Last week, I suggested that not knowing what to do for exercise is a motivation-killer. In general, I think not knowing, or not being confident in, whatever we are doing causes us to take our foot off the gas pedal, so to speak. I personally find it difficult to throw myself into something when I feel like I don't know what to do. As a former classroom teacher, I saw plenty of this, right from Kindergarten through Grade 12. I believe we owe it to those we teach, guide, coach or mentor to provide well-thought-out, purposeful instruction and the clearest possible directions. I have observed that "lack of motivation" in students is often a direct result of them not clearly knowing what to do. It follows that those of us in any kind of "knowledge transfer" role should explain and demonstrate what we are teaching, and monitor our learners' performance to make sure they are progressing toward the learning objective.
I have most appreciated the coaches who have made sure that I understood what I was supposed to be doing (like my current Cross-Swim instructors). Especially when it was something new. I want to learn new things. I'm usually pretty quick on the uptake, too. And when a coach makes sure I do activities with the proper form, the proper emphasis and with an understanding of the purpose and objective of the activity, my confidence grows and, with it, my motivation.
I think we all need to be inspired from time to time in our exercise life. What inspires me, personally, is when ordinary people step up their game and accomplish challenges that were set before them. I get inspired because I realize that I'm also pretty ordinary, so if they can accomplish something cool, then maybe I can too. That makes me want to try. It motivates me. It challenges me to put myself out there and take a fitness class, or go for a run or bike ride (in public!), or even register for a competition.
Much of this starts with a vision and a plan of some kind. Sounds like a good topic for next week's blog...
Monday 30 May 2016
Tuesday 24 May 2016
Getting Started
[Preamble: When I sat down to write this, I didn't know what to talk about exactly. Once I got going, though, I realized that this topic is close to my heart, and it was difficult to keep it short. So you get your money's worth this week. And there will definootly be spin-offs from this one!]
I've spoken with a few different people in the past few weeks about getting started with regular exercise. They have done exercise - even stuck at it for a few weeks - but they haven't been able to turn it into a regular habit. I have a few thoughts about this:
1. You won't do what you don't want to do. Most people want to be fit, and some also want to be active. My view is that we ultimately do what we want to do. When I say "want to do", what I mean is "are committed to doing." Ergo, if we are not active or exercising, we have not committed to doing it. You can commit to something you don't want to do, like laundry. The key is that you need enough self-discipline to bridge the gap. Self-discipline involves making a decision (a thought process) and executing (a behaviour) that decision. Notice what's missing? Feelings. Of course you often don't "feel" like exercising, but if you are self-discplined, you can choosing to do it because you committed to do it. Over time, you'll worry less about the feelings.
2. Not knowing what do (for exercise) is a big motivation-killer. If you're relatively new to exercise, you may not know what (which exercises) to do. That makes it really difficult to actually step up and do anything. Or, if you checked the Internet, you could have too many exercises to choose from. How do you know? You will need a plan that is reasonable for your basic fitness level, your interest level, and the time you have available. You will need a reasonable goal to work toward. And you really should have a fitness mentor who can guide you and answer your questions. Stay tuned to the blog, because I am planning to write more about this specific topic of how to get yourself started and established.
3. New exercisers risk muscle-strain or even injuries due to lack of form. Another big motivation killer. You may have had a gung-ho moment and started your exercise program with 20 minutes of skipping, or as many pushups or pullups as you could do. I personally did this once when I let my brother (Infantry officer) talk me into doing cross-fit with him. I learned that chin-ups to TMF means you do chin-ups until you can't do them any more (Total Muscle Failure). But you're still trying to do as many as you can in the time, so you keep trying. It was two weeks before I could either fully straighten or fully flex my arms. In my case, it was not so much the bad form as the intensity without any base preparation. I recovered, but my motivation took a hit. My worry for Noobies is that they will inadvertently hurt their lower back. So be careful and take it easy as you are getting started. I'll be saying more about this also.
4. Core strength and stability is. . . UNDERRATED! I know, I know. I've been hearing about core strength training (CST) forever. And I basically ignored it because CST seemed intimidating and a bit too serious for me. I mean, if you intentionally do CST, doesn't that make you kind of a serious athlete, and shouldn't you be competing or something. I thought CST was right up there with weight-lifting, for goodness sake! What I discovered, quite accidentally, is that if you sign yourself up for a crazy fitness challenge like doing kettlebell swings, and then do another month with a burpee challenge, you will massively tune up your core strength, not to mention your cardiovascular fitness. Serendipity in action. Without actually realizing it, I was doing CST. And, let me tell you, it was tough but rewarding. I didn't realize how rewarding until I resumed my summer workout activities and saw a considerable jump in performance. My outlook on personal fitness has morphed to the position that building your core strength gives you the platform for all other training. It strengthens and stabilizes everything from your hips to your shoulders. When you walk or run, things that used to slosh all over the place hold their position. I believe this firmed up torso allows you to waste less energy trying to hold your innards in place!
5. Lack of a vision for your exercise/activity over time is a big motivation-killer. If you can't see where you are going, or how that fits into where you have been and where you want to be, exercise is rather aimless. Don't get me wrong - the activity and cardiovascular workouts are not likely bad for you (as long as you have good form), but it is hard to keep yourself going. Almost everyone I talked to after the February challenge went through a bit of a let-down and a fitness wilderness after the challenge ended. Why? Because we had a vision during the month and it motivated us; after the challenge was over, the vision faded and, with it, our motivation. What I'm driving at is this: you need to cast a vision for your overall well-being and fitness. It should include any big fitness events like races or triathlons or bike excursions or hikes. And then you need to sit down with someone who has some exercise experience and map out out some ideas for improving your fitness over the year. Be flexible, but build in variety and make sure that you employ activities which will build the strength, stability and stamina (what a great alliteration!!) you will need for your planned events. Write this down and keep a rough record of what happened - did you stick to the plan? Did you gradually raise your effort level as you got stronger/fitter? My conclusion here is the converse of my starting point: A vision for exercise/activity over time is a motivator!!
6. An appropriate plan PLUS some coaching on basic form PLUS regular encouragement can keep you motivated, active and satisfied (more or less) with your activity. This is what I am all about when it comes to personal fitness. You don't need just any old plan. What you need is a plan which is appropriate for you. It needs to suit you so that your workouts are more or less enjoyable (at least they should not deter you from doing more workouts!). You also need a fitness mentor who can simultaneously wield a mean whistle and an encouraging comment. Your fitness mentor needs to respect you, and you need to trust them. You essentially submit yourself to your fitness mentor's wisdom and knowledge, and allow them to correct your initial form and movement errors. Ask lots of questions, so you understand why you are doing what you are doing. All this potentially gives you a HUGE advantage over trying to motivate yourself: learning from another's experience. You don't have to try 50 exercises to find a good combination - your mentor can listen to you and put together something that is probably quite suitable, even the first time around. With a bit of tweaking. . . it's magical. Okay, I overstated that. But it's way better than you would come up with on your inexperienced own. And, on top of getting some good workout ideas and guidance on safe, correct form, your fitness mentor is always close by with some encouragement. Or trash-talk, if appropriate.
Well, now you have it. You're ready to get started and become established.
I've spoken with a few different people in the past few weeks about getting started with regular exercise. They have done exercise - even stuck at it for a few weeks - but they haven't been able to turn it into a regular habit. I have a few thoughts about this:
1. You won't do what you don't want to do. Most people want to be fit, and some also want to be active. My view is that we ultimately do what we want to do. When I say "want to do", what I mean is "are committed to doing." Ergo, if we are not active or exercising, we have not committed to doing it. You can commit to something you don't want to do, like laundry. The key is that you need enough self-discipline to bridge the gap. Self-discipline involves making a decision (a thought process) and executing (a behaviour) that decision. Notice what's missing? Feelings. Of course you often don't "feel" like exercising, but if you are self-discplined, you can choosing to do it because you committed to do it. Over time, you'll worry less about the feelings.
2. Not knowing what do (for exercise) is a big motivation-killer. If you're relatively new to exercise, you may not know what (which exercises) to do. That makes it really difficult to actually step up and do anything. Or, if you checked the Internet, you could have too many exercises to choose from. How do you know? You will need a plan that is reasonable for your basic fitness level, your interest level, and the time you have available. You will need a reasonable goal to work toward. And you really should have a fitness mentor who can guide you and answer your questions. Stay tuned to the blog, because I am planning to write more about this specific topic of how to get yourself started and established.
3. New exercisers risk muscle-strain or even injuries due to lack of form. Another big motivation killer. You may have had a gung-ho moment and started your exercise program with 20 minutes of skipping, or as many pushups or pullups as you could do. I personally did this once when I let my brother (Infantry officer) talk me into doing cross-fit with him. I learned that chin-ups to TMF means you do chin-ups until you can't do them any more (Total Muscle Failure). But you're still trying to do as many as you can in the time, so you keep trying. It was two weeks before I could either fully straighten or fully flex my arms. In my case, it was not so much the bad form as the intensity without any base preparation. I recovered, but my motivation took a hit. My worry for Noobies is that they will inadvertently hurt their lower back. So be careful and take it easy as you are getting started. I'll be saying more about this also.
4. Core strength and stability is. . . UNDERRATED! I know, I know. I've been hearing about core strength training (CST) forever. And I basically ignored it because CST seemed intimidating and a bit too serious for me. I mean, if you intentionally do CST, doesn't that make you kind of a serious athlete, and shouldn't you be competing or something. I thought CST was right up there with weight-lifting, for goodness sake! What I discovered, quite accidentally, is that if you sign yourself up for a crazy fitness challenge like doing kettlebell swings, and then do another month with a burpee challenge, you will massively tune up your core strength, not to mention your cardiovascular fitness. Serendipity in action. Without actually realizing it, I was doing CST. And, let me tell you, it was tough but rewarding. I didn't realize how rewarding until I resumed my summer workout activities and saw a considerable jump in performance. My outlook on personal fitness has morphed to the position that building your core strength gives you the platform for all other training. It strengthens and stabilizes everything from your hips to your shoulders. When you walk or run, things that used to slosh all over the place hold their position. I believe this firmed up torso allows you to waste less energy trying to hold your innards in place!
5. Lack of a vision for your exercise/activity over time is a big motivation-killer. If you can't see where you are going, or how that fits into where you have been and where you want to be, exercise is rather aimless. Don't get me wrong - the activity and cardiovascular workouts are not likely bad for you (as long as you have good form), but it is hard to keep yourself going. Almost everyone I talked to after the February challenge went through a bit of a let-down and a fitness wilderness after the challenge ended. Why? Because we had a vision during the month and it motivated us; after the challenge was over, the vision faded and, with it, our motivation. What I'm driving at is this: you need to cast a vision for your overall well-being and fitness. It should include any big fitness events like races or triathlons or bike excursions or hikes. And then you need to sit down with someone who has some exercise experience and map out out some ideas for improving your fitness over the year. Be flexible, but build in variety and make sure that you employ activities which will build the strength, stability and stamina (what a great alliteration!!) you will need for your planned events. Write this down and keep a rough record of what happened - did you stick to the plan? Did you gradually raise your effort level as you got stronger/fitter? My conclusion here is the converse of my starting point: A vision for exercise/activity over time is a motivator!!
6. An appropriate plan PLUS some coaching on basic form PLUS regular encouragement can keep you motivated, active and satisfied (more or less) with your activity. This is what I am all about when it comes to personal fitness. You don't need just any old plan. What you need is a plan which is appropriate for you. It needs to suit you so that your workouts are more or less enjoyable (at least they should not deter you from doing more workouts!). You also need a fitness mentor who can simultaneously wield a mean whistle and an encouraging comment. Your fitness mentor needs to respect you, and you need to trust them. You essentially submit yourself to your fitness mentor's wisdom and knowledge, and allow them to correct your initial form and movement errors. Ask lots of questions, so you understand why you are doing what you are doing. All this potentially gives you a HUGE advantage over trying to motivate yourself: learning from another's experience. You don't have to try 50 exercises to find a good combination - your mentor can listen to you and put together something that is probably quite suitable, even the first time around. With a bit of tweaking. . . it's magical. Okay, I overstated that. But it's way better than you would come up with on your inexperienced own. And, on top of getting some good workout ideas and guidance on safe, correct form, your fitness mentor is always close by with some encouragement. Or trash-talk, if appropriate.
Well, now you have it. You're ready to get started and become established.
Monday 16 May 2016
More "Work" than "Out"
I have mentioned our Cross-Swim instructors before, but I have to mention them again. I thought, at some point, I'd feel like I was getting better at the workouts. Like, I'd just show up, hop into the pool and breeze through the swim stuff, then hop back out on to the deck to blaze through the deck stuff. Maybe I'd even break a light sweat. . .
You'd think that only 20 of something should really be no big deal. Sure, I'll just do 20 medicine ball slams, then I'll swim a happy 50 meters. . . Wait a sec! I'm still huffing and puffing. While the objective of the instructors (I believe) is not to torture us, I think they have a mastermind strategy to program the hour with more work than we can possibly do. Sort of a "Here's the bar - see if you can jump over it!" approach. I used to think they were just kind of pushing us toward some magical amount of work. And once we'd finished that amount of work, we could sort of coast our way in.
I've been at it for the better part of a year now, and, like I said, I thought I would have hit that "Phew, this isn't so bad" zone by now. The dark truth is beginning to dawn on me. There is no "Phew, this isn't so bad" zone. It is like the perfect storm of challenge, intensity and variety. And I'm learning that this storm is moving. It's not like you're going to exercise your way through it and out the other side. Oh, no - that would be too easy. You get into the weekly exercise storms and they move along with you. They (the instructors) keep challenging you, and keep cranking up the intensity. And the constant variety means you never know what your going to get hit with in any given workout.
It feels like there is way more "work" than "out". There are small breaks between the work, but not what you'd call a rest. So what have I been learning from all this? For starters, I think I'm seeing that when the instructors keep raising the expectation bar, you work harder. I'd like to think that this results, over time, in better performance. I notice I still "feel" tired, but I can swim tired, whereas six months ago, I couldn't. I notice that I can do more reps when I feel like quitting than I could before. But I still feel like quitting. Above all, I notice that I am continuing to learn things about form and technique. Like my swim kick, for example. With a few pointers, the instructors have helped me actually squeeze a bit of propulsion out of my kick! And I can even kick for a couple of pool lengths now. A few tips can save a BUNCH of energy.
This week's post is really just a celebration (so to speak) of the WORK in workout. We should expect results when we invest work into a physical activity. We should not expect a parade. Average people, doing average things, however, can achieve extraordinary results by putting in a good effort when they work. I believe this is more of an axiom for life in general. But, as it relates to exercise or physical activity, working hard at a level which is challenging for you - whatever your level is - should take you to a new heights of performance and well-being. If your activity is walking, working hard at it will be allow you to walk farther and feel better doing it. If your activity is playing baseball, working hard at it will enable you to do more and do it better. Get some coaching to fine-tune your technique, and let your hard work really take you somewhere.
Hard work, more hard work, even more hard work, and gradual, unavoidable personal growth - that's what inspires and challenges me. I hope it will inspire and challenge you.
You'd think that only 20 of something should really be no big deal. Sure, I'll just do 20 medicine ball slams, then I'll swim a happy 50 meters. . . Wait a sec! I'm still huffing and puffing. While the objective of the instructors (I believe) is not to torture us, I think they have a mastermind strategy to program the hour with more work than we can possibly do. Sort of a "Here's the bar - see if you can jump over it!" approach. I used to think they were just kind of pushing us toward some magical amount of work. And once we'd finished that amount of work, we could sort of coast our way in.
I've been at it for the better part of a year now, and, like I said, I thought I would have hit that "Phew, this isn't so bad" zone by now. The dark truth is beginning to dawn on me. There is no "Phew, this isn't so bad" zone. It is like the perfect storm of challenge, intensity and variety. And I'm learning that this storm is moving. It's not like you're going to exercise your way through it and out the other side. Oh, no - that would be too easy. You get into the weekly exercise storms and they move along with you. They (the instructors) keep challenging you, and keep cranking up the intensity. And the constant variety means you never know what your going to get hit with in any given workout.
It feels like there is way more "work" than "out". There are small breaks between the work, but not what you'd call a rest. So what have I been learning from all this? For starters, I think I'm seeing that when the instructors keep raising the expectation bar, you work harder. I'd like to think that this results, over time, in better performance. I notice I still "feel" tired, but I can swim tired, whereas six months ago, I couldn't. I notice that I can do more reps when I feel like quitting than I could before. But I still feel like quitting. Above all, I notice that I am continuing to learn things about form and technique. Like my swim kick, for example. With a few pointers, the instructors have helped me actually squeeze a bit of propulsion out of my kick! And I can even kick for a couple of pool lengths now. A few tips can save a BUNCH of energy.
This week's post is really just a celebration (so to speak) of the WORK in workout. We should expect results when we invest work into a physical activity. We should not expect a parade. Average people, doing average things, however, can achieve extraordinary results by putting in a good effort when they work. I believe this is more of an axiom for life in general. But, as it relates to exercise or physical activity, working hard at a level which is challenging for you - whatever your level is - should take you to a new heights of performance and well-being. If your activity is walking, working hard at it will be allow you to walk farther and feel better doing it. If your activity is playing baseball, working hard at it will enable you to do more and do it better. Get some coaching to fine-tune your technique, and let your hard work really take you somewhere.
Hard work, more hard work, even more hard work, and gradual, unavoidable personal growth - that's what inspires and challenges me. I hope it will inspire and challenge you.
Monday 9 May 2016
Happy Mother's Day!
On Mother's Day, 2016, I'd like to give a shout-out to Moms. And my own Mom, in particular. First of all, she was good sport enough to take part in a fitness challenge. I could be wrong, but I think this was the first time she has embarked on something like this. And she's seen seven decades and some. After the February challenge came and went, I remember her commenting on the walking and I realized. . . she was still doing it! And she is still going! A few towns have come up in the windshield and are fading in the rear-view mirror on her virtual walk east.
She has even added a new trick to the routine: a mini exercise bike. It's really just a small set of pedals, but she can pedal while she watches TV and talks on the phone. Talk about multi-tasking! While she continues to have a few health issues, including cataracts and poor balance, she was commenting to me the other day that she feels physically fit for the first time in ages. We can hear it in her voice, too, which is stronger. And now that the weather is nice, she is able to walk around outside ("real" walking, not just the virtual hallway walking").
I know that my Mom's example has already been inspiring to others. I hope that whatever kind of fitness activity you set before yourself in February got you in the spirit of exercise and that you have continued being active.
She has even added a new trick to the routine: a mini exercise bike. It's really just a small set of pedals, but she can pedal while she watches TV and talks on the phone. Talk about multi-tasking! While she continues to have a few health issues, including cataracts and poor balance, she was commenting to me the other day that she feels physically fit for the first time in ages. We can hear it in her voice, too, which is stronger. And now that the weather is nice, she is able to walk around outside ("real" walking, not just the virtual hallway walking").
I know that my Mom's example has already been inspiring to others. I hope that whatever kind of fitness activity you set before yourself in February got you in the spirit of exercise and that you have continued being active.
Monday 2 May 2016
Up Your Workout Intensity
I just read an interesting article which talks about the value of brief (one minute), high-intensity workouts. Basically, researchers at McMaster University's Kinesiology department found that three 20-second bursts of all-out exercise three times per week for 12 weeks yielded the same results as 150 minutes of continuous exercise per week for 12 weeks: a 19% increase in cardiovascular fitness.
What???? 1 minute per week for 12 weeks yielded the same increase in CV fitness as 150 minutes per week for 12 weeks? Yes.
Read about it yourself, here: Link to CBC article on McMaster Study
The researcher noted that this high-intensity workout is not for everyone, but, if you're up for an intense pace and very high effort, you get a great bang for your buck.
One of the reasons this research is being done is that a factor in people not exercising is lack of time. This research suggests that, even if you only have a few minutes, you can do a productive workout.
Food for thought. . . I am personally starting to focus more on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) as a more efficient way to train. From what I can tell, there are noticeable gains in fitness and, presumably, you reduce the risk of repetitive stress-type injuries, say from running and running and running.
Let me know what you think. Comments?
By the way, these McMaster cats have been doing some interesting research. Here's another of their stories: Link to CBC article on other McMaster Study
What???? 1 minute per week for 12 weeks yielded the same increase in CV fitness as 150 minutes per week for 12 weeks? Yes.
Read about it yourself, here: Link to CBC article on McMaster Study
The researcher noted that this high-intensity workout is not for everyone, but, if you're up for an intense pace and very high effort, you get a great bang for your buck.
One of the reasons this research is being done is that a factor in people not exercising is lack of time. This research suggests that, even if you only have a few minutes, you can do a productive workout.
Food for thought. . . I am personally starting to focus more on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) as a more efficient way to train. From what I can tell, there are noticeable gains in fitness and, presumably, you reduce the risk of repetitive stress-type injuries, say from running and running and running.
Let me know what you think. Comments?
By the way, these McMaster cats have been doing some interesting research. Here's another of their stories: Link to CBC article on other McMaster Study
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