I love working in various planes (not the flying kind!). Going sideways and twisting as well as working forward and backward is good for our coordination, our balance, and our core control. Three rounds.
kb swings | 30 |
kb twists | 20 |
kb 8s or over yets | 10 |
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squat to leg lift | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
lateral raise | 10 |
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woodchoppers | 30 |
flies | 20 |
pretty princesses | 10 |
Sometimes we just need a reason to work out. Here are five to choose from today:
1. Because I told you to. I’m an expert. I know you should. Now get to it.
2. Because you’ll feel better afterwards. Really. The endorphins will move in your body and you’ll have a sense of accomplishment.
3. Because it’s fun. Fine, you’ll have to pick a workout you actually like. Go biking, go dancing, play dodgeball with the kids. Just get sweaty and breathless.
4. Because you can have a treat afterwards. (Be careful with this one, because it is hard to out-exercise a whole cake.)
5. Because you look cute when you work out. Really. You do.
Go play.
One of my favorite quotes from Emerson is this one: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” This comforts me when I say one thing on one day and something seemingly opposite the next. Keep this in mind as we proceed.
Yesterday I said that I like baby steps. This is true. But sometimes some of us do better making a big commitment. We need the burn-the-bridges kind of system to propel us into change.
What does that look like in fitness? It looks like showing up to the gym every day. It looks like cleaning out the pantry and parting with the secret emergency stash of M&Ms. It looks like telling a dear friend that no, we can’t meet for pastries, but we’d be happy to gossip and walk.
The advantage of the Big Change is that it is really noticeable. Our dear ones might not treat our five minute daily walk with the respect it deserves and they might try to negotiate us out of it for any number of reasons. They still might try to convince us not to hit the gym for our killer elliptical session followed by heavy lifting, but they can’t minimize it out of existence, either.
A big change works for those of us who enjoy a challenge. It can motivate fighters who like an external enemy (even if it is fictitious or abstract!). It helps if we like the spotlight, if we expect lots of opposition or lots of support from our friends and family (as opposed to a casual “you do you” approach), and if we actually mean it.
That last part is the kicker. If we decide to do the Big Change, we have to follow through or we lose our credibility with ourselves and with others.
Here to help, whether it’s with big stuff or baby steps.
When we first decide it’s time to work out, we can get overwhelmed really quickly. Our well-meaning friends and family members may suggest everything from crossfit to yoga to Zumba. We’ll see gadgets galore on the internet and we’ll get intimidated by the array of weird-looking machines at the gym.
Don’t panic.
This is why I am in favor of baby steps.
In general, the first thing that most people need as they transition from couch to activity is just to do something. I tend to advise walking because unless something is drastically wrong with us, we can all do it. Start with five minutes. Yes, that is really easy. That is the point.
Starting with something easy is important. When we are faced with what seems like an impossible task, we tend to get flooded with emotional reactions, brain chemicals, and negative self-talk. We want to curl up into a ball. Doing something, anything, shifts our mindset. We remember that we have at least a small measure of control. This is the first step toward taking back our power.
That first tiny success encourages us. We can take the next tiny step. Eventually, we will feel ready for slightly bigger steps and we’ll take them. If we have setbacks, we will remember that we can take tiny steps until we recover.
We can do this.
We’re doing all kinds of fun things this week. We have twisting, lateral movement, jumping, balance work! Hooray! Three rounds.
reverse lunge twist | 30 |
rows | 20 |
pushups | 10 |
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squat raise | 30 |
deadlifts | 20 |
(Kb) hammer curl | 10 |
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lateral bounds | 30 |
1 leg squat | 20 |
v sit press | 10 |
I was writing about balance yesterday. Here are four good balance-improving exercises:
1. Single leg squats: If necessary, hold on to a counter or a sturdy chair at first.
2. Single arm clean and press: the asymmetric nature of the exercise helps us recruit the core more.
3. Single leg deadlift: Begin using no weight and progress to holding dumbbells
4. Round lunges: The change in direction as we lunge front, side, and back makes us very conscious of the core control we need to succeed.
When we work out, we are constantly seeking balance, literally and figuratively.
Literally, as we move, we are using our core musculature to stabilize ourselves so we don’t fall, no matter what our arms and legs happen to be doing. This happens whether we are thinking about it or not, but we can make a conscious effort to do asymmetric exercises to improve our skill more intentionally.
We’re also balancing a bunch of abstract concepts as we plan and execute our workouts. We have to work enough and rest enough. We need to work the top and bottom halves of the body, as well as the right and left halves. We need to do our cardio, but also our weight training (oh, yeah: and flexibility!). We need to fit all of this stuff in the limited time we have available so we can live the rest of our lives.
For both the literal and figurative challenges, the answer is the same: we need to know where our center is. When we strengthen our cores and our commitment to our core values, the balance improves.
Go play.
