• Why do I get the impression that John Jay is either a fan of or an agent for the Westboro Baptist 'church'? - Will Marshall
  • Why is it that whenever there is a natural disaster in the USA our media is full of it for days? But if something happens elsewhere in the world, it's hardly mentioned, if at all. The Victorian bush fires and the Queensland floods were mentioned one day in the US media and forgotten the next - but we get a barrage every time there is a storm over there and it lasts for weeks with all sorts of stories about answered prayers and heroism - which never seems to happen anywhere else in the world. Have you ever also noticed that if there is a blizzard or a heat wave, it always stops at the Canadian border? None of these things ever happen in Canada. This constant Americanisation really gets up my nose. I have met adult Australians who didn't really understand that we are not part of the USA. I fully understand why the French are so ... French - and want to stay that way and not become a cultural colony of America as we have become. - Jack Richards
  • says so much about the human animal bond - life's experiences teach you who is loyal and truly loving and they are the ones you're most likely to reach for when you're at your lowest - melissa
  • Gee Jack, you've sure stirred up all pumpkin-scone bakers from Akerman's blog. They must be desperate for attention to chase you all the way to here. I think many of those extreme-right women secretly have the hots for you - and that's why they go out of their way to find you. By the way, I read your comments on Rudd's blog about SSM. I couldn't agree more! - Yasmina
  • Congratulations PJ and team!! A beautiful garden. Connecting to nature is what it's all about. - Fairy The Green One
  • Yes, and you are about as far from being a "rocket surgeon" as anyone who has ever graced this site. - Wendy Harmer
  • Relax Harry, I normally leave my contributions to online debate to a single entry or two but the response to my very brief comment led me into this discussion. You're right to say I had some connection with the writing, hence my joining in. But the connection was based on my not liking it. That's fair enough, people write pieces for sites like this in the full knowledge that they will be critiqued and that not everyone will like what they have said. If authors don't like it, they shouldn't put their writing out there. You may have noticed that I was not alone in criticising the article and so far no one has actually rebutted any of the points I have made - just complained about the way I have made them. If you disagree with the substance then go ahead and say where. I remember well being 16, but I'm not sure that it has much to do with what I wrote. Whatever poor behaviour I exhibited then - and there surely was some - my mum didn't write open letters about it to the paper or whatever media were available then. You've engaged me online without actually suggesting where I was wrong, but have you had a word with your mum re. what she publicly implied about the behaviour exhibited by you and your siblings? I gotta admit being part of this thread has been pretty enjoyable but it's probably for the best that I normally wouldn't have time to follow something like this over a couple of days - one could get sucked int pretty easily I guess. - Sly Place
  • The freckled duck is not rare. Its listed as 'Least concern' on the UICN red list. Just because CADS say its rare, doesnt mean they are telling the truth. Of course CADS had armed protestors willing to attend shooting locations. Laurie Levy openly admits that his supporters were prepared to break the law to achieve their goal. So heres an alternative hypothesis. CADS descended on the (officially) unattended, unmonitored Box Flats, and chose to make martyrs of several hundred birds to further their cause. It doesnt take a rocket surgeon to understand that that is just as plausible a situation as a rogue hunter. - leigh
  • so lovely, I am glad she got him back safely! aww :) - sami
  • So in 2015 a ranking of 70 and above will be mandatory for entry to University in NSW. So even if school standards are lifted for all by a massive increase in funding only the top 30% of year 12 graduates will be eligible for a University qualification? Or to put it another way approx 70% of year 12 graduates will not qualify to be considered for a university education. Now that's exclusive. I understand why University funding has been cut. Why focus so heavily on increasing the funding at school level only? - Michelle
 
6
Categories:  Wellbeing

THE SKINNY ON STRENGTH

By Gabrielle Chan
November 8, 2012

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

 

I adore my horses. Horses eat hay. Hay is made in bales. Bales weigh about 25 to 30 kilograms.

This is how I found myself lifting 120 bales on to the back of the ute as my husband drove from bale to bale. I stack them three rows high and the top row is above my head height. Though the bales start off quite light, after a few loads in 30 degree heat, it becomes difficult. But not impossible. Never impossible.

At 47, I still relish chances to improve on my physical strength. No longer do I chase the skinny dream. Strength is everything.

Strong body, strong mind. It brings confidence. It keeps female bones strong. It will, I am convinced, carry me into old age.

Some women dream of chasing their perfect job. Some women dream of having the perfect house. I dream of doing the perfect chin up. Hands forward!

I never want to be the woman who can’t carry a few grocery bags in both hands.

I never want to be the one waiting for the blokes to lift a 20kg bag of dog food into the boot of the car.

And looking forward, I never want to be the woman who can’t pick up her little grandchildren.

From my teenage years, my weight had swung back and forth like a pendulum. Like most young women, I alternated between pigging out and dieting. Alcohol was an ever-present factor affecting my weight. It was only in my mid-to-late twenties when I started exercising regularly. Running became a daily meditation, but it was all aimed at weight control.

The birth of my first child changed my perspective. Yoga was a welcome form of stress relief and it opened my eyes as to what was possible with a strong and supple body.

I began practicing regularly and while my natural strength initially carried me through, I quickly saw smaller, older women who had amazing strength.

Plank pose was difficult after childbirth. Could I still do a backbend? Or hold my own weight in a handstand?

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6 Responses to this article

  1. Nat November 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I will never be skinny. I am however fit and strong. I can be 80kg and a size 10-12. Strength is what I am built for. Last year I piled on weight after a knee injury.
    I was diagnosed earlier this year with pcos. Since then I have lost weight, changed my diet and become strong again. And pregnant again.

     
  2. Lauretta November 13, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Great story Gabrielle. I am 50 this year and I started strength training 2 years ago. I am a new woman! Stronger, fitter and mentally tougher than I have ever been before. I now do 4 weight sessions per week, instead of the recommended minimum of two. It just makes you feel great and gives you some much needed ‘me’ time when you just focus on what your body & muscles are doing and not much else. I too, wish I had started much earlier in life.

     
  3. ro.watson November 13, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I like what you say about re-orienting to getting and being strong. For a good part of my early life I enjoyed my strength and tested it. I also practiced yoga and meditation and was exposed to various helpful and compassionate philosophies. I am concerned however about the weights you are lifting overhead~ agricultural occ. health and safety? I am also concerned about how people like you, and people like me(once strong) are served up issues like disease,trauma,accident and ageing~ and then we cannot be the people we once were.

     
  4. Shannon November 14, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Thank you!

     
  5. Kyra November 14, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Loved your article. I am a 42 y.o. mother of 3 who just did my first Tough Mudder in September and have already signed up for the next one in Sydney. People think I’m mad, but what makes me mad is that I didn’t get the exercise bug 20 years ago! I love it, and look forward to it every day. My kids are proud of me and active, although my husband subscribes to the “you only have so many heartbeats in your lifetime, why would you waste them?” theory. Can’t win all of the battles!

     

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Comments

  • Will Marshall: Why do I get the impression that John Jay is either a fan of or an agent for the Westboro Baptist 'church'?

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  • Jack Richards: Why is it that whenever there is a natural disaster in the USA our media is full of it for days? But if something happen...

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  • melissa: says so much about the human animal bond - life's experiences teach you who is loyal and truly loving and they are the o...

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  • Yasmina: Gee Jack, you've sure stirred up all pumpkin-scone bakers from Akerman's blog. They must be desperate for attention to c...

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