The Amazing Stickie and V-Sit Presses

The Amazing Stickie is working both her abdominals and her upper body today by doing V-sit presses.  She begins sitting on the floor with her legs out in front of her.  Then she leans back so that she is resting just behind her sit bones, lifting her legs so that her thighs make a V-shape with her back.  In the picture, Stickie has her knees bent and her shins parallel to the floor; people who want even more challenge can straighten their knees.  She holds a dumbbell in one hand at shoulder level and then raises it straight up in the air before lowering it back to her shoulder.  Stickie stays in the V-sit position the whole time.  Five reps on a side is a good number.

Tantrums are ok

When my kids were small, they sometimes struggled with what parents at the time (and maybe still?) called transitions.  The change from home to playgroup, or from playgroup to preschool, or even home to grandparents’ houses and back could be accompanied with wailing and gnashing of teeth.  I have said before that the world is pretty much entirely populated with toddlers, some of us better disguised than others.  We all struggle with transition and change.

 

As we contemplate the year to come and the good and necessary changes we want to make, we may find our excitement tempered by anxiety or fear.  Then when we get to doing the work of change, we may discover that we still have a tantrum or two left in us.  This is natural and fine.  We like routines.  We like the comfort of the usual.  Adapting to a new schedule or a new activity takes energy and fortitude.

 

We need to be kind but firm with our inner toddler.  We can say to ourselves that it is all right not to like the new thing we have to do, but we still have to do it.  We can bribe ourselves with treats (like a nap!).  We can patiently explain that this is for our own good.  Eventually, the kicking and screaming will stop and we will adjust.

 

Again:  I’m still here to help.

What do we want?

The year is winding down, which means that many of us are feeling reflective.  Either that, or we’re still digesting all the treats from the holidays.  In any case, now that all the gifts are opened, we have a moment to take stock.

 

What do we want in 2023?

 

There are as many answers to that question as there are people, and maybe more, since we’re allowed to want more than one thing.  As we consider this question in light of our health and fitness, I encourage everyone to tell the truth.

 

I think it is safe to say that all of us want to be healthy.  Not all of us want to do the things that will move us toward greater health and fitness.  A good first goal is to want to make changes.  Recognizing that we’re not ready yet allows us to explore the idea of getting fit and healthy (however we choose to define those words) without forcing ourselves into unpleasant situations.

 

If we are ready to do the things that make us healthy and fit, we need to ask ourselves why we want those things.  It may seem obvious, but it really isn’t.  Some of us want to ensure that we live independently as long as possible.  Some of us have mountains we want to climb.  Some of us just want to get to the top of the stairs without being out of breath.  Others really want to look cute at the high school reunion.  The reasons behind our desire for health and fitness are the motivation we need to do the sometimes hard business of getting there.

 

And I am here to help.

Monday Workout: If you want it!

It is totally all right to take the Christmas week off.  However, if you really want a workout, here’s one.  Do three rounds.

 

step ups	30
bench press	20
round lunges	10
jacks	30
flies	20
1 leg squats	10
clean and press	30
rows	20
pretty princesses	10

The Amazing Stickie and Jump Lunges

The Amazing Stickie, like most of us, does not love doing lunges.  However, she does love the effects of having done lunges.  Sometimes she chooses to do jump lunges to get the benefits of lunges, plus some cardio, all while getting it over quickly.  There are two ways to do jump lunges and both of them are good.

 

For the first way, Stickie gets into a good lunge position.  Notice that her front shin is perpendicular to the floor and her knee is aligned over her toe.  Her back thigh is also perpendicular to the floor and her back heel is in line with her knee.  Her shoulders remain over her hips throughout the exercise because Stickie does not like to cheat herself by letting her torso tilt forward.  Using the power of both bent legs, she jumps up into the air and lands again in a good lunge position with the same leg in front.

 

The second way is just like the first, except that in the air, Stickie switches which leg will land in front.  This way is a little bit more of a core and balance challenge due to the switch.

 

Stickie does sets of 15 on a side when she does not switch legs and sets of 30 when she is switching legs.

Peace Be With You

The holidays are basically here.  For most of us, even when the holidays are fun, there is a stress component.  Our routines are disrupted.  We eat different food.  We struggle to fit in workouts.  Here are a couple of coping techniques.

 

One is:  take the holiday.  When I say this, I am not authorizing anyone to eat fudge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I am saying:  it is all right to relax and enjoy some treats.  Eat a vegetable once in a while over the week and please stay hydrated.  Take a stroll with the grandkids or all by yourself to get some space from the crush of family and friends, but don’t freak out if you work out slightly less.  Bodies and souls need rest as well as work.  The workouts will be there when you’re ready to come back to them.

 

The other is:  give yourself the gift of self-care.  Aunt Gertrude may not be thrilled that you turn down her famous pie, but she’ll live.  You may have to adapt the timing of workouts around family events, but if you really want to fit in a workout, you’ll manage, even if you show up late for the big family Monopoly-fest.  Or you can start or renew the tradition of the big afternoon football game for all ages prior to the feasting.

 

Whichever you choose, you are doing a great job.  Allowing ourselves the grace to choose a peaceful path through the holidays, whether we stroll along it slowly or do it with sprint intervals, is a great way to make life more carefree and less stressful.

Uncle Joe might need more than one chance

Pilates, like yoga, comes in flavors.  There is a classical repertoire, handed down by dear old Uncle Joe Pilates, but different schools and individual teachers take what he gave us and add a dash of this or that.  Some studios specialize in what I might describe as power Pilates, maybe incorporating weights.  Other studios blend more freely with yoga.  Nearly every studio adopts some of the really cool tools that have come into existence since Uncle Joe left us:  the BOSU, the Oov, and other gizmos.

 

I mention this because some people have tried one kind of Pilates and have decided that they do not like it, thanks very much.  I confess that if Pilates was purely the mat exercises, I might be one of those people:  I love my reformer and my trap table and all my other furniture.

 

Finding the Pilates class or one-on-one instructor that is right may require experimentation.  As everyone knows by now, I am a big fan of experimentation.  In other words, ask a bunch of questions and try a few different styles before you give up on Uncle Joe entirely.

 

Go play.