Sometimes you just want to scream, don't you? I know I do. Screaming, in and of itself, is not a terrible thing. Do you remember middle school and high school health class? They recommended having a screaming pillow. Find a think, fluffy pillow and scream your frustration out into the pillow. It helps us to release the build up and allowed us to lower our blood pressure. Seems silly, but we all know it works.
Well, as a stay-at-home mom that is trying to teach her children and work, I find that I often want to scream. I could get up and walk to my room, bury my face in a pillow, and let out a scream, but that seems like to much work. What I enjoy, is a good old-fashioned goat scream. In case you have never seen videos of goat screams (and even if you have) I highly encourage you to head over to youtube and search out some goats screaming. I'll wait... ... ... Okay! That was awesome, right! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! Gutteral, yet high pitched. If you can replicate this scream in a time of frustration, your world will get so much better. I once showed my family videos of goat screams so that they understood how I felt in the moment. I didn't have to scream, but they thought it sounded just like me. Indeed it did. For a short time after that, if I was starting to fill up in the frustration level, I would simply look at the cause of my frustration and say, "Goat. Scream." They understood and eased up. The other night I was getting agitated and I opened my mouth to pretend a goat scream. Immediately, my daughter did the scream for me. Oh my word. It was hilarious! We did it again just to laugh. And that made me think. I know that God has my back. He is all I need, and all I ever will need. But he still chooses to give us people that help us through our times. Sure, our bodies need to release tension (like when we cry when we're angry because we're trying not to explode on someone else and then we get more frustrated that we let that person see us cry). But we also need someone in our corner. When we know that God is in our corner, it doesn't always help. We understand it, but we don't always feel it. And sometimes he shows us that he has our back by giving someone to goat scream for us. In today's world we have many things that lead to a build up of stress and anxiety. It is important to find ways to release it all out of our systems. And it won't always be that this ONE particular action will help. Sometimes we have a pantry full - running, boxing, goat screams, quiet times, crying. Sometimes we do two or three at a time - I don't recommend this for screaming and quiet time. Learn yourself. Learn what helps you release that frustration so we don't hold it in within us. Find your release, and find someone that will help you laugh when you are ready to explode, a person to explode with you. ** Thinking of adding a video of my daughter screaming for me. Look for it on facebook and instagram.
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Over the last two weeks I have had multiple conversations on how to get results we want in fitness. In particular, these talks were about heart rates and burning fat. So, I will (hopefully) put these concepts into a short and sweet couple of paragraphs.
First: heart rate = beats per minute (bpm) Resting heart rate is your bpm while sitting around at rest. Max heart rate is the bpm limit you can hit before you kick it. Now, to find this we use the equation 220-age. This is an extremely accurate formula, but of course there are exceptions. Target heart rate is where you want to land during a workout. This is where we get tricky. There are five zones for exercise. It's all found through simple math. Zone 1: 45-55% of max heart rate - this is warm up/cool down zone. Zone 2: 55-65% of mhr- this begins the aerobic process, helps endurance. Zone 3: 65-75% of mhr - here is where we get the some of best aerobic output. You'll increase your fitness. You'll burn some fat. You'll burn some calories. You'll build strength. Zone 4: 75-84% of mhr - Fat burning! This is the prime location of fat burning. Zone 5: 85% + of mhr - This is really the building of anaerobic work (speed, power, etc) So how do we get the results we want? The best way is to kick it into zone four as quickly as we can in our workout, and then stay there. That's actually pretty difficult to do, especially for beginners. The fartlek is a Swedish term for a workout that goes from high speed to low intensity back and forth. This is a concept that works well for a large group of people. I do this with a lot of my clients, particularly when they just start out with me. It helps to build up the endurance for aerobic capacity that gets one into the fat burning zone. Here's the biggest kicker - do something. Each zone provides benefits in one way or another. If you're finishing a hard workout, go for a walk or a bike ride in zone 1. Let your body recover and clear the junk from your muscles. But if you live in zone 1 for all of your workouts, you probably won't see much in the results column. How do we know where we are? Get a heart rate monitor. They aren't as expensive as they used to be. And they are so worth it, if you use it right. Set your goals. Plan your work. And plan which workouts are for zone 4 or zone 1 or anywhere on the spectrum. Set yourself up for success. I grew up in a fairly strict Christian home. We didn't do witches at Halloween (sometime I keep still). We didn't do Santa at Christmas (again, we hold that). We also didn't do yoga, because it tied into other religions and mysticism.
The yoga, I struggled with. I saw a couple of looney people doing stretches and trying to get me to see with some crazy eye. They wanted me to connect my body and breathing with tranquility in my mind and soul. Although I didn't understand half of it, I understood that it didn't line up with God's teaching and the Bible. I still struggled with it. I was told that there shouldn't be this connection. I was told to keep the spirit in one lane and my body in another. Or at least, that's what I took from it all. I was pretty confused. In the twentieth century a great deal changed in the medical field. Some things were accepted readily as science - wonderful new processes, theories, practices, you name it- that will advance the world forward. Other things were looked at as cooky, crazy, granola, and more. Depending on who was doing the observing, these feelings swayed back and forth. And although we may not all agree on one avenue, the twenty-first century has learned that there are multiple ways to provide well being for us all. One thing I'm finding is that the connection of mind and body are not nearly as separated as our parents thought. Right now I find myself in a terrible battle. I need for my foot to heal - this is done best by resting, elevating the foot, and staying off of it. However, when I do that, I become anxious and find myself eating more. I find weight gain to be inevitable. Those combine to feed into my depression. The best management for my depression these days is a nice brisk run, maybe a good lift after or some boxing thrown in. Yup. I need high intensity exercise to combat the depression. What I cannot do. And so, the cycle continues. I spiral downward. So maybe I stop eating as much. Maybe I knit more, write more, or snuggle more. These things can ease the anxiety. But the truth is, I need to learn to sit in contentment of this doctor prescribed rest. And I suppose if I wasn't dealing with a freezer dying, classes beginning, crazy schedules, and all that other stuff, I might do better with containing my anxiety to a low hum. But those issues don't go away because I need to sit down. Deadlines don't pass because I need to lay down. So, I continue. The cycle continues. I'll leave you with the line I used when I taught high school health classes. This comes from Miss Elle Woods of Legally Blonde. "Everyone knows that fitness brings endorphins and endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill people." I have come to find that I maintain a trait from childhood that I'm not sure if I like. On the surface level, it is an admirable trait. However, in the long run, I wonder how much damage is it doing to me, or has already done.
Last week I had another procedure to clear out the cells that would send me to a five year life sentence of melanoma. This is my second in six months. I'm not a fan, but it's the right thing to do - if I want to live to watch my kids grow up. The first surgery was on my back. It was an inconvenience, but I managed through. Some pain, some itching, and difficulty finding a way to relax. This last one was on my foot. Picture putting on a flip flop on your right foot. The inside strap that goes from big toe to arch, right about the midway point, is where they did the removal surgery. Five stitches, not a big deal. Within the first day, I popped two stitches - NOT because of me, but because the stitches were tight and the area of the foot is active. So, now I have three stitches and a hole. I have had times where the pain was truly bad. I have had sharp, intense, stabbing pains, and more dull, annoying pains, and everywhere in between. I do my best not to complain, but let's face it, sometimes it hurts. I often wonder if my chronic pain makes it better or worse. I live with an underlying pain like a current flowing through my veins. So, if I have an injury, is the pain heightened or are my nerves satisfied? I haven't yet figured it out. That isn't the trait I worry of. No matter what, when people ask about me, I want to tell them the truth - it hurts, it's uncomfortable, I wish I could run, etc. Usually I answer with, "Well, there is some pain, but I'm okay." Why don't I tell the truth? Every time I think of complaining I think of people that are dealing with so much worse. My pastor has a brain tumor. A buddy from college is fighting for his life against covid. A friend's daughter has been in the hospital for 15 days due to a burst appendix and complications. What right do I have to say, "Ow, my boo boo"? None. I need to suck it up. There are people fighting for their lives. How selfish can I be? Two years ago my friend was battling cancer. I remember being in a terrible flare while she was suffering. She started a group message with me and another friend. At one point I mentioned my flare and immediately felt guilty. How could I complain to my friend battling stage 4 cancer? Ugh. But her response has come back to my mind in the last week. She told me that even though our pains were different, they were both there. I couldn't stop experiencing my pain just because she was fighting cancer. In her pain, she validated mine. I honestly don't know what the answer is. My pain is valid. I acknowledge it. And yet, I also acknowledge that it is nothing compared to what others are facing. This is the same thing I experienced growing up with depression. Sure, I'm struggling, but at least I don't --. When did we start comparing our troubles? It's a competition I no longer want to be a part of. |
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