If you don’t want your hair pulled, eyes’ poked or favorite socks thrown out the window then don’t pull anyone else’s hair, poke anyone else’s eyes or pull any monkey business with someone else’s socks. This is the Golden Rule and it is a very effective tool for keeping things civilized in most communal venues.

But did you know that this magical rule also works in reverse? Instead of “do onto others as you would have done onto you” try, “do on to yourself as you would do on to others”. This is especially important for women and anyone with over powering caretaking instincts, with a tendency to treat others way better than they treat themselves.  Would you tell a friend to work long hours, skip exercise and eat pre-packaged cheese slices for dinner? Would you advise Uncle Jimbo to do a workout that he hates, is bored by or that just isn’t effective?  How about giving the thumbs up and high sign to skipping flexibility training or doing movements without proper technique or purpose? Yet you might be doing some of these no-no’s yourself without thinking twice about it.

Take a quick inventory of your health and fitness life and jot down anything that you wouldn’t recommend to a friend, family member or well-behaved stranger.  Another good way to approach this is to imagine that a friend (with remarkably similar strengths and limitations) came to you asking for health and fitness advice. How would you advise them? Most likely you would be encouraging, enthusiastic and eager to help them find creative solutions to any potential problems.

It’s seems a law of human nature that we give better, more thoughtful advice to others than we give ourselves.  So how about treating yourself as well as you would a friend for once? If your friend was nervous and lacking direction in the gym you would tell them to hire a trainer for a few sessions. Of course they and their priceless health are worth the investment. And if someone told you they not excited about exercising anymore you would suggest that they try a new class or sport, pick up some fitness magazines for fresh ideas or find a buddy to workout with.

Try approaching your struggles as if they belonged to a good looking stranger instead of little ol’ you and discover just the kick in your workout shorts that you need.

Just don’t accept candy from yourself.

The modern workout is often more tiring for our minds and souls, than for our bodies. We slog through the reps and sets, the sets and reps, the machines you pulley-pulley and the ones you pushy-pushy; each one different, but somehow also the same. After a while a workout can become the equivalent of filing or doing your taxes, something you treat like a chore to get on to the better parts of your day.

If the above is your current predicament, you love a challenge and enjoy sports movies with inspiring training montages set to power ballads then the Mountain Challenge was made for you.

Though the Challenge only includes three movements, it will dare you physically and mentally. It’s a workout and a goal all rolled into one. While in its clutches, if don’t wonder at least once if you will be able to finish, you’re probably not doing it right (or to the safe edge of your abilities).

You will complete a total of 10 sets, starting with 10 pull-ups and working your way down to the last set which will be only 1. With each set you will do one less pull-up, but the same amount of push-ups and hold the stretch each side for 30 seconds.

The bottom of the mountain looks like this:
10 Pull-ups (with assistance if needed, lat pull-downs can also be substituted)
10-15 push-ups (full or modified)
60 seconds of the lower body stretch that you know you need the most (probably hip or hamstring lengthening. This is your time to rest, so take it. By the end you’ll have given your most needy body parts the gift of an amazing 10 minute deep stretch).

This is an intermediate to advanced workout for those with no upper body injuries who have been training for at least three consecutive months. Start with some light cardio and dynamic upper body movements to get ready for action. Do it with a friend and good music and you’ll be more pumped than a bounce house at a birthday party.

Thanks to UCSF wonder-trainer Sarah Delaney, who contributed most of this workout. You can read more of her stuff at Sarah’s Health and Wellness Updates

The mountain awaits…

Since becoming a trainer I’ve come to hate the word “just.”  I hear it used constantly by clients describing their workouts as in, “I just did 30 minutes of cardio,” or “I just did a yoga class on Tuesday and a few weights on Wednesday.”  People use the word to let me, and themselves, know that no matter what was accomplished,  they feel they should have done more and are appropriately shameful.

Though I’m sure men occasionally use terms of self-degradation, I find that it is mostly a vice of women.  And I don’t think it’s the fitness equivalent of “does this make my butt look big?” Women who use this term aren’t usually looking to be told that their workouts were worthwhile and that they should be proud of themselves.  I know this, because I try to tell them and they don’t want to hear me.

So if you suspect that you may be doing a fitness downer on yourself, it’s time to take a step back and start to listen to how you talk about your own habits.  Do you degrade your workouts, downplay your accomplishments and focus all your attention on your shortcomings? Do you beat yourself up about missing a workout or two, and forget about all the workouts that you did show up for? How do you describe your workouts to yourself (most importantly) and others (important as well)?  Do you use words like the dreaded “just”, “only”, or “weak” or do you use actual descriptors such as 20 minutes or 3 miles?

Since it can be difficult to hear our own well ingrained verbal habits, it is a good idea to enlist a friend or trainer to help you catch yourself in the act. Ask them to let you know when you try to make mole hills out of whatever size mountains that you climb. You probably don’t even realize all the wretched things you are saying about yourself, but those words have the power to slowly crush your enthusiasm for getting and staying in shape. Because if no workout is ever enough, why workout at all? And if you’re going to feel bad about yourself no matter what you do, why not sit on a block of cheese instead of a bike?

Now go get sweaty and talk nice about it (and your butt looks great in those jeans).

Though the 1980’s comedy classic Ruthless People is not often thought of as fitness movie, it can be argued that the physical transformation of Barbara Stone, played with diabolical hilarity by Bette Milder, is the catalyst for her moral transformation from bitchy, over-privileged snot to cool, down to earth accomplice in a modern day Robinhood scam against her evil husband (Danny Devito).

For those of you who haven’t enjoyed the ab workout that is Ruthless People, the basic plot starts with Sam Stone marrying Barbara for her father’s money and eventually getting frustrated when the old man refuses to die. He decides to kill the wife he never wanted anyway, so that he can score her fortune and marry his mistress. Before Sam gets the chance to chase his darling bride around the house with a rag of chloroform, she is kidnapped by a cute and bumbling couple, who Sam has screwed out of a small fortune.

Barbara is locked in their basement for most of the film. To keep busy she inflicts mental terror on her captors and begins following along with the exercise programs showing on the television set her humane kidnappers have provided. Because her husband Sam doesn’t want her back alive she’s is chained to that bed for quite a while and starts getting pretty serious about her routines, culminating with an inspiring montage showing her doing pull-ups on her bed frame and using her chain as a jump rope.

For the first time in Barbara’s indulgent, corpulent life she is losing weight, getting fit and feeling great; despite the fact that she is chained to a bed in the basement of a rundown house. I think there are a lot of useful lessons here.

1. We should all be really glad that it’s not considered cool to workout in G-string leotards anymore.

2. In the film Barbara Stone has tried every faddish way to lose weight including enduring injections of the urine of pregnant women. Fads and “get fit quick schemes” almost never work.

3. Breaking out of your routine is one way to make rapid progress. In this case Barbara went from being an uber-rich heiress who could have anything she wanted to a captive. Your change doesn’t need to be quite so dramatic, but a shakeup can be helpful.

4. Sometimes it’s good not to have options.  In the film Barbara is chained to a bed and doesn’t have anything better to do then workout. What kind of “chain” can help you get fit? Is it canceling cable so that you have to walk to get a movie? Putting away your credit card so that you’re not tempted to eat out? Telling your spouse not to let you in the house unless you have gone to the gym for the day?

5. Give your goals the time they deserve. In the film Barbara has all day and night to workout and fitness is her main focus.  If losing weight or getting fit is the top priority in your life then plan your time accordingly (using chains when necessary).

6. Simplify. For Barbara losing her freedom is the best thing that has ever happened to her. Turns out when she doesn’t have very many options, she is able to make better choices.  What tempting options can you eliminate from your life so that a healthy diet and exercise become the obvious choices?

7. You don’t need fancy equipment to get fit, just determination and imagination. I don’t recommend jump roping a chain, but you certainly don’t need a fancy gym membership or thousand dollar piece of equipment.

Now go get Ruthless!

Though many fitness trends of the 80’s are best forgotten (G-string leotards anyone?) the Par Course is one innovation that deserves a comeback tour.

The Par Course is a fitness playground for adults, made up of wood or metal apparatus set into parks, fields or other open spaces. The basic course usually includes various heights of pull-up bars, push-ups bars, downward slanting sit-up boards, and squat and step-up platforms. I’ve also seen balance beams, adult sized monkey bars and rings. The equipment can be spread out along a trail or clumped together like an outdoor gym.

To witness the hey day of the mighty Par Course in the US you would need to click the heels of your high-top Reebok aerobic shoes together and travel back to 1985, when there were over 5,000 courses. Since then, many have fallen into disrepair and been reduced to fitness ghost towns, with splintery wood, rusty bolts and missing instructional signs. The decline and fall of the Par Course is a huge shame because this fitness movement was way ahead of its time in offering a challenging, versatile, full-body workout with a view.

I hope that we can get a Par Course renaissance going and bring these sturdy, reliable work horses back to the forefront of fitness.

Reasons to find an existing course or ask your employer or local municipality to install one:

• Once installed a Par Course is free to use and available to anyone with the energy and gumption to take advantage of it.   
• The Par Course is a great alternative to the gym, especially if you already have a foundation of fitness. Body weight exercises such as push-ups, squats and pull-ups develop balanced, full-body strength that is difficult to duplicate using fitness machines.
• It’s outside, which can be such a blessing in our indoor, climate controlled world. Get your dose of Vitamin D while you get into shape.
• Have a Par Course picnic! Since most courses are in park like settings why not relax and enjoy afterward.
• Each course offers practically endless variations and challenges. Try jumping rope, doing sprints or sun salutations between stations. Bring your own gear (hand weights, medicine balls, or resistance bands) to add even more variety and isolate specific muscle groups.
• Your progress is easily measurable. Keep track of how many push-ups, sit-ups or pull-ups you can do and recognize your bad a#* self as you get stronger and fitter.
• You will gain functional, athletic strength that will easily transfer to sports and daily life.
• It’s fun! Exercising in a playground like setting with others who are happy to be getting fit too. What could be better?

Find a Par Course near you, slap on some sweat proof sun block and get busy!

It’s natural in these uncertain economic times to want to keep our budgets as lean and fit as possible. Unfortunately that sometimes means cutting back on many of the services that keep us happy, healthy and sane. Message, chiropractic care, personal training, spa days and gym memberships are often the first to hit the chopping block as we begin to liposuction our budget. Going without these proactive health services can be a real drag and also have a negative impact on our overall well being. Read on for tips on keeping the good health rolling.

Cut back, not off

Reduce your services from weekly to bi-weekly or monthly. You will maintain the relationship with your provider as well as the commitment to your health, while saving lots of dough.

Negotiate

Most everyone in the health and wellness industry is feeling the pinch and your practitioner may be willing to see you at a discounted rate.  Sure, it can be uncomfortable to bring this sort of thing up, but its better then just disappearing without a trace. Ask if they have a sliding scale or tell them that while your financial situation has changed, you still really value them and would like to figure out a way to continue. More then likely they will be willing to work with you, so swallow your pride and ask.

Throw a sweat meet

Have an exercise equipment swap with friends or strangers who are vulnerable to late night fitness infomercials. Frank’s never used treadmill for Linda’s nearly brand new Solo-flex or Georgia’s trampoline for your punching bag. Trade for a little while or forever. Equipment that’s new to you will keep your workouts fresh without working out your wallet.

Tone up those angel’s wings

This is a particularly good idea if you are un or under employed. Many places including yoga and Pilates studios, private gyms and YMCA’s give complimentary classes or free memberships to good Samaritans who volunteer a few hours a week.

Three’s company

If you have been working one on one with a trainer, find a friend of similar fitness levels to join your workouts and you’ll save considerable bank. If personal training is still too much, group classes might be better for your budget. Just make sure you connect with the instructor and your workout mates. It’s possible to create similar bonds of accountability and motivation in this setting, though you will have to work a little harder to get feedback and attention.

Join a cheaper gym

Be careful with this one though because if your new gym is inconvenient/unfriendly/loud/oddly smelling etc. you won’t go and then you might as well just quit all together and buy a jump rope.

Stay tuned

For the poor man/woman’s massage day, a relaxing and rejuvenating experience that can be enjoyed on the cheap.