Our vocabulary is a tool...

Hi, my name is Janet and I’m a metaphor addict.  The thing is, I have no intention of reforming.  Those things work like ants plundering a picnic (see?).

 

I spend a lot of my time with clients giving instructions.  Bend this, lift that, and so on.  But I don’t just care about the rude outline of the motion; I want to get all the details in the picture (it is happening again…).  Some of us know a lot about anatomy and I can say things like, “Engage your adductors” and get results, but some folks have no idea what I mean by that, so I say things like “Squeeze a beach ball between your thighs.”

 

“You are one of those drinking bird toys.”  “Pull a sheet of paper apart under your feet.”  “Spread your abs out like a rubber band.”  We are people who live by analogy and a lot of what I do is finding the one that speaks to the person in front of me at any given time.

 

I joke all the time about my invisible tool kit.  Perhaps the most useful of those invisible tools is words.

Write about it...

I write stuff down.  I admit, I am better at writing stuff down about my clients than about myself, but I’m not horrible at keeping track of my own stuff either.  It is a useful tool.

 

Why?  Well, for one thing, we don’t remember things as well as we think we do.  How often was I lifting weights five years ago?  I have no idea, but I have my workout sheets from back then, so I can look it up.  What weight should my client choose for the next exercise?  Hmmm… let me see what I wrote down about last week’s workout.

 

For another thing, it helps us see patterns.  This is how I know not to start anything new on a Thursday and that Monday is my best workout day, followed by Saturday.

 

We can be as simple or as complicated as we like.  At the simple end, we want to write down the name of the exercise, the number of reps, and the weight (or the kind of cardio and the time).  At the complicated end, we can add food journaling and brief notes about what went well or poorly and how we felt.  We can also add instructions and cues about form if we like, so we remember to align our knees over our toes or keep our upper arms stable at appropriate times.

 

Even if we don’t do it every time, it can be useful as a snapshot.  We can look at that one time we recorded, six months ago, and see that we are lifting a lot more today, or that we were really burning up the cardio back then.

 

Try it and see what happens!

Monday Workout: Compounding the solution

I love compound exercises because they get stuff done, all at once.  They boost metabolism, burn calories, and increase coordination.  Three rounds, modifying as needed for YOUR body.

 

overhead curtsey	30
squat to leg lift	20
rows	10
standing mountain climbers	30
lunge to curl	20
kickbacks	10
jacks	30
dumbbell pass	20
pretty princesses	10

It's raining, it's boring...

Sometimes the weather does not cooperate with our workout plans.  Here are some tips on how to deal with environmental angst.

 

1.     Go anyway.  Throw on a raincoat and walk or run in the rain.  You’ll dry.

2.     Run the stairs.  The ones in your hallway.  They’re handy and inside.  Go up fast and come down slow.  If you don’t have stairs, you can do step ups on a (sturdy) chair.

3.     Dance in the kitchen.  Depending on who lives with you, you may end up with a dance party or your kids will give you peace because they’re busy dying of embarrassment.

4.     Play a weighting game.  It’s like a drinking game but with weights instead.  So every time the main character of that show you’re watching says her catchphrase, you do squats.  When the sidekick does something dumb, you do curls.  Use your imagination.

How to tell...

Yesterday, I posted about aiming for a Just Right workout.  Some of us intuitively grasp how to hit that sweet spot.  We will try not to hold that against those people.  The rest of us can use a little guidance.

 

If we are hitting out goals, whether those are weight loss or general toning or improved endurance or even better moods, that’s a good indication that we’re getting it right.  If we feel pleasantly sore the day after a weight training session, that’s another good sign.  During the workout, if we get sweaty, we are probably working at least hard enough.  If we can still talk, we’re probably not working too hard.

 

However, if we don’t seem to be making progress, our workouts are probably too easy.  Hint:  if we are still lifting the same amount of weight after six months, we are not making progress.  If we never have to concentrate on what we’re doing, same deal.  On the other end of the spectrum, if we need a steady diet of Ibuprofen to get through our daily lives without screaming every time we move, our workouts are too hard.  (Perhaps a more practical way of phrasing this is:  workout soreness should not last more than two or three days at most.)  If we spend the whole workout gasping for air, we’re working too hard.  There are some people who would argue with me about this, but if a workout makes us throw up, it is too hard.  We want to avoid pain and excessive suffering—a little discomfort is all right.

 

We are the only experts on our own bodies.  That means that even if a trainer or instructor is telling us what to do, we remain the boss and can choose not to do what they say.  It also means that we have a responsibility to stay mindful of what we are doing so we can ensure that we are, in fact, doing a Just Right workout.

No bears...

So remember Goldilocks?  You know, that entitled housebreaker who terrorized a fine, law-abiding bear family?  We want to be a little bit like Goldilocks when we work out.  (No, I am not referring to my oft-repeated declaration that I only run if there is a bear involved…)  Please do not break into any bears’ houses.  However, when faced with choices, choose the one that is just right.

 

We all know when we are slacking.  We show up for our workout half asleep and we never wake up.  We pedal on autopilot or lift light weights mindlessly.  Goldilocks rejects this workout as Too Easy.

 

Sometimes, though, we get to our workout and we think we have to do literally everything at full speed and full intensity all the time.  We wonder why we are always sore and tired.  Goldilocks says this workout is Too Hard.

 

Goldilocks wants us to do a workout that is Just Right.  We want a balance between challenge and achievability.  We want rest days at appropriate intervals.  We want, in short, a sustainable level of activity because in the long run, we need to keep showing up for workouts.  That won’t happen if our workouts are Too Easy and boring or if our workouts are Too Hard and injure us (either in an immediate way or in a cumulative overuse kind of way).

 

The goal here is to live happily ever after.

Monday Workout: Balance!

This week’s workout continues our focus on balance training.  I love balance moves because they’re practical—we all need to deal with unstable circumstances from time to time—and because they help us develop core strength in motion rather than in isolation.  Three rounds!

 

suitcase swings	30
deadlifts	20
curls	10
opposite knees	30
1 leg squats	20
Arnold press	10
woodchoppers	30
rows	20
brains	10