Get Strong

When you exercise, what motivates you? Do you want better health; to lose weight; to look good in a bathing suit? Do you have a concrete motivation that you rely on to get you off the couch and out the door? One that will last past beach season?  I think one of the most lasting motivations you can have is to be stronger.

There are myriad reasons to get strong. Most people don't think of themselves as needing strength, but in reality we use our strength every day. We carry groceries, play with kids, and help friends move sofas. You don't think about needing strength until you go to lift something and it doesn't move. Strong people are generally more useful than weak people.

In addition to being more useful, strength helps you avoid injury. If you're strong, you will be able to handle challenging situations that would injure a weaker person. Look at football players. These guys take some serious physical abuse, yet they (usually) get back up and keep playing. If the average person took just one of those hits they might never get back up. They can take so much punishment because they are strong. Their muscles and conditioning protect their organs, joints and the rest of their body from serious damage.

Being strong also facilitates increased confidence and mental toughness. Knowing you have physical abilities that allow you to do things other people can't gives you a confidence that will spread to all aspects of your life. If you regularly improve your strength and physical ability you will reap the benefits of self confidence and a strong mind.

Finally, being strong will ultimately aid you in surviving the zombie apocalypse. When the dead walk the earth, there will undoubtedly be plenty of things to move, lift and carry. The weak will be the first to go.

Seriously though, being strong is always preferable to being weak.  Whether you are a business person, a home maker, a fire fighter or a special forces operator, strength is an essential trait. Here are some of my favorite ways to build raw, useful strength;

• Farmer's Carry - Pick up something heavy (dumb bell, kettlebell, suitcase full of bricks, etc.) and walk until you can't any more. Rest and repeat.
• Clean - Find an odd shaped object (sandbag, log, suitcase full of bricks, etc.) and lift it from the ground to your shoulder. Put it down and pick it back up.
• Pull-up - find anything you can hang from (bar, tree, rafters, etc) and pull your head above your hands. How many can you do?

There are many ways to get strong. Challenge yourself by working on your weak areas. It's better to have strength and not need it than to need strength and not have it.

Jack

PS - Today's Gameday Games were a doozy. We watched the afternoon RedZone games (Eagles at Broncos, Jets at Titans, Redskins at Raiders and Cowboys at Chargers). Every point we did one plank V-up with feet on the swiss ball (160 total). Every first down we did 5 sumo deadlift high pulls with a kettlebell (29 total, but we only did the ones showed on the Redzone coverage. There were many more.) Every turnover we did one minute of wall sit (8 minutes total). Every sack we did one minute of bridge (9 minutes total). What were your Gameday Games?

!st Official Gameday Games!

What's up, Sports fans? I don't know about you folks, but I'm fired up about the return of football and all the associated activities: grilling, fantasy football and, of course, Gameday Games. For those of you unfamiliar with this idea, Gameday Games is the practice where we assign certain exercises to various actions in football games. This approach can be applied to any sport or other event with quantifiable results. I prefer football.

Today, we watched the afternoon Redzone games between the Packers and the Niners and the Rams and the Cardinals. For these games, we did 10 weighted lunges per first down (50 lb for me, 23 lb for the wifey). For each point scored, we did one inchworm with feet on the swiss ball. This move consists of plank with your feet/shins on a swiss ball. You raise your butt up in the air and then straighten back out into plank, keeping your core, butt and quads super tight. If you don't have a swiss ball, just do a plank where you walk your feet toward your hands and then back out into plank. For each sack we did 10 kettle bell deadlifts (again, me with 50 lbs and wifey with 35 lbs). For each turnover we did a one minute wall sit. The totals: 95 points scored = 95 inchworms, 45 1st downs = 450 lunges (!), 6 turnovers = 6 minutes of wall sit (painful after all the lunges) and 6 sacks = 60 deadlifts. We were both glad when this round of Gameday Games finally ended. The lunges were brutal.

I hope y'all give this a try. It's a fun and healthy way to watch the game.

Jack

PS - After a high volume of exercise focused on a certain body part (we abused our legs today) it is important to stretch and mobilize said body part. We took turns using the roll stick on each other's legs. We will reap the benefits tomorrow when we can actually walk up and down stairs.

 



Sleep, sleeeeeeeep . . .

Sleep is arguably one of the most important activities we do in terms of health and well being. Both our body and brain need sleep; our body repairs damage and replenishes used energy stores while our brain organizes and stores thoughts and other information from our waking hours. Yet many people neglect their sleep habits, operating under the premise of "sleep is for the weak" or "I'll sleep when I'm dead." People get poor sleep and wonder why they feel tired, have headaches and generally perform less well. Instead of assessing their sleep habits, many people turn to external sleep aids, such as drugs (Ambien, alcohol, etc.). For many who have years or decades of poor sleep habits, the negative effects of poor sleep might not even register as abnormal. Chronic sleep deprivation is a way of life for many. You may not put that much thought into sleeping, but we spend roughly 1/3 of our lives asleep. So don't you want it to be the best sleep possible?

You might be thinking, "I get plenty of sleep and feel fine." That may be true, but you may not be operating at 100%. Here are a few questions to ask yourself about the quality of your sleep;

1. What is my sleep environment? Do I fall asleep with the TV on? The lights? Music? These kind of noise and light producers activate part of the brain, telling your body that you should be awake. The result is a longer wait to fall asleep and less restful, less deep sleep. What's more, studies have shows that seeing a multitude of faces (i.e. TV) triggers a part of the brain that encourages social interaction, which discourages falling asleep and restful sleep. The fix? Remove the TV from your bedroom, black out your windows and turn all the lights off at least 30 minutes before going to bed. I turn all lights out before I brush my teeth, which gives me a few minutes of total dark before going to bed. If you like/need some noise to fall asleep, try a fan and/or a noise machine. Nothing like the sound of rain on a window to lull me to sleep.
2. What do I do before going to bed? Is my nightly routine stressful? Do I fall asleep every night on the sofa watching Sportscenter, only to wake up at 2:00 am and relocate to bed? Do I eat dinner right before bed? Any combination of these or other factors can make it harder to go to sleep, even if you feel tired. I try to taper my activity level down as my target bed time approaches. I also avoid eating a big dinner or a late dinner in favor of an afternoon snack and a small dinner at least 3 hours before going to sleep. I've also found that a cold shower before bed puts me out like a light (especially if it's hot).
3. When do I go to bed? Many people go to bed at varying hours throughout the week. Some people sacrifice sleep during the week, planning on playing catch up on the weekend. Your body doesn't work that way. You can't "play catch up" or "bank" sleep for later. What you're doing is essentially jet-lagging yourself on a weekly basis. Not good. I try to go to sleep at the same time every night, including weekends, to establish a strong circadian rhythm.
4. Do I count sheep? The age old remedy for restlessness is actually rooted in a meditation technique. Instead of counting sheep, I count my breaths. Each inhale/exhale counts as one. I rarely get to ten with out either falling asleep or letting my mind wander.

While you may feel like you get good sleep, I'd wager all of us can improve our sleep quality at least 1%. Being well-rested equals better performance in all aspects of your life. So examine your evening and bedtime habits. Maybe cut out the bedtime snack and definitely get that TV out! (When I stay in a hotel, I can never go to sleep because I can't help but have the TV on. It knocks at least 2 hours off a good night's sleep). Get to work constructing your cave of slumber and enjoy the benefits of deep, restful sleep.

Sleep tight,

Jack