Fit in the fitness

We are busy people.  It often seems like we have way more to do than will fit into our days.  Even thinking about it all can wear us out.  It’s no wonder we often think we don’t have time to exercise.

Here’s the thing:  we don’t have time NOT to exercise.  When we work out, we are investing in ourselves and we can expect both short- and long-term payoffs.

In the short term, we will increase our ability to focus on the rest of the day’s tasks and we will have more energy.  We’ll be in a better mood, which will make all those other things go better.

In the long term, working out improves our health, which increases the odds of living longer with a better quality of life (not so many of us want to live a long time in a care facility, but we can get behind hijinks into our second centuries, I think!).

It’s not procrastination or failure to prioritize; we’re being both smart and efficient when we choose to get in a workout!

Monday Workout: Battle!

One of the many awesome things about battle ropes is that they work both strength and cardio at the same time without overtaxing anybody’s knees.  (Another is that we can pretend to be Aaron Rodgers in the commercial with the woman with the long battle rope braids…)  Three rounds.

rope double slams	30
bench press	20
Arnold press	10
rope alternating slams	30
flies	20
1 leg squats	10
rope circles	30
bench rows	20
pretty princesses	10

The Core of the Issue

Our muscles have various functions.  Depending on what we are doing, our muscles may be doing direct work, helping to control that work by opposing another muscle or group of muscles, or stabilizing the body as a whole.

Most of the things we do that fall under the category of core exercises intend to enable that last function.  A strong core makes everything else more efficient because the working muscles don’t have to take time out to keep us from falling over.

A strong core also helps us avoid pain.  (No, I don’t mean the pain of doing pretty princesses, although they do get less painful with practice.)  Activating core muscles helps prevent lower back pain brought on by sedentary jobs and long commutes.  Those same core muscles improve our posture, reducing stress on the body (and making us look better into the bargain!!).

Some of the best core exercises are the ones where we use our bodies in asymmetrical ways and/or challenge our balance.  They’re also less boring than ten million crunches.  We can find fun (or less horrible) ways to be strong and powerful.