Thoughtful Thursday…Getting back to basics
Welcome to Thoughtful Thursday. This GreenNote Fitness newsletter mindfully gathers and distills useful information that is supportive to our journey. It is my mission to educate, inspire, and propel you into action that moves you towards your goals and life of purpose. Take control of your journey today.
To become certified as a Kion Coach, I took an in-depth course from Kion University on all things body, mind, and spirit with the science behind it. My education continues with the founder, Ben Greenfield and other experts in monthly MasterMind groups. Our recent discussion gave me pause.
In our last meeting, Ben reminded us of the message we should be conveying to our clients. Message: get back to basics. He said that we need to focus less on the latest supplement or workout gadget and build self-reliant people; people who have a fit and functional body. That can encompass a lot. But you are in luck. GreenNote Fitness is going to help you on your fit and functional journey. Tighten your laces, we are about to jump in!
We begin with the understanding that we must find balance in our training. Only running, only lifting weights, or only walking will leave many imbalances and an increased risk for injury and disharmony in the body. When we find balance in our training we are stressing certain systems sufficiently while allowing others to recover. Below we look at four areas that need to be added to our back to basics toolkit.
Getting back to basics:
Endurance: The ability of the heart, lungs, and vascular system to deliver oxygen/nutrient-rich blood to working muscles during sustained physical activity, and the ability of those muscles to repeat a movement or hold a position for an extended period of time. Said another way, we should be able to move for an hour or longer without stopping.
Recommendation: one to two times per week complete 1 or more hours of continuous medium level of activity. Examples include hiking, biking, running. Perfect for the weekend to do outdoors, be in nature unplugged from technology.
Cardiovascular Fitness - Also known as VO2 Max, it’s the maximum amount of oxygen that you can utilize. This is often neglected but must be included in your toolkit.
Recommendation: Once every two weeks, perform five, 4-minute hard efforts with full recovery. For example, using a bike, warm-up for 3 to 5 minutes then perform a hard effort for 4 minutes and recovery for 4 minutes and repeat. You could also utilize a rowing machine or run.
Strength: The ability of the musculoskeletal system to generate high amounts of force. Muscle mass and strength are two of the highest predictive factors of all-cause mortality.Cultivating strength is an invaluable way to keep the age-related loss of fast-twitch muscle that compromises vitality at bay.
Recommendation: Two to three times per week complete a full-body strength training session. Examples include squats, deadlifts, walking lunges, kettle bell swings, overhead presses, and pull-ups. Complete 3 sets of 8 repetitions with good form. Don’t compromise good form for more repetitions or more weight…ever.
Speed & Power: Speed is the ability to travel a set distance over as short a time as possible. Power is the ability to generate a large amount of force in a short period of time. Keeping your fast-twitch muscle fibers active enables you to age well. Those with fast-twitch fibers declining, become frail, less mobile, and more prone to debilitating falls.
Recommendation: At least once per week perform 2 to 4 sets of 5 repetitions of one or more of the following: medicine ball slams or tosses, box jumps, single-leg hops, clapping push-ups.
4-Day Back to Basics Plan
You could schedule your week with the following:
Monday: Speed & Power followed by strength training
Wednesday: Cardiovascular Fitness
Friday: Strength training
Sunday: Endurance
This summer is a perfect time to get back to basics. Mix things up, get out of your workout repetitive motion and integrate different methods of training.
Here’s to having a fit and functional body!
Enjoy your journey,
Lisa Schaffer
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Did you miss last week’s newsletter on Improve cholesterol numbers and lower inflammation with lifestyle and nutrition…?
