Gotta get breathless

Yesterday I wrote about why we want to lift weights.  Today I’m going to dive into why we want to do cardio, too.

 

As a fitness professional, I’m supposed to say we need to do cardio because it’s good for us.  It is.  It keeps our hearts and lungs healthy.  Without those, we’re kind of dead, so yeah, that’s important.

 

But personally, the more immediately obvious benefits of cardio are more compelling when it’s a question of sleeping in versus getting up and getting to it.  Of course I’m glad that cardio burns calories and keeps my arteries from clogging and increases my sensitivity to insulin, but that doesn’t get me on the bike.  Here’s what does:

 

Cardio boosts mood.  Studies have shown that cardio can be as or more effective than antidepressants for mild depression.  Even without the scientific evidence, I think most of us know that a brisk walk or a bike ride or a swim can make us much more cheerful.

 

Cardio makes our brains work better.  Those of us with desk jobs or who are students should take note.  That morning run or afternoon recess helps cognitive function.  Bonus points for doing it outside.

 

Cardio increases our energy.  Not at first.  At first, we may feel more tired because we’re working out.  Eventually, as we acclimate to the increased activity, we find that we have more resources to draw on in other areas of our lives.  Some of this comes from the fact that cardio helps us sleep better at night, but even independent of that, we get energy (paradoxically) from spending some getting breathless.

 

My reasons for doing cardio may not apply.  We all have to find our own motivations.  But we can do this.

Lift

My focus with my personal training clients is on weight training (and yes, I sneak a little Pilates in there, just like I sneak a few weight exercises in with my Pilates clients).  It’s not that I don’t love cardio; it’s just that cardio is something most of us can and often will do on our own.

 

Weight training can seem mysterious to those of us who are just now thinking about getting off the couch.  There are so many weird contraptions and sometimes the lifters make grunting noises and it’s not like we want to compete in some Mx. Universe thing, so why would we even bother?

 

I’ll grant that some of the gym rats are a little odd and possibly unwelcoming to the new lifter.  But gyms are really for everyone and anyone who gets their nose out of joint about sharing the space and equipment needs a quick review of the kindergarten curriculum.  We all deserve to be healthy and we are allowed to take up room and use resources.

 

Now, on to the bizarre-looking gizmos.  I have a simple solution to dealing with most gym machines:  skip them.  The machines are designed to work muscles in isolation.  That can be great if we are, for example, rehabbing from a hamstring injury.  Most of the time, however, we do better using free weights because our muscles, in real life, work together.  When we use free weights, we have to recruit our stabilizing muscles more, which improves our balance.  We also get to experience the differences in strength between the sides of our bodies; the machine is not there to smooth out the discrepancy between the left and right sides.

 

As to why we even want to bother with lifting at all, I will limit myself to three reasons, even though there are lots.

 

First, lifting weights is an efficient way to lose weight while changing body composition.  It burns calories and builds muscle.  The greater the proportion of muscle tissue to fatty tissue, the smaller and tighter our bodies look.

 

Second, lifting weights keeps our bones strong.  Not one of us is getting younger.  Weight training helps us build and maintain strong bones, which in turn prevents us from having fractures in our old age.  Fractures are a major contributing factor to losing the ability to live independently and also to general mortality in older people.

 

Third, it’s empowering.  (My dad was convinced I was going to starve to death when I moved out because how would I open jars?)  Not only can we do more, we get metaphorically stronger as well as we tackle the challenges of lifting heavy objects.

 

Go play. 

Monday Workout: New Stuff!

I’m into finding new exercises or rediscovering old ones I’ve forgotten right now, so there are three in today’s workout.  The first one is the Hindu pushup, which works like this:  begin in plank position with feet wider than hips’ distance apart.  Walk your hands back toward your feet a bit so that your body is shaped like a V (downward dog, for you yogis and yoginis).  From there, lead with your chest and bend your elbows.  Your body will curve down toward the ground and then the back will arch (like an upward dog in yoga).  Return to the V position to complete the rep.

 

The second one is the donkey kick.  This one targets the glutes.  You start on your hands and knees.  One leg kicks up toward the ceiling with the knee still bent at 90 degrees (like you are poking the ceiling with your heel) and then returns to start.  Alternate legs until the set is complete.

 

Finally, we are doing the seated knee tuck.  We begin in what Pilates calls the teaser position, but other folks might know it as a V-sit.  You sit just behind the sitting bones, torso long and leaned back, legs lifted, so that the body is shaped like a V (a theme!).  You can stabilize with your hands behind you if necessary, or hold them out in front of you for more challenge.  From this starting position, bend your knees in toward your chest and then straighten them out again.

 

As always, if these exercises are not appropriate for your body, modify them or substitute others.  Three rounds.

 

1 arm clean and press	30
rows	20
pushup or Hindu pushup	10
squat to leg lift	30
flies	20
donkey kick	10
(lunge) punches	30
Arnold press	20
seated knee tuck	10

I'll do it for a...

Bribery is a good thing, sometimes.  When we’re trying to get ourselves to do the workout we’ve planned, offering ourselves a bribe can get us to that starting place.  Here are five non-food bribes (yes, I know that many of us will do all kinds of things for tacos, but we’re focusing on fitness right now):

 

1.     Hot bath/shower.  Maybe the kind with fancy bubbles or candles or a scrubby thing.  Bonus:  it will help sore muscles relax.

2.     Outing.  (Keeping in mind safe protocols for the pandemic.)  We can go to that museum we’ve wanted to visit or catch a movie or stroll through the park with a friend.

3.     Music.  This one is great because when we get new, upbeat music, not only do we get to enjoy it, we can use it to make our future workouts more fun.

4.     Friends.  We can give ourselves a moment to chat with the people who make life fun.

5.     That (small) thingie we’ve been coveting.  Maybe it’s a pair of earrings or a new pen or some cool socks.  We can give ourselves a reward for a week’s worth of workouts.  (Gotta be careful with this one because it can get expensive!)

 

Go play!

Obstacles

About this point in our shiny new goal journey, we realize that change is hard.  There are a surprising number of obstacles and we think about giving up.  (Note:  resting is not the same as giving up.  It is always all right to take a rest and then get back to work.)  Here are a few kinds of obstacles we might face in our fitness journey and some strategies for fighting those suckers.

 

We’re sore.  Yup.  That one happens a lot.  The first thing we need to do is decide if we are the good kind of sore or the bad kind.  The good kind means that we’ve given ourselves a challenge, but one we can handle.  We know it is the good kind because it goes away after a day or two.  If we’re still sore on the third or fourth day after a workout, we might want to dial the workout down a little.  If we’re dealing with the good kind of sore, we want to check in with our friends Ibuprofen (or whatever OTC pain reliever is appropriate), ice (if there is swelling), and heat (if we’re just feeling stressed and sore with no swelling).  Then we need to do something counterintuitive:  we need to keep moving.  Gentle movement (think yoga, stretching, maybe a stroll) will help keep our bodies from clenching up and feeling even more sore and stiff.  If we are the bad kind of sore, we need to adjust our workout, get some rest, and then start again.

 

We’re tired.  Maybe we’re not actually all that sore from the workouts, but we are really tired.  Change is hard on the mind as well as the body, so this is a good time to cut ourselves some slack.  Prioritizing getting enough sleep can be hard, but so worth it!  Even if we can’t get more sleep, we can focus on things that give us more energy (no, not you, caffeine and sugar!) like positive interactions with friends or meditation or flowers or even an episode of a favorite show.

 

Our family/friends don’t like what we’re doing.  This is a hard one.  Our spouses or kids or significant others or whoever may resent that we are spending time taking care of ourselves.  We have to work on our self-care muscles as well as the physical ones.  This is where we tell ourselves about putting on our own oxygen mask first.  If we are not healthy, we can’t be there for others.  And, if our loved ones don’t get that we deserve to be healthy, we may have to do some reevaluating about the health of our relationships.  That’s never easy, but it is useful.

 

We actually hate working out.  Very few people hate every single possible workout that exists.  We just might have to experiment for a while to find the right workout for us, whether it’s Zumba or swimming or kayaking or heavy lifting or just a date with our favorite show and the treadmill.

 

Still struggling?  Poke me for advice!

Get started

Let’s talk about yoga and Newtonian physics (I leave the quantum physics to experts).  Both yoga and physics apply to all our workouts, surprisingly enough.  They agree:  the hardest part is getting started.

 

In yoga, this is phrased like this:  To begin is the victory.

 

Physics, in the form of Newton’s first law of motion, says it a little differently:  A body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion.

 

In our daily lives, then, what we need to focus on is that first step.  Once we get going, once we get to the gym or get on the bike or look at the weights or roll out the mat, we can keep on going more easily.  We win by showing up.

Monday Workout: New Stuff!

Every once in a while, we need to change things up to keep our bodies from getting too bored.  I love my usual workout format, but this week, we’re doing a shorter circuit and doing four rounds, just to keep things fresh.  (Obviously, do more or fewer circuits and adapt exercises as usual for appropriateness!)

 

There are also two new exercises in this workout.  The 1 leg balance with arm wave works like this:  stand on one foot with the other knee lifted so the thigh is parallel to the ground, arms at sides.  Then lift the arms out to the side and overhead.  Lower back to the side.  That’s one rep.

 

The db (dumbbell) pullover works like this.  Begin lying on your back (yay!).  Hold a dumbbell in both hands over your breastbone with arms just slightly bent (as if your arms were parentheses) (I like parentheses.).  Lower your arms toward the floor over your head, stopping just before the weight touches the ground.  Return to start.  That’s one rep.

 

jacks or plank jacks	20
1 leg balance with arm wave	10
curl to overhead press	20
curtsy	20
db pullover	20
Russian twist	10