Category Archives: Play
“Models and Mortals”
So I love watching repeats of Sex and the City on TV. I don’t have to focus on them because I’ve now seen them all, but they are also ALWAYS entertaining. The episode I caught last night really grabbed my attention. It was called “Models and Mortals.” It discussed women having to measure up to the beauty of models, a beauty that didn’t seem attainable (which after my post about body image was really fascinating to me).
At one point Miranda, Charlotte, Carrie and Samantha were all sitting around eating and discussing what they hated about their bodies. Of course Samantha said she liked everything about her body (GO SAM! I’d love to be able to include a comment right now about how she lifts weights in the show…but….at least they show her at the gym in a few episodes…).
Carrie’s monologue then says something along the lines of “How can three otherwise rational women be made so self-conscious and insecure just because they looked at a model?”
My question is why does this happen?
What is it about models that makes us feel so insecure about ourselves and seek out the latest and quickest fad diet? Is there a way to stop it?
I think there is….it’s called living a healthy lifestyle 80% of the time – eating well, sleeping enough, exercising and PLAYING! Of course I included sleeping enough in there when I definitely haven’t been BUT it is a huge part of healthy living! If you live a healthy life (with cheat days of course!) you will feel better about yourself in general…at least I’ve found this helps.
When I know I’m eating well and lifting heavy, I’m more confident in how I look because my body feels good. It feels like everything is working in harmony. Of course, sleep also helps…partly because if you get enough sleep, you have less of the stress hormone, cortisol (which can hinder you from losing weight) and partly because if you get enough sleep, you have the energy to get a truly good lift in. As Fitbomb repeated says in his blog…if you don’t get enough sleep there may not even be any point in working out at all!
And now you may be wondering about why I said PLAY. Because play is active and another form of exercise? Yes! But also because you relieve stress when you play. This summer get out in the sun! Go run some sprints. Go swing on a swing. Go paddle boarding! Find something active and outside that you love to do and get those endorphins going! While I love weight training and think it is probably one of the best thing you can do for your body, playing is right up there! So don’t skip your lift but maybe play instead of doing cardio today! 🙂
As my sister loves to quote from Legally Blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”
Paddle Boarding
Mark Sisson – you would be proud!
Mark Sisson (author of the Primal Blueprint) - our inspiration to go paddle boarding.
Ryan and I went paddle boarding yesterday which was AMAZING! We went to Kendall Square in Cambridge and rented two boards and paddles. I was a bit nervous about trying paddle boarding since it looked like it would be difficult to stand up and balance on the board (and I definitely had no desire to go swimming in the Charles River!).
To start, we both had to be on our knees to get out of the channel. Once out of the channel we had to cross over to the other bank of the river. We both stayed down on our knees to get across the river. Paddling and balancing from my knees wasn’t easy so I was super nervous about standing up . I was even more nervous because the guy at the rental place said that most people didn’t stand up till their second or third time out!
Once across we had to maneuver around the sailboats – sailboats steered by children learning to sail. YIKES! This made me even more nervous about the whole situation.
Once we had made it past the first sailboats, Ryan decided to stand up. He managed it easily and started paddling on. Since he stood up, I knew I had to try.
My heart started racing as I tried to push myself up. I felt the boat rock and I went right back onto my knees. I looked up at Ryan and said, “I can’t do it. I’m too nervous.” We both kept paddling on.
I passed a few more sailboats and looked at him standing up on his board and decided I had to stop being a chicken. Again I put my hands down in front of me and slowly pushed up. I stood up!!! Of course my board was then heading toward land and a flock of geese so I frantically had to start steering away from the shore.
Trying to balance and turn quickly wasn’t an easy task and I managed to chase the flock of geese a short distance and almost run into one. Sorry again about that mr. goose!
Finally though I made it away from the rocks and the geese and started cruising. It wasn’t easy though. You could feel all the little muscles in your legs working to keep you balanced as you went over the small waves. You could also feel your back, shoulders and core working as you paddled through the water.
It was wonderful though. So much fun and such a challenge. Paddle boarding ended up being both easier and harder than I expected.
I’m both surprised and not surprised that people don’t stand up their first time. THIS IS THE REASON TO WORKOUT PEOPLE!!! You workout so you will be awesome at any activity/sport the FIRST time you try it!
I can’t wait to go again or maybe even go kayaking next time! YAY for summer!
Man Bicep 