Getting High

Last month I took a couple of trips to a higher altitude, one to go skiing and one to visit my son and daughter in law.  I’m noticing that as I get older, the altitude affects me more.  Here’s how to deal with it while working out:

Slow down.  The upside of feeling the altitude is that our heart rates increase all by themselves.  This means we don’t need to work out as hard to get cardio benefits.  The downside is that we may have to take more breaks or longer rests to get our heart rates back down.

 

Hydrate.  This is always a good idea, but at altitude it’s particularly important because it can help alleviate the headaches that come along with height.

 

Remember to breathe.  Again, this is always essential, but more so at altitude.  It’s good to do breathwork before going to altitude so that we already know how to focus on the breath, but even a few conscious, deep breaths can make a difference.

 

Go play.

Monday Workout: Different KB Set!

I always choose the same kettlebell set, because I love it, but this week we are changing things up.  The kettlebell pushup adds an element of asymmetry to the pushup experience:  put one hand on the kettlebell and one on the ground and then proceed as usual; you can split the set five and five on each side, or overachievers can do ten each way.  Overall, do three rounds.

 

alternating arm kb swings	30
kb hammer curls	20
kb pushup	10
mountain climbers	30
flies	20
reverse flies	10
step ups	30
skullcrushers	20
Russian twist	10

The Amazing Stickie and Lateral Bounds

The Amazing Stickie, being smart as well as fit, knows that she can’t just work in the sagittal plane (things that go forwards and backwards) because life sometimes goes sideways.  To prepare, she practices lateral bounds.

Stickie begins in a small squat, then jumps sideways, landing again in a small squat, as if she were leaping over a puddle or a small box.  Then she jumps back the other way.

 

It is important, when jumping, to try to land softly.  Soft landings occur when we let the toe or ball of our foot impact the ground first, followed by the heel, ensuring that our knees are bent to absorb the ground forces.  It can help to point our toes down at the ground when we push up into the jump in the first place because then our feet, like Stickie’s, are in the right position for a good landing.

 

Sets of thirty jumps are good.

Fight the Wristy Overlord

Yesterday I wrote about working out when we are overwhelmed.  Today I am going to share, again, my larger plan for fitting fitness in to busy lives.  Meet my friend the minimum.

 I’m going to digress for a second or two.  I have an Apple Watch.  It tracks my exercise minutes, my active calories, and whether I stand up often enough.  When I hit its targets, it asks me if I want to make them more challenging next time.  It’s always there, adding just a little bit of pressure to do more.  My Apple Watch (or Wristy Overlord, as I call it) is part of a larger cultural phenomenon where we are constantly asked to work harder, smarter, and more.

 

We don’t need to.

 

What we do need to do is to pause for a moment and consider what makes us feel healthiest and best.  I feel better, personally, on days when I do get in some exercise.  I make sure that what my Wristy Overlord is suggesting is the minimum I need to feel good.  If I do more than that, it’s okay, but it is not necessary.  I can focus on other things.

 

Get in.  Do the minimum.  Get on with life.

 

Go play.

Overwhelming

It might just be my circles, but it seems like almost everyone I talk to lately is feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Sometimes fitness seems like one more too-difficult thing in a too-difficult day.

It might be true.  If it is truly too much to add to the day’s tasks, it is all right to take a rest day.  Our goal is to have a healthy, balanced life, not an award for perfect attendance.

 

However.  (You knew that was coming, right?)

 

When things feel overwhelming, sometimes what we need can be found in the gym.  Cardio elevates mood and increases our energy level and helps our brains work.  Strength training makes us strong (duh!), but also teaches us that we can do hard things.  Working on physical balance can help us, metaphorically, achieve life balance.  And our mind-body practices help us tune in to our breathing, calm down, and relax.

 

If we can manage to invest even a few minutes in movement, we may find that the rest of the day is less overwhelming.  Plus we get the rush of ticking off something on the to-do list.

Monday Workout: Kettlebells!

This week, I felt like using the kettlebells, a lot.  Three rounds.

 

skier jumps	30
flies	20
kb hammer curl	10
kb swings	30
kb twist	20
kb 8s	10
plyo/regular/mod jacks	30
front raise	20
V sit press	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Squat Raise

The Amazing Stickie knows that eventually tank top weather will be here.  She is preparing so that when it arrives, she’ll be ready to show off her beautiful deltoids.  One part of that plan involves doing squat raises.

To begin, Stickie stands in what she calls the starfish position, feet a little more than hip-distance apart, arms extended at shoulder level.  She uses light dumbbells, but those of us who don’t work out as often as Stickie may want to try the exercise without weights first because deltoids can be whiny.  She squats and brings her hands together in front of her chest, keeping her elbows extended.  Then she straightens her knees and hips and brings her arms back to the starting position.

 

Sets of thirty are good.