This week we’re thinking about our feet, among other things. We have two exercises that specifically call for lifting our heels. Strong feet give us a strong foundation. Three rounds.
squat heel raise | 30 |
flies | 20 |
hip rotations | 10 |
| |
cossack lunge | 30 |
good morning/deadlift | 30 |
reverse fly | 10 |
| |
1 arm clean and press | 30 |
rows | 20 |
side banana | 10 |
Some days we just need a list of quick pick-me-ups that have no calories or chemicals:
1. Go outside.
2. Take some deep breaths.
3. Take a bath.
4. Hug somebody.
5. Take a nap.
6. Call a friend.
7. Move your body.
Yesterday we talked about objective measurements of how hard we are working out. Today, we’re going to listen in on what our bodies are telling us. This is crucial, because we are far more than a bunch of numbers and we are the ultimate bosses of ourselves.
One way that trainers are taught to assess how hard a person is working out is to ask them about their “rate of perceived exertion.” This is a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being asleep and 10 being about to die. We want to aim for about a 7 or 8 on the scale, otherwise known as “This is hard, but I’m managing, as long as you don’t ask me to talk too much at the same time.” (There are slightly less goofy tags for the various levels, if you want to look them up, but silly is more memorable in my book.)
Some days are just hard. Maybe we didn’t sleep well. Maybe we’re (extra) stressed. Maybe traffic was terrible, or we have a mystery pain in our shoulder. Even if our objective measurements, like HRV, show that we should be able to handle a tough workout, it might not be true. We need to be mindful. If we’re having trouble concentrating, for whatever reason, it is not a good day to lift heavy or to take on a new challenge in our workout. It is perfectly all right to focus on stretching, on yoga, on deep breathing exercises. Some days the right answer is to take a walk, or even a nap. The body knows when we are listening to it. It appreciates our concern and will tell us when it is ready to go hard again.
Go play.
How hard are we really working out? There are a bunch of ways to tell. Today I’m going to talk about objective measurements and tomorrow the subjective ones.
When we’re doing cardio, we want to check in with our heart rate. In these days of smart watches and fitness trackers, that’s pretty easy: we just look down. But what does the number mean? (Sorry, there’s about to be some arithmetic.) The easiest way to calculate a person’s max heart rate is to subtract their age from 220. Then we calculate the cardio range as 65 to 85% of that number. Let me use myself as an example. I am 57, so my max heart rate is 163. The bottom of my cardio range is 65% of 163, or 106 (rounded up from 105.95). The top of my range is 139 (rounded up from 138.55). If I glance down and I’m not even hitting 100 on the heart rate, I need to kick it up a notch. (I worry a lot less about the top end of things. Most people feel terrible and slow down automatically when they get past 85%.
The rest of the objective measures are less immediate. HRV, for example, is something we need to benchmark before we use because it is a highly individual measurement. In other words, we don’t want to compare our HRV with anybody else’s. Our trackers/smart watches measure this for us and can give us an average over a week or month or longer. In general, a higher number is better. If we see that our trend is improving over time, we’re working hard enough.
When the number on the scale is not moving, it is not necessarily time to panic. We can check our body fat percentage with a handheld gizmo and see if that number is changing over time (Lower body fat percentage is better, to a point. Feel concerned if it is below about 10%.). We may be adding muscle, which weighs more than fat, so the number on the scale will stay the same even as we change our body composition.
Finally, we can look at our workout sheets. If the number of reps we are completing and/or the weights we’re using are getting larger, we’re doing things right.
Go play.
Time for a month-end short circuit! Do as many rounds as you can in the time you have!
1 min cardio | |
| 20 |
woodchoppers | 20 |
bench press | 10 |
YTA | 30 |
Bulgarian split squat | 30 |
rows | 20 |
pretty princesses | 10 |
Yesterday I talked about boredom in our workouts just a bit. Here are some boredom-busters:
• Do it backwards. If you normally do cardio first, do weights first.
• Change the tempo. Working faster or slower than usual can stimulate muscles in a new way.
• Change the venue. Take it outside, or inside, whatever is not usual.
• Try that class. You know, that one you’re intrigued by
• Go along with a friend. Do what she does for a day or a week.
• Change the playlist. New music can be really motivating!
It might just be me, but I love spring cleaning. It feels so good to have everything fresh and tidy! This is a good time to spring clean our workout routines, too. Here are a couple of questions to ask to help with that process:
Is what I’m doing working? The answer to that question, of course, depends on your goals. If, for example, you discover that you are not, in fact, getting stronger with your current weight training program, it’s time for a change. Or if you discover that the workouts are great, but you’re eating less fabulous foods, it might be time to examine the connection between the gym and the kitchen.
Am I bored? Both brains and bodies get bored. If you don’t even need to wake up entirely to do the workout, chances are you are bored and could use a fresh take. If a workout that used to give you the progress you wanted has stopped, it might be that your body is ready for a new challenge.
Can I please go outside now? It’s warmer and less likely to storm on us, so this is a good time to take the workout into the fresh air.
Go play.
