Fantastic to be featured on the PCC blog again yesterday with an experiment that you may remember started here. I’ve detailed more of what happened and added two sample deload workouts. Be sure to also read the comments over there for some very fun Q+A, including a part where a top commenter over there and I have a fairly indepth discussion about signs and signals the body has when we are working on something that is neurologically intense.
Against my better judgement, I describe in detail the weird things that happen to me and then use good judgement to namedrop Jack Arnow in the process (BTW, Jack Arnow, well into his 70s has recently gotten his one arm chin up back!!!!! He posted a video to Facebook the other day, and used his own method once again to get there. You can read about his method from this 2004 article here.) As for the PCC blog, here’s a link to the other articles I’ve had the honor to contribute over the past couple years. Hope you like them! 🙂
Since it’s #WorkoutWednesday on all of the internet, I feel compelled to share with you what transpired between one of my workout partners and I yesterday. It was his day to choose the goal for the workout, and he chose a more of a cardio focus over strength (even though we had a good chat about some upcoming press PR attempts… very ambitious stuff, looking forward to it).
So, given that my brain was a bit tired from doing a bunch of writing related tasks, and more than just a little problem solving in multiple arenas I opted for a “reprise” of the dreaded Sissy Challenge from what seems like a million years ago. This time though, there’d be a little bit of a twist. The weather was gross out anyway, with a slight drizzle of rain and 1,101% humidity, so we met at the carport, each chose our “weapons” (in this case he chose a 16kg kettlebell, and I chose a 16kg kettlebell with the slightly slimmer handle. Part of the reason I like that kettlebell so much is because I’ve used it so much that it’s very worn on the handle and doesn’t seem to get as slick with the humidity. But anyway.
I had another surprise for my workout partner too… we would need to carry these kettlebells to a different area to workout. I wanted to check out a possible new location for workouts in general and wanted to see how far away it was, and how plausible of a location it would be. So we carried the kettlebells all the way over there, which seemed a little longer with our extra weight, no biggie, and for whatever reason it seemed easier on the way back. Funny how that works!
So by the time we got there it had stopped drizzling on our heads, but it had taken a chunk of time from our workout hour. We opted for a shorter “sissy challenge” and began the count at 15 swings and 1 sprawl. (Please note that a sprawl is essentially a burpee variation with no jump and no push up.) Here’s what we did:
Warm up with joint mobility exercises then….
- 15 kettlebell swings, 1 sprawl
- 14 kettlebell swings, 2 sprawls
- 13 kettlebell swings, 3 sprawls
- ……down to…..
- 1 kettlebell swing, 15 sprawls
Next we did a small interval workout:
4 rounds of:
- 20 seconds hand to hand kettlebell swings, 10 seconds rest
- 20 seconds goblet squats, 10 seconds rest
We ended with joint mobility and false promises of rest on the way back to putting the kettlebells away… LOL!!!!!
It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve done a variation on this theme, but every time it’s super amusing to see how attitudes change during the workout… at the beginning it’s like… oh this is easy! About halfway it starts getting… difficult… towards the end there’s this false sense of relief that sets in, only to result in dashed hopes. Of course I also find this to be strangely hilarious, or maybe its because if I’ve done the full 25-1 version of it I’m out of my mind delirious.
Last but not least before you watch this extremely silly video of me unpacking my nearly $150 worth of groceries… or if you opt not to watch the video (I don’t blame you!) just an idea I’ve been thinking about for some time now. Some of my very religious friends always make a habit of a short prayer of thanks before the meal. While I’m not especially religious, over the past several years I have found myself mentally being very thankful while preparing foods, choosing foods, and of course eating meals or snacks. This also means that unless you’re very sneaky (LOL you know who you are, Mr. Speedy Pray-er) about how fast you give thanks over a meal, I will always without hesitation join you in giving thanks, even if we’re in public. There’s a lot to this, but I’ll give you the “Cliff’s Notes.” Basically, I am super grateful to be able to eat what I eat:
1. That these things are so readily available to me where I live.
2. That I can make the necessary financial adjustments to “invest in” these foods (how’s that for justification of organic lamb chops, raw superfoods chocolates, and enough organic vegetables for an elephant!)
3. That I don’t have to explain myself, or justify these choices and purchases to anyone.
That last one might sound funny, but there’s a lot to it. Not being repeatedly questioned and doubted on a daily, hourly basis is something that I am actively thankful for. Several years ago I made a promise to myself that I would make as few compromises (one of which is food!) as possible. Mercedes Benz has the slogan “The Best or Nothing”, I say “No compromises!” and Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up* says that she only will have things around her that “spark joy”. While I will never in a million years say that I know everything or even anything, the freedom to explore without instant negativity from the outside is a freedom I wish for everyone to experience. So, no matter your situation, there are ways to start building up the necessary behavioral boundaries to get this freedom. And if you already have this (some of my man-friends might not even know what it’s like to NOT have this) then take a moment to be thankful, and look for ways to foster this freedom in those in your life.
While some may complain about “eating healthy” I don’t comprehend this on a certain level. I love what I eat, even–or sometimes especially–the leftovers which can be reinvented and enjoyed in whole new ways on occasion. This is part of the reason I’m starting to document and create the instructions for some of the things I do that are applicable for people cooking just for themselves or 1-3 people. These are also ideas which can be used when you are the only person in your household who has made a commitment to your health. While no expense is spared on my groceries, and what I eat might be seen as extravagant, please understand that I also cook in such a way that nothing is wasted.
Well, that got a little more serious than I intended, but in some ways I think it may help you to understand why I am essentially celebrating my groceries in the video below:
*Against my gut response of “uggghhhhhhhhh” when I read so many reviews on websites and blogs that feature too much pink and white in their design for my taste, I decided to purchase and read Marie Kondo’s book anyway. VERY glad that I did, and was very happy to see that her book was way deeper and more meaningful than any of those sites had been able to communicate. Will be discussing the book in greater detail on the next podcast, and probably in a blog post too.
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