How many of us overthink our wellness, fitness exercises and health maintenance plans?
“Guilty as charged!”
Wake-up Call
I’m writing this blog post from the deck at a special friend of mine’s cabin on Washington Island overlooking Lake Michigan while on vacation with my loving wife and our two active young children; my son is 7 years old and daughter is 5 years old. It’s been an awesome vacation for all of us. No phone reception but plenty of wildlife, fresh cool air and the time to run, explore, exercise and play in the cold lake waters.
“What does this have to do with sports medicine?” you’re saying to yourself. Plenty….it has everything to do with enhancing our health and wellness in the simplest of ways.
Value of High-Tech?
I’m here in the woods with no fancy gym, no high-tech workout equipment, no warm ocean waters for long-distance swims, no tough-guy workout buddies or 90+ degree heat/high humidity weather to sweat my butt off in.
Instead, I’m in the beautiful wilderness with long days to have fun with my family while mixing in my daily workouts. Brag time: my wife Samantha is a 2x Ironman triathlete so I’m certainly not the only parent in our home focussing on fun and fitness with our children!
Keeping it Simple
So much of our professional lives are busy and complicated yet we can’t do a damn thing about it. With that being said, why do we choose to make our wellness/health/fitness plans equally as complicated?
It’s times like this vacation that wake me up to the reality that I need to lighten-up on my over-thinking and tighten-up my intensity on getting stronger, better conditioned and more limber.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci
What I Learned at Summer Camp
I don’t need fancy equipment to kick my own ass to get a legitimate workout. I simply used what I had access to while adding in a combo of creativity, grit and a playful attitude.
- Logs to cut, lift and carry.
- 52 degree lake water to swim and recover.
- Rolling country roads to run and bike.
- Trees for TRX, pull-ups and stretches
- Children for resisted carries, pushups and shoulder presses.
- Fields for burpees, crawls, planks, lunges, star jumps, crunches, agility drills and sprints.
- Picnic tables for box jumps, dips and low crawls.
- And my favorite training partner was here waiting for me: Mr. Gravity
Tips to Simplify our Healthy
Eat Better – More plants, veggies, water, fruits and lean meats.
Simplify – Add simple wellness exercises to your routine that force you to work hard for long periods of time while opening up your joints and muscles like crawling, rock climbing and swimming.
Play Games – Smart phone off, smile on and sweat glands on…..playing fun sports like a teenager.
Do More – Change at least 50% of your present exercise routine, stop counting reps and shorten rest phases while focusing on generating lots of muscle fatigue, not joint pain.
Stop Feeling Sorry for Ourselves – Hundreds of millions of people with handicaps and injuries can only dream of having the physical abilities that we presently have. Therefore, we all need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves so we can maximize the healthy blessings we currently have. Amen.
Recovery Harder – If it hurts, ice it. If it’s tight, stretch it. If it’s stiff, move it.
Set Hefty Goals Then Quickly Share Them – Dream bigger than big to set a physical goal(s) that will change your life. Before your find the how’s or the “what if’s” creep in, quickly post your goal on FaceBook and email your family and friends with the details so they will hold you to that goal. Sure you’ll have sweaty palms typing the words but that person looking back at you in the full-length mirror will thank you for the rest of your life.
It’s time to get busy….