Take the long way home?

Shortcuts have so much allure in our busy times.  Some of them are worth it (prewashed greens, you rock!), some not so much (see:  frozen pizza).  Many of us would love the equivalent of a multivitamin for exercise:  take one a day and relax because we have the RDA of all our essential cardio, weight training, and flexibility.  (I, on the other hand, would be sad and out of a job!)

I am not talking about efficiency.  I love interval training because it does more with less time.  That is a total win because we get in the necessary work more quickly.

I am talking about things like crash diets, caffeine, and sugar dependency.  Severely restricting calories does more than take off pounds.  It deprives the body of needed nutrients.  It inhibits the body’s ability to heal.  It also may cause irritability and lethargy.  Finally, it is not sustainable.  Eventually, we need to return to normal eating and may in fact binge.

I am the very last person to tell someone to forgo a morning cup of coffee or tea, because my recurring besetting sin is Coke, diet or regular (presently in remission).  However, relying on caffeine to replace sufficient sleep for long periods of time causes problems.  Sleep is not a luxury; we need it.  Maybe the process of weaning ourselves from overuse of caffeine is nasty:  well, actually, there is no maybe about it.  It is also worth it because when it is over we are less irritable, more relaxed, and more in tune with what our bodies actually need.

Then there is sugar.  We love the high it gives us, the instant burst of energy.  I’ve written before about the dark side, the energy crash, the empty calories, its role in obesity, and even its role in environmental destruction.  We can choose naturally sweet things and skip all the added sugar in processed food.  It’s not as easy as grabbing a candy bar, but it is worth it.

Take the long way; the view is better.

A woman, a plan, but no canal

On the weekend, I try to get everything organized for the week ahead.  There are two things that particularly help me with my fitness:  meal planning and workout planning.

I have been planning meals for a long time, at least in part because I don’t enjoy going to the grocery store.  If I plan the week’s meals, I usually only have to go once.  Also, I work in the evenings, so planning ahead means I can grab dinner quickly and easily without resorting to junk food.  Making the decisions about what to eat when I am not already hungry and cranky means I can choose foods that are good for the family.  I can do the time-consuming parts of the cooking ahead of time, like roasting squash for soup or poaching fish for lunches.  It helps me eat with intention rather than from extreme hunger and desire for chocolate.  I have a flexible framework in which to choose wisely.

Similarly, when I plan my workouts for the week, I take into account what is on my schedule, whether the weather is likely to be friendly, and what my body seems to need.  My general plan is to ensure at least two weight workouts and two Pilates workouts, one or two yoga sessions, and cardio every day.  I think through the weight workouts and the Pilates ahead of time based on how the week before went.  (I don’t have to think about my yoga, because I go to class and the lovely Hilary has already figured out what I am going to do.)

I may not complete everything in my plans.  Sometimes I get lunch with friends instead of the salad I was thinking of eating.  Sometimes I cheat and eat popcorn for dinner.  The plan, however, reminds me that I do have goals and I can take steps to reach them.

Friday Exercise: Single Leg Squat

Today the amazing Stickie is demonstrating a single leg squat.  She starts standing on one foot with her other leg bent.  She is tucking her lifted leg’s toes behind her other calf, but she could also extend the lifted leg out to the front.  She is gazing forward and choosing to focus on something on the wall opposite her (like perhaps the drawing of Wolverine on my studio wall); this helps her to maintain her balance.  Her engaged abdominals also help her to balance.  She has chosen to put her hands on her hips, but she could also clasp her hands in front of her, extend her arms out to the side, or even pretend to grab an imaginary pole (that last technique can work wonders on her balance on wobbly days).

After inhaling to lengthen her spine, Stickie bends the knee of her standing leg.  Note that we employed amazing Post-It technology to pan around to a side view of Stickie.  She is choosing to focus on keeping her back upright as if she were sliding down a wall.  She could also hinge a bit at the hips as if she were sitting back in a chair.  Both options are good; they just work the body slightly differently.

Stickie exhales to return to her starting position.

At first, sets of five reps on each leg are appropriately challenging.  Stickie has worked up to sets of ten and will complete three sets.

Thursday Book Report: Trail Guide to the Body

I admit it:  I like muscles.  A lot.  Bones are also cool because without them we’d all be kind of squishy.  Given that, it is no surprise that I really liked Andrew Biel’s book Trail Guide to the Body.  It is full of useful illustrations, informative text, and opportunities for hands-on exploration with a partner or alone (some parts are easier to explore one way or the other…).

For those even more inspired, there are online resources to pursue for anyone who buys the book.

I happened to read the whole thing, but I will keep it handy in a reference sort of way.  Both anatomy nerds and the generally curious will find fun things to expand understanding and increase knowledge.

I am not a pretzel and I am ok with that

I get to go to yoga twice this week.  Notice:  I do not HAVE to go to yoga.  I am not simply going to yoga.  I GET to go.

As I have said many times before, yoga is not exactly my strong point.  The odds are against my ever achieving a lovely lotus, a perfect pigeon, or an other than mangy mutt of a downward dog.  I love it anyway.

Of course, I also love biking and skiing and other things that come more naturally to me, but learning to take joy in activities at which I do not excel has been transformative for my head.  I can carry that transformation into all of my activities, even the ones I am good at, because I learn more when I release attachment to my own performance and its rating relative to perfect.

What else do we get to do this week to create health in our bodies?

Gimme one reason...

One of the things I used to do to annoy my parents was to ask, “Why?”  I’m not talking about when I was a little kid learning about the world, but when I was older and doing it out of boredom.  My mom might ask me to pick up my room and I would ask why.  She would tell me her reason and I would ask why that was the reason and then query the reply until we got to the point where she would, understandably, snap.  I always ended up having to do it, but consciously or not I decided to spread the pain around.  I do not recommend this course of action.

However, I do think it can be very useful to annoy ourselves the same way.  When we set goals, we can spend some time asking why we want to accomplish that particular goal, which can give insight in times when it is hard to remain motivated.  For example, I, like many people, would like to lose some weight.  Why?  One reason would be for my health.  Why do I want to be healthy?  Because I want to be able to do fun things no matter how old I get.  Because I might someday have grandchildren to play with.  Because I might decide to take up mountaineering. 

That batch of reasons is pretty easy to deal with.  There is nothing awkward or weird about any of those things.  It does get harder, though, when I explore another reason:  because I want to look cute.  When I ask myself why I want to look cute, I have to confront stuff like insecurity, societal bias, personal shallowness, and the like.  It is uncomfortable.  And it is useful to have told the truth to myself about those reasons when I am feeling like skipping a workout.  I may not be motivated by my health reasons at that point, but I might do it to look good at the next fancy event I attend.

The more reasons we analyze for why we want to do something, the more likely we are to find one to light a fire underneath ourselves to get to it.

Dibs on the swings...

Monday is a great day for a workout.  We can wake up energized from the weekend, anxious about the day and week ahead, tired from too much fun, but no matter how we feel, a workout is a good idea.

For one thing, our metabolisms can use the boost.  Interval training and weight work can stoke our inner fires and help us burn more calories, even when we have to sit at our desks later.

Working out stimulates our brains to work better and smarter.  It decreases anxiety and depression while increasing positive moods.  That part is science.  The part where we can take out our aggression by slamming medicine balls or kick-boxing at imaginary targets is anecdotal, but satisfying.

Then there is that sitting at a desk part.  Our bodies are not designed for long periods of inactivity.  Giving them a recess from all that stillness is good for our health.

Go play!