to spend 5 or 10 minutes stretching every morning after getting out of bed. I control those actions. If I take those actions, flexibility should improve as a by-product.
In your case, an example process goal might be to hit or exceed your protein goal at least X days per week.
It's not necessary, maybe not achievable, to set process goals right away for every desired outcome. That can be overwhelming. It's fine to set one or two specific action-oriented goals, and practice those until they're mostly on autopilot, then start adding something new.
Wishing you much success!3 -
Nice job with the diver Mtaratoot. Despite lead dives in Jamaica old rescue diver habits are ingrained. The dive leaders have gotten used to and depend on me for another set of eyes.1
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Nice job with the diver Mtaratoot. Despite lead dives in Jamaica old rescue diver habits are ingrained. The dive leaders have gotten used to and depend on me for another set of eyes.
The one time I did tropical diving (Roatan right as COVID was hitting in February 2000), we had a dive master. I'm used to "California Style Diving" where the captain anchors up the boat, we get a briefing, and the gates are open. We are on our own for being safe and navigating. Following a dive master was really easy. I asked her maybe the second day (after five or six dives) if she ~REALLY~ wanted me to tell her when I got to a half bottle of gas. I'd have to go get her attention which took away from the dive experience. She said (about me and my buddy), "No, you guys are fine and I'm not concerned about you." Clearly we had good gas management. I did sneak off for one little mission on one of the last days without checking in first. I didn't want to ask just in case the answer was no. I apologized to the (different) dive master when we got back to the boat. He said I was fine because as soon as he followed me I gave him a big OK sign and came back to the group.
I'm hoping to get out for some diving during this time of small tide exchanges over on the coast. Trouble is, it's so hot in the valley, that makes lots of wind on the coast, and that makes visibility go to just a few feet. Braille diving isn't as much fun as diving when you can see things.
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Am I the only one who misses the Newsfeed? It is so much harder to keep up with the people whose progress I was following and from whom I learned some interesting things.3
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Yup, I miss the Newsfeed too.nikkib0103 wrote: »Am I the only one who misses the Newsfeed? It is so much harder to keep up with the people whose progress I was following and from whom I learned some interesting things.
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Hey everyone!
Now that my fitness challenge group is on a break for a month, maybe I can remember to pop in here more and post until the next session starts up. We have a chatty group and by the time I got done reading and posting, I had run out of time since I still work and have other activities.
Hope everyone is doing well and having a great summer! Hard to believe we are over half way through 2024 already.
~b3achy 😎2 -
Doing well here for the most part. Life is expensive but yeah... it's good!!Hey everyone!
Now that my fitness challenge group is on a break for a month, maybe I can remember to pop in here more and post until the next session starts up. We have a chatty group and by the time I got done reading and posting, I had run out of time since I still work and have other activities.
Hope everyone is doing well and having a great summer! Hard to believe we are over half way through 2024 already.
~b3achy 😎2 -
@b3achy, nice to see you here!
How's the SUP going - is it still going? If so, any races or great outings?
Things are fine with me, still doing lots of rowing. A feature of this particular summer has been lots of good local coaching, a couple of days a week from the local university's quite successful club coach, once so far from the local NCAA Div 1 women's varsity assistant coach (with more in expectation, and she's rowing in with us on other days), and a bit from our club's good learn-to-row coaches.
I keep recruiting more participants for my "friends row together" M-W-F-Sa outings, and with folks from this year's quite-motivated learn to row class now joining us, we're having as many as 9 people rowing together sometimes. Makes me happy!
One of the things I enjoy about rowing and the rowing club is that all ages/strengths can row together. Folks I've rowed with recently range from age 18 to 78, brand new this season to people who've been rowing most of their adult lives (30+ years in some cases), and from those total newbies to a Big 10 champion and some other high-level collegiate competitors. With sculling (the two oars per person version of rowing) we can even put those extremes all in one boat, and row together quite harmoniously and successfully.
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I learned I became briefly newspaper famous in an article about the local urban farms (and how they relate to the local farmers markets). This was (kind of horrifyingly) a published photo of me at my favorite farmers market, looking both grumpy and disoriented, and standing in a shocking hips-forward posture. All publicity is 100% not good publicity, at least if this is an example.
On the brighter side, I went there again today, and got a perfectly delightful blueberry/lemonade ice pop, with whole blueberries in it. It was excellent, especially with temps around 87F (30.5C) at the time.2 -
I learned I became briefly newspaper famous in an article about the local urban farms (and how they relate to the local farmers markets). This was (kind of horrifyingly) a published photo of me at my favorite farmers market, looking both grumpy and disoriented, and standing in a shocking hips-forward posture. All publicity is 100% not good publicity, at least if this is an example.
On the brighter side, I went there again today, and got a perfectly delightful blueberry/lemonade ice pop, with whole blueberries in it. It was excellent, especially with temps around 87F (30.5C) at the time.
So easy to be self-critical. You look fine!!2 -
I don't see grumpy or disoriented. I see awe.
I see a person who has just spied a delicious offering across in the distance and is thinking about snatching it up and eating it with relish. Not relish the food. Relish the emotion.
I see a potential customer hooked by something amazing and unable to do anything other than go check it out.
So what was it you were looking at? Too soon for that winter squash you love so much.
Around here the Hermiston melons have arrived. They are the sweetest, crispiest melons I've found. Hot days, cool nights, and ample water. Mmmmm.....1 -
I'm not sure what week that was. I have a general idea what vendor I was looking at, probably. I may've been deciding whether I wanted the black cherries or not. But I still look grumpy and disoriented to me! I've been working on my posture, but this doesn't make me happy about my progress.
This video really made me grimace about my posture, too. I've been trying to improve it since.
https://youtu.be/RW8VzNeRIEA?si=0-XKki3rkPa3Jg-7
There: I have doxed myself. Fun fact: Much of the video where we're looking at the lineup in the quad (from one end of the boat) as they're rowing on the water is me in the cox seat holding the reporter's GoPro video camera above my head. 1
