Monday Workout: 12 Days of Christmas

No, it’s not quite Christmas yet, but just to make sure that everyone gets a chance, we’re doing the 12 days of Christmas workout this week.  It’s tradition, like getting coal in my stocking.  Hmm.  Are those two things related?

Anyway:  here’s how the workout works.  On the first “day” of Christmas, we do one push press.  Hooray!  One down!  On the second day, we do two goblet squats and one push press.  You see where this is going.  By the twelfth day, you will be absolutely sure that I am not your true love, but you will have had a great workout.  And yes, I do know that you will have done 42 burpees by the end.  I’m not sorry.  I got you strength, bragging rights, and fatigue for Christmas.

 

Try to keep rest periods to between the days, but if you can’t, don’t fret.  Now you’re safe until Christmas in June.

 

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

 

Thursday List: 6

Need some balance exercises?  Here are some.  Do both sides.

 

1.     Stand on one foot.

2.     Single leg squat.

3.     Single leg deadlift

4.     Calf raises and single leg calf raises.

5.     One leg dumbbell pass.  Stand on one leg holding a dumbbell.  Pass the dumbbell from hand to hand around your body five times in each direction.  Then change legs.

6.     Do anything on a BOSU, wobble board, or turntable.

Reflect: Balance and Flexibility 2

What do we do if our balance and flexibility are not where we’d like them to be?  Well, we practice.

 

Balance is something we can practice almost anywhere.  It’s a great thing to work on while brushing our teeth or waiting for the microwave.  One of my clients works on her balance waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store (she’s one of my heroes, just sayin’).  First we practice standing on one leg.  Then we try single leg squats.  Calf raises on two legs and then eventually on one leg are also great.  Just be sure when you’re first starting out that there is something available to hang on to if you need it.  Use as little support as you can while still feeling safe.

 

Flexibility is also one of those things that thrives on routine and habit.  A few stretches at the end of a workout help a surprising amount.  If we want more, Pilates is fabulous for gently inducing flexibility, as is yoga (hire your friendly Pilates instructor!).

 

The more we gain these skills, the more we see them percolate holistically (periodic reminder that I am from Berkeley and am allowed to use that word) into our lives. 

Reflect: Balance and Flexibility 1

This week, we’re going to reflect on flexibility and balance.  Today we assess and tomorrow we address.

Flexibility makes life a lot easier, both literally and metaphorically.  (Sometimes a little literal flexibility can help us achieve some metaphorical flexibility too!)  For those of us who do not have osteopenia or osteoporosis, testing flexibility is pretty darn simple:  reach for your toes.  If they’re farther away than they used to be, it’s probably time to work on flexibility.

 

Balance also makes life easier and is also pretty easy to assess.  Stand on one foot.  Now stand on the other one.  How long can you stay there?  (Yes, I know the second foot is harder.  Our bodies like success, so we do the easy side automatically.)

 

These two skills, together, help us react to the unexpected in life.  If there’s anything we can expect, it’s the unexpected.  Flexibility and balance help us bounce back when we suddenly find ourselves walking off a curb we didn’t notice or when we have to dodge a rogue shopping cart in a parking lot.

 

Building them into our routines is 100% worthwhile.

Monday Workout: Love, Not Despair

It’s no secret that I love kettle bells.  But don’t despair if there aren’t any available!  A dumbbell held by the end works much like one in a swing.  Three rounds.

 

kb swings	30
kb twists	20
kb 8s	10
mountain climbers	30
deadlift/good morning	20
curls	10
squat raise	30
db thrust	20
brains	10

 

Thursday List: 4

Why do cardio?  I have Reasons:

 

1.     It improves mood.  Seriously.  My spin bike is actually called The Magic Mood-Fixing Machine.  Science says that you will feel better after.

2.     It makes your brain work better. 

3.     It burns calories.

4.     It reduces stress.  Remember this when your house is full of contentious relatives.  Going for a walk is way better than ending up in jail for assault.

Reflect: Cardio 2

So:  yesterday we took a look at where we are in our cardio fitness.  If we’re not quite where we’d like to be, I have good news:  we can make a good amount of progress by the end of the year.

Of course, all good news has a dark side.  You have to do stuff.  I’m going to use walking as my example, but this system works for whatever kind of cardio we happen to like.  Walking is just accessible to most folks and doesn’t require any stuff besides good shoes.

 

When we start, we want to build consistency more than anything else.  Cardio is a habit.  It thrives on daily or near-daily feeding.  In the first week, you want to make a stupid-easy goal that you can do for six days in a row.  Depending on where we’re starting from, this can mean anything from walking around the block slowly one time to spending half an hour walking.  The key thing is that we have to do it six days in a row.  That last day, we get a rest.

 

The second week, we just add a little more:  one interval.  If our first week was a five minute walk, our second week is two minutes of walking at regular pace, one minute going faster, and two minutes of walking at regular pace.  Or, if we’re going around the block, the first two sides are at regular pace, the third side is faster, and the last side is back to regular.

 

After that, we add a little more time or distance or another interval each week.  (It’s easier to add intervals when we’ve already built up a little more time or distance.)  The overarching goal remains consistency.  This has to feel manageable.

 

What if it isn’t?  I got you.  Let’s say you miss a day.  OK:  restart the clock.  You need six days in a row. 

 

Let’s say that week one goes great and week two is OK, but week three is suddenly harder than you could possibly imagine.  Hang out at the week two level until you are ready to progress.  No one is watching.  You can take as much time as you need.

 

Tomorrow:  some motivation for the process.