Independence!

Today is Independence Day.  We can celebrate lots of things today, from the system of checks and balances in our government to the invention of fireworks to the opportunity to eat hot dogs.  Here are a couple more things we might want to declare independence from:

1.     Negative vibes.  Be yourself, your whole self.  Don’t let the turkeys get you down.  Being your own honest, beautiful, crazy person is the best gift you can give yourself and the world.  We need you to be you, because no one else can do it!

2.     Bad habits.  Take back your life from the cigarettes or the complaining or the sugar or the binge-watching.  You don’t need those crutches anymore.

3.    The stress machine.  Breathe freely.  Take the extra moment.  Enjoy.

Monday Workout: Pre-Holiday

Sure, tomorrow’s a holiday.  That doesn’t mean we can’t get in a workout today!  This one is less cardio-intensive than last week’s, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get our heart rates up as we lift weights.  Choose on the heavy side (you’ll know it’s right if you can barely complete the set; it is okay if you have to do 29 or 19 or 9 repetitions, too.  The goal is to max out.).  Three rounds.

step ups	30
ball chest press	20
reverse fly	10
squat	30
row	20
calf raise	10
lunge	30
deadlift	20
curl	10

Friday Book Report: The Stress of Life

Hans Selye’s book The Stress of Life remains a classic in the field.  Selye was among the first to articulate a theory of how stress works in the body and backed up his theory with extensive experimentation that demonstrated the role of various hormones in the stress response.  The work has percolated thoroughly into our body of knowledge.  We all now know what it means to be “stressed.”

The bulk of the book is taken up with detailed explanations of the General Adaptation Syndrome and the Local Adaptation Syndrome that make up the stress response.  Most of us probably don’t need this much detail, particularly about some of the grimmer experimental methods that brought us this information.

The last section of the book offered some ideas on how to cope with stress to maximize our positive challenge (eustress) and minimize destructive tension (stress).  I was hoping for something more than was on offer.  Selye suggests that we each need to find our individual balance and our right work, that we need to make mindful choices to avoid wasting our limited supply of adaptation energy, and that we ought to seek a meaningful existence.  None of this is bad advice, but it’s not particularly helpful, either.

As an introduction to the concepts and mechanisms of stress, the book succeeds, but may not be suitable for all readers.

How do you grow THAT kind of flower?

Some days, we just need a reason.  In case reasons do not feel plentiful today, here are eleven ready to use.

1.     It’s fun.

2.     Mom says.

3.    All your friends are doing it.

4.     None of your friends are doing it.

5.     You, too, can win a prize.

6.    It’s cheaper than therapy.

7.     Heck, it’s cheaper than the movies.

8.     It makes your butt look cute.

9.     Remember that ice cream?  So does your belly.

10. Loud music.

11.  Sweat is your color.

Try it...

I create new workouts every week.  I try to incorporate different pieces of equipment.  I change up the number of repetitions depending on whether I’m choosing heavier or lighter weights.  I test out new exercises (on myself and clients!).

I don’t just do it because I like variety.  I do it because our bodies learn best when they are constantly challenged with something new.  Each time we approach a workout, we get to learn something about how our bodies react.  We get to solve new puzzles in movement.

What new thing can we try this week?

Build

When we are trying to change our habits and behaviors, we can often find ourselves discouraged.  Change takes hard work.  Notice that word “hard.”  That means we won’t always succeed right away.

Even so, we can always find some kind of victory each week.  If we have to, we can at least recognize that we’ve eliminated some ineffective ways of working toward our goals.  It’s likely we can find something more positive than that.  Maybe we managed to have more than coffee for breakfast most days of the week.  Maybe we got in four days of cardio.  Maybe we talked ourselves into a walk when we really wanted to watch another episode of that great show we’re addicted to.

Find the success.  Build on that.  Whatever else happened can slip unnoticed into the past.

Monday Workout: Speed Ladder

The speed ladder gets us to work on precision placement of our feet.  It also gets us to breathe hard.  In the past, we’ve used it in longer circuits, but this week we’re going to hit it in a short one combined with some compound exercises for extra fun.  Four rounds.

1 min cardio
push press	20
speed ladder in in out out	1 min
med ball lunge twist	20
bent over row	20
speed ladder lateral	1 min
pushups	10
Russian twist	10