Ranger Fitness

Damn. I had been hiking almost daily along the trails on Mount Toby. Then I got a little beat up and started searching for an interim activity. I added in weight training for toning and stamina..currently only ten pounds, twenty reps, three sets of exercises, but that will be increasing to thirty reps next week and the weight will go up later.

Then I added in swimming. We have had a pool here right along but for a long time it was the hangout of smokers and skinheaded tinker toys with lots of muscles and no real brains to speak of. Me being what I am, I would be certain to irritate them..and also being what I am, that would not be a good thing..for them. So I tended to stay away. That and being stupidly and grossly obese. I have lost a lot of mass though and have of late decided that I simply do not give a damn. Smokers are no longer allowed and in the early morning there isn't anyone there; the tinker toys seem to be afternoon creatures for some reason.

The upshot is that I do sprints the width of the pool..currently twenty of them, and use side and breast strokes for the length of the pool, mixed with some flutter kicking exercises and other leg type work.

The weights and swimming left me tired...too tired to hike. I was kind of surprised but okay, I kept at it. Today I managed, for the first time, to weight train, swim, and hike. Three miles on the hike but still..in a conservative estimate I have already burned over 1300 calories today and likely more. With my eating routine I have definitely made a dent in the mass situation. :)

I have to say, though, that this takes up almost the entirety of my morning, especially if I get a late start. The afternoons are spent on doing projects, bellydance of some sort, and gardening. Yet now more will be inserted.

Daily archery, a sport that consumes a surprising amount of calories will soon become an afternoon activity. Assuming the canoe I may get actually pans out, canoeing will become a common routine during the afternoons. Probably not daily, but often. Yes, this cuts into time for projects as I will not allow the Dance to suffer from any of this. It is a necessary piece of what I do and who I am.

All of these things contribute to being a healthy Ranger. They are also reducing my mass and will, I hope, allow me to come off of medications later this year. That is the goal. And after that to keep on, getting healthier and healthier. There is hunting coming too. Hunting and swimming are, around here, seasonal activities. Winter, if there is snow, brings in snowshoeing and skiing.

Plenty of skills to practice, plenty of things to keep busy with. It will sharply reduce computer time, naturally.

The key to all of this, really, is the eating..that is the foundation. The key to the exercise is that I am doing things I really, truly, enjoy doing. It is no effort to go out and 'do it'. It is a pleasure.

Fitness is one of those things too many of us pay little attention to..yes, Rangers too. Yet it is a necessary part of being anything more than an armchair Ranger. Think about it.

Eledhwen