At the ripe young age of almost 38 years, I’m just about in the best shape that I can remember. I have been fitter (when training for Ironman Western Australia in 2008) and I have been stronger (when competing in National AerobicSport in 1996), but my overall ability now is as good as ever. My explanation comes from an excerpt from a book called “Born to Run.” The author, Christopher McDougall describes the athleticism of the Tarahumara tribe of the Copper Canyons of Mexico. He says that their ability to run vast distances of hundreds of miles week after week without getting injured is due to the fact that they’re not just running. They’re scrambling over rocks, swimming across tidal rivers in the valleys, climbing up mountains and using their entire bodies for movement (not just pounding their running legs all the time). They don’t just pursue a single sport with repetitive strains, movements and postures (like you would if your sole purpose was run training for an upcoming marathon). They are athletes in the true sense of the word.
I don’t have a plan when it comes to the exercise and training that I do each day. I move in a way that makes me feel good (or rather, great). I swim, I sprint, I cycle, I do Pilates, I stretch, I move, I lift, I pull, I push, etc (you get it!). Variety is the key and it seems to be working for me. Sure, as my body is on the other side of maturing, I do tend to feel the odd niggle here and there. However, on the whole I feel fantastic. Here’s what I put it down to…
- Mobility of a Snake – that is defined by having a good deal of strength in a full and unrestricted range of movement. Your ability to move is the most basic form of survival. In fact, there have been research articles published suggesting that mobility has a direct impact on life expectancy (not to mention quality of life too). Pilates is an excellent form of mobility training.
- Strength of a Lion – in the wild, Lions can be quite “lazy” most of the day. However, when the hunt is on or their territory/family/lives are threatened they harness strength that tames even the fiercest of beasts. I often tell my clients that they want their bodies to be “bullet-proof.” To be able to withstand all the stresses and strains that our urban environment dishes out to us – poor sleep posture, lack of movement during the day (especially office workers), daily repetitive movements, poor nutritional habits and weekend warrior activities (sport, gardening, socialising).
- Flexibility of a Dancer – maybe not quite. But I can almost do front and side splits, have no problem sitting with folded legs, touch my toes and do back bends. There has been no clear correlation between stretching and benefits in terms of preventing or reducing injuries. However, being flexible gives you a greater range of active and passive movement that will then allow you to be a whole lot more mobile.
- Cardiovascular conditioning like a Diesel Engine – consistent “cardio” training (swim, bike and run) for the past couple of decades has helped build my endurance to the point where I can keep going at a constant pace for hours on end. Start small and gradually increase your “cardio” each week by no more than 10%. Add intensity (through the use of interval training) to rapidly increase your “cardio” gains.
- Sleep like a baby – rest and recovery is essential for optimal functioning of your body. During your waking hours, your body is in a constant state of physical, nutritional, chemical, hormonal and environmental stress. These stresses essentially break your body down on a cellular level. Your only opportunity to repair, grow and gain strength is to get adequate rest through enough sleep. 7-8 hours per night will do it for most, but you may need a little more depending on your physiology, current state of health and activity level. This is an area that I have struggled with over the past several years. Just in the past few weeks I’ve made more of a concerted effort to get to bed at least 30 minutes earlier, and I can already feel the benefits. I said to Vicky a couple of days ago that I’m just about jumping out of bed in the morning!!!
- 90/10 Nutrition – most of the time I stick to the Low Carb High Fat principle of nutrition. However, there are certain infrequent occasions that I “let myself” go and indulge in foods that fall out of my usual daily diet. I call it reality eating. For the past 2-3 years there have been big changes made to our diet as a family (mostly cutting out all processed foods, sugars, unhealthy fats; and sticking to a whole food diet consisting of mainly healthy fats, vegetables, animal proteins and moderate amounts of fruit). As a family we’re healthy, look good and feel great.
Ok, back to the headline of this blog post… “A Change is as Good as a Holiday.” My workouts vary and so does my environment. By exploring new places I get new ideas, motivation and inspiration to train harder and continue to get a thrill out of my daily exercise ritual. For todays session I jumped on my mountain bike, and pedalled to the edge of the city (South Yarra – Como Park North). The council has recently fixed up this park and upgraded the play and exercise equipment – Big thumbs up! There were several others there when I arrived – a fit looking girl in her early twenties doing what looked like training for snow skiing, a guy in his 40’s alternating between sets of sit-ups, triceps dips and meditating on the park bench (each to their own), and a personal trainer showing his client how to perform jumping jacks. And there I was doing my thing which probably seemed a bit peculiar to the others (especially given that I was taking video selfies).
The workout…
- Pull-ups x10
- Uphill Sprint x1
- Triceps Dips x10
- Stair Sprints x1
- Decline Push-ups x10
Repeat x10
Train Hard, Have Fun, Repeat…
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