What I'm Into (Workouts)
This whole post will be a chance for me to share some of my ‘dirty secrets.’ I’m trusting all of you to be kind with your judgement!! I very quickly get bored with working out. Sound suspicious? How about if I tell you I’ve been consistently working out for more than 30 years hardly ever missing a planned workout and I still find working out boring? Sound REALLY suspicious?? I prefer to be training for something rather than just working out for general health and body composition goals. I almost always have a specific goal(s) and my workouts are training towards that goal(s). And my training goals are constantly changing. It can be as simple as trying to work in new exercise types and modalities that require prepping my body to handle it or require new skills - like sprint work or intense plyometrics. I recently trained to take a crack a social media favorite cross-fit inspired workout – Murph. (Woah! Not easy and a LOT of fun – which let’s you know what I think is fun!!)
Right now – (knock wood) I’m having a pretty good stretch of running and I’m hoping to take on my PR at 5K. I ran my best 5K time in 2004 and spent years trying to better it. I finally clipped it 17 years later in 2021. I’m taking another run at it right now. I’ll spend much of the winter completing my training and trying to tick a few seconds off that best time. When you see me – ask me where I’m at with my progress.
What I’m Into (Mental Health)
‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’ I’m sure you’ve heard some variation of this saying. It can cause you to hyper-focus on the things you don’t have and over glamorize the life that someone else is seemingly living. And while I do very much believe that comparing yourself to others is usually a quick trip to a downward spiral, I have flipped that on its ear a bit. In an effort to work on appreciation and presence, I have been writing down something that I am able to do that others may not. Example - Not everyone is physically capable of or conditioned enough to take on some of the physical challenges that I do. These things make me feel alive and bring me joy. Consciously thinking about this, writing it down and reflecting on it has help me practice gratitude and find purposeful moments of happiness. This podcast I listened to recently with Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks, made me reframe my thinking about 'happiness'. Give it a listen.
What I’m Into (Nutrition/Supplements)
I tend to supplement somewhat seasonally. In the winter I take more vitamin C and zinc for immunity support and because I’m not getting to spend long periods of time outside in the sun, I take vitamin D. Some of my constants – magnesium (for muscle recovery and sleep quality) and Vitamin B (for energy levels and brain/mental health). I also usually take a multi-vitamin but recently I have gone with a beef liver supplement instead.
Challenges
Yes – fitness professionals face challenges with our health, too. I have a chronic pain issue that I’m always managing. This most affects my run training. If something stops my running progress it will be this issue. How do I mitigate it? I’ve changed the frequency and type of mobility and soft tissue work that I’m doing. (Again – pls ask me about this when you see me. I’ll happily share what’s happening).
For the chronic pain issue I’ve started a short 5-10 minute daily routine focus on spine mobility: rolling the SI joint and lumbar muscles with a Lax ball, rolling and spinal extension of the thoracic region on a foam roller and dynamic stretching of the spine in rotation, flexion and extension.
Now, it’s time to roll your eyes at me. My second, and another constant challenge is with eating and bodyweight. I really struggle to keep weight on. I have to consume a lot (like an uncomfortable amount) of food to at the very least, maintain my weight. I would love to put weight on, but I’ve given up on that a long time ago. I had to shift my goal to lifting as heavy as I can, staying as strong as I can and ignoring the scale. One of the biggest obstacles I face on a daily basis is finding the time to eat. Too many days I’ll look up at the clock and realize I haven’t had lunch and it’s 4:00. Finding the time to eat within my often packed schedule, proves to be an ongoing issue.
How am I handling this challenge? No solution, yet. I try to remember to eat and try to eat more. I have been trying what I call “protein snacks.’ Instead of a full meal or serving I grab a half serving or so and just eat it on the go: a single chicken thigh, half a chicken breast, half a turkey or beef burger, a few meatballs. It feels a little weird to think of it this way, but I treat these like they’re an apple. I pack them up in the fridge as single and grab them throughout the day. It's easier to have a snack than a full serving. A work in progress!
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