Hi all,
Thought I’d share my latest revelation. I cycle as my main form of aerobic excercise but Brisbane is a hilly city and my inability to make it up those hills kept my adventures fairly limited. I grew up with 3 speed bikes and had never experienced “granny gear”. So, I had been attempting these hills standing up and pedalling with all the force I could muster but could never make it to the top before I hit my maximum heart rate and felt like my head might explode!!
So the other week I kept dropping gears and dropping gears and low and behold I made it to the top of the hills!!!
On reflection I can see that this is also reflected in other parts of my life - when times are tough tenacity is a great asset. But sometimes we already have the tools to make the journey easier and more achieveable but are so used to the struggle that we never utilise them.  May you all embrace “granny gear” and get wherever you want to go.  : )

Great revelation!  It’s like making things easier to make them better.  I love it!

May your new-found bike freedom bring you to new and wonderful places, and may you come back after and tell us all about them!

Cheers,
Julie

Thanks, I was actually thinking the other morning that maybe it would be nice to start a thread where people posted their outdoor excercise spots. With members from all over the world it would be pretty amazing! I live near the Brisbane river so my morning bike ride is along the river with some spectacular views an an abundance of birdlife.
I rode my bike to gym the other day for the for the first time (up until now my energy levels have been such that after a PT session the car is the best option to get home).  But I rode the 3klms to Gym, did my personal training, got on the bike did a 8klm ride along the river had some breakfast, took some pics on my phone & then back to gym for a sauna then rode home.  I felt great!

That’s a very cool insight, Penny. I00 think that’s one of the reason my Dad tries to instill simplicity in all of the programs. Sure, “simplicity works"… but sometimes we get so caught up in the complicated (high gears!) that we can’t see the easier, more pleasant path. I know plenty of times when I’ve WAAAY overcomplicated something, only to find I had the resources to make the task at hand a much better experience without all the struggle. Sometimes it may just take a little reaching out to bounce an idea off someone (friend, cat, mirror ) before you realize the best solution was there the whole time.

I always love the sport is like life analogies. 

If it wasn’t for sports and the outdoors, I don’t think I would exercise (OK - that’s an exaggeration).  Workouts are indoors, outdoor exercise is really play.  Simple does work, and so does doing what you enjoy doing.  It’s all about bringing more fun, joy, and play into life - not adding more stress and hard work.

It’s about working smarter, not harder. Thanks, Penny. Sometimes I forget that.

Hey don’t we all. I’ve got the smarter not harder sorted in my job etc but hadn’t transferred it to my physical activity. Not that is a cue to slacken off but it means that I can have adventures to new places, travel farther and not bored witless with the limitations that my habit of struggle had created.
Have a fabulous weekend.