Dec
22
In the past, I’ve spoken several times about early morning workouts. I’ve usually discussed a variety of slow, controlled exercises to do as you roll out of bed. Today, I’m going to suggest something different. As usual, some of you may like this and some of you may not. That’s perfectly fine, we all have our preferences, but I’ve been experimenting with this type of a morning routine for a few weeks now and it seems to be working great. I’d also like to add a disclaimer that the following workout should NOT be attempt by anyone with health issues. As usual, consult your doctor before making any radical changes to your physical routine. That said…
Overall Theme
The idea behind this morning routine is to set the tone for the rest of your day and that this tone should be “high energy, let’s get things done!” I’ve found that it works great for me on a workday but less so on a weekend when I want to be a bit lazier.
Here We Go…
Did the alarm go off? Don’t wack it into submission and then roll over back into bed. Don’t shut it off and then lie there for a minute or two contemplating the ceiling. Don’t turn it off and then slowly get up to make your first cup of coffee. All of these options feel good but they’re going to set the wrong tone for the rest of the day. Instead, as soon as the alarm goes off, explode out of bed and start your morning.
Yes, this is difficult, and if you have a wife, husband or other partner sleeping with you, you may want to take them into consideration, but when I say “explode”, I mean it. Get out of that bed RIGHT NOW with as much energy as you can and immediately put that energy to use.
Workout
Don’t even bother standing up. Instead, as you get out of bed, get on that floor and start with 20 push ups. If you can’t do a full push up, do the assisted ones where your knees are touching the ground. Done with the pushups? Great! Roll over and do 20 crunches. By the way, all of these exercises are meant to be done at high speed. That means no more than 1.5 seconds for each rep. Yes, that’s fast, but you should still be able to use good form.
Done with your 20 crunches? Good, stand up and do 20 squats with no weights. As soon as you’re done with those, do bicep curls, preferably with a light weight but no weight is fine too. After the curls, get right back on that ground and do 20 more pushups. That’s it, you’re done with the workout portion of this morning. At 1.5 seconds per rep and with no breaks between exercises, this should take you about 3 minutes total but you may find yourself breathing hard at the end.
But You’re Not Done Yet
That’s right, this morning routine isn’t just about the workout. Find something you need to do, it could be something simple like washing the dishes or it could be something more complex like writing a post on your blog. Whatever it is, it should be reasonably doable within 15 minutes. Now sit down and do it. No interruptions, no checking email, no making coffee. Sit down and accomplish one task. As soon as you’re done with that task, repeat the 3 minute workout above.
Why am I telling you to do this? What the heck does washing dishes or writing a blog entry have to do with fitness? Well, the way you start your morning sets the tone for the rest of your day. If you follow my instructions above, you’ll spend about 20 to 25 minutes total starting your day right. At the end of those 25 minutes, you’ll feel amazingly full of energy and you’ll feel productive. Your body will feel good from the quick exertion and your mind will also feel good from having accomplished something. If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself with much more energy and at a higher productivity level for the rest of the day.
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One thing to remember is that fitness and health isn’t just about what you do, it’s also about what you don’t do. For most people, stress about work and all the things they need to accomplish can be a major force against good health. Stress elevates blood pressure, it causes binge eating, it causes indigestion, it can even cause irregular heart beats and other health issues. By starting your morning right, your body feels better and so does your mind. That increases physical health and decreases stress, which is something all of us could use.
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Oct
15
Dealing With Stress
Filed Under Healthy Habits, Stress | 3 Comments
What does stress have to do with fitness? A lot! Stress is one of the leading causes of bad health. It can affect you in many ways, from higher blood pressure and cholesterol to irregular heart beats and loss of muscle tone. It can also have indirect affects such as causing obesity through stress eating. In fact, stress is another one of those items, like motivation, that has a tremendous impact on on our health, even though most of us don’t notice it.
Stressful Times
The reason I’m writing this is because the past few months have been stressful times for all of us. We have a crucial election coming up, our government seems to be inept and/or mired in corruption, our financial markets can’t decide if they’re collapsing or not and our retirement plans are taking a roller coaster ride right along with the markets.
There’s no doubt that these are stressful times. People are worried about their finances, their homes and their future, and I can already see some of the stress induced activity this is causing. Over the past few months I’ve seen or heard:
- A coworker telling me he hasn’t been going to the gym because he’s just too worried about his retirement plan.
- Coworkers stress eating junk food like donuts
- A family member complain about irregular heart beats any time she thinks about her retirement plan
- A friend tell me he hasn’t been sleeping well because of worries about his mortgage
Lack of sleep, heart problems, stress eating, not exercising. These are all going to negatively impact your health, and that’s going to add one more thing for you to stress out about.
Deal With It
I’m not a psychologist, a therapist or even a financial adviser. I don’t have the solution to all your problems. However, I can tell you that you need to deal with your stress or let it go. If you don’t, you’re going to ruin your health and is that really what you need right now? Do you need to deal with the guilt of binge eating or trips to the doctor right now? Isn’t there enough on your plate already? Find a way to deal with your stress now, before it consumes you.
A Few Recommendations That Work For Me
- Ask yourself, can I do anything about this? If there’s something you can do then do it. If there’s nothing you can do then admit to yourself that you can’t do anything about it and move on. For example, there’s nothing I can do about the credit markets. So I’m not going to stress about them. There is a lot I can do about improving my own finances, so I’ll go ahead and do it.
- On a related note. If you’re stressed about something you can’t do anything about, distract yourself with something you can accomplish. I am a campaign volunteer for one of the presidential candidates. I also donated a bit of money to his campaign. That is all I can do at the moment considering my limited time and budget. However, I occasionally find myself concerned about the election or annoyed at some of the articles I see out there. Rather than stressing myself out, I go and do something productive. It can be something as simple as washing the dishes or working on the yard, but it gives me a sense of accomplishment. It allows me to feel like I’ve done something which makes me feel less stressed about things I can do nothing about.
- Take a walk. Walking can be very relaxing, especially if you toss in some other distraction like music or a dog. You’ll come back home or to work refreshed and ready to face your problems, at which point it might be a good idea to ask yourself that question above.
- Talk. Talking to a loved one or a friend is great. They might have a new perspective on the problem or they might have good suggestions on how to deal with the issues causing you stress. Plus, the very act of talking and sharing will often make me feel better.
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These are just a few suggestions of things that work for me. Maybe there are others that work for you. Have you considered yoga? Meditation? Dance? Taking a class? Reading a book? Whatever it is, deal with your stress before it deals with you. Because you definitely don’t need something else to worry about right now.
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