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Chris’s Workout #3

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My old trainer who left the gym used to write out an Upper Body and Lower Body routine to alternate each week. Four sets of four exercises were listed on each workout sheet. I alternated the first two sets of the Upper Body with the first two sets of the Lower Body. Then six weeks later I alternated the last two sets of each sheet.

Remember: you have to change up the exercises you do after every four weeks or so. To challenge your muscle. To keep yourself motivated. To see the maximum benefits.

Here’s Workout #3:

Upper Body:

Push-Ups [try decline push-ups off a coffee table]

Dumbbell Russian Twists

Dumbbell Flyes to Shoulder Press

Kettlebell or Dumbbell 1-arm row off box – can be coffee table

Mountain Climbers

Jumping Jacks

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Lower Body:

Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell Goblet Pulse Squats

1-leg Dumbbell Box Step-Up [try a Step-Up to Reverse Lunge] – use platform with risers

Dumbbell Walking Lunges

Leg Raises on the Floor

Plank Jacks

 

Dumbbell Disclaimer

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The dumbbells on the Dick’s Sporting Goods website sell out quickly.

You need to keep trying back every five days or every week to see when the dumbbells come back in stock.

Refrain from giving up. The dumbbells will come back in stock.

Making Prioritizing a Habit

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One thing I’ve started to do as a coping mechanism in the time of the COVID-19 outbreak is to act strategic in planning what I need to do each week.

This sounds old-school yet prioritizing weekly activities has made all the difference.

In effect at the start of each week planning out what I want to do for that week. Right down to how and when I exercise and what meals I eat and when.

This isn’t a luxury afforded only to single persons without a family. Those of us with kids would benefit from slowing down and planning instead of  rushing about filling every hour of the day with busywork.

Years ago I read an online essay that a mother wrote about how she got off the activities treadmill with her family.

There were no soccer games on Saturdays in her house. Everyone lounged around in their pajamas instead happy at home.

In fact I think prioritizing “doing nothing” is imperative in our jam-packed lives.

Sheltering in place I’m reminded of the Italian ethic of dolce far niente or the sweetness of doing nothing.

One thing I’m making a priority too is enriching my mind. I’m devoted to picking out a couple of books from my new book pile and reading them.

Prioritizing might just give us back our sanity in a time of uncertainty.

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Side note:

Folks: I might have led you astray. It’s now impossible to schedule FreshDirect or PeaPod to deliver anytime soon or at all in this crisis. This turn of events happened last Thursday. The time slots fill up within minutes if you’re lucky to get one.

The only way to order from FreshDirect is to go on their website at 12:15 a.m. And hope it doesn’t crash from the record number of people logging on.

Mi dispiace – I’m sorry.

 

Recovering in the Time of COVID-19

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I consider my target market to be everyone who wants to have a better life.

Not just people in recovery. For a moment though I want  talk in more detail about recovery in the time of COVID-19.

The remedy is that the action a person takes can aid them in healing right alongside the pills.

After the COVID-19 pandemic ends we can’t go back to judging people for taking pills. Nor can we revert to judging people who are making strides in their recovery by holding a job or having an apartment.

Cheers to everyone who wants to have a better life regardless of the severity of their illness or other hardship!

What I’m saying:

Our lives cannot be measured out in doses and disability.

We’re individuals with skills, abilities, and strengths. These things count more than the pill count in a bottle.

Everything I write in this blog is geared to empowering readers by giving you information you could use that might benefit you.

We will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as well.

In coming blog entries I’m going to give more insight gained living through this crisis.

Good to know:

12-Step meetings are now being held via online video.

The New Decade Goal

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hendrix peace

The quote above as I see it is the goal for the new decade.

The idea that war is necessary to solve world problems as of 2020 is beyond my understanding.

Hitler was a sick individual in carrying out genocide. Rwanda and Darfur were inexcusable as well.

Perhaps the real question should be: why do human beings act this way towards each other?

 

 

Setting Up a Home Gym 3.0

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To set up a home gym I recommend getting this equipment:

A 36-inch foam roller.

A set of 5-pound, 8-pound, and 10-pound dumbbells. (Use a set of 5-pounders to start. Or 2-pound dumbbells first if you’re out of shape. As your routine gets easier add the 8- and 10-pound sets.)

A 10- or 15-pound kettlebell. (I have 10-pound 15-pound and 20-pound kettlebells.)

A 10-pound body bar. (Start with a lower weight if you have to.)

An aerobic platform with risers.

Medicine ball. (I have a 12-pound.)

A resistance band.

Disc sliders.

These items can be bought on Amazon.com. I bought the dumbbells and medicine ball at Modell’s as well as training tee shirts and pants. Get fitted for the right sneakers while you’re at it.

First: you might have to buy an exercise mat to cover a rug or carpet. I have a hardwood floor in my living room where I exercise regularly.

Exercises that can be done in your apartment: (Watch YouTube videos to see the correct form.)

Foam roller stretching and other stretches.

Dumbbell exercises:

Pec flyes, bicep curl, chest press, lunges and squats, walking lunges, lateral raises, triceps kickback, chest press with squat, renegade row, one-arm row, one-leg dumbbell step up with reverse lunge, dumbbell donkey kicks, dumbbell fire hydrants, dumbbell flyes to shoulder press, dumbbell Russian twists.

Kettlebell exercises:

Swings, goblet squats, curtsy pulse squats, side squats, one-leg dead lifts.

Body bar exercises:

Frontal raises, hip bridging from floor.

Core exercises:

Bicycle crunches, figure 4s, leg raises, alternating V-ups, in-and-out crunch, Russian twists, toe touches.

Other exercises:

Planks, disc slides knee-to-elbow, plank jacks with disc sliders, side plank with hip drop, wall sits, jumping jacks, medicine ball slams (on hardwood floor or mat), triceps dips off chair, butt kicks in place, high knees in place, butt kicks in place, squat jacks, resistance band bicep curls, tricep dips off box (can use a chair at home), plank with opposite knee to elbow, lateral plank walks, body weight squats, decline pushups (off coffee table at home), mountain climbers.

(Disc slider exercises can only be done on hardwood floors or exercise mat. Cloth side faces floor.)

 

Exercise Motivation Tips

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Years ago in the New York Times a star track-and-field athlete wrote an article.

She talked about how doing a shorter exercise routine that was less intense gave her better results.

After altering the intensity of my own workouts I can tell you this athlete was right:

I have the bulging biceps to prove that changing the frequency and intensity of your exercise sessions can make all the difference.

I’ve changed to lifting weights for 35 to 40 minutes with a 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool-down. For a total of 40 to 45 minutes each session.

You might find better luck with a different exercise plan. However so far this has worked like a charm for me.

Changing the Frequency Intensity or Time of your workouts can help.

As well I remember that sometimes you have to do what’s called a “de-load”: take it easy in the first session of a new routine.

I’m 8 years older than when I first started lifting weights.

Adapting as you go along can help you maintain an exercise habit for the long-term.

 

Having an Attitude of Gratitude

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The concept of “having an attitude of gratitude” shouldn’t be dismissed or pooh-poohed as a foolish thing.

In an earlier blog entry I revealed that everyone wants to know “What’s in it for me?” when you or I come calling for their time, money, expertise or whatever it is they have that we need to get.

In return you are justified and it is within your right to wonder: “How can I benefit?” when another person asks you for help.

Getting endlessly clobbered for help is all too common when you’re employed.

You simply can’t say yes to every request.

My experience proves that having an attitude of gratitude is the way to go.

It comes down to having good manners. I own a refrigerator magnet that proclaims:

I Hope Manners Are The Next Cool Trend.

You might get what you want initially without thanking a person. Yet you won’t get what you need a second time from that person.

Here’s my experience (fictionalized to protect the person):

A young teen volunteer came back six months after the position ended to ask me to fill out an application for a prestigious intern job in Paris.

(You get the idea even though the details have been changed.)

A year after that this person happened to be where I was working. I asked them: “Did you get the Paris intern position?”

“Yes,” the teen answered then left. Not even a Thank You after the word yes. Not ever a Thank You at the point where they were given the Paris internship.

The sense of entitlement that a lot of young people have and that some people of any age have is astounding. It’s regrettable that good manners have gone the way of roller rinks: etiquette of any kind seems to be non-existent today.

I tell you if you want to succeed: Be the person who says please and thank you.

You might think that having an attitude of gratitude will set you up to be easy prey in the business world.

Yet trust me when I say: nobody you meet will be keen to be used and then discarded like an old shoe.

If you’re working at a job where everything’s cutthroat and people are out for their own gain with no regard for their coworkers:

Is that really where you want to hang your career hat?

3 Tactics for Achieving Resolutions

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I’ve figured out how to make it easier to achieve a resolution.

Three tactics are involved:

1.     Focus on one goal at a time.

Set aside everything else you want to do for now.

The secret to achieving goals and resolutions if you ask me is sequencing each goal in order from easier to achieve to harder to achieve.

Choose as the first goal the one you’re most likely to achieve.

This will give you confidence to tackle other goals and will boost your self-esteem.

Refrain from piling on multiple sub-goals along the way. You’re not an octopus who can reach for multiple items at the same time.

2.     Reward yourself for little victories as well as milestones.

To reinforce the positive behavior of having gone to the gym 2x/per week I bought myself a new doormat. It’s a cheap and cheerful pick-me-up.

3.     State your goals and resolutions publicly to members of your change support team.

In my life I’ve found that by globally recording my resolution in the blog I was able to force myself to go to the gym 2x/per week.

The one week I couldn’t do this was out of my control. Yet more often than not if you ask me a person does have control.

Holding yourself accountable to others is a foolproof way to actually do what you say you’re going to.

Healthful Snacks

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pulse chick peas

This photo has been uploaded in a gigantic way. Apparently there’s a new way of saving photos that your iPhone has sent to your email as an attachment.

The chickpea and olive food products shown here do have salt. The Pulse version I prefer is the lemon-and-oregano chickpeas offering.

Either way these and the Gaea olive container are portable healthful snacks for on-the-go eating. I have on hand plastic-coated wire clips to use to close the Pulse container.

You can order these food items from FreshDirect online in New York City.

In the next blog entry I’ll talk about a so-called diet talked about if I remember in Glamour magazine years ago.

While I’m no fan of diets and I’m absolutely against the standard diets books poured out into the marketplace I want to talk about this “diet” because a couple of elements of it make sense to me.

After this I will return to talking about careers. This month–October–is National Disability Employment Awareness Month.