Fitness is ultimately a personal journey … and that fact was never more evident than over the last four months.
No matter where you are on your fitness journey, you are probably in need of a break — or at the very least, a reset. You’re at that point where you want to maintain your level of physical activity through the summer and into the fall, but you’re a little stumped for ideas.
Any of these will add variety to your workout regimen, and may provide that reset you’ve been yearning for.
Cutting Wood
If you’re looking for a body-builder that can produce some tangible benefits, this is the way to go.
The old saying is that wood is the fuel that warms you twice – once when you chop it and once when you burn it. Actually, wood is the fuel that warms you seven times: when you cut down the tree, cut the tree into pieces, split the pieces, stack the split wood, haul it into the house, stack it inside the house, and burn it.
Last year’s storms have made Central Wisconsin a bear market for firewood, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a friend with a chainsaw and a splitting maul who wouldn’t like some help tossing around logs.
Remember to use gloves and safety glasses, and you’re good to go!
Solo (Or Socially Distant) Soccer
Do you hate running but want the benefits of running — or are you just looking for something to do with your legs on your day off? Buy a soccer ball and dribble it up and down a field.
Running is running, regardless if you’re doing it on a road or on a soccer field. And playing a little soccer, either by yourself or passing back and forth with a friend, lets you do your running on some soft green grass while adding the occasional sprint and change of direction.
It’s even more pleasant if you do it barefoot on a well-maintained field.
Agility Drills
We long ago entered the No-Judgment Zone when it comes to workouts. Whatever you need to do to stay in shape is okay, as long as you do it safely and respect public and private property.
Try to incorporate periods of agility drills in with other skills training for a given sport.
A tennis player, for example, could do a workout where they hit some balls against a wall, hit some serves, and then do footwork drills, either stepping through a ladder laid on the ground or doing a variant of a shuttle run.
Drills like these help mix things up while focusing on core skills.
Long story short: If you don’t have someone to play the sport, use this time to hone your conditioning and skills so you can be even better when it’s time to play again.
DIY Station Courses
If you like the idea of a fitness trail — you know, where you stop every so often and do exercises — create your own.
If you’re on a trail and see a stump or log, use it to rest one leg while you do split squats. If the log is liftable, carry it back and forth down the trail.
Use a big tree to do wall-sits or upright pushups. If you find a hill — a rare thing in Stevens Point, but more common elsewhere — walk or run backwards uphill to work different muscle groups. As depicted in the cover photo, those community members got creative and utilized the notorious sledding hills at Iverson Park for running drills.
You’re really only limited by your imagination, and like noted earlier, we’re in a No-Judgment Zone when it comes to fitness. If you choose to carry a log down a trail, it’s your business and no one else’s.
Online Fitness Classes
Despite fitness ultimately being a personal journey, many people find it hard to exercise outside of a group setting.
That’s perfectly okay; as famed fitness guru John Lennon once noted, whatever gets you through the night is all right. And we are in a No-Judgment Fitness Zone.
If you’re craving a class, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of online options. If you’re anti-class, the anonymity an online class affords may actually make classes more appealing.
Either way you’re getting exercise, which is what matters.
Take Up A New Sport
The No-Judgment Zone for personal fitness also extends to any new sports you want to try. Soccer as a changeup from running? Sure, kick the ball and run after it. Pickleball? Assuming you can get past that name and the awful sound the ball makes when it hits the paddle, lots of people swear by it as a way to stay fit. Golf? Theoretically, the worse you are the better the sport is for fitness.
These are just examples, but you can see how you can view this time as an opportunity to change up your traditional fitness habits, and either find new activities to love or new ways to love old-favorite activities.
These are great times to get out there and stay active … with no judgments.
What are you waiting for?
