Today my usual Saturday schedule was disrupted by a series of events not in my control. So I ended up going to the gym instead of the pool for my workout. It took extra focus to remember what I needed for a workout, and when I arrived I realized I didn’t remember my locker number. I ordinarily come on weekdays, and the attendant knows me and hands me my key without asking. What’s more I had forgotten my towel, so had to ask to rent one.
As I was putting my things away I chatted with another trainer who noticed I was out of my usual routine. It’s good to change things I said, tentatively. But it can be a little unsettling. Now I know what my students feel like when I change things around on them.
“It’s got a lot to do with ego and control,” she answered, “not allowing things to be as they are, not accepting things, but needing to remain in control and in a safe place.”
I agreed and I reflected on one of my students, Fong, who had a perfect routine. He was flawless in his execution of each of the 15 exercises he did, in exactly the same order, with exactly the same weight each session.
He came to me and asked why he wasn’t experiencing improvement and I pointed out that in order to produce change, you have to provide change. In muscular training the principle of variety is used to produce physiological development as well as to prevent psychological boredom. Mixing up exercises and exercise order produces the best, long lasting exercise success.
With the years I have accumulated, along with a lot of inexplicable quirks my body throws up at me on a random basis, we have a tendency to settle into a routine, to find a groove and continue along. It is the body’s way to seek order to reach maximum efficiency through repetition of the smallest moves. However this does not stimulate growth, instead it reinforces current patterns.
If I want my strength to increase I will have to lift heavier, longer, or harder. The same is true in my life. If I expect to improve, I need to seek new patterns, seek new ways of doing things, question assumptions, challenge current routines and be willing to try something new. What about you, what will you change this week, or what have you changed and how did it feel?
RL Anderson
Fitness and RVing can and should go together to an extent … a lot of RVers walk a lot … we do … just can’ t hang indoors all the time …
But , right now , we are dealing with other health issues … for the last few months we have had to travel to the doctors …and of course we stay in the trailer ( actually , we live in our trailer most of the year anyway ) .
A good friend of ours , who has also lived in RV’s ranging from motorhomes , I believe they have had 4 to date and may buy one in the future , to pull behind ( bumper tow ) to 5th wheels … they are on their 3rd 5th wheel now and have had several bumper pull style trailers …
They do many health related activities , and I must say that cabin fever can become a problem for many of us .
They bought a fold up tread mill several years ago . for the RV … as they also spend months at a time … actually , at that time they had sold everything and lived permantly in an Alfa 5th wheel .
They had a few tips on tread mills … 1st , space is an issue , but don’t just buy the smallest thing you find … often , they just don’t last … second , get something that folds up … like us , you may have to eliminate one of the rocker recliners to make room … try to fit it so that it doesn’t cover the heater vent while in storage … not good for the motor or belt …
Also , they had a plastic runner under theirs … when they 1st got it they didn’t protect the carpet and the carpet turned black from all the belt and motor stuff … later , they put a runner under it and then when folded up , they hung the runner over the unit … My wife , just uses throw rugs to catch the mess … and uses the machine just as if we lived in a stick home.
We love to RV , but we love our health as well and both can co-exist.bob
Betsey
Thank you for reminding us that we can get in a rut without even realizing it. I notice that when I’m “out of my routine” it takes me longer to accomplish the same tasks and I feel uneasy.
I think what this has to do with RVing is that it opens our mind to change as we travel and see different places and other ways of doing things and makes us more comfortable to step outside our routine.
qmcswret
Not to be argumentative, but what has this to do with RVing? If I wanted to read health and fitness info I would have signed up for a health & fitness blog, not an Open Roads RVing blog.