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!