Jill McCauslin, Author at Becoming Elli

Lava Shorts Review

November 17, 2022

I’ve been using my Lava Shorts for a while now and thought I should write a review of them. I'm not a strong swimmer but I've been trying for a while now. Lava shorts are basically wetsuit shorts. They’re made from neoprene. The point of wearing them is that they help make you more buoyant. They lift your hips to help with swimming. Since you can’t wear a wetsuit in a pool, these shorts help simulate that to help with training for open water swimming. For some reason, I blocked on the name Lava Shorts and simply called them my “floaty pants.” They do make a noticeable difference in your swimming style. I think if you’re training for a triathalon or if you have issues with keeping your...

#lavashorts swim

How to Improve Your Balance

November 3, 2022

Fit and Strong

Wanting to improve your balance is something we think about as we age. You always hear about the elderly not being able to balance, which leads to falls and clumsiness. Before we talk about how to improve your balance, let’s first check your balance. First thing to try is to lift one foot and see how long you can stand on the other foot. Time yourself. I suggest you test yourself balancing on both legs. My right leg is significantly stronger than the left so my balance is better on my right. Second thing to try is checking your balance as you move. Try walking in a single line, as if you’re on a tightrope, for 10 or 12 steps. See how you do. Once you start working on...

balance

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds in the Air Fryer

October 27, 2022

Fit and Strong, Food and Drink, Recipes

It’s that time of year again when we grab some pumpkins and carve them into jack o’lanterns. We had a little pumpkin carving party at my house recently. You can see the results of our handiwork in the photos above and below. We carved four pumpkins and I took all of the seeds to roast. I basically followed the recipe I posted a few years ago about roasting squash seeds but decided to try using the Air Fryer instead of the oven. I will say that making roasted pumpkin seeds in the air fryer worked well. The seeds turned out well. First, I washed the seeds to get the goopy pumpkin strings off of them and then I boiled them for a few minutes. I then poured the seeds...

#pumpkin #pumpkinseeds

Struggling to be Fit and Strong

October 6, 2022

Fit and Strong, Mental Health

I’ve been struggling lately with living my fit, strong life. I’m having a hard time getting myself to the gym or out for anything more strenuous than walking Penny. I’m also not eating as well as I would like. I know this is just a mental block on my part but I’m having a hard time getting over it. I thought perhaps if I wrote about it here, it would help. You know, share my misery and see if that helps. Sometimes sharing the things you struggle with really helps relieve some of the struggle. I’ve allowed sweets to come back into my life. I was doing so well with not eating sugar but suddenly I’m back to eating baked goods. I slipped in some ice cream...

Curry Popcorn Recipe

September 29, 2022

Fit and Strong, Recipes

A friend made me this curry popcorn one year for my birthday. I thought it was the best snack food I’d had in a long time so I asked her for the recipe. She made a copy for me and I made it several times. Then, as life happens, I moved and boxed everything up and didn’t unpack things as well as I packed. I was looking for this recipe and couldn’t find it. Recently I opened a box I’d stored in the closet in my office and there was the recipe for curry popcorn. I got the munchies just thinking about this popcorn. The funny thing is that I wrote a lengthy list of healthy snacks in an earlier blog post but I didn't mention popcorn...

#popcorn

Strength Training Guidelines

July 14, 2022

Building Muscle, Fit and Strong, Work Outs

We’ve talked a lot about strength training guidelines for adults on our podcast. I thought I’d provide a quick recap of those guidelines and give you some ideas on how to get in quality strength workouts. Strength Training Guidelines According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), healthy adults should perform strength training at least twice a week on non-consecutive days. Each session should include 8 to 10 repetitions that stress each of the major muscle groups or 10 to 15 repetitions for those who are older and frail. If you go with longer repetitions, you’ll use lighter weight. You can certainly train more than twice a week but you want to make sure you cover all of the major muscle groups at least twice a week. So,...

#ACSM #strength

Differences Between Dynamic and Static Stretching

July 6, 2022

Building Muscle, Fit and Strong

In our podcast episode with Carol Simpson, she talks about dynamic and static stretching. She commented that you often see runners at the beginning of a race doing static stretches when they should be doing dynamic stretches. Shortly after that episode, I went to my gym and they had a flyer out entitled Flexibility Guidelines for Seniors. I really hate applying guidelines for seniors to me but there was some useful information, mainly describing the differences between dynamic and static stretching. Dynamic Stretches Dynamic stretches involve movement. You move your joints and muscles so they go through a full range of motion. These stretches should be done before a workout to warm up the muscles. Sometimes dynamic stretches are movements that mimic the movement of the exercise. That’s why...

Hydration Guidelines

June 30, 2022

Fit and Strong, Food and Drink

I found some hydration guidelines at my gym and I thought I’d share some of the information. How Much Water Should I Drink? You’ll see a wide variety of numbers for water requirements for healthy adults. When I searched for hydration guidelines for adults and found a range of recommendations. I saw that we should drink eight 8-ounce (just shy of two liters) glasses of water per day. I saw higher and lower numbers too. You can find calculators online that will take your weight and tell you how much water you need to consume. I found one that seemed to be hosted by some diet blogger. It said I should drink 119 ounces of water per day, which is the same as 14.9 Cups or 3.53 Liters). That seems...

#water hydration

Dressing for the Gym

June 16, 2022

Fit and Strong, Fitness

The topic of dressing for the gym comes up occasionally. I went into the locker room at my gym yesterday and a woman I know from the locker room was there. She was wearing a cute outfit for working out. She had on a black skort, you know, the short skirt that has shorts underneath. Her top was a cute short sleeved black and white striped jersey. A very attractive outfit. I commented on it. I told her how nice she looked. She said, “I’m worried that I’m showing too much skin.” I told her I thought she was fine. She said a friend of hers who always looks polished told her that the key to looking good as you age is to cover up as much...

clothes gym

Obstacles on the Bike and Hike Trail

June 2, 2022

Bike Riding, Fit and Strong, Running

I discovered some obstacles on the bike and hike trail that's close to my house. I'm lucky to live close to the park's trail. I use it frequently all year round. This past weekend was a holiday weekend and we had gorgeous summer weather. I was not the only person eager to use the bike and hike trail. On Saturday, I took Penny for a run on the bike and hike trail close to my house. It was a great day for a run, plus it’s a holiday weekend. There were lots of people using the trail. I know I've written about running with Penny before. Penny is doing well with running with me though I'm so slow that Penny doesn't actually run. She just sort of...

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Author: Jill McCauslin

Lava Shorts Review

How to Improve Your Balance

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds in the Air Fryer

Struggling to be Fit and Strong

Curry Popcorn Recipe

Strength Training Guidelines

Differences Between Dynamic and Static Stretching

Hydration Guidelines

Dressing for the Gym

Obstacles on the Bike and Hike Trail

Beyond the Basic Bowl: Creative Ways to Use Quinoa

Buddha Bowl

Vegetable Soup for a Cold Weekend

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