Exercise : Progression, Regression = Modification
by Coach PatWouldn't it be great if every time you watched an exercise video you were able to complete every exercise perfectly? Yeah, well that only happens for the instructor. Within our fitness journey we will all need to modify to progress and then to regress and work back to progression. To make your workouts work for you, pay attention to the fundamentals.
Good technique will have good form. You should be able to move through any exercise with controlled movement, using full range of motion for you and no momentum. Listen to your body and breathing so you don't overdo and don't ignore pain. If you encounter pain (not fatigue but real pain), stop, skip that exercise and look for a modification. Respect where you are before progressing.
Don't be afraid to regress and modify. Remember that it is most important to pay attention to technique in order to make the exercise work for you. Don't try and muscle through too much weight or use momentum to move. This is only asking for injury or muscle exhaustion. If the movement is not difficult but the number of reps puts you to failure, you can reduce the weight or the number of reps, or both, until you can complete a set with fatigue but not failure.
Along the same lines, progression is methodically making an exercise more difficult. Progression factors include repetitions of an exercise, weight, speed, position, equipment used and resting time between sets. You will want to only change one element at a time. Keep in mind when increasing one factor you may need to regress on another. An example is bicep curls with dumbbells. You can easily do 3 sets 15 repetitions with 5lb weights. But you don't have 6lb weights to use so you have to jump to 8s or 10s. You can make the increase in weight but then go back to fewer repetitions in each set. Work up to the 3 sets of 15 reps before increasing the weight.
We are gaining a great library of Pink Phoenix workouts. I would bet that within any of these workouts there are elements which you find difficult, or is it only me? For instance, I know I can do full push-ups, but when I need to do several sets of push-ups or related exercises and I want to maintain form I will do them on my knees. Maybe you can do several push-ups on your knees but for multiple sets you should be doing an incline push-up with your upper body elevated on a chair, counter or wall. The important part is modifying the exercise to where you are, so you can gain from that version and progress.
I have heard from some of you that the type of exercising we are doing is very different from what you are used to. I would suggest you try to modify each exercise to go the 30 seconds, but if that is still difficult to do, modify to 20 seconds on and 20 seconds off. That will keep you paced with the video and cut the number of repetitions. Do that a couple of times and then try to do the 30 seconds on 10 seconds off. It isn't wrong to take a break, shake it out, start again. You might try whining a little - I find that works wonders.
For many of us we have had joint replacement or have osteoarthritis. We have reduced range of motion from hip replacement and/or knee pain from tight hips. After hip and knee replacement you need to limit the range of motion on squats and lunges. Building strength in the muscles surrounding the knees and hips, as well as getting loose to gain better range of motion, is key to reducing knee pain and gaining hip flexibility. Hip replacement requires some extra care because of the risk of dislocation. Knees aren't likely to dislocate but doing a lot of pounding types of exercise can cause wear. Move slowly through progressions of exercise paying special attention to the joint.
Squats can be done against a wall with or without a stability ball on your back. Reducing the range of motion to start will still build strength. The same is true with lunges - reduce the distance between the forward and backward leg. Step back instead of forward (you can use a chair for stability). Here are a few videos to help you with modifications and progression.
Squats and Lunge Modifications
As you gain strength from using modifications you will be able to progress to more challenging versions of the exercise. Building the muscles around your knees is your best protection from sore knees. And no matter what, keep moving.
Motivation
by Coach Anita
Everyone has experienced a time when they just didn’t feel motivated to do anything. It could be a lack of interest in the task (e.g. cleaning dishes) or not feeling drawn or pushed to doing something that requires some effort (e.g. exercise). While needing an occasional break in routine or a longer recovery is understandable, when malaise settles in it can be difficult to shake the feeling and get going.
When this happens, I encourage you to be patient with yourself and identify the feeling. Recognize that you don’t always feel this way, and therefore you know that this feeling will change. For a lot of us, when we’re feeling lethargic it is difficult to muster up the will to exercise even though we know we’ll feel better after completing it. So try to recall the times you HAVE felt motivated and energetic about what you’re struggling to do. I remember a time when I got a track outfit as a gift. I was so excited that I put it on, marveled at how it looked, and went for a run. Mind you, at the time I didn’t run. But the gift was something I wanted and the excitement I felt at receiving it made me want to do something related to it. Have you ever read a book where people encounter difficulty and the story creates a sense of passion and enthusiasm in you so that you want to have a similar experience? The book Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown was widely read by Pink Phoenix members and many of you mentioned how much you wanted to get on the boat after reading it. Sometimes it’s something simple like seeing what someone else is doing and feeling like you want to be accomplishing that, too. I participated in the squat challenge this past week and was cruising along at the goal of 100 a day. But then I saw that Deb Amar was not only hitting the goal of 100 a day, but was doing extra, and it motivated me to do a little more. Motivation might come in the form of accountability. Maybe you told Coach Pat that you’d dial into her Zoom workout, and that sense of accountability to your friend and teammate gets you working out instead of sitting and watching Netflix. It could be the structure of having a schedule you’ve written out for the week, and knowing you want to check it off as completed.
Words of encouragement are nice, but they rarely get us off the couch. Recognize what has lit a fire in you before, and search that out. Does watching YouTube videos of workouts or feats of challenge get you pulling on your trainers? Reading can be very motivational for me. I enjoy geeking out on technical aspects of topics, and I thoroughly enjoy social psychology. Maybe some of the books on my nightstand might help get you going, too.
In no particular order:
Own where you are and what you need to get going. There’s no shame in taking a break or needing a boost. It is important to find something to feel good about every day. And once you feel good, watch how it builds upon itself. Like attracts like. You have a choice about what you are thinking, so make it a good thought and focus on feeling good. There’s no time like the present, so let’s get going!
Vitamin D plays many roles in maintaining our good health. It is both a hormone (because your body can make it when it comes in contact with sunlight) and a vitamin (because you can obtain it from certain foods). You're probably familiar with the role of vitamin D in promoting healthy bones. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium.
There is recent evidence that links low levels of vitamin D to an increased risk of Type 1 diabetes, muscle and bone pain, and more serious cancers of the colon, prostate, breast, ovaries, esophagus and lymphatic system. YIKES! Vitamin D plays a role in keeping your immune system strong.
How much vitamin D do we need?
The National Institute of Health recommends that adults ages 19-70 need 600 IU's daily and adults over 70 need 800 IU's daily.
So, how can we get enough vitamin D?
Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are among the best sources. (Have any of you ever tried mackerel? I haven't and I have never seen it in stores or fish markets in Oregon.)
If you drink two glasses of milk fortified with vitamin D a day you can obtain 200 IU's of vitamin D.
Cheese and egg yolks provide small amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D is added to many breakfast cereals and some brands of orange juice, yogurt and soy beverages.
What about sunlight?
The body makes vitamin D when the skin is directly exposed to the sun. Skin exposed to sunshine indoors through a window will not produce vitamin D. Despite the importance of sun for the synthesis of vitamin D it is important to limit exposure of skin to direct sunlight in order to lower the risk of skin cancer.
Can you obtain Vitamin D from supplements?
Vitamin D supplements are found in forms D2 and D3. Both of these supplements increase vitamin D in the blood.
Can we get too much vitamin D?
The answer is yes. If your blood levels become too high you can develop a toxicity. Symptoms are nausea and vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness and weight loss.
The only way to confirm if you have a vitamin D deficiency or if your levels are too high is through a blood test. This must be ordered by your doctor. So be sure to check with your doctor for any questions you might have.
Just to share with you, I do not drink milk or eat cereal or drink orange juice. So after doing research for this short article I have now opened up that bottle of vitamin D3 and started taking it!
This week we will take our workouts from the last 5 weeks and use a different workout each day. This is a crafty way of saying we ran into technical difficulties and the new video didn't load.
On Wednesday we will use Week 3 so here is that workout link. Use the links on the right side of the page to get to the other weeks.
When this happens, I encourage you to be patient with yourself and identify the feeling. Recognize that you don’t always feel this way, and therefore you know that this feeling will change. For a lot of us, when we’re feeling lethargic it is difficult to muster up the will to exercise even though we know we’ll feel better after completing it. So try to recall the times you HAVE felt motivated and energetic about what you’re struggling to do. I remember a time when I got a track outfit as a gift. I was so excited that I put it on, marveled at how it looked, and went for a run. Mind you, at the time I didn’t run. But the gift was something I wanted and the excitement I felt at receiving it made me want to do something related to it. Have you ever read a book where people encounter difficulty and the story creates a sense of passion and enthusiasm in you so that you want to have a similar experience? The book Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown was widely read by Pink Phoenix members and many of you mentioned how much you wanted to get on the boat after reading it. Sometimes it’s something simple like seeing what someone else is doing and feeling like you want to be accomplishing that, too. I participated in the squat challenge this past week and was cruising along at the goal of 100 a day. But then I saw that Deb Amar was not only hitting the goal of 100 a day, but was doing extra, and it motivated me to do a little more. Motivation might come in the form of accountability. Maybe you told Coach Pat that you’d dial into her Zoom workout, and that sense of accountability to your friend and teammate gets you working out instead of sitting and watching Netflix. It could be the structure of having a schedule you’ve written out for the week, and knowing you want to check it off as completed.
Words of encouragement are nice, but they rarely get us off the couch. Recognize what has lit a fire in you before, and search that out. Does watching YouTube videos of workouts or feats of challenge get you pulling on your trainers? Reading can be very motivational for me. I enjoy geeking out on technical aspects of topics, and I thoroughly enjoy social psychology. Maybe some of the books on my nightstand might help get you going, too.
In no particular order:
- Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown
- Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney
- How Champions Think by Dr. Bob Rotella
- The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion by Simon Marshall and Leslie Paterson
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: TaoSports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business and Life by Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch (still reading)
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential by Carol Dweck (just bought and haven’t started)
Own where you are and what you need to get going. There’s no shame in taking a break or needing a boost. It is important to find something to feel good about every day. And once you feel good, watch how it builds upon itself. Like attracts like. You have a choice about what you are thinking, so make it a good thought and focus on feeling good. There’s no time like the present, so let’s get going!
Vitamin D
by Suzanne Frank
Vitamin D plays many roles in maintaining our good health. It is both a hormone (because your body can make it when it comes in contact with sunlight) and a vitamin (because you can obtain it from certain foods). You're probably familiar with the role of vitamin D in promoting healthy bones. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium.
There is recent evidence that links low levels of vitamin D to an increased risk of Type 1 diabetes, muscle and bone pain, and more serious cancers of the colon, prostate, breast, ovaries, esophagus and lymphatic system. YIKES! Vitamin D plays a role in keeping your immune system strong.
How much vitamin D do we need?
The National Institute of Health recommends that adults ages 19-70 need 600 IU's daily and adults over 70 need 800 IU's daily.
So, how can we get enough vitamin D?
Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are among the best sources. (Have any of you ever tried mackerel? I haven't and I have never seen it in stores or fish markets in Oregon.)
If you drink two glasses of milk fortified with vitamin D a day you can obtain 200 IU's of vitamin D.
Cheese and egg yolks provide small amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D is added to many breakfast cereals and some brands of orange juice, yogurt and soy beverages.
What about sunlight?
The body makes vitamin D when the skin is directly exposed to the sun. Skin exposed to sunshine indoors through a window will not produce vitamin D. Despite the importance of sun for the synthesis of vitamin D it is important to limit exposure of skin to direct sunlight in order to lower the risk of skin cancer.
Can you obtain Vitamin D from supplements?
Vitamin D supplements are found in forms D2 and D3. Both of these supplements increase vitamin D in the blood.
Can we get too much vitamin D?
The answer is yes. If your blood levels become too high you can develop a toxicity. Symptoms are nausea and vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness and weight loss.
The only way to confirm if you have a vitamin D deficiency or if your levels are too high is through a blood test. This must be ordered by your doctor. So be sure to check with your doctor for any questions you might have.
Just to share with you, I do not drink milk or eat cereal or drink orange juice. So after doing research for this short article I have now opened up that bottle of vitamin D3 and started taking it!
Replay with Coach Oden
This week we will take our workouts from the last 5 weeks and use a different workout each day. This is a crafty way of saying we ran into technical difficulties and the new video didn't load.
On Wednesday we will use Week 3 so here is that workout link. Use the links on the right side of the page to get to the other weeks.
Week 6 Challenge:
You now have 5 short full body workouts in your arsenal. The challenge this week is to use all 5 workouts during the week. Challenge, clock 240 minutes of intentional activity this week. Use the 5 workouts from Oden and the video's for stretching etc or use your own. If you usually walk your dog a couple of miles a day use one mile to warm up , then do a workout and cool down with the second mile. There are lots of ways to mix it up. Post on Facebook, or post in the comments what creative workouts you did.Hint : If you do Suzanne's warm up and Oden's video's plus Pat's videos you will still need about 30 - 40 additional minutes during the week.
Playing the Long Game
