Monday Workout: Prize?

We made it to the end of another month.  Sadly, our prize is burpees.  This is a short circuit, so try four rounds.

 

1 min cardio
skier jumps	30
bench press	20
pushup renegade row	10
flies	20
burpees	10
pretty princesses	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Alternating Crossbody Front Raise

Stickie loves exercise variations.  Today she is trying Alternating Crossbody Front Raise.  She begins standing up tall holding some relatively light dumbbells.  She lifts one of the dumbbells toward her opposite shoulder by bending her elbow.  She lowers it back to start and then repeats on the other side.

A set of ten is good.

Setting Goals: 2 of 2

Yesterday I wrote about SMART goals.  They work great for some people.  Other people, not so much.  Here are some other ways to set goals.

I love process goals.  If SMART goals focus on the destination, process goals focus on the journey.  So rather than setting a goal of losing x pounds, I set a goal of doing three weight workouts a week and five cardio workouts.  Or maybe I set a goal to eat only one dessert a week, or to drink only water, or some other more healthful food choice.

 

I’m also a big fan of minimum goals.  They take a bit of experimentation to get right, but then they’re awesome.  We figure out the very least we can do to feel good and we set that as the minimum.  That might be as simple as 30 minutes of moving every day.  We might set a minimum goal for sleep, or for weight workouts, or for workouts outside.  Once we have done the minimum, we know we’ve taken care of business.  We may find that we want to do more, but we also know we don’t have to.  It’s a great way to unplug from the zeitgeist that we always have to be doing more faster better longer.

 

Finally, I am in favor of setting goals for good things.  We don’t just have to set goals for things that we know we should do but don’t really want to get done.  How about a goal for more massages?  More tasty ways to eat fruit?  More laughter?

 

Go get happy, y’all.

Setting Goals: 1 of 2

Now that we are motivated to strength train (I hope) and we have some idea about what kind of strength training we’re interested in, it’s time to set some goals.  I’m going to talk about the classic goal model today and some other goal ideas tomorrow.

In general, a lot of experts advocate for SMART goals:  that is, goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.  Let’s unpack that a bit.

 

Specific goals are not “I want to get in shape.”  They are more like “I want to fit into my old jeans” or “I want to lose x pounds.”  Getting in shape is amorphous.  We can’t tell if we have achieved it if we don’t get specific about what getting in shape means to us.  One person may define it as playing with their kid all day without feeling dead at the end.  Another might define it as being able to run a marathon.  Yet another will have a specific clothing size in mind.

 

Which brings us to measurable.  When we formulate our goal with a measurable target, seeing our progress is easier.  If my goal is to lose x pounds and I only lose x-5, I know I need to work a little harder.  This is why so many goals involve things like amounts of weight (lost or lifted) or distance (5K?  Century ride?) or size (inches lost, clothing size) or other markers (body fat percentage anyone?).

 

Achievable is exactly what it sounds like, but it’s sometimes complicated to make an achievable goal.  We may not know what is achievable, particularly in regards to the other two criteria.

 

Realistic is a lot like achievable.  This is where we face some facts.  I know that I, for example, would be extremely unrealistic if I were to make a goal of running a marathon this year (or, you know, ever) because I hate running, my body hates running, and it’s just not going to happen.  Similarly, if a person has a goal of losing 50 pounds by their wedding next month, the truth is that that is not going to happen short of amputating a limb or something equally unpleasant and unlikely.

 

Timely means, in this context, that we set ourselves a deadline.  We may not know what an appropriate amount of time is to achieve our goals.  This is why professional help is useful.  That said, for weight loss goals, a good rubric for achieving goals in a healthy way is to assume that a person can lose 1 to 2 pounds per week.

 

Go be smart!

Monday Workout: Plyo

Plyometrics are good for most of us.  A little impact with the ground helps keep our bones strong.  However, if jumping is not indicated for you, please do the side lunges instead of the lateral bounds.  Three rounds.

 

squat to leg lift	30
bench press	20
overhead press	10
lateral bound/side lunge	30
flies	20
upright row	10
woodchoppers	30
skullcrushers	20
Russian twist	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Dumbbell Pullover with Bridge

The Amazing Stickie loves a challenge, so today she is doing dumbbell pullover with bridge.  She begins in bridge position with dumbbells in her hands on the floor over her head.  From there, she will lift the dumbbells until they are directly over her shoulders.  Then she will lower them close to but not touching the floor.  She will not let the dumbbells touch the floor until the end of the set.

A set of ten should do it.

Strength Training: Power

Yet another goal folks might have for their strength training is power.  Power, in this context, is the ability to generate a lot of force fast.

 

To train for power, we want to use fairly heavy weights and work with a quick tempo.  We also want to work on explosive movements (think plyometrics!). 

 

Power training is not something we do every single workout.  Most of the time, we want to work on max strength or hypertrophy or even cycle back through some endurance/stability work.  Then we can spend a month or so doing power workouts.

 

Proper form is absolutely essential for power workouts.  When we’re moving fast with heavy objects, we need to be sure that we are using our bodies well.

 

Go play.