Gardening For Health

Posted in Blue Monday, exercise, Health, mental well-being, motivation by buzzanniebee

Hello all

After a month or so away from my blog, here I am, in the middle of winter, writing about gardening! Mind you, with El Niño giving us the mildest of autumns in the UK (not to mention very wet), the gardening calendar is slightly confused. Here in the ‘burbs, we have blossom out, sodden lawns and a smattering of snow. Nature will cope, although there are bound to be knock-on effects during the next few seasons.

I have gardened here for 15 years; when we moved in, it was, in effect, a blank slate. A few shrubs, a couple of roses, a grotty path leading to a half-collapsed shed, and rat-infested compost heaps, allowed us to landscape and plant (with help of course) the garden we wanted. I have learnt many things over the years:

Looking from the house and wondering where to start to get a grip on problems is not going to solve anything: get your boots and gardening gloves on, grab some tools and get to work.
If you do need help, ask. Don’t let the garden go: it will not sort itself out. As Rudyard Kipling said, “Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade”.
Don’t keep plants which are wrong for the conditions or are in the wrong place. Move them, give them away or compost them. A garden is a dynamic beast.
First and foremost, take care of the soil.
If you have the space and can afford it, get a greenhouse. Growing from seed (which can of course be done in the house) takes gardening to a whole new level.

” A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust” ~ Gertrude Jekyll.

It is good for the body and soul. Therapeutic gardening is an old concept; hospitals have a long history of providing gardens for patients and in recent times there has been research to show that horticulture offers many benefits. One of the best known gardening charities in the UK is Thrive, which started in 1978. They use gardening to bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill health, or who are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable. Benefits include

Better physical health through exercise and learning how to use or strengthen muscles to improve mobility
Improved mental health through a sense of purpose and achievement
The opportunity to connect with others – reducing feelings of isolation or exclusion
Acquiring new skills to improve the chances of finding employment
Just feeling better for being outside, in touch with nature and in the ‘great outdoors’

Who needs a gym membership when there is a garden to get stuck into? If you don’t have a garden: volunteer in one, or help a neighbour, look into guerrilla gardening, read some gardening books, dream about spring sowing.

On what has been billed ‘Blue Monday’ (apparently today is the most depressing day of the year) you could do worse than to get out into a garden, be mindful of the beauty, listen to the birds and get moving.

Annie Bee x

7Aug2015

Sight Jogging ~ Wait … What?

Posted in exercise, Health, jogging, running, sight jogging, sight running by buzzanniebee

I read a headline in the paper the other day which said Sight Jogging, but I read it because I thought it said SLIGHT jogging, which is something I do exceptionally well. Whilst I do sometimes call what I do ‘running’, the reality is that it is merely jogging, and (it gets worse) I mix it up with power walking. Anyway, I digress.

So there is this thing called Sight Jogging – like Sight Seeing, but with your running shoes on and presumably with little scope for taking pictures with the flash off inside an ancient church. When I started looking into this new phenomenon (from what I can see, it started in 2014) it struck me it might actually be an elaborate April Fools’. But there are reviews for it on TripAdvisor, so it must be true.

There are Sight Jogging tours in a number of European cities – Brussels, Rome, Dublin, Venice, Prague and Berlin for starters. London of course offers it too. One company is London jogging tours; one of their routes is along the Thames from Tower Hill to the Houses of Parliament, which is about 7km and sounds rather jolly. It says it is perfect for ‘gentle joggers’ and/or ‘recreational joggers’. So what does that mean? Would it suit me, a slight jogger? They say that if the tour is aimed at gentle joggers, there are plenty of stops whereas the other group runs at a more steady pace. I guess there is just one way to find out.

sight jogging stuttgart

I am not averse to exercising on holiday although some days walking from the sun lounger to the beach bar and back again is more than ample. However, if this is something which appeals to you, it looks like it is also available outside Europe as well – Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Scandinavia and Russia have joined the fun. Eventually, you may be able to sight run the globe. Have a look here to see where in the world it is happening.

As one of the websites helpfully says, “don’t forget to pack your running shoes”. Might be an idea to leave the selfie stick at home though. Jogging along sightseeing with one of those could take someone’s eye out.

If you want to see my thoughts on fartlekking (or interval training as it is more boringly called) please see Fartlekking Post 1 and Fartlekking Post 2.

Have a super weekend.

Annie Bee x

29Jul2015

Hooray For Wednesdays

Posted in ageing, exercise, interval training, Wednesday, Wednesdays by buzzanniebee

It is mid-week and I have a day of pottering about ahead of me, running errands, teaching, and getting through my to do list before the week disappears. Let’s hope the “sunny intervals with scattered showers” doesn’t slow me down.

I leave you with two thoughts before I head out and get on with my day:

After a great workout yesterday, being coaxed by one of the Baby Bees to change-up my interval training with some lunges, squats and jump-jacks, I am feeling on top form. Ready for action.

Have a great mid-week

Annie Bee x

15Jul2015

Fartlekking ~ A Few Months On

Posted in exercise, fartlekking, fitness, Health, HIIT, outdoor gym by buzzanniebee

Hello again

I blogged about interval training back in April (https://anniebeebuzz.com/2015/04/17/fartlekking-say-what/) and wanted to update you as to how I have got on in the intervening period. There is a bit of a buzz about this form of exercise, which is also known as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) ~ there is some useful info here: http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/hiit-workouts-for-beginners/ .

After being abroad for the best part of 6 weeks, where my exercise routine was a bit inconsistent but very delightful (Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane and Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas [QLD] were highlights), and then fighting off a nasty bout of cystitis, I am, as it were, back in the saddle.

Here in the ‘burbs, my favourite spot to do my 4 miles is an off-road, disused branch railway, that once linked several towns in Hertfordshire. Always busy with walkers, cyclists, joggers, kids, dogs and the very occasional horse, it is perfect for doing fartlekking (a jolly and funny Scandinavian name for interval training ~ the actual translation is “speed play”).

This week I have been going super fast due to having one of the Baby Bees along for the exercise. I feel like a middle-aged, slightly puffed-out and podgy greyhound which should have been put out to pasture, chasing a zippy hare. It has been delightful though and we make a good team (it strikes me if I have a heart attack she knows how to whistle and yell for help REALLY LOUDLY).

While I am on this route, I make it my business to say hello, smile and sometimes even wave to everyone I see. I have about a 90% return rate on an average outing.The British are well-known for being very buttoned-up, but in fact, are mostly happy to acknowledge me as I jog and power walk along and occasionally break into a sprint, trying all the while to look like I will not need a defibrillator.

While I was in Byron Bay (NSW) recently, I came across this brilliant fitness trail. I was quite puffed out enough just walking to the top of the hill to see the light house ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Byron_Light ) so I didn’t feel the need to have a go, but I was impressed that they were available for anyone to use at any time of the day.

Are they something the UK has managed to find money to introduce? I don’t know of any near where I live, but will have a go at finding out and posting a list. There certainly are companies in the UK selling the concept and the equipment. There is some general info on the subject here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitness_trail

So my exercising is going well. I am fairly fit, have no injuries currently, and love being outside while the weather is reasonable; long may it last. Who needs a gym membership?

Annie Bee x

8Jun2015

Mall Walking ~ Cheaper Than The Gym

Posted in exercise, mall walking, walking by buzzanniebee

Mr Bee and I are currently watching “Better Call Saul” on Netflix, and in a recent episode, Saul mentioned mall walkers, complaining that they are hard to chase (he is selling them his will-making services) as they are all walking so damned fast.

In the UK, this is a relatively little-known phenomenon; there are pockets of it (hello Bluewater, Kent), but in the US and in Australia it seems a much bigger deal. And what an amazing idea it is.

I believe it all started in America when the first fully enclosed U.S. mall, the Stockdale, opened in Minnesota in 1956 and local doctors suggested patients recovering from heart attacks should exercise there, away from the snow and ice of Minnesota’s harsh winters. The 1980s saw a boom in the construction of malls and by 2001, some 2.5 million people were walking in 1,800 malls in the United States.

“You always have a bathroom, and most malls have security. Even if you have a heart issue, they have defibrillators.”

So if you live near one, what are the benefits? They are under-cover so weather proof. My Mum used to mall walk in Brisbane Australia, mainly because during their summers, it is way too hot to exercise outside if you are elderly, so an early morning brisk hour of walking in the air-conditioned mall was the perfect solution. If the mall allows, you can get the walk done before the shoppers arrive, but then grab a coffee or breakfast with your fellow exercisers. Water fountains are often available, as is seating if you over-do it. From my Mum’s point of view, it was sociable as well as being a good form of exercise. You go at your own pace and there is certainly plenty to look at. The mall owners/managers can benefit from this extra business at an otherwise very slow time of day, and the canny shop owners can work it to their benefit (Senior Citizen specials on offer).

Some years ago I emailed the British Heart Foundation asking whether they had thought of launching a programme of Mall Walking in the UK, but I never heard back. Maybe it is time for the UK to start to promote it. I think a couple of the bigger UK malls do it (the Bullring in Birmingham, The Trafford Centre in Manchester and the White Rose in Leeds as well as Bluewater); the NHS mention it on their website under ‘Get Fit For Free’ which is good, but maybe if the BHF got behind it, it could help us all.

At present I am happiest walking and running outside, but I can imagine in my dotage, I would love to join this merry band of mall walkers. And I will walk super fast if I am being pursued by anyone flogging me their will-writing services.

Annie Bee x