9/7/20
Strength & Fitness

Something is better than nothing!

It's probably overkill to remind each of you that things have been a bit chaotic this year...
With the school year coming and more uncertainty for some, we wanted to give you a little reminder to still make time for something, anything really!

This blog is about ideas to squeeze something into your day. At best, 10 min worth and at worst, 30 min. I'll explain.

Step #1 - How much time do you have?

As I mentioned above, this is about fitting something into your already busy schedule. Just because it's the weekend and less stressful, doesn't always mean there is more time available.

Decide when you are going to fit something in?
Do you know it's going to be a crazy day and you can get it done first thing? Do you know you have a break later while the kids do...?? Are you going to have to do it during the commercials tonight when everything is finally done?

Try for some due diligence and to plan ahead.
We know we know...most of you are still getting to the gym for class. This is for the random days when class is not in the cards (no matter how much we know you want it to be)

Pick your time slot, how long you have, then stick to it!

Step #2 - Decide what is appropriate

  1. Was your day chaos and you never sat down?
  2. Was is stressful but you were at your desk all day?
  3. Was it long and grueling list most days? (manual labor job)
  4. Was it light and low key? (maybe the weekend)

When life is on fire, there is no need to add fuel to it.

Some days need a walk in the park. Some days need some yoga or stretching. Some days need something to let some aggression out.

Step #3 - Do NOT overthink, just DO!

You have decided that at 3:00 pm, you have 15 min to do something. What should it be?
Step 2 dictates this a bit, so let's just match up some workouts to the scenarios above:

  1. Day = GO GO GO. Workout should counter.
    Use your 15 min to stretch. Do some Yoga. A ROMWOD. Pull up something on YouTube. Or, just stretch out your problem areas.
    Most of you have been here long enough to know what stretches go with tight hamstrings or tight shoulders. Go hideout to be uninterrupted, and stretch!
  2. Day = Static and stressful. Workout should limber you back up.
    This can be a bit more dynamic, but no reason stretching shouldn't be at the top of your list either. Loosen your hip flexors, as well as your back and shoulder muscles.  Simple stretches can do it.
    Or, make it feel like a warm-up we do in class. Get the blood flow going but maybe not the sweat! Air squats, jumping jacks, plank toe touch, butt kickers, arm circles....you get the idea.
  3. Day = plenty of calories burnt.
    Workout could be a number of things. It really depends on your energy level.
    Maybe that means approaching it like the 2 options above? If you lift packages all day, give your back some relief.
    Or, if you still some energy, put together a short metcon. Again, keep it simple; burpees, air squats, running, lunges, push ups, mountain climbers, jumping jacks....on and on the list goes of things you can do without any equipment. Would this get boring if you were doing the same 5 movements every day? Possibly. Remember, this is for random chaotic days.
  4. Day = low stress, low energy output. Workout can be...whatever you want.
    Like option 3 above, pick something to do! The goal is to move, heart rate up, feel good about accomplishing something, and cross it off the list. How effective it is is irrelevant! Just keep the ball rolling!

Step 3b - Active recovery days

This is not step 4 because this could go in place of any of the options above.
Active recovery is for moving when you body might be a little sore or you need a day to shake things out. This could be a good Sunday option before starting a new week, maybe to clear the mind. Obviously yoga, stretching, etc falls into this parameter, but the real goal of active recovery is to let the body rest but to still move.
These days may look like:

  • Hike
  • Bike ride
  • walk
  • game of volleyball with friends
  • playing catch with the kids

At the end of the day, we are trying to keep you from burning out. On top of that, working out should be fun! You should look forward to it, not use it as punishment for what you ate or drank. We do this because we appreciate what our bodies are capable of doing and want to keep it that way.

This advice is to help you stay active for years to come, while maybe addressing some problem mobility areas, and to keep you on track while our crazy lives stay crazy!