Put It On My Account...

One thing that can help us get our workouts done is accountability.  We often feel like flaking on our own goals doesn’t matter, but finding a way to be accountable can give us much more success.

There are lots of ways to get accountability.  Heck, a whole bunch of my job is to be my clients’ accountability.  They show up because I’m there, waiting.  They keep working because I’m there to watch, encourage, cajole, direct, and plan.

Other accountability mechanisms can be cheaper.  Workout buddies, if everyone is equally committed, can do the trick.  Some people find that keeping a log makes them more likely to get in the reps.  Nudges from our Fitbits and other trackers serve the same purpose.

Lately, I’ve been making a point of taking a photo at some point when I am exercising.  (You may have noticed the uptick in dog photos, since, even if I do nothing else, Cricket demands a walk every morning.)  Posting those photos has made me more diligent about getting in the workout.  Point is:  do what works!

We can do it!

Monday Workout: Jump On It!

Adding plyometrics (that’s jargon for “things with jumping”) amps up a workout.  If jumping is not appropriate for you, doing the exercises without jumping works just fine.  Three rounds.

plyojacks/jacks/mod jacks	30
lunge to curl	20
pushups	10
(jump) squats	30
bench press	20
lateral raise	10
Xiser	30
rows	20
pretty princesses	10

Friday Reading Report: More Homework

I continue to work on my fitness nutrition certification.  As I have mentioned before, there is a lot of nutrition information out there, on the web, in magazines, in our friends’ heads.  Some of the information is better and some of it is misleading or plain old wrong.

My text offers the following advice from the American Dietetic Association on assessing the credibility of websites.  I am including some comments as well, because the most important thing to remember is to engage our critical faculties when deciding what is most likely to be true and correct.  Here goes:

•      What is [sic] (apparently knowing the nutrition stuff does not mean they know the grammar thing; they wanted to say “are.”) the background, credibility, and affiliation of the researchers or sources?

•      Does the website identify the publisher and any sponsors?  (The kind of people who need to ask this probably also need to be told why this might be important.  Sponsors who, say, manufacture the product in question, have a vested interest in providing information that is positive about the product.)

•      Does the website say who wrote it or how it was approved?

•      Is the information up-to-date?

•      Does the information include credibly references such as peer-reviewed journals?

•      Does the information present both [sic] (What?  Some kinds of information have WAY more than two perspectives to consider.  Also, um, some stuff is just plain bad for us; there is no other side…) perspectives of (ON, people.  ON the issue.) the issue?

•      Is the information balanced and [does] it state any caveats?

•      Is the website designed to sell products?

•      Are there links that provide support or more detail?

I realize I am a cranky older student compared to the target audience of the text.  That said, can we please decide as a culture that we are in favor of critical thinking and maybe even proofreading and grammar?

I keep doing my homework.  May we all continue to do the same.