The Amazing Stickie and V-Sit Presses

The Amazing Stickie is working both her abdominals and her upper body today by doing V-sit presses.  She begins sitting on the floor with her legs out in front of her.  Then she leans back so that she is resting just behind her sit bones, lifting her legs so that her thighs make a V-shape with her back.  In the picture, Stickie has her knees bent and her shins parallel to the floor; people who want even more challenge can straighten their knees.  She holds a dumbbell in one hand at shoulder level and then raises it straight up in the air before lowering it back to her shoulder.  Stickie stays in the V-sit position the whole time.  Five reps on a side is a good number.

Tantrums are ok

When my kids were small, they sometimes struggled with what parents at the time (and maybe still?) called transitions.  The change from home to playgroup, or from playgroup to preschool, or even home to grandparents’ houses and back could be accompanied with wailing and gnashing of teeth.  I have said before that the world is pretty much entirely populated with toddlers, some of us better disguised than others.  We all struggle with transition and change.

 

As we contemplate the year to come and the good and necessary changes we want to make, we may find our excitement tempered by anxiety or fear.  Then when we get to doing the work of change, we may discover that we still have a tantrum or two left in us.  This is natural and fine.  We like routines.  We like the comfort of the usual.  Adapting to a new schedule or a new activity takes energy and fortitude.

 

We need to be kind but firm with our inner toddler.  We can say to ourselves that it is all right not to like the new thing we have to do, but we still have to do it.  We can bribe ourselves with treats (like a nap!).  We can patiently explain that this is for our own good.  Eventually, the kicking and screaming will stop and we will adjust.

 

Again:  I’m still here to help.

What do we want?

The year is winding down, which means that many of us are feeling reflective.  Either that, or we’re still digesting all the treats from the holidays.  In any case, now that all the gifts are opened, we have a moment to take stock.

 

What do we want in 2023?

 

There are as many answers to that question as there are people, and maybe more, since we’re allowed to want more than one thing.  As we consider this question in light of our health and fitness, I encourage everyone to tell the truth.

 

I think it is safe to say that all of us want to be healthy.  Not all of us want to do the things that will move us toward greater health and fitness.  A good first goal is to want to make changes.  Recognizing that we’re not ready yet allows us to explore the idea of getting fit and healthy (however we choose to define those words) without forcing ourselves into unpleasant situations.

 

If we are ready to do the things that make us healthy and fit, we need to ask ourselves why we want those things.  It may seem obvious, but it really isn’t.  Some of us want to ensure that we live independently as long as possible.  Some of us have mountains we want to climb.  Some of us just want to get to the top of the stairs without being out of breath.  Others really want to look cute at the high school reunion.  The reasons behind our desire for health and fitness are the motivation we need to do the sometimes hard business of getting there.

 

And I am here to help.

Monday Workout: If you want it!

It is totally all right to take the Christmas week off.  However, if you really want a workout, here’s one.  Do three rounds.

 

step ups	30
bench press	20
round lunges	10
jacks	30
flies	20
1 leg squats	10
clean and press	30
rows	20
pretty princesses	10

The Amazing Stickie and Jump Lunges

The Amazing Stickie, like most of us, does not love doing lunges.  However, she does love the effects of having done lunges.  Sometimes she chooses to do jump lunges to get the benefits of lunges, plus some cardio, all while getting it over quickly.  There are two ways to do jump lunges and both of them are good.

 

For the first way, Stickie gets into a good lunge position.  Notice that her front shin is perpendicular to the floor and her knee is aligned over her toe.  Her back thigh is also perpendicular to the floor and her back heel is in line with her knee.  Her shoulders remain over her hips throughout the exercise because Stickie does not like to cheat herself by letting her torso tilt forward.  Using the power of both bent legs, she jumps up into the air and lands again in a good lunge position with the same leg in front.

 

The second way is just like the first, except that in the air, Stickie switches which leg will land in front.  This way is a little bit more of a core and balance challenge due to the switch.

 

Stickie does sets of 15 on a side when she does not switch legs and sets of 30 when she is switching legs.

Peace Be With You

The holidays are basically here.  For most of us, even when the holidays are fun, there is a stress component.  Our routines are disrupted.  We eat different food.  We struggle to fit in workouts.  Here are a couple of coping techniques.

 

One is:  take the holiday.  When I say this, I am not authorizing anyone to eat fudge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I am saying:  it is all right to relax and enjoy some treats.  Eat a vegetable once in a while over the week and please stay hydrated.  Take a stroll with the grandkids or all by yourself to get some space from the crush of family and friends, but don’t freak out if you work out slightly less.  Bodies and souls need rest as well as work.  The workouts will be there when you’re ready to come back to them.

 

The other is:  give yourself the gift of self-care.  Aunt Gertrude may not be thrilled that you turn down her famous pie, but she’ll live.  You may have to adapt the timing of workouts around family events, but if you really want to fit in a workout, you’ll manage, even if you show up late for the big family Monopoly-fest.  Or you can start or renew the tradition of the big afternoon football game for all ages prior to the feasting.

 

Whichever you choose, you are doing a great job.  Allowing ourselves the grace to choose a peaceful path through the holidays, whether we stroll along it slowly or do it with sprint intervals, is a great way to make life more carefree and less stressful.

Uncle Joe might need more than one chance

Pilates, like yoga, comes in flavors.  There is a classical repertoire, handed down by dear old Uncle Joe Pilates, but different schools and individual teachers take what he gave us and add a dash of this or that.  Some studios specialize in what I might describe as power Pilates, maybe incorporating weights.  Other studios blend more freely with yoga.  Nearly every studio adopts some of the really cool tools that have come into existence since Uncle Joe left us:  the BOSU, the Oov, and other gizmos.

 

I mention this because some people have tried one kind of Pilates and have decided that they do not like it, thanks very much.  I confess that if Pilates was purely the mat exercises, I might be one of those people:  I love my reformer and my trap table and all my other furniture.

 

Finding the Pilates class or one-on-one instructor that is right may require experimentation.  As everyone knows by now, I am a big fan of experimentation.  In other words, ask a bunch of questions and try a few different styles before you give up on Uncle Joe entirely.

 

Go play.

Monday Workout: Twelve Days

It’s that time.  Tradition must be upheld.  Here is how the Twelve Days of Christmas workout works:  on day one, we do one push press.  We wipe our brows with relief.  Day one is over.  But then we move on to day two, when we do two goblet squats and one push press.  Still not so bad.  Spoiler alert:  by the end of this workout we will have done 42 burpees.  Yes, I am a terrible Santa and probably not actually the True Love.  On day twelve, we do the whole enchilada:  twelve plyojacks, eleven kettlebell swings, ten jump lunges, nine mountain climbers, eight renegade rows, seven pushups, six burpees, five deadlifts, four single leg squats on each side, three overhead presses, two goblet squats, and one push press.  We try to keep our rests to the space between the days, but rest when necessary.  Then we are safe until sometime in the summer, when we have a Hot Christmas.

 

1 push press

2 goblet squats

3 Overhead press

4 1 leg squats each leg

5 deadlifts

6 burpees

7 pushups

8 renegade rows

9 mountain climbers

10 jump lunges

11 kb swings

12 plyojacks

Amazing Stickie and the Bottom Up Kettlebell Press

The Amazing Stickie is fond of kettle bells because their shape creates opportunities to challenge her muscles in different ways.  Today, she is doing the kettlebell bottom up press.  She begins holding a kettlebell with the handle underneath and the weighty part pointing up at her shoulder.  Then, keeping the heavy part up, she presses the kettlebell overhead.  (Of course she keeps her shoulder blades down and against her ribcage the whole time!)  She lowers the kettlebell back to the starting position to complete the rep.  Five reps on a side is a good number to start with.

Brrr

Exercising when it is cold can be a challenge.  Heck, getting out of bed when it’s cold can be a challenge.  However, I have some ideas to share about how to deal with freezing fitness.

 

First of all, we need layers.  Maybe lots of them.  I was slow to adapt to the whole purpose-built fitness clothes thing, but the fabrics are worth it for the way they breathe.  We stay warm, the sweat “wicks” away, and we don’t end up dragging a fifty pound soggy t-shirt over our head at the end when it’s time to shower.  (I personally run hot these days, so I’m kind of minimalist on the layers and I take them off pretty soon, but I understand that I am at one end of the spectrum.)  Hats, gloves, and warm socks can make a huge difference, as can a layer that stops the wind/rain/weather from attacking us.

 

Second, we need to take a little longer on the warmups.  I hate warmups.  I want to get to work.  But they’re useful, especially when it is cold.  Our muscles need a chance to get used to moving.  Do a gentle cardio warmup and then some stretching before the real deal.

 

Finally, even though it is cold, we need to stay hydrated.  Drink that water.

 

Now go play.

Use Our Powers

Change can be hard.  It’s also inevitable.  (This is not one of those nasty, suck-it-up posts, I promise.)  Time passes, we get older, they discontinue our favorite brand of sports drink, our best pair of workout pants wear out.  But also, we have friends who get a new puppy, or we get a spiffy new haircut, or we finally figure out how to do pushups.

 

Given that we’re going to have to deal with change no matter what, we might as well seize the opportunity to direct the change in good ways as much as we can.  We can choose, say, working out so our bodies get stronger instead of choosing couch potatoing so our bodies get to look like maybe we need to be upholstered (no offense, flower prints…).  Stuff happens to us, of course, but we have some power.

 

Let’s use our powers for good.

Monday Workout: Still Compounding

I am, as always, really into the efficiency of compound exercises.  Deadlift to curl is the new one this week, so we need to choose a weight that is appropriate for the curl; it will probably feel pretty light for the deadlift.  Three rounds.

 

plie bend extend	30
deadlift to curl	20
pushups	10
reverse lunge twist	30
bench press	20
lateral raise	10
woodchoppers	30
skullcrushers	20
brains	10

 

The Return of the Amazing Stickie: squat to leg lift

The Amazing Stickie has a very busy life, so she loves exercises that meet multiple goals at once.  Squat to leg lift is one of those exercises, working lower body strength, lateral movement, balance, and cardio.

 

She begins with her hands on her hips (or, if she is feeling extra strong, she can hold a dumbbell in front of her breastbone), feet about shoulder width apart.  She does a little squat and on the way up transfers her weight to her left leg, lifting the right leg straight out to the side.  When she lowers her right leg, she returns to a squat position.  Then she rises up, transferring the weight to her right leg and lifting the left leg straight out to the side.

 

Sets of 30 will get Stickie and everyone else warmed up!

Plan A May Need Some Friends

I plan my workouts every week, just like I plan workouts for my clients.  But sometimes things change.

 

I may have a plan to play pickleball for cardio and wake up to pouring rain.  At that point, I have choices:  I can pout and pull the covers over my head, or I can choose another workout that doesn’t involve going outside.  Guess which one is the better choice.

 

Even if everything goes according to plan, and I turn up in the studio ready to lift weights the way I scheduled it, I still have to be flexible about how things go.  Some days I’m just stronger than others.  Sometimes I have had a terrific night of sleep and I can lift like crazy and other times I have to choose lighter weights and a shorter workout.

 

It's great to have a plan.  It’s even better to have a plan and a backup plan and a willingness to adapt in the moment.

 

We can do this.

This fish is feeling judgy, but I understand

Like everyone else, I have times when I’m working out more and times when I am working out less.  I get enthusiastic about a particular kind of workout and I ignore some other kind.  That said, my recent experience has reinforced the idea that consistency is really a virtue.

 

Now when I say that we need to be consistent, I definitely do not mean that we pick a workout and we do it every day for the rest of our lives.  Among other problems, it would bore us to death.  What I do mean is that we need to make sure that we get in all our different kinds of work.

 

Lately, I’ve been super excited about playing pickleball.  It’s fun, it’s social, and it gets my heart rate up.  I may have let my enthusiasm distract me from the fact that I need to do my strength training and my core/balance/flexibility work.  I got back to doing Pilates last week and oh dear do I have some ground to regain.  I returned to my weight lifting earlier, but again, I noticed the difference.

 

Of course, everyone else is probably way more organized and conscientious than I am, so this might not be a relatable problem.  Worst case, y’all get a good laugh at my expense and I’m cool with that.  However, if you, too, have slipped a little, let my example gently encourage you to get back to balancing out the workouts you’re enthusiastic about with the other ones you need to be doing, too.

 

Go play.

Monday Workout: New Stuff!

This week we have a bunch of new exercises, plus we’re getting in some burpee practice before the twelve days of Christmas workup shows up later this month. 

 

Leg kicks are exactly what they sound like.  We stand with our arms stretched out in front of us and kick one leg toward the opposite arm and then the other.

 

Front raise starts in a similar position.  We stand with arms out in front of us holding light weights and then we raise them overhead and return to the start position.

 

Truck driver can be done with a weight plate if available, but a dumbbell also works.  Hold the weight out in front as if it were a steering wheel and twist it 90 degrees one way and then return to start.  Repeat on the other side to complete one rep.

 

Three rounds.

 

leg kicks	30
front raise	20
truck driver	10
squat to leg lift	30
flies	20
burpees	10
mountain climbers	30
rows	20
pretty princesses	10

 

Noteworthy

Welcome to December!  Today would be a good day to take a snapshot of our current situation.  If you are so inclined, get out a piece of paper or start typing.  Here’s what we want to know:

 

1.     Current measurements:  that would be height, weight, and circumference measurements.

2.     Current cardio plan:  what we’re doing, for how long, and how intensely.  If we have access to the data through a smart watch, we can note our HRV.

3.     Current resistance training plan:  what we’re doing, with how much weight, how often.  Alternatively, we can do one-rep max workout and log the results.

4.     Anything else we think we might want to change.  This is our “before” picture, so if we want to, say, change our diet, we might want to write down what we’re eating now.  If we want to change our sleep habits, we might want to write down how much sleep we got last night and when we went to bed.  The first step to change is data!

 

Go play.