Number 7 is in the photo!

Here we go:  ten things I am thankful for this year.

 

1.     Health.  If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that we can’t assume health will continue.

2.     Safety.  I am blessed to live in a safe place where I don’t have to fear for my loved ones.  (Worry is another thing, but I’m focusing on the good stuff today!)

3.     Nature.  Without being able to go play outside, I would be even crazier than I am already.

4.     Exercise.  I like how it makes me feel.

5.     Food.  I have more than enough and this is not something to be taken for granted.

6.     Love.  I have family and friends who are dear to me and who haven’t flung me into outer space yet (if that’s not love, I don’t know what is!)

7.     Flowers.  I know I take innumerable pictures of flowers, but they remind me of the beautiful parts of the world.

8.     Books.  Whether I’m reading for information or pleasure or both, they add happiness to my life.

9.     Puns.  Laughter is crucial to life.

10.  Socks.  (You knew there had to be at least one random thing on this list, right?)  They’re warm and I have lots of silly ones.

 

What’s on your list?

Kicking and screaming do burn calories, but there are better ways...

Some of us find holidays more stressful than fun.  I get it.  And I have a suggestion, unless even one more suggestion is too much and will cause explosions/meltdowns/tantrums.  Find a way to do some cardio.

 

Now, depending on the tantrum, it might qualify all by itself, but it might not be the best cardio choice.  If the weather permits, I am particularly in favor of outside cardio right now—run, walk, skip, play tag with your bubble-mates or foursquare or football, bike.  If it doesn’t, inside cardio is also good:  stair intervals, kitchen dancing, stationary biking, whatever is available.

 

Here’s why:  cardio exercise reduces stress.  It improves our mood.  It gets our circulation moving.  It helps our brains work.  It makes it easier to get good sleep.  We may not be able to run away from our problems, but running might help us cope with them better.

 

Go play.

Gravy-Palooza is not a word...

It shouldn’t surprise anybody that I believe in holidays.  I like decorations and food and odd traditions and even my family (ha!).  This year is a weird one.  We’ll have the turkey and all the other good things, but we will only be three of us—no parents, no other kid and kid-in-law, no siblings, nothing.  It’s the right decision and one that I hope lots of people make so that we all continue healthy and we are eventually able to gather safely.

 

I often post about choosing wisely at holiday meals.  Not this time.  For several reasons.

 

One:  Not one of us needs something else to stress out about.  You want all pie for Thanksgiving dinner?  Go for it.  If it makes you happy, be thankful you have pie and knock yourself out.

 

Two:  It’s one day.  The occasional gravy-palooza is good for the soul.  We don’t want to make it a habit, but once in a while?  No worries.

 

Three:  We probably don’t want to indulge as much as we think we do.  If we have been feeding ourselves healthy food on a regular basis, we may find that our bodies are not quite sure what to do with so much butter and sugar and all.  We have learned what makes us feel good and overeating ourselves into a coma is not usually it.

 

I will, however, suggest that a nice socially distant walk/run/bike/whatever outside would be a good thing at some point during the day.  It’ll feel good, I promise.

Monday Workout: Whole Body!

We’ve got some whole body exercises in this week’s workout.  I like them because they burn lots of calories and boost our metabolism.  They’re efficient!  And yes, we do have burpees this week, however you do them:  stepping, jumping, with a BOSU, with a backflip (yes, people do this, but not me!).  Three rounds.

 

goblet squats	30
rows	20
burpees	10
clean and press	30
lunges	20
overhead press	10
overhead curtsy	30
flies	20
roll out abs	10

Let's feel good: four ways

Here are four things about working out that make us feel better:

 

1.     We have to breathe when we exercise.  We get breathless, we recover.  Our breathing becomes more efficient.  And poof!  Feeling better!

2.     We gain a sense of control.  Maybe the whole world is totally chaotic.  Maybe we have a ton of complex problems.  But when we go to the gym, we have simple tasks that we can do.  We leave knowing one thing is checked off the endless list.

3.     We get stronger.  Most of us can use some extra physical strength, even if we just want it to rearrange the furniture again.  But we also get metaphorical strength from the habit of working out.

4.     We like endorphins.  Our brains give us actual rewards in the form of feel-good chemicals when we work out.  And it’s all safe and legal!

 

Go play.

Body, baby!

As I have been returning to work, thanks to the technological wonder that is Zoom, I have been talking with lots of people about what equipment they have or might want.  I love toys and I have pretty much one of everything (and sometimes more!), but we don’t need a lot of stuff to get a good workout.  We come with body weight built in!  And even if we happen to reduce the amount of that body weight as a result of working out, we can STILL use it to good effect with some simple tricks.

 

Take, for example, our friend the pushup.  (Haven’t made friends with pushups yet?  No worries.  They work even if we don’t like them.)  People new to pushups may find the classic position of hands on floor, body long, balls of feet on floor too much of a challenge.  We have lots of choices for modifications.  We can put our knees on the floor instead of our feet.  We can put our hands on a sturdy table or chair.  We can stand facing a wall and put our hands there.  All of those modifications make the pushups less work.

 

As we progress, the classic position might not be enough of a challenge.  We can then make modifications like putting our feet up on a bench or chair.  We can make the work asymmetrical by raising one hand on a box or block.  We can add instability with an exercise ball.

 

The short version is that when we use our brains, we don’t need a lot of equipment to use our bodies!

 

Go play.

Sick workout? Nope.

I spent a lot of last week and the weekend being sick.  Nothing life-threatening, just annoying and inconvenient.  With luck, most of us will not have to deal with too much sickness this winter—we’re all staying home as much as possible and wearing our masks, right?—but germs are really good at finding us, especially when we are stressed.  So:  here’s my guide to figuring out when we are too sick to work out.

 

If we are feeling congestion in our chests or are otherwise having trouble breathing, we want to take things really easy.  Resting is good.  Sleeping is good.  When we get stir-crazy or when lying down and sitting become more uncomfortable than moving, we can do things like stroll slowly around the neighborhood.

 

If we are throwing up, we do not work out.  It is a bad idea.  Really.  Rest.  Drink clear fluids when they stay down.  Rest more.

 

If we have a fever, same deal.  Lots of rest.  Lots of fluids.  Probably our favorite OTC fever reducing medicine.

 

No matter what kind of sickness we have, we need to remember to come back slowly.  Our bodies have been busy with another kind of work.  We work out to be healthy, after all.  When the body is fighting germy or virus-y invaders, we need to focus on that.

 

Did I mention that rest is good?  Rest.