How to avoid boredom

The downside of cardio exercise is that it can get monotonous.  Here are some ways to make it less boring:

 

1.     Loud music.  This is not the time to listen to lullabies.  We want something with a beat!

2.     Podcasts or audio books.  I don’t recommend reading because in my experience it is very difficult to read on any of the pieces of exercise equipment and work out hard enough, but if words are motivational, try listening to them.  A lot of people also swear by watching tv while exercising.

3.     Intervals.  I know I write about these all the time, but they are magic.  After we are warmed up, we increase the pace and/or intensity of what we are doing to the hardest we can manage for a minute.  Then we recover for a minute or two and do it again.  And again.  We burn a bunch more calories, we challenge ourselves, and we improve faster.

4.     Change of venue.  There are so many kinds of cardio that we can almost always find something different.  Swapping the bike for a stationary bike or vice versa for a few days can be refreshing.  Choosing to row or run or dance or swim can make us have a whole new perspective.  Even choosing a different route for the daily walk can help.  In non-plague times, I would suggest trying a different class, but save that idea for when it is safe.

5.     Do it with a buddy.  Safely.  So we might have to rope our family/housemates into working out with us, or we might have to resort to Zoom.  Alternatively, we can have that keep-in-touch phone call with our bestie while we each walk safely and separately wherever we happen to be.

6.     Experiment.  We all are creative beings and we all have our own preferences.  When we try different ways to spice up the workout, we can find what works best for us.  And then we can share our new discoveries!

 

Go play.

Breathless

I love my weights.  I really do.  But in the unlikely event that I met a person who had to choose only one kind of exercise, I would tell them to do cardio.  And I make a point of including some cardio intervals in the weight workouts I prepare for my clients.

 

Here’s why.

 

Cardio exercise forms the foundation for all other exercise.  In order to lift weights effectively, we need basic cardiovascular fitness.  We begin by building cardio endurance and construct our fitness on that basis.

 

Cardio exercise reduces stress, improves mood, and helps with depression symptoms.  Cholesterol numbers improve in people who do cardio even if there is no weight loss.  Our brains work better when we spend some time getting breathless every day.

 

It is not possible to out-exercise bad eating habits, but it is always helpful to burn more calories, and cardio exercise excels at that.

 

Go get sweaty and out of breath:  you’ll feel better afterward!

Enough

Current events have me thinking about rights and privileges, needs and luxuries.  I am always thinking about how the microcosm influences the macrocosm and vice versa.  What does this have to do with fitness?

 

Health.  We, the people, need more of it.  My profession tends to cater to the people with disposable income and there is plenty of work for me to do with them, but one of the reasons I post a workout every Monday on the blog is to make my work more accessible to people without disposable income.  I do believe that healthy bodies promote healthy minds.  Healthy minds create healthy structures, and healthy structures help us all thrive.

 

One of the basic concepts that I keep returning to is enough.  I think this is a tough one for our society.  We have been taught that more is always better.  It’s not.  We don’t always need more calories.  We don’t even always need more exercise.  We need the right amount.  And all of us need to have enough for us to have true health.

 

We can’t control big things.  We are only the boss of ourselves.  Start by doing the small things that promote our own health and move from there.

 

What are we hoarding?  What are we lacking?  How can we share our abundance with others and meet some of our needs through their extras?  Cooperation is a basic part of connection, which is a basic part of health.  Let’s be kind and generous and helpful and healthy together. 

Monday Workout: Stability!

This week we’re working on a lot of stability exercises.  These are really good for making workouts challenging without using a lot of heavy weights.  As always, adapt for your needs.  Three rounds.

 

mountain climbers	30
overhead squats	20
Arnold press	10
1 arm clean and press	30
kickbacks	20
round lunges	10
overhead curtsy	30
1 arm deadlift	20
Hundred	10

Five snacks

Snacks are important.  Most of us do pretty well at choosing well during meals, but those snacks can undo all our good work.  Here are a few good snack choices:

 

1.     Clementines.  They’re small, sweet, and full of fiber and vitamins.

2.     Apples and nut butter.  The nut butter gives us a bit more protein and some healthy fats to make us feel full longer.  The apples provide sweetness, fiber, and vitamins.

3.     Veggies and dip.  Dip, in large quantities, is not our friend, but if we have a smidge with our celery, that’s all good.

4.     Yogurt and fruit.  If dairy doesn’t work, try coconut or soy yogurt.  Choose wisely, though, because a lot of yogurts are full of added sugar.

5.     Cheese and whole grain crackers.  By now, you’ll have noticed a theme:  a fiber-rich thing paired with a fatty/protein food.  This gives us what we need to feel full.

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.