February 29 - Our "Extra" Final Day!

February has come and gone - well, in a few hours it will be gone (including this year's extra day). It was a busy month, as usual, but I managed to meet my target of 10,000 Kettlebell swings on Wednesday, so today's workout will just be extra icing on the cake. And one more day of sore-ish hamstrings. At least I'll get to finish watching The Emperor's New Groove.

I hope you have had a challenging and rewarding February, and I hope you were able to feel successful in your efforts to take on a wellness challenge. Beyond today, I really hope you will feel encouraged and motivated by the fact that some basic planning and a bit of commitment can take your "I wish I were more... [fill in your own blank]" and turn it into "Hey - I AM more... [fill in your own blank]."

Part of our challenge here is to prod you to stop just wishing and talking about being more well, and to actually get out there and EXECUTE. Try something. Do something. Fail to reach a goal (well, fail trying, not just fail because you did nothing). I really believe that many of us want to be different, but we struggle to do what is required. We want change, but we resist the process of change.

So, I will reference the workout poster in my basement, inspired by my younger brother...

I want to encourage people to improve their wellness. And to do that, I have to be honest to say that improving your wellness does not have to be gruelling, but it does require at least some level of determination, motivation, persistence and the ability to track along toward a goal you have set for yourself.

So I don't have a lot of sympathy for the excuses we make for ourselves (hence my poster), but I have all kinds of best wishes and support for the efforts we make on behalf of ourselves - the ones aiming us toward personal improvement.

This year, I trust that the wellness challenge - whether you swung kettlebells, did pushups or plank, did more walking in nature, got out to socialize more, or whatever you decided to do - I trust it pushed you a bit out of your comfort zone and caused you to make those micro changes that, together, make up actual change.

Stay tuned for the next post on the hospital foundation fund we encourage people to donate to. It supports research into Parkinson's Disease.

I will have one or two more wrap-up posts following that as we wind down the 2020 edition of the 10,000 Kettlebells for Parkinson's challenge.

What Works For Me...

My experience doing this challenge over several years is that what seemed crazy and impossible the first time is now sort of old hat. I've figured out how to trick myself into getting started, and it's much like going to the pool. I just jump in. And, like hotdogs, I don't overthink it. Start the timers, get set, and, when the timer beeps, I start swinging.

I imagine everyone is different, so you need to find what works for you. What works well for me is a four-minute block for a set of 100 swings plus some recovery time. I do get toasty warm after a few sets, but over the years, I have figured out a routine that allows me to get in a pretty good workout with some recovery time built in. Something I learned with swimming applies here - when you get really tired, your technique deteriorates. A risk with kettlebell swings is that you put too much strain on your lower back. If I start getting TOO tired, my technique suffers. Always take care of your back.

Now that we're in the final stretch of year five I feel pretty confident about the workout side of things. I hope that we are successful in challenging people to think about Parkinson's Disease as well, and I would really be pleased to hear that our efforts lead to a decent contribution to Parkinson's research.

As you get going with a wellness routine, it will start to become... well, routine. Like a habit. You just do it without thinking. In life it is really important to develop good habits, so we can conduct ourselves well without really thinking about it.

Keep at it - only a few days left!

A Week To Go!

Well, we've made it three weeks through February. My wrist has managed to hang in there (literally), so I've been able to keep at it with the kettlebell swings. To keep track of all the swings, I still need a workout timer, a stopwatch, a water bottle, paper and pencil, and I use my fitbit out of curiosity to see the old bod is actually doing... Oh, and a generous supply of movies. Those $5 bin DVDs have come in handy, although it seems I am getting into a routine - if you can believe that, after five years - of watching the same movies. It's like tradition now. Like visiting my old kettlebell friends... Master and Commander, The Fugitive, Valkyrie. And I even threw in a "new" one this year: The President's Men. I have three more workouts planned, and I might throw in an extra one, but I will probably get to see Bullit again before it's all said and done.

Don't let ordinary life crowd in on you and stop you from investing in your wellness. If you started a challenge, keep going with it, as best you can. We only have a week left!

Dealing With Obstacles

We're nearly half-way through February, and so nearly half-way through the challenge. For me, personally, I've been dealing with a bit of a wrist injury - not bad enough to completely shut down the kettlebells, but enough of a nag that I have to take it easier than I had planned. My original idea of using several different weights had to be modified, so I'm using a lighter weight, but still doing the reps. The biggest challenge with that is that it feels a bit like a cop-out.

I haven't exactly run into this kind of obstacle before - a nagging injury - so I've had to do a bit of soul-searching. It looks like my wrist is able to tolerate some light duty, but I don't want to aggravate it or make it worse.

Our bodies are not invincible, and we are subject to damage from a variety of sources - bumps and bruises, slips and falls, accidents, or even damage from improper training or excessive strain on joints and limbs, or simply overuse. And it appears that increasing age makes your more vulnerable to these things.

Nevertheless, I realized that, if I had been unable to keep going with the kettlebells, I could have switched over to swimming and just done more of that than I usually do. But it would have been disappointing. I suspect that disappointment or frustration is probably the biggest obstacle we face, because they represent our response to our situation, as opposed to the situation itself. So I may have a mild wrist injury, but the difference-maker is my attitude about it. And I'm not here to say I have the perfect attitude, but I think my attitude is more realistic than it used to be. Reality demonstrates that we WILL face obstacles when we step out and put effort into improving our wellness. We will need to overcome them. And the more difficult obstacles, IMHO, are really our attitudes.

I don't have the magic answer for you, but my encouragement would be to be careful if you experience an injury or run into a difficult obstacle. Be careful with your body. Allow injuries the healing time they need. Adjust your plans if necessary. And remember that your attitude about the situation plays a key role in determining how well you get through the situation. So try to be kind to yourself - you are trying to improve your wellness. You should be proud of yourself.

Keep up the good work. Only two weeks to go!

Still Trying New Things!

Old dog? Check.
New things? Check.

I don't really feel old. Actuarially, though, I probably "fit the criteria"... So, I'm an old dog. But I can still learn new things, and maybe that's what has been keeping me in the game (at whatever level of metaphor you want to apply it)!

My latest "new thing" as it relates to the February challenge is that I'm learning more about swimming, not just technique, but more about how to develop and train over the long term. That may sound like a disconnect, since this challenge started out under the bizarre guise of a Kettlebell challenge. But really I think what I'm learning is that I enjoy variety in my activities, and I think I'm bored of Kettlebells - well, that and they are kind of gruelling if you set yourself up to punch out 10,000 of them!

Nevertheless, back to swimming. First, I'm no swim pro, and I don't set speed records. My swim development started about 20 years ago (no need to rush things) and I first learned to improve my stroke efficiency and a few things like bilateral breathing because I wanted to do a triathlon. Since then, though, to "train", I've just done more swimming. More of the same. Guess what? I got a bit better. And I could swim a bit farther at one go.

So here I am now, a bit bored and looking to up my game, so to speak. I asked myself what would happen if I were to study swim training and actually develop a plan and then, well, train. The question is still so fresh that I can't tell you the outcome yet, but one thing I noticed right away is that it re-oriented my enthusiasm. I quickly discovered a whole world of training resources and development strategies out there (on the Internet, nestled in and around the cat videos). I decided I'd like to see some significant improvement in my swim performance, so I've started learning about how to actually train for swimming.

This is where I am on my wellness journey at the present moment - slogging away through my Kettlebell challenge as promised, but with a rekindled interest in another area of wellness. Trying this new thing keeps me motivated, and I think it will lead to some actual development of my swim skill!

Regardless of your age, keep being active, and keep learning new things. Imagine where you could be in a few months!

I'll keep you posted if I learn something REALLY cool about swimming.

And, all this swimming and Kettlebells is making me HUNGRY!!!

We're Into It Now!

We're already at Day 4 of the wellness challenge, so we're well into it. I've decided to rename February "Sore Hamstrings" month, as I have been more posteriorly aware from doing kettlebell swings. Not that I'm complaining, but I find that work tends to have an effect on you. That is an understatement, because, really, we want this kind of work (investing in our wellness) to actually improve our wellness. Which is an effect and, as I always say, "There's no free lunch."

I am always impressed whenever anyone takes a step out of the comfort zone into some kind of discomfort zone - exactly what happens when you try something new. Or when you try more of something old. So I don't shy away from saying that I encourage everyone to take on a wellness challenge that is a stretch for them - something over and above their normal activity. If you're doing a physical challenge, you will probably experience some physical discomfort as your body adjusts (understatement alert) to the new activity.

Since I'm swinging kettlebells, my biggest two challenges are (in order): keeping count during a set, and finding movies to watch. I think I'm on Hoosiers for the 3rd time! Oh - and I just finished All The President's Men, which has eerily contemporary overtones...

We are just past the mid-point of week 1, so keep your eyes focused on your goals, and keep on pushing yourself toward those goals. Discomfort is often part of growth, so take it in stride and think of the stories you'll tell your friends.

Gotta go - off to the pool!