Meanwhile, after almost a month of dry, sunny weather, Cromer reverted to type yesterday with a chilly squall. The wind and rain had eased up sufficiently by lunchtime for the Personal Fitness Trainer to take me out. Following Amy Charles’ advice that some serious beach walking would do wonders for my physique, I donned the crocs and headed down to the beach for the mile beach walk between Cromer and Overstrand, the next village to the eastward. Here is the beach, which, as you can see, is heaving with humanity.
And here’s the wintry sea.
I shucked my crocs and walked barefoot almost the whole way. The sea looked a lot colder than it was. The Personal Fitness Trainer was barefoot for the whole distance, but she’s a dog.
We got to Overstrand, and here are the crab pots to prove it.
Considered as podiatry, beach walking is fabulous – exfoliates those painful heel fissures like nothing else. I still have more of a catering pack than a six pack, but after that walk my legs ached so much I knew I was doing something right.
My God, I’m Trainer to the Stars. I’m glad it was bracing (careful with the exfoliation). Here’s the thing — if you were achy just after, you might be sort of crippled by now. Best thing for it is to get up and go for a bit of a walk. Not necessarily a two-mile beach walk. And take some acetaminophen, and stretch a bit, gently. A few weeks of walks like that, though, and you’ll be carrying your trainer in one hand as you go.Lately I’m arguing on the P90X forum with the people who put together the P90X nutrition plan — this after hearing about a dozen women freaking out at having gained weight on the program. Party line is that it’s muscle, not fat, but I contend that we’re pretty good at distinguishing the squishy, zipper-defying stuff from the firm, springy stuff. It’s interesting — from what I can tell, their musclehead diet is very good for fit young men doing hours and hours of bodybuilding exercise. Turns out to be lousy for middle-aged women doing the same exercises. Their nutritionist’s calorie-burn estimate for women doing the exercise is, I think, way off, but I think the bigger problem is that it’s the wrong way to eat. Massive protein doses dumped in from time to time over the day does not seem to work well for the ladies, even those who spend an hour or so gasping and sweating every day. I’m not sure why type of food and timing should make such a big difference. Overall, though, I’m very pleased with this program. Best exercise I’ve had in years.
Lovely place to take a walk, Henry! You’re pretty lucky with your ‘back yard’! I love rainy windswept beaches almost as much as the sunny variety.
Thanks both. Clare – I certainly am and pinch myself frequently for the good fortune that allows me to live a short walk from a beautiful beach that extends for miles and is almost deserted at most times of the year. People fly thousands of miles at great expense for beaches like this.
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