If you're like many, you might be at home and sitting behind a desk for most of the day. This can restrict blood flow and make your muscles feel stiff and you may even feel like you're losing some mobility. Check out this quick video from coach Jess on a couple of easy stretches you can even do at your desk to stay loose.
My five rules for self-care
A few years back, I wrote about my five rules for adulthood. It was an exercise that came from Gretchen Rubin’s book, “The Happiness Project,” and I found it helpful to write down and verbally name what was important to me.
Tonight in my Building Resilience workshop we talked about the importance of self-care for our mental, spiritual, and lifestyle health, but we also discussed the necessity of being proactive about our self-care. So I was driving home thinking about how much work I have to do in the department, I thought I might jot down some rules for myself.
1. Have some rules about self-care.
:-)
Like many of you, my wife and I stayed home for Thanksgiving. In an effort to make the day a bit more special, I asked if she wanted to initiate any new rituals for us to do together.
“Yes,” she said. “Neither of us are allowed to do work.”
Like…none. At all.
The thing is, I like working and I choose to do it often. I like making videos and working with clients and while I don’t like writing, I feel compelled to write. This is one area of my life where I am a lot like Doug. I found work that I love and so I do it. All of the time. But because of the type of work I do, and because I’ve become obsessed with productivity, I can’t stand not doing work.
If I’m not writing or creating or consuming then I feel like I’m wasting my time. That’s not true, but that’s how I feel.
But never shutting off, or seldom shutting off comes at a price. And that price shows up in the form of exhaustion, compassion-fatigue, frustration, edginess, and a host of other effects that do us more harm than good.
2. Make a list of self-care activities
If I asked most people to name self-care activities, they might come up with the basics - working out, eating healthy, meditating or going for walks. But it can also be much more than that. Petting your dog, watching your gold fish swim, taking a long, hot shower, spending time with positive people, laughing, dancing in your living room - think about the activities in life that bring you joy or give you energy. And write them down.
3. Don’t allow those activities to get hijacked.
Easier said than done. But write down your top three activities and keep them sacred. My shower at the end of the day is important for me as an empath (as a lint roller for human emotions, it’s nice to wash that off at the end of the night), and I’m not going to skip that no matter what. If it’s your walk, your time with your cat, or dinner with your partner, protect that time.
4. Give yourself permission
Remember dragging permission slips home from school for your parents to sign so that you could go on that trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo? Or the Carnegie Science Museum? Or whatever else we used to hand over to our parents, crinkled, half-ripped and with coffee stains on them? Make a list of the self-care activities that you absolutely will not allow to be hijacked – and then write out, and I mean literally put it on a piece of paper, a permission slip.
And if that doesn’t work – then find someone you trust who can help give you permission to take care of yourself. I found it much easier to avoid work last Thursday because Sheila gave me permission to do nothing. That subtle difference in permission made a world of difference to me.
5. Make a self-care box
This is a new idea for me, but one I plan to tackle this weekend. Grab a box and put things in it that reprersent self-care for you. Mine might be eucalyptus (love the smell of that stuff), the Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” vinyl, my talking Mr. Rogers desk buddy, noise cancelling headphones and decaf green tea.
Make a box for yourself and keep it nearby. Next time you’re feeling down or annoyed or covid-fatigued, pull it out.
And if you need help making a self-care plan, please reach out. We’re here to help.
Core Exercises To Help Strengthen Your Core Muscles And Protect Your Lower Back
If you struggle with a weak back or have a history of back related injury, you may not be aware that an easy method of protecting your back is to strengthen your core muscles. Doing this shifts the strain on your body so your core does all the heavy lifting rather than putting strain on your lower back. Check out this video from coach Kim on a few simple exercises you can do to help strengthen your core.
Absolutely Overwhelmed
You’re busy and your life feels very hectic.
You don’t have time to make it to the gym…and you certainly don’t have time to eat healthy and keep your nutrition straight.
You’re about to pull your hair out…
Between the shopping (support local) and those guests that seem to be squatting at your house…
It’s no wonder why you feel overwhelmed about your life right now.
I’m right there with you.
But here a couple things that can help…
I don’t know what you’re personally going through…but I can tell you these three tips are powerful…and might keep you from feeling COMPLETELY overwhelmed.
And once you’re feeling a bit less overwhelmed, you can focus on the one thing that matters:
You and your health (mental and physical).
Here are three strategies that might help.
1. Reassess Your Focus
You have a lot going on right now and you’re being pulled in multiple directions…I call it Stretch Armstrong (remember him?).
And this can lead you to be completely overwhelmed.
You’re only human and it’s unrealistic to think you can handle everything that comes your way.
Focus your efforts on one task at a time.
As I like to say, we can multi-task, but we can’t multi-focus.
Take a chapter from my book, One Percent Better..
The most popular chapter is the Big 3.
Plan your day the night before, write down the three most important things for that day.
Do those first, focus on those three things before anything else.
This will make things a lot easier to accomplish, and could reduce your stress dramatically.
2. Focus On What You Can Control
There is nothing worse than feeling like you’re spiraling out-of-control. Am I right?
But here’s the deal:
Focus on the things you can control, and let go of the things you can’t (I know that’s easier said than done right now but there is SO MUCH we can’t control right now).
This will alleviate a lot of stress, and return your focus to the task at hand.
Also, breaking down tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps could also help you focus on the things you can control, and not on the things you can’t.
Just knock those small things off your to-do list, and you will feel better about what you’re doing.
3. Practice Relaxation
As you gear up for the holidays, it’s important that you focus part of your time on mindfulness and relaxation techniques.
Deep breathing, meditation, and stretching are all great stress relieving practices you can incorporate into your day that reduce stress.
It’s why I posted about the challenge I’m doing (300 kettlebell swings and a 3 mile walk everyday). Some days I may add in more intense workouts, but the three mile walk is my time to think, breath, and do an active meditation.
If the gym is a source of relaxation for you, then do it.
It’s easy to push these tasks aside, but if you schedule them into your day, your health (both mental and physical) will be happy you did.
The holidays can be stressful, and can make you feel overwhelmed with every task you need to do.
We know the more stress you’re under, the more likely it will be that you will overeat, crave unhealthy foods, and create a perfect storm for weight gain.
But, if you practice these three tips when you feel overwhelmed, you may have a greater sense of relief, and you could keep your weight loss on track.
Finding a good outlet, like the gym, to alleviate your stress, could not only keep you on track, but might also make you a much healthier and happier person to be around.
If you’re unsure how to get started, reach out and we can guide you along the way.
1% Better.
Dedicated To Your Success,
Doug Spurling
Holiday Calorie Burner
After a holiday with a big meal it's only natural to want to burn those extra calories off fast. If you're like most people and just don't know where to start, check out this video from coach Chris for a couple of exercises to help you.
Post Thanksgiving Workout
It's Black Friday - the day after the great turkey showdown when the family gathers together to show off their eating prowess. You know you won Thanksgiving if you woke up today feeling thankful it is all over.
And now that you are awake, the first thing on your mind is getting in a great workout. Or not. Even if it is not the first thing, because we all know the number one is searching the web for great Black Friday deals, I hope it is in your top five for the day.
The goal of the post-Thanksgiving workout out is for you to feel less dehydrated and sluggish. I have laid out a three-step workout that will leave you feeling back to your good old self.
Phase 1: Easing Into It
Phase one aims to get you feeling awake and in the right mental place to tackle a workout.
Hydration
The first thing you should do is go and pour yourself a tall glass of water. After a long day of eating and drinking, you probably woke up today feeling dehydrated and possibly with a slight headache.
Drinking a few glasses of water early in the day will help you feel more awake and energetic.
Walk
Go outside for a five to ten-minute walk. Walking will get the blood flowing and get you some fresh air after being inside all day yesterday. Also, it is an excellent time to clear your head and relax.
Phase 2: Stretch Circuit
Phase two gets the muscle to reset and relax before our workout. I have chosen four stretches to deal with the stress the body will experience post-Thanksgiving, specifically.
Back Breathing
Breathing will help you let go of all the family debates and politics from the day before. Or, at the very least, it will leave you feeling great.
10 Breaths
Child's Pose
The Child's Pose is a great back and lat stretch; after sitting and prepping food all day, your upper back and shoulders will thank you for this.
10 Breaths
Cat Camel
Gentle spinal flexion and extension will bring welcome movement to your whole back.
5 Cycles
Seated Hip Switches
If you were like me and spent most of yesterday watching football games and only getting up for two reasons: 1. being called to eat, and 2. getting more to eat, then you are feeling the effects of not moving your hips today. This is a great mobility drill to loosen up your hips.
5 each side
Repeat all four stretches 2x through.
Phase 3: Metabolic Circuit
The goal of the metabolic phase is to get your heart rate up and get a lot of movement variations. You will do each exercise for ten reps; then you will do each exercise for 9, and so on until you do each exercise for one rep. If you wanted to make it a little quicker or more manageable, you could go down by two's.
Plyo Lunges
Yoga Push-Ups
Sit Throughs
Shuffle Touch
Count Down 10 to 1
Now go out and do this workout, and after you finish, treat yourself to a leftover turkey sandwich.
Coach Josh
The Hardest Part
The hardest part is not the squats or the lunges.
The hardest part is not doing a circuit or strength training.
Do you know the hardest part?
If you can master this part, you’re all but guaranteed success.
And to be honest, it’s the gap we fill, the bridge we build, and why most people fail on their own.
They jump from sexy new thing to sexy new thing, and they think that the bike in the basement is going to work wonders, or that new “mirror trainer” is going to do the trick.
And guess what?
They probably would.
For most people, unless you have very specific goals, for general fitness, it doesn’t really matter about what type of exercise you do.
Sure, we could split hairs, we’re bias to certain modalities, but it all works.
If you work.
If you show up.
And that’s the hardest part.
You have to show up.
You have to walk down to the basement and get on the bike or stand in front of that mirror trainer (so weird), an no one cares or knows if you do or don’t show up…just you.
And that’s the difference.
We’ve seen, with close to a decade of running a coaching gym, and seeing historical data in the industry for years, that adherence to all of those activities (anything self-directed: working out at home with no accountability, going to an open access gym with no accountability or coaching, etc) is extremely high in the beginning because it’s new, and then as soon as the shiny object syndrome wears off it crashes down to almost zero.
The long-term success of self-directed exercise is horrible.
Now, if that’s you, and you can crush it, great.
However, the reason why is crashes so hard?
They typically lack filling the gap, it lacks helping you with the hardest part, coaching and accountability.
Once you show up, the workout can be done, whether it is appropriate for you or you are doing it correctly is a whole other conversation, but if you show up you won.
And that’s the hardest part…
Showing up.
There are three things that we lean hard on..
Coaching; both in the workout and outside of it.
Accountability; we are if you show or not, and we’ll help get you back on track when (not if ) you fall off.
Community; whether virtually or not, we know the power of being around like-minded people, and being a part of something bigger than yourself.
It becomes much easier to show up when you know people are counting on you being there (whether it’s a virtual appointment or in person).
It becomes much easier when you know your coach is waiting for you, your community members are excited to see you, and you’ll get a gentle nudge if you don’t show up.
And in a bigger picture, we need to figure out what’s getting in the way if you’re consistently not showing up…and I don’t mean time management/logistics, I mean mentally/emotionally.
Do you see the difference?
One is a product, the other is actual coaching.
I guess my message for you today is…
Make sure you have coaching, accountability, and community in your life…it will help you show up more.
And as you plan out what you’re doing for your health and fitness as we wrap up 2020 and head into a “fresh start” in 2021, make sure that you have coaching and accountability a part of your life to help you with the hardest part…
Showing up.
1% Better.
Dedicated To Your Success,
Doug Spurling
4 Fresh Exercises You Can Do With A Band
I have for you today four fresh band exercises you can do with a super band. If you are wondering what a super band is, they are the large loop bands, not the mini bands.
Bands are great for a lot of reasons. They are easy to travel with and do not take up a lot of space in your house. They are affordable and come in many different levels of resistance. Speaking of resistance, bands are a variable resistance exercise. As you pull/push the band away from the anchor point, the resistance will increase. You can do almost any exercise with a band that you do with a dumbbell or kettlebell, making them an extremely versatile piece of equipment.
Let's get to our four fresh band exercises.
Band Single Leg Deadlift
The SLDL is a wonderful exercise to build single-leg stability while working the glutes and hamstrings, which translates well to everyday life tasks such as walking, running, and bending over to pick things up.
Cues to keep in mind:
Squeeze your armpit like you are making lemonade
Keep arm long
Reach foot back through the wall
Sets/Reps: 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps each leg
Band Single Leg Alternating Row
Band SL Alt Row is a fun back exercise with single-leg stability added in for challenge and band for your time buck. Rowing exercises are great for correcting slouching posture, think working at a computer all day, and keeping the shoulder healthy.
Cues to keep in mind:
Grip the floor with your foot like you are trying to scrunch up the carpet
Stay long like a stable table
Bring elbow to you back pocket
Sets/Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps each leg
Band Split Squat to Curl
I am quite sure I made this one up. I like it again for the full-body workout you can get with it. It works the quads and glutes and your core and arms.
Cues to keep in mind:
Keep 90% of your weight on the front foot
Tuck your hips and brace like you are going to take a punch to the belly
Exhale as you curl
Sets/Reps: 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps each leg
Band Glute Bridge
If you are going to spend time strengthening one area of the body, you would not be wrong in choosing the glutes. You could do glute bridges every day, and you will see massive benefits in your lower back health, knee health, and most importantly, filling out them jeans health.
Cues to keep in mind:
Scoop hips underneath you to keep back flat
Push up through the arch of the foot
Pause 1 second at the top
Sets/Reps: 3-4 15-20
Now dust off your old exercise bands and give these four exercises a try and let me know what you think. If you don't have a few bands, we can suggest which ones would be best for you and your workouts. Respond to this email and we’ll ship your bands right to you.
Coach Josh
Med-Ball Exercises That Wont Break Your House
Having a med-ball at home isn't the easiest piece of equipment to use in at home workouts. When you think of med-ball exercises you typically think of slamming or throwing it around. Check out this quick video from coach Jess on three easy exercises you can do with a med-ball that wont destroy your house
Low Impact Exercises
If you’re looking to stay active but struggle with things like injuries, lack of flexibility, or stiff joints then check out this video from coach Kim on three low impact exercises you can do at home to help you stay active.
A rainbow in the sky
She stepped up onto the stage, placed a binder on the podium, and leaning away from the microphone, sang:
“When it looked like the sun wasn’t going to shine anymore, God put a rainbow in the sky.”
It was April of 1996, and I’d made the trip with fellow classmates from Gannon University to neighboring St. Bonaventure to watch Maya Angelou speak. I sat, oblivious to the discomfort of the wooden gymnasium bleacher beneath me - enraptured by her words, by her voice - her presence - for the next 60 minutes. I wrote furiously in my notebook without looking down. I was simply unable to take my eyes off of her, unable to hear anything else.
Almost 25 years later, I remember little else about the talk. And I can’t refer to those notes because…well…I took notes in pencil back then. I know, rookie mistake. But that first line - her singing of those words - those are seared in my memory forever.
And they come to mind tonight, as I sit here in the darkness of my living room, Vinnie breathing heavily by my side, thinking of what I can say to all of you. I’m honored by the privilege of writing to you, and surprised by how many of you seem to read these. And so I try to search, hard, to find meaning in our reality. Meaning that I can find for myself and share with you.
It’s hard now. It is so hard. Many of us are in what has been called the sixth stage of grief - finding meaning - but the crisis in which we find ourselves is anything but over. So we have been cycling through the stages of grief in varying degrees since March.
Despite being over it , despite what one client today referred to as “pandemic fatigue,” we have little say over the external situation. Only how we respond and manage ourselves in the process. Tonight, as I was looking for some - any - words of comfort - it was the speech from Maya Angelou that came to mind.
But with a caveat.
And that caveat is that while we might be looking for and even seeing rainbows in what has been eight months of varying degrees of darkness, it is okay if we don’t see those rainbows yet.
We don’t have to make this moment or our feelings in this moment any different than what they are. The sky is gray right now. We don’t need to pretend it’s sunny or look for a rainbow.
It is okay to not feel okay right now. It is okay that we are “over” it. It is okay to accept ourselves - everything about ourselves - as we are right now in this moment. We do not need to make ourselves feel any differently than we do right now.
There have been some faint rainbows in these past few months of darkness. And in my heart of hearts, I believe we will find and see more of those rainbows. But if we can’t see that just yet - if all we are capable of is healthy striving - hell, even just striving - then that’s okay.
The One Steady...
There is one thing I recommend always having a part of your life….no matter how crazy things get.
No, it’s not workouts, although that’s important.
No, it’s not good nutrition, although that’s important too.
It’s no secret 2020 has been the most chaotic year of our lives.
Stress is at an all-time high, uncertainty is everywhere you look, and you just can’t even begin to imagine planning or tackling one more thing.
When things get crazy, stuff starts to drop.
Maybe your workouts aren’t as consistent….
Maybe your nutrition isn’t dialed in….
You start to drop the ball.
But here’s the thing.
That’s okay.
You’re not a bad person for it, we’re all dealing with some challenging stuff right now.
But there’s one thing, no matter how crazy life gets, that you should never drop…
There is one thing that is so vital to you getting through the rough parts…
There is one thing that no matter what happens, a second shut down, another stressor, another curveball…
Never stop this thing.
Any guesses?
One word…
Coaching.
Coaching is the backbone of everything.
I’m confident our gym would not be standing as it stands today without us getting coaching from mentors in the industry.
I get coaching on business, on money, on relationships, on my personal development, everything.
Coaching, coaching, coaching.
A coach is designed to take you from where you are to where you want to go.
A coach is who supports you when times are tough, gives you a high-five (elbow bump) when things are good, and is there for every high, and every low.
Now, obviously, we can look at coaches outside of your fitness…but for today’s sake let’s dial it into fitness.
If you see our coaches as people that count reps, watch a clock, and deliver workouts…we failed you.
If you see them as your support team, they’re there when it’s good, and they’re there when it’s bad, you can count on them…we did our job.
It’s not just delivering workouts…
It’s celebrating wins, it’s checking in when you’re not feeling like doing anything, it’s being there as a shoulder to lean on, or helping you create a plan.
If your workouts aren’t consistent, use our coaches as an accountability partner that you talk to every other week just to check-in, not even about workouts.
if your workouts aren’t consistent because you’re stuck at home use our coaches to help you create a plan…and they’ll make sure you stick with it.
If your workouts are consistent use our coaches to take them to the next level.
Our coaches want you to succeed…whatever that looks like right now.
Simply put, those who have coaches win.
To be honest, I have no clue what this winter is going to bring.
There are some strong hints that we will be having to close our physical doors again for greater public health.
Although we are 100% confident we can keep you safe and healthy in the gym, we will never go against what is best for the greater community.
Although I hope it doens’t come to this, if we do have to close our physical doors this winter, I hope you lean on our coaches for just that…coaching.
Whether it’s at-home workouts, creating a plan, gentle accountability, or just a support person to get you through the holidays.
We will get through this…together.
1% Better.
Dedicated To Your Success,
Doug Spurling
Home For The Holidays
You just can’t do it.
One more thing.
I know, I know.
But hear me out.
What is your plan to finish out 2020?
I know we’re all looking forward to 2020 being over, but I’m a firm believer that how you finish 2020 is going to be a strong indicator of your success in 2021.
If you’ve put on some extra weight during this pandemic and/or your stress is at an all-time high I want to invite you to join our newest program.
Plus, it’s designed to not be overwhelming, and in fact, give you some sense of routine and healthy habits.
Introducing…
35-Day Home For The Holidays Challenge.
Here’s how it works…
We kick off on 11/30.
Simply click the link to register, donate whatever you can and proceeds go to our local Secret Santa
We’ll e-mail you access to the online group
Once you get into the group and we kick off on 11/30, you’ll get the following
3 live workouts to choose from each day, with a coach leading you through the entire thing
Access to our on-demand library with dozens of workouts you can do on your own
Daily nutrition, accountability, and motivation from our coaches so you actually stick with it and don’t feel overwhelmed.
This year has been tough, I get it.
A lot of people are just going to throw their hands up in the air and wait until 2021 to try and get a fitness routine going.
However, how many times have you told yourself you’ll start next week, next month, next year?
There is no perfect time.
There is only now.
We’d be honored to help you finish 2020 strong, all from the comfort of your own home.
Plus, we know times are weird so we want to make the barrier to entry pretty low.
Simply donate what you can and you’ll get access to the 35-day coaching program.
And, proceeds from your donation will go straight to Secret Santa, buying local gifts for families in our local communities.
We kick off on 11/30 so register now
Register & Donate Here ===>>> 35-Day Home For The Holidays Challenge
See you on the inside.
1% Better.
Dedicated To Your Success,
Doug Spurling
PS: You don’t have to work out every day of the week to have success in this program. We just have something on the schedule every day that way it’s there if you need it. Even doing anything, one or two a week will give you that boost you need this holiday season.
Plus, you’re doing some good as your donation goes straight to our local Secret Santa
Register & Donate Here ===>>> 35-Day Home For The Holidays Challenge
Proper Back Positioning For Squatting
(Credit for above post goes to Precision Nutrition.)
One of the most common lower body exercises we do is the squat. It's one single move that engages several different muscle groups.
Today I wanted to highlight upper body positioning to ensure you're doing them in the safest way possible for your back!
As you can see in the pictures, there's a fine line between not keeping the chest proud enough and arching the back too much.
Here are a few tips for finding that goldilocks spot:
- Sit down into the squat like you're trying to sit down into a chair a few feet behind you. This will keep your weight on your heels, but also keep you focused on your balance.
- Keep your chest up proud in a way that somebody standing in front of you could read the logo on your shirt.
- Once down in the bottom of your squat, if you feel tightness in the middle of your back, slowly breathe out, relax, and tighten your core. This ensures you're not over arching your back.
- Stand back up tall by pushing the ground away from the floor and squeezing your glutes tight.
3 Ways To Use Your Heart Rate To Show Progress
When we think of progress, we think of more, more weight, higher heart rate max, and more responsibility at work. Improvement can also be seen in less, less time to complete a task, less time to recover, loss of weight.
When looking at your heart rate, we can use three markers of progress:
Heart Rate Max: The higher your heart rate max, the stronger your heart is. Heart rate max naturally goes down in age, but exercise will slow that process.
Resting Heart Rate: This is your heart rate when you are at rest. You can take this first thing in the morning, or any smartwatch can tell you your resting heart rate if you wear it to sleep. The lower the heart rate, the less stress you are putting on your heart. The lower rate is due to a healthier heart, which needs to pump less to get blood throughout your body.
Recovery Time: This is the time it takes your heart to get back to normal after doing a strenuous exercise, like bike sprints.
How to use these three markers to show progress?
Heart Rate Max
You can get your heart rate max by doing high-intensity cardio for about a 2 minute period.
Here is how I like to find HRM:
Warm-up for about 5-10 minutes. Enough to get a lite sweat going.
Pick cardio that is easy to get your heart rate up (Airdyne Bike, Sprints, Versaclimber)
Go max effort for 2 minutes (this will feel uncomfortable)
Find your pulse and count your heart beats for 15 seconds; multiply that number by 4
That is roughly your heart rate max.
The easier way to do this is to my a heart rate monitor like the MyZone, which will give you a baseline HRM and automatically update your HRM as you increase your cardio.
Overtime if you are working on your cardiovascular fitness, you will see your HRM improve.
Resting Heart Rate
The best way to get your resting heart rate is with a smartwatch (Fitbit and Apple Watch) or a product that monitors your sleep. But if you don't have something like this, here is how you can find your resting heart rate.
When you wake up in the morning, find your pulse
Count it for 15 seconds, multiply that number by 4
That is your estimated RHR
Each month track what your RHR is and see if it is going down. If it does not, there could be a few reasons why:
You are not consistently doing cardio
You are not getting consistent sleep
You need to learn some breathing and meditation practices to learn to relax
Your resting heart rate should be between 60-100 bpm.
Recovery Time
To see if your recovery time is improving there are a few ways to do this. The best and easiest way would be to have a device that monitors your heart rate, like a MyZone. They have a visual display that makes it easy to see how quickly your heart rate is dropping.
How to measure if your recovery time is getting better?
Pick a group of exercises or one exercise (example: Bike sprint 1 minute or Circuit: Kettlebell Swings 15x, Med Ball Slams 15x 2 rounds)
Once you complete the exercise or circuit, take note of where your heart rate is.
Time and see how long it takes you to get to 130bpm or have a MyZone reading of about 70% of your heart rate max.
Every few weeks, do the same exercise or circuit and see if your heart rate recovers quicker.
Coach Josh
44 random thoughts
So I googled the meaning of the number 44, which is, as of Wednesday morning at 9:46 AM, my age. As it turns out, this number symbolizes hard work, practicality and foundation. Or something like that. So…
1. When I turned 40, I wrote a list of random thoughts and things about me and it’s a tradition I’ve continued, though as I write this now it feels very egotistical.
2. But…I’m going with it, because hey - it’s 12:53 AM on November 11th, 2020 and…welll…I don’t know…2020.
3. When I think of the number 44 I think of Hank Aaron the baseball player whom, as a bit of a baseball purist, I think still holds the true all-time home run record.
4. On paper, Barry Bonds holds the record.
5. But…steroids.
6. Which makes my childhood baseball collection worth less than a brittle stick of gum from a 1980’s baseball pack….
7. I went back to watch the video of Hank Aaron’s record-breaking home run, which he hit in April of 1974. Vin Scully, the long-time Dodger’s broadcaster called the game, and the phrase that most stuck out to me was this: “A black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep South.”
8. That was in 1974. How far we’ve come and how far we have to go.
9. Also when I think of turning 44 I can’t help but think of being 22 and how I was a hot mess for the entirety of my twenties and part of my thirties and how my forties have actually been pretty good.
10. Three cheers for being in your forties…Except my knees make awful noises when I squat.
11. My parents, who are 74 years old, have always said that age is only a number – and they are two of the most youthful people I know. So I think of them when I feel my cranky knees and grumpy lower back and remind myself that age is mostly a mindset.
12. There are very few facts that I haven’t divulged in my previous birthday emails….
13. But, to reiterate, I have a shoe problem. Ok, well I like shoes.
14. But I only have around 45 pairs of shoes, so it’s not that bad. Unless you ask my wife. So don’t ask her.
15. I love Liza Minelli and I’m proud to own it.
16. That’s Liza with a “z” not Lisa with an “s.”
17. Sing me that song and I’ll give you a protein bar – on me. Seriously.
18. Little critters like mice freak me out.
19. Every time “A League of Their Own” is on I have to watch it.
20. No, like, I HAVE to watch it.
21. That movie was filmed in Chicago and St. Louis in the summer of 1992.
22. In that same summer, I played in the softball World Series in St. Louis with my traveling softball team.
23. I never ate at a sit-down restaurant with an individual menu until I traveled with my softball team.
24. I also never really stayed in a hotel until traveling with my softball team.
25. The only vacation my family took was in 1982, when we spent an overnight at Hershey Park.
26. I don’t feel deprived – but I also didn’t really know what a vacation was, beyond summer vacation from school.
27. Speaking of sleeping in hotel rooms – there were four players to a room and so we shared a bed with teammates when I traveled with my softball team.
28. Since I had a room of my own at home, I found the situation incredibly awkward and slept on the floor instead of in the bed with my teammate.
29. As it turns out, that offended her forever, and that’s one of the challenges of playing team sports and sharing hotel rooms…She never forgave me…
30. Perhaps you regret being in my head, but I’m almost half-way into this so on we go…
31. I wear my heart on my sleeve.
32. And there are times I wish that wasn’t true.
33. But ultimately, wearing my heart on my sleeve makes me the person that I truly am.
34. Some people call me Kimmie.
35. Which is fine. But don’t EVER call me Kimberly.
36. Seriously don’t.
37. I have a Masters Degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University.
38. And I’m glad I have it – but I learned a lot about leadership from my Dad, who led people in the Navy, the Steel Mills, and eventually, in the prison where he worked as a corrections officer.
39. You treat everyone as people, he said. Because not everyone had the same chance as you and me.
40. I often think of the song “There But For Fortune” when thinking about my life.
41. Because truthfully, I am a woman of tremendous privilege. And there but for fortune go I.
42. Speaking of privilege, I don’t take it lightly that any of you are spending time reading this email.
43. At the end of the day and the end of my life, I hope I have contributed more than I’ve criticized.
44. While that is a tall order, that is truly the wish that informs every day of my life.
My sincerest wish for all of you reading this today is this:
May you be well.
And may you be free from suffering.
Heathy Comfort Food Substitute
The holiday season is upon us and with it comes a lot of cooking and baking.
As we all know, staying on track nutritionally during the holidays is tough. One strategy to help combat this is to look for alternative dishes that still give you that holiday comfort food feel without derailing all the hard work you've put in.
One of our favorite alternative dishes is the eggplant parmesan. Eggplant is a great substitution for noodles in this meal to help lower the carbohydrate content in the meal, in addition to lowering the total caloric total. To get some more greens in, a side salad is also great addition or you can add in some ground turkey for a leaner protein add-in!
Click the link below for the full recipe, enjoy!!!
Recipe==>https://www.skinnytaste.com/lighter-eggplant-parmesan-5-pts/
4 Tips for a Great Home Workout
Working out from home has started to become a regular thing among the active community, whether you choose to work out from home out of convenience or because of the ever-changing environment.
If you are thinking about working out from home, or already are, but are struggling with the consistency or challenging yourself with your workouts, these four tips will help you.
1.Choosing A Space
The most important thing to get right when working out from home is where you will do your workouts. If you don't get this part right, you will never get started.
Popular places to set up your workout space are garages, basements, guest rooms, or an extra room not regularly used by the family.
Once you have your space picked out, run through this quick checklist:
Does the space feel cramped?
Can I lie down?
Are the floors able to take some jumping or heavy traffic?
Is the temperature comfortable?
Can I play music?
These are just a few questions to ask. The big two to get right are the feeling of crampedness. When we feel we don't have the space to move around, we won't exercise. The temperature is also significant. If you have room in your garage, but it is 32 degrees out and has no heat, workouts will not happen.
2.When To Workout?
Before we talk about equipment, there is one more logistical hurdle we must jump, and that is when can you workout with the fewest distractions?
You know your schedule best, try and think of two to three times a week where you are not as busy or have fewer distractions. Workout times could be before the family gets up, late morning when the house is empty of people, or at night.
Remember, all you need for a time window is 20 to 30 focused minutes to get a good workout; if you can get more than that, great.
Please don't make the mistake of trying to fit workouts when you can - instead schedule them at a specific time on specific days and communicate with the people most likely to interrupt you that these times are important.
3.What You Need For Equipment
Now to the toy section, what equipment is essential to getting a great home workout?
The Basics:
One Dumbbell or Kettlebell that you can Row 10x and feel challenged by
One Dumbbell or Kettlebell that you can Squat 10x and feel challenged by
One of each a Yellow Super Band and an Orange Super Band
The Ideal:
Everything from list one
TRX Straps
Stability Ball
Bonus: Rower or Airdyne Bike
*If you didn't know, we can get any equipment delivered straight to your door. Reach out to us at info@spurlingfitness.com to get your equipment today.
4.Accountability and Programing
You have space, and you have time and equipment, now what do you do?
What are you going to do for a program, and who will keep you accountable for doing that program when no one is around keeping you honest?
Programing and accountability go hand in hand. The program allows you to show up and workout without thinking about one more thing you have to do, making you more likely to show up in the first place.
Accountability is there for when you don't feel like showing up; someone is there help you get back up when showing up becomes hard.
At Spurling Fitness, we have a simple solution. Let us take care of your home workout programming, and we will be checking in and reaching out along the way to keep you motivated and accountable to you and your health.
Bonus: Making Exercises Challenging Without Adding More Weight
Here are a few practical tips to help you progress when your weights become too easy.
Increase the reps and or the sets. Example: You have been doing 3x10, now progress by doing 3x15 or 4x10 or 4x15.
Increase the speed of the exercise. Example: instead of 3x10, do 3x30 seconds and try and get as many reps as possible in that time.
Decrease the speed of the exercise. Example: instead of doing a squat at regular speed, think of doing it at a tempo of 2 seconds down and 2 seconds to get back up.
Take away stability: Example is you have been doing a squat, switch to a lunge or a single-leg squat.
Move the weight away from your center of gravity: Example, you have been doing a goblet squat. To make it harder, do a racked squat or an offset squat.
Coach Josh
3 Tips To Help You Mentally Prepare For Winter
As we come up on the winter months and likely find ourselves inside more, staying on track with our goals is likely the least of our worries. Check out this quick video from coach Kim on a few tips to keep yourself in a positive mental space as we head into the winter months.
Showing up
The story goes like this:
A former gang member trying to leave the gang life was assigned, among other activities, to a meditation group. Two weeks into the class, the instructor called his supervisor and complained.
“He doesn’t want to be here,” the teacher said.
“Where is he right now?” asked the supervisor.
“Here.”
Um…..
The student was in the class four months before he put his phone down and began to actively participate. I was struck, as I listed to the story, at how often that kind of situation occurs at the gym or with fitness related activities.
People come to the gym for a variety of reasons, and in a lot of different situations. Some folks show up because a doctor said so, some show up because if they don't change something in their lives, they'll have to go on medication, and still others come because a friend dragged them through the doors, metaphorically kicking and screaming (literally though, sometimes bitching and moaning).
But I'll tell you right now, that showing up is the hardest part of adopting a new routine.
In the past few months, I've fallen out of my meditation routine, so I spent the past week trying to reclaim that space. The best I could do was to sit on my meditation pillow for five minutes, which I did three times this week.
I didn't meditate.
I sat there, shifting around, thinking of everything I had to do that day, and then I got up when the timer went off.
Sometimes, showing up is all we can do. Meditating feels hard for me right now. For others, being at the gym is hard - they don't want to be there. They don't love working out. Many don't even get the reward of feeling better at the end of the workout. They're just relieved to check it off the list.
Some people fall in love with working out right away, but many folks don’t. I can think of one client who came to the gym for a full year and “tolerated” every minute of it. She openly hated working out, and it was always amazing to me that she somehow made herself get to the gym.
I asked her once what her motivation for coming to workout was when she disliked it so much.
"I realized one day that I was the fat friend in a group photo," she said. "I don't know when it happened, but I suddenly saw a photo on Facebook and realized that was me."
Somehow, despite her dislike of the workouts, she kept showing up. She didn't want to be at the gym, but she got there at least twice a week.
Then something interesting happened. She missed a week when she got sick - and when she came back she realized how much better working out made her feel. Mind you, she'd lost 40 pounds through the process of showing up and putting in the work. But it took a year for her to want to come to the gym.
Even now, she doesn't love it. But when you're building a new habit, it's helpful to have a reward at the end of the behavior, and for many of us, the reward is that we feel better after the workout. She feels that now, but she didn't for the longest time.
Maybe you’re showing up to the gym because a friend dragged you. Maybe you show up, do half of a warm up, and shuffle through the workout. You know you "should" do more, but you don't have it in you.
I believe that if you keep showing up - if you keep putting in the effort - that one day you will realize that you don’t have to measure up to some abstract unattainable idea of who you should be.
Let me repeat that last phrase one more time:
One day, you'll realize that you don't have to measure up to some abstract unattainable idea of who you should be.
You just need to be you.
Keep showing up.
And good things will happen.