Short Term Thinking, In a Good Way

Back when I used to watch football, the commentators would often compliment a player by mentioning that he had a short memory.  They did not mean that the player in question had short-term memory loss (although that’s also a possibility, given the results of concussions); they meant that when he made a mistake, he forgot about it and moved on to the next play.

We need to have a short memory sometimes when we’re working out.  We need to forget what we did ten years ago.  We need to let go of the fear from that time we got injured.  We need to have amnesia about last week’s romance with the couch.

We work out in the present, with today’s body and today’s capabilities.  When we can focus in on one rep at a time, we learn and we grow.  We can forget all that other stuff, at least for our time at the gym.

I'm Learning About Nutrition, So You Can, Too!

Having finished one adventure in continuing education, I have embarked on the next:  fitness nutrition!  I have acquired an enormous textbook (qualifies as weight lifting!) and am busily importing the information into my wetware, so to speak.

I chose fitness nutrition as my next focus because there is need.  While we are bombarded with headlines about miracle foods or the latest food of doom, we remain confused about how to choose our foods wisely.  I want to eat better and I know my clients do, too.

Consider this list of top ten calorie sources for Americans over age 2 from 2005 to 2006, as compiled by the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Health and Human Services, as seen in my text:

1.     Grain-based desserts (e.g., pies, cakes, cookies)

2.     Yeast breads

3.     Chicken and chicken mixed dishes (e.g., chicken strips, casseroles, stir fries)

4.     Soda/energy/sports drinks

5.     Pizza

6.     Alcoholic beverages

7.     Pasta and pasta dishes (e.g., mac and cheese, spaghetti, ravioli)

8.     Tortillas, burritos, and tacos

9.     Beef and beef mixed dishes (e.g., meatloaf, beef stew)

10.  Dairy desserts (e.g., ice cream, frozen yogurt, pudding)

That’s a lot of sugar, people, and a big pile of fat to go with it.  We can do better.

Monday Workout: Balance!

This week we have a few exercises that both challenge and improve our balance.  The asymmetrical exercises (single arm clean and press and single leg squats) require us to calibrate our stabilizers.  YTA, when we do it on a stability ball, creates a core challenge while it builds up our muscles.  Lunge to curl, as a compound exercise, also amps up our metabolism and improves our concentration.  Three rounds.

plyo/reg/mod jacks	30
bench press	20
YTA	10
1 arm clean and press	30
1 leg squats	20
skullcrushers	10
lunge to curl	30
upright row	20
plank