I know… it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted on Friday… with work and parkrun and trying to get some sort of schedule with my fitness, I’m really at the minimal level when it comes to blogging. THAT SAID… Thanks for joining the link-up! We have FIVE amazing hosts – me, My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Runs with Pugs, Zenaida !
For the next several Fit Five Fridays I will be sharing my “Lexicon of Fitness”. I’d love to hear from you what one or more of your letters would represent in your own lexicon.
Part I of the Fitness Lexicon
A – Athlete
In my opinion, anyone who regularly focuses on fitness and makes it a priority in their lives is an athlete. Growing up, I never would have imagined calling myself an athlete. In the 1970’s, in school, in gym class, I was what I would then describe as hopeless. And that was obvious as I was picked last for teams and never really did well in the various activities. Climbing, running, throwing, etc. I never played in extracurricular team sports.
Now, as an adult I know that way of thinking (and teaching) is rubbish. You don’t have to be the best, you don’t even have to be great at something. You just have to make fitness your priority and practise your hobby as you see fit. We cannot all be Simone Biles or Sifan Hassan.
B – Burpees
Does anyone actually love burpees? Does anyone even like them? I know I hate them! BUT… what a great exercise; a mix of body strength and cardio. Do you like burpees? If you do have you considered therapy? haha!
C – Calisthenics
This word reminds me of the 70’s and my grandmother – ha! My grandmother (dad’s mom) was the only person in my family remotely interested in fitness and health and I remember her always talking about going to her “Calisthenics Class”. (Fun fact: Later she would go on to become a Jazzercise instructor at the age of 60). Basically Calisthenics are any body weight exercises – pushups, pull-ups, planking, squats, etc. Why we normally say “body weight exercises” now, instead of “calisthenics” I do not know.
I did learn, in preparing this post, that the word comes from the Ancient Greek word kállos, meaning “beauty” and sthenos, meaning “strength”. Learn something new every day! Makes sense, doesn’t it?
D – DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)
We’ve probably all experienced it. You’ve had an amazing strength workout or HIIT circuit the day before and you know you hit it hard. DOMS is most certainly on the horizon. Usually this happens 24 – 72 hours after the workout. For me it’s generally Day Two. There are a few ways to combat this:
- Stay hydrated
- Get a good, deep-tissue massage
- Foam Roll
- Cryotherapy
- Use compression
- Up your protein intake
Have you got the golden tip to combat DOMS? Obviously the above are just a few options.
E – Endorphins
Runner’s talk about “runner’s high” which is definitely endorphins kicking in due to your activity. But what about just going for a walk? a bike ride? Or doing some laps or pool running? If you are lucky, with any moderate level of exercise you may already have endorphins released in your body while you are exercising. For some people it’s after exercise, say after an easy walk in the woods. Either way, endorphins are the bomb! They send messages to the brain to reduce perception of pain, but they also make us feel good in general.
Stay Tuned for next week, letters F – J!
Join the Fit Five Friday Link-up!
Here are the guidelines:
- Your link should center around some kind of fitness (exercise, wellness, mental health, nutrition… the possibilities are endless!)
- Please link back to your hosts! It’s the right thing to do!
- Share the link-up love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!
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Here are the guidelines:
- Your link should center around some kind of fitness (exercise, wellness, mental health, nutrition… the possibilities are endless!)
- Please link back to your hosts! It’s the right thing to do!
- Share the link-up love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!
- Feel free to share about Fit Five Friday on your social media! Tag #FitFiveFriday to get the word out!
Great idea.
A is adaptable- we have to adapt to changes in weather, schedules, hills, trails when we run
B is beneficial – it’s different for each of use but running is beneficial to our body and minds
C is cautious – we need to be cautious not to overdo and rest but also train as appropriate for the distance
D is daring – yes take a risk. Run a different route. Try a trail. Increase the distance. Nothing ventured, nothing gained they say.
E is energized – even when you are too tired to run, if you do it, you will feel more energy after.
these are GREAT Darlene!!
Cool post, Renee! Way to make a friday comeback.
I definitely was horrible in gym, too. I still don’t consider myself an athlete though. To me it’s still people who get paid to play sports or are on team sports. I looked up the definition & the dictionary says “ a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.” Is finishing “proficient”? I know a lot of people think so. I just had the conversation with some one else, recently.
I would describe myself as a fitness enthusiast.
Thanks Judy! I know there are different definitions for athlete. My trainer calls all of his runners athletes and that’s when I started to think, hey, maybe I am an athlete too! And proficiency is also relative. But I like Fitness Enthusiast as well :)
These first five, in the alphabet series you’re sharing, are SO powerful! Maybe the most important? They certainly are great foundation fitness elements!
Thanks Kim! Let’s see how the rest of the alphabet pans out ;)
I HATE burpees! I think fitness instructors throw them in and don’t work with people on form enough and you can get hurt! My b is for balance and I’m always working on it!
yeah burpees are the worst. and true, no one has ever really helped me with my form so who knows if I do them right! I thought about B for Balance as well. It’s something I constantly need to work on and so so important for runners!
I love this idea for a post!
And, I’m so with you on burpees – I despise them!
burpees are the devil!!