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What's Your Rhythm?

I’m up between 4:30 and 5:15 most weekday mornings.  No, not claiming some early morning virtue here.  I do that for three reasons.  A couple of mornings a week, I open the local gym before my workout.  The rest of the time, I figure I might as well have my body used to getting up that early.  Since I’m up, it’s easiest just to get that workout out of the way then so I don’t have it hanging over my head all day.

The biggest reason is sheer laziness.  Yep, laziness.  If I have an article to write for a client, it takes me about a quarter of the time if I do it before noon that it would take me if I tried to do it after noon.  It’s weird that the difference in how well my brain works and when is so dramatic, but it is.

Since I work to the job instead of by the hour, getting up and getting going right away is the most cost-effective way for me to work.

Not everyone is a morning person, of course.  There are people whose brains simply do not turn on until late afternoon.

The question I have is:  Do you know when your brain is sharpest and do you schedule your life in harmony with that?  Do you know what environmental factors help this?

For instance, my brain is sharpest after a really hard workout.  Yet, I used to date a guy who found that heavy physical labor sapped his mental capacity, so he rarely chose to exercise anywhere near time to do work requiring clear thought.

This isn’t just for self-employed people by the way.  When I used to work in an office, I tried to schedule the “brain” tasks for before lunch and routine stuff for after lunch.  I also learned that coming home from an office to try to do webdev type work after dinner Just Wasn’t Going to Happen.  I think that one of the reasons that the freelance writing profession is overwhelmingly represented by night owls has a lot to do with the fact that it was the night owls who were able to work a day job and work at night until they were established as writers.  That this happened to ole up-with-the-chickens Noël is a bit of luck and a whole bunch of audacity.

Do you know your own rhythm?

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It's About the Brains

If I ever do a course on how to be self-employed  I think I’m going to make it a rule that people have to exercise regularly to be allowed to take it.

No, stop looking at me like that.  I don’t mean the 1984 style physical jerks.  I mean for whatever level of fitness that you have at the moment.  Might mean a half hour shuffle around the  block or a 5K run. (My faithful readers should be aware that I’m closer to that shuffle around the block than a 5K run!)

I’m writing this after having worked out and finished my quota for my contract work today. No, I’m not done for the day.  I don’t spend all my time on contract work.   Gotta do marketing, too, ya know.

But…

The reason I mention exercise is that I’m finding that if I’m up and have worked out early in the morning, my brain is in gear to the point where writing just flows, even when it’s not my favorite topic in the world to be working on.  The quality of the writing is superior and I don’t get that “pulling teeth” sensation that hits me if I put off writing till the afternoon, try to write without having worked out, or try to write at night.

This is not to say that I think people should necessarily be morning people.  If a workout in the afternoon and working all night is where your brain is on fire and sharpest, I think it’s fine to go with that. I do think there’s a great benefit in treating the exercise as non-negotiable.

I’m not saying that one has to be a hotshot athlete, either.  There are pics of me in this blog.  I’m hardly a model of physical fitness.   My true asset is my brain.  If exercise did not help me think better, I assure you I would not bother.  I am saying that regularly getting all sweaty and red in the face does have great benefits for how well you think.  Screw the other stuff.  Clearing the pathways in the brain is important.

Yes, yes, yes, the human body is an integrated system.  That’s rather the point.

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Soreness and Recovery

I’m still painfully sore from leg day on Monday.  No, let me rephrase that.  I’m more sore today than I’ve been since I did the workout.

That’s okay and I expected it.  I had a good lie-down in the sauna after my weights today (upper body), but I also know that today is likely the worse of it.   I also chose a restaurant within walking distance of my house to meet a friend for lunch today, because I knew that I needed to force myself to take a small walk and get the blood flowing a bit.   Thankfully tomorrow is cardio, so I’ll be swimming.  I think I’m gonna need it.  I’m wondering if I am going to be too sore to do leg day on Friday or not.  Sure hope not.

I’m a little worried, also, about my upper body workout.  I did a pretty intense upper body workout today and I’m wondering how I’m gonna be able to do swimming.  I’m already starting to feel that torso tightness that feels like I’m wearing a well-laced bodice.

My son is growing out of his sweaters, so I’m starting a new one for him today. He wants another Transformer’s sweater, but this one is just going to be an Autobots one. Maybe after I’m done, if he wants one, I’ll make a Decepticon one, too. I want to make myself a sweater, but don’t really need one just yet.  As far as wardrobing, what I think I’m going to be needing for winter is a couple of wool skirts and a couple of pairs of wool pants.  Not as cheap as the cotton I’ve made, but these outfits are pretty interseason, what with the jackets and all, and I have sweaters that go with them.

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Goals and Self-Care

Yesterday, I did a lot of bending over and squatting down to keep my joints from siezing up.  Yes, I’m quite sore, but not in a “not able to move” kind of way.

I think several things helped prevent it.  I hit the hot tub after I lifted yesterday, and I made sure to move through a range of motion in my legs quite frequently and got up from my desk to walk around a lot.

Today was a swimming day, and I got in a good workout.  I also soaked in the hot tub after I swam.  I think the frequent soaks will help prevent enough soreness to interfere with range of motion even if it doesn’t prevent it entirely.  That works for me.  I don’t like not being able to move well, but a little pain is all right.

I’ve dropped back from the longer, slower swims to the shorter, more intense swims.   I think my goal for swimming this winter is to try to get that mile in, but do it in less than half an hour.  So basically, I’m going to be pushing at a fast pace and keep adding distance to keep my workout at about a half an hour for swimming.  It seems to work out well for me.  I can do a mile in 40 minutes now.  Shaving off ten minutes in eight months is a lot, but we’ll see.  It’ll be fun to try, anyway, and certainly it’ll do my body good.  It’ll also keep me interested, which is definately the important thing.

I love it when I can work out right after working at the gym.  I can’t always do that — teaching and such.  But when I can, it’s great.   All that’s out of the way and the day is hardly touched.  Today’s a planning day at my real job, and I’ve got a buttload of proposals to write.

Heh… I just called freelance writing my real job.  I guess I’ve arrived!  That feels pretty good.

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*Whimper*

Today was leg day.

I always done a full body workout three times a week as my weights workout, but something’s been niggling at me to start doing splits instead.  This means that you only work upper or lower body, and you’ll do more exercises per body part.

I’m a bit nervous about how my legs are going to feel tomorrow, as I got out of that workout shaking so hard it was difficult for me to get on my bathing suit.  After a workout like that, you bet I soaked in the hottub before I showered and dressed in street clothes.  Places hurt that ordinarily don’t, which means there were muscles I wasn’t working.  The axillary exercises I’ve added are gonna add up.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not much of a fan of what they call “spot work”.  You really do want to treat your body as the integrated system that it is.  This means big compound exercises.  But your body adapts to any stress you put on it, so if you do something different, that means you’re doing something you’re not adapted to.

There are people on both sides of the strength training fence that like to jump up and down about their exercise being the best.  “Free weights are for sissy poseurs who are only working out for cosmetic reasons. For functional strength,  you’ll need to do body weight exercises.”  or “Body weight exercises only take you so far.  After you get to a certain level of strength, pushups and other body weight exercises are really only cardio.”

A)  Anything is better than nothing.  Never get so damn bogged down in the idea of the perfect workout that you don’t move your butt.  That’s always the really important thing.

B)  Bodies adapt to a specific stress.   If you go real hard core with bodyweight strength training, you bet you’re going to be better at it than a weightlifter who doesn’t do much bodyweight stuff.   There are few (non-triathlete) runners who can keep up with me swimming.  It’s because I swim a lot. My body knows what to do, my muscles are trained for that specific movement, and I do it often enough that I’ve adapted to it. Even though I swim well enough that I’m considered pretty good and reasonably fast by almost any standard, I can’t translate that into running. I never run.  If you’re worried about all-around adaptation, go for the Crossfit stuff.  It’s pretty good.

I’m already starting to feel creaky in the thighs and butt. I find myself glad that tomorrow is a swimming day.

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Maintenance

Sore.

Sore.

Sore.

Did I mention I was sore?

Did you know when you cough or sneeze your abdominal muscles flex?  Yeah, that kind of sore.

Because I had a lot of work to do, I was considering blowing off my swim in favor of a walk that would take less time.  After waking up this morning there isn’t a chance in hell I’ll do that.   I don’t care how damn busy I am. I’m all hurty and need some soothing water.   I think, however, I went a little too light on the legs, as my legs aren’t really all that sore.  Not really complaining, as a whole body soreness isn’t my favorite sensation in the world.  I’ll go heavy on legs the next time I work out and maybe ease up on the upper body.

I’ve finally figured out what I do the up and down thing so much when I get to exercising (work out hard, then quit for awhile).  I like a challenge.  I like to have a goal.  I like to progress.

Thing is, my goals really don’t include being a competitive athlete or anything like that.  While I want to be healthy, my real goals are about finishing my degree, growing my business and improving my writing skills.  If I’ve the physical stamina to work hard on those goals, that’s really all I need.

Maintenance of physical fitness is kinda dull, though.  Years ago, I used to say if I was taking a half hour walk a day, doing some stretching and body weight exercises, why, I’d call it good.  I didn’t because I couldn’t keep interested in it.  Would that have been enough?  For health purposes, yeah, it would.  If you’re getting your heart rate up to about 70% of its max for about 20-30 minutes 5-7 days a week, your CV system is really all good.  Anything more you do is a hobby, friends.   Yes, bodybuilding is a hobby, not about health.  Flame away, my dears, but you don’t need to go to those lengths to be healthy.  In fact, at competition levels, it is decidedly unhealthy.

But back to the actual point.  I find maintenance dull.  I challenge myself a lot because challenges are interesting. Oddly enough, they also kinda work against me.  I prefer, for instance, that male partners be physically stronger than I am.  Right now, the average healthy male is (I’m only 5’2″, after all).  As I challenge myself in the weight room, that won’t necessarily be so.  Finding the balance — keeping myself interested enough to be healthy, but not working against myself, can be a real pain in the butt.

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Hunger

I finally hit the weight room again after an embarrassingly long hiatus.

There’s a hunger I get sometimes if I’ve worked out really hard weightlifting, and it feels better than other hungers.

Much is made of the nutrition that brackets a workout for the weight lifter, as well one should!  You can’t out-train a crappy diet.  (God knows I try.  You’d think I’d do better since I know better.  Ah well…)

While all meals should have some protein and some carbs, the pre-workout meal should be slightly higher in carbs.  I don’t mean like a bunch of bread.  I mean like a bowl of porridge or something.  I suppose the Celtic blood I have shows when it comes to good pinhead oatmeal, because that really, really is a good, tasty breakfast.  (I often have an egg with this.  Protein, you know).

But my favorite meal, the meal that is viscerally satisfying, that makes me feel good emotionally, and that I’m most hungry for is the post workout meal.  It’s always simple — just meat and veggies.  If I have time I usually just chop everything up and saute it with some soy sauce in a pan with a dribble of olive oil.

I sometimes wonder if that meal feels good in a way that might be wired into the hindbrain.  God knows I’m mostly primitive, and perhaps heavy exertion before a meal with meat satisfies the hunter programming in my brain, even if truth be told, I’m no hunter and would likely starve if dropped in the woods to survive.

I bribed myself into the weight room today, and said if I was a Very Good Girl and worked out, I could soak in the hot tub afterwards.  To be honest, while it’s a pleasure and I’d do it just for that, it’s also to prevent what I know is going to be a very sore morning tomorrow.  Because of the hiatus, I was lifting about 20 lbs less than I had been at the top of my game.  Rule One, you know.  I’m really too busy to be benched by stupid.  Even though I was lifting less, I was still shaking after the workout, so I got the right amount of physical challenge.

Instead of doing the long swims, as much as I love to say I’m swimming a mile, I’m doing shorter, more intense workouts.  They do better for body-changing, and I really do want to take off a bit of adipose tissue.

I think, though, I’m still going to indulge in the hot tub after swimming, too.

Hedonist, that’s me.

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Workout

I’ve been throwing in some self-indulgence after a workout lately.  My gym has a good whirlpool, so after a hard workout, I soak for awhile.

I should probably be doing it for no other reason than soreness prevention, but I’m really doing it because it feels good.  I don’t always have time after a workout.  On days when I’m teaching computer classes, especially if I’m also opening at the gym, I’ve barely enough time to get in a short workout on the weights. Forget a good swim and a soak.

I kind of wish that the end of the day would be a good time to work out.  With my schedule and basic personal rhythm, morning workouts tend to get done.  I’ll blow off an evening workout.  But the wonderful relaxation I feel after a hard swim and a good soak in the hot tub would definitely be conducive to a good night’s sleep.

Thing is, if I work out in the mornings, I’m considerably lesslikely to blow off the workout, which is more or less why I do it.

Question for the female swimmers, how in hell do you keep a decent manicure?  I’m finding that for the most part, my nails are softer and polish peels right off.  I’m not talking long daggers here, but nicely-filed shortish fingernails.

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Pleasure and Profit

I’m finishing up a pair of burgundy pants.  Since I already have a pair of black dress pants that fit well and go well with the new wardrobe I made, these pants will be the end of Stage One of my Sewing with a Plan experiment.

I was talking to someone who said that sewing isn’t cheaper than going to Wal-mart.

Now, I do shop at stores like that often, and sometimes do find deals there!  But the money-saving wardrobe aspects really depends on a lot of factors.  Because I’m a reasonably experienced seamstress (hem! hem!), it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever be able to get something off the rack that will fit nearly as well as something I’ve made myself.  I can’t buy something in Wal-mart with a custom fit.  It’s simply not available.  But even throwing fit aside, can I find clothes at Wal-mart “just as cheap”?

Eh, sometimes I can. And when I do, I buy them.  I’d be highly unlikely to make myself sweat pants, a sports bra, or a t-shirt I was intending to work out in.  While I learned to sew to save money, it was more for historical costuming (which is gut-wrenchingly expensive if you cannot sew) than it was for a personal wardrobe.

I wouldn’t recommend sewing as a money-saving technique, necessarily, unless you really like it.  I do, which is what makes it worthwhile.  Yes, I get a garment whose material price is cheaper than what I’m likely to pay in a store,  I get the hours of pleasure making it, and the additional kick out of wearing something I made myself.  I don’t think I’ll ever get over that!  Opening my closet and seeing the garments I made for myself hanging all neatly organized gives me a wonderful sense of satisfaction.  But even the process of sewing, the smell of the fabric when I’m pressing down a seam, the sense of wonder of turning a 2D piece of fabric into a 3D creation, the puzzle-solving satisfaction of putting together a pair of pants with pockets, the way that the machine loops the thread to make a stitch in a way that seems like magic, all of that is all just fun to me.

But if I didn’t enjoy sewing, I don’t think it would be worthwhile at all.   All those hours of aggravation would not be worth the money I’d saved doing it, even if I did force myself to develop the skill necessary to sew well enough to be saving money.  I think that’d be too much like work and I could earn more money in other, more pleasant ways.  Ultimately, sewing is just a hobby I have that pays for itself, that’s all.

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Analysis of BMI


BMIThe expression BMI gets thrown out a lot lately, but it seems to me that very few people — either health professionals talking about weight, or people who talk about the fact that skinny is a lousy metric of health understand very well.

BMI means Body Mass Index. It’s a height/weight ratio. That’s it.  It doesn’t measure what the weight is composed of (muscle, bone, adipose tissue, water bloating or anything).  It’s just what you get when you step on a scale.  Most adult male athletes would be considered overweight or obese by BMI standards.  Clearly this is a measurement that leaves much to be desired.

It was developed somewhere between 1830 and 1850 by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian scientist who was trying to develop a discipline known as Social Physics. This was basically the study of Man by means of statistical measurements.  Because many of his theories were not well thought of by his peers, the discipline of sociology supplanted it not long afterwards.

Quetelet did work in the public health sector, where his formula of BMI was applied to issues of health of the day.  Thing is, these measurements were used to establish an average based on the 1840-1850 set of measurements he took.  “Average” was then taken as a baseline for “acceptably healthy”.

Friends, barring cancer, almost anyone reading this is far healthier than the average person of the 19th century.  Our mothers were better nourished while we were gestating.  Our medical care — even if it was sub-standard, was better than was even available then.    Losing a child has gone from something routine that most mothers faced to something unusual and unexpected.  I have a friend who’d be facing death in childbirth in the next few weeks if it weren’t for obstetrical advances.

I wanna chuck the BMI for one reason: It’s bad science. It’s a statistical measurement based on environmental conditions that no longer exist compared to conditions we no longer find desirable.  We’ve got better ways to measure health now.  Let’s use ’em.