Sometimes bad stuff happens. Be kind.

Sometimes we have setbacks.  We get injured or sick.  We take on a new work project that eats into the free time we didn’t really have to begin with.  Our favorite fitness instructor moves.  We have family stuff going on with kids or parents or spouses.  It happens.

There are two things to do when this happens and both of them are important.  I’m going to say one of them twice because it’s the harder one.

First, we have to treat ourselves with kindness.  That means we don’t beat ourselves up for being lazy or old or hurt or busy or whatever.  We give ourselves a hug, literally or metaphorically.  We don’t get into a tizzy about the emotional support cookie we may have eaten, but we also make sure we eat an emotional support salad next time, just to keep things in balance.  We take ourselves to the doctor when we need to.  We remember to breathe.

Second, we find another way.  Maybe we can’t do a lower body workout; time for arms!  Maybe we step outside for a walk break instead of a coffee break.  Maybe we consult with our friends and partners.  We are smart and creative people.  We can figure out what to do, even if it is exercising our patience until we have recovered enough to exercise our bodies again.

But remember:  we have to treat ourselves with kindness.  Being mean to ourselves will not help.

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.