Things to try in 2017:
When I want a break from how I normally train: a month of the 10,000-Swing Kettlebell Workout (hilarious post here) and actual 10,000-swing kettlebell workout here.
hiking in the rain/snow-ish (not barefoot though) // pc: Cait, my forever fb gf
When I want to experiment: Mark’s Daily Apple has 41 action items here. Here are my top 10:
- Do 100 squats a day. Air squats are plenty, unless it gets too easy. Then add a little weight. Not all in a row (unless you’re a glutton for punishment). Pepper them throughout the day. If squats aren’t working for you, try something else.
- Do burpees (or their alternatives) after every meal. Somewhere in the range of 10-20.
- Go for a hike on a rainy day. Not drizzly. Not sprinkling. Raining. A downpour is even better. Get wet. Take your shoes off for a portion. Bonus mindfulness exercise: hike with hands outstretched, palms facing up, and focus on the rain drops hitting your hands. Nice, right?
- If you’re really into training (think CrossFit), try carb cycling. Eat higher carb, lower fat on training days with most of your carbs coming post-workout, and higher-fat, lower carb on rest days. Keep protein fairly constant. Many hard-training folks find this way of eating speeds fat loss while retaining performance.
- Go to your favorite cafe, grab a cup of coffee, and spend half an hour brainstorming. Business ideas, 5-year life plans, book ideas, trips around the world. Anything. Just think (relatively) big, write down what you come up with, and see where it takes you. Tea is permissible.
- Take 30 slow, deep breaths first thing in the morning for two weeks.
- Dance every day. It’s better with partners, but not necessary. Even better: dance naked. Betterer: dance naked with naked partners.
- Carry something moderately heavy around with you all day. 32-pound kettlebell, sandbag, sack of cat litter. Yeah, it’ll look a little weird. But it’s just a day. It’ll pass.
- Refrain from browsing your phone when nothing else is going on for the duration of the challenge. Waiting in line? Commercial break? At a stop light? Be present in the moment. Be okay with “boredom.” Okay, okay: do try it for a week at least.
- Go for a long, slow, easy run. Not every endurance session turns into chronic cardio, but many people fear it’s what happens when you run longer than a mile. When I say “easy” I mean easy. You should be comfortable. You should enjoy yourself.
When I want to eat alllll the foods: more Primal Kitchen. I eat all of the flavors of collagen bars but hazelnut & dark chocolate are my faves, coconut cashew took a bit to grow on me but I don’t hate it now. I eat all the flavors of mayo (original & chipotle), and literally stockpile the primal ranch dressing. I never even liked normal ranch, but primal ranch? OMG.