Ask!

We are really good at deciding that something needs to be done about our fitness.  And then… we aren’t sure where to begin.  There are, of course, many ways to answer that implied question.  Here are a few things to consider:

 

What do we want to be able to do?  Some of us want to lift heavy things.  Some of us want to run long distances.  Some of us just want smaller jeans.  We want to start with the things that will put us on the path to our actual goals.  So, if we want to lift heavy objects, we begin with weights; if we want to run long distances, we start with short ones; if we want to get smaller jeans, we burn calories.

 

What do we like to do?  Pretty much all of us need to do some cardio exercise of some kind, but there are zillions of kinds out there.  People who detest running might like skiing or dancing or swimming.  Some of us love biking or skating.  Working out is difficult enough without the added disincentive of talking ourselves into doing something that we hate.

 

What do we need to do?  If we are starting from the couch, we need to check in with our doctors to make sure that we are clear to exercise.  Most people starting from the very beginning need to build up some basic endurance before getting fancy:  this means working up to 30 minutes of cardio five days a week.  Those of us with heart issues, blood pressure issues, bone density issues, and the like will need to listen carefully to what the doctor says to stay safe and healthy.

 

Need some guidance?  Ask me!!!!

Enthusiastic Tortoise

Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing.  We need it.  And we also need to remember that it lies to us.  We get all excited:  we’re going to do All The Things!  We’re going to eat only whole foods, exercise for three hours a day, lose 50 pounds, and meditate like a guru!  And on the second day, we’re exhausted and crabby and we find ourselves sitting on the couch eating Oreos out of the package.  Or maybe that’s just me.

 

What we want to do is use our enthusiasm wisely.  Let it help us get out of bed in time to work out, but don’t let it convince us to try to do everything at once.  It is hard to sustain our enthusiasm over time—this is why all those Rocky movies have workout montages—we want to fast-forward to the results!

 

We may have a whole bunch of really wonderful, important goals for our fitness.  It really is best to get excited about consistent, small steps.  We need to learn the tortoise’s lesson again and again.

Monday Workout: Whole!

I love whole body exercises.  We’re amping up our squats this week by making them overhead squats, getting everything moving with kettlebell (or dumbbell) swings, and challenging our core with plank jacks!  Three rounds, modified as needed for YOUR body.

 

kb swings	30
kb twists	20
kb 8s	10
plank jacks	30
overhead squats	20
curls	10
clean and press	30
flies	20
quadruped	10

Friday Reading Report: Intangibles

It has been a while since I read a book that was even tangentially fitness-related.  But at last, the incomparable Joan Ryan has a newish book out, Intangibles:  Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry. 

 

I have been reading and enjoying Ryan’s work from the time she used to write for the San Francisco Chronicle sports page.  Her book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes about the participants in women’s gymnastics and figure skating sounded an early (ignored) alarm about the abuses that those athletes were subject to in pursuit of some societal ideal of what gymnasts and figure skaters should be.  Her other books are also entirely worth reading for the grace of her prose and the depth of her insight and knowledge.  So now you know:  I’m a fan.

 

All the things I like about her work are present in this current book.  She brings her inquisitive mind and deep experience to bear on what team chemistry is (or isn’t).  She does not shy away from the people who flat out deny that it exists.  It is a useful reminder to all the data nuts out there that just because something can’t be quantified does not mean that it doesn’t exist.

 

Defining team chemistry turns out to be a difficult question in and of itself.  She writes, “I had experienced it myself in my first job out of college, in the Orlando Sentinel’s sports department.  We were a tight-knit staff of a few rookies like me and a slate of veterans who deleted our adverbs and introduced us to scotch.” (p. 7)  Ultimately, she ends up defining it as a complex of factors that improve performance.

 

She does research with psychiatrists and coaches and members of teams that had notoriously good chemistry.  She develops a series of archetypes that teams need to have good chemistry.  It’s all useful and fascinating, full of great stories and memorable characters.

 

My caveat:  the book has a bit of an identity problem.  It’s mostly a sports book, but it is also trying to be a business book.  From time to time, Ryan tries to make the point that business teams need the same kind of performance-enhancing chemistry as well.  Maybe so.  Managers have been using sports analogies roughly forever, so a more direct application of sports science might make sense.  Also, professional sports are, in fact, businesses.

 

I’m still a fan.  I hope lots of people go out and buy her book because more people need a little Joan Ryan in their lives.  She tells a great story and she finds great stories to tell.

My Resolutions

My resolutions?  Sure, I’ll share:

 

1.     Eat healthy food.  For me, this means that I need to wave goodbye (again) (for good, I hope) to sugar and dairy.  Those two things make my body unhappy.  I’ll be drinking water, eating veggies, and indulging in sushi.

2.     Move.  I feel best when I work out enough, but not too much.  I need to do cardio and yoga pretty much every day.  I feel best when I lift weights once or twice a week and do a few Pilates sessions.  I get bonus points when my cardio is outside (hiking, biking, swimming).

3.     Relax.  When I relax, I don’t eat as much.  I don’t hurt as much.  I am nicer.

4.     Play.  Sure, I’m a grownup.  That doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.  I learn best through playing around, so bring on the experiments, the silly jokes, and the goofy ideas.

 

What are yours? 

Resolution Radio

We are coming up on Resolution season.  There is probably a rule somewhere that says I should love resolutions.  The Personal Training Police may come find me and haul me away if I don’t or something.

 

I do love resolutions, just not so much the kind that we automatically make for the new year.  I believe we can start fresh every single day.  There is nothing magic about January 1, or Monday, or a birthday that ends with a zero.

 

However, if we are going to make some resolutions, I have some suggestions.

 

First, be realistic.  Sure, we’re dreaming about how fabulous we are all going to be in 2021, but nothing is as discouraging as finding out that we really are not going to manage to fly, jump start our modeling career, make a gazillion bucks in two weeks, and lose 582 pounds by January 2.  A realistic weight loss goal for most people works out to a pound or two a week.  A realistic cardio goal, starting from the couch, is to work up to 30 minutes five days a week.  A realistic weight training goal is to do one session a week for a few months and then work up to two or three.

 

Second, be consistent.  We can’t do our entire fitness goal on the first day.  (This is unfortunate, but complaining about it does not help—I’ve tried.)  My examples of realistic goals above are all about consistency—doing something every week, every day.

 

Third, get help.  We are not going to lose weight if our dear partner bakes us delicious cookies every day, no matter how much we love both our partner and the cookies.  We need to enlist our family and friends to help us with our goals.  Some of them may not want to find another way to show their love other than cookies, which is educational, sad, frustrating, and, eventually, empowering.  We are, in fact, more powerful than cookies, but we might need to recruit some non-cookie members for our team.  Our families and friends can help us make good choices, can work out with us, can hold us accountable.  Note:  it is absolutely not fair to get mad at your accountability buddy for asking, very nicely, if you are sure that you really want to eat that third chocolate bar.  Our teams can be larger than our circle of friends and family.  We can get help from trainers, doctors, dieticians, nutritionists, and other health professionals.

 

Fourth, be kind.  Change is hard.  We are sometimes going to blow it.  When that happens, we do not need to be scolded.  We need to be encouraged and helped.

 

We can make 2021 awesome.

Getting Used to It

As I often do, I have two opposing thoughts in my mind at once.  And, as usual, I like them both.  We live in a nuanced, paradoxical world, so maybe we should get used to it?

 

Thought one:  it doesn’t matter how we’re feeling; we need to do the work.  This is the being a grownup part, where maybe we would rather lie in bed all day and figure out what that shape in the plaster really reminds us of, but instead we get up and work out because it is the right thing to do, it’s in line with our goals, and it will actually make us feel better.  The spin bike does not care if we are grumpy.  The weights do not get offended if we snarl at them.  When we work out in spite of our own resistance, we build grit and character as well as muscle.

 

Thought two:  it matters a lot how we approach what we do and how we feel about it.  I know and love a lot of folks who are in a bit of a freak-out about their pandemic bodies.  Freaking out does not burn calories.  It doesn’t help.  It leads us into a shame and self-hatred cycle.  If that kind of negativity worked, we would all be extra double thin.  We need to treat ourselves with love, approach our workouts in a spirit of calm, and allow ourselves to grow patiently, as if we were our own beloved child.

 

How do I resolve this?  I don’t.  I do both.  There are plenty of days when I do let the weights or the spin bike absorb my anger and bad moods.  I do, however, even in my worst moods, remember that I’m working out because it is good for me, because I will feel happier and be stronger for it, because I would encourage my bestie to do the same.

 

We don’t work out just to work out; we do it to feel good in the largest possible sense.  So take a deep breath and go play.