Suffering Fitness Fools
October 9, 2009
This week I got some hate mail in response to my last post about adding circuit training, suggesting that it is “potentially dangerous” to add push-ups to a cardio workout unless you completely cool down prior to going to the floor. Yes, I admit that this would be potentially dangerous for my grandma or for anyone just beginning a workout routine. As my buddy Dan says, just getting out of bed is potentially dangerous. But I must point out that my class members tend to be very fit and if they don’t want to do push-ups or cannot do push-ups, guess what? They don’t. Suffering, particularly when we approach our tolerance threshold, has great value and I worry that people may turn away from certain exercises not because they are “potentially dangerous” but because that’s the path of least resistance (har-har). It’s so easy to say no thanks. But mindfully training the body in a variety of ways allows us to differentiate between our actual limits and our percieved limits.
Pushing to the occasional point of suffering challenges us to remain calm in spite of anxiety and gosh-darn-it , to get stronger even though it burns! If you’re exercising and suffering and you hear a voice in your head saying things like “I’m never gonna get stronger” or “I can’t do this any longer” or “Look at him, he’s so strong and I’m getting my tail kicked,” that’s the moment to confront yourself and question your own self-talk.
I’m not saying you should push through the pain of injury or illness or any sharp, shooting pain. And if your heart is pounding out of your chest from deconditioning or over training, listen to your body! You can’t tell yourself, “this doesn’t hurt at all, I’m feeling super!” But by noticing any negative self- talk, you have the opportunity to replace those negative thoughts with positive thoughts. For example, you can remind yourself of your goals by thinking “I want to fit into my dress for the reunion.”
You can come up with realistic counterstatements, like ” I’m doing more today than I’ve ever managed before.” or “I feel myself getting stronger.” You can use affirmations like “I can do this!” or “I’m stronger than I realize.” try using cue words like “Stay Strong” or “”Feeling Fit”.
How To Act Old by Slouching
October 9, 2009
Gravity is always pushing us earthward, so as we age it is normal to expect some rounding forward of the shoulders as we stand upright. In spite of their cardiovascular conditioning, jocks will also experience some “anterior head carriage”, as it is known in the fitness world. This means your chin is jutted forward and there’s a slight collapse of the chest. A hint that this is happening to you is that your eye gaze is on the floor in front of you as you walk normally as opposed to the horizon straight ahead. Anterior head carriage is exaggerated when you are athletic. Lots of running or biking or activities that take you forward through space, also allow gravity to have it’s way in a more apparent way.
In our 40’s and 50’s there are a few simple stretches that you can do (with a towel) when you get out of the shower each day (or am I presuming too much from you sweaty people)to keep you upright and preventing you from hinging forward like an old fogie. Tall people, this is especially important for you. Longer levers have more work to do against gravity than less tall people.If you wait until you are seventy years old to do these stretches, the spinal changes will be structural (bone) rather than muscular so likelihood of reversing this would be zilch. But if are 40 to 50 years old, try stretching. It’s not too late.
Take a towel and twist it like a rope. Hold an end in each hand and bring it overhead and behind you until it is directly behind you and you feel a stretch across the center of your chest. Straighten your wrists and take a big breath in to expand the front of the torso. Do this every day and see if you don’t feel taller.
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