Staying Strong at Work During This Mess - 3
We've been discussing ways to stay strong at work during this mess, focusing first on health and physical fitness. Today I'll share the specific sorts of exercises I've used. Again, I'm no expert in these areas, and I'm not telling you what you should do. I'm just telling you what I've done.
Compelled as I was to begin taking physical fitness seriously in my 20s (see the last post), I've had ample time to experiment with different sorts of exercise. My first foray was jogging/running. I started by walking, then jogging with a friend. (Actually, my wife started jogging on her own and that kind of inspired me to try it.) My friend lasted a few months then stopped (as eventually did my wife). By then, however, I was feeling my oats and ramped things up. Eventually, I jogged 3 - 5 miles per day. In fact, at times I would jog 2x per day. It got to be a bit of an obsession. That was until my problematic knees interceded.
The push to run longer and faster eventually caused me to injure one of my tender knee joints. Lesson learned: I couldn't just rely on jogging. I did continue jogging - even occasionally running - when my knee improved, just less obsessively. My next stop: lifting weights.
I had read about the limited benefit jogging provided, specifically that it left most of your muscles undeveloped, if not outright weak (and mine were definitely weak). So lifting seemed the best way to address this. I lifted "seriously" for a couple of years. I went to a local gym. It was quite rudimentary by today's standards. It had only sets of metal weights, no machines. And there were separate sessions for men and women - which I liked. I was already married and wasn't going there to impress or pick up a woman. (And the separate arrangement took care of the potential issue of "temptation," by the way.)
Again, as is my tendency, I looked for ways to amp things up. The lifting was helpful, but I was always lifting on the lower spectrum of weights compared with the other gents in the gym. So I ran up and down the steps of a local stadium that had an old-fashioned grandstand. Given the issues with my knees, this was safer for me than trying to do heavy squats. (I must say my thighs grew impressively! If you've never done stairs and are so inclined, try it. It's not easy, but it really yields results.)
I've stopped lifting but now focus on bodyweight exercises with lighter weights and/or bands thrown in. These allow me to incorporate strength, agility, cardio, etc. in the course of a week. For example, I might do three distinct routines: one emphasizing flexibility and cardio, another focused on building leg strength, a third for upper body (push-ups and pull-ups). Alternately, I've done single routines that lasted an hour or so and concentrated on one area of the body each day.
I could go on with more specifics, but for the sake of brevity let's jump to some general principles. Here are some guiding principles I've found helpful:
What's been most important to me, and should be to you, is to fit your exercise routine into your daily schedule.
Set up a regular schedule and stick to it. Mine is morning, after my spiritual exercises. I pretty much never miss a day. As for how long you exercise While you don't want to overdo it, don't skimp on the time you devote to exercise. I've played with this over the years and found that somewhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours a day work for me. Currently, given that this mess has limited my movement outside the home, I've been at the upper end of that range.
Make sure what you do fits your particular physical and mental make-up. I've got no trouble with repetitive routines that others consider boring. If you find something unbearably boring, you'll likely not persist. So find something else. With the internet, the possibilities are endless.
Incorporate some form of stretching or other flexibility enhancing exercise. It helps minimize injuries and adds to your overall well-being.
Be selective with supplements. Some aren't good for you. Others are all hype. I'll leave the research and testing up to you but do research what you're planning on using and do test. A supplement may be legitimately touted to produce certain results. But the results may not be good for you.
A quick example: I don't sleep well. A number of years ago, a colleague mentioned she didn't sleep well and took Melatonin at night. I tried it but didn't like how I felt when I woke up. It made me a bit drowsy. I don't take it anymore.
By the way, I find physical exercise shares a lot of common traits with my spiritual exercises: time of day, time dedicated to them, structure, etc....which provides a segue to our next post...
Compelled as I was to begin taking physical fitness seriously in my 20s (see the last post), I've had ample time to experiment with different sorts of exercise. My first foray was jogging/running. I started by walking, then jogging with a friend. (Actually, my wife started jogging on her own and that kind of inspired me to try it.) My friend lasted a few months then stopped (as eventually did my wife). By then, however, I was feeling my oats and ramped things up. Eventually, I jogged 3 - 5 miles per day. In fact, at times I would jog 2x per day. It got to be a bit of an obsession. That was until my problematic knees interceded.
The push to run longer and faster eventually caused me to injure one of my tender knee joints. Lesson learned: I couldn't just rely on jogging. I did continue jogging - even occasionally running - when my knee improved, just less obsessively. My next stop: lifting weights.
I had read about the limited benefit jogging provided, specifically that it left most of your muscles undeveloped, if not outright weak (and mine were definitely weak). So lifting seemed the best way to address this. I lifted "seriously" for a couple of years. I went to a local gym. It was quite rudimentary by today's standards. It had only sets of metal weights, no machines. And there were separate sessions for men and women - which I liked. I was already married and wasn't going there to impress or pick up a woman. (And the separate arrangement took care of the potential issue of "temptation," by the way.)
Again, as is my tendency, I looked for ways to amp things up. The lifting was helpful, but I was always lifting on the lower spectrum of weights compared with the other gents in the gym. So I ran up and down the steps of a local stadium that had an old-fashioned grandstand. Given the issues with my knees, this was safer for me than trying to do heavy squats. (I must say my thighs grew impressively! If you've never done stairs and are so inclined, try it. It's not easy, but it really yields results.)
I've stopped lifting but now focus on bodyweight exercises with lighter weights and/or bands thrown in. These allow me to incorporate strength, agility, cardio, etc. in the course of a week. For example, I might do three distinct routines: one emphasizing flexibility and cardio, another focused on building leg strength, a third for upper body (push-ups and pull-ups). Alternately, I've done single routines that lasted an hour or so and concentrated on one area of the body each day.
I could go on with more specifics, but for the sake of brevity let's jump to some general principles. Here are some guiding principles I've found helpful:
What's been most important to me, and should be to you, is to fit your exercise routine into your daily schedule.
Set up a regular schedule and stick to it. Mine is morning, after my spiritual exercises. I pretty much never miss a day. As for how long you exercise While you don't want to overdo it, don't skimp on the time you devote to exercise. I've played with this over the years and found that somewhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours a day work for me. Currently, given that this mess has limited my movement outside the home, I've been at the upper end of that range.
Make sure what you do fits your particular physical and mental make-up. I've got no trouble with repetitive routines that others consider boring. If you find something unbearably boring, you'll likely not persist. So find something else. With the internet, the possibilities are endless.
Incorporate some form of stretching or other flexibility enhancing exercise. It helps minimize injuries and adds to your overall well-being.
Be selective with supplements. Some aren't good for you. Others are all hype. I'll leave the research and testing up to you but do research what you're planning on using and do test. A supplement may be legitimately touted to produce certain results. But the results may not be good for you.
A quick example: I don't sleep well. A number of years ago, a colleague mentioned she didn't sleep well and took Melatonin at night. I tried it but didn't like how I felt when I woke up. It made me a bit drowsy. I don't take it anymore.
By the way, I find physical exercise shares a lot of common traits with my spiritual exercises: time of day, time dedicated to them, structure, etc....which provides a segue to our next post...
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