Sometimes it seems like workouts are all slog, all the time. Here are four ways to find joy in workouts:
1. That sense of accomplishment. It can be tiny, like, “Hey! I showed up today with shoes on and everything!”
2. That sense of progress. “A year ago, I couldn’t lift this!”
3. That great song. Maybe the workout itself is terrible, but the beats rock.
4. That shower afterward. Ahhhhhhh! It feels so good!
It seems like I feel like Captain Obvious about once a week. Today’s the day this week. My pearl of obvious wisdom this time is: we all have strengths and weaknesses.
It’s fun to play to our strengths. Some of us are fast; some of us are strong; some of us are flexible. Fast people like to finish first. Strong people like to have the opportunity to display their strength. Flexible people show off the way they can scratch the tops of their heads with their big toes, or whatever it is that flexible people do (I am not one, so I am simply admiring and jealous when they bend like that.). Of course we want to continue to build on our strengths.
But.
We also have to spend some time on our weaknesses. I may never be able to scratch the top of my head with my big toe, but if I don’t spend at least a little time working on flexibility, I’ll be lucky if I bend at all.
Nearly everything we do in fitness is a combination of cardio, strength, and flexibility. We can have a preferred mode among the three, but we can’t avoid the others forever.
Go play.
I got to be a guest speaker in a high school health class (via Zoom) last week and I got asked what the best thing about my job is. I could have said that I get to wear sweats all day every day and call it professional dress, which is definitely a good thing about my job, but it isn’t the best thing.
The best thing is getting to see people do more than they ever thought they could.
Every day I get to watch as people put in the work to accomplish their goals. I see the effort. I see the struggle. And I get to see the success. Things that used to be hard aren’t anymore. Things that used to hurt feel better. Bodies change. Attitudes shift. Strength in one area translates into strength somewhere else.
I get to help. What is better than enabling people’s dreams?
We are working in all of our planes this week. We have lots of stuff in the sagittal plane (the usual going front and back), a few frontal plane things (going side to side), and a couple of transverse plane exercises (twisting!). Everyday life uses all three, so why shouldn’t workouts? Three rounds.
kb swings | 30 |
kb twists | 20 |
kb 8s or overyets | 10 |
| |
squat to leg lift | 30 |
flies | 20 |
lateral raise | 10 |
| |
mountain climbers | 30 |
deadlift | 20 |
Russian twist | 10 |
When we need to start over, we need to start somewhere. Here are some possible places to begin and why we might choose them.
1. Cardio. It boosts mood, increases energy, helps brain function, and burns calories.
2. Weights. Weight training increases lean body mass, reduces fat, and burns calories. It also increases our sense of efficacy.
3. Food. Eating foods that are good for our bodies can change our mood, help our digestions, reduce fatigue, and generally make us feel better.
4. Mindbody Exercise. Yoga and Pilates can reduce stress, increase flexibility, and help our bodies feel better overall. They help us breathe and remain present.
October was a rough month for me, for a lot of reasons. I got a bit off track with my fitness. It happens and I’m not going to beat myself up about it or anything. Instead, I’m going to share what I do when I need to get back to my healthy habits.
The very first step for me when I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do is to figure out how to get my cardio in. Cardio is the thing that gives me the most, fastest. When everything is going wrong, I need cardio’s mood boost. I need the extra energy it gives me. I need the cognitive help. And, yeah, I need to burn some calories.
While I often suggest cardio as a first step for other people for all those reasons, I would like to point out that we are all individuals and some of us might get the most benefit from starting somewhere else. The point here is that the first step should be the one that gives us the most traction so that we can get to the second step. (Apply this same principle to all the steps, please!)
For me, that second step is about what I put in my mouth. When I am stressed, I want ice cream, mac and cheese, and all the caffeinated soda in the universe. Sadly, this does not match up well with the list of foods that are actually good for me. Weaning myself off the junk food helps me sleep better, ache less, and feel less irritable.
Step three, once the first two steps are well along toward becoming habits again, is to add just a little something. Some days that might be some yoga. Other days, it might be some weights. Nothing too big or that takes too long or that feels too overwhelming. Just a little push. Those little pushes add up over time.
If I find that I’m stressing out again, I back up. I return to the cardio. I step away from the freezer. I try not to add more stress about what I’m not doing.
What works for you?
Last week I did something new. One of my friends invited me to go electric biking with her. I don’t have an electric bike, but her husband kindly loaned me his for the occasion.
Was it the same as biking on my road bike or my mountain bike? No. But it reminded me about how much fun bikes can be. The short version of why I don’t bike much anymore is that it hurts my body in a lot of places. The electric bike’s geometry and the little bit of assist it gave me (I could have used more, but I have legs for a reason and I’m going to use them!) made it possible for me to go without my arms falling off and without having to suffer my way up hills.
There are many possible lessons to take from this, and not all of them involve shopping. One is that finding a way to modify the things we want to do to make them workable for our bodies is a worthwhile endeavor. Another is that getting a glimpse of success can motivate us to put in the work to get there (yes, I now want to take my non-electric bikes out for more quality time).
Joy is my favorite result from movement.
