#Field exercises

[vaxxman]

height ahh difference

[petiteredthinker]

Feeling a little better today, better than yesterday.

[thedisablednaturalist]

Tw for weight loss mention

The whole exercise will cure your disability thing is a fucking joke. Yes exercise is beneficial for your health, but only if you aren't already on shaky foundations. You need to be on a treatment plan that WORKS before going into the maintenance phase. You wouldn't do regular maintenance on a broken item, you'd work on getting it up and running first. And maybe it would even need specialized maintenance afterwards if it's especially fragile.

I have fibromyalgia and acute degenerative disc disease. My immune system attacks my nerves and discs in my spine are slowly calcifying and causing the bones to constrict and damage my nerves (i think thats how it works). I have days where it feels like my body is on fire from nerve pain and days where it feels like my spine is about to rip from my back. And days where I have both (like today!). I get numbness in my hands and feet. I have horrible migraines. I can no longer walk unaided more than maybe 5 minutes without severe pain. I have something wrong with my knees and hips but the doctors don't know what yet.

You'd think I live an obviously seditary lifestyle correct?

Hell no.

I walk aided on average 6 miles a day over difficult terrain OUTSIDE of regular activity almost everyday. My legs are muscular and strong. I get my heart rate up and a good sweat, like all the gym rats swear on. I am often doing physical labor such as weeding, digging, sample collecting, pruning trees etc.

I'm not saying this to make other disabled people feel bad or prove that they can do anything if they just tried harder. This is an extremely painful lifestyle I've chosen that takes a lot of lifestyle management AND BOUNDARIES to keep up with the work. I also have an extremely forgiving boss who is also physically disabled and knows what I'm going through (deciding between your passion and your health and having to do so each and every day) No one should ever be expected to do what I do. I'm not even sure if I should be doing this myself.

This is to prove that exercise? Has not cured me. My muscles are strong but still hurt as if they're broken and I have to take more breaks than my coworker. I am constantly getting out of breath and I flare up regularly if I'm not careful. I am in excellent physical condition outside of my disabilities. I go to different doctors several times a month to get checked out.

I previously went through a diet program and lost a lot of weight (basically starving myself and got off my depression meds which cause weight gain but are also the only ones that work) and guess what? That didn't do shit either!!! I still felt horrible!!! I've since gained back the weight anyway after switching to focusing on adding more nutrient dense foods than taking stuff away from my diet (also muscle weighs more than fat, and fat helps cushion my aching joints and spine).

The muscle doesn't do shit for my disabilities outside of maybe some stability. Exercising everyday doesn't make the pain go away. Without my medications and aids and nutrition plans and steroid injections and spinal adjustments and physical therapy (that takes my fibro and spine into account) and alternative work methods I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO WHAT I DO. Exercise alone is like trying to make a car run with no oil. Yes it'll go but it'll get more and more damaged till it can't and will need its entire engine replaced!

And yet I see new doctors and they look at me and the first thing out of their mouths is do I exercise? I should try doing a little every day :) and then i fucking blow their minds when I tell them about my job. No longer can they use that fucking cop out on me. I've been through this rodeo. Ive tried their suggestions. If you are in pain and nothing is helping? Exercise ain't going to do SHIT. You need to get to a point where you can move without severe pain first (if that's even possible). Then and only then should you consider implementing regular exercise if you can. Also weight loss talk is a red flag and a cop out. They made me lose 50+ lbs before they would look into the reasons behind my pain. Weight loss did nothing for me and exacerbated my pain.

I am living proof that all that shit is a lie and a cop out. That is the point of this post. I cannot believe people with serious medical conditions are being forced to put their bodies through extreme duress just to be believed. You are not disabled because of laziness or because you sit a lot. Plenty of people live seditary lifestyles and do not live in constant excruciating pain (they may develop disabilities later in life due to this however, and should be doing preventative exercises to maintain their health)

Please, share my story with doctors. Use me as an example. I am proof that "exercise first treat later" does not work. I should not have had to wait years to have my pain validated. I'd rather hundreds of fakers get (what? A blood test? An MRI?) than one chronically ill person get told to try yoga and go away by a doctor.

[abirddogmoment]

A little bit about CKC pointing field trials (puppy stakes) in general for those who are interested in how they run.

CKC has its hunting dog events broken out pretty specifically. CKC is restrictive in which breeds can run which events (e.g., only CKC registered approved pointing breeds can run pointing tests, other breeds are excluded even if they technically could complete the exercises. Rory can only run pointing events, she couldn't do a retriever test or a spaniel test).

We also have a distinction in trials vs tests, as most other venues do.

Trials - you are competing against other people and being judged against a standard. You run in pairs. Top 4 dogs get placements, once you get enough points you get a field championship.

Tests - you are running alone and being judged against a standard for a qualifying/non-qualifying runs. 3 qualifying runs gets you a title.

We are currently running CKC pointing field trials.

CKC pointing trials have two main distinctions within them - puppy stakes and senior stakes. You can enter whichever stake you're ready for, with some exceptions (like age) - you don't have to run puppy stakes before running senior stakes.

Puppy stakes are a little lower pressure because they judge puppies' potential. Within puppy stakes, there are two main types of runs.

Open puppy stakes: any puppy *of eligible breed* between 6 and 18 months old. No birds hidden in the field, no gunshots on the course, 15-20 minutes running.

Derby stakes: any puppy of eligible breed between 6 and 27 months old. At least two birds hidden in the field, puppy needs to point birds if encountered, gunshots, 20-30 minutes.

We run open puppy for now. Here's how this goes:

We are randomly paired with another puppy and handler (this pairing is called a brace, the other handler and dog are our bracemates). We walk up to the start line together (usually the entrance to a big pasture) with our puppies on leash. Two judges (on ATV or horseback) give us a quick overview of the course we have to walk. The course is usually through a big open field with medium cover (think knee high grasses and shrubs, some wetlands, some hills but no forest) and typically avoids fencelines or roads. They tell us to release our dogs at the same time, so we let the dogs off leash and start walking (very fast, and I'm a fast walker to begin with). The course is usually huge, much bigger than we could possibly walk in 20 mins.

Usually the puppies play a little bit and then get to work. The judges are looking for puppies who can ignore the other dog and handler, judges, ATV, horses, and spectators, hunt independently, cover lots of ground (move fast and steady across the terrain while still sniffing), use the wind to follow scent, and respond to their handlers' directions. If the puppies want to play too much, the judges will ask the handlers to split up a little bit to encourage the puppies to work independently. Usually you stick within about 10m (25ft) of your bracemate. Puppies can range anywhere as long as they stay visible and ahead of their handlers. (Puppies are often about several hundred metres/yards away from their handlers depending on breed. Rory ranges about 50-100m in real life and about 75-300m in field trials. It is an exhilarating exercise in trust in my training.)

The judges follow behind us and then spectators can follow behind the judges, if they want. We have to keep up a very fast pace to encourage the puppies to cover as much ground as possible, not at a jog but pretty close.

In puppy stakes, you want to keep as quiet as you can. The judges are looking for instinct and basic potential, so you don't want to ruin that by giving your dog tons of directions. If your puppy follows directions, that suggests they need directions to function. If your dog ignores directions, that's unresponsive and also bad. Ideally you shouldn't say much during your run unless there's danger (if a deer runs out, you would recall your puppy) or evils (if your puppy is eating poop, you could recall or redirect). You are allowed to chat with your bracemate but you have to hustle fast so it's usually friendly but minimal.

One important piece of open puppy stakes is that there are no planted birds in the field! There may be wild birds, but it's unlikely. Many people "over train" their bird dog puppies on live birds, and then the puppies get really frustrated that there are no birds in the field after they search so hard. This causes puppies to slow down or give up entirely during their run, so this is something that judges look for. In real life hunting, there's no guarantee of birds so it's important that puppies can work through frustration without losing enthusiasm.

The judges kind of shout directions (go left, head for those trees) from behind to keep us on course. In the best courses, the judges make you walk a loop, but sometimes your time ends in the middle of a field. When your time is up, the judges will thank you and tell you to leash your dog. We recall our puppies and put them on leash and walk them back to our cars for water and snacks.

That's the whole run for open puppy! It's very low pressure. The puppies basically just follow their hearts and do what they were made to do.

Derby is extremely similar, except there are birds planted in the field. The puppies don't HAVE to find birds but obviously its preferable that they do. If they find birds, they must point (stop moving and stand still staring at the bird). They don't have to be steady to flush or shot (they can chase when the bird flies or when the gun goes off), and only blanks are shot in derby. The course is a little longer but everything else is the same.

In open puppy and derby stakes, the judges are just looking for potential. They want to know if your dog would be competitive in the senior stakes, so they're looking for lots of independence, lots of bird drive, lots of stamina, things like that. Because they're judging potential, younger puppies may be judged a little easier than older puppies.

I think that's the gist of puppy stakes in CKC pointing field trials! Send me a message if you have questions about our experience so far!

[wondermutt20]

"When your legs get tired, run with your heart."

Unknown

[megpricephotography]

A peaceful walk with Flynn, down to the buttercup fields. We didn’t meet any other people or dogs, but heard lots of birds twittering, insects buzzing, squirrels & rabbits & voles rustling in the hedgerows & beautiful wildflowers everywhere. 

[lichenaday]

I have had a few folks asking if I am alive and I think I am, for all intents and purposes. Just exhausted from field work and travel and stress, and am taking some time to recover. Think of me as a lichen in a desiccated, inactive state--not dead, but waiting for the optimal conditions to become active again.

[disastrouslyyours]

Surprise fic from me about two guys even I didn’t know I’d end up attached to! Domestic fluff, slice of life, tender and affectionate little moment between husbands Hassel and Brassius.

((AKA, a short and sweet excuse to write Hassel being just a little bit ticklish.))

[foryouthegays]

i feel like i need to preface this post with it is NEVER FUCKING OK to hurt ur kid etc etc.

anyway

some kids have never experienced pain and i think that negatively stunts their growth

like. ok. i teach aerial. there is no part of aerial that isnt at least a little uncomfortable or painful. most kids are like oof this kinda hurts but i can deal. and im like yeah! [alt version] might feel better or u could try [modification] if its bad but yeah it feels kinda hurty doesnt it? and thats fine! thats a kid expressing what their body is feeling, which is a mild amount of pain, and learning how to deal w it (either by pushing through, changing what theyre doing, or stopping) in a healthy way!

but SOME FUCKING KIDS. havent had a single goddamn papercut in their life. and it SHOWS. i show them something? owwwww this hurtssss i cant do this why does it hurtttt and im like. yeah it does hurt a bit doesnt it? you are sitting on a small metal bar after all :3 why dont you come down take a quick break and let someone else go? and they get off and are like acting as if they just broke their fuckin foot and its just bestieeeeeeee have you never tripped and fell have you never accidentally slammed a finger in the door have u never walked through thorns to get the juiciest berries.

i think kids need to have experience with pain so they can learn what is Uncomfortable what is Pain what is Sore etc. and sheltering kids to the point of them not being able to hang onto a bar for longer than like two seconds--not because they arent Strong enough but because it Hurts their Hands--is literally just setting them back in life.

kids are smart! they learn fast! let them be stupid and make mistakes and get hurt! theyll be smarter for it! idfk its just also kinda impossible for me as a teacher to work w a kid who wants to do all the cool stuff but cant deal w even the mildest of pain bc they havent been exposed to it.

[teddy-bear-naps-and-random-snaps]

[env0]

Tae Kwon Do Training in the park

Must have been a sight running with a sword strapped to my back. Altogether was about 90 minutes or so.

[jefkphotography]

A tuck jump.

Black and white sports photo.

[kogetaikid]

A Brief Cross Country Experience

I've been on field trips when I was a kid, but I never thought in my life that I'd actually be going on one every day for a sport. I thought we were driving there, but no. We had to run TO THE TRACK COURSE, RUN THE THREE MILE TRACK, AND THEN RUN BACK TO SCHOOL. (also before anyone asks, yes we got breaks in-between.) We were doing a time trials that day when we ran the track, meaning our performance would be timed. The time limit for boys was 18 minutes and for girls was 24 minutes. I got 23 minutes and 39 seconds. I passed and was absolutely ecstatic. Even if I didn't get a good score, I still saw the fact that I was able to run the whole time to be an accomplishment in of itself. Heck I even made a new friend too!

Admittedly, I was dreading this day. I was scared I was gonna fall behind, or get a bad score, heck I even almost tripped, but I kept persisting and fought my inner demons, and the results were worth it!!

Never Give Up,

Kogetai Kid :)

[becquerelian]

I actually hate listening to economist rhetoric and I have to hear so much of it bc my dad used to be an econ major and I'm just not convinced economists actually have any additional insight over anyone else.. They just love saying "well people complain a lot but the numbers say that we're living better than ever". Okay what numbers. What exactly are you looking at. And why do you think people say they have it bad. I asked my dad once, do you just think they're lying? And he said well.... I think they're a minority. Okay. I don't have the statistics in front of me but I'm just curious how many people actually earn x amount per year vs cost of living in their area. Is it a minority? And how much of one? And even if they are a small minority, does that make them an insignificant group? Should we not care about those people and be interested in the how and why of their situation. And be looking for solutions. Why are we spending so much time just trying to say that they don't exist or don't matter. Is it true? Is it actually easy to make a living in this day and age? Or are you only looking at the groups of people that make you feel good about the world and smarter than everyone else. Economists.