Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Who is the boss?



I wrote a little bit ago about my Apple Watch and I’ve written before about my Fitbit when I had one.  I am the very last person to get in the way of anything that brings any of us success in our fitness journeys.  But.

We are more than a collection of steps or a complete or incomplete circle.  Our worth as humans is not less on a day when we only stand up in 11 of 12 hours (or 6, or 3).  We are not going to be significantly less fit if we get 9,999 steps in a day instead of 10,000.

Furthermore, the technology is not perfect.  Sometimes it doesn’t accurately capture our heart rate.  Sometimes we forget to tell our devices we are working out, so they don’t count them.  Even if the devices were perfect in their ability to capture the body data, they can’t perceive our inner state; some days, just showing up is plenty of workout given what the rest of life is like.

Here’s the deal:  the devices are there to help us, not to rule us.  Use them if they help, but feel free to tell them to go pound sand when they get in the way of overall wellbeing.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Monday: Burpees are back


I’m sure everyone would be totally fine if I left burpees off the list again this week, but we all need to get in some practice.  Three rounds.

Xiser
30
deadlifts
20
burpees
10


mountain climbers
30
(lunge to) curl
20
pushups
10


(jump) squats
30
bench press
20
brains
10

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Seasonal



Back when I did my fitness nutrition specialization, I concluded two things:  it is always good to drink water, and we all should eat more vegetables and fruits.  To help with that second thing, I checked out what is in season in October.  Here’s the list:

• mushrooms
• leafy greens (chard, chicory, beet greens, endive, lettuce, arugula, radicchio, spinach
• cabbages and cauliflower
• peas and beans
• potatoes, turnips, radishes, celeriac, and Jerusalem artichokes
• onions, leeks, and celery
• pumpkin (natch!)
• figs
• persimmons
• chestnuts
• apples
• pomegranates
• plums
• grapes

Pretty yummy, right?

I happen to have a fig tree and my Best Lunch Ever is two slices of whole grain toast with goat cheese and figs roasted with balsamic vinegar.  It also looks pretty darn fancy.