One way to add intensity to a workout is to add jumping. This week, we’re doing jump squats and plyojacks to get our hearts really going. If jumping is not appropriate in your body, do regular squats and modified jacks instead—safety is the most important thing! Three rounds.
jump squats | 30 |
flies | 20 |
1 leg deadlifts | 10 |
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kb swings | 30 |
kb twists | 20 |
kb 8s | 10 |
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plyo/regular/mod jacks | 30 |
curls | 20 |
Russian twist | 10 |
Where I live, it is, in my opinion, way too hot right now. I am drinking water, water, and more water. This can be hard for people to manage, so here are some things that might help:
1. Choose fizzy. As a former soda drinker, this was key to my success. Fizzy water seems slightly more festive than plain old flat water. Obviously, if you don’t like fizzy water, choose flat.
2. Get the right temperature. For me, this means lots of ice, but some people find more success drinking water that is closer to room temperature.
3. Pretend it’s a spa thing. Throw a lemon slice or some mint leaves or a bit of cucumber in there. Melon can also be nice. It’s not just water: it’s a mini vacation.
4. Get the right container. Some of us like straws; some of us like sippy cups; some of us are fancy and use glass; some swear by our water bottles. Finding the right one makes a surprising amount of difference. (Mine is insulated and has a lid that I use if I’m taking it somewhere, but leave off if I’m just hanging at home. The cup is also red.)
5. Set a goal. This works for people who like to compete or folks who like to check boxes. Make a chart and stick it on the fridge; give stickers. Use an app to track it.
6. Check in. A lot of us go around slightly dehydrated. When we succeed at drinking water, it’s useful to notice that we feel better, less crabby, sharper.
Bodies like to move. I know some folks are rolling their eyes right now because they firmly believe that they could lie on the couch until they became one with the upholstery, but hey, rolling eyes is movement, so they just proved my point.
Silliness aside (who am I kidding? I can’t leave the silliness out!), all of our bodies do, in fact, like to move. The question is how much. When we go too long without moving, we feel stiff and sore. Our joints refuse to open or close as much as they used to. We forget how to get enough air into our lungs to support dancing or running or even walking.
The good news is that bodies also remember. When we give our legs a stretch or our neck a little roll, our bodies remember how to do it and reward us by making us feel better. This is true even for those of us who have arthritis; studies recommend taking even arthritic joints through their range of motion each day so that there is no further loss and maybe even a bit of gain. Starting slow with a few stretches or a short walk helps.
Go play.
I love the gym. It’s one of my happy places. And, at the same time, I know that sometimes it’s really important to get out into the world because gym reality does not always match real reality.
What am I talking about? Glad you asked. Let’s say we spend a bunch of time using the weight machines at the gym and we’re feeling pretty good because we have been able to add plates. Great, right? But then we need to go help a good friend move some furniture and we realize a few things very quickly. One: objects outside the gym are not necessarily designed to be grasped easily. Two: moving heavy objects through crowded or narrow space bears only a slight resemblance to sliding weights along the channels of a machine. Three: balance is way more important than we thought. Four: we don’t like our friend as much as we used to and we’re too old to do this kind of work for beer and pizza. This may not be an exhaustive list, but it’s a start.
Similarly, we may love the treadmill. We may move the speed and incline up. And then we go for a hike outside where it might be a lot hotter or colder than we’re used to and the hill doesn’t end at the push of a button. We may hike at altitude and realize that there’s not the same amount of oxygen we’re used to having. Also, the path may not be so smooth.
Gyms are not the most varied environments. We learn a lot when we take what we learn in the gym and apply it in the proprioceptively-enriched environment of the world, doing our everyday tasks, and working with the constant variety that we find.
Go play.
Like everyone else, I go through phases. This means that sometimes I forget about a particular exercise for a while, but eventually I remember. This is why there are bench dips in this week’s workout! Three rounds.
step ups | 30 |
squats | 20 |
bench dips | 10 |
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woodchoppers | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
lateral raise | 10 |
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overhead curtsy | 30 |
deadlift | 20 |
brains | 10 |
In the West, yoga tends to be regarded as an exercise thing, but the tradition is much richer and deeper than that. Anyone who would like an exhaustive (and exhausting) overview of that panoply might want to check out Georg Feuerstein’s book The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy, and Practice.
This is not the book to turn to if you want to know how to do various asanas or if you want a concise description of the various yoga schools. It’s not even the right book if you want a fluid translation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with commentary. My Sanskrit is nonexistent, but having read more than one translation of the sutras, I can say confidently that Feuerstein did not concentrate on style or flow in that particular translation. I’m unfamiliar with many/most of the other texts he translates, but my sense is that he is more of a literalist than a stylist, which may be fine for scholars, but tends to wear out and confuse the regular reader.
I think I am glad I read it, but I’m not entirely sure. There is some truly weird stuff in the annals of yoga. I don’t know how or if this book will influence my own practice, but I do know more than when I started, so that’s something.
Sometimes we all get bored with our workouts. Here are five ways to up the challenge and wake ourselves up.
1. Make it unstable. This can be about using tools like stability balls, a BOSU, a wobble-board, or a foam roller, or it can be as simple as trying the exercise on one leg or with one arm at at time.
2. Change the speed of the lift. Sometimes things are harder when we do them faster. Sometimes we learn a lot by slowing things way down. Try doing the “hard” part quickly and then lower the weights back down very slowly.
3. Add cardio intervals. This can be as simple as a minute of jacks between lifts or as complicated as creating a whole circuit routine. The idea is to get breathless and then do the lift to increase the challenge.
4. Go backwards. If we always do the same exercises in the same order, our bodies know what to expect. That’s a recipe for stagnation. Mix things up by doing the same routine but in reverse.
5. Change location. If we normally work out outside, we can take it indoors, or vice versa. A change of scene means fresh input for our brains and bodies, which is good for both.
Go play!
