Captain Obvious would not say no to a kayak, though...

It is time for a bulletin from Captain Obvious.  The captain would like to remind everyone that, in this season of giving, we do NOT give fitness gifts to other people unless they specifically request them.  Even if we have the very best intentions, this is not helpful, useful, or kind.  Do not do it.

Minding our own business is a pretty good principle generally and it is essential when it comes to fitness.  We can only do our own work.  Frankly, most of us have plenty of our own work to do, so we really should not be looking around at what everyone else is doing or not doing.

 

Committing to fitness is not always an easy process.  It is not going to happen from the outside.  We have to want it ourselves.  It is certainly helpful to have supportive family and friends, but the big desire has to come from within.

 

Breathe

Want to improve your HRV and your cognitive function?  Try breathing.

I know it sounds like a joke.  In fact, it is a joke my kids’ grandma used to tell my kids (How do you avoid dying?  Keep breathing!)  (They might be genetically inclined to dark humor.)

 

However, The People Who Do Research say it works, at least in this study.

 

The takeaway from the study, in my opinion, is that it would probably be good for us if we spent some time breathing at a rate of about six breaths per minute.  There are tons of breathing apps out there that can measure that for us.  In the study, the participants spent 20 minutes doing it in the morning before caffeine.  (I know that last bit might be a deal-breaker for some of us, but maybe it’s worth a try?)

 

Worst case?  We have relaxed for a bit.  No down side.

Monday Workout: The 12 Days of Christmas

It’s that time again!  (Yes, we’re doing it a little on the early side.  I am taking a couple weeks off and want to get it in with the clients before I go.)  (Don’t worry:  I’ll still post workouts while I’m off.)

The 12 Days of Christmas workout works like this.  On the first “day,” we do one push press.  Then we go on to day two, with two goblet squats and one push press.  Most of us can keep going without a break until after day five.  Then we want a rest to gear up for day six:  six burpees, five deadlifts, four single leg squats on each leg, three overhead presses, two goblet squats, and one push press.  After that, rest as needed until all the days are done!  At the end, you will have done 42 burpees and you will be absolutely convinced that I am not, in fact, your true love.

 

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 Hip Rotations

The Amazing Stickie knows how important it is to have good hip function.  She does hip rotations to help ensure that her hips keep working well.

To begin, she sits on the floor with her knees bent and her feet flat on the floor.  She puts her hands behind her and leans back slightly.  Then she tilts both knees to one side before returning to the start position.  She can alternate sides or do a set on one side and then the other.

Amino

Yesterday I suggested that those of us who are getting older (which is all of us, unless we happen to be dead…) might need to eat a bit more protein in order to maintain our muscle mass.  There is a certain amount of evidence that focusing on the amino acid leucine might be particularly beneficial.

I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t have an amino acid sensor that lets me look at a food and know that it’s a good source of any particular one.  Fortunately, we have the internet.

 

Leucine-rich foods for vegetarians include chickpeas, brown rice, soybeans, peanuts, and tree nuts like Brazil nuts, almonds, and cashews.  Eggs are also a good source for those who eat them.  Fish lovers can get leucine in salmon and the omnivores can find it in beef.  There you go:  an ingredient list for weight-day dinner!

Use it.

There are plenty of good things about getting older (I can buy as many books as I want, for one!), but then there’s the other stuff.  One of the less good things about getting older is that we lose muscle mass.

Over time, our muscle units remodel.  That’s a normal process in the body, but with aging, some of those remodels are essentially tear-downs.  We lose mostly fast-twitch motor units, which are responsible for strength and power.  Slight bright side:  our endurance motor units enlarge a bit to compensate, so we lose endurance more slowly than straight strength.

 

In the same way, our muscles are constantly breaking down and rebuilding as part of the general maintenance processes of our bodies.  As we get older, though, we don’t replace all the muscle proteins that we break down.  Some of this has to do with how we process dietary protein.  To some extent, we get less results from our resistance training.  We have to lift heavy to overcome this effect.

 

Then there are the hormones.  We all experience a rise in cortisol as we age, as well as an increase in inflammation.  Both of those contribute to the breakdown of muscle tissue.  Women, additionally, experience the hormonal shifts of menopause, which are not the kindest to our muscle tissue.

 

Pretty tempting just to give up and hold down the couch, right?  Nope.  Physical inactivity makes the whole enchilada worse.  In fact, we need to focus on more high-intensity, low-volume work than we did when we were younger in order to keep the muscle-eaters at bay.

 

So:  eat your protein and lift your iron.  Then get some sleep to solidify the gains.

Monday Workout: Adaptable

This is an adaptable workout.  Feeling like the weight bearing on the arms is too much?  Sub regular jacks.  Knees hurt?  Just do twists without the lunges.  As always, this needs to work for where we are today.  Three rounds.

 

woodchoppers	30
good mornings	20
skullcrushers	10
squat to leg lift	30
bench press	20
lateral raise	10
plank jacks	30
(lunge) twist	20
brains	10