Thursday Book Report: Centered

Centered by Madeline Black offers a wealth of detail for those obsessed with anatomy and movement.  For the less-obsessed, there are interesting discussions, exercises, and pictures.

This book manages to do something difficult:  it breaks down the body into manageable chunks (analysis) and discusses how it works coherently (synthesis).  Many books do one or the other very well, but this one, like Deion Sanders, does both.

I found plenty of things to explore in my own function and many points to observe in how my clients move.  I expect it to be a great reference over time.

Children on all extremities optional

Culturally, we talk a lot about balance in the metaphorical sense.  How do we balance our careers and our families?  Our needs and those of others?  Our budgets? 

Let’s talk about balance in the literal sense.  The statistics are pretty grim on mortality following hip fractures, many of which are caused by falls.  For many of us, the difference between living independently into our old age and living in a nursing home will come down to whether or not we can maintain enough balance and strength to use the bathroom by ourselves.  In a more immediate way, good balance can keep us from turning our ankles, torquing our knees, and throwing out our backs.

It isn’t hard to work on balance.  I suggest brushing teeth while standing on one leg.  Waiting in line is also a great place to practice.  If you don’t embarrass easily, you can pretend the lines on the sidewalk are tightropes or you can return your books to the library on the top of your head.  Those are just regular life examples.

In workouts, we can improve balance by doing exercises on stability balls or BOSU balls (those things that look like half a stability ball, or maybe a turtle).  We can do single leg squats and deadlifts.  We can play one-legged catch.  And, of course, we can work on our core musculature.

Polonius says...

While it is entirely possible to roll out of bed in one’s jammies and work out and while it seems silly to get all dressed up to go to the gym and get sweaty and while the focus of exercise should be on form not fashion, it is useful to pay a certain amount of attention to what to wear to work out.

I was a late convert, myself, to workout fabrics.  I had several zillion cotton t-shirts and didn’t see the need to buy something else just to get disgusting and smelly.  Then I learned that some of the disgusting and smelly came from the fact that cotton holds on to all that sweat.  The fancy workout fabrics can keep us all cooler and more comfortable and, in some cases, less chafed.

The most essential thing about workout shoes is that they should be comfortable.  That pair that creates blisters every time?  Time to get rid of them.  Some people prefer the barefoot shoes and some like more support.  Choose what is best for your body, what makes you feel most capable.

All of us need to think about proper support, although men and women may want it in different locations.  I can’t speak to manly support from experience, so I will simply recommend that good judgment be used.  For women, it is worth it to pay for the right kind of sports bras for our various body types.  Some of us are lucky and can get away with less support; some of us are lucky and can’t.  Take a little time and figure out what really works.

And yes, while we are shopping, boys and girls, we can choose workout clothes that look good and make us happy.

(The quote from Polonius is:  "Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,/ But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy,/ For the apparel oft proclaims the man..." Hamlet, Act I, Scene iii, lines 70-72)

(Polonius was also the name of my dad's teddy bear.  He wore no clothes.)

Fuzz!

Sometimes we just don’t feel like it.  We wake up, put on the exercise clothes, and realize that we have no inclination to do what comes next.  No, not drink coffee and eat pancakes.  Move.

We need to do it anyway.  If motivation is lacking, spend five minutes watching this entertaining and informative video and then do it.

(Thanks to Kam for turning me on to this!)

Friday Exercise: Plank!

The amazing Stickie likes to keep her abdominals strong.  She knows lots of ways to do this, but today has chosen to do a plank.  This is one of the most effective exercises for building core strength.  It has the advantage of requiring no equipment; it also requires no movement!

Stickie likes to begin lying on her belly on the floor with her toes curled under and her hands under her shoulders, allowing her to press up into position.  However, many alternative ways of getting into position are possible and useful.  In the actual position, her shoulders are directly over her hands.  She does not stick her behind up into the air.  She does not let her belly sag down toward the floor.  She keeps her head in line with the rest of her spine, neither dropping it down nor cocking it up.  She holds herself straight and strong from feet to head.  That is all.  She stays as long as she can manage.  Thirty seconds is a good start; with practice, a hold of a minute or more is doable.

This exercise has variations.  If holding the plank position is too challenging, holding a knee plank is a good alternative.  In that case, the body is a straight line from knees to head, as in a modified pushup position.  The plank can also be done against a higher surface, hands on a chair, bench, counter, or wall.  People with wrist issues or whose upper body strength isn’t up for the basic position can rest on elbows instead of hands, but it is important to keep the hands apart because that is cheating!  The elbow position also provides more challenge to the core for many people, so it may enhance the experience.

Thursday Book Report: Anatomy of Breathing

Blandine Calais-Germain is an extremely talented person.  As part of my Pilates training, I read her Anatomyof Movement, which is an excellent, informative book with beautiful illustrations she did using dancers as models.  Anatomy of Breathing explores the structures and functions of one of our basic activities with the same thoroughness and grace.

In addition to the explanations of which bones and muscles are involved, she provides discussions of why different kinds of breathing are useful in different situations and exercises that allow the reader to explore those options.

Whether one is interested in anatomy, mindfulness, or performance, this book is a valuable resource.

Why, yes, my feet do like to read...

Last week I got a couple of new body bars for the gym because I needed ones that were heavier than the 15-pound one I already had and lighter than my 45-pound Olympic bars.  That would be a first-world trainer problem, for those keeping score.  Because I am inherently silly, I carried them out to the gym across my back as if I were going to do squats with them, very funny looking squats that needed to move sideways to get through the kitchen and its obstacles.

As I walked across the back yard, I noticed the difference in my feet.  On one trip, I had an extra 24 pounds pressing down on them and, on the second, thirty.  (Yes, I attempted to be sensible and didn’t do both bars at once.  Also, the 30-pound one is longer than the 24-pounder and that would have been extra awkward.)  What a relief to take the extra weight off!

How much better will my feet feel when I lose a few pounds?  How about my spine?  I am newly motivated to take off that extra body bar I’ve installed on myself.  Anybody else?