Don’t Look Back

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I finished my first half marathon (13.1 mile) race with a smile on my face on March 23, 2014. I can still recall nearly every mile of that event and it was all so magical! That’s not to say that it was an easy run. I was 52 years old and this was my first long distance race. This was a fitness challenge that tested my resolve to finish with every mile that I completed, especially as I neared the last three miles. I had never run 13 miles before race day. The longest run I had completed in my training was 11 miles, and I wasn’t confident that I would be able to run that distance without stopping to walk. The course was indeed challenging; a rolling out and back with few straightaways. I did not bring music to distract myself, only my thoughts…and the two thoughts that kept me plodding forward that day were: don’t look back; cross the finish line. In the year since I’ve completed that race, I continue to use those two thoughts as my ‘living’ mantras, especially when I face the ups and downs of everyday life. I have found the ‘don’t look back’ mantra especially helpful when I am enduring a stressful, over the top work day. Backward glances on difficult or stressful moments, might look or seem like productive conduct to the untrained, but I’ve realized that such behavior uses precious energies (physical and mental) and causes a loss of momentum. The only time I allow myself to go backwards is when I’m aware that I may have breached a relationship with an unkindness. Then I will revisit that event, that place in time and make it right with the one I have wronged.
A backward glance is not usually an action of confidence but rather a movement that symbolizes uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. I cannot change or improve upon the ground that I have already covered…it has passed. I am most productive, most positive, most available to others when I keep my eyes on the intentions I have set my sights on for today. There will be time to review what I have done in the accumulated milestones of today; that time is after I cross the finish line with the setting of the sun. Then I can review, and critique, and plan for the next day’s journey.

It takes more energy to twist yourself around and look back than it does to face forward. Twyla Tharp in The Creative Habit

Philippians 3:13-14  Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus. (from GOD’S WORD Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved.)

 

The Hard Work of Recovery – Part 2 – Believe

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A week ago I tackled this topic from the perspective that a period of rest is foundational to one’s physical recovery from the exertion of exercise training. After mulling about this idea for the last few days, some additional perspectives came through and I want to further discuss ‘recovery’ from the perspective of our belief system. When I thought about the word ‘recovery’ I realized that the term usually infers to some sort of trauma or breakdown (in the body or in the psyche); that something has been lost or taken away. And in fact, when we exercise hard, there occurs micro-traumas to muscle tissue. The repair or recovery process of these tissues can only occur when we allow those muscles to rest. This happens when we sleep at night or when we take an active ‘recovery’ day of exercise which does not engage the previously worked muscles with intensity and force. Either way, whether we sleep or move restfully, we allow our body to do the work of muscle repair. What makes recovery hard work? Our belief system! If we think (believe) that a period of rest is going to take something away from us (strength, stamina, athleticism) or that we will be diminished or reduced in body or spirit, then we find it very difficult to allow ourselves adequate recovery time. It is what we BELIEVE about rest and recovery that makes recovery hard work. Our beliefs are powerful; they have the ability to hinder our recovery and our peace of mind. If you can change your  beliefs about the value of your ‘recovery’ periods, then you can and should expect your periods of rest to rejuvenate you in body, mind and spirit.

It’ may look like I’m doing nothing, but at the cellular level I’m really quite busy. ~Roger Ramjet

 

No Gym Membership? No Worries!

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You can achieve your weight loss and fitness goals without the expense of a monthly gym membership. Your body on gravity provides ample resistance for you to burn calories and sculpt muscle in as little as 10 minutes at a time. Get out your timer and set it to a 30 second stop/start increment to complete the following 10 minute cardio/strength circuit!
4 – 30 Second sets to Warm Up – Jumping Jacks and/or Jump Rope
2 – 30 Second sets of Walking Lunges
1 – 30 Second sets of Mountain Climbers
1 – 30 Second sets of Push Ups
2 – 30 Second sets of Basic Squats
1 – 30 Second set of Front Plank
2 – 15 Second sets of Side Planks (2 sets each side)
1 – 30 Second set of Mountain Climbers
1 – 30 Second set of Push Ups
1 – 15 Second set of seated Russian twist
1 – 15 Second set of Reverse Crunches
2 Minute Cool Down
2 – 30 Second sets of Bird Dog
2 – 30 Second sets of Walking High Knees

Here is a link to 50 Bodyweight Exercises:
http://greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do-anywhere

The Hard Work of Recovery

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After a lively day’s work, no one has to tell us at day’s end that we need to rest. But when we begin to grow stronger and fitter in our body because we’ve been adhering to a well planned exercise program, we sometimes forget that the most important part of our work out happens only when we rest. If in our zeal we don’t make adequate opportunities for recovery, then we will soon realize the negative effects of over training (i.e. moodiness, irritability, decrease in performance, lack of energy, tiredness, mild aches and pains, increased number of colds, etc.). If you’re noticing any of these symptoms then add some rest days to your exercise program. To make fitness gains, you must trust the process of each day’s work…and rest. Remember to pace yourself…take the long view on your health and fitness goals. Don’t be a jack rabbit because we know that ‘slow and steady’ wins the race.

There is power in small wins and slow gains. James Clear

 

Get Fit Quick

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If you only have a few minutes to exercise and you want to engage in a cardio and strength exercise at the same time…then grab a jump rope and hop to it! You’ll burn about 10 calories per minute, more or less, and activate your major joints (shoulders, wrists, knees and ankles) while incurring the benefits of strength, balance and coordination during your next jump rope session. Check out this Web-MD link for safety tips and technique: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/skipping-rope-doesnt-skip-workout

 

The Best Way Out

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We can have plans for today, but we do not always have the privilege of seeing our plans completed as we desired from the start. Some days the sun shines bright, the wind blows light and there is an ease in the air that gives us a sense that the day will unfold with gentle dependability. Other days begin with blustery winds from the east, brooding clouds to the north and such general upheaval that we can be easily coerced to stay under cover until the day’s tumult blows over. Most of us do not have the luxury to be fair weather travelers and we must sojourn through each micro-season that we find ourselves cast into. For those whose Captain is the Lord, we have a trustworthy guide who has gone before us in the day’s journey and who comes alongside as we plow through the stuff of our busy work days. If we live in such a mindset, that our Captain holds us and our future in his hands, then this belief will make our travels more beneficial to us. As we rest in Him, we can be certain that we are indeed safe from each and every storm that comes upon us; we can save our energies to not fight against the storm, but rather, go through the storm while holding fast to the One who travels with us, through us, before and after us. As Paul the Apostle taught us, regardless of our traveling conditions, keeping a cheerful focus on the One who leads us will safely deliver us from the ruts and rocks, the ups and downs of this day’s journey. We can pace ourselves in this knowledge today!

2 Corinthians 5:8-10 ~ Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming. But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost

 

Got 10 Minutes?

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The research keeps coming in and it’s good news: several 10 minute bouts of purposeful movement (exercise) throughout the day can support and improve your health and fitness. According to Dr. Toni Yancey of UCLA, even 10 minutes of dancing, marching in place or other moderate exercise two or three times a day can add up to a big payoff for your heart and mind. Additionally, study leader Kyle Sevits, a researcher at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, conducted a research project which determined that just a few minutes of intense activity interspersed between less intense stretches of exercise actually helped study participants to burn excess calories all day long. So there you have it…no more excuses for time crunched folks…just get out there and DO IT and remember, the harder you work, the more calories you will burn per minute.

Cardiovascular Fitness…What is it? Why Is It Important?

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In my last post (January 2010) I talked about the many components of fitness. In the following posts in the days/weeks to come I’ll address each component at length and attempt to describe the value and benefits of improving your fitness in each of these areas. The first and probably most important fitness component for a healthy adult body is cardiovascular (aerobic) fitness. Aerobic fitness determines how well our body processes and utilizes oxygen (to our cells and working muscle tissues) during physical activity. Adults with low aerobic fitness levels are less likely to endure activities that require energy and endurance.  Inactive older adults cannot expect to improve sagging energy and endurance levels without training their cardiovasular systems on a daily basis. While the aging process does have some negative effect on the efficiency of our aerobic capacity, a sedentary lifestyle is more directly responsible for the largest reductions of cardiovascular fitness.

However, much research has been done in this area (with older adults) showing that regular bouts of moderate exercise (30-60 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week) can improve and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. During aerobic activity, you repeatedly move large muscles in your arms, legs and hips. The body responds quickly to this activity by breathing faster and deeper which increases the amount of oxygen in your blood. Likewise the heart beasts faster which increases blood flow to your muscles and back to your lungs. Your entire vascular system will be required to dialate to deliver the increased oxygen to your working muscles and to also carry away the waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Your body will even release endorphins, natural painkillers that promote an increased sense of well-being. And this is just the beginning of all the benefits that you will reap when you engage in regular bouts of aerobic exercise. Here’s a list that should help motivate you to get out there and move it. Here’s what you gain when you exercise:

  1. Improve your mood
  2. Boost your energy levels
  3. Help manage your weight
  4. Improve your immune system
  5. Prevent and/or combat chronic disease
  6. Lower blood pressure
  7. Lower bad (LDL) cholesterol
  8. Increase good (HDL) cholesterol
  9. Improve your sex life
  10. Increase insulin sensitivity
  11. Promote better sleep
  12. You choose what’s fun for you

So don’t wait any longer! If you’ve been on the couch for awhile, then start slow when you get out there! Now stay with it and you’ll begin feeling better before too long…I can almost guarantee it!

What is Fitness?

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Would you be able to define ‘fitness’ to an unfit, but interested individual? What does the term encompass? If someone exercises regularly, are they fit? How is fitness measured? Can someone be ‘fat’ and ‘fit’? These are the hot topics circulating in the wellness circles today. I’d like to expound on the defintion of  ‘fitness’ today, and then tackle the intricacies involved with substantiating fitness and its relationship to physical activity.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, fitness (physical) is defined as ‘a set of attributes or characteristics that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity’ (ACSM 2010, Guidelines to Exercise Testing and Prescription). Furthermore, these attributes can be divided into components (health related and skill related).

The health related  components of fitness measure an individual’s cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition (% fat vs. lean tissue). The skill related components of fitness rate an individual’s agility, coordination, balance, power, reaction time and speed.

As you can see, determining an individual’s fitness level can take some time to measure and evaluate, but this is what exercise and fitness professionals are trained to do when they receive clients desiring to improve their health and fitness levels.  A trained fitness professional will use valid industry standards (tests) to quantify her client’s readiness to engage in physical activity and thereafter, develop an appropriate program of activity which will target not only areas of weakness but build on areas of strength as well.

Healthy at every size

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Today’s thought: What does it mean to be healthy at every size? Apparently there is a new movement within the ‘wellness’ community which states that healthcare practicitioners should focus on patient/client fitness levels instead of their fatness. What do you think?