Another photo from the BAMPFA

Let’s talk about violence.  We don’t need it in our workouts.  We don’t need it, period.

For too long, we have been steeped in a culture of violence in which strength has been misinterpreted as a way to seize control by force.

We want to get strong so that we can resist use of force.  We want to get strong so we can be peaceful and good.  We want the power of non-violence and we will get it as we lift and run and work.

What are we going to build with our strength?

When to stop

It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes I have to stop a workout, mine or someone else’s.  This is because my very first responsibility as a trainer is to keep everyone safe.  (Surprise!  It’s not to make bad jokes or force people to do burpees!)

Here is how to tell when it is time to stop if I don’t happen to be there.

You are injured.  You hear something snap, something swells up, or you can’t bear weight.  This is not the same as the regular suffering that goes with working out.  This is Bad Pain, not the character-building kind.

You can’t breathe or you have chest pain.  Stop.  Now.  And you probably need to call 911.

You feel dizzy and faint, even after sitting down for a minute or so.

You throw up.

Working out is not a punishment.  We put up with some discomfort to get more awesome, but we are not going to keep going when it harms us.  Let’s be safe.

Principally, I take photos of flowers

Fitness, not surprisingly, is usually about goals.  I love goals.  (And yelling “Goal!!!!!”)  Goals have all kinds of usefulness.  And yet, they are limited.

What we need even more than goals, is principles. 

OK, Smarty-Pants, what exactly do you mean by that?

Goals, by nature, are specific.  I want to lose ten pounds, buy a bikini, and climb Mt. Everest.  Principles are more overarching.  I want to live a healthy and adventurous life.  When we focus solely on goals, we might miss out on other things we also want, things that add richness to our experience.  We don’t get closer to buying a bikini by trying a new yoga class, but it is definitely part of a healthy and adventurous life.

Knowing our principles allows us to make good decisions.

Monday Workout: Back to Basics

Sometimes we go back to basics.  This is usually the first workout I do with a new client because it touches all the bases and adapts well to all fitness levels.  Three rounds.

step ups	30
squats	20
curls	10
woodchoppers	30
rows	20
pushups	10
mountain climbers	30
overhead press	20
lunges	10

Stand up and fly right...

Sometimes we need to be strict with ourselves.  At least I do.  I promised myself one week of eating only what I was supposed to eat.  Apparently, I like to let myself off the hook more often than I thought.  I didn’t.  I made it through the whole week without cheating.  And then I kept going.

In the more than two weeks since then, I’ve eaten four things that were not on the list.  Two of them were straight-up bad for me and two were just foods that I personally am choosing not to eat (one chicken and one fish).  It has been interesting.  I found myself craving salad, which essentially never happens.

What else might I learn if I get strict?  How about you?

Lift up your mind...

When we think of mindful movement, I think we tend to imagine yogis or tai chi masters moving slowly through their routines.  That is definitely part of it, but we can do any kind of movement mindfully.

We can, for example, think about where we feel a particular kind of lift as we are moving the weight through the air.  Does it feel the same on both sides?  What parts of our bodies want to move even though they aren’t part of what we are moving, say, the standing leg’s hip shifting out to the side as we raise the “working” leg?  We can proceed through observation toward mindfulness.

As we learn more about our bodies, we can tune in more deeply.  We can learn where our serratus anterior is and why we might want to engage it as we raise our arms (to keep our shoulders out of our ears).  We can think about how our bones move, about where our muscles pull, about why tightness in our tissues keeps us from full range of motion.

Maybe we learn that an exercise is not right for us.  Maybe we learn that we have improved since last time we tried.  Maybe we can shift our form with a change in breath.

What can we learn when we pay attention?

Photo is from the BAMPFA of a shared bike

Exercise is good not only for us, but for the world.  When we get out of our cars, we reduce pollution.  Walk, run, bike, or pogo-stick to get those errands done.  Your body and the rest of humanity will thank you.

(Note:  this is the bonus-points kind of exercise, unless you are commuting or doing enough to get in at least half an hour a day.)