One at a time

In Pilates, we learn that we can only do so many things at once.  This applies in lots of ways, but the way I’m thinking about right now is about how our spines move.

Our spines move, roughly, along three axes.  We can flex and extend our spines (bending forward and back).  We can side bend left and right.  We can twist.

 

The interesting thing is that we have the greatest range of motion along any of those axes when we are only moving one way.  That is, we can bend forward and back more when we’re not also trying to side bend or twist, or we can twist more when we’re not also bending to the side, etc.

 

So if we are trying to increase our ability to move in a particular direction, we will do best if we work on just that one thing at a time.  We can add the other fancy stuff later, when we’ve achieved our range of motion goals.

Monday Workout: Christmas in June

It’s time for Christmas in June!  We do this workout twice a year, once in the summer and once in December.  Here’s how it works.  On the first “day” we do one push press.  Then we move on to the second “day” and do two goblet squats and one push press.  We continue on through the days until on the last round we do 12 plyojacks, 11 kettlebell swings, etc. all the way to that last push press.  I realize that this means we end up doing 42 burpees before we are done.  I am not sorry.  Try to keep the rests between the “days,” but, obviously, rest when needed.

 

1 push press

2 goblet squats

3 Overhead press

4 1 leg squats each leg

5 deadlifts

6 burpees

7 pushups

8 renegade rows

9 mountain climbers

10 jump lunges

11 kb swings

12 plyojacks

The Amazing Stickie and Windshield Wiper

The Amazing Stickie loves working on control.  Winshield wipers definitely help her.

She begins lying on her back with her legs straight up in the air.  Keeping her shoulders on the ground, she swings her legs left and then right.  Ten reps should do it.

Stuck

As we go along in our fitness journeys, we will have times when it seems like our progress has stalled completely.  We work and work and nothing changes.  We can get stuck for lots of reasons.  Here are a couple of things to think about to get unstuck.

It’s possible that we’re not doing as much as we think we are.  Sometimes our attention lags and we are just going through the motions of our workouts rather than digging in.  We might be lifting weights, but we’re actually thinking about the errands we have to do on the way home and what’s for dinner and what those people at work were talking about in the break room.  Tuning in to what we’re actually doing can clue us in.

 

Another way to check what we’re doing is to look at our records, if we’re people who keep them.  A glance at the food log might reveal that we’ve let our calories creep up or that we’ve been visiting the ice cream shop too often.  We might notice that what we’ve been doing for cardio has been exactly the same for the last five months and we might do well to pick up the pace or the difficulty or both.

 

Taking a look at things like our stress levels and our sleep also can indicate where the issue is.  Overstressing and undersleeping do not help us get fit.  (It might not be possible to change those things right now.  That’s all right.  Recognizing that they’re an issue is a really good start and can help us keep from putting more pressure on ourselves.)

 

Maybe we just need to be patient.  Sometimes reaching the next level is about failing over and over again until suddenly we don’t.

 

Finally, sometimes we just need a change.  Maybe we’ve been focusing on strength training and we’d do well to step up our cardio for a few weeks.  Maybe we’re in a yoga rut and need to pump iron.  Maybe we just need to take the workout outside for a while.

 

The one thing we don’t want to do is give up.  We can do this.

Unfair

Fitness is not fair.  Some of us have bodies that love to move.  Some of us are naturally strong or naturally fast.  Some of us seem built to nap.  However, all of us get better with practice.

Here’s one more unfair thing:  those of us who thrive on consistent habits have an advantage when it comes to building fitness.  Doing a little bit every day really is the key to success.  It would be really nice if we could do fitness once and be done with it, but it doesn’t work that way.  We have to show up over and over to get and maintain our fitness levels.

 

Those of us who do not gravitate toward routine need to find a work-around.  On the expensive end, hiring a trainer (like me!) helps to ensure that we show up for our workouts.  On the cheap end, we can make plans with friends.  We’ll show up for others in ways we won’t show up for ourselves.

 

We want to train ourselves to be tortoises.  Tortoises win.

Monday Workout: Fun with Kettlebells!

We’re working on our compound exercises this week, so our metabolisms should get a good boost.  Three rounds.

 

plank jacks	30
prisoner squat	20
Arnold press	10
kb alt arm swing	30
kb hammer curl	20
kb halo	10
step ups	30
flies	20
Russian twist	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Up Down Plank

The Amazing Stickie loves planks.  Sometimes the hardest part is deciding whether to do regular plank or elbow plank.  Today, she is solving this problem by doing up down planks.

She begins in traditional plank position, hands directly under her shoulders and body a straight line from her heels to her head.  From there, she shifts one arm to elbow plank position and then the other.  Next, she shifts one arm back to the starting position and then the other.

 

Ten reps should do it.