Back to Basics: Pilates 2

One of the other principles of Pilates that seems both basic and powerful is alignment. 

In the literal sense, when we move with improved alignment, our bodies are more graceful and efficient.  We are less likely to get injured, either through repetitive stress or catastrophe.  Balance and coordination are easier.

 

The thing is, the alignment of our literal bodies tends to have metaphorical effects as well.  As we align, say, our heads over our shoulders, we align our principles with our actions, our values with our work, our hearts with our minds and bodies.

 

I’m not saying that doing Pilates will automatically transform our lives.  Just that there is an opportunity there for the kind of small shift in alignment that can have, over time, big results.

Back to Basics: Pilates 1

 

Getting back to basics with Pilates is kind of the point of Pilates.  When we show up to our sessions, we want to check back into our bodies, to connect the body and mind more consciously (pro tip:  they’re always connected; it’s our awareness that shifts).

Personally, the part of Pilates that triggers that most directly and easily is the breath.

 

I’ve had more than one person tell me that they were bad at breathing.  That is not a thing.  Anybody who is not dead is doing a perfectly adequate job of breathing.  So we’re all starting from a place of success.

 

There are two exercises that, for me, facilitate connection to the breath most and they’re both really simple and accessible.  One is the pelvic clock.  To do it, we lie on our backs (hooray!) with our knees bent and our heels lined up with our sit bones.  As we exhale, we tilt the pelvis gently toward our belly buttons.  Then, when we inhale, we tilt toward our pubic bones.  There are further progressions of the exercise (tilting side to side and making circles), but this basic movement takes the natural motion of the spine as we breathe and slightly exaggerates it.  What I mean by that is that our spines naturally flex a little as we exhale and extend as we inhale.  We make conscious what happens without our even knowing it.

 

In a similar way, arm arcs do the same thing in a different part of the spine.  To do them, we start in the same position as for pelvic clock with our arms down at our sides.  As we inhale, we raise our arms overhead.  Then we lower them as we exhale.  This exaggerates what is called the “pump handle” motion of breathing.  As we inhale, the spine extends and the sternum rises like an old fashioned pump handle.  The exhale lowers the sternum, pumping out the breath.

 

Bringing attention to the way our breath moves our bodies and our bodies move our breath is a quick route to mindful movement.

Monday Workout: Core

This workout has a bunch of exercises that challenge our core musculature.  Enjoy three rounds!

 

jacks	30
flies	20
curls	10
woodchoppers	30
bench press	20
YTA	10
mountain climbers	30
db pullover with bridge	20
brains	10

 

Thursday List: 9

Exercises you might want to include in your weight workout:

 

1.     squats

2.     lunges

3.     deadlifts

4.     bench press

5.     flies

6.     rows

7.     curls

8.     kickbacks

9.     ab work

Back to Basics: Strength 2

So:  you’ve got a workout.  Now what?

First things first:  you want to aim for two or three strength training sessions per week.  (OK:  some people do more.  That’s beyond the basics, for one thing, and also gets into dividing the body up into segments for things like “leg day.”  If you want to know about that stuff, poke me and we’ll talk.)  The overall principle is that you give muscles you’ve worked a day off between workouts.

 

There are multiple variables in weight workouts.  What you choose depends on your body, your goals, and your current state.

 

For each exercise, you need to consider how much weight to lift, how many reps and sets to do, and how quickly or slowly to do the lifting.  In general, if you are choosing lighter weights, you will be choosing to do more reps and/or sets.  Most of us will choose a moderate tempo for our lifts, unless we are working on power, which, by definition, is the ability to move a heavy weight fast.

 

However, once a workout starts, you may need to adjust.  Maybe last week I did my lifts with 7 gabillion pounds, but today I can hardly unrack 6 gabillion.  Or maybe I’m even stronger this week and need to use 8 gabillion.  (Yes, I am using fictitious measures because some of us get over-attached to the numbers.  That’s not useful.)  In general, I want the weight I choose to be heavy enough that it is challenging to complete the number of reps with good form.

 

Go play.

Back to Basics: Strength 1

Starting, or re-starting, strength training can be daunting.  Unless we happen to have a bunch of weights lying around (me!  I do!), we need to acquire some or go to a place that has them.  That can be intimidating or expensive or both.  Then we have to figure out what to do with the weights.

Most gym memberships come with a free orientation.  Gyms use these as a tool to sell personal training, but that doesn’t mean we have to buy.  (Buying personal training is definitely a useful idea, but when I did those orientations myself, I wanted to ensure that gym members knew how to use the equipment safely on their own.  Any reasonably ethical and responsible trainer should do the same.)  It is worth taking the gym up on the freebie rather than just relying on watching other folks, who may or may not know what the heck they’re doing.  In the orientation, the trainer should show you how to set up and use machines safely, where the free weights are located and what safety precautions to take (things like weight collars for barbells, for instance), and should help you figure out where to adjust seats and arms and such for best performance.  You should end up with a sheet of paper that tells you all that stuff for reference in the future.  That’s a great place to start.

 

Another possibility for a no-cost start is to take a trainer up on a first-session-free offer like I give.  Typically, this can include a fitness assessment and interview to discuss who you are, what you want out of a gym experience, what your injury history is, and what motivates you.  Then you get a workout.  That workout is one you can use on your own in future, whether or not you sign up for training.  Some trainers get grumpy if you take the free one and don’t sign up for training.  I do not.  I often encourage people I know shouldn’t be paying me (or any other trainer) to come for a free one because I think I can help them.  If their circumstances change in future, maybe they’ll buy sessions; if not, I’ve done a good deed.

 

Tomorrow:  some thoughts on specifics.

Monday Workout: Step!

New month!  Might be time to step things up?  Literally?  If you want more challenge, choose heavier weights!  Three rounds.

 

step ups	30
rows	20
quadruped lateral raise	10
kb swings	30
kb twist	20
kb 8s	10
skater jump or ticktock	30
kickbacks	20
pretty princesses	10

 

Thursday List: 7

There are any number of ways to get cardio exercise in.  Here are a few:

 

1.     Take a ten minute walk after breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

2.     If you watch something with commercials, do jacks (or the exercise of your choice that gets your heart rate up) until the show comes back.

3.     Variation on 2:  If you don’t watch TV with commercials, every time the main character says That Thing They Say, do jacks.  Kind of like a drinking game, but better for you!

4.     Dance.  This can range from going out with friends to taking a Zumba class to cranking the tunes in the kitchen and boogie-ing down while sauteeing the spinach.

5.     Borrow a kid.  Play tag, any variation.  Climb on the play structure at the park.  Try to get your phone back from the little booger.  Take them swimming or hiking or biking.

6.     Challenge a friend to a game.  No, not chess, unless you play full-contact chess.  I’m thinking basketball or soccer or pickleball or ultimate frisbee.

7.     Hubba hubba.  But no just lying there thinking of England.

Back to Basics: Cardio 2

If you know me, you know that I am always in favor of whatever exercise we get out and do.  Something is always better than nothing.

That said, it’s good to know what we’re aiming for.

 

Before I talk about targets, I need to pause and say that we are all unique.  We all have skills and injury histories and life experiences and proclivities that help and hinder us in our pursuit of fitness.  Fitness is not even kind of one size fits all.  What is appropriate for me is not necessarily appropriate for you.  Heck, what’s appropriate for me today is not ideal for 20-year-old me or 80-year-old me or even next-week me.  We work out in today’s body.

 

So.  Ideally, we want to get about 150 minutes per week of moderate cardio exercise.  That’s half an hour, five days a week.

 

Moderate, in this context, (as Lemony Snicket says), means “at a heart rate that is between 65 and 80 percent of our maximum heart rate.”  Now there’s an explanation that doesn’t explain much.  The next bit contains math.  Sorry about that. 

 

If you want to skip the math, see the rubric I used yesterday (if you can sing, you need to work harder; if you can’t talk, you’re working too hard).

 

OK:  math. 

 

A person’s maximum heart rate is 220 – their age.  For me, this means 220-58, or 162.  My moderate cardio range, therefore, is 65 to 80 % of 162.  That’s 105 to 130.  If we’re wearing a tracker or smart watch, we can see our heart rate right there.  If not, we can take our own pulse.  Over time, however, we get a feel for when we’re working out hard enough and when we’re not.

 

I don’t much worry about people working out at or over their maximum heart rate.  As we approach that level of work, we start to feel like we’re going to die and, being sensible humans, we slow down!

 

Math is over now.

 

Those of us who work out a lot will not have trouble getting in our 150 minutes.  Those of us who prefer screen time to gym time might have to work up to 150 minutes much more slowly.  Starting with five minutes or a walk around the block can be totally appropriate. 

 

Start small and go play.

Back to Basics: Cardio 1

Good news!  It’s September!  While it has been a long time since I’ve been in school, I still think of September as the month when things start.  Maybe summer was fabulous; maybe not.  Either way, we’re seizing the opportunity to get back to basics, beginning again.

This week, we’ll dig in with cardio.

 

Cardio is a great place to start because almost all of us have the ability to do it right now.  We lace up our shoes and we head out for a walk or a run.  Ta da!  Cardio!  (Those of us who are dealing with disabilities that prevent us from walking or running will, as with most things, have to find a work-around.  I can’t speak to every flavor of accommodation needed in a short post, but if you need one, poke me and we’ll brainstorm!)

 

Cardio exercise doesn’t require any special expertise, either.  We all know if we’re getting a little breathless.  (Rubric:  if you can sing while you’re doing your cardio, you need to work harder.  If you can’t talk, you’re working too hard.)

 

The benefits of cardio are pretty instantaneous, too.  We often notice an immediate lift in mood.  We burn calories.  We have sharper thinking.  We sleep better.

 

Tomorrow I’ll talk about more nitty-gritty details.

Monday Workout: Good News First

Good news!  We made it to the end of the month!  Bad news!  We get burpees in this week’s workout.  Four rounds.

 

1 min cardio
curtsy	30
flies	20
burpees	10
opposite knees	30
YTA	10
brains	10

 

3R Favorites 8

A few more favorite ways to rest, recover, and regenerate:

 

1.     massage/foam rolling

2.     bath (bonus points:  Epsom salts)

3.     nap (just not too long!)

4.     drink some water

5.     eat a vegetable

6.     sing or blow bubbles—they help us breathe!

7.     go outside

8.     connect with someone you love

3R Favorites 2

Another rest/recovery/regeneration practice I love is what I call oilcan exercises.  These are the exercises we do that take us from Tin Man before Dorothy to Tin Man, ready to roll.

 

What exercises make up the oilcan for each of us will vary.  Some days, my list changes based on what I’ve been doing or not doing recently.  Here are a few ideas to get us started on building a base list that can change as needed:

 

•      The whole routine should take no more than five or ten minutes.  This is about rest/recovery/regeneration, not working out.

•      Most of us get plenty of spinal flexion (bending forward) because of our desks and screens.  We probably want to add some gentle back bending (spinal extension).  This can be as simple as standing up straight, raising our arms in what I describe as the Olympic salute, and lifting our breastbones toward the ceiling.  Bonus:  spinal extension like this tends to lift mood.

•      That stiff bit?  Stretch it, gently.

•      That old injury that still sometimes irritates?  Dust off one or two of those exercises you got in physical therapy.

•      A few foot exercises can reset our balance.  Try putting your feet flat on the floor and just lifting your big toes.  Then try putting the big toes down and lifting the rest of the toes, keeping the ball of the foot on the ground.  Extra challenge:  put the big toe and the baby toe on the ground and lift the three middle toes.

•      Breathe.  I like to do this while doing arm arcs, inhaling as I lift my arms overhead and exhaling while lowering them down to my sides, either standing or lying down, but any kind of focus on breath is good.

 

Let me know what’s on your list! 

3R Favorites 1

All that movement is fabulous for us, but no month of favorites would be complete without a chance to rest, restore, and recover.

 

One of my favorite ways to reset my busy little brain is by meditating.

 

I am a terrible meditator.  And that’s okay.  I keep practicing.

 

Sometimes I use an app to time my sitting or for music or a guided meditation.  Sometimes I sit and focus on my breathing.  Sometimes I think about a word or phrase.

 

Even two minutes can help me reset.  Heck, even five breaths helps.

 

Give it a go! 

Monday Workout: How Hard

As always, how hard the workout is depends on us.  When we choose heavier weights or change up the tempo (both faster and slower can be harder, depending), we are deciding how difficult things are going to be.  Choose wisely, for today’s body.  Three rounds, or the number that is appropriate for right now.

 

suitcase swings	30
bench press	20
reverse fly	10
1 arm clean and press	30
db pullover with bridge	20
1 leg squat	10
(lunge) punches	30
flies	20
plank to pike	10