MSI Press Blog

  Still in progress, but definitely in the line-up of future publications is Grandma's Ninja Training Diary -- the story and insights of a septaguanarian undertaking training in hopes of submitting an application tape to the ninja games (did not happen because of covid shutdowns and an interesting body discovery -- have to wait for the book to find that out). What was learned in the process, especially about the aging body and fitness, was pretty immense and will be shared in this "diary" in a unique way (experience of "Grandma" and discussion by her trainer, Brittany Renz, author of Girl, You Got This! ) intended to help those who are already in retirement keep fit.  So, aging muscles? Yep! Here are some articles that can shed some light on how they differ from the muscles of young'uns: 50-year-old muscles just can’t grow big like they used to – the biology of how muscles change with age  This is one of the best exercises you can do for your health if you’r

  Ninja work requires strength, especially upper body strength. That is obvious to any who watch Ninja Warrior games, and I concentrated on upper body strength at every session with my trainer. But there is something else. When I began my ninja training, my bone tests showed mild osteoporosis, not atypical for my age. After a couple of years of strength training as part of my "ninja training, my bone density tested normal. The strength training added to the density of my leg and upper body bones. Walking took care of the spine. I used to think that walking was boring, and that walking was simple. You just put one step in front of the other over and over again, and soon you are striding along, losing weight and gaining health. Then, I learned about High-Intensity Interval Training , varying speed over time. My cup of tea. I could mis things up on an outdoor walk and distract myself from boredom by playing with the controls on the treadmill at the gym: fast, slow, almost-running, st

The human ability to err comes through in American Ninja Warrior that I have watched. No missteps or a fixed error result in a run to glory. One simple misstep, and even the greatest warrior can fall from glory. Last night, Isaac Caldierno, one of only two ninjas to finish Stage Four at Mount Midoriyama, fell on one of the early obstacles in the Indiana city competition. Had he lost his touch? No. Had his muscles atrophied? No. Did his strategic thinking skills fail to keep up with the ever-evolving courses? No. Had he miscalculated the obstacle? No. Did he feel sick, confused, or distracted? No. He simply took a misstep—as we all do from time to time throughout life, sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally. In other words, he is human. When Kacy Catanzaro made her way through tall poles rising from water, situated farther apart from each other than Casey could possibly reach, she did a quick calculation and jumped, managing to grab and hang on to the next pole. The c

Today, I began my yoga classes. I dropped in to the gym's Flow Yoga class. Earlier, when I consulted with my trainer, Brittany, she suggested that, of the classes that the gym offered, yoga would be the most beneficial for me in my seeking to develop the skills needed for coping successfully with the ninja obstacles. I quickly saw how well she had identified my weaknesses, the most significant of them being balance. The yoga instructor was patient with me as I topped over again and again. Stand on one foot? No, I don't think so. Not yet, anyway. My ability to handle positions, like the downward dog pose above, surprised me, pleasantly so. All the work on core with Brittany for the past six months really had prepared me for poses requiring core development. Planks? Not a problem. Contort legs and arms? Not a problem -- for six months, I have also been working on flexibility. However, balancing on one foot ended up with both feet on the floor or real tipping over. Than

 Yesterday, a newly adopted feral cat hid himself under our very large, 7-section sofa. I pushed the sofa out a bit to reach him and found that by doing so I had trapped his paw under one of the heavy bars that held the sections together in the back of the sofa. Concerned for his safety, I instinctively reached out with my left had, lifted up the end of the sofa (about three sections) and pulled the cat out with my right hand. My goodness, I thought, after letting the sofa back down, I have become quite strong from my training over the past seven months. Quickly, though, the reality set in. It as not my muscles alone that lifted the sofa. It was adrenaline pouring into the muscles, making them stronger. Very quickly, my wrist began to throb. Oh, oh! I made it through the night, sleeping though the pain -- I can do that. In the morning, the pain made it clear that I needed to confess to the doctor my foolishness at thinking I might be superwoman. I wrapped an ace bandage around

My first day of freedom was January 1, 2018. I had retired from the Defense Language Institute, where, as provost, I served as the senior civilian leader for 2000 foreign language teachers. That was the last of many career positions associated with overseeing foreign language programs: Foreign Service Institute, NASA, American Global Studies Institute, American Councils for International Education, Federal Language Training Laboratory...in short, if a niece of nephew or Uncle Sam had studied a foreign language, chances are I had had something to do with that program of study at some point in time. Leaving a high stress job, where I had gained a few more pounds than typically come with the aging process and had let my muscles, once finely shaped by another form of Uncle Sam's influence on me -- the US Army, where I served as enlisted and officer for almost eight years (counting a few years of reserve duty), atrophy. I just did not have time for much physical activity in a job th

Tonight, husband Carl brought home three large bags of groceries and needed help bringing them up the stairs to our second-floor living space. I reached for all three. "Be careful," he said, pointing to one bag. "It is very heavy." I lifted it. "No, it's not," I told him. "Yes, it is," he insisted. Well, actually, no, it was not. It would have been a year ago, but not now. I easily carried all three bags together, two in one hand, and the supposedly heavy bag in the ohter, up our 17 stairs, held all in one hand to open the door, and then lifted them all easily onto the counter which is almost chest-high for me. If I needed an assessment, there I had it. Of course, though, I want something a little more formal albeit informal, meaning my own assessment. Beginning from this point, though, I think I will pull my trainer into helping me develop a formal assessment. She says that I have made significant progress, both vi

Kitchen Chaos My mommy is a very nice mommy, but she is a very bad cook. When my sister needed to take some deviled eggs to Rain­bow Girls’ meeting, my mommy made them. Mommy didn’t re­ally want to make them. She wanted to find some place to buy them. However, the leader of the Rainbow Girls’ chapter told Mommy that they were asking all the mommies to make, not buy, the food contributions in order to set a good example for the girls in the chapter. Some example! Against her better judgment and protesting all the way, my sister, Fawn, took them to her meeting. We all knew what would happen. Sure enough, Fawn came back home with all the eggs except one. After one person had tasted one of the eggs, no one else wanted to eat them. Mommy said she did not understand what the problem was. She had made only one small change to the recipe. Since she did not have any paprika, she used some­thing that she thought would be okay because it looked very much like paprika: cayenne peppe

So, it is not a pretty picture, and also, it was bound to happen, I guess. A rotator cuff injury -- from weed-wahcking, not from fitness training. My fitness trainer is very careful to make sure I don't overstress my rotator cuffs, knowing that a torn rotator cuff could end all my ninja hopes and plans. But that weed-whacking... So, what have I learned? Still learning, actually. 1. I cannot force the use of my arm and expet it to get better. No powering through, So, pull-ups are out for a while. I wonder if the strength I have built up (not very impressive yet, honestly speaking) will return. Well, I will the answer to that question in time -- and will share. 2. I should not "grin and bear it" because analgesics not only help with pain, they also help with inflammation, which is very important for healing. 3. I do NOT want surgery; that is the scariest part because it may really put me out of commission. So, I need to help the rotator cuff heal naturally. 4

So, I learned something new this week. Iterations matter as much as weight. In fact, I can try to lift heavier weights, or I can get the same benefit by lifting a lesser weight more times. As my starting point, then, I will use: 15 iteratinos 5 pounds That sounds like not very much to all you readers who are have stayed in shape -- unlike me, an almost-septaguarian wth five decades behind me of NO physical activity. Hey, at least I am doing it now. Better late than never, right? Who else out there in their 60s and 70s is striving to get back into shape -- or enter competitions? Would love to hear from you!!

Slugging though a 5-year period of preparation has moments of high motivation and moments of wondering if the bridge is just too far. I was wondering that today after gaining (not losing) two pounds (still beating around the overweight-obese divide) and thinking maybe commonsense is the better part of valor when I saw this quote from Thomas Merton: "The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little," OK - rock climbing, yoga, it's still on! Judo in January!! And back to more sit-ups, more push-ups, trying to really do a pull up. Strong Fitness challenges -- I'm all in!

  Excerpt from Spunky Grandmas and Other Amusing Characters (Mogren) APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED   Seems Grandma’s clothes were getting rather tight. When Grandpa said she ought to lose some weight, It very nearly caused a nasty fight For she got pleasure from the foods she ate.   She baked and ate delicious cakes and pies, Drank wine and cappuccino every day, Loved pizza, burgers, onion rings, and fries And one day threw her bathroom scale away.   Time was she’d fret about what others thought. She exercised and always was aware Of fats and carbs in all the foods she bought. But now she says, “I really don’t much care.   “I’m happy with myself the way I am. If folks don’t like it, I don’t give a damn.” Ken's book can be purchased at retail stores, online booksellers, and for 25% discount, with coupon code FF25, at the MSI Press webstore . For more posts by and about Ken Mogren and his book, click HERE . For more MSI Press humor books, click HERE .