June 27, 2013

Gay Marriage... And Your Health?

 And She Loves You Right Back!

You may have thought that the Supreme Court decisions yesterday ending discrimination against gay marriages were nice, but not really relevant to your quest for better health and fitness.

But hey, would you like to lower your blood pressure, shed excess belly fat, be happier, lift stronger and live longer?

Bear with me as Cranky Fitness yet again manages to take a topic that might seem to have nothing to do with health and fitness, and attempts to uncover the amazing secret health benefits hidden within!

June 24, 2013

No Parking on the Dance Floor


OK, perhaps some parking is allowed. I can be reasonable.

And yeah, this post was inspired by recent events that transpired on a literal dance floor. But as usual when I have a grievance, I don't just need to bitch about it: I also gotta analyze and generalize and get all metaphorical! Plus I try to find some kind of  "life lesson" and share it.

Annoying and pedantic? Of course! But it's how my brain likes to process stuff. Some people meditate or take Prozac or go pummel a punching bag; I over-think and blog.

I am sometimes amazed there are any Cranky Fitness readers left.

Wait, are there any Cranky Fitness readers left?

(Always good to keep checkin'! It sure would be lonely on planet Cranky if y'all got fed up and wandered away).

So anyway, who tried to harsh Crabby's mellow over the weekend and what thoughts did this lead to?

June 19, 2013

Get With the Program!


So this post started off being about the fact that I signed up for a new training program.

Yep, I'm currently I'm up to my eyeballs in oligosaccharides and polypeptides and phospholipids, trying not to freak out about making my way towards the ACE Health Coach Certification. Which I'm psyched about! It seems to offer a solid foundation for exercise/nutrition assessment, planning, and programming, for any life and wellness coaching clients who should want that.

But for clients who like to do their own thing, they still can. I promise it won't make me all bossy all of a sudden.   I'm still a wishy-washy psychotherapist at heart and am much more likely to ask annoying questions than provide concrete advice.

So will you be hearing more about this shiny new program at some point?  You betcha! Lucky readers! All the details and implications of my educational endeavors will no doubt make for fascinating reading. Blame Malevolent Andrea who alerted me to this thing.
  
However, my signing up for an official, structured program does bring up a more general question that comes up all the time in a health and fitness context:

Do you get the best results by picking a good program and following it by the book?  Or is it better to navigate your own best path through a field of intriguing but possibly conflicting alternatives?

June 12, 2013

Ask The Personal Trainer: Hotel Room Workout


So in this next installment of "Ask the Personal Trainer," we take on the following question:

Do you have any recommendations for a portable 10-30 minute workout that could be done in a hotel room or other not-well-equipped space? Something that either just uses body weight or something that might be handy or wouldn't be too difficult or expensive to bring along?

So let's see what we got!

June 10, 2013

Turning 53 and Up to My Ass in Whey Protein Powder

Yep, in attempt to solidify my health blogging reputation as a PR rep's worst nightmare, this post is indeed partly about some very tasty 365 Everyday Value Vanilla Whey Protein powder.

How thrilled the folks at Whole Foods will be to see they've secured a great blog review accompanied by reference to, and a picture of, the reviewer's posterior!

But hey, we're all about multi-tasking here at Cranky Fitness, so the post is also about greed, aging, and birthdays.  Plus it contains a sincere cry for help.

June 05, 2013

Awesome Active Wear, Clever Backpacks, and Sneaky Bloggers


Yep, this is a product review post: some Kuhl active wear, (the shorts pictured above), as well as a Kuhl top and pair of pants, plus an Airbac Journey backpack.

And yes, it's a bit annoying when a blogger devotes a post to a bunch of pictures of herself wearing stuff she got for free and telling you what's good about them and what's not, but on the other hand...

Um, on the other hand....

Well shoot, at some point I'll figure out why it's not as annoying as it sounds.

 So, what's the "sneaky"part?

June 03, 2013

Pushin' It: June Goal Support Post & Giveaway


It's my favorite post of the month, because all the good stuff comes in the comments!

So we'll have the usual chance to check in with what people are working on and how everyone is doing with their goals, as well as find out who won last month's giveaway. And we have a new giveaway to announce as well.

As is the custom with these monthly goal posts, we encourage people to reply to each other's comments and offer support, advice, thoughts, encouragement or whatever.  And to check back to continue conversations or offer progress reports if feeling so inclined.

The theme this month is: Pushin' It! Which coincidentally...