- Nighty-Night Exercise
- Weekend Warrior
Nighty-Night Exercise
Good evening, everyone! One of the most popular sleeping positions is the fetal-position - all curled or bundled up like the letter "G". Not that particular one. Even though you're actually consciously unconscious while you sleep, your muscles still churn. Your resting (metabolic) rate, which increases with exercise, is active. So, the fetal-position sees that your muscles are flexed, bunched up, and are working. Here's our nighty-night exercise: Downward Dog-Upward Dog Transition (a.k.a., Dog Switch). Everyone who has had it so far likes it.
First position = Downward Dog. Start in an inverted/upside down "V" position. That is, your hands are flat on the ground and shoulder width apart. Your feet are flat on the ground, but your heel can be slightly raised off the ground to get a little stretch. If your heels are raised, try to press them toward the ground. Your butt/glutes are in the air. The only parts touching the ground are your hands and feet. Your head is in line with your arms.
Second position = Upward Dog/Cobra. Start on your stomach. Your hands are just beneath your shoulders and are shoulder width apart. It looks like you're about to do a push-up, but instead...press away from the floor. That is, only lift your torso/chest off the floor. Your legs and ankles stay extended. Hips stay on the ground. You can keep your head straight or look upward (avoiding dizziness). But, do not keep your head looking down.
Guidelines: Anyone can do these positions unless you have a musculoskeletal issue such as a shoulder sprain, shoulder impingement, bone spurs in your feet/toes, certain spine problems, and more that prevent the exercise from occurring...If you can't transition, then hold each position for 20 seconds for 2 sets. Rest 5 seconds. If you can transition properly, then start in the first position, downward dog, and glide downward to the upward dog (sounds strange "glide down in order to go up")...Actually, it's a normal action - think about a plane nose-diving and then recovering to regain altitude. You're doing that exact movement. In this case, hold each position for one second or less. Repeat it 8 to 10 times.
Muscles Worked: Just about everything - calf, back, back, and more back, shoulders, neck, chest, hip flexors. Your posture gets a plus! Muscles that are cramped when you sit, which is basically most of the ones in the front of your body, get a stretch here. The rear muscles get a slight strengthen.
All of this before you go to bed. It takes very, very little time. You deserve a video for this one. It was not covered in the YMV Series on YouTube. Happy sleepy time!
Weekend Warrior
"Everybody's working for the __________". Well, you actually worked for it. I am sure the fill in the blank may get a few different answers, but the answer to this lyric is already in front of you. It's Friday night (almost Saturday), and mostly everyone is either watching a basketball game, sleeping, or out and about....that was written before 12am. It is now Saturday.
The message on this topic will be very short. "Weekend-Warriors" are everywhere and are defined as individuals who only workout on the weekend or do a high volume of activity on the weekend and less volume during the week. When this warrior binge is related to exercise it can potentially lead to injury. So, let's tweak it a little.
How do we get rid of a binge?...Seek help? Yes, that is one answer. Stop? Yes, that is another. How about add?...Add an activity to your list. Add an exercise/activity that you want or need to do. When you're adding in this case, you're changing for a good reason and breaking up monotony. A weekend-warrior's entrapment is monotony. Grasp it. Look good doing what you do not normally do.
We're done for tonight! Have a great one!
Be fit,
Derek
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