Connecting with the wilderness, mainly by sea kayak, but not solely.

Health

Rollin’ and a Achin’

Over at Silbs Says he is wondering why he is so stiff and sore after a pool session where he was a rollin’ around in the water for a couple of hours (“I Don’t Get It” 12/1/2009).  And, while I wasn’t there, I suspect he was putting his body through all sorts of gyrations that it had not been through for a long time–perhaps since rolling camp 3 or 4 months ago.  I’ve observed him, and others, doing all sorts of rolling, especially some of the Greenland movements, really twisting their body, and throwing their arms out-n-about.  These movements are usually way out of the normal range they put their joints through, and they wonder why they are sore the next day?

Now our fellow blogger and sea kayaker, and roller in his own right, DaveO from the land of purple and gold and all things favre–though we won’t hold that against him, has suggested in a comment to Silbs that the aches and pains are nothing that Bushmill’s wouldn’t solve. I’m not so sure Bushmills’ would “solve” the problem, but certainly could make one forget about those issues for awhile.  Or, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this,” patient says as he hits himself in the head.  Doctor replies, “don’t do that!”  There, problem/pain solved.  Not so easy with kayakers though–when given a body of warm clean water, a boat and a paddle, what’s a kayaker to do?  Roll it!  Then roll over and do it again, and again, and again . . . .

I would submit that for a more permanent solution one should check out Sea Kayak Dot Net where you will find a great series on exercises to do to strengthen one’s self for the paddling and rolling that we do.

I’ve discussed the “get fit to paddle” theme before, so it may come as somewhat of a “beating a dead horse” but I can’t emphasize enough the need, as well as the positive correlation, between being fit to paddle and being a fit paddler.  (Keeping Your Edge, December  27, 2007.)

Ok, so you paddled a lot this past summer and now that winter is here (at least colder air and water temperatures, and snow forecast today), you will cut back to limited, or no, outdoor paddling but maybe a pool session or two between now and next “session”.  Do you really think that you are going maintain the same level of fitness and paddling ability where you left off?  As sea kayakers we need to maintain three levels of fitness:  cardio (endurance), strength, and flexibility.  Just like that three legged stool, without maintaining all three we are going to be wobbley when we get in our kayaks.

There’s plenty of information available to help guide us, here are a few of my favorites (in addition to the aforementioned Sea Kayak Dot Net):

Something to think about, something to do, and certainly some good study materials.

As for me, I visit the athletic club 3 times a week, go through a series of stretches and core exercises virtually every morning, and I watch my weight (didn’t gain any over Thanksgiving, and didn’t starve either!).  I also study the reference materials, and search for more.  Most importantly, I have fun!  Now, if I manage to do this with my work schedule, you can too.

Get fit to paddle and be a fit paddler!

Posted: December 3rd, 2009 under Fitness, Health, Sea Kayaking, Uncategorized.
Comments: 4

Practice Safe Sun!

For many years my biggest fear has been “the big C” — cancer. Having lost my mother and father, as well as my aunt, to cancer, I think it is an understandable fear.

I’ve paying close attention to my body, looking for tell-a-tale signs. In those places where I haven’t been able to inspect myself, I’ve done what my doctor recommend and had “the procedure” (colonoscopy). But, I always kinda figured that my largest risk would be from skin cancer. For three summers in my late teens I was a lifeguard at a state park beach in my “home” state of Indiana—lots of sun exposure. If that wasn’t enough, I did some work on neighbors’ farms; worked one summer as a hod carrier for a masonry contractor; Then there were the tours of duty in the navy that took me to far away places–places that I’d love to return to with my sea kayak; and, for the last 16 years I’ve been an avid sea kayaker. So, there’s been a lot of sun exposure in my life.

How appropriate that in the current (February) edition of Sea Kayaker there’s an article on avoiding heat injuries, which also discusses sun exposure. While the author of the article includes sun exposure in his discussion of “heat” injuries, it’s actually the exposure to the radiation from the sun’s ultraviolet rays that causes the damage to our skin. The author does give a good description of UV radiation and its effect on our skin, but he leaves the impression that it’s only a summer time issue. My mentioning of this point, is that our skin is exposed to this radiation year-round, not just in the warm weather months, though it is more intense in the summer months.

In these later years I’ve been pretty diligent about applying the sunscreen, and wearing a hat! I’ve been applying a daily dose of skin moisturizer containing SPF 15 sunscreen on my face, neck, ears, and head—if it is above the shoulders it gets Lubriderm moisturizer with SPF 15 sunscreen—365 days a year! However, all of this couldn’t undo the damage previously done.

About 2 months ago I felt a spot on my head—it had a dry scaly feel to it. Then a few days latter, I noticed another spot in the same area—a bit of a bump that was a different color than I was used to. Hmmmmm. . . . time to do some research (on the web of course), and make an appointment with my primary care physical. He then referred me to a dermatologist. The dermatologist did a full body inspection and came back to my head. Discussing with me his findings, he gave me the option of treatment now for the “pre-cancerous” spots, or wait until my next appointment. Why wait? So, with a device that looked more like a blowtorch than a medical instrument, he began to apply liquid nitrogen to several spots on my head. Other than the noise, and a brief “ice cream headache”, nothing to it. The photo above is one day post-treatment. It’s now two weeks post treatment, and four weeks until my follow-up appointment. The treated areas are still red, but have healed nicely. And, I’m continuing my visual exams—monthly is what my doctor recommended, but I keep a more frequent watch than that. And, I will continue to use the SPF 15, and reapply every 2 to 3 hours when in the sun as the chemicals breakdown and the protection weakens.

Yes, I practice safe sun and I hope you do as well!

Posted: January 26th, 2007 under Health.
Comments: 2