Even if the local cuisine is sugar and fat with a side of salt...

Traveling, while good for the soul, presents a certain amount of challenge to the body.  One’s best efforts to eat good food can be stymied when all the choices come from 7-Eleven, fast food, or rest stop vending machines.  Determination to exercise can fade after eighty gazillion miles of driving.  I have two suggestions:

First, do something.  Pick the best of the bad options.  Maybe there is no real option for lots of exercise, but we can always at least stretch; it may even happen automatically when we at last have a chance to stand up.  Even gas stations sell nuts and water, which can get us through until we find real food.

Second, don’t sweat it.  Soak up the good parts of what is happening.  See the sights.  Taste the local cuisine, whatever it is.  Be present.

Valentine's Day!

It’s Valentine’s Day, which means it is time to do something for our hearts!  Get them pounding!  Ten possibilities:

1.     Run.

2.     Bike.

3.    Swim.

4.     Great sex with that special someone.

5.     Dance.

6.    Zumba.

7.     Climb trees or mountains or jungle gyms.

8.     Play tag.

9.     Play soccer/football/basketball/tennis.

10.  Escape from a bear (hug).

Monday Workout: Lots of compound exercises!

I won’t be able to test this one out until I am home again, but I think it’s going to be fun!  Four rounds!

1 min cardio
sumo squat to high pull	20
1 arm row/raise in side lunge	20
overhead arm knee ups	20
dips	10
mountain climbers	20
lunges with rotation	20

Friday Book Report: The Omni Diet

As I have mentioned before, I am not a huge fan of diet books, or of diets.  That said, Tana Amen’s book The Omni Diet offers some decent advice.  She explains the nutrition information clearly and provides plenty of direction for those who want to follow her plan.  The recipes look to be pretty good, although I have not actually cooked any of them.

Because of the nature of this book, the reader needs to be prepared for the dreaded Inspirational Stories.  Most of them are helpfully enclosed in boxes for easier skipping.  Also, the prose lays it on pretty thickly about how delicious this is all going to be as we skip into our sugar and dairy free future.

Bottom line:  good information can be mined from what is, in my opinion, unfortunately styled writing.

I am a rock...

Our bodies adapt to our environment.  Our muscles get stronger when we use them.  Our bones do, too.  The food we eat and the movements we choose and even the faces we make change us.

What marks do we want to make on our bodies today?  What do we want to look like tomorrow?  Who do we want to be?

Walk this way...

Walking and hiking are good exercise choices for most people.  There is no equipment required, except comfortable shoes, and let’s face it:  we all should wear comfortable shoes.  Here’s how to make it more fun:

Go with a friend.  Skip the coffee date or the lunch date and walk instead.  Be the good influence for once!  Social connection is good for our health, too.  Being able to carry on a conversation is a great way to gauge how hard we are working; if we can’t keep talking, it’s time to slow down a bit.

Go with a furry friend.  Dogs are excellent for interval training.  They will go at top speed until something fascinating grabs them by the nostrils.  We can use this to our advantage, getting breathless when they are moving and maybe doing a few body weight exercises while they fully experience the aura of French fries on that discarded wrapper.

Go with music.  Bonus points for dancing on the sidewalk because laughter is good for the soul and the body, too.  Music can give us a good pace.  It also has a built-in measure for how hard we are working; if we can sing along, it’s time to step it up!

Go somewhere green and beautiful.  Nature is our friend and reduces our stress levels.  Make your heart both healthy and happy!

Let’s do it!

Push or Not Push

Last week, I didn’t get to work out like I wanted.  I got crabby.  I didn’t like it.  And yet, it was the right thing to do.  How do I know?  Here are some ways to decide whether it is time to push or rest.

If you are injured:  It’s time to rest.  When your doctor or physical therapist says go, then you can go for it.  However, you are allowed to get specific with your health professionals.  Often there are things you can do while you are waiting to get back to what you really want to do, say, swimming instead of running or yoga instead of zumba.

If you are stressed out:  It depends.  Exercise is a great stress reliever.  If the issue is really about time, maybe compromise with yourself and do a short workout or at least take a walk.  (And it’s not really about time if you deal with the stress by binge-watching cooking shows.)  Ask yourself what you would tell a friend feeling the way you do.  If you’d tell her to get her shoes laced up, you should, too.

If you are sore:  Light exercise will probably help.  You don’t want to work the same muscle groups with weights two days in a row.  If walking up stairs makes you swear because of the squats you did yesterday, today is a good day to do upper body work.  Also, stretching and rolling are your friends.

If you are tired:  Try.  Showing up counts and a five minute workout is better than no workout.  Once you get moving, you may find you have more energy than you thought.