Fitness Algorithms
An algorithm is a list of rules to follow in order to solve a problem. If fitness is a problem that we are looking to solve, we might look to this list of rules! These rules can be structured for those of you who do well with routine, and for others of you, they can be more flexible.
Personally, I am not a routine person. I just know that I WILL do something deliberate for my body, mind, and spirit, each and every day. Some days this is 20 minutes of legs up the wall, other days it’s outdoor adventures, and about 2-3 days each week it’s a movement practice involving kettlebells or bodyweight strength and endurance training. Knowing that my week is complete when I have taken time out for my own alignment, strength, endurance, postural awareness and breath work, makes it easy to fit this in. I know that I value health, value strength, value alignment and the prevention of future pain. I value a good night’s sleep, and know that a good workout will help me achieve this. I identify myself as someone who is fit and therefore does activities that support this identity.
What do you value in this lifetime,
that you only get one chance to cultivate?
Here is a list of rules that I follow. I allow myself to ebb and flow with the seasons, with what I expect of myself, and with how I identify with my own fitness. I hope to inspire you to do the same!
Make time for fitness.
Whether it’s 20 minutes each day or 30 minutes three times each week, you NEED to schedule in time to dedicate yourself to some sort of fitness activity. This can be as simple as a walk, as beautiful as a bike ride, or as invigorating as a kettlebell workout. Spending time dedicated to your body, breath, mind, and spirit has got to be non-negotiable if you want to live a life of purpose, enjoyment, and great health.
Find your WHY.
Whether it’s pain prevention, staying healthy for your kids and grandkids, or taking care of your mental health, you need to know WHY you want to move your body each day. This WHY will help you get started, even on the days you don’t want to do anything. Remember, legs up the wall might be what you need most, and that absolutely counts as time out for yourself! I often tell myself that if I do legs up the wall today, I’ll be more aligned for something more active tomorrow. And it usually works!
Don’t be a perfectionist.
This is something I have tons of personal experience with as a professional classical musician. If it’s not perfect, sometimes we don’t want to do it at all. But we’ve simply got to let go of that notion! Perfection destroys the beauty of creativity and the goodness that comes out of doing something imperfectly. A run is not better than a walk, when you do neither! Start with that walk, and see what happens.
Build your repertoire.
I can’t tell you how many people have come to me after an injury or life event that prevents them from doing that one activity that they finally found worked for them. When the gym gets taken away from you, when your favourite yoga teacher moves away, or when the swimming pool closes down, you need to have a back-up plan. This is where I see kettlebell training coming in. You have it for life. You can do it at home. You can do it in a snowstorm and when you sleep-in past that class you signed up for. It gives you another way to work on your fitness. It diversifies your capabilities. And with my membership site, you can learn about foam rolling, mobility training, restorative yoga, and more. Don’t worry about picking one thing that’s your forever thing. Do ALL of the things! (P.S. I just took a kettlebell client out for a run this morning - something that neither of us do much of - but for 10 minutes that we agreed to do it for, it was invigorating for both of us!).
Find a workout buddy.
This can be someone you check in with regularly. Someone you do workouts with, or someone you share ideas with. Having people in your life who can inspire you, support you, and who you can do activities with is essential to your long term health. And this sentiment comes from someone who is introverted and self-motivated. I don’t actually have a workout buddy of my own - but I see all of YOU as my workout buddies. My membership site gives me the motivation to create workouts that I feel as though I’m doing WITH you! So THANK YOU to all of you who are using my Kettlebell on Demand membership site. I couldn’t do this without you!! I will be your workout buddy if you don’t have one yet!
So while this is not an exhaustive list of rules to follow verbatim, it’s a list of rules that I follow in order to help me with the big picture. I want to connect with friends at yoga classes, I want to say yes to a friend (you know who you are) when they ask me to go running or hiking, and I want to canoe and portage and adventure with my husband and friends for years to come. Find the reasons you want and need to move, and let’s live a healthy and happy life together!
You can get started on your kettlebell journey with my two-week free trial. I will teach you how to use that kettlebell or dumbbell that has been sitting around for way too long. Let’s do this!
