Two Is Biggest

The hardest workout is the second one.  We can gear ourselves up for the first one and we have that shiny new energy going for us and maybe even a sense of virtue.  We don’t necessarily expect to be good at what we’re doing, so we just go along with whatever happens.

 

Then the time for the second workout rolls around.  Our former blissful ignorance has been obliterated by soreness.  We look at the weights and resent them for their heaviness, their deceptively small size, their treachery.  We have become more familiar with the steps we’re supposed to take, but this does not somehow translate into making us more willing to take them.

 

Good news!  Workouts after the second one are better.  We learn more.  We understand how to keep the soreness afterward to a bearable level.  We begin to associate the work we do with the outcomes we want:  more energy, greater strength, looser waistbands.

 

We can do this.

Monday Workout: MORE Choices

This week’s workout, again, has options to make it more and less challenging.  If you need a less intense workout this week, choose to do just rows, regular pushups, and regular jacks.  As always, choose what works for you.  I suggest three rounds, but that, too, is optional.

 

1 arm clean and press	30
lunge twist	20
Arnold press	10
squat to leg lift	30
row to kickback	20
spiderman pushup	10
jacks or plank jacks	30
bench press	20
brains	10

How to choose

This week’s workout had some choices in it.  Here are some ways to figure out when to make a workout harder and when to make it easier.

 

1.     I’m bored.  Time to make it harder!  It’s hard to be bored when we’re out of breath.

2.     I’m hurting.  Time to make it less hard, at least on the part that hurts.

3.     I didn’t sleep well.  Less hard, or at least a longer warm-up

4.     I’m stressed.  This one can go either way.  If we enjoy taking things out on our weights that we can’t take out on our actual stressors, harder is a good thing.  If we need to conserve energy to deal with life outside the gym, easier might be a good choice.

 

Go play.

Happy Skeletons

We rely on our skeletons, even though we (I hope!) don’t see them.  Keeping our bones strong is a good way to ensure that we have a happy and healthy old age.  I’m here to talk about how.

 

Our skeletons respond well to work.  They also, believe it or not, like gravity.  To keep our skulls smiling, we need to keep all those bones in motion, preferably with a bit of weight or impact involved.

 

The simplest way to make our skeletons happy is to lift weights.  We don’t have to get fancy or complicated.  One or two weight workouts of 20 or 30 minutes a week is enough.

 

All right, maybe that’s not the simplest way.  The simplest way might be to walk or run or play tennis or pickleball or basketball or anything where our bodies impact the ground.  (Sadly, biking and swimming, two of my favorite activities, don’t have enough impact to make a difference for bone health.)

 

The really good news is that what is good for our skeletons is good for the rest of us, too.  That weight lifting increases our lean muscle mass, boosts metabolism, and makes us look good.  The cardio improves our mood and burns calories.

 

Make your skeleton happy!

Let's just leave carrot sticks out of it...

This is an oversimplification, but basically there are two types of motivation:  carrots and sticks.  Carrots are rewards for good behavior and sticks are punishments for bad behavior (unless you hate carrots, like I do, in which case it is punishment or punishment.  I don’t hate metaphorical carrots, though, since they don’t taste bad, so I’ll continue to use the familiar terminology.).

 

Not surprisingly, I have a preference between the two.  Despite the fact that roughly half the people who walk into my studio say something along the lines of “Oh, a torture chamber!” I don’t actually punish anybody.  (I do say, “I charge extra for that.”)

 

The biggest reason for this is that punishments don’t work.  Fear and shame and all those negative emotions don’t make us want to do whatever it is that someone wants us to do; they just make us want to avoid the bad thing that will happen to us if we don’t.

 

Praise, on the other hand, and positive reinforcement makes us feel like we are capable humans, empowered to do hard things.  It draws out of us our best selves.  It feels good, maybe even good enough to make up for having to do things like burpees.  It also doesn’t make us associate our workouts with Bad Things, which is far more likely to help us want to do it again.

 

Go play, you powerful humans, you!

Monday Workout: Decisions!

This week we have options.  (Fine.  Every week we have options, but I’m highlighting them this week.)  People who would like more challenge should do the overyets and the jump squats.  People who would like slightly less challenge should stick with the kb 8s and the regular squats.  People with questionable knees are included in those who would like slightly less challenge, in case that was not clear.  Three rounds.

 

kb swings	30
kb twists	20
kb 8s or overyets	10
mountain climbers	30
renegade row pushups	20
curls	10
(jump) squats	30
1 leg deadlifts	20
v sit press	10

 

Five

Sometimes we have one of those weeks.  Here are five treats we can give ourselves that don’t involve calories:

 

1.     Nap.  Yep.  It’s good for you.

2.     Walk.  A little change of scene is helpful, as is the mood-boosting power of cardio.

3.     Bath.  Swim works, too, but I’m thinking of the luxurious feeling of soaking right now.

4.     Connection.  Call a friend or text or meet up for a chat.  We feel better when we are surrounded by people who care about us.

5.     Choose some music.  Maybe you need to chill out to some classical or maybe you want to boogie in the kitchen.  Pick something that makes you happy.

 

Enjoy!