Slamming medicine balls is allowed.

There are times when I have feelings I would rather not have, like anger and sadness and frustration.  They are temporary, but unpleasant while they last.  I like to help them go away faster, so I am grateful for exercise.

Dumbbells have no feeling that can be hurt if we are angry in their direction.  A heart that is pumping like crazy as we run or pedal or dance has less energy to spend on hurting.  Victory over a weight can make victory over other less tangible things seem more likely.

Let’s take our issues to the gym and work them out along with our bodies.

First the truth sucks, then it might set us free

Richard Wright wrote, “I have found that to tell the truth is the hardest thing on earth. Harder than fighting in a war, harder than taking part in a revolution.

“If you try it, you will find that at times sweat will break upon you. You will find that even if you succeed in discounting the attitudes of others to you and your life, you must wrestle with yourself most of all. Fight with yourself. Because there will surge up in you a strong desire to alter facts, to dress up your feelings.

“You’ll find that there are many things you don’t want to admit about yourself and others.

“As your record shapes itself, an awed wonder haunts you. And yet there is no more exciting an adventure than trying to be honest in this way. The clean, strong feeling that sweeps you when you’ve done it makes you know that.”

He was talking about the act of writing, but his words are relevant even to those of us who just want to make a few healthy changes in our lives.  The first thing we have to do to change is to tell the truth about where we are now.  We have to admit that we are comfortable or lazy or weak, that no amount of evidence will make us like or eat kale, that we would rather have dental surgery without anesthesia than run a mile.  Once we tell the truth, we can see where we are and where we might want to start on making change.

When it hurts

Injuries happen.  Sometimes they occur suddenly and obviously, like in a skiing accident or an incident with a banana peel.  Other times, they are the result of the slow accumulation of small insults, too much chair time, a bad relationship with the laptop keyboard, a stroller handle that is too low.  Whatever the cause, healing is a process full of obstacles.  While I intend to discuss some of them and some ideas for how to deal with them, I am not a doctor.  There is no substitute for good medical advice.  We all need to seek it as necessary.

First, there is pain.  Pain in one part of the body tends to creep into other parts because we try to protect the injured part by shifting the burden to other muscles.  I believe in Advil for those who have no allergies or other reasons not to take it.  Then there are the trainer stand-bys:  rest, ice, compression, and elevation.  Deep breathing and other relaxation techniques can also help.

Then there is stress.  For many people, working out is a major stress management tool.  Injury can interrupt that and cause havoc.  If there are ways to keep working out that do not endanger the recovery of the injured part, we can choose those; we can focus on cardio if heavy lifting is out, or biking if our knees aren’t ready for running, or the like.  If we have no other options, we can exercise our patience, focus on meditative practices, and perform our physical therapy and/or corrective exercises faithfully.

In any case, it is crucial to give the body the time it needs to heal.  Otherwise, we are just asking to spend more time injured and upset.

Friday Exercise: Plyojacks

Some days, the Amazing Stickie wants to push herself aerobically with some intervals.  An excellent choice for a 1-minute (or 30-second) cardio interval is the plyojack, the jumping jack’s stronger brother.

To begin, Stickie stands with her feet together and her arms over her head with her hands together.  Then she jumps her feet out wide, bends her knees and her waist, and touches her hands to her ankles.  She jumps back to the upright, “pencil” position and repeats the process until the minute is over.

Stickie, although she never truly regrets her workout choices, often feels that she may have made a mistake in choosing plyojacks when her legs and butt hurt about 20 repetitions into the process.  She uses her immense fortitude to stick it out, knowing that she will be stronger for it.  She also knows that if she needs to, she can always finish the interval with regular jacks if plyojacks prove more than she can handle.

Thursday Book Report: Muscles and Meridians

Muscles and Meridians: The Manipulation of Shape by Phillip Beach lays out a model for human movement called the Contractile Field.  It is one of a number of books that attempt to counter the tendency to view each muscle in isolation by presenting a systems approach.

Drawing from embryology, evolution, and traditional Chinese medicine, Beach discusses the ways our muscles, organs, sense organs, and fascia all work together to move our bodies.  He suggests an assessment system that takes into account what he calls archetypal postures, including the basic deep squat that is so prevalent in the non-Western world and so sadly missing in the West.  Additionally, he notes that we have deprived ourselves of a lot of sensory information by constantly wearing shoes.

Sometimes the most important exercises are the simplest.  Let’s practice getting down on the floor and back up.  Let’s kick off our shoes and feel the ground beneath our feet.

Berry good idea

I don’t believe in superfoods.  Besides, capes don’t taste very good.

I believe in food.  While it should be obvious what food is, it isn’t.

Food is fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, milk, cheese, eggs, grains.  The closer those things are to how they came out of the ground or out of the creature, the more food-ish they are.  (Yes, removing the dirt and sometimes cooking things are good ideas.)

Beware the boxes.  Beware the not-found-in-nature colors.  Beware the super salted, the super sugared, and the trans-fatted vampires.

Eat enough, but not too much.  Enjoy what you eat.  You’ll feel better.

Begon(ia), negative thoughts!

Fitness training, like magic, is the process of making the impossible into reality.  And, since I have yet to come across any spells for strength, endurance, flexibility, and the like, fitness requires skill, dedication, and a willing suspension of disbelief.

Is today the day that I make it through all three rounds of the circuit?  Is today the day that I break my record for squats?  Is today the day I manage to relax my eyebrows while planking?  Maybe.  It is much more likely if I let go of all the self-doubt, the voices that say I can’t.  Also the voices that laugh if I look funny while I try.

Fitness is practice.  Fitness is making mistakes and trying again.  Fitness is using magic (sometimes four-letter) words to keep going.

We all lift weights with our minds.