Jumping makes everything both more fun and more challenging. Not jumping is also good, if jumping is not appropriate. Three rounds.
kb alternate arm swing | 30 |
kb hammer curls | 20 |
kb pushups | 10 |
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lateral bound/lateral lunge | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
truck driver | 10 |
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clean and press | 30 |
rows | 20 |
plank | 10 |
The Amazing Stickie was thrilled to learn about another thing to do with her kettlebells! Today she is doing the kettlebell halo.
She begins standing with good posture holding a kettlebell with both hands in front of her chest. She circles the kettlebell around behind her head and back to the starting position while maintaining a neutral spine (and not bonking herself in the back of the head with a kettlebell, natch). Five circles in each direction is good.
Variation: this exercise can be done in a tall kneeling position or in a lunge position for extra fun.
I love systems. And office supplies. I have never met a planning system with color coding that I didn’t think I could use to transform my life. And yet, here I am, mostly untransformed.
The thing about systems is that they want things to fit. Tasks need to be categorized. Hours need to be accounted for. Nothing must be wasted.
Life, on the other hand, doesn’t care if stuff fits. (This is why lycra was invented.) No matter how carefully we write our workout on the calendar in the correct color of pen, life can still say, “Hey, but the car is going to break down right then and actually we’re going to spend the day talking to tow people and insurance agents and repair guys.” We can plan the perfect workout that uses every single muscle group the optimum amount and life can hand us food poisoning instead.
I am not saying that we shouldn’t plan. I’m just saying that we need to understand that life is bigger than our plans. The world is not going to end if we miss one workout, or even if we write it on the chart in the wrong color. If we end up getting in our steps pacing the hospital corridors while we wait to hear about a loved one’s test results, that still counts. If someone offers us a spontaneous hike to see waterfalls, we don’t need to say no because we were planning on lifting weights right then.
The system is not important. We are important. When the system doesn’t serve us, we need to ignore it.
Go play.
None of us does the same workout. Even if we do the exact same exercises in the exact same order, we are different humans so our workouts are not going to do the same things in our bodies. What this means is that we have permission to modify. Heck, maybe we even have an obligation to modify.
This is where I point out that modifications are not static entities. For example, sometimes we modify because a particular version of an exercise is not appropriate for us at the moment. As we continue to work on that exercise, we need to modify our modifications.
Safety modifications can be either temporary or permanent. Those of us who become pregnant need to make some adjustments to keep ourselves and our future progeny safe before returning to business as usual afterwards. (Note: afterwards will not be the same body as before and this is all good.) On the other hand, when we receive a diagnosis of osteoporosis, we need to change our workouts forever to avoid spinal flexion.
No matter why we are modifying, the point of modifications is to make our workouts work for us.
We can do this.
I love compound exercises! So much work in so little time! Three rounds.
squat heel lift | 30 |
(lunge to) curl | 20 |
Arnold press | 10 |
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kb swings | 30 |
kb twists | 20 |
kb 8s | 10 |
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woodchoppers | 30 |
lateral raise | 20 |
V sit press | 10 |
Today the Amazing Stickie is working on her spinal articulation. People who have osteopenia and osteoporosis should not do this exercise; Stickie has no actual bones, so this is not a problem for her.
She begins lying on her back with her arms at her sides (beginning with arms overhead is also all right). She takes a big inhale. As she exhales, she curls herself up until she is in a sitting position with her back straight and her arms extended in front of her in what she and I like to call Zombie Position. She takes a big breath in and then as she exhales she curls back down to the starting position.
For those of us who find this too difficult, Stickie is also demonstrating the assisted version of the exercise, which begins with the legs in tabletop position. The extra leverage from the weight of the legs helps us get our spines off the floor.
No matter which option we choose, three to five repetitions are enough.
Today the Amazing Stickie is working lots of muscles doing the side lunge row and raise.
She begins in her side lunge position holding a dumbbell in the arm by her straight leg. She rows the arm up so that the dumbbell is by her shoulder and then presses it overhead. She returns to the starting position.
Sets of 15 on a side are good.
