Favorite yoga mats and why?
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The one I ordered doesnāt appear to be available any more but the part I like most about it is that itās āhigh density 0.5 inch thick cushionedā instead of one of those thin ones. I use it at home on my hard floors so my wrists appreciate the cushion. A lot of yoga mats are thin, for me I feel like I might as well just use a towel at that point instead of spending money on mat. Thinking back, I know Iāve seen some people use the thin yoga mats of their own on top of the gym-provided cushy yoga mats, so really it was serving as more of a germ barrier in that case.
Some yoga mats come with straps, mine doesnāt but I donāt take it anywhere so I donāt mind.
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Manduka because it is substantial and sturdy. It doesnāt bunch up or slide and Iāve been using it for over 10 years now. Cons are that it is heavy and expensive.
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Iām also on a manduka mat. Love the feel and grip, but it is a heavy beast. Best left at a studio with mat cubbies or for home use, not lugged each direction each class.
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Gaiam cheap, standard mats. Last through a teacher training or being owned by a studio. My two are 15+ years old. Light, easy to clean
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Thank you! Light is important to me and Iād rather not spend too much. Iāll try Gaiam!
(Thanks for the other recs too everyone!)
Itās funny because Iāve done yoga and pilates for a really long time but I have somehow never purchased a yoga mat. Isnāt that odd? In college my second year roommate was really into fancy fitness stuff and got a new one and gave me her old one. Then a few years later my upstairs neighbor was a yoga teacher and she was gifted a new one and gave me her old one. And then in the last 2-3 years DH bought one for his workouts, then got a nicer one, and gave me his old one. Haha, Iāve been low key grifting yoga mats for like 17 years!
Oh and for people who mentioned cushioning (@meerkat) an awesome trick is to buy a tumbling mat. I always have one at home because I canāt lie on my back on the floor or on a yoga mat because Iām super asymmetrical and also it pushes on the metal and feels truly terrible. So I use the thin yoga mat for stuff like stretching and planks and ab stuff but any time I have to lie on my back I pull over a really cushioned one, mine is like 3 inches thick. I know they have āthickā yoga mats but those arenāt thick enough for me. I need something almost like a little mattress. And when I travel I just bring my thin yoga mat and do all lying down workouts/stretches on the bed wherever I am.
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@kenner I canāt remember if I said thank you or not but my husband and I ended up buying that tent you recommended! Itās perfect because he can do setup and takedown himself (since I canāt help) and I loooove that I can stand all the way up in it. I was really worried about not being able to stand inside but itās so spacious. Weāre super excited to try it out!
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Glad to hear it, and I hope you enjoy your trip!
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I promised to report back if I found a comfortable camping chair, and I found one! The trick for me was searching ābeach chairsā and sorting based on size and going for the type made for larger people because they are way deeper and wider which means I have room for my pillows! So I put a big foam pillow on the back part and then my usual gel cushion on the seat part. It also reclines and has a cup holder. The only thing to note is this particular one is probably best for shorter people because when my husband tried it his head was above the headrest. Mine hits the head rest perfectly!
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Interesting. That is more comfortable than this style? My impression is they are similarly sized but it sounds like Iām wrong!
In recommended camping gear: I got a USB rechargeable tiny pump for our camping pads and I expect great things. I already carry a solar battery pack for cell phone/alarm/camera (which usually gets great battery life on airplane mode while weāre deep in the woods!) Or if youāre car camping/hiking you can top it off in the bathroom or while you drive.
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IDK! Is that one angle adjustable on the back? That was really important to me. I also wanted one lower to the ground so I could use my step stool as a foot rest and stretch my legs out in front of me easily. Is that one XL sized too? Standard sized chairs didnāt have enough room for all the padding I need. But also, like, most people donāt have my body? So maybe to a normal person these chairs feel the same. Like āergonomicā stuff isnāt even made for or usable for me, and I hated my tempur-pedic mattress, lol, so plenty of stuff most people find comfortable is not comfortable to me. I think if youāre someone who wants lots of cushion room and likes the adjustable back and non-hammock style seat part the one I posted is a good option!
ETA: Oh and thereās no head rest on that one either, that would be an issue for me too!
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Ah, yeah, reclining back is going to be more common in beach chairs. I expect XL sizes are available but even the standard ones will be designed for up to 300lb so I would expect 4oom for cushions around you? Either way Iām glad you found something that works! I was just curious.
We have 2 or 4 of the āstandard styleā that double as extra game night chairs (good height around the coffee table) and 4 REI Stowaway Chairs which I prefer for actual camping. Or beach. But they donāt adjust/recline. We ended up with 4 because we got 2 used on sale for like $10 or 15, and then found two at a thrift store for $5 or 6 each! And we were planning to take friends camping more at the timeā¦ Didnāt really happen.
Anyone in SoCal need a free camping guide/outfitter? Kid friendly, schedule restricted. 
Have lots of camping chairs lolol.
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Thatās a great price though! And probably a good chair option for most campers. Yeah, I realized when looking at camping chairs that it was really hard to find the reclining back! Most of the camping chairs were static. And then I was likeā¦hm, where else do people use chairs for a long time while recliningā¦the beach! 
And yeah I was going for the XL more for the physical area space than weight capacity. I tried a standard size version of the one I bought and I was almost falling off the end of it because of the cushions. I also buy extra deep couches for the same reason! Tall people love it, lol.
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Anyone got ideas or resources for when you hit a plateau? I think mine was caused by unseen-to-me body development, (but then we all got sick after I realised Iād plateaued so then it stretched out). I guess Iām looking for both how to accept that I am just staying at the same level for a bit and not ready to move up my exercise and movement yet, and also how to support my body when I need to pause, and when I know itās time to go a bit harder?
(Its taken me weeks to write this and I suspect it was a bit of a mental block of not wanting to get exhausted because I still have to look after the kids even when my body doesnt move. I may have broken it yesterday because I did exhaust myself and it sucked but we got through and I wasnāt completely immobile so I guess Iām just back to suckage)
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Yeah, so I just donāt think in those terms anymore. I know thatās easier said than done, but my fitness goals are basically: be as active and fit as possible. I am starting over at 0 so often that if I did things in a more measured way Iād have given up ages ago. So I donāt do things like track mileage with time goals in mind, or try to hit a certain level of whatever, if I track itās out of interest or for injury rehab purposes only. Iām not constantly trying to go heavier/more/harder, etc. I endeavor to have as active a lifestyle as I can and outside of that IDGAF because thatās wayyy enough and also my problem tends towards going too hard versus being too easy on myself. Itās a constantly sliding scale in terms of what Iām actually doing though.
When you say youāre staying at the same level is it that youāre trying to gain a skill and canāt do it? Or is it more like, āI feel the same fitness level now as 6 months agoā? Because those are really different things. If itās the latter I think that sounds more like a mental rut and maybe youāre bored with what youāre doing? Iād try switching it up!
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Ooh ok i need to think this over. So specifically Iām trying to reach my goal of being able to:
- Consistently drop off Duckling by myself with the car as support of needed
- Be able to walk to his school and back semi regularly (i havent achieved the full trip at all yet).
The driving purpose is that I can manage the kids without Ponder. I think I need to revisit getting an extra motorised transport option with him and add that to our discussion today, because that could also meet my āfitnessā (independence) goal.
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This is a great breakdown though! I think itās very helpful to outline what is an issue of doing versus being (i.e. doing something how āeveryone elseā does it or finding a new way to do it that gets you independence). <3
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Question for camping people! At what point does it feel really cold when camping/sleeping? I know this is person dependent so Iām asking for opinions, like what feels cold to you specifically. The lowest it got on our trip was 52 and people at the site were making comments about how cold we would be andā¦it was not cold to me at all? But I know my gear helped and Iām trying to plan a future trip and I canāt tell if like, maybe 48 or 38 or whatever would be too cold?
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For me, a lot of what feels ācoldā depends on humidity/how wet it is and wind/shelter from the wind. Aside from those people possibly having different cold tolerance from you (or worse gear 
), itās possible they couldāve had sites more exposed to the wind or even in a little microclimate that could make them colder.
As for me, in my extremely limited camping career, Iāve slept outside under the stars (no tent) when it was dry and in the low 40s, and I think I was warmer then as opposed to recently when I slept inside a tent and it was upper 40s and raining 
. So I personally know that in general Iām totally fine when itās in the 40s, but I havenāt gone below that yet (Iāve contemplated taking a winter camping class, but Iām not sure Iām ready for 0-20 degrees at night yet 
)
I think the biggest thing is just making sure you have enough (dry!) layers and a warm enough sleeping bag/bag liner if needed. It will probably take some experimentation to find the right combo of stuff (and your personal comfort threshold) but if youāre up for it, go for it!
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I echo everything Panda said wrt humidity and wind.
I think for me my limit is about 30. Sleeping isnāt as much of a problem as hanging around camp and staying warm while sitting or eating. I learned way too late in my camping forays to start putting ALL the warm clothes on before I actually get cold, because once Iām cold itās really hard to reverse. I always have a puffy coat, even in the Summer. Always wool knee highs, a hat, gloves and warm thick fleece pajama pants. If I have those things, I can deal with any cold camping situation around 30+
For me I like a 0 degree bag for anything below 40. A 20-40 degree bag is ok for Summer, as long as itās not below 50-ish at night. I tend to go to bed with a hat, wool socks and leggings and a long sleeve. Once Iām in the bag for 5-10 min I get warm, can take things off, and feel very comfy. But I always start out with tons of clothes just in case, and because I am a wimp and canāt handle the 5-10 min of cold as I adjust to the sleeping bag.
It really does take a lot of experimentation! I say, plan to go and bring more clothes/things than you think you need. If you have a down comforter from home, just take that if you donāt want to buy warmer bags to start with. I did that a bunch before I settled on a temp bag that I thought would work.
Oh and I always bring waterproof winter boots when I camp. It seems silly, but somehow my feet always end up wet, even when itās not rainingā¦itās so nice to have warm/waterproof things to put my feet in when I get out of the tent in the morning
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