Monday Workout: Kettle!

I love kettle bells because they are so flexible as a tool.  Also, they make us work hard.  Three rounds.

 

jacks	30
bench press	20
YTA	10
kb swings	30
kb twists	20
kb 8s	10
woodchoppers	30
flies	20
pretty princesses	10

 

Affirmations for the Challenged

I confess that I hate affirmations.  The Wellness Police are probably coming for me right now.  However, here are a few for people who hate them.

 

1.     My body is amazing.  Really.  It keeps breathing all by itself.  It moves me around.  It turns food into energy, light into images, and waves into music.

2.     I can do things.  I got up this morning and brushed my teeth. 

3.     The world is beautiful.  There is a sky.  There are leaves.  And flowers!

4.     I can make connections.  There are other humans!  We can talk!  We can laugh at stupid jokes and know that dogs and babies are adorable. 

Anxiety Training

I write a fair amount about the connection between exercise and depression (short version:  get cardio to reduce symptoms), but I sometimes forget to write about how exercise helps with anxiety.  (Note:  exercise anxiety is a thing, but I’m talking about the garden-variety kind here.)

 

People who deal with anxiety are familiar with the raised heart rate, shortness of breath, and panicky feelings it can produce.  They know about the hamster wheel of worry.

 

Here’s what exercise does to help.  That hamster?  It gets tired out when we do our cardio.  Our brains literally calm down.  When we go outside, it works even better.

 

Cardio also raises our heart rate and makes us breathe faster and harder.  In effect, we practice for panic attacks by doing cardio.  We get familiar with the feelings and we know how to recover from them because we’ve done it so many times before.

 

None of these things are a substitute for actual medical and/or psychological help.  If we need medication, we should take it.  If we need to talk to an expert, we should do it.  What I am suggesting is that exercise can be a helpful addition to the coping toolkit.

 

Be well.

Sick Workout, Dude

Sometimes we get sick.  When we’re sick it can be hard to tell whether we are well enough to work out or not.  Here are some thoughts to help the decision process.

 

First and foremost:  rest is devalued in our culture.  Most of us run around on not enough sleep.  We are constantly stressed out.  Getting sick is one of the only acceptable reasons we have to get some sleep.  It is not only all right to rest when we are sick, it is almost always a really good idea.

 

Also important:  we do not bring our germs to the gym.  Nobody wants them.  We need to stay away from others until we are sure that we are not sharing.

 

Now that we’ve dealt with those important bits, what if we still want to work out?  If we are having any GI issues, it is probably best to wait until they’re fully done.  We want our insides to stay inside while we are working out.

 

If we are congested, we may want to go easy on the cardio.  It’s already a challenge to breathe; we don’t want to make it worse.

 

In fact, going easy is the magic concept here.  A gentle walk, a bit of yoga or stretching, maybe some light weights:  these are the kinds of workouts we do when we are getting better.  We want enough work to remind ourselves that we know how, but not so much that we tax systems that are already trying to deal with our viral or bacterial invaders.

 

Again, resting is a perfectly valid option.

Monday Workout: Gotta Do It

I will always love compound exercises because they do so much so efficiently!  Three rounds.

 

1 arm clean and press	30
kickbacks	20
pushups	10
squat to leg lift	30
deadlifts	20
YTA	10
mountain climbers	30
renegade rows	20
plank	10

 

Inertia-Beaters

As Newton has explained, the hardest part of getting moving is getting started (Look!  I learned at least one thing in physics!).  Here are four ways to beat inertia:

 

1.     Give it five minutes.  If you’re not into it at the end of five minutes, stop!

2.     Go outside.  The fresh air helps us get motivated.

3.     Get childish.  What did you do at recess?  Try that.  Hopscotch?  Tag?  Handball?  Grab a couple friends for kickball or baseball or football.

4.     Use bribery.  Promise yourself a hot bath or a nap or an extra episode of that show.  (Note:  food bribes are not the best choice.)

 

Go play.

One Two Three Kick

A gazillion years ago when I was in high school, I had a friend who always said, “Kicking is a sign of affection.”  His point was not that we should go around kicking people (definitely not recommended!), whether we like them or not, but that someone who kicks us is not indifferent to us.  (Yes, people who can only express their feelings by hurting other people need to do some work on their stuff so they can become functional humans.)  Indifference can be more painful than outright dislike.

 

What does this have to do with working out?  Oh, right, I’m supposed to tell weird anecdotes that have a purpose.  A lot of people come to workouts wanting me to “kick their butts.”

 

Obviously, I do not literally comply.  However, what those folks are asking me to do is to care enough about them to help them work to their full potential, even if it is hard.  When I approach my clients with love, I will push them.  They will finish their workouts tired and sweaty.  And they will get stronger.  I do it because I care.