Our secret is officially out– there’s no hiding the massive 127lb additions to the Cardio Lab. For the New Year we decided to ditch the spin bikes in favor of Rogue’s Echo bike, which is an air bike or sometimes called a fan bike. So what’s so special about them? First and most importantly, these bikes are a special kind of terrible and we all know by now there’s nothing I love more than a special kind of terrible. It uses wind resistance via the large fan in the front so the harder you work, the more it works you. The push/pull handles incorporate your chest, back, arms & abs– something the spin bikes weren’t capable of doing. It’s great for HIIT, metabolic conditioning and forging mental toughness (as if Cardio Lab needed more of that anyway!) So here’s your guide to using these fantastic aerobic beasts.

 

The Monitor:
Thankfully the monitor is super user friendly. You simply press the green START button and all your stats are on one screen. It tracks distance, calories, watts, heart rate & time without having to hit multiple buttons to scan through them.

 

 

On the right side there are options for timed intervals (like the old trusty Tabata :20 sprint/:10 rest x 8 rounds). There’s also options to set workouts based on time, distance and calories.

 

To reset the stats on the screen, press the red STOP button and then the START button to begin a new session.

 

Adjusting the seat:
The seat adjusts up and down and also front to back. To adjust the seat higher or lower, twist the knob below to the left and pull outwards.

 

 

Once the knob is pulled out towards you, grab the seat to pull higher or lower until it clicks into one of the holes. Remember to retighten the knob or you risk the seat crashing down mid sprint.

 

To adjust the seat front to back, use the knob towards the back of the bike, underneath the seat. In the same fashion, glide the seat forward or backwards and retighten the knob.

 

 

Test it out:
Skeptical or curious about the power/torture of these machines? Test out this simple workout:
10 rounds of :30 sprint/ :30 rest.
Once you get yourself peeled off the floor after this, come find me and let me know how you faired.

 

 

Happy air biking everyone!

This week, we interviewed Mike Allen, a physical therapist that has helped several UF members and has been the main source of my success in rehabbing a recent back injury.

 

Mike was recommended to me by a friend, Nate, who has also had tons of success using Mike’s knowledge to rehab tweaks that have come up over the years. I am usually rather skeptical of physical therapists because of their (typical) lack of knowledge in competitive lifting. But Nate reassured me that Mike has many years of experience working with barbell movements (which you can read about below) that give him a huge advantage in helping athletes of all kinds.

 

Mike has helped me tremendously with my back and is currently helping with some elbow issues I’ve had for a long time. He does a great job at listening to what you have to say about your injury while analyzing the movements that cause pain in the first place. This helps Mike give his patients the right amount of corrective exercises to help them start feeling better and lifting sooner.

 

Mike will be at Union Fitness on Monday, January 7th from 5-8 pm to do free 30 minute injury screens. Please sign-up in advance at the front desk!

 

Tell us a little about yourself!

 

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Physiology and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy having graduated from the Slippery Rock University School of Physical Therapy in 2006. I’ve spent countless hours of post-graduate work improving all facets of my practice as a physical therapist, and as a strength and conditioning coach.  
My journey into Physical Therapy started as a youth and high school athlete, having experienced PT first hand on numerous occasions through various sports related injuries.  I’ve always had an interest in science, and thought that physical therapy would be the perfect field for me to combine my interest in science and my love of sports and strength and conditioning.   
My hobbies outside of work are strength training, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and visiting the great selection of restaurants and craft breweries our city has to offer.  
My background in sports include varsity basketball and baseball in high school, and was a member of the powerlifting team at Slippery Rock University.  I’ve competed both raw and in single ply gear, however prefer raw lifting vs geared.  I also competed in the Mr. SRU bodybuilding show in 2002, in my one and only venture into bodybuilding.  Most recently I’ve developed a passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, having started training in 2010.

 

What do you find that is unique about your approach to treating people?

 

My approach to treating patients is very eclectic.  I utilize parts of many different systems of evaluation and treatment, that help me achieve the best results.  Every patient is unique in and of themselves, and require a different approach to treatment.  I like to keep a full tool box of manual therapy tricks and exercises to prescribe that help patients to move and feel better.  I do incorporate a lot of strength training and strength training principles into my prescriptive exercise programs, as I believe that a foundation of strength and the development of the movement patterns associated with strength training translate extremely well to everyday life.

 

What are the most common mistakes you see in warm-ups?

 

There are several common mistakes I see in warm-ups.  One is too much or too aggressive of foam rolling and other soft tissue work.  There’s a common misunderstanding on how soft tissue treatment works (we can do a blog post on this) and that causes people to over do it.  It absolutely has its place and can help to improve movement quality before training, but people often spend way too much time and apply way too much pressure.  Some light rolling for a minute or two and move on.  Another common one I see is too much emphasis on static stretching and not enough on developing proper movement patterns.  Developing movement patterns specific to the exercises you are about to perform is much more important than spending too much time stretching isolated muscle. No need to spend 30 minutes warming-up.  Address some soft tissue tightness with a foam roller or other device briefly, get into some movement patterns specific to the demands of your training, and get to training!

 

What do you believe should be in every strength and conditioning program?

 

Aside from fundamental basic movement patterns, every strength training program should incorporate unilateral (one side) and multi-planar (moving through various planes of motion) exercises.  Often times people having underlying strength or mobility deficits, and unilateral training can both hep to identify these, as well as correct them with the proper exercise.  Bilateral exercises like squats and deadlifts should be the foundation of your programs, but because they are bilateral exercises, often times strength or mobility deficits on one side of the body are compensated for and go unnoticed.  This can lead to underperformance and/or injury.  I also believe that multi-planar exercises should be incorporated.  In both sports and in daily life we don’t function in one plane of motion, we move in multiple planes.  So why not combine those planes in our training, and teach our bodies to be strong and move efficiently through all of the planes of motion.

 

Where can people find you and what does your facility provide?

 

I can be found at Precision Physical Therapy and Performance located at 4706 William Flynn Hwy, Allison Park, PA 15101.  We can also be found at www.precisionptandperformance.com, and on both Facebook and Instagram.  We offer:
-Physical Therapy
-Transitional Wellness Program  – A program that transitions patients to a strength and conditioning program that is designed by me
-Sports Performance – Strength and Conditioning for Youth, High School, and College athletes
-Arm Care for baseball players
-Yoga
-Pilates
-Massage Therapy
I have enjoyed working with many of the members of Union Fitness, and look forward to working with many more of you.  Please like us on Facebook and Instagram, and watch for informational videos we post to help you all move and feel better.  

I believe this will be our last blog post of 2018, and the theme that comes to mind is gratitude.

Our staff had a (personally) challenging year- in summation:

I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2017 and it’s still challenging me through 2018. Lindsey is dealing with her own auto-immune issues and is working toward remedying some symptoms she’s overlooked in the past. Alison had a new baby and came back to the gym with a new chip on her shoulder (sorry morning crew). Ryan moved across the country and also found a way to give himself rhabdo. And Alexa just graduated college. Deep breath…that’s a lot…and it felt like a lot. But we grew- literally and figuratively. Our staff is getting bigger, growing stronger, and hopefully becoming better versions of our previous selves.

I asked our staff to send me a couple quick notes on some things they are grateful for from this year. For better or worse, here is what I got back:

Lindsey
This has been one of my most challenging and most fulfilling years. I am most grateful for my closest friends, who love me and support me but also push me to grow and be a better human.
Aaaand I’m grateful for my little dog, who never leaves my side even when I wish he would.

Alexa
Oh geeze. What am I grateful for…
I think it’s safe to say that 2018 was a big year for many of us. A big growth year. I graduated, something that is very bittersweet for me. I got engaged. And I started my journey at Union Fitness. I am going to pick one thing though because Casey wanted this to be quick…and since I am coming up on my one year I am choosing my job at Union Fitness. I am so grateful for this. I have met many intelligent and generous human beings. Union Fitness has given more to me than they even know. I walked in humble and introverted as usual. Willing to learn, shut off my ego, and keep playing student.
But over months I have cried, opened up, and developed many relationships. I was given the opportunity to write a blog on a topic that is very personal and dear. This was a huge moment for me. I am best at expressing myself via writing and their belief in me to do so was empowering.
I am also grateful for the clients I work with. Being able to help people through training, bettering their relationship with their body, and connecting with them on a personal level is what genuinely lights up my heart.
I’ll cut this here. I just want to say
thank you Casey and to the UF staff for bringing me into UF and always believing in me.

Alison

Ryan
I’m grateful for my friends and family.

(I called him out and said “seriously, that’s the best you can do?”)

So he came back to me with-

I’m grateful for cookies, and tacos, and banana bread bro.
Also the opportunities that were given to me this year.

(You earned them, bro.)

Casey
I’m grateful for the trials and tribulations that 2018 has brought to my doorstep- both welcomed and unwelcome. I’m not one to be content with anything, for better or worse. I’m learning that being content in certain areas of my life doesn’t necessarily equal complacency. My experience with U.C. has been the most difficult thing that I’ve personally dealt with, and the thing that I have grown the most from. It’s funny to say this, but I’m grateful for my diagnosis. It has forced me to slow down. It has forced me to value my health (when I have it). It has forced me to shift my perspective in so many ways that I would have never experienced otherwise.

And, to be cheesy, I’m grateful for Union Fitness. I get to come into ‘work’ everyday and help people get stronger. My aim has been and always will be to teach anybody that walks through the doors and is willing, how to become the strongest version of themselves possible. But not through spoon feeding- through engagement and empowerment. This is your journey- and it’s not about the weights. It’s about overcoming your former self. Transcendence through challenging what you thought maybe was not possible. Think about the best version of yourself that you can be (and want to be) and go be it. There is nothing stopping you other than the excuses you keep telling yourself. Make 2019 whatever you want it to be…because you can.

Training has been headed in the right direction as a whole. However, a resurgence of health issues is taking center stage at the moment.

To put it plainly, I’ve been feeling like garbage lately- a little more so than usual. I  haven’t been able to maintain bodyweight which is usually a sign of some underlying issues for me.

I had a blood test done- Prometheus ADA- which checks the level of Humira in my blood stream, along with any possible antibodies that my immune system would have created to fight the Humira (my body seeing it as an invader). I had this $1500 test done before when I was feeling sick and it came back that my antibodies were high, rendering the Humira ineffective. So we added Methotrexate and it helped balance everything out. Then I came off of the methotrexate as planned, and the Humira was effective for some time- up until now.
Seeing that this same issue has popped up, it’s likely time to switch drug ‘families’. A little scary if you’ve ever been in this position, but what else can I do? Go on feeling like shit?…I’ve never been one to settle for “OK.”
My doctor is leaning toward Remicaid or Entivyo. Both have successful track records in putting Ulcerative Colitis into remission. So the plan of attack is as follows from now through January…
1) Friday I have a doctor’s appointment with a liver specialist.
2) Mid-January I have a colonoscopy. Fun!!
3) Then my doctor will assess the health of my colon and we’ll decide which drug to switch to.
In the meantime I’ll be training the best I can and keeping my fingers crossed.

Box jumps- 36” for 8 sets:

Deadlifts- speed work- 585×1 for 5 sets:

Squats- Cambered bar 565×5:

It’s that time again. Welcome to December’s State of the Union.

 

The end of 2018…it has been a hell of a year, both good and bad. We grew as a gym. We’re hoping our members grew in their own way as well. We saw our members hit personal bests in marathons, on the scale, and with barbells. We had many go out on a limb and try new things- powerlifting meets, cardio classes, and first time yogis. We danced and sang through Deutschtown. We mourned for Squirrel Hill. And we wonder what next year will bring as we spend time with friends and family around the dinner table for the holidays.

 
 
To follow along with our core values, here is a link to our website:

About

 
UF values- EPIC: Education—Passion—Integrity—Community

 

Education
We are extremely proud to announce that Alexa is graduating with her degree in exercise science from Chatham University! She’s been stalwart in figuring out exactly where she wants to land in this world. Through a few changes in majors and multiple internships, she’s been true to herself. And for that, we’re even more proud. She’s a genuine human being and without any effort brings a smile to everyone she crosses paths with. Alexa- thank you for your time, effort, and dedication to the Union Fitness community and to yourself. You make the world a better place just by being you!

 

Passion
Dedication could be interchanged on this one…Alison came to me and said we need 5:30am classes. I’m not at all a morning person and I trust Alison because she’s the most reliable coworker that I’ve ever been around- so I wasn’t about to find out for myself. A couple months later, all of our morning classes are filled up, and some even waitlisted. So thank you Alison for your passion and dedication. And thank you Union Fitness members for your passion and dedication! It takes a lot of mental fortitude and discipline to set that 4-430-5am alarm and not hit snooze. Kudos to you all. Keep it up in the new year!

 

Integrity
We dropped the ball last year and didn’t get involved with a giving tree early enough. So we all set calendar reminders for this year and threw it out to our community via social media. We had a ton of suggestions and support, and ended up settling on the Light of Life rescue mission on Western Avenue. We try to keep these things as local as possible, and the Northside is so welcoming and easy to access, so we’re grateful for that. All of the tags were taken from the tree with a few days to spare (30 in total) so next year let’s shoot for 40, and we’ll keep raising the bar from there. Thank you all that took the time, effort, and resources to donate. You’re absolute gems and you all make UF what it is.

 

Community
Out of the blue on a random day of the week, a member sent me a personal instagram message. I don’t want to share all of it, but the gist of it was…

Thank you for a great gym- the staff and the members are always nice and welcoming. But most importantly, I look forward to going there. I don’t do everything perfectly in terms of my own training…”but I am happier now than where I was before I started a year ago…So before the busy Christmas season…I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you.”

 

This is what gets me out of bed every day. This is what fuels our staff. Thank you for your message (you know who you are). And even better, I shared it on our social media and got so much love in response. There is no secret formula. We try to treat you all with love and respect and kindness. Everyone is on their own journey here and there is no need to compare your first or second step to someone else’s marathon. When you walk through our doors, we want you to take ownership of your health and wellness- this is YOUR GYM. So continue to treat the space, and more importantly, your fellow members with love and respect. We’re all in this together.

 

Thank you all. I look forward to 2019 with each of you.

-Casey

This week my program called for 6 sets of 2 front squats and 4 back squats at 100% of my previous front squat max. I was a little anxious so I put it off for a couple days and when I finally got around to it, I reluctantly set up the camera. This first video is from September when I tested my front squat max:

 

 

This second video is from my first set of this week’s program:

 

 

The difference between these clips is exactly why I encourage my clients (and myself!) to track their progress, with either videos like the above or good ole fashion pen and paper. Weights in both videos are the same yet in the second video I’m noticeably faster, stronger and leaner. There’s less bounce out of the bottom of my squat, my form is not perfect but better (a constant work in progress) and clearly Ryan’s booty program is working because all I hear inside my head when I squat now is “Hips through! Squeeze your glutes!”. All wins in my book.

 

Like any normal training program– there were a few hiccups in this cycle. My 10 week program turned into a 13-14 week program due to illness, lack of sleep, general life-happens issues and admittedly a little laziness. I’m now a little over 6 months postpartum yet I’m still sleeping like I have a newborn. My sleep schedule is all over the place. I’m lucky to get a good solid 4 hour stretch in each night and the rest of the night is a crapshoot. This hands down affects my training so I skip workouts or modify them when I need. My nutrition, though, is thankfully pretty solid right now. I’m trying to intake 1900 or more calories per day. I’m concentrating on eating enough protein, staying hydrated and preparing my meals to include milk-boosting foods like oats, almonds, dark leafy greens and avocados.

 

Looking ahead to what’s in store for my next training cycle, there are a few things I examine before I program for myself: weaknesses I need to work on, what my short-term and long-term goals are, any time restraints I may have coming up and I always try to add a sprinkle of just-for-fun. Here is today’s workout:

 

Warm up to encourage healing of abdominal diastasis:
3 rds:
Side-Lying Leg Raises x 20per
SLDL x 15per
Push Up x 10
Air Squat x 15
Bird Dog x :30per

 

Week 8 of Squat Program:
Front Squat/Back Squat 6x 2/4@ 100%

 

Big Booty Alison Program:
Eccentric Hip Thrusts 4×5
Dimel DL 4×8
GHR Back Raises 4×10
Glute Bridge 4×20

 

Core:
Hanging Leg Raises 4×6
Hollow Body Holds 4x :20

Congratulations to Richard Smith, our November Member of the Month! He’s one of our favorite Northsiders, rolling in at 6:29 on the dot every morning. As a staple morning crew member, Richard fills class with his “I hate working out” mantras and witty cardio complaints. Still, that doesn’t stop him from showing up and working hard each day.  He’s even recruited fellow Northsiders, including his husband and neighbors to join in on the party.  We have yet to see him step foot in the Cardio Lab but he doesn’t shy away from #Powerful or Bootcamp and even admits to occasionally enjoying a Metcon or two. He originally joined with the only goal of getting stronger.  Richard has surpassed his original goal, seeing strength gains in every single class and has even seen the unintended bonus of weight loss.

 

We decided to sit down with Richard and pick his brain a little bit about his successes so far at Union Fitness.

 

What is one weird way your life has changed since getting fit?
I don’t crave sweets as much. Which is sad because I love cake. I used to be able to eat half a cake, now, a slice does just fine. Also, my eating portions in general, just naturally shrunk.

 

What is your favorite and least favorite part of UF?
I like getting to meet people I would not normally cross paths with in my everyday life. I can’t think of anything I dislike…maybe the janky medballs.

 

What are your goals for the new year?
I’d like to start running in 2019 to slim down some more. As you know, I HATE cardio. I need to get over that.

 

Don’t worry Richard, new medicine balls are on the way! In the meantime, we look forward to having Richard and the rest of the morning crew in class– janky medballs, cardio curses and all.

This program started with completely rebuilding my deadlift and squat. Recently, I made the choice to not participate in a meet that I had signed up for. As frustrating as this decision was, it seems everyone I talked to, including my physical therapist, thought it was the wisest decision in the long run. If nothing else, this makes me appreciate the strong support I have in this gym.

 

Now the real challenge is redesigning my lifts. Motor patterns are a stubborn thing. As useful as they are, if you have developed poor motor patterns, problems can happen quickly.

 

One way to begin fixing these bad habits is to do every exercise with intention. Meaning, when I do these exercises for rehabbing my back I want to sweat trying to focus on the muscle that I want to work. I know I can squat 135 without really thinking about it but on this day I made a point to count 2 second pauses while making sure my body is exactly where I need it to be.

 

When I coach people, I tell them to have a checklist for each lift. Every time you approach a lift you need to go down your list to perform optimally. Now it’s time for me to take my own advice and focus on each point with intensity.

 

 

Warm up:
90/90 Belly breathing: 2×5
Raised Toe touches: 2×6
Banded PSOAS March: 3×5 each 3 sec pause
Hamstring Pails and Rails: 3×10 sec
RKC Planks: 3x 10sec

 

Squat: 135lbs 5×3 2 sec pause
SSB Split Squats: 85lbs 3×8
Belt Sq March:6 plates 3×10 each leg with 2 sec pause (Squeezing my glutes for dear life)
Hamstring curls on machine: 3×12

 

Also if anyone is curious about how I rehabbing my back feel free to come up and ask me. I am more than happy to talk about it.

I’ve found myself facing a new challenge over the past few months. I’d been training for powerlifting in one way or another for about 5 years. I’d never considered not powerlifting. I trained through some fairly serious injuries, also through a lot of difficult moments of my life, and at times I really had no business training at all. I was completely addicted to the process of getting stronger – I was lifting for therapy for a long time. Some nagging part of me knew that was a problem, but I was really good at telling that part of my brain to shut up.

 

This summer I had a shift. I was training and training but not getting anywhere. My real life stress was outpacing my training stress and I just couldn’t recover from the work I was doing. I had days where I felt like a zombie; human interaction felt impossible, I felt like I was fighting a strong current with every step I took. I finally had to stop and reevaluate my goals and my process.

 

The truth was that I’d lost a lot of the passion for powerlifting that I’d once had. I used to love competing – I’ve always been a competitive person and powerlifting was that outlet for adult me. But I had no drive to get ready for a meet. I was training just to train, and that’s not me. I’d been playing with the olympic lifts (the snatch and clean & jerk) for a few months at that point and was really enjoying learning something new. This is a completely different sport where I’d need to spend a lot of time on technique before I’d really get anywhere. That means the workouts are all relatively light compared to my strength and don’t stress my body in quite the same way. For that reason, I decided to completely make the switch. I’m approaching the 12 week mark on that transition now.

 

It hasn’t been easy. A lot of my identity is wrapped up in lifting and striving to move heavy weights. Taking my training weights down (by a lot) has been a knock to my ego. I’ve also been shifting how I approach conditioning and diet in that I’m not doing as much and I’m letting myself eat more in an effort to better handle stress and regulate my hormones. In essence, I’m doing the opposite of everything I’ve done in the past. Sometimes this makes me panic – will I lose all my strength? Will I gain a ton of weight? Will clients not take me seriously?

 

The answer to all of those worries is no. But having those types of thoughts is normal. We see a lot of new members come in with a goal of changing their fitness habits: often these are people who have relied heavily on cardio but instead are looking to try some resistance training. Sometimes it’s ex-Crossfitters who want to learn how to get stronger instead of just ‘fitter’. Sometimes it’s powerlifters who want to be able to walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded. No matter your shift, there will be obstacles – both mental and physical. Here are a few things that helped me.

---

Rework your goals

 

A new focus necessarily means a change in goals. I loooove goal-setting, so for me this is the best part of making a fitness change. For others, maybe not so much. Now’s the time to review our previous goal-setting articles and settle on some new, smart goals. For me, this means competing in my first weightlifting meet in early 2019. By the end of this year, I plan to build a habit of doing regular mobility and prehab work on my shoulders (5x per week). With that foundation, I hope to feel comfortable in my snatch and clean & jerk technique by the end of 2018 to lead into that meet. The ultimate number goal for the next 6 months is to snatch 67.5kg (~148) and clean & jerk 85kg (~187lbs). As far as the meet, I just don’t want to bomb out!

 

This also means letting go of old goals, or at least recognizing they need to go on the back burner for a time. My 2018 goal was to deadlift 400lbs. With my new training focus, that is not going to happen. It pained me to think about “failing” at achieving that goal, but I had to consider what that really meant. Should I have continued pursuing that goal even though it was hurting my body? Even though I wasn’t even enjoying the pursuit anymore? No, that wouldn’t have been smart. That’s easier said than done, but the choice was clear.

---

Get on a program (or get a new coach)

 

I’d been programming for myself for about a year and half and had gotten pretty comfortable figuring out how to progress towards my powerlifting goals. With weightlifting, that’s all out the window. I toyed with the idea of coming up with something for myself, but decided not to for a few reasons. The first and most obvious: I’m too inexperienced to really know what I need in this sport. The second, I’m so new to the sport that just about anything would help me! With that in mind, I decided to utilize a good source of weightlifting knowledge online and go with a preset program. No, this isn’t perfectly matched to my needs, but again, right now it’s just about getting the reps in. To get better at snatching, the primary thing I need is to snatch more.

 

Apply this train of thought to yourself and your new goals as they emerge. Will the program you’ve been on help you meet your new goals? Does the person who programs for you (a coach, a friend, maybe yourself) have good experience in that field? If you answered no to both those questions, it’s time to find a new program (or a coach that fits your new needs). If one of our staff at UF is your coach, be sure to talk through your new direction with us! We can’t know how to change your program without your communication. If you aren’t interested in coaching, take advantage of the copious amounts of knowledge available online. Remember, if you’re new to something, just getting the reps in will help you the most during that total novice stage. No need to get fancy yet, just put in the time.

---

Take your time

 

And on the subject of time, recognize that this process will take time. You may be leaving behind an activity you’d gotten pretty good at to focus on something new. That means there’s a good chance you’re not going to be good… at all. I’m pretty bad at weightlifting, as I should be. You can’t be that good at something you’ve only been doing for a few weeks. And the next time you hear me complaining about how I should be better at this stuff by now, please shove this article right in my face.

 

This can feel extremely frustrating, especially for the perfectionists among us. It’s easy to feel like you should just magically just “get it” when you start something new. We tend to self-select interests and hobbies that we have a knack for. Maybe you’ve found yourself in that boat with your fitness switch, maybe not. Either way, you’ll need to be patient. Like I said above, you need to put the reps in to get better, especially at first.

---

But go all in

 

Just because you need to be patient doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get excited and really dig in! To me, there’s nothing more fun than getting really caught up in something new. There’s always a million articles to read, videos to watch, and techniques to try. I’ve definitely stayed up way past my bedtime on many occasions recently watching Mike Burgener videos on Youtube. I regret nothing.

 

Get excited! But remember that this is a time to learn, not just to do. You may want to start training this new way 7 days a week, but part of that learning process is figuring out how much recovery time you’ll need to keep getting better. It may not feel like a lot at first: your weights would likely be light, your runs would be short, etc. I’ve found that in an effort to force myself to rest, I find other ways to go all in on something new. I spend that time reading and watching video, or I find new mobility routines to help me find better positions, or I increase my daily walks to keep my hips feeling loose, or I start actually prioritizing sleeping more. All of these things are helping me get better at my new sport, WITHOUT burning me out quickly. There are a myriad of little, boring things you can be doing to get better. Find those and use your new motivation to build some positive habits.

---

Remember to enjoy yourself

 

This is all supposed to be fun, isn’t it? Few of us are elite adult athletes and there’s nothing wrong with that. Be sure you’re enjoying your new hobby. And remember that to enjoy something, it doesn’t always have to be “fun,” just rewarding somehow.

 

If you’ve read Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (and if you haven’t, I’d highly encourage you to do so), you know that contentment doesn’t necessarily come from being giddily happy or having SO MUCH FUN all the time. True fulfillment comes when we are faced with a challenge that is juuust beyond our reach and we work towards meeting it. A new fitness focus perfectly fits the bill. Find some flow in the new practices you’ll take up – get caught up in improving your mobility (like me), or doing hundred and hundreds of goblet squats to progress to a solid back squat, or working on your core strength so that you can run pain-free. Then put it all together when you get to do “the real thing.”

 

Making a big switch like this is frustrating. It’s time consuming. But it’s rewarding. Take your time, go all in, and enjoy yourself.