Gifts: 9

Just a summary of the month’s gifts today.  They are:

 

1.     love

2.     joy

3.     peace

4.     patience

5.     kindness

6.     goodness

7.     faithfulness

8.     gentleness

9.     self-control

 

Add your own!

Gifts: Self-Control

The final gift I’m giving myself this month is self-control.  I mean this in multiple ways.

First, there is the aspect of self-control expressed in my motor skills.  I want to move mindfully, to integrate complex motions into a coordinated whole.

 

Second, I want to manage my emotions.  Working out, because of the way our bodies hold emotion, can get hairy from time to time.  We work stuff out when we work out, and that can be a challenge.  I want to feel my feelings and also I want to express them in healthy and kind ways.  That’s a self-control task!

 

Finally, I want to use my self-control to maintain my healthy habits of work and eating and rest.

 

Anybody else want this gift?

Gifts: Gentleness

Gentleness might not seem like the most obvious gift in a fitness context.  I mean, we’ve all heard “go hard or go home” and similar sayings.  And yes, I am going to work hard when I work out.

 

Even so, the attitude I bring needs to be gentle.  My body is not there to be punished, but to be loved.  When I am working to my limit, I need to be gentle with myself because that is hard stuff.  I would never yell at a client, so why would I yell at myself when I don’t quite measure up to my own expectations?

 

Gentle encouragement makes the difference so many times.

What is gentle in your workouts? 

Monday Workout: Pace

We’re working a lot of different things in this short circuit.  Pace yourself!  Four rounds.

 

1 min cardio
squat raise	30
flies	20
burpees	10
suitcase swings	30
1 leg deadlift	20
plank/side plank

 

Gifts: 3

Ways to be faithful in workouts:

 

1.     Show up daily.

2.     Practice good form.

3.     Be a good workout buddy.

Gifts: Faithfulness

The gift of faithfulness in workouts is a huge one.  When we show up regularly to our workouts, change happens.  When we commit to the habit of movement, we really see results.  So giving myself the gift of faithfulness is giving my future self a healthier, happier body.

 

What could be better?

Gifts: Goodness

The gift of goodness relates to workouts in several ways.

Perhaps most obviously, a good workout is one that works for us.  Maximizing the goodness of a workout is a Good Thing, whether that means we work for maximum strength, increased muscle mass, or just the joy of moving.  For me, there are lots of good workouts, whether they involve swimming or weights or spin or Pilates or any of the other things I do that move my body.

 

Another way goodness comes into it is that there is an inherent goodness or virtue to working out period.  Treating our bodies to movement is good.

 

Then there is the work we do during the workout.  When we do good work, we head toward a flow state and that’s just amazing.

 

What is good about workouts for you?

Monday Workout: As Needed

As always, we need to modify for our bodies.  When I write “jacks,” you can do crouch jacks, plyojacks, ordinary jacks, or modified jacks, depending on what works.  Choose weights that work for you.  Do your YTA on a ball or bench or standing.  Workouts have to work for us and with us.  Three rounds.

 

kb swings	30
kb twists	20
kb 8s	10
jacks	30
skullcrushers	20
YTA	10
squat to leg lift/ticktock	30
overhead press	20
brains	10

 

Gifts: 5

Workout kindness comes in many flavors.

 

1.     Use headphones.  Not everyone wants to jam to your jam.

2.     Wipe the equipment.  Because no one wants to share your sweat.

3.     Put the weights back in the rack.  Duh.

4.     Let folks work in.  You need to rest between sets anyway.

5.     Pick up your stuff.  You’re a grown-up now and it isn’t that hard. 

Gifts: Kindness

Kindness is so useful in workouts.  I need more of it, myself.  It shows up in at least two ways.

One way is in doing the workout itself.  Taking care of my body is kind to it, even if it isn’t always fun in the moment.  Kindness takes vitamins and flosses teeth.  It eats veggies and drinks plenty of water.

 

The other way is in how the workout gets done.  When I’m working out, I am, definitionally, doing hard things.  Sometimes I don’t do them very well.  I can choose to be kind to myself in that moment and keep an eye on showing up rather than performing to perfection.  Very occasionally, kindness can even mean resting instead of working out.  Kindness listens to the body.

 

What’s your favorite way to be kind?

Gifts: Patience

Patience is a gift that I can always use more of.  (A friend of mine once said it is a bad idea to pray for patience, because God will send all kinds of patience exercises.  I think that is definitely one of God’s ideas of humor.)  When it comes to workouts, it’s really key.

I don’t think I’m alone in wishing that workouts gave more instant results.  What do you mean I have to do this every day for weeks to see results?  Also, learning new things can be challenging.  It’s very tempting to get impatient with myself for not getting it right away.

 

One thing that helps me practice my patience is to keep the long term results in the back of my head while I focus more on the instant gratification.  I really do feel better right away when I work out.  I may not be instantly stronger or cuter or anything, but I do feel good.

 

What helps you be patient?

Monday Workout: Punch

Sometimes I forget about an exercise for a while.  It’s time to punch things!  Three rounds.

 

(lunge) punches	30
bench press	20
1 leg squat	10
1 arm clean and press	30
flies	20
renegade row	10
woodchoppers	30
deadlift	20
pretty princesses	10

  

Gifts: 3

Ways to bring more peace to workouts:

 

1.     Plan ahead.  It’s much more peaceful to work out when we have all our stuff.

2.     Finish with stretching.

3.     Smash the cis/hetero/white supremacist/capitalist/imperialist patriarchy (definitely good exercise, too.)

Gifts: Peace

Peace may not spring to mind as a fitness gift, but let me explain.

When I work out, I burn off negative emotions.  Rage workouts are good workouts.  Nothing fights the Depression Monster like some nice, hard cardio.  If I’m crabby, I really ought to choose the gym every time.

 

Further, workouts make me tired, and tired people are usually peaceful people.  After I’ve worked out, I just don’t have the energy to act out.

 

Not enough?  Fine.  I’m also going to give myself peace in my workouts by letting go of my attachment to the outcome.  Maybe I didn’t do the best workout ever, but I did a workout.  I can be at peace with that.

Gifts: Joy

The next gift I’m giving myself is joy.  In the current world, joy can be a rare thing because there are so many things to worry about and stress over.  We all have too much to do, personally, socially, politically.  That’s all true.

And yet.

 

Every single time I get on my spin bike, I feel better afterward.  When I get up early in the morning and the sky is blue and pink and the sun is coming up, it’s beautiful.  Things are growing in the garden.  I get to hug my loved ones.  There are books to be read and naps to take and I love taking photos and cooking things.

 

Some of those things are fitness related and some not so much.  However, one aspect of my fitness practice helps with all the things I need to notice joy.  It’s my daily yoga and meditation and my Pilates work.  The mindfulness I get from moving my body (and quieting my mind) makes space for joy to emerge, even when things are less than perfect.

 

What gives you joy?  How do you notice it?

Monday Workout: New

New month, new challenge.  Usually we do ten pushups.  Today we’re trying a set of twenty.  Three rounds.

 

suitcase swing	30
rows	20
kickbacks	10
mountain climbers	30
pushups	20
reverse flies	10
db circles	30
(lunge to) curl	20
hamstring curls	10

 

Gifts: 4

Four ways to love movement:

 

1.     Slowly.  This kind is for building mindfulness, learning new skills, and integrating complex movements.

2.     Fast.  Speed is fun.  Think about the breeze on your face as you zoom down a hill on a bike.

3.     Daily.  Habits are reassuring.  The morning just makes more sense with movement in it.

4.     With music.  Whether this means dancing or just getting the Led out while lifting, it’s easier to love a workout with tunes.

Gifts: Love

Welcome to April!  I happen to be an April Fool, in that my birthday falls in this month.  Naturally, what’s on my mind this month is gifts.  (Books.  Books are always a good gift.)  What do gifts have to do with fitness?  Well, I’m making a list of fitness gifts to give myself this month and maybe you’d like to do the same along with me.  It’s a virtual party!

I’m not going to start small.  The first gift I’m giving myself this month is love.  As we all know, love is what love does.  So I’m going to love myself with weights and cardio and, weather permitting, swimming.  I’m going to love myself with vegetables and sunlight, walks, and sufficient sleep.

 

But let’s back up a minute.  Love can also be expressed in words.  I’m going to try to give myself the gift of nice words.  I talk to myself in ways I would never talk to someone else.  Other people make honest mistakes; I am a mumblety-mumble idiot, except I use other words where the mumblety-mumble is and they’re not nice ones.  Love might be giving myself the same grace I give other people.

 

What would the gift of love be to you this month?