It's raining, it's boring...

Sometimes the weather does not cooperate with our workout plans.  Here are some tips on how to deal with environmental angst.

 

1.     Go anyway.  Throw on a raincoat and walk or run in the rain.  You’ll dry.

2.     Run the stairs.  The ones in your hallway.  They’re handy and inside.  Go up fast and come down slow.  If you don’t have stairs, you can do step ups on a (sturdy) chair.

3.     Dance in the kitchen.  Depending on who lives with you, you may end up with a dance party or your kids will give you peace because they’re busy dying of embarrassment.

4.     Play a weighting game.  It’s like a drinking game but with weights instead.  So every time the main character of that show you’re watching says her catchphrase, you do squats.  When the sidekick does something dumb, you do curls.  Use your imagination.

How to tell...

Yesterday, I posted about aiming for a Just Right workout.  Some of us intuitively grasp how to hit that sweet spot.  We will try not to hold that against those people.  The rest of us can use a little guidance.

 

If we are hitting out goals, whether those are weight loss or general toning or improved endurance or even better moods, that’s a good indication that we’re getting it right.  If we feel pleasantly sore the day after a weight training session, that’s another good sign.  During the workout, if we get sweaty, we are probably working at least hard enough.  If we can still talk, we’re probably not working too hard.

 

However, if we don’t seem to be making progress, our workouts are probably too easy.  Hint:  if we are still lifting the same amount of weight after six months, we are not making progress.  If we never have to concentrate on what we’re doing, same deal.  On the other end of the spectrum, if we need a steady diet of Ibuprofen to get through our daily lives without screaming every time we move, our workouts are too hard.  (Perhaps a more practical way of phrasing this is:  workout soreness should not last more than two or three days at most.)  If we spend the whole workout gasping for air, we’re working too hard.  There are some people who would argue with me about this, but if a workout makes us throw up, it is too hard.  We want to avoid pain and excessive suffering—a little discomfort is all right.

 

We are the only experts on our own bodies.  That means that even if a trainer or instructor is telling us what to do, we remain the boss and can choose not to do what they say.  It also means that we have a responsibility to stay mindful of what we are doing so we can ensure that we are, in fact, doing a Just Right workout.

No bears...

So remember Goldilocks?  You know, that entitled housebreaker who terrorized a fine, law-abiding bear family?  We want to be a little bit like Goldilocks when we work out.  (No, I am not referring to my oft-repeated declaration that I only run if there is a bear involved…)  Please do not break into any bears’ houses.  However, when faced with choices, choose the one that is just right.

 

We all know when we are slacking.  We show up for our workout half asleep and we never wake up.  We pedal on autopilot or lift light weights mindlessly.  Goldilocks rejects this workout as Too Easy.

 

Sometimes, though, we get to our workout and we think we have to do literally everything at full speed and full intensity all the time.  We wonder why we are always sore and tired.  Goldilocks says this workout is Too Hard.

 

Goldilocks wants us to do a workout that is Just Right.  We want a balance between challenge and achievability.  We want rest days at appropriate intervals.  We want, in short, a sustainable level of activity because in the long run, we need to keep showing up for workouts.  That won’t happen if our workouts are Too Easy and boring or if our workouts are Too Hard and injure us (either in an immediate way or in a cumulative overuse kind of way).

 

The goal here is to live happily ever after.

Monday Workout: Balance!

This week’s workout continues our focus on balance training.  I love balance moves because they’re practical—we all need to deal with unstable circumstances from time to time—and because they help us develop core strength in motion rather than in isolation.  Three rounds!

 

suitcase swings	30
deadlifts	20
curls	10
opposite knees	30
1 leg squats	20
Arnold press	10
woodchoppers	30
rows	20
brains	10

Five Reasons, but you can't have them; get your own...

I have been making lists of reasons to work out for a long time.  I’m about to make another one, of the first five that pop into my head, but before I do, I need to point out something:  my reasons are not everyone’s reasons.  We all need to make our own lists and we need to work out for our own reasons.  When we try to work out for someone else’s reasons, we are not being real and that almost never leads to lasting success.  It is also uncomfortable, even if we love the person whose reasons we are using very much.  Maybe my list will be inspirational, in a good way or in a no-way-in-hell kind of way, but I am doing it wrong if it does not encourage everyone else to make a personal list.

 

Why I work out, today:

 

1.     So my body doesn’t freeze this way.  Mobility only lasts as long as we use it.

2.     Because doing spin improves my mood.  I am much nicer after spin.  My family should be glad I have a spin bike!

3.     Because it feels good.  This reason applies particularly to yoga and Pilates.  It is pretty luxurious to take time to move slowly and deliberately and to stretch.

4.     Because I get to check it off my to-do list.  Never underestimate the power of the check mark.  Or the sticker, for that matter, on a chart.

5.     Because it is good for me in the long term.  This reason is last because it’s pretty abstract.  I’m much more motivated by short-term stuff, but I do find that I want to be active and healthy for a long time to come.  Working out is how I intend to get there.

 

Go make your list!

As usual, I suggest both...

It’s time for another one of those posts where I talk about two contradictory ideas and conclude that both are true.  One of those ideas is that we need to have a fitness habit.  We need to make it automatic that we roll out of bed, throw on our shoes, and get to work, or that we finish the work day and head for the exercise.  Habits make things easy.  We don’t have to waste energy on planning or enforcement.  We just show up because we always do.

 

The other thing I talk about a lot is mixing things up.  Doing the same thing every day is boring.  Our brains turn off.  Our bodies stop making progress.  We just don’t want to anymore.  Throwing in a few new exercises or trying a new sport or even moving location can make it all seem fresher and more exciting.

 

What we need, to resolve this seeming paradox, is flexibility within a framework.  Sure, we always exercise right after breakfast, but on any given day we might swim or bike or lift or do yoga.  Or, every once in a while, we plan to go hiking with a friend at a different time of day.  We still have the habit; we just change up how we express it.

 

Go play.

The glass of fashion for molding form... (sorry Hamlet)

Anyone who has met me in person knows that I’m not exactly the Queen of Fashion.  I feel pretty clever for figuring out a career in which I get to wear sweats every day.  However, all sweats are not created equal.

 

First:  we can work out in whatever we want to wear.  Feel comfortable in that holey old t-shirt?  Go for it.  What you wear is far less important than what you do.  The rest of what I have to say is stuff to think about when you need new stuff or you want to upgrade.

 

Now that we’re clear on that, let’s start with the basics.  We need underwear that works.  I will let the male-identifying figure this one out on their own because my practical experience is not useful here.  But those of us who identify as female may want to consider wearing panties that are not all cotton because cotton gets soggy and uncomfortable when we get sweaty.  Bikers may want to find panties with the fewest seams to avoid chafing.  Sports bras come in a variety of styles, some more supportive than others (brief plug for the Title Nine company’s rating system for their bras:  it comes as a number of barbells…).  Generally speaking, the higher impact the activity and the larger the breasts, the more support you want in the bra.  Good sports bras can be pricey, but they are really worth it when we feel comfortable while we work out.

 

When it comes to what to put over our good underwear, I am partial to pants with some stretch and compression, but pick what works for you.  Depending on what you are doing, you may want more or less fitted garments.  I am particularly happy with whoever figured out that leggings should have pockets.  On top, I like the high-tech fabrics that breathe, dry quickly, and resist stinking.  In my ideal world, all workout shirts would also have the kind of pocket in the lower back that bike shirts have.

 

Layers are important for the beginning and end of workouts.  I again like pockets.  Also consider ease of putting on and taking off because there is nothing worse than wrestling with a recalcitrant sweatshirt while on the elliptical trainer or in the middle of yoga class.

 

My opinion about socks:  silly is better.  However, finding socks that do not encourage blisters or fall down into shoes is also important.  Some people are opinionated about the fiber content of socks, but I am not one of them.

 

Shoe developers have created custom shoe profiles for nearly every sport imaginable.  I like cross-trainers because I hate to be tied to one particular activity by my shoes.  That said, fit is important.  Some of us need more support than others.  We do not want to work out in uncomfortable shoes.

 

Again, what you wear to work out is not nearly as important as doing the work.  Choose clothes that make it as easy as possible to do what you want to do.