Hello blog friends! How are you doing? I hope you’re doing well. Today is time for the 5th monthly Wellness Weekend link-up in 2020. The optional prompt is Commitment.
In this post, I’m sharing how I keep my commitment to stay fit and have fun before and during the current COVID-19 global pandemic. Yes, the Fun factor keeps the commitment alive. Let’s start with what Commitment means.
The Definition of Commitment
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, Commitment means:
a promise or firm decision to do something.
willingness to give your time and energy to a job, activity, or something that you believe in.
something that you must do or deal with that takes your time.
Committing to a Wellness Journey
I make a commitment to carry out a balanced wellness routine for my mind and body because I believe good health is essential to enjoy life. I have many ideas to live an enriched explorer’s life. I want to realize as many of them as possible.
I adjust my wellness routine whenever it is necessary such as when I travel, or as I age, or during the current physical/ social distancing situation. All along, I make sure to have fun in my routine.
In case you’re interested in knowing more about me and my wellness journey, I’m listing two guest posts and one page that I’ve written before:
Living a Car-Free Lifestyle guest post on my blogger friend Donna’s Retirement Reflections blog.
Thriving by Diversifying Fun and Wellness Activities guest post on my blogger friend Sue’s Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond blog.
The Wellness page on my blog.
Staying Fit While Physical/ Social Distancing
Working out, meditating, and practicing yoga are three of the few things we can do at home and they’re great for our physical and mental health. In my city, during the lockdown phase, we can go outside for walks to exercise so here’s what I’ve been doing for my wellness since mid-March:
Smile greeting and meditation at home: daily.
Walking outdoors: Monday to Friday. Sunday is optional. No walking on Saturday as it’s the busier day in my neighbourhood.
Strengthening workouts at home: Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Yoga at home: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
The good news is we can get a good workout including strength training with minimal or no equipment. I allocate a small area in my home for my workouts and yoga practice. I use a chair, a resistance band, my own body weight, and my yoga mat.
If you recently start or resume doing exercises and you have your doctor’s approval to proceed, my suggestion is to start off small, build up over time, and track your progress. The gradual process prevents injuries and soreness. It also builds your confidence and good healthy habits for the long term.
If you’ve been good at regular exercising, keep it interesting. Complacency and repetition lead to boredom or plateau and make our workouts less effective. Some of the ways to spice up our workouts include: increase number of repetitions, change the sequence of exercises or the exercises themselves or the play list or the video, or add something new. The possibilities are endless.
Having Fun While Staying Fit
The Fun factor is important to keep me committed to my wellness routine. When I walk outside, I change my route frequently, I look at public art or nature and enjoy my time outdoors. I make it count.
I recently tried Chloe Bent’s Dance Cardio Workout video. Chloe is a CanFitPro certified Group Fitness Instructor in Canada. The video is one of five videos in the Fit Class Live series released in 2018.
What I like about this dance cardio workout is that it’s 20 minutes long, it’s fun, there is no rule, no equipment required, I learn something new, I do it at my own pace, I make up some moves, I enjoy the music, and I smile. Chloe is clear, energetic, and friendly, and one of her teammates shows the low impact version.
There are no affiliated links on my blog. If you’re looking for something fun to freshen up your fitness routine, click here to try Chloe Bent’s Dance Cardio workout on YouTube. Skip the ad and dance like no one is watching!
When was the last time you danced and smiled? I’d love to hear your comments.
Click here to join the May 2020 Wellness Weekend link-up.
Copyright © 2021 natalietheexplorer.home.blog – All rights reserved.
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80 thoughts on “Committing to Stay Fit and Have Fun”
restlessjo May 17, 2020 / 2:51 am
I do love a dance, Natalie! I was still on my first cup of coffee when I put the video on but I’ll come back to it. What a lovely personality she has 🙂 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 2:41 pm
Hi Jo, Dancing is fun and good for our mind and body. We can choose the music and dance we like. The dance in the video is just one example. I hope you have a good time if you try it. Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful week!
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Jennifer Jones May 17, 2020 / 3:00 am
Great tips here Natalie. I do agree that fun must be involved for commitment to happen. I’m going to check out the cardio dance link. I always loved cardio dance but haven’t done it for a while
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 2:43 pm
Hi Jennifer, I hope you give the dance cardio workout video a go and let me know what you think. Thank you for joining me on this Wellness Weekend link-up. Have a wonderful week!
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Jill Weatherholt May 17, 2020 / 7:05 am
Thanks for sharing the cardio link, Natalie. I love to dance! Gorgeous photo of the walking trail. Enjoy your day!
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 2:47 pm
You’re welcome, Jill. The video is only 20 minutes so not too long of a time commitment 🙂 There are all kinds of music and dances that we can do. We choose! I took that photo of the walking trail in Ecuador when I was hiking there in December. It was a glorious hike. Have a wonderful Sunday and upcoming week!
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Suzanne@PictureRetirement May 17, 2020 / 8:05 am
Natalie, I used to take a Zumba class and loved it. Will check out the video. Adding variety to avoid complacency is good advice!
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 3:25 pm
Hi Suzanne, Zumba sounds like a lot of fun. There are Zumba videos on YouTube, too. Dancing is a great stress reliever. I hope you give the dance cardio workout a try and let me know what you think. We can choose the music and dance moves and just have a good time.
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dprastka May 17, 2020 / 8:53 am
Great advice, and I’ll have to check out the dance video. I’m not one for that kind of exercise, but there’s a fist time for everything! Thanks for sharing, 😀 ~Diana
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 3:27 pm
That’s the spirit, Diana. Try something new once in a while. The good news is we can choose the music and dance moves we like, and have fun. Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful week!
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Erica/Erika May 17, 2020 / 10:42 am
Good morning, Natalie, I agree with the Fun factor with fitness activities. You make great points, especially being prepared to adjust our fitness routine throughout life.
I incorporated weight training many years ago since I was having increased aches and pains working twelve hour days at my job. I have free weights at home, plus other forms of strength training. A significant improvement in my health. As you know, mixing it up is very beneficial when strength training. A great post! Thank you for sharing. ‘Keep dancing as if no one is watching.’ xx
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 3:37 pm
Hi Erica/ Erika, Good for you for incorporating weight and strength training to improve your health. Mixing up the exercises keep our mind engaged and use different muscles. Dancing is fun and it’s great for body toning. I love it 🙂
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Erica/Erika May 20, 2020 / 9:31 pm
Hi Natalie, I am revisiting with #MLSTL and sharing on SM 🙂
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Natalie May 21, 2020 / 10:09 am
Thank you, Erica/ Erika. Have a great day and weekend!
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Sagittarius Viking May 17, 2020 / 11:39 am
I really enjoy reading your positive balanced posts! I try to stay fit by adding exercise to my daily routine as well. I walk a lot, do yoga in the morning and evening while I am getting ready, and I have gymnastics with the kids at work several days a week, and I also play soccer and other games with my students. In the weekends my daughter and I like to go for hikes. We can just walk out the door, m and access many different hiking trails, with around lakes, and in forests by just walking there. This morning I packed our backpacks with a picnic lunch and we asked up the hiking trails in the forest behind our house. It was wonderful, we got both exercise and fresh air. WE said hello to two elderly people at a distance, besides that we didn’t see anyone. Thank you for a beautiful post!
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 3:44 pm
Thank you, Maria, for your kind comment. I’m glad you enjoy my posts. It’s great that you’re staying active with various types of movements and taking your daughter with you for hikes and such. Your area sounds like a hiker’s paradise. I’d take advantage of what nature offers if I lived there. Have a wonderful week!
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Sagittarius Viking May 20, 2020 / 7:01 am
Thank you! It’s the best thing we can do, take asvantage of what’s available locally
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Joanne May 17, 2020 / 3:18 pm
Those dance routines sound so fun! I really need to try something like that as I definitely need more motivation to do other exercises besides walking and hiking.
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 3:49 pm
Hi Joanne, The dance routines are fun and many dance videos are available on YouTube. I hope you give it a try and let me know what you think. I like that dancing can be a solo activity, a couple activity or family activity. Thank you for joining me on this Wellness Weekend link-up. The next link up is on June 21. Optional prompt Mind exercise. Hope you join again. Have a wonderful week!
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Retirement Reflections May 17, 2020 / 3:28 pm
HI, Natalie – Thank you for this important reminder. I agree that commitment is more important now than ever, espeically since many ‘commitments’ have fallen off of our calendars during the past two months.
You’ve inspired me!
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 3:58 pm
Hi Donna, This COVID-19 virus has turned many plans upside down but it has also been an important reminder that we need to stay fit and maintain a strong immune system. I’m humbled to have inspired you. Have a wonderful Sunday and upcoming week!
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Antoinette Truglio Martin May 17, 2020 / 4:21 pm
Great attitude and advice Natalie. Thanks for the coffee.
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 5:33 pm
Thank you, Antoinette, for your kind comment. I greatly appreciate it. Have a great week next week!
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Gary A Wilson May 17, 2020 / 6:00 pm
Hi Natalie, your photos sure bring out the best in Toronto. You always make me miss it. Blessings.
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 7:30 pm
Thank you, Gary, for your comment. I greatly appreciate it.
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Lydia C. Lee May 17, 2020 / 6:03 pm
You won me over! I’m going to do the dance cardio this morning! #Lifethisweek
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 7:32 pm
Excellent! I’d love to hear what you think of the dance cardio workout. It’s 20 minutes so no big time commitment there.
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Lydia C. Lee May 19, 2020 / 5:13 pm
Sharing for #MSTL
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Natalie May 19, 2020 / 8:06 pm
Thanks, Lydia. Have a wonderful week!
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Sydney Shop Girl May 17, 2020 / 8:16 pm
Natalie, so true. Fun and flexibiltiy are key when it comes to fitness. I’ve been adding pilates and power walks to my weekly routine. It has kept me motivated as I find them challenging in different ways to what I usually do for fitness.
SSG xxx
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 9:26 pm
Yep, got to keep it fresh, fun, and challenging, not too hard but enough to stretch our mind and body. Good for you to add pilates and power walks. I mix them in my walks and workouts, too.
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Jo May 17, 2020 / 8:23 pm
I have to say, I love dancing around the house – even if they are watching and shaking their heads. The other day I was at the stove and stirring a curry and bopping along to something or the other. I’d forgotten though that the neighbours over the back fence had cut their hedge down during the week and can now see into our window. Oh well.
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 9:32 pm
Good for you, Jo. Dancing is such a great stress reliever and fun with upbeat music on. Keep on dancing and smiling.
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Jo May 18, 2020 / 6:24 pm
and right back at you Natalie! Here’s to a great week.
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Deborah May 17, 2020 / 9:11 pm
So many great ideas…. I was going to try to do some Fitness Marshall YouTube videos but haven’t got around to it.
My goal fitness-wise for this week was to try to do more steps and I’ve proudly hit my 5000 step target every day except one.
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 9:38 pm
Right on and congrats on hitting your step target! Give yourself a big pat on the back and keep it up. There are some good videos on YouTube. Different instructors bring different styles to the workout.
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Laurie May 17, 2020 / 9:43 pm
Natalie, I agree with you 100% that we must keep it fun to keep our fitness commitment. I am a runner. I like to mix up my running routine, varying the distance, speed, and (most of all) the routes I take. I also love to include trail running once or twice a week just to give myself a little more variety. This time of year is a wonderful time to run trails. The woods near my house are so pretty and I can hear birds singing as I run. I also bike and do yoga. I must check out the dance video. Thanks for sharing. I can’t remember the last time I danced and smiled! 🙂
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 10:27 pm
Laurie, Your area sounds like a runner’s and hiker’s dream. There are so many types of activities that we can do to stay fit and have fun. Spring and fall are great seasons for running and biking. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It’s motivating to hear from active people.
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leannelc May 17, 2020 / 10:29 pm
Hi Natalie – you’re doing so well to keep your exercise program fresh and fun. Loved the idea of you grooving away in those dance classes (I’ll have to check out the link) I have zero coordination when it comes to dancercise so I’ll probably stick with my walking. The weather here has been perfect for taking long walks and bike rides and making the most of it before winter sets in.
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Natalie May 17, 2020 / 10:38 pm
Hi Leanne, Spring and fall are great for long walks and cycling. Good for you for doing them. With this dance video, it’s easy to do freestyle, whatever works. It’s just 20 minutes long so I use it to spice up my usual workout routine and have a good time.
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leannelc May 20, 2020 / 12:47 am
Hi Natalie – just back for #MLSTL and to say I’ve shared this on my SM x
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Natalie May 20, 2020 / 11:28 am
Thank you, Leanne. Have a wonderful week!
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Sanch @ Sanch Writes May 18, 2020 / 2:18 am
I love that you have made this a priority during these tough times. Variety is the key to keeping motivated to exercise I find. I’m not much of a dancer though but I’ve been trying to find different fitness challenges and different ways of mixing up my strength training.
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Natalie May 18, 2020 / 11:57 am
Thank you, Sanch, for your comment. Good for you to have variety to keep your fitness routine fresh. Staying fit has always been my priority. The dance video is about keeping my mind open to try something new. I had a good time and that’s a nice bonus.
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Pamela Graham May 18, 2020 / 5:56 am
I love the Silver Swans ballet routine from the Royal Ballet in the UK. Now online for the over 50’s, makes me feel young and svelte what could be better!
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Natalie May 18, 2020 / 12:03 pm
Thank you, Pamela, for mentioning the online Silver Swans ballet routine. Dancing does make us feel young and offers many benefits to our body overall conditioning.
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Enda Sheppard (@endas1896) May 18, 2020 / 10:31 am
No Dad Dancing in this little corner of the universe, I’m afraid, Natalie!! Walking the dogs and kicking football badly with my son will have to suffice! #SeniSal
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Natalie May 18, 2020 / 12:12 pm
Thank you, Enda, for your comment. Dog walking and soccer are great activities that get you outside and have fun. Maybe a family dance party on a rainy day, have your son create the playlist and let him show off his best dance moves 🙂
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trentpmcd May 18, 2020 / 6:55 pm
Exercise is even more important at times like these than when we are very active with normal life. A few years ago I bought some dumbbells, a bench and a good book, so i do my strength exercises a couple of times a week at home, as well as a lot of daily walking and my three times a week runs… So, yep, firm commitment here.
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Natalie May 18, 2020 / 7:54 pm
That’s great to hear, Trent. Once a healthy routine is set, it’s a part of our day to look forward to. I can relate to the healthy feeling after a run or a walk in the woods. Plus Cape Cod is really a slice of paradise. I agree with you that exercise is even more important at times like these than when life is stable.
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A. May 18, 2020 / 7:38 pm
I’ve been so inconsistent about working out the past couple of months. Your post made me miss doing yoga. I think I’ll start again but really commit this time. I think working out during these weird times can help so much, not just physically but mentally as well. Great post. 🙂
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Natalie May 18, 2020 / 7:58 pm
Thank you A. for your visit and comment. I hope you start yoga again. It doesn’t matter if you practice for 10 minutes/ day or longer. At the beginning or when you resume after an absence, it’s all about forming good habits. YouTube has a series of Yoga with Adriene videos that are very popular. You can do one video per day and since it’s a video, you can pause and replay any time.
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A. May 18, 2020 / 8:07 pm
Those are the videos that I found this past weekend when I was looking for a new routine! If that ain’t a sign… 😅
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patwdoyle11 May 19, 2020 / 10:40 am
I was just thinking yesterday that I needed to find an on-line dance fitness thing and there you go – Boom! My friend who was doing her classes live is returning to her in-studio… which is not convenient, nor am I willing to go to that level of connectivity yet. (Everyone has their own risk level tolerance, i’ve found). Thanks for the link and I will be checking it out… when my friend’s not longer on line with her’s.
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Natalie May 19, 2020 / 11:20 am
Hi Pat, Are we telepathic or what 🙂 I hope you try Chloe’s video and let me know what you think. Different instructors bring different styles to the workout. The main thing is to move our body and have fun in the process, and at 20 minutes, we can do it!
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Nancy Andres May 19, 2020 / 7:12 pm
Hi Natalie, I just read about a study that shows if we do things that are fun and gratify us immediately we are more likely to keep up the commitment to it. That’s an important reason why I attend #MLSTL. So many wise words, helpful suggestions, and posts that bring me pleasure. Will reshare and wish you a lovely day.
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Natalie May 19, 2020 / 8:10 pm
Thank you, Nancy, for your comment. I’m glad to hear a study has backed up what I’ve been doing. Stay safe and well!
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Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond May 20, 2020 / 12:31 am
Hi Natalie I do love dancing and a Dance Cardio session sounds perfect to me. I recently gave one of these sessions as an assignment for my Fitness certification. I did it through Zoom and had 8 attendees and it was so much fun. Thanks for hosting Wellness Weekend and you are one of the most committed people I know. Thank you also for sharing at #MLSTL and have a great week. xx
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Natalie May 20, 2020 / 11:20 am
Congrats, Sue, for not only giving a dance cardio session as an assignment but also tackling it using Zoom during the pandemic. Thank you for linking up with me on this Wellness Weekend. It’s motivating to hear from active people like you. The next WW2020 link up is on June 21. Optional prompt Mind exercise. I hope to see you there.
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Denyse Whelan May 20, 2020 / 1:48 am
Your commitment and dedication to wellness is to be applauded. Well-done on the flexible approach during COVID..which I suspect will be the constant theme until a vaccine is eventually developed and available.
Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week the optional prompt is 21/51 Self-Care Stories. #3. 25.5.2020 But I will take the chance to add another chapter in Telling My Story. Hope to see you there too. Denyse.
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Natalie May 20, 2020 / 11:22 am
Thank you, Denyse, for your comment. Yes, flexibility looks like a constant theme for a while. I look forward to joining your LTW link-up next week.
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Veronica @ The Burgeoning Bookshelf May 20, 2020 / 2:53 am
I definitely need to focus on my fitness a lot more. Yoga once a week and the occasional walk doesn’t cut it anymore. I like your idea of having fun while staying fit.
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Natalie May 20, 2020 / 11:27 am
Thank you, Veronica, for your visit and comment. A gradual increase of frequency or intensity of our fitness activity improves our fitness level. Having fun is important to make us stick to fitness activities. Have a wonderful week!
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Min Write of the Middle May 20, 2020 / 6:55 pm
You’re very inspiring Natalie! I am always impressed by your commitment to your health and wellbeing at all levels. I can get a bit slack. I am walking but not every day. I miss my pilates but that’s a no go right now. I have a yoga mat and would love to do yoga at home but get put off by apps that cost money to use. Love the sound of that dance class. I’ll have to check out that link! xo
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Natalie May 20, 2020 / 7:59 pm
Hi Min, Check out Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. It’s free and there are many 20 to 25 minutes videos or a 30-day series that you can do in a month. I’d love to know what you think of the dance workout or the yoga videos if you try them. Thank you for stopping by.
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BoomingOn May 21, 2020 / 10:15 pm
ooh, yes I really do need to make more of an effort to exercise more now that the gym’s closed. Tomorrow!!! Thanks for the reminder.
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Natalie May 22, 2020 / 8:59 am
You’re welcome, Christine. Start off small and build up. You’ll feel stronger with regular exercising. Have a wonderful week!
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Frank Hubeny May 25, 2020 / 10:54 am
I’ve never been able to do dance cardio for long, but I could walk for miles along that trail in your first photo.
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Natalie May 25, 2020 / 12:04 pm
Hi Frank, That is a glorious trail and it leads to a beautiful waterfall. The dance cardio video is only 20 minutes long and of course, I can pause or replay any time 🙂 Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful week!
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dawnkinster May 25, 2020 / 2:51 pm
I went and read your article in Sizzling toward 60, great piece! I think I have been hibernating a bit since I retired. Maybe I need to get moving in different ways to expand my horizons!
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Natalie May 25, 2020 / 3:02 pm
Hi Dawn, Thank you for reading my guest post on Sue’s blog. We humans tend to get into a rut so we have to make an effort to do something new once in a while. I think the key is to choose something fun and make small changes in small increments so our mind and body are engaged without feeling overwhelmed.
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Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit May 27, 2020 / 3:37 pm
I’m loving my walks. Living in a new area means so many news things to see.
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Natalie May 27, 2020 / 5:26 pm
Walking keeps you fit while getting to know your neighbourhood better. It’s a win-win!
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mindbeautysimplicity July 22, 2020 / 10:09 pm
I’m also on a wellness journey. Trying to eat more greens & exercise in some way each day. Covid also taught me I don’t need a lot to be happy. Here’s the post if you are interested. 🌿⬇
https://mindbeautysimplicity.wordpress.com/2020/07/20/you-are-not-defined-by-your-possessions/
– B
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Natalie July 23, 2020 / 8:24 am
Thank you, B, for your visit and comment. Sounds like you’ve got a plan. Enjoy your wellness journey!
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S.G. August 24, 2020 / 5:20 pm
I’m really lucky because my retirement community has an outdoor exercise class (limited to 10 people, six feet apart) offered twice a day, six days a week. It’s been wildly popular because it’s the only game in town, ha ha. Gyms are closed in my California county. I hold a yoga teacher certificate so yoga and meditation is always in my repertoire, but I have to get outdoors or I will go insane. I continue to walk, hike, bike and play golf.
Recently, I added water aerobics to my routine as I’m blessed to have a pool in my backyard. I put on music and go to town with water dumbells, and running in the deep end. It’s good for my aging, arthritic joints. With temperatures in the 114* range in my California desert region, my pool has become too hot to go into, believe it or not.
My husband and I play pickleball every Sunday with friends, so we get our human and social connection that way. Without human connection, I’d go insane! Needless to say, I’ve been categorized as an extrovert by the enneagram system, hee hee. I don’t do well with lockdowns or isolation, but I’m doing the best I can by taking it a day at a time, and not letting prayer fall by the wayside.
Thanks for sharing all this great info!
Susan Grace
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Natalie August 24, 2020 / 6:10 pm
Susan Grace, Thank you for your visit and comment. Your community and your fitness routine sound wonderful. Like you, I have to get outdoors to stay sane. Luckily, the weather has been nice where I live so I walk, bike, and paddle regularly. Although the gyms have been allowed to reopen here, I still do my strengthening workouts and practice yoga at home. I’m glad you’ve got the human and social connection while staying safe and well. Have a wonderful week!
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It’s time for another New England Patriots mailbag.
This week, we dive into the Patriots’ ongoing roster battles at running back and kicker, projections for two front-seven defenders, the latest on New England’s injured star tight ends and fallout from this week’s joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of Thursday night’s preseason matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.
Let’s get to it:
@FitzgibbonRoss
Is the gap between Meyers and the rest of the receivers as wide as it seems? Haven’t heard anything about Kendrick Bourne either.
Bourne has actually had a solid camp thus far. He hasn’t been on the receiving end of many highlight-reel receptions, but he’s been consistently productive. His 10 catches (on 11 targets) in competitive team drills this week were the most of any Patriots receiver in Philly, and I had him going 6-2 in 1-on-1s with multiple wins over projected Eagles starter Steven Nelson.
The one issue with Bourne is that he’s still learning the nuances of this complex Patriots offense. His lone incompletion in joint practices came after he appeared to run the wrong route or make the incorrect read, resulting in a miscommunication with quarterback Mac Jones. Early in Tuesday’s practice, receivers coach Mick Lombardi had to correct his alignment during an unopposed 7-on-7 period. Bourne also was disappointed with his performance in last week’s preseason opener, saying he was rushing his routes.
But, again, the ex-49er has looked good overall this summer. He’s been the Patriots’ second-most consistent wideout behind Jakobi Meyers, who raved about Bourne on Tuesday.
“Don’t sleep on KB,” Meyers said. “… The room loves him. The team loves him. He’s a great guy to have on the team.”
@ThemBones24
Which RB?s don’t make team?
I’ve done three 53-man roster projections so far this summer, and I’ve changed my mind at running back each time. I think all six are deserving of roster spots, but the Patriots are unlikely to keep more than five.
The way I view it, they have three options:
1. Cut J.J. Taylor
2. Cut Brandon Bolden
3. Trade Sony Michel
A James White trade also is theoretically possible, but that would be a major surprise.
I had the Patriots cutting Bolden in roster projection 2.0 and trading Michel in 3.0. Now, I’m beginning to lean more toward cutting Taylor and hoping to sneak him onto the practice squad. I expect this opinion to change at least two or three more times before cutdown day.
@patscap
Who are the Eagles that would not surprise you if the Patriots traded for them?
These would be more waiver claims than trade candidates, but I have my eye on young wideouts J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and John Hightower, both of whom are on the Eagles’ roster bubble.
To be clear, Arcega-Whiteside has not been good in his two NFL seasons (14 catches, 254 yards, one touchdown in 24 games), and I’m sure I’ll get roasted on Twitter for even mentioning him here. In fact, he’s probably the second-most disappointing receiver from the 2019 draft class behind N’Keal Harry, who, like Arcega-Whiteside, thrived in contested-catch situations in college but hadn’t seen that translate in the pros.
But Arcega-Whiteside also is a 24-year-old second-round draft pick who could benefit from a change of scenery. And he turned in a couple of positive days against the Patriots’ defense.
JJaw just embarrassed a Patriots DB and got wide open in 1v1 #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) August 16, 2021
JJ Arcega-Whiteside with a leaping catch over 35 in 11 on 11. He?s having a nice practice. Elijah Riley breaks up a pass on the opposite field. #Eagles
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) August 16, 2021
2) Tuesday was mostly red zone/goal line work, and JJ Arcega-Whiteside stepped up. He caught a couple of touchdowns from Joe Flacco, including one over Chase Winovich late in the session.
He?s been working a good bit from the slot. Can he make a late push?
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) August 17, 2021
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside has had a good training camp. Catching mostly everything that comes his way and has been good in 1on1s. I think he is having a better camp than Fulgham despite not getting many 1st-team reps. #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) August 17, 2021
If Bill Belichick and his staff liked what they saw from the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder in person, perhaps they’d take a flier on him if Philadelphia cuts him loose.
Hightower had a quiet rookie season (10-137-0 with a miserable 34.5 percent catch rate) but was mentioned as a potential 2020 draft target for the Patriots before Philadelphia grabbed him in the fifth round. The Boise State product is a former track star who tested in the 77th percentile in the 40-yard dash and the 84th percentile in the vertical jump and ran a short shuttle that was fourth-fastest among wideouts at last year’s NFL Scouting Combine.
Those are just two names that come to mind. Members of the Patriots’ scouting department surely had their eyes open over these last few days. New England went on to sign at least one player from each of their last 13 joint practice partners, so odds are high that a current Eagle one day will end up in Foxboro.
@hunter_binks
How’s Jonnu’s recovery process? Same question for Henry.
According to reports, neither injury is considered serious. Jonnu Smith’s reportedly is a low ankle sprain, which typically carries a much shorter recovery time than one of the high ankle variety. Hunter Henry has worn pads to each of the last three practices before splitting off to rehab with strength coach Moses Cabrera, which suggests he isn’t too far from returning. Perhaps he’ll be healthy enough to play a few snaps in next week’s preseason finale against the New York Giants.
At the very least, there seems to be a good chance both are back by the start of the regular season. We’ll have to wait and see how their missed reps ultimately impact the effectiveness of the Patriots’ passing game.
In the meantime, expect to see a ton of Devin Asiasi on Thursday night. With Matt LaCosse also on the mend after getting blown up during Monday’s practice, Asiasi currently is the Patriots’ only healthy tight end.
@julianvannoy
Has Barmore done enough to carve out a legit role for himself ?
If Christian Barmore can stay healthy, I think he’ll definitely have a role this season. He’s bullied people in O-line/D-line 1-on-1s and has see time with the ones in team drills, especially this week with starter Lawrence Guy sidelined. I’m excited to see how the second-round draft pick looks Thursday night, assuming he plays. (He dressed against Washington but didn’t see game action.) Barmore probably will be a rotational piece to start, but he’s shown major potential this summer.
@ChefdDds89
How was Wino looked in his return to practice so far? Is he playing in space at all or only on the edge?
I’ve mostly seen Chase Winovich working on the edge with the second-team defense since he came off the physically unable to perform list on Sunday. He has a lot of ground to make up and a bunch of talented edge rushers above him (Matt Judon, Kyle Van Noy, Josh Uche, etc.). These final two preseason games will be important auditions for him as he looks to prove he deserves defensive playing time.
@MalcolmLeaman
Who will win the kicker job Nordin or Folk?
My pick would by Quinn Nordin. Nick Folk was great last season, but he’s now missed two full weeks of practice with a mysterious injury. Nordin has an undeniable edge in distance and has made 21 of 23 kicks across all full-team scenarios (practice and game) in Folk’s absence. As long he doesn’t implode over these final two preseason games, he has a strong chance of winning the job.


Many speech processing methods based on deep learning require an automatic and differentiable audio metric for the loss function. The DPAM approach of Manocha et al. learns a full-reference metric trained directly on human judgments, and thus correlates well with human perception. However, it requires a large number of human annotations and does not generalize well outside the range of perturbations on which it was trained. This paper introduces CDPAM, a metric that builds on and advances DPAM. The primary improvement is to combine contrastive learning and multi-dimensional representations to build robust models from limited data. In addition, we collect human judgments on triplet comparisons to improve generalization to a broader range of audio perturbations. CDPAM correlates well with human responses across nine varied datasets. We also show that adding this metric to existing speech synthesis and enhancement methods yields significant improvement, as measured by objective and subjective tests.
Read more
Systems and Control
Koopman based data-driven predictive control
Sparked by the Willems' fundamental lemma, a class of data-driven control methods has been developed for LTI systems. At the same time, the Koopman operator theory attempts to cast a nonlinear control problem into a standard linear one albeit infinite-dimensional. Motivated by these two ideas, a data-driven control scheme for nonlinear systems is proposed in this work. The proposed scheme is compatible with most differential regressors enabling offline learning. In particular, the model uncertainty is considered, enabling a novel data-driven simulation framework based on Wasserstein distance. Numerical experiments are performed with Bayesian neural networks to show the effectiveness of both the proposed control and simulation scheme.
Read more
Image and Video Processing
Multi-scale GCN-assisted two-stage network for joint segmentation of retinal layers and disc in peripapillary OCT images
An accurate and automated tissue segmentation algorithm for retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) images is crucial for the diagnosis of glaucoma. However, due to the presence of the optic disc, the anatomical structure of the peripapillary region of the retina is complicated and is challenging for segmentation. To address this issue, we developed a novel graph convolutional network (GCN)-assisted two-stage framework to simultaneously label the nine retinal layers and the optic disc. Specifically, a multi-scale global reasoning module is inserted between the encoder and decoder of a U-shape neural network to exploit anatomical prior knowledge and perform spatial reasoning. We conducted experiments on human peripapillary retinal OCT images. The Dice score of the proposed segmentation network is 0.820 ± 0.001 and the pixel accuracy is 0.830 ± 0.002, both of which outperform those from other state-of-the-art techniques.
Read more
Signal Processing
Sparse Factorization-based Detection of Off-the-Grid Moving targets using FMCW radars
In this paper, we investigate the application of continuous sparse signal reconstruction algorithms for the estimation of the ranges and speeds of multiple moving targets using an FMCW radar. Conventionally, to be reconstructed, continuous sparse signals are approximated by a discrete representation. This discretization of the signal's parameter domain leads to mismatches with the actual signal. While increasing the grid density mitigates these errors, it dramatically increases the algorithmic complexity of the reconstruction. To overcome this issue, we propose a fast greedy algorithm for off-the-grid detection of multiple moving targets. This algorithm extends existing continuous greedy algorithms to the framework of factorized sparse representations of the signals. This factorized representation is obtained from simplifications of the radar signal model which, up to a model mismatch, strongly reduces the dimensionality of the problem. Monte-Carlo simulations of a K-band radar system validate the ability of our method to produce more accurate estimations with less computation time than the on-the-grid methods and than methods based on non-factorized representations.
Read more
Audio and Speech Processing
CDPAM: Contrastive learning for perceptual audio similarity
Many speech processing methods based on deep learning require an automatic and differentiable audio metric for the loss function. The DPAM approach of Manocha et al. learns a full-reference metric trained directly on human judgments, and thus correlates well with human perception. However, it requires a large number of human annotations and does not generalize well outside the range of perturbations on which it was trained. This paper introduces CDPAM, a metric that builds on and advances DPAM. The primary improvement is to combine contrastive learning and multi-dimensional representations to build robust models from limited data. In addition, we collect human judgments on triplet comparisons to improve generalization to a broader range of audio perturbations. CDPAM correlates well with human responses across nine varied datasets. We also show that adding this metric to existing speech synthesis and enhancement methods yields significant improvement, as measured by objective and subjective tests.
More from Audio and Speech Processing
End-to-End Multi-Channel Transformer for Speech Recognition
Transformers are powerful neural architectures that allow integrating different modalities using attention mechanisms. In this paper, we leverage the neural transformer architectures for multi-channel speech recognition systems, where the spectral and spatial information collected from different microphones are integrated using attention layers. Our multi-channel transformer network mainly consists of three parts: channel-wise self attention layers (CSA), cross-channel attention layers (CCA), and multi-channel encoder-decoder attention layers (EDA). The CSA and CCA layers encode the contextual relationship within and between channels and across time, respectively. The channel-attended outputs from CSA and CCA are then fed into the EDA layers to help decode the next token given the preceding ones. The experiments show that in a far-field in-house dataset, our method outperforms the baseline single-channel transformer, as well as the super-directive and neural beamformers cascaded with the transformers.
More from Audio and Speech Processing
Non-linear frequency warping using constant-Q transformation for speech emotion recognition
In this work, we explore the constant-Q transform (CQT) for speech emotion recognition (SER). The CQT-based time-frequency analysis provides variable spectro-temporal resolution with higher frequency resolution at lower frequencies. Since lower-frequency regions of speech signal contain more emotion-related information than higher-frequency regions, the increased low-frequency resolution of CQT makes it more promising for SER than standard short-time Fourier transform (STFT). We present a comparative analysis of short-term acoustic features based on STFT and CQT for SER with deep neural network (DNN) as a back-end classifier. We optimize different parameters for both features. The CQT-based features outperform the STFT-based spectral features for SER experiments. Further experiments with cross-corpora evaluation demonstrate that the CQT-based systems provide better generalization with out-of-domain training data.
More from Audio and Speech Processing
Systems and Control
Koopman based data-driven predictive control
Sparked by the Willems' fundamental lemma, a class of data-driven control methods has been developed for LTI systems. At the same time, the Koopman operator theory attempts to cast a nonlinear control problem into a standard linear one albeit infinite-dimensional. Motivated by these two ideas, a data-driven control scheme for nonlinear systems is proposed in this work. The proposed scheme is compatible with most differential regressors enabling offline learning. In particular, the model uncertainty is considered, enabling a novel data-driven simulation framework based on Wasserstein distance. Numerical experiments are performed with Bayesian neural networks to show the effectiveness of both the proposed control and simulation scheme.
More from Systems and Control
Stability Analysis and State-Feedback Stabilization of LPV Time-Delay Systems with Piecewise Constant Parameters subject to Spontaneous Poissonian Jumps
This paper discusses the stability analysis of linear parameter varying systems with a parameter-dependent delay where the parameters are assumed to be stochastic piecewise constants under spontaneous Poissonian jumps. Based on stochastic Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals, we also provide sufficient synthesis conditions for the gain-scheduled state-feedback controller with memory in terms of parameter-dependent linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Such synthesis conditions are computationally intractable due to the presence of integral terms. However, we show that these LMIs can be equivalently represented by integral-free LMIs, which are computationally tractable. Finally, we illustrate the applicability of the results through examples.
More from Systems and Control
Reduction of the Beam Pointing Error for Improved Free-Space Optical Communication Link Performance
Free-space optical communication is emerging as a low-power, low-cost, and high data rate alternative to radio-frequency communication in short-to medium-range applications. However, it requires a close-to-line-of-sight link between the transmitter and the receiver. This paper proposes a robust $\cHi$ control law for free-space optical (FSO) beam pointing error systems under controlled weak turbulence conditions. The objective is to maintain the transmitter-receiver line, which means the center of the optical beam as close as possible to the center of the receiving aperture within a prescribed disturbance attenuation level. First, we derive an augmented nonlinear discrete-time model for pointing error loss due to misalignment caused by weak atmospheric turbulence. We then investigate the $\cHi$-norm optimization problem that guarantees the closed-loop pointing error is stable and ensures the prescribed weak disturbance attenuation. Furthermore, we evaluate the closed-loop outage probability error and bit error rate (BER) that quantify the free-space optical communication performance in fading channels. Finally, the paper concludes with a numerical simulation of the proposed approach to the FSO link's error performance.
More from Systems and Control
Image and Video Processing
Multi-scale GCN-assisted two-stage network for joint segmentation of retinal layers and disc in peripapillary OCT images
An accurate and automated tissue segmentation algorithm for retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) images is crucial for the diagnosis of glaucoma. However, due to the presence of the optic disc, the anatomical structure of the peripapillary region of the retina is complicated and is challenging for segmentation. To address this issue, we developed a novel graph convolutional network (GCN)-assisted two-stage framework to simultaneously label the nine retinal layers and the optic disc. Specifically, a multi-scale global reasoning module is inserted between the encoder and decoder of a U-shape neural network to exploit anatomical prior knowledge and perform spatial reasoning. We conducted experiments on human peripapillary retinal OCT images. The Dice score of the proposed segmentation network is 0.820 ± 0.001 and the pixel accuracy is 0.830 ± 0.002, both of which outperform those from other state-of-the-art techniques.
More from Image and Video Processing
Editorial: Introduction to the Issue on Deep Learning for Image/Video Restoration and Compression
Recent works have shown that learned models can achieve significant performance gains, especially in terms of perceptual quality measures, over traditional methods. Hence, the state of the art in image restoration and compression is getting redefined. This special issue covers the state of the art in learned image/video restoration and compression to promote further progress in innovative architectures and training methods for effective and efficient networks for image/video restoration and compression.
More from Image and Video Processing
Attention-Based Neural Networks for Chroma Intra Prediction in Video Coding
Neural networks can be successfully used to improve several modules of advanced video coding schemes. In particular, compression of colour components was shown to greatly benefit from usage of machine learning models, thanks to the design of appropriate attention-based architectures that allow the prediction to exploit specific samples in the reference region. However, such architectures tend to be complex and computationally intense, and may be difficult to deploy in a practical video coding pipeline. This work focuses on reducing the complexity of such methodologies, to design a set of simplified and cost-effective attention-based architectures for chroma intra-prediction. A novel size-agnostic multi-model approach is proposed to reduce the complexity of the inference process. The resulting simplified architecture is still capable of outperforming state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, a collection of simplifications is presented in this paper, to further reduce the complexity overhead of the proposed prediction architecture. Thanks to these simplifications, a reduction in the number of parameters of around 90% is achieved with respect to the original attention-based methodologies. Simplifications include a framework for reducing the overhead of the convolutional operations, a simplified cross-component processing model integrated into the original architecture, and a methodology to perform integer-precision approximations with the aim to obtain fast and hardware-aware implementations. The proposed schemes are integrated into the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) prediction pipeline, retaining compression efficiency of state-of-the-art chroma intra-prediction methods based on neural networks, while offering different directions for significantly reducing coding complexity.
More from Image and Video Processing
Signal Processing
Sparse Factorization-based Detection of Off-the-Grid Moving targets using FMCW radars
In this paper, we investigate the application of continuous sparse signal reconstruction algorithms for the estimation of the ranges and speeds of multiple moving targets using an FMCW radar. Conventionally, to be reconstructed, continuous sparse signals are approximated by a discrete representation. This discretization of the signal's parameter domain leads to mismatches with the actual signal. While increasing the grid density mitigates these errors, it dramatically increases the algorithmic complexity of the reconstruction. To overcome this issue, we propose a fast greedy algorithm for off-the-grid detection of multiple moving targets. This algorithm extends existing continuous greedy algorithms to the framework of factorized sparse representations of the signals. This factorized representation is obtained from simplifications of the radar signal model which, up to a model mismatch, strongly reduces the dimensionality of the problem. Monte-Carlo simulations of a K-band radar system validate the ability of our method to produce more accurate estimations with less computation time than the on-the-grid methods and than methods based on non-factorized representations.
More from Signal Processing
Does Probabilistic Constellation Shaping Benefit IM-DD Systems without Optical Amplifiers?
Probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) has been widely applied to amplified coherent optical transmissions owing to its shaping gain over the uniform signaling and fine-grained rate adaptation to the underlying fiber channel condition. These merits stimulate the study of applying PCS to short-reach applications dominated by intensity modulation (IM) direct detection (DD) systems. As commercial IM-DD systems typically do not employ optical amplification to save the cost and power consumption, they are no longer subject to an average power constraint (APC) but a peak power constraint (PPC), which poses unique challenges to take full advantages of PCS. This paper provides a comprehensive investigation of PCS in IM-DD systems without optical amplifiers. In particular, we reveal that if the transmitter enhances the peak-to-average power ratio of the signal, a PPC system can be partially or even fully converted to an APC system in which the classical PCS offers its merits. The findings are verified through an IM-DD experiment using 4- and 8-ary pulse amplitude modulations.
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RIGOLETTO -- RIemannian GeOmetry LEarning: applicaTion To cOnnectivity. A contribution to the Clinical BCI Challenge -- WCCI2020
This short technical report describes the approach submitted to the Clinical BCI Challenge-WCCI2020. This submission aims to classify motor imagery task from EEG signals and relies on Riemannian Geometry, with a twist. Instead of using the classical covariance matrices, we also rely on measures of functional connectivity. Our approach ranked 1st on the task 1 of the competition.