Monday Workout: Ladder without climbing

This week we are working with the speed ladder.  The ladder works speed/agility/quickness, which helps us deal with the uncertainties of everyday life, like jumping out of the way of speeding cars, evading rogue Frisbees, or catching the dog who thinks it is hilarious to change directions at the last second.  It’s also fun.  If you don’t have access to a speed ladder, don’t worry; use a hallway or a section of floor and pretend!  The point is to work in all three planes of movement:  sagittal (front and back), frontal (side to side), and transverse (twisting).  If that still doesn’t appeal to you, feel free to substitute a minute of your favorite cardio exercise.  I will note that it takes about a minute for most people to do ten burpees; doesn’t the speed ladder sound better now?  As always, use your good judgment and work with your body.  Three rounds.

ladder in in out out	1 min
deadlift	20
reverse fly	10
ladder side in in out out	1 min
squats	20
pushups	10
carioca	1 min
bench press	20
pretty princesses	10

Friday Book Report: Lost Connections

The goal of fitness is general wellbeing.  In that spirit, Johann Hari’s book Lost Connections:  Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—and the Unexpected Solutions is a fitness book.  It’s also pretty mind-blowing.

It’s not a secret that I have had depression issues for a long time.  I took medications for a long time, too, and at one point they saved my life, but did not like their effects long term.  It turns out I am not alone in this.

In fact, “It turns out I am not alone in this” is not a bad summary of the entire book.  Hari digs into the reasons we, culturally, take so many antidepressants and why that doesn’t seem to be working (hint:  depression is big business).  More importantly, he explores the reasons why so many of us are depressed in the first place.  He conceptualizes it as a series of disconnections that arise in ourselves, but also in our society as a whole.  Essentially, he says that it is a normal reaction to become depressed when we are disconnected from meaningful work, other people, meaningful values, the results of childhood trauma, status and respect, the natural world, and a hopeful and secure future.  Genes and brain changes have a real effect, but almost all of those effects can be exacerbated or alleviated by our environments.

Take, for example, what he heard from Isabel Behncke, a researcher who examined what happens to animals removed from their natural habitats.  They get depressed and do weird things.  Hari writes, “It’s hard for a hungry animal moving through its natural habitat and with a decent status in its group to be depressed, she says—there are almost no records of such a thing.  The scientific evidence is clear that exercise significantly reduces depression and anxiety.  She thinks this is because it returns us to our more natural state—one where we are embodied, we are animal, we are moving, our endorphins are rushing.” (p. 128).  The effect is even more profound when we move outside; studies show that people who run in nature have a greater reduction in depression than those who run on a treadmill.

Hari offers a menu of techniques to deal with the depression and most of them are collective.  There are certainly things that depressed individuals can do for themselves, but all the doing by ourselves is some of what got us into this mess in the first place.  The goal is to reconnect, to improve the health of our society as a whole.

This book is definitely a paradigm-shifter.  I highly recommend it.

Simply beautiful...

Because an awful lot of our lives is complicated, I tend to emphasize keeping it simple in workouts.  We don’t need a lot of stuff; we just need to get in there and get sweaty.

That said, sometimes it is useful to check out our environment and see if we can make it better in a simple way.  Maybe that means taking the scenic route on our walk/ride/run instead of the most convenient.  Maybe our whole workout perks up when we have a flattering workout top that doesn’t become instantly soggy when we get moving.  Maybe it’s remembering to bring a water bottle, or a friend.

The point of working out is caring for ourselves.  Let’s treat ourselves nicely in the process.