Hi friends~
In the years of kids at home I sometimes wore my running gear to bed. The intention was to hit the road before dawn so I could be home in time to get the kids ready for school. On the bedside table was a notebook with the list of things for the following day (and I woke up at 2am to add to the list), but by the morning everything had changed (baby crying, a kid throwing up..). The first thing that got tossed off the list was my run. Sometimes it got squeezed in later, sometimes not at all, especially during the holidays. I felt kinda crappy all day if I couldn’t get that running “vacation” as I used to call it. Yeah, part of it was missing the endorphins, some was missing the joy of escaping from house for maybe 45 minutes, the but the other part was guilt and shame. I tended to beat myself up for not being more organized, more motivated, more disciplined. Feeling shi**y is not a way to build motivation. Is that you too?
It’s that time of year again. So many traditional seasonal things are in the past for me, and I sincerely do miss some of it (if I look back with very tinted glasses), but I’m really happy to see a lot of it in the rear view. My 6 grown, married kids, all parents, are in the thick of it with their families, and MAN it’s a LOT. School concerts, travel, cooking, baking, shopping, holiday cards, mid-term exams, social events, not to mention monitoring the kids’ screen time, sports, and homework. And all of us are bombarded with helpful tips: exhortations to eat specific grams of protein, carbs, fat, and fiber, and of course 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ha.
For those of you who are able to keep all the balls in the air, big props. I mean it. It’s truly a miracle if can do it all and manage any time for you. It’s so much harder to raise kids these days.
If you are able to squeeze in training sessions, they have to be worth it. Short, efficient workouts can be the most effective way to get strong and stay strong, not just during holidays. It’s not the number of steps you take, nor the number of reps, or the length of your workout, it’s the quality.
An efficient short workout: Do 2 or 3 exercises for large muscle groups, back to back, and as many rounds as you have time for. Use “heavy” weights (relative for you) and a set of reps (5-8) that feels challenging for each set of exercises you choose.
Rest 1-2 minutes after each round. As a finisher do a few rounds of 1-2 minute jumps, running, or rowing intervals. Here’s a sample:
- Squats
- Single leg RDLs
- Side lunges
I love indoor rowing intervals (as I’m sure you know!), for power and cardio. I’ve been compiling a library of short on-demand workouts, called QuickSets which will be available on the website, so stay tuned. Many are body weight, some are with kettlebells or dumbbells, and some include rowing. And always, I’m here for you in-person and virtually.
Strength training builds resilience by making you more stress-tolerant, strengthening your stress-recovery system, (especially for women in mid-life), and it boosts hormonal responsiveness.
Cardio builds resilience by improving mitochondrial energy production, supporting brain function and emotional regulation, and improving neuromuscular efficiency.(Credit, Selene Yeager, her Feisty 40+ newsletter,, and give a listen to the Hit Play Not Pause podcast.)
Stress…this is serious. Do NOT beat yourself up if you miss workouts. THAT is stress. Whenever we can squeeze a workout in – it can mean a brisk interval walk – it’s in large part to relieve the damaging effects of stress. Exercise is good stress, (eustress), challenging your body to adapt and grow stronger, not the harmful chronic stress (distress). It’s a beneficial stress that lowers damaging stress hormones, boosts mood-lifting endorphins, and improves resilience, making you better equipped to handle life’s other stressors.
So good: The 15 minute interview I heard yesterday on NPR Ted Radio Hour with Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier. He admits to being a skeptical person (that’s relatable), and describes the benefits of a practice of meditation and some other tactics of radical self-love. In challenging moments, he says to himself, “I got you dude.” I’m terribly inconsistent with meditation, but that seems similar to my mantra “It’s ok Polli.” It might seem silly, but it’s a gift of grace I give myself – but it took training it to become established as a habit – just like training muscles.
This holiday season I want you to give yourself the gift of grace. Allow it time to grow. Little by little, try making up a mantra, take time to breathe. Do whatever you can to feel good, even in tiny moments. Meditate if you can. Work out if you have time. Go outdoors even a little.
Talking to a friend today about stress, I said if I can get outside and take a few deep breaths I feel so much better, even if it’s just for a few minutes taking out the trash. Sometimes just a little can be enough.
x
Polli
