Now, I’m not interested in Crossfit Competitions or being dead
lift champion of anything. But I AM
41 and finding that being thin just isn’t enough at this stage. We need to work a little to look good now. Looking good is a huge motivator, don’t
underestimate it. There are a million
other good reasons to do weight-bearing exercises, including improved bone
density, reduced injury and increased mobility later in life. The fitter you are, the fitter you will
remain. I want to be the 70-year-old
lady who jumps from airplanes and zip-lines in the Amazon. But looking good in a bathing suit is on the
top of the list for most of us.
It’s not always easy to get in those weight-bearing
exercises, is it? Not with a 9-5 job,
not with children, not with a house to clean and limited money for gym
memberships and a million other reasons and excuses.
So lets talk a bit about what works for me, and what
doesn’t—let’s talk excuses and motivation...
1. Get Rid
of Excuses. Do you want to do
this or not? Do you want to have the hot
body that makes everyone ask what you do/did to look so good? Because nothing comes for free. People are full of excuses, lord knows I
am. Lifting weight is tedious,
repetitive and depressing. Its
hard. I don’t develop muscle
easily. I don’t have the money for a gym
membership. Working out takes time away
from my “me time” and my family. I work
a long day, and I commute. I come home
to food that needs cooking and a house that needs cleaning (I don’t have a
maid, either). See what I’m saying? A million excuses. Ditch the excuses. We’ve already come this far, changing our
diet and completely eschewing common wisdom and the food pyramid.
2. Find Your “Why”. No one
commits to anything without a good reason, or two or three good reasons. Least of all me. The reasons need to be personal for them to
be meaningful. I have a laundry list of
things I want to accomplish; I want to be fit enough to run the Warrior Dash
this summer without coming in last or feeling like I’m going to die. I want to tone all my body parts as much as I
can, because I don’t like how deflated my butt looks in a bikini or my “baby
belly”. I want a six-pack (I have a
4-pack at this point). I want to be
strong enough to do chin-ups/hand-stand push-ups (I could be the life of the
party if I did). I want to feel
confident in my own skin. I want clothes
to fit properly, to effortlessly flatter my figure as opposed to “conceal my
muffin top”. I want to be fit and be
able to keep up on those outings when I choose to spend the day rock
climbing/SUPing/canoe tripping/zip-lining/obstacle course completing. I want to be able to do whatever I feel like doing and trying. I don’t ever want to have to admit that I’m
“not fit enough/strong enough/too old”.
These are huge motivators for me.
And don’t be embarrassed if your reasons are pure vanity. I love it when people refer to me as the
“cougar/hot soccer-mom/MILF.” Vanity is
the strongest motivator out there.
3. Understand What you’re Committing To. This is HUGE. The concept of “get fit, lift heavy things”
was just too vague for me. It didn’t
tell me how to go about anything. So
first, once I knew I wanted it, I had to learn what “it” needed to be. Was I going to join a gym? How much time did I have to commit? How much/little could I do to see
results? How much results do I need to
see to feel like I was making ground? Break
it down and be specific. I used to be a
gym rat. I’ve learned from personal
experience that the whole group motivation social event of gym attendance was
not for me. I didn’t enjoy the
repetition of lifting weights or using fancy machinery, either. But you know what? Unless your motivation IS competition, you don’t
really need any of that. You don’t need
a gym, you don’t need special equipment and you don’t need a lot of time.
I made myself a promise when I started
this. I hate being in the basement for
hours on end, I hate the boredom of staring at walls. So I decided that I would only commit 3x/week
to muscle work, and only 15 minutes each time.
You can commit to that. It’s all
you need. If you see my FB WODs, 95% of
them are timed to be 15 minutes and I only do them on alternating days. But I push as hard as I can for those 15
minutes, and like I mentioned, I have a 4-pack, so it seems to be working.
So, what do I do in those 15 minutes? There are only 5 main movements that you
really need to focus on: Squats,
push-ups, pull-ups, overhead press and plank. It is that simple. How you go about each one is up to you. I DO believe you should get a chin-up
bar. It is the only piece of equipment I
use. Sure, you could make do without it,
but you have to get really creative finding things that will work. You do not need weights for the overhead
press. That’s where handstands come
in. It’s ok to use the wall. Just try to hold a wall-handstand for 20
seconds. You’ll see. It engages muscles you didn’t know you didn’t
have. Seriously. But if you have high blood pressure, beware
of this one.
Now, I’m not always the most creative
person. Sometimes I am completely
without inspiration whatsoever. And I
have a short attention span. And I hate
repetition. So I need a little help now
and then. I have a few good sites that I
go to for ideas and technical explanations of how to do certain moves. All the crossfit websites have descriptions
of WODs and their definitions, but they often call for machinery/equipment that
I don’t have. I like bodyweight
moves. Check out http://www.wodshop.org/
. There is a bodyweight-only category,
and you can keep hitting the button to generate a new WOD until you see
something you like. Sometimes I have to
Google the moves it suggests. Youtube is
awesome for that. I LOVE the facebook
fan page Get-Fit-Naturally. They post
regular WODS that are pure bodyweight exercises, and they are challenging. For a bit of creative ideas/outdoor WOD
ideas, I like The Fitness Explorer and Nerd Fitness, both of whom post outdoor
playground workout ideas. Lately, I’ve
been mixing up my own WODs to make sure I’m covering all the bases. There are a million variations on how to do
each muscle group move—like how squats can be squat-jacks or wide-outs
(sumo-squat jacks) or can add pistol-kicks or side leg lifts, how planks can be
superman planks, plank-jacks or side planks, etc. The more variety you try, the more muscles
you will work for that overall toned look.
4.
Make it Fun. I can’t do the same thing day
after day. Every day I strive to come
with something new and interesting. I
add new reasons, new “why’s” all the time.
Right now, I’ve decided to work on the “100 push-up challenge”. http://hundredpushups.com/index.html
. It mixes things up a bit, and adds a
new level of difficulty for me. I take
advantage of when I have time and good weather and head out for a 30-km bike ride
or a really long rollerblade or throw in a game of tennis, or go trail running
with some really challenging hills.
Whatever you enjoy. It doesn’t
matter what you do, as long as you like doing it. Working out can’t always be fun, but it
shouldn’t totally suck, either, or you wouldn’t want to do it anymore. Go for variety, and push yourself hard. You’ll be pretty proud of yourself
afterwards. I always am.
5.
Ignore the Scale. This is the hardest thing for
me. I think a lot of us have trouble
with this one. I hate the scale. It defeats me and makes me crabby all day
long. It taunts me.
In the last couple of months, I have really
upped my workouts in frequency and intensity, and I have not seen a single
pound of difference on the scale. I do
have these interesting side-ab muscles now that add to my 4-pack, and I’m
developing really sexy, defined arms, but no change on the scale. I know I am building muscle and must
therefore be losing fat, but it’s hard to stay motivated when the scale doesn’t
budge. So I stay away from the scale and
remind myself that muscles are hungry even when not being used. The more muscles you have, the more fat your
body will burn even while sitting still.
My weight won’t bother me at all if I’m flashing people my soon-to-be
six-pack abs. I’m pretty sure it won’t
bother anyone else either, if they’re seeing my six-pack abs.
Have I missed anything? This is the way it’s been working me for a
while now, I’m happy with it. And if I’m
happy, I’m going to keep doing it. But
if I haven’t defined something clearly enough, or you just want more info on
the basic moves, check this link out http://whole9life.com/2012/04/the-whole9-five-movement-series-part-3/
Also check out Mark’s Daily
Apple. He has a free downloadable
fitness guide that goes over how to properly complete each of the 5 basic
movements.
 |
| Not bad for 41, 2 c-sections and appendix surgery last year. And still improving... |
Remember, habits take time to build. They are learned actions. Nothing happens perfectly overnight so just keep trying. If you lose your motivation, you just have to find another one (sometimes that takes time, too, so forgive yourself if that happens. We all have stretches where we’re inactive). It’s a good thing to take a regular day off. I take off one day every week. Rest time is as important as working hard, and yard work can count as a WOD, if you are at all like me and tend to move around huge piles of dirt and uproot whole trees. It’s all about intensity. And perception.
And if all else fails, just follow my WODs. Everyone needs to start somewhere.
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