Automatic Tools?

I’ve been reading about various tech processes and came across an interesting distinction that, of course, I want to apply to fitness.  To make processes easier, we can automate them, or we can use tools.

 

An automated process doesn’t require human action.  It just happens, on its own.  Sadly, fitness does require human action, but when we have a fitness habit, it almost feels automatic.  We get up and we work out before our brains even engage.

 

Mostly, though, we use tools in fitness.  Some of those tools are things like workout sheets that remind us to do cardio and strength training and stretching and balance work.  Others are pieces of equipment ranging from supportive shoes to 50-pound dumbbells.

 

Both tools and automation are handy.  We want them to make our workouts easier!

 

Go play.

Planning, or how not to be a bear

“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.”  Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

 

I think we all feel like Pooh from time to time.  The stairs of life take over and we don’t have time to figure out a better way.  But, for better or worse, we are not bears of very little brain, so it is time to talk about… planning.

 

One part of the better way is figuring out how to make fitness fit into our lives.  We all want to live longer, be happier, have better sex, have more energy, and all the other good things that come from having a fitness practice, but then those stairs happen and we’re bumping our heads again.  What to do?

 

We start small.  And we commit.

 

I personally like small commitments that happen every day.  This takes the thinking out of it.  I know I get up in the morning and brush my teeth and do a couple more things and then I work out and then I shower.  Some people do well with weekday habits or weekend habits.  Do whatever works.  But make a plan.  Something like:  “I’m going to walk around the block every morning this week.”  It’s not too hard or too big.

 

Then we plan for contingencies.  Because life.  The plan might then be something like “I’m going to walk around the block every morning this week unless it is raining, in which case I will do some yoga in the kitchen.” 

 

Alternatively, we can set minimums:  “I’m going to walk around the block at least five mornings this week.”  That means that we have some grace on that day we forget to set the alarm and that other day when we’ve already done our five days and we can smugly rest.

 

Any plan is better than bumping down the stairs on the back of our heads.

 

Monday Workout: Simple

Because we’re all busy with Thanksgiving this week, I didn’t put anything new or fancy in the workout.  We have enough on our minds and our workout should be simple.  Three rounds.

 

jacks	30
deadlifts	20
Arnold press	10
kb swings	30
kb twists	20
kb 8s	10
mountain climbers	30
renegade rows	20
pretty princesses	10

Aaah.

Want to do something in every category of exercise today?  I’ve got you covered.

 

1.     Cardio:  Go for a walk.  Just for fifteen minutes.

2.     Weight training:  do three sets of 20 squats with a minute rest between them.  (If you are really pressed for time, you can use the rest period to do core or balance.)

3.     Core:  one set of 10 pretty princesses.

4.     Balance:  one set of 10 calf raises.  (Bonus points:  do them on one foot at a time!)

5.     Stretch:  stand in a doorway with your arms outstretched.  Lean forward.  Feel your chest open.  Say aaah (that part’s optional).

6.     DONE!

Don't ask them anything heavy, though...

Weight lifting makes us stronger, but that’s not even the best reason to do it, or not necessarily.  (If our goal is to be stronger for the sake of being stronger, then it is the best reason.  In that case, we should stop reading and go lift some weights.  Nothing to see here.)

 

If our goal is weight loss, lifting is our friend.  It builds lean body mass, which burns more calories than our fat mass does.  It increases our metabolisms.  And, while doing all of that, it makes us look better even before we lose any weight.

 

If our goal is to live a long and healthy life, weight training has our back there as well.  Working with weights keeps our bones strong as well as our muscles.  Strong bones resist breaks.  Additionally, working with weights improves our core musculature, which helps prevent falls.

 

If we love a sport, weight lifting is still a useful pastime.  Increased strength translates into increased speed and performance.  Basically, it teaches us to play harder and faster.

 

Go say hello to the dumbbells and barbells.  Tell them I sent you. 

Holistic!

This post comes with its own disclaimer.  I lived in Berkeley for 20 years, so I am allowed to use the word holistic.  You’ve been warned.

Sometimes working out is not the right answer.  I admit that working out is usually the right answer, but usually is not the same as always.  We have to take a holistic view of our health and fitness.

 

What that means is that unfortunately we have to rely on our good judgment.  This is boring, irritating, and risky.  We have to engage in the decision-making process.  And behave like responsible adults.  Phooey.  (We thought lunges were the hard part!)

 

So, let me give a couple of examples of how this might work.  I wake up tired and grumpy.  It’s cold out.  Working out requires that I wear a bra.  I have a gazillion things to do in the day ahead of me.  All of those things added up mean I should skip the workout, right?  Nope.  Working out will wake me up.  It will improve my mood.  It will get my brain working better for all those other gazillion things.  (No fix for the cold or the bra, but hey, nothing is perfect.)  On the whole, working out is better for me in this situation than not working out.  Plus, I get to feel virtuous.

 

In the second example, I still wake up tired and grumpy.  This time, it’s because I got a Covid booster and a flu shot the day before.  I spent the night having chills and fever and body aches.  This time, my body needs to rest and restore itself, so turning off the alarm, rolling over, and going back to sleep is the right answer.  If I wake up in the afternoon and feel a lot better, I can consider doing something light and easy like a bit of stretching or a gentle walk, but I can also keep on resting.

 

Please note:  our brains are very, very good at rationalizing.  If we discover that we have found “good reasons” to skip our workouts for three days in a row and those reasons don’t involve illness or injury, we need to give ourselves a (gentle) kick in the behind to get back to the gym.

 

Go play.

Monday Workout: Donkey

This week we are revisiting an exercise we don’t do very often:  the donkey kick.  It’s a good exercise for the glutes and it reminds us about using our abdominals to help our lower backs.  Three rounds.

 

1 arm clean and press	30
flies	20
pushups	10
squat raise	30
bench press	20
donkey kick	10
(lunge) punches	30
rows	20
brains	10