Dancing thoughts...

Over the weekend, I had the privilege of watching one of my colleagues and friends in a dance performance.  It was not only beautiful, but also inspiring.

When we see someone with truly good proprioception move, we begin to understand why we need it.  At every moment, my friend knew where she was and where she wanted to go.  Because she is also strong and flexible, she could also get to those places and look lovely doing it.

Maybe we aren’t all going to be dancers or any other kind of professional athlete, but knowing what is possible with our bodies can wake us up to what we might want to do.

Obstacles? We have got that covered.

The first rep is the hardest.  And the first rep is the one before we even touch a weight—it’s the one where we get our butts to the gym in the first place.  Even if we love working out (and there are plenty of us who don’t love it, I know), there are times when we just can’t get motivated.  We need to figure out how to go anyway, in spite of the “obstacles” we put in our own way.

One common obstacle is a change of schedule.  We have to do something else during our normal gym time and we don’t find a new spot for working out.  Overslept?  Guests for dinner?  Rain at lunchtime?  All relatively good excuses, but we can find the time if we really want to.  Maybe it means an extra shower or slightly less time looking at cute puppies online, but we can do it.

Another is boredom.  This can set it when we always do the same workout or go to the same class.  Change it up a little!  Maybe we will hate the rowing machine or hip hop dance, but at least we moved and we may return to our usual haunts with more appreciation.

Then there is soreness.  We need to learn to recognize the difference between the good kind and the bad kind.  The good kind means we have worked hard enough.  That kind will feel better when we get moving and get the stiffness out.  The bad kind means injury.  We need to rest then.

No matter what the obstacle, we can plan for it and overcome it!

Monday Workout: Rope!

It has been a while since we played with the rope.  What I like about it is that it’s a whole body process that starts with the core.  And the slamming; slamming is very satisfying.  Three rounds!

rope double slams	30
squats	20
pushups	10
rope alternating slams	30
lunges	20
curls	10
rope circles	30
deadlifts	20
standing skullcrushers	10

Friday Book Report: Awareness Through Movement

Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais came out in 1972.  It turns out that many of the ideas and exercises in it have percolated into the culture in the intervening years, or at least they were familiar to me already.

That said, there is plenty to use in the book.  We all talk a lot about mindfulness in movement; this is a book about how.  The exercises provide guidance for proprioception in ways that are both simple and profound.  I will be spending more time with them.

One note:  those of us who have become used to gender-inclusive language may find the use of “man” for “human” and the use of he/him/his as the generic somewhat startling.  Maybe we have used all that increased awareness for something good!

Body Positive

It is not news that culturally we are trained to hate our bodies.  Women, especially, are bombarded with messages about what is wrong with us, although men are not immune.

As a trainer, this puts me in a weird space.  Body hatred often motivates people to seek me out.  People join gyms to address “problems” with their bodies, to get rid of their bellies or shape their behinds or somehow “earn” the right to wear a bathing suit.

We are all allowed to wear bathing suits.  No matter what our shape, we all deserve to love our bodies and to enjoy all the things our bodies can do.

My philosophy is this:  we are awesome as we are and we can be even better.  I like love as motivation rather than shame.  I love my clients and want them to feel fabulous and live a long time doing things they love to do.  What would happen if fitness was not something we felt we had to do in order to be enough, but rather something we did to unleash the possible?

Trainer selection

I am not everyone’s perfect trainer and that is okay.  Just as, when we were in school, some teachers knew how to reach us, some trainers fit our style better than others.  Here are things to consider when choosing a trainer:

What does she know? There are many kinds of trainer certifications.  Does your trainer have certifications?  What about additional education?  For example, I am a NASM-certified personal trainer with specializations in corrective exercise and weight loss.  Additionally, I am a PMA-certified Pilates instructor.  All trainers should have CPR training (yes, I do!).

What does she do?  Odds are that if your trainer is passionate about the same stuff you are, she will be equipped to help you.  Does she have a sense of what your sport or pastime requires?

When does she work?  If her schedule doesn’t work for you, she can’t help you.  Some people thrive on morning workouts and other people would rather be eaten by tigers.  Other people really need an after work slot.

Is she funny?  Or serious?  Does she get you?  If you leave your workout feeling better than when you started, chances are you have found a good fit, especially if you find yourself sweaty, too.

Big or small

Nature, by way of genetics and epigenetics, has given each of us our own body type.  We have to work with what we’ve got.

Some people stay thin no matter what they do.  At first glance, this might be enviable.  It certainly has advantages for the ice-cream addicted.  However, just being thin is not the same as being fit.  Thin people may lack the motivation to build muscle mass, which may impact their bone density.  They may not see the point in doing cardio exercise, or any exercise.  For thin people, the focus should be on ensuring that body composition is appropriately lean and on functional fitness for quality of life.

The rest of us may find our motivation dropping when all our exercise hard work does not enable us to eat cake with impunity.  People who tend to put on pounds need exercise to bump up metabolism and burn calories.  Changing body composition by increasing muscle mass improves health, mood, and appearance.

No matter who we are and what nature has given us, we can benefit from fitness.