Friday, July 21, 2017
Friday No-Book Report
What? No book this week? Sometimes weeks don't go the way we want them to. Sometimes stuff gets in the way of our goals. Occasionally, that is all right. By next week, I should have read something to write about!
Thursday, July 20, 2017
This is a photo of a caterpillar woman celebrating, or at least I think so.
Need a reward? One that isn’t super pricey and has no
calories? Here’s a list:
1. Get
the car washed. By someone
else. Maybe even a spiffy smell.
2. Pedicure.
3. A
book in your favorite guilty-pleasure genre.
4. New
crazy socks.
5. That
song you can’t get out of your head, the one that makes you dance in the
kitchen.
6. A
stroll by the beach. Bring that
special someone for bonus points.
7. One
session of a new class, whether it is yoga or climbing or tai chi or spin. Something that opens your brain and
your body.
8. A
puzzle. Jigsaw, Sudoku, crossword,
whatever keeps your monkey mind off the cookies.
9. Something
that smells good, whether that is lotion or perfume or shampoo or even new
laundry soap.
10. A long
chat with a friend. Call someone
far away or meet someone close by to catch up for real.
11. Make
something. Take a photo, draw a
picture, build a birdhouse. Learn macramé
or origami.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Not Set in Stone, Unlike This Petroglyph That Looks Like a Mutant Butterfly
Sometimes, like Thomas Edison, we
figure out what doesn’t work before we figure out what does. The basics of fitness are simple: move more, eat less, keep breathing,
repeat. How they apply to each of
us in our individual circumstances with our own special chemistry is more
complicated.
As I mentioned a while back, I
was considering trying the Bulletproof approach to food. I had two reasons. One was that I thought it would be
something my husband could stick with, given that one of the basic premises is
that meat is a Good Thing. The
other was that I thought it might help me with my inflammation issues.
One out of two isn’t bad. It works great for Brent. He lost weight and feels good. He is ready to keep on with the
program.
Me, not so much. I lost some weight, yes, but I felt
horrible. I was tired and stupid
and irritable (yes, more than usual!!!).
So I learned something that doesn’t work for me and I can move along to
try something else.
Part of experimenting is being
willing to say that something isn’t working. That’s good.
That’s important. And
trying the next thing is just as important. Up from here!
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Social Support for Behavior Change (An Informative, If Not Sexy, Title)
We all know that our friends help
us out when we want to change our behavior. The support of friends can make the difference between
success and failure. Support comes
in four flavors and we may not be able to find all of them in one person.
Perhaps the most obvious form of
support is emotional support.
People who give us this kind cheer us on. They listen when we complain about eating kale (again) or
celebrate with a nice sparkling water when we report we lost that stubborn five
pounds.
Then there are the people who
give us instrumental support. No,
not by accompanying us on the piano while we work out. These are the people who drive us to
the gym or lend us a yoga mat or give us weights for Christmas.
Other people help us out by
giving informational support. This
is a sneaky category because it sometimes hides people who are not all that
supportive. They provide “helpful”
advice that tears us down. Real
informational support comes from knowledgeable people who really want what is
best for you. Think nutritionists,
trainers, doctors, and knowledgeable friends.
Finally, some people give
appraisal support. These are the
folks who give you feedback. They
say things like, “You’re almost there!” or “You skipped the fries! Good on you!”
We need all those kinds of
support. Who’s on your team?
Monday, July 17, 2017
Monday Workout: What we learned last week
So last week while we were
celebrating Christmas, I realized we all need to work a bit more on our
renegade rows, so they are back this week. And a little more balance work on the single leg squats plus
a helping of round lunges (lunge front, lunge side, lunge back, repeat) would
not hurt. The battle ropes are the
fun part! Four rounds.
1 min cardio
|
|
|
|
single leg squats
|
10/side
|
battle rope alternating slams
|
20
|
ball flies
|
20
|
renegade rows
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10
|
battle rope double slams
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20
|
round lunges
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5/side
|
Friday, July 14, 2017
Friday Book Report: Acts of Meaning
I work on the mind-body
continuum, with an emphasis, of course, on the body side. However, neglecting the mind entirely
causes many body problems. It is
from this perspective that Jerome Bruner’s book Acts of Meaning applies to fitness.
The book explores psychology by
positing that what minds do is construct meaning. We don’t do this all alone, but socially and
culturally. The implications of
this in language, story, cognitive science, and community fascinate me.
The book was entirely worth it
just to learn about Roger Barker’s assertion of social rule: “As Barker put it, when people go into
the post office, they behave ‘post office.’” (p. 48). I also enjoyed the exploration of the distributed self, the
emergence of meaning with language in children, and the conception of
autobiography as justificatory dialogue.
In all, the book felt like
falling into a great conversation with someone with an intense intelligence and
wide-ranging interest. Much to
think about here.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Get on the upward spiral!
Today in Shameless
Self-Promotion, I would like to remind everyone (as if it wasn’t obvious) that
I have finished my Behavior Change specialization. Not only that, but I have used my new skills to help a
client set some good goals AND MEET THEM.
She lost ten pounds and at least
an inch in every measurement over a one-month period. Her body fat percentage is down and her clothes are looser.
We chose her goals based on how
ready she was to make the changes.
Then we tracked progress.
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