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Get Out of the Summer Slump

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We are deep into summer as I’m writing this. You should be standing in your “after” picture right now. Are you? Remember in January when you looked forward to summer, with ideas of the smokin’ hot body you’d be bringing to boat parties and beach getaways? OH yes, you were gonna kill it in the gym this year. 

Or maybe you’re on that vacation you wanted to get in shape for. The big trip you bought comfortable shoes for, in anticipation of covering miles of meandering European countryside, or walking blocks in the big city. Perhaps your active vacation was carrying golf clubs on your dream course. I hope some of you got to do that. 


summerbeach.jpg

Ahh, summer. A season of long, lazy days that allow us to enjoy a slower pace of life and refill our soul. 

Bahahaha. Don’t worry, you’re in good company if that doesn’t sound like your summer either.

We Are All Busy

One of the biggest perks of my job helping people in the gym is that I interact with a large number of the same people on a very regular basis, and I get to see real trends as they happen.

It is fascinating. We are more alike and in tune with each other than we think. When the seasons change and the weather is beautiful, nearly everyone bounds in the gym with energy and optimism. 

Likewise, I see moments when the collective sentiment is a very unenthusiastic “blah.” This was the case recently in Austin, and could have been caused by low grade, often undetectable mold allergies, according to my acupuncturist. 

This is why I can say with certainly that if you feel like your summer has gotten away from you, you are not alone. 

Summer = Work + Vacation + Kids (even if they are not yours)

Summer is still my favorite time of year (except football season), but it is hard work planning summers. No kidding. If you’re going on vacation, you’ve got to plan with your work and family schedules, book hotels and rental cars and fun things to do. This gets harder, people tell me, when you are packing for kids too. 

This isn’t even the regular summer change of plans if you have kids. You’ve also got to find childcare and summer camps. 


So many red dots.

So many red dots.

Even if you don’t have kids and aren’t taking a vacation, your schedule will likely be changed by others who do. If your profession involves regular appointments with people, you already know it’s crazy with reschedules and cancellations. If you are part of a team at work, you might be taking on extra work for the people out of office. 

And, if you’re among the lucky ones on a long vacation, you’ve surely got your work cut out for you when you come back in the form of emails and calls to return. It’s sometimes more work to just get back into work.

And so, it is easy to see why our fitness routines fall by the wayside in summer. We are half a year removed from New Year’s Resolutions, where the abundant optimism of others propels you along too. We are past that last pre-summer push, which happens in late March and early April. 

There are a couple variations of this one: 

  1. “Ahh, Spring Break is coming! I have GOT to get my booty in gear!”

  2. “Ahh, Spring Break is coming! Hahaha, nevermind. Just kidding. I’m too old for Spring Break. I’ve got a few more weeks before I’ve got to get in shape for summer.”

And then summer comes. And now, summer is here and we’ve got tan lines to show it. 

But you still have goals for your body even when life is busy. You still want your abs to be a little tighter, and to feel more energetic. So what is a busy person to do? 

Simple. Do something now. Anything, but do it now. Do not wait for “the right time” or til life gets a little less busy. It’ll never happen, because as soon as it does, something else gets thrown in your lap. 

Healthy, successful people do not wait for the right time. 

Your Homework

Pick one thing and commit to doing that one thing. What is that one thing? I don’t know. I’ll give you a list of ideas, but I recommend you take a mental inventory of your strengths. You know yourself and your habits better than anyone else. 

Exercise is an extremely nuanced topic we could study forever. There are many-years-long graduate programs of study in exercise, and hundreds of thousands of research studies on exercise. The big things, however, are well understood, and you know which of those you are good at, such as cooking a great healthy chicken salad, or committing to morning yoga classes.

Guidelines

Your activity must be something: 

  • You can do everyday, or with some regularity

  • You are 95% sure you can maintain

See what we are doing here? We are setting you up to be successful. We are setting you up to win.

The Rules

  • Commit to doing this thing for one month. You can continue on if you like, but it’s perfectly fine to quit at one month.

  • No guilt! No guilt if you miss a day. Just prepare better so you can do it tomorrow.

Give this some thought, then if you choose to commit, give it a real, honest go. It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant the action is. You are making a commitment, making positive change, and establishing a habit.

Why Just One Thing?

People do better at change where there is only one change to focus on. After your month, you can pick a different one or add another. Remember, the smallest healthy change you make is better for you the the best comprehensive health overhaul that you abandon. Reason #2 for just one thing, I always wanted to make a cheesy title like that. “Do this one weird trick!!” Haha!

Examples:

  • Stretch for 15 minutes every evening

  • Attend yoga or Pilates class 3 times a week

  • Floss your teeth every day

  • Drink 64 ounces of water every day

  • Weight train 3 times per week

  • Get 8 hours of sleep every day

  • Cook a healthy breakfast every morning

  • Have 2 boiled eggs every morning for the 12 extra grams of protein

  • Meditate for 15 minutes every day

  • Do a challenging sudoku or crossword puzzle every day

  • Express gratitude every day

  • Give a genuine compliment every day

  • Walk around your block every morning

  • Consume approximately 25/38 grams of fiber per day (female/male, respectively)

One final note. Email me if you need accountability! Email me to tell me your habit! I would love to update this list with healthy habits I haven’t mentioned, and I’m fantastic at nagging, I mean, checking in to see how you are sticking to your plan.

I’m off to meditate, my goal for the next month!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Tactical Strength & Conditioning Annual Training

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Last week I attended the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Tactical Strength and Conditioning Annual Training, a meeting of leaders in the police, fire and military community. Recognizing the commonalities in their units, programs, and experience allows for faster learning and implementation of effective programs. 


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In short, when our police, fire, and military departments are fitter, we are all safer.

So, we meet, listen, learn and talk a lot!

You might wonder why, as a personal trainer in Austin, Texas, I chose to attend the TSAC Annual Training.

Continuing education is a huge component for trainer’s integrity. The chance to meet and learn from other strength and conditioning coaches is hugely beneficial to me.  


"Members of the 37th Training Wing's Emergency Services Team at Lackland AFB" by U.S. Air Force. Photo by Robbin Cresswell.

“Members of the 37th Training Wing’s Emergency Services Team at Lackland AFB” by U.S. Air Force. Photo by Robbin Cresswell.

But, I could have attended a general fitness conference or a personal trainer specific conference. Why a tactical conference? Last year, I was employed as an exercise physiologist with the Austin Fire Department. We attended the TSAC Conference, and I was taken with the people I met and the experiences they shared.

And how does this apply to my clients? Let’s back up and minute and consider the goals of a large scale military training program. The individual soldier will be most effective when he or she is strong, conditioned, agile, and healthy. Healthy includes recovery, diet, and sleep. 

Similarly, the optimal firefighter will be able to meet unexpected physical demands, understand how to recovery properly, and generally be fit. Police officers also must be quick with their feet and their mind, and conditioned to run and wrestle if necessary. 


Firefighters during live fire drills.  Photo available at pixabay.com under CC BY 1.0.

Firefighters during live fire drills.  Photo available at pixabay.com under CC BY 1.0.

Add in the extra stresses these populations face. They do not have the luxury of knowing what specific abilities they will need, or what exact situations they will encounter. Nutrition will certainly not be planned and perfect; hello, fleeing suspect or box alarm at dinnertime.

They don’t always have the best training circumstances either. Deployments don’t necessarily lend themselves to regular and consistent training in perfectly equipped gyms.

Certainly, the rest of us can learn from these tactical athletes. If they are able to get their training in with an uncertain schedule, potentially limited equipment, and limited meal options, the rest of us civilians can do it too.

There are 6 gyms or personal training studios on the 1.2 mile “commute” from my home to my second home. That is, Hyde Park Gym for those of you who don’t know me. Granted, I live in the fitness crazed town of Austin, but the point remains: we who are lucky enough to live in a major city have every opportunity to be fit and well surrounding us.


Photo by Expert Infantry available at flickr.com under CC BY 2.0.

Photo by Expert Infantry available at flickr.com under CC BY 2.0.

Several of the talks I heard were about mental toughness, a crucial skill to develop, with wide application from soldiers to civilians. Matt Wenning, one of the strongest powerlifters of today, taught my favorite hands-on session, which was the sumo deadlift, a major foundational lift for strength. 

I got to listen to Eric Cressey, Dan John and Dr. William Kraemer, none of whom need an introduction to those familiar with the training community. 

Many more names that you would know shared their experience with us, and some you would not. All in all, it was a week of great learning, ideas, and doing. I’ll leave you with one last thought.  Mark Taysom, who is a strength and conditioning coach responsible for thousands of soldier’s training, said in his opening remarks, “A lot of people are great. They just don’t know they’re great.”

My job is to bring out the greatness in people.  Some of them are performance athletes or public servants. Others are civilians like me. If I can learn from those coaching individuals whose hurdles are higher and responsibilities are great, I can help my all my clients better.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Why You Should Lift Weights

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Exercise really is the fountain of youth. It is THE secret. That “one trick!”. Truly, it is! It’s the magic pill, it does everything. It makes every cell in your body healthier, down to the smallest lining of your blood vessels. It makes you more capable, productive, and happy. There are endlessly documented cognitive, physical, and emotional benefits to exercise, and making better fitness choices can help every single person on this earth! Why you should lift weights is an easy question to answer because there are so many great benefits that come with lifting!

It can pick your butt up, make your clothes fit better, and make your high school friends wonder how you made time stop. It seriously is the secret to slowing down time. It’s really no secret anymore, though. It takes a bit more effort than swallowing a pill, but is well worth the effort!!

Why Not

So why don’t more people do it? Millions of reasons. Fear of effort, fear of failure, complacency. And, unfortunately, exercise is front loaded with the problems, as one of my professors used to say. You have to start by finding a gym, workout clothes, making time in your day, and actually showing up and doing it. It is harder in the beginning.

Worst yet, some people do all those things, sweat away, and don’t see results. Why? Because they’re not working out smart. Hard maybe, but not smart. They’re slaving away on the elliptical, which is boring. They’re doing steady state cardio to meet recommendations which specify minutes of workout goals, but not intensity. Boooooring! And time consuming. And ineffective.

What Happens When you Start Lifting Weights?

This is why I love lifting weights. Besides the fact that its way more fun (which we can all pretty much agree on, right?), it does more for you. Yes, it works harder for you. It’s like compounding interest on your IRA! You lift weights and build muscle, which is more metabolically expensive. You burn more calories post workout. Muscles takes more calories to maintain, so you find that it is easier to stay leaner as you get stronger. Win win win! Lifting can make you more powerful, which steady state cardio will not do.

Lifting will reshape you, which cardio also will not do. If you are a pear shape, you will only become a smaller pear after sweating away pounds on the elliptical. If you’re an apple, you’ll just be a more oblong shaped apple if you lose weight via jogging. Me, I’d rather ditch the fruits and become an hourglass. Or an X, for you men out there. That’s right, boulder shoulders, and strong glutes and hips. Tiny waist.

Why you should lift weights
I’d rather ditch the fruit and become an hourglass…

Don’t get me wrong. Steady state cardio has its place, and I do some conditioning. Walking is easy, cheap and peaceful. The elliptical is kinder to your joints than running. I even had one summer where I regularly got “runner’s high”, so I don’t think all you runners are crazy. I get it.  Besides that, if you enjoy a specific exercise mode, you should absolutely keep doing it. If you compete in or simply enjoy running, biking, or swimming, of course you should keep doing those things.

My point is that weight lifting really makes you the driver of your progress. If you’ve never lifted, try it! You won’t have to quit your other activities, contrary to popular belief, it won’t adversely affect them either. Start lifting now and let me know how it goes!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.