Miscellaneous

Exercise for Everyone

Exercise needs are different for everyone. I post this from a place of “I know a little something about this and I am here to help”, not “hey look at how awesome I am with my workout knowledge.”

I have been active all my life. I have a long and intimate history with ballet and fitness. I taught ballet for over a decade and fitness classes for 8 years. I used to be a personal trainer. Physical activity is essential for me. I’m not saying that hoping you’ll be impressed. I say that because, without it, I truly go fruity, and become depressed. It is enormously therapeutic for me and helps keep me sane.

In this time of no open gyms or fitness facilities or your other means of activity aren’t available, I’ve made a list of things you can do that (depending how much effort you put in) can give you a good sweat, get those endorphins going and helpfully put you in a better mood.

A few things I’ve learned (for me) while developing my home workouts:

I need a change of scenery. I can’t work out in the comfort and familiarity of my home. But outside is a different story. My gym is: from our house down the 50 steps to the beach, to the docks on either side of us & back up to our house, the hill outside the front of our home, the backyard “courtyard” area, and the deck around our fit pit.
I dress like I would at the gym. Warmer, if the outside weather calls for it. If there is light rain, I have no problem getting a little wet. I have a working dryer.
I put my earbuds in and listen to music like I would at the gym.
I use my iwatch in workout mode like I would at the gym. To track workout duration and calorie burn.
I have with me, water and a hand towel like I would at the gym.

If you have absolutely no equipment, you need to utilize your surroundings and or drive to a place with a hill and or stairs (if you want more of a heart rate spike). The internet can also be a great resource and can often provide photos of the poses or exercises. I’m not suggesting you purchase these things if you don’t have them, but I’ve found I can do a great deal with two 5-10 lbs. hand weights, a yoga mat (or non-slick surface), and a few resistance bands (Amazon). You can find used hand weights on Ebay.

I’m sure you can find free online workouts, exercises, and classes, esp. during this time of home quarantine.

A few exercises that require NO equipment:

Walking, walking up a hill, jogging up a hill
Stairs
Running, jogging
Lunges (in place, walking, forward, back, side)
Lunge pulses (step out into a lunge, pulse there for anywhere between 5 sec. to a minute)
Wall Sit (with or w/o weight) 30 sec. to a minute
Jumping Jacks
Little jumps or Jumping rope without the jump rope
Sit-ups
Push-ups (on the ground with knees up or down, off a wall, bench, etc.)
Triceps dips (off a chair, step, bench, ledge, etc.)
Planks
Most Yoga poses
Stretching
Squats & squat pulses
Balancing poses - one foot, relevé two feet & one-foot relevé
Calf raises
Knee ups
Stand & sits (self-explanatory)
Most Pilates exercises
45 degree flexed back leg lift (bum & hamstrings)
The Superman or Air Swimming (on your tummy)
Triceps dips
Burpees
Glute bridges
Obliques: Supine, arms on floor out from shoulders, hips & knees at 90 degrees, keeping knees together, slowly drop knees to one side towards the floor, keeping shoulders on the floor, bring knees up to center, drop to the other side

Of course, if you have hand weights or even a Kettlebell, you can do most of the above with adding weight. You can also play with the timing, add pauses or holds, etc., Increase reps & sets.

__________________________________________

A Brief History of Wonder Woman's Golden Armor

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/brief-history-wonder-womans-golden-160052895.html

Wonder Woman 1984 movie trailer

https://youtu.be/sfM7_JLk-84

A Few Ways You Can Be More Like Wonder Woman

Be kind & compassionate
Strive to understand others
Accept people different than you
Try not to judge others too harshly
Have a mindset of inclusion, not exclusion (meaning include others, don’t exclude them)
We can learn from our mistakes
Don’t be oblivious to the world around you
Take good care of this world and the animals
Try to make this world a better place
Take responsibility for your actions & words