End of the month means extra challenge! We’ve got a little of everything in this workout: balance, cardio challenge, lateral movement, stability work, and, of course, weights. Four rounds.
1 min cardio | |
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Bulgarian split squat | 30 |
flies | 20 |
Arnold press | 10 |
squat raise/tick tock | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
windscreen wipers | 10 |
Independence vs. Interdependence
1. “I want to win.” vs. “We can win together.”
2. “I can do it myself.” vs. “No human is an island.”
3. “I want to be strong.” vs. “I use my strength to help.”
4. “I want to be fit.” vs. “My fitness allows me to take care of people I love.”
Interdependence has a lot of relevance in a workout context. As I’ll be talking about over the rest of the month, the different kinds of workouts we do are interdependent, as are the things we do outside of our workouts.
Today, though, I want to focus on how our workouts make us better community members. When we get strong and fit, when we take care of our own health, we increase our ability to give back to the people around us.
We are soaking in a culture that wants us to believe in competition as a supreme virtue. That same culture feeds us the idea that we can be “self-made.” Let’s reality-check that a little.
Competition, maybe, has its place. When it is used for good, it can spur us on to achieve more than we might otherwise. However, I think we all get farther when we rely on cooperation. When we work together to make sure we all succeed, not only do we all have success, we have a nicer environment in which to enjoy that success.
And we do need other people. We are social animals. When we were children, we needed parents or other caregivers to feed and tend us. As adults, we thrive best when we are surrounded by family and friends who love us and whom we love in return.
In a workout context, what this means is that when we individually get stronger, we all get stronger. When we encourage each other, we all do better. And, sometimes, we are willing to do things for other people that we’re not willing to do for ourselves. When my kids were small, I needed to be strong and healthy to be there for them. As our parents age, we need to be strong and healthy to help them out, too. We have to pay forward the gifts we have been given.
I know this is really abstract and high-level, but we need to know why we are lifting those heavy weights and sweating it out on the treadmill. It’s to make the world better.
Up to this point in the month, we’ve been talking about independence as a list of things we get to do or not do. But that’s only part of the story.
When we are independent, we take on a good chunk of responsibility.
There is a security inherent in being dependent. We know what to do. We know what the consequences are when we don’t do what we’re supposed to do. We understand the rules.
When we are independent, we have to make our own order. We have to figure out how to live healthy and happy lives without infringing on other folks’ ability to live their healthy and happy lives.
We have to find the balance between taking care of ourselves and taking care of our duties to our family and friends and larger society. Sometimes a workout gets top priority. Sometimes we miss one because we have a sick kid or a work deadline. We need to stay tuned in to all the shifting priorities.
Because, truth is, we are both independent and interdependent at the same time. We don’t get healthy and happy alone.
I’ll be exploring that over the next while.
I love a good balance move. Those single leg deadlifts challenge us. And, if we choose to do the YTA on one foot, we get extra bonus balance points. Three rounds.
kb swings | 30 |
kb twist | 20 |
kb 8s | 10 |
| |
1 arm clean and press | 30 |
1 leg deadlift | 20 |
YTA | 10 |
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(lunge) punches | 30 |
overhead press | 20 |
plank to pike | 10 |
Things we are free from and for, a list of affirmations:
1. We are free to be healthy.
2. We are free to be happy.
3. We are free to choose our own goals.
4. We are free to set our own ideals.
5. We are free from the expectations of others.
6. We are free to work out in the way that works best for us.
7. We are free to be strong, fit, and fabulous, however we define those terms.
Today’s declaration of independence is that we are independent of stupid opinions. This is similar to what we talked about yesterday, but perhaps a little more personal.
A whole lot of people seem to think they are entitled to have opinions about what we do. We can’t control what goes on in their heads. Usually we have enough to do dealing with what’s in our own heads. But, there those folks are, spouting off about how we should or shouldn’t do whatever it is we’ve decided to do.
When those folks are motivated by our “own good,” it can be hard to blow them off. But until they live in our skin, they really don’t get a vote. Our loved ones love us. They worry when we change, even when we start changing for the better. Sometimes they do have skills or experiences we don’t have, but that doesn’t mean that what they know is right for us. We need to find our own paths. With people who are motivated by love of us, our technique is this: Thanks for your input. I’ll consider what you say.
(Some people are not even a little bit motivated by our best interest. They want to control us or keep us small or weak or unhealthy for their own reasons. When we get up the courage to be our fabulous selves, they get mad and manipulative. If thanking them for their input doesn’t do the trick, it is all right to choose not to deal with them at all. We are not put here to be abused by other people. Please do whatever is necessary to get out of unsafe circumstances. Really.)
Working out is hard enough. We don’t need to add emotional workouts on top.
