So I’m pretty sure that some folks aren’t going to like me much this week because I have made renegade rows harder by adding that pushup in there. Sorry/not sorry. Three rounds.
woodchoppers | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
pushup renegade row | 10 |
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1 arm clean and press | 30 |
flies | 20 |
front raise | 10 |
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split squat pulldown | 30 |
kickbacks | 20 |
butterfly crunch | 10 |
The Amazing Stickie has amazing posture. One way she maintains this level of amazingness is by working the back of her body. Gorilla rows are a great way to do that.
She begins by squatting down with her legs fairly wide apart. She hinges at her hips so that her back is nice and straight and parallel to the floor, her hands holding dumbbells between her feet. From there, she lifts one dumbbell up toward her armpit (stopping before she runs into her own body!) and then lowers it back toward the floor. She repeats on the other side. Letting the dumbbell rest on the floor is easier than keeping it hanging, but both ways of doing the exercise are good. Sets of ten to twenty are good, depending on how heavy the weights are.
I am nothing if not a repository for random factoids. Today’s tidbit comes from a webinar I watched recently. It was not central to the topic of the webinar at all, but I had one of those “Wait, what?” moments when a presenter said that overuse of antibiotics is driving a rise in ruptures of the Achilles tendon.
That sounded fishy to me. While I certainly do not think we should be taking antibiotics unless they’re really necessary because we don’t want superbugs out there, I did not see any inherent connection between those drugs and our tendons. I could have just gone on with my life, but instead, I checked it out. Internet search for the win!
It turns out (link here!) that certain common antibiotics do have adverse effects on our connective tissue.
The lesson here, besides taking antibiotics when necessary and not willy-nilly, is that we need to be open to examining things we find surprising or counterintuitive. Science is our friend. When we hear something unexpected or surprising, we need to evaluate what, if any, evidence there is.
Play smart!
At the risk of sharing TMI, I’ll just say that I seem to be fairly well along in my menopause journey. Where exactly I am is hard to say because I haven’t had a period since my hysterectomy in 2017. But boy, howdy, was I unprepared for the variety of changes this particular hormonal journey had in store for me.
So: I’m going to talk about it. Those of us who don’t expect to experience menopause can feel free to tune out, even though I’m pretty sure we all know someone who will at some point go through it and knowledge is power. The more we know, the more we can get mad. Just kidding. Sort of.
Anyway: menopause comes with a host of possible symptoms and effects. Here is a link to a handy questionnaire that lists a whole bunch of them. As is the case with everything, different people are going to have differing experiences. Some of us will sail through with no problems and others of us will tick every box as if we wanted the full Spinal Tap reference.
How we deal with our personal battery of effects will vary. It is beyond the scope of my practice to prescribe or treat or diagnose. What I can do is let everyone know what exercise can do to help.
At menopause, women begin to lose bone density at a greater rate than before. Weight-bearing exercise becomes even more important to keep our bones strong as long as possible.
Those of us who have sleep disturbances can improve the odds of sleeping well by getting plenty of exercise. Ditto for fatigue, concentration problems, and mood swings. Exercise reduces stress, which can, in turn, reduce muscular pain. We will improve our breathing, reduce our likelihood of having headaches, and we’ll generally feel better.
Exercise is not the key to everything, but it can improve our quality of life. Go play.
As always, we need to do exercises that work for us. Those of us who are not jumpers should choose the side lunge over the lateral bound. Jumpers can make the lateral bound more fun if there is a BOSU available. No matter what we choose, we have three rounds.
kb alt arm swing | 30 |
kb hammer curl | 20 |
kb halo | 10 |
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lateral bound/side lunge | 30 |
prisoner squat | 20 |
Arnold press | 10 |
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mountain climbers | 30 |
rows | 20 |
plank up down | 10 |
The Amazing Stickie, while having an amazing attention span, occasionally wants to change things up just a little to keep herself sharp. This means she loves variations on classic exercises, like this one for pushups. It’s called a shoulder tap pushup.
She begins in classic plank position (the modified pushup position would also work!). from there, she lifts one hand and taps the opposite shoulder and then repeats with the other hand. Then she does her regular pushup. The whole time she uses her abdominals to keep her balance. A set of ten is plenty.
This month, I’m taking requests for things folks want to know about fitness (yes, please! Ask me questions and I will blog the answers!).
What do I need a trainer for, anyway?
None of us really need a trainer. Any of us can exercise all on our own. There are tons of resources out there for what to do and how to do it. Heck, I post a free workout every week right here on this blog.
What my clients pay me for depends on the client, but their reasons fall into some basic categories.
1. I do the thinking and planning, so they don’t have to. It’s my job to choose and modify the exercises, keep track of what weights they use for which exercises, and count the reps.
2. I provide accountability. They pay me, so they tend to show up to do the work.
3. I “make” people do things for their own good. The truth is that I can’t make anybody do anything. But I have a really good Mom look and a clipboard and everything, so I look like an authority. It goes a long way toward convincing people that they might as well get those burpees over with.
4. I make it fun, or at least tolerable. I keep the workouts varied, provide encouragement, chat about whatever to distract from whatever horrible thing we’re getting through. Worst case, I find substitutions for exercises that people really can’t or won’t do.
5. I keep it safe. I monitor my clients’ form, adjust for injuries or other conditions, and keep tabs on energy levels. If I need to, I will stop the workout to keep my clients safe.
6. I have a bunch of education and can explain why we are doing things. Some clients don’t care, but some find the underlying reasons for various exercises fascinating and motivating. I am a trove of miscellaneous fitness facts.
Yes, having a trainer is a luxury. It’s also efficient and, I hope, fun.
