May 31, 2013

A Quick Tip


Let's see if it's possible for me to write a short blog post, sharing just one tip I learned recently.  And if anyone else has a quick tip to share in the comments, that would be awesome.

Brevity is a skill I need to learn to employ occasionally, both for my sanity and yours.  Can I write a blog post in less than 250 words, including the usual meandering introduction?

We shall see!

So the exciting trick I recently learned was...

May 28, 2013

Comin' Home

Yep, this is exactly what Crabby looks like creating culinary magic in her kitchen!

What does it mean to be "home?"  And what the heck does that question have to do with health and fitness?

Oh, and speaking of home, we've also got a bit of blog "housekeeping" to catch up on, like announcing giveaway winners and other stuff.

May 23, 2013

A Late Start


This awesome guest post is by one of our favorite Cranketeers, Death Ride Grandma! 

Crabby and The Lobster are undertaking their season migration from one coast to the other, this time via airplane rather than in Fran the Van.  Crabby is most likely, at this very moment, cursing sleepless redeye flights and crappy 6 a.m.airport food choices and barfy ferry rides and the necessity of unpacking random boxes of crap in order to find coffee-making supplies and clean underwear. So how awesome is it to have an inspirational post from an articulate kick-ass blog comment contributor instead of bleary blog blatherings from a semi-comatose crustacean?

And now please welcome... Death Ride Grandma!

Advantages of taking up serious exercise when you’re…when you’re…well, not exactly young any more:

1)    You have a lot less wear and tear on those joints. Runner’s knee? Much less of a worry if you have been swaddling that knee in cotton and wool for 45 years or so.
2)    Really, how many 55-year-olds are regularly setting personal bests?
3)    Regular access to free, legal, safe drugs.*
4)    You can seriously impress your doctor.
5)    And your friends and relatives.
6)    And yourself.

This is my story. Before you go looking for inspiration on your own fitness journey, fair warning: you will not be wanting to find your inspiration the way I found mine.

May 20, 2013

Runnin', Rockin', and Rantin' Double Giveaway

As Crabby and the Lobster prepare to jet off to Provincetown, is anyone up for a blog giveaway of two unrelated prizes, plus a product review and a foul-mouthed rant? 
Gots To Be Cranky

What if it were a pair of Koss Fit Series earbuds designed for women, and endorsed by Dara Torres?

Plus TWO spots in an awesome Up and Running online running course worth 49-99 pounds each? Which in American money is about 9 million dollars, if I'm correctly recalling the exchange rates from our visit to the UK last summer? Or, um, we could have perhaps been consuming a few too many pints.

May 15, 2013

The #1 Secret for Success and Happiness?

Crabby made a thing!  Feel free to share this important reminder somewhere if ya do that sort of thing.


There are SO MANY ways we tend to hold ourselves back when we forget this. And there are so many exciting endeavors and adventures we could be enjoying if we weren't afraid that temporary flailing and failure might compromise our awesomeness. If I let myself get started I could easily turn this into a 20 volume encyclopedia instead of a blog post.

But instead, comporting with the spirit, if not the letter, of "Wordless Wednesdays" I think I'll shut the hell up now.

Anybody else besides me struggle with this sometimes? Any examples of confronting perfectionism and going forth and Kicking Ass?


Public domain images gratefully swiped from graphics fairy.

May 13, 2013

Ask the Nutritionist: Calcium Supplements, Yes, No, WTF?


Got questions about healthy eating and nutrition?

Well, today starts a new feature at Cranky Fitness: Ask the Nutritionist!

It could also rightfully be called "Ask the Dietitian," since both the contributors are RD's. I almost did call it that, but then decided to play it safe in case either of these two knowledgeable and articulate experts figures out what a silly blog this is and decides to bail.  What if I need to find someone new and have to cast a wider net?

 No certification, but pretty darn sensible!

Plus, half the time I spell it "Dietitian" and the other half "Dietician" and that was driving me kinda crazy.

Anyway, so today's topic is calcium supplements.  Used to be simple, right? If you weren't getting tons o' dairy, and especially if you were female, you were supposed to take 'em.

And my doctor still says I should, and studies are confusing. But even Jane Brody of the New York Times, not exactly known for going out on a limb with controversial advice, points out the risks of calcium supplementation, which include a higher likelihood of heart attacks and strokes.

So what's the deal?

May 09, 2013

Core: Are You Phoning it In?






This is just a quick post, a new experiment here at Cranky Fitness, land of the 10,000 word digression-filled ramble.

Anyway, I have recently discovered a kickass way to get more serious about core work that I wanted to share.  Not that I'm necessarily gonna get more serious, but at least I discovered an intriguing new way to do it.

May 06, 2013

Steppin' Out



Is this a review of a couple of nifty shoes for outdoor activities, the Tilden IV by Ahnu and the Power Walk 503 by Prospecs?

Or is it just an excuse to reminisce a bit longer about hiking and beachin' and kicking back on our recent trip to Maui?

Well yeah, you guessed it. It's both!

Plus, the post features a couple of different perspectives, as The Lobster was put in charge of reviewing (and keeping) the Ahnu's.

Being savvy photo-bloggers, we took the shoes to Hawaii, and then kinda forgot about the "review" part of the "get cool shoes free and then review them" thing.  So of course we have a lot of photos with the feet chopped off.


But, we promise we will get to the shoes too!

Hi, I'm the Ahnu Tilden IV!

And hey there, I'm the Prospecs 503!


May 01, 2013

May Day! Goal Support and Fun Book Giveaway

So when you hear the words "May Day," do you think of...

Festive celebrations?


Or acknowledgment of those who perform hard labor around the world?




Or perhaps you think of panicked calls for help during horrible disasters?




Well, it's all good, because May Day coincides with our monthly goal check-in! Which often involves discussion of celebrations, back-breaking work, and disasters of one kind or another.

Plus we've got a giveaway of two copies of a nifty book which you will hear more about momentarily: "Honey, Do You Need a Ride?" by Jennifer Graham.

Oh, and if you participated in last months goal post, you may want to see if you are one of the winners of the MOVband armband activity monitor.

So let's get to it!