Equipment?

Since it looks like we might be stuck at home a while, I have a couple of thoughts about what folks might want to have in a home gym.  I’m specifically choosing things that can be used in multiple ways and that don’t take up a humongous amount of space.

1.     TRX.  If there is a place to anchor the straps (the over door mount is not really very good/safe), this is a good, relatively cheap way to get a lot of workout in a small amount of space.

2.     BOSU.  It takes up a bit of space, but it adds core work to pretty much any exercise by adding an element of instability.  Can also sub for a step in a lot of circumstances.

3.     Medicine ball.  They are more “functional fitness” than a whole bunch of dumbbells and offer everything from cardio to stability challenge.

4.     Stability ball.  Again, this one takes up a bit more space, but it is also a good option as a switch from a normal desk chair.  It adds challenge to pushups and crunches, support to squats, and a sense of fun to everything because, hey, it’s a giant bouncy ball!

5.     Kettle bell.  Flexible, functional fitness without taking up tons of space.

And that doesn't even include the spin-offs...

Today I’m going to be Captain Obvious.  When it comes to fitness, it helps to know why we are doing it.  Among other things, it saves time.

Let’s imagine that we’ve been lolling around on the couch for a month, doing not a whole lot because, after all, there are eleventy-teen seasons of CSI we can watch again.  Maybe we realize we’re tired all the time, or the biggest pair of sweat pants is feeling a little tight, or that twinge in the lower back isn’t going away.  And maybe then we realize that we probably should do some working out.  But what should we do?

It depends.

I am going to assume that we’re all in basically good health with no obvious contraindications for exercise—we just haven’t been doing it.  We might have a variety of different goals that would suggest different kinds of fitness routines.

Take, for example, that feeling tired all the time thing.  At first glance, it might seem that exercising to fix that is counterintuitive.  However, cardio exercise improves sleep quantity and quality, so we will end up less tired.  Additionally, fatigue can be a symptom of depression and cardio can lift our mood significantly.

The sweat pants?  That’s a combo plate:  we want cardio to burn calories and weight training to increase lean body mass.

The lower back pain?  We might want to think about some core work and some flexibility, like in Pilates.  Pilates improves posture, too.

I’m not able to see my clients in person right now, so anybody who wants some specific ideas for what to do should shoot me a comment/email/text/call and I’ll hook you up with some thoughts.

Captain Obvious out.

There are no muscles in the brain...

So every once in a while my English degree takes over my other faculties.  What that means is that I get metaphorical.  Don’t worry; it passes eventually.  In this case, I was thinking that right now we need all the strength of character we can find to deal with the various stresses of this changed world.  Which, of course, led me to lift heavy weights.

Technically, lifting heavy weights will only strengthen the muscles we use to do it.  That said, on some level, we lift weights with our minds.  The weight, sitting there, heavy and immobile on the rack, is a problem to be solved.  We bring our minds to bear on the problem, prepare a strategy, and get the job done.

Sometimes, it’s not that straightforward.  We get tired.  Lifting weights is, after all, hard.  There are times when we look at the bar on the squat rack and think:  that is scary.  If we are being safe and smart (please do not lift heavy alone or without proper safety precautions like drop bars!), facing this particular fear can help us build resilience in a context where bad outcomes are unlikely.  That’s a skill that can apply across contexts.

It turns out that the metaphor works.  Get strong to get strong minded.

Monday Workout: Circuit!

This week, we’re getting back to some resistance work using body weight.  (No, resistance in this context is NOT the part where we don’t want to do it; it’s the part where we fight gravity.)  Because we also need to get our heart rates up to keep our hearts and lungs happy and to improve our moods, we’re going to do it in a circuit. 

I haven’t explained this in a while, so here’s how circuits work.  We do all the exercises in the circuit transitioning from one to the next as quickly as possible.  When we get to the end of the circuit, we rest and let our heart rate recover a bit.  Then we do it again (and again, and again, until we run out of time or energy).  Obviously, we need to use our common sense and rest in the middle if we need to, but we want to try to make it through the whole circuit if we can.

This workout includes step ups.  If you don’t have a place to work out with stairs or a sturdy bench or step stool or chair, substitute any other cardio exercise (e.g., mountain climbers, burpees, high knees, etc.).  I chose step ups because they add just a little balance challenge, but the primary goal is to get the heart rate up, up, up!

Do about four rounds of the first six exercises and then do the two ab exercises at the end.

step ups	30
squats	30
pushups	10
jacks	30
1 leg squats	10
lunge punches	20
pretty princesses	10
brains	10

Six things

The kind of stress and boredom many of us are experiencing these days can lead to overeating.  Here are six things to do instead of snacking:

1.     Drink water.  It has no calories, improves mood, and gives us an excuse to get up from time to time when we need to use the bathroom.

2.     Go outside.  The dog will like us better.  We will feel less stir crazy when we see the sky and feel air moving.

3.     Knit.  Or sew or do woodworking or whatever requires two hands.  Then there are none left over for shoveling popcorn into our pieholes.

4.     Type.  This is a good time to catch up on all those emails we owe folks.  We don’t need crumbs in the keyboard.

5.     Exercise.  It is really hard to eat and lift weights at the same time.  It’s not impossible, but really, safety first!

6.     Sleep.  We can all use more sleep.

Keep Growing

Both of my certifications (personal training and Pilates) require continuing education to keep my skills sharp and to expand my knowledge.  This is a good thing.

However, I also find it useful to go back to the beginning from time to time, especially with Pilates.  When I return to the early sets of exercises from my first Pilates training, I find that my experience in my own body and with clients has enriched my understanding of what those exercises do.  Every review brings depth.

We need both new information and deep understanding.  Sometimes one is more useful than the other—if we’re feeling stagnant, trying something new is good—if uncertain, revisiting an old workout can be its own kind of revelation.  The key is that we keep growing.

No barriers

Some of us are fitness maximalists.  We want All The Toys.  We have special shorts for biking, special shoes for running, special music for weight lifting, special color-coded charts for everything we do, optimally electrolyte-balanced drinks, and superfood endowed snacks.  Then there are those of us who just show up and do whatever.

I am not here to criticize either approach.  After all, my home gym is also my workplace and so has pretty much one of everything and sometimes two and yet I use the same pair of cross-training shoes for most of my cardio and I don’t own any padded shorts.

The key is:  what works.  I could not handle the deep boredom of most cardio without music, so I make sure I can listen while I sweat.  When I did long distance biking, I had my preferred energy packets and my favorite drinks, but I also knew I could get by on water and GORP if needed.  If those fancy weight training gloves get you to show up, use them.  If having to track down all your gear gets in the way, skip it.

Either way, it makes sense to make working out as simple as possible for ourselves.  When we have a place for our stuff and can grab it and go, we are more likely to do the workout.  Let’s not add any more barriers.