A Friendly Nudge - Persistence Builds Resiliency
...because we all could use a little encouragement!
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Progress can be addictive, especially if you’re like me and have ADHD. Any type of early reward or win significantly increases the odds that I’ll stick with something. It’s why I love exercise snacks. They don’t require a big time commitment. You get the initial reinforcement that you did something productive and usually within a fairly short time you start feeling stronger or a little more resilient, which provides additional motivation and affirmation that you’re on the right track.
But what about when you’ve started a new routine or you’re trying to learn something new and it doesn’t come easy, in fact it feels like a grind and a struggle? It’s tempting to decide that you’re just not an exerciser, or a cook, or a meditator or whatever habit you’re trying to nurture. But if you take on that frame, you’ll miss out on the chance to build that persistence muscle. Tenacity and a healthy level of stubbornness are essential ingredients for skill acquisition and growth.
The good news is that we don’t have to do things perfectly in order to benefit. Persistence gives us the opportunity for repetition and if we can be a little deliberate and intentional about how we practice we’ll eventually get better.
I think the older we get the more crucial that persistence muscle becomes because so many things that I used to do without even thinking twice about them now require a more concerted effort.
But this old dog is still eager to learn new tricks. Today’s cooking video is a perfect example of that.
As a kid, I hated cottage cheese. I don’t mean that I disliked it, I loathed it. But that was probably 60 years ago and the few times I’ve had it since then weren’t favorable enough to change my mind.
Today’s dish changed my mind.
Cottage Cheese and Cheddar Eggs
I’m always looking for painless ways to add more protein into meals without sacrificing taste and I would have never guessed that cottage cheese would fit that description. Even if you’re skeptical, give this one a try.
Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 heaping tablespoons of small curd cottage cheese (I used full fat)
Handful of grated or shaved cheddar
Chives
1 tbsp butter
Add at least a couple of heaping tablespoons of small curd cottage cheese to the eggs, beat well and when the butter quits foaming in a hot skillet, add the eggs and cottage cheese mixture to the skillet, reduce the heat and then add the cheddar cheese.
Cook until the eggs have reached your desired level of doneness.
Top with cracked pepper and chives, but this dish is one that begs for customization. Spinach or asparagus would be a tasty addition. Check the saltiness before you add additional salt since some cheddar is pretty salty.
Enjoy!
Now that we’ve equipped you with a tasty way to ramp up your protein, let’s find a doable way to add some physical challenge to your week.
Here are this week’s exercise snacks.
Feel free to skip any that don’t feel doable and modify them to meet your needs.
When you’re just starting out with pushups, doing them against the wall is the easiest way to get started. As you get stronger you can progress to a counter top or some other raised surface. The closer you get to the ground, the tougher they get.
Foam Rolling Duration: As much time as needed
There’s a reason that every week starts with these. Foam rolling is a nice way to begin getting your muscles ready for exercise. When you find a sore or tight spot, hang out for 20-40 seconds. Check with your doc if you have osteoporosis, osteopenia or other health issues. Avoid your armpits, lower spine, neck, front or back of knee.
Easy Skater Duration: 30 seconds to 1 minute
For this exercise, take a wide step and balance on one foot. This one combines a gentle warm up with a balance drill. If you need something to help with balance you could do this behind two chairs and use their backs for support if needed.
Skipping: Duration 1-2 minutes
Skipping is a great way to warm up your hamstrings and it’s an excellent way to get your heart rate up and put a smile on your face. It also helps us keep our fascia healthy and elastic. Start easy (almost in slow motion) and as you get more comfortable with the movement you can increase your speed and drive your knees higher.
If you don’t have an outdoor space for this, or you’re not ready to entertain the neighbors, a long, uncluttered hallway is perfect. Also trying them in slow motion can help you remember what they feel like.
Suitcase Carry Duration: 1 minute and work up to 2 minutes
I don’t think there’s a single exercise that offers more functional benefit than suitcase carries. It supports upper body, deep core stabilizers, legs, cardiovascular, with an extra helping of grip strength.
Take your time, proud chest, double brace your core (suck in your gut and brace it like someone is going to punch you) and then take your weight on a walk.
A kettlebell or a dumbbell work great for this, but if you’re just getting started a gallon jug of water weighs 8 pounds.
Try 30 seconds left handed and 30 seconds right handed.
ATG Split Squat Duration: 30 seconds for each leg and increase as you get stronger
This is from the Knees Over Toes guy, Ben Patrick and its goal is stronger knees.
This helps with hip mobility, ankle mobility and it’s a great hip flexor stretch. It also stresses and strengthens the patellar tendon of your knee, but go easy.
Do not go into pain with this one.
I’m using an exercise step and a balance stick to make it a little easier.
If you’re able, you want to have your hamstring cover your calf.
And here’s something a little more approachable
FHL Calf Raise Duration: 25 each leg but pause if necessary.
These are part of Ben Patrick’s Knees Ability Zero series designed to help us build more durable knees.
The FHL is a muscle that goes from your big toe all the way up into your calf. It helps us flex our big toe and stand on our tip toes.
The FHL calf raise is a version of standing on your tiptoes with an emphasis on your big toe.
Make sure your footing is good and raise your heels off the ground until your weight is on your big toes.
ABC Balance Duration: A-Z with each leg
This is a great exercise snack to do with family and friends during holiday or other gatherings.
We all need to play more and this is a way to turn balance improvement into a game. If you’re in the kitchen cooking and waiting on the water to boil, see if you can stand on one leg and trace the ABCs with the other leg.
If you only get to G, no problem, start again at H and keep going.
Now do it with the other leg.
This is something you can do every day.
Push Ups Duration: Focus on quality over quantity. 5 quality push ups is better than 10 rushed partial push ups.
Push Ups strengthen your chest, shoulders, arms, back and core and they’re scalable across a wide range of fitness levels.
You want your chest proud, your core engaged and your arms are about a 45° angle from your body. This helps protect your shoulders.
Here are three options to choose from.
Standing Hip Mobility: Duration - 1 minute per side
A lack of mobility or range of motion in your ankles and hips can have a big impact on how your knees work and feel. It’s why I like this exercise. It helps you explore your range of motion in your hips and it can gradually help you expand your range of motion.
Avoid any movement that causes pinching, catching or pain. You want to expand your capacity and grinding through pain is not the way to accomplish that.
Engage/stabilize your core because you want to keep your core stationary and have the motion come exclusively from your hip.
Monster Walk with Bands Duration: 30 seconds to 1 minute
I can’t count the number of times that I’ve done this exercise as part of a physical therapy workout.
It is an excellent way to wake up your glutes, hamstrings, and inner thighs.
Place the exercise band just above your knees, keep your feet parallel, hinge at the hips to maintain a partial squat and make sure to keep tension on the band.
Planks on a Stability Ball Duration: Start with 10-15 seconds and increase as you get stronger
Adding a stability ball to planks forces our body to fight for stability and increases the difficulty. You want your core braced, your shoulders down and back and your chest proud. Adding a little more air pressure to your stability ball seems to make this more doable.
If this seems like one you’re not ready for yet, I’ve also included the links to the counter plank.
Counter Plank
Sink Squats Duration: Work up to 10 but ease in
This is a great place to start building stronger legs and it provides a great shoulder and back stretch. Hold on to the lip of the sink, feet about shoulder width apart, proud chest, flat back and hinge at the hips and move your butt back like you’re sitting down in a chair. You want to avoid letting your knees collapse inward so you want to think about driving your knees out.
Regarding depth of the squat, don’t go to a depth that’s painful. Thighs parallel to the ground is more than adequate. Squeeze your butt and drive your knees outward and push your feet through the floor to stand up.
Step Up to Balance Duration: 1 minute
As we age, our quality of life, and even our life itself, can depend on our balance since falls are the leading cause of accidental death in folks over 65. So we’re going to make sure that we work on it every week.
If you have a few minutes while you’re waiting on your coffee to brew, spend a few minutes doing this drill or one of the other balance drills we’ve covered.
With this exercise we’re combining balance, coordination and light conditioning.
Focus on the feeling of stability as you raise your leg at the top.
I rushed a couple of mine. Take your time with yours.
If you don’t have a raised step or platform, a stair tread or even the curb will work.
Walking the Line Duration: 30 seconds to 1 minute
Walking a straight line doesn’t seem like it should be a big deal, but trying to get as close to heel to toe as possible is more challenging than I was expecting.
I noticed that if I looked down at my feet, keeping my balance was especially difficult but looking at a point in the distance made a remarkable difference.
Work your way up to a minute.
Resistance Band Deadlifts: Duration Dictated by Form Up to 10
I love exercises that help us understand how to leverage the hip hinge because it can help us better navigate aging. It’s something that I’m sure I did incorrectly for years. You want your knees soft, your back flat and butt out. When you’re coming up you want to feel like you’re driving your feet into the ground as you drive your hips forward. I would start with a light resistance band and maybe even a Theraband while you’re getting comfortable with the motion.
I would shoot for a band light enough that you can do 10 reps but if your form starts to break down at all the set is over.
Your body is begging you to give it something challenging to do. The secret is to avoid injury by building capacity and a solid foundation and giving your connective tissue a chance to adapt to the increasing demands that you’re placing on it.
It’s easy to convince ourselves that we’re too old to start a new exercise program. Don’t be one of those folks. Ease in, stick with it, and enjoy the journey!
Have a wonderful week and play with your food!
Until next week,
Jim
I am grateful to have your kind, quiet and helpful videos. Thank you.
Did you self diagnose ADHD? I kind of did, re: myself. Interested to know. Thanks! Also I just bought cottage cheese and had some yesterday. It’s been a while….but I’ve always liked it. 😬