Flow

I am one of those compulsively on time people.  Which, here in the real world, means that I’m early for everything because I have planned for traffic, earthquake, tsunami, kidnapping, and a few million other eventualities.  The clock in my mind is always ticking.  Most of the time, I think of this as a feature and not a bug, but.

It makes it hard to get into flow.

 

Why is this important?  Flow is the state in which we do our best work.  We’re fully present with what we’re doing.  We’re both totally mindful of what we’re doing and totally mindless about it because everything comes together.

 

Of course, our ability to find flow is increased by mindfulness practices like Pilates, yoga, and meditation.  It’s right there in that word:  practice.  As we practice, we get better.

 

One other thing that helps me (and maybe other people, too) is to try to find at least some fairly large blocks of unstructured time.  If I know I have a day off, for example, I know I don’t have to be watching the clock while I’m working out to make sure I am done in time for the next thing on the list.  It can be hard to find those blocks, but it is so worth it!

Chill

So here I go being countercultural again:  we need to break up with stress.  I know there’s a whole hustle movement out there.  I know times are hard and we have a lot to do.  But here’s the thing:  it makes us weaker.

Muscles are strongest when they begin from an optimal place.  In fancy fitness jargon, this is called proper length-tension relationship.  Muscles that are too long and relaxed are what we usually think of as weak ones, but muscles that are too tight and short are also not capable of their best work.

 

There are many ways to get our muscles to their appropriate length-tension.  Some of our muscles need to wake up and do some work; others need to chill out.  Corrective exercise, Pilates, massage, self-myofascial release can all help.

 

You know where to find me if you want my help!

Monday Workout: With Variations!

Possible variations on the step ups in this workout include jump ups, single leg step ups with a balance at the top, plain step ups but with weight held either at the sides or overhead, and more!  Whatever you choose, do three rounds!

 

step ups/variations	30
1 leg squat	20
spiderman pushup	10
squat heel lift	30
flies	20
lateral raise	10
deadlift to curl	30
Arnold press	20
brains	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Spine Stretch

The Amazing Stickie wants to have supple hamstrings and a flexible back.  One way she works toward this is by doing Spine Stretch in Pilates.

Spine Stretch is the Pilates version of the forward bend we all know from stretching or yoga, but with its own special Pilates flavor.  The goal of this exercise, as Stickie knows, is not to touch the nose to the knee, but to hinge forward from the hips, minimizing the rounding of the spine.

 

She begins sitting on the floor with her legs out in front of her, feet flexed.  Of course, she has excellent posture with her ears directly over her shoulders, which are directly over her hips.  She holds her arms out in front of her at shoulder level (zombie arms!).  She inhales and elongates her spine even more, then exhales and hinges forward from her hips.  Since she does not want to curve her back unnecessarily, Stickie often thinks of this movement as taking her breastbone toward her toes.  Then she inhales and returns to her starting position.

 

Stickie usually does five to ten reps.

That Word: I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

I’ll begin with a disclaimer:  I am an English major who last took a physics class in high school; Newton makes some sense to me, but, not being Richard Feynman, that quantum business does not.

In normal conversation, inertia means something akin to glued-to-the-couch.  The thing is, the term comes from Newton, who said, more or less, a body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted on by an outside force.  That’s inertia, baby.  It’s not just the part where we remain at rest.

 

This is good news.  It means that starting is the hardest part.  Once we get moving, it’s easier to keep going than it is to stop.

 

Let’s find the energy to get started!

Fear, Scars, Tools

Recently I listened to a webinar about fascia (which was fascia-nating, natch!).  One of the presenters made the comment that scars keep growing.  I don’t think she meant it literally, although that’s possible.  It made me think.

Injuries are troublesome.  They keep us from doing the stuff we want to do.  But even after they’re physically healed, they can keep affecting what we do.  Some of that has to do with scars and scar tissue.  We are not going to be exactly the same.  But a lot of it has to do with how our brains have changed.

 

We’re a little more anxious after an injury.  We hesitate.  We overthink movements that used to be smooth and unconscious.  We keep the injury alive in our heads long after it is gone from the body.

 

Fear is a tool that helps keep us safe.  It also can hold us back unnecessarily.  We need to remember that we are in charge of our tools.  We can choose when to use our fear to keep us safe and when to discard it to move freely.

 

Go play.

Monday Workout: Weight Bearing

The last set in this workout is all weight-bearing on the arms.  If that is not appropriate, sub regular jacks or regular rows for one or both of the first two exercises.  Three rounds.

 

kb alternate arm swing	30
kb bottom up press	20
kb halo	10
split squat pulldown	30
bench press	20
lateral raise	10
plank jacks	30
renegade row	20
plank	10