Finding my power

 If you are feeling inspired by Anna Huthmaker, make sure to check JunoActive's gym wear collection. If you feel motivated for other types of exercise check out the our Shop by Activity.

When I was a little girl, I knew in my heart of hearts that sports weren’t for me.   My heart was totally invested in me being active.  In fact, my childhood dream was to become a Harlem Globetrotter.  However, I was clumsy, uncoordinated and slow. As a result, I grew up believing that I had no grace, strength, coordination or power.

As I got older, I began to question these beliefs, and decided to start challenging them by taking up hiking.    I started slowly and eventually worked my way up to moving confidently down the trail.  I still tripped and stumbled on a regular basis, but at least I was moving. I felt alive and vibrant as I realized that my body could move! However, I still had no power. 

One day at the gym, the equipment used by the boxing coach caught my eye. I timidly asked my trainer if I could hit the heavy bag and he said, “Sure!”  He found me some old padded gloves, showed me a basic stance and “THA-WOP!!!!”   I hauled off and hit the bag as hard as I could.  I grinned and did it again. The excitement that rose up in me was electric. I had found my power. 

Within a month I was training with one of the assistants and had purchased my own gloves. After four months, the head boxing coach took me on, and now I dance around the ring, weaving and bobbing three times a week.   My coach and I have an agreement….I get to hit him as hard and often as I want, as long as he doesn’t hit back. J I leave each workout drenched in sweat and looking forward to the next one.  Now that I have found my power, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. 

Anna Huthmaker, President and Founder, Trail Dames

Riding Horses on the Trails at Gunflint Lodge

Riding Horses on the Trails at Gunflint Lodge

Usually when my sister Rose suggests something, I just say yes.  This time it was to take her two horses six hours north to the Minnesota-Canadian border to ride the cross country ski trails.  It really was a blast.

She had wisely put shoes on her horses as that part of the world is very rocky.  We rode for three days, about 2-3 hours a day.  I didn’t get sore where I expected, in the inner thighs, but boy was my back tired the first night!  It was such a treat to get that much saddle time. 

The horses were great.  The only problem was we got a little lost and ended up in a boggy area.  The horses did not like sinking into the muck, but they kept their heads and plowed through for us.  I’ll bet they’ll remember that!  I know I will!

We rode through every weather, sun, overcast, wind, snow, sleet and even hail.  But I was toasty in my JunoActive layers of fleece.  For the rain, Rose had those amazing Australian oiled slickers that made us as impervious to the weather as the horses. We made sure to pack out camping wear for those other days that didn't include rain or snow.

We stayed at Gunflint Lodge, riding along the winter cross country ski trails.  It looks so different from winter. The views from the high points were just amazing.  Our cabin was lovely, with dry wood stacked up and ready for the fireplace.  When we weren’t riding or feeding the horses, we were relaxing by walking her dogs, reading, cooking, and sleeping in the amazing silence of the north woods. 

While the food and facilities at Gunflint are amazing, they have no cell phone service, and there is no apology for that.  This is a place to reconnect with nature and yourself.  There is only a little internet and a pay phone in the main lodge.  I was at the desk when another guest asked about the service, and the staff person cheerfully said, “Oh, it’s down again, you’ll just have to try later.”   

What are the favorite activities of JunoActive women? Thank you for telling us!

What are the favorite activities of JunoActive women?  Thank you for telling us!

 It’s clear our customers love swimming and walking in all its forms and permutations!

They also love to do many other things, with notable interest in reading, working out in the gym either alone or in classes, and being outside.  Biking is a rising star, and so is entertaining.  Club sports like Tennis and Golf continue steadily along.  Our customers are great travelers, too.  Of course, relaxing is popular antidote to all that activity!

Totals by % of  683 mentions for 600 respondents

Swim             203    30%

Walk             171    25%

Relax              71    10%

Outdoor          61     9%

Gym               57      8%

Bike               39       6%

Travel            39       6%

Club Sports    22      3%

Entertain        20      3%

Fighting Bike Loss with a Foldable Bike

If you are feeling inspired by Junonia's new blogger Catherine make sure you have the right workout attire, whether its for the gym, biking, or even just walking around town.

 Fighting Bike Loss with a Foldable Bike

After thirty five bike thefts over the years, I opted to make an investment in a foldable bike by Dahon. if you leave your bike unattended for over five hours, it gets stolen, dismantled or tampered with in some way!!  I used to joke that you had to have a bike to be a delivery person in the city, so I said that I gave 35 people jobs…  You gotta keep a sense of humor.  The price was a bit prohibitive, $650, but when I tally up all the bikes stolen since 1982, I would have saved about $5,000 if I had done that early on.  I fought buying a foldable bike not only because of the price tag but because I felt like I would look like a refugee from a circus act riding it. 

I researched the various brands and wound up buying a foldable bike that weighs about 28 pounds.  I bought a bike bag to put my bike in as hoisting it up on your shoulder gives you much more leverage than carrying it satchel style.  I have to walk up two flights of stairs too, so I need the “containment” and the shoulder strap to protect my shins.  I get my upper body work that way, too.

I always hear the reprimand, “It’s awfully dangerous with all the traffic…”  Yes, it is but that’s part of getting up your nerve, acting like you are a moving vehicle and obeying the laws of the road.  I run the occasional red light, even go the wrong way on a one way street, and even take my bike on the sidewalk when there is a major traffic jam.  I confess to all these infractions.  I just don’t do them on a regular basis.  And I have a ‘bossy bell’.  So much better than yelling at people!!!  I have a bell that sounds like a bell, too.  Something recognizable that can pierce through earbuds.  I have learned the city back and forth, up and down, east and west, north and south, too.   

Please write to me with your comments and tell me how you embed exercise into your daily routine of life.  I hope you’ll share your stories of biking with me.  I’ve inspired so many people to bike that I’ve probably been instrumental in selling at least a dozen of these Dahon bikes to curiosity seekers who stop and ask me how I like the foldable bike. 

Yours in health and motion,

The Curvy Cyclist

Catherine Schuller

http://www.divabetic.org

You can bike in those heels? I sure as heck can’t WALK in them!!

If you are feeling inspired by Junonia's new blogger Catherine make sure you have the right workout attire, whether its for the gym, biking, or even just walking around town.

As  a committed New York cyclist, I find that I don’t change my shoes to a pair of sneakers.  I’ve actually   Leave it to an Italian girl to know how to protect your shoes!  Everyone always asks me, “You can ride in those high heels?”  I reply with a line that gets a laugh every time, “I sure as heck can’t WALK in them!!”

gotten used to biking in high heels.After spending time in Italy with my husband’s family, my sister showed me how to bike with your toes so your heels don’t get damaged!

You know the best part of all?  The savings!!  Taxi cabs are prohibitive…each fare is at least $12 and more if you are going down to the bottom of the island.  Subways are at least $5 a day.  I don’t have a car any longer so my insurance, parking, gas, etc. has been eliminated. 

The other great thing about biking is that I had a health check up the other day….my bone density is that of a 30 year old woman  (I am 55 year old stroke survivor) and my heart rate is 131/79!!  ‘Nuff said?!  So, if you are looking to burn some calories, build some muscle, exercise your brain and save some money, you simply must try a bike.  Even if you don’t use it to get around daily, you can find time to get out and get some fresh air.  Bike paths in parks are lovely and a real treat now that spring is in the air and the buds bursting.  Nothing like smelling a rush of honeysuckle or lilacs as you whiz by.

Yours in Health and Motion

The Curvy Cyclist

Catherine Schuller

http://www.divabetic.org

If you are feeling inspired by Junonia's new blogger Catherine make sure you have the right workout attire, whether its for the gym, biking, or even just walking around town.

I get around.  And as a curvy girl on a bike with the extra wide seat, (which just barely accommodates my ample cheeks) I can actually say I do get AROUND….yeah that old joke applies to my mode of transportation as well.  I can’t believe how long I’ve actually been doing this.  I can say I’ve been using a bicycle to get around Manhattan since the early 80s!! 

How it All Started

Way back when in the early 80s….I had begun sessions with a trainer at a gym who told me I had to figure out a way to embed ten extra hours of cardio into my week.  In those days I was modeling and attending dance class everyday and going to the gym on occasion.  Living in Manhattan, in those days without a car, everyone walked everywhere as they still do.  Even with all that activity, I still had to bump up my calorie burning quotient!!  I went on a bike ride with my trainer one afternoon and even with the city traffic scaring the be-jesus out of me, the car doors opening, the cabbies darting from lane to lane, I was hooked.  I began to get around from go-sees (interviews for modeling jobs) and castings by bike and sometimes that took me down to the bottom of Manhattan and up to the garment center and back down to the photo district.  I was clocking about 40 miles a week all tolled.  And something started to happen…I dropped inches, toned up my derriere and legs, was more mentally alert and slept like a baby at night.    Yes, I was glistening when I arrived at my destination if it was a warm day, but I don’t perspire that much and walking around the city can make you glow anyway.  Biking is an intense aerobic activity (my target heart rate can get up to 150), but at least there is a breeze!! 

I don’t have any special workout gear I need except I love biking shorts under dresses and find the chafing is decreased and the wicking ability in the bike short fabric keeps me rash free.  I love Junonia’s QuickWik© Bike Shorts.  They hold me in and if the wind blows when I am wearing my skirt, all modesty aside, I am covered.

So that’s my intro to you as the Curvy Cyclist.  Stay tune for more updates and tales from the handlebars!!  I will report my trials and tribulations, adventures and thrills and hopefully not too, too many spills.  I’ve learned to fall and never break a bone, but that’s another blog in and of itself.

Yours in health and motion,

The Curvy Cyclist

Catherine Schuller

http://www.divabetic.org

How old is ‘Too Old’?

 Read all about how Anna Huthmaker shares with JunoActive by Junonia on how to stay young at heart.

What do you think? How old is ‘too old’ to swing on a swing set?  Climb a tree? Or better yet….roll down a hill? My heart says that I am never too old to do any of these things, but sometimes, my head does get the better of me. For instance, when it comes to climbing a tree, I want to feel the bark scrape my palms and the sap stick under my fingernails. I want to swing my legs up over branches and scramble higher and higher, until that wonderful feeling of escape and adventure overwhelms me.

But then I think to myself….I am 45 years old, overweight, and not particularly agile. I can just hear the 5 o’clock news caster now…”In local news tonight, middle-aged, suburban woman, Anna Huthmaker, is rescued from a tree while trying to recapture her youth.”

 Yep, that might be a bit embarrassing. 

However, a little research shows that I am not the only adult to feel this way!  In fact, there is a method of tree climbing that is safe and available to everyone.  So, of course, the Trail Dames had to try it out!  Ropes, pulleys and a foot loop all combine to get even the most reluctant climber up in the canopy.  You can swing from branch to branch and get in touch with your inner Tarzan (or Jane, as the case may be) to your heart’s content.

So, I guess the answer to “how old is too old” is….there is no such thing!!  Want to try a little tree climbing yourself? Go to www.treeclimbing.com and enjoy the wonder of seeing the view from the tree tops. (And while you are at it….roll down a hill or two…  ) Check out our video of rolling down a hill HERE.

  -Anna Huthmaker

Feeling inspired to be playful yourself? Make sure to check out JunoActive's Shop By Activity Department to make sure you have the right outfit for whatever you may be doing to stay active.