I've heard some doozies from clients when I ask them about whether or not they did they're warm up.

One of my all-time favorites was a client who said, and I quote, "No, but I just had to chase my dog through the neighborhood, does that count?"

And...this one...

"Um...I mean I had my seat warmer on driving over here..."

The bulk of the clients I'm working with have busy lives and often very, very busy heads.

Let's start with the busy life, and then we'll get to the busy head...

When it's taking everything you have in you to get a workout in, taking the time to warm up can feel pointless. Especially if you hate the experience of warming up.

1. It's okay to skip warm up exercises sometimes.

This isn't going to be a popular opinion (with trainers, I'm sure clients won't mind), but if you hate using the foam roller, then take foam rolling out of your workout. Yes it's good for you, but if you dread it so much that you won't do anything then there's no point in having it in your workout.

If the thought of doing a warm up prevents you from doing your work out, then skip it.

Something is ALWAYS better than nothing.

But.....

2. There is a cost to always skipping your stretches and warm ups.

While you might have heard about osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis) and sarcopenia (the loss of muscle mass), something that isn't talked about as much is losing our range of motion in our joints as we age.

I'm not just talking about losing our flexibility - my Dad often talks about how much further his feet have gotten from him as he ages. I'm also talking about losing the ability to raise your arms over your head.

Go ahead and raise your arms over your head right now. I'll wait.

What do you notice when you try? Do you feel tight? Is your arm straight above your head (next to your ear) or in front of you? If you try to reach directly overhead do you arch your back?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, here is an exercise for you:

Ankle mobility is another area that's very important. If you've ever seen an elderly person shuffling along behind a walker, look at their feet - they very likely don't have much ankle mobility (often losing the ability to press off of the balls of their feet). This is one of the reasons that it's easier to trip as we age.

Here's an exercise for ankle mobility:

3. You don't have to do these exercises all at one time.

Ideally you do all of these in a warm up (or in a regular yoga routine. Check out Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube if you're looking to get started). AND, it's also good to mix these types of stretches into your day, especially if you do a lot of sitting.

4. Last point here - can you get up and down off of the floor?

This is key - getting up and down off of the floor is super important, especially as we age. I had one trainer at a conference suggest that this is a great warm up - get up and down off of the floor three times. If possible, do so without using your hands.

You incorporate all of your joints as well as upper body, lower body, and core strength into just getting up and down off of the floor.

Happy Tuesday,

Kim

P.S. If you have a busy head, I'm a fan of grabbing a sheet of paper and doing a five minute brain dump. There's no wrong way to do this. You just grab a piece of paper and write everything that comes to mind.

Then throw it away. Or, sometimes I use mine to make a list.

On Monday, I’m going to be 43, which, according to the Google:

The number 43 stands for a combination of discipline and creativity, patience and achievement, commitment and joy. It motivates you to set new goals for your life with a renewed enthusiasm and optimism

Um…I’m not sure if any of that is going to happen, but here are 43 random thoughts for you anyway:

1.     I have an alter ego named Worse Case Scenario Wilma. By even writing this, I’m freaking out about whether or not I’ll actually make it to 43. Also, if you’re ever five minutes late for dinner with me, I’m frantically texting you – if you’re ever 15 minutes late, I’m calling you – if we go past a half hour – I’m calling the local hospitals. Which brings me to fact number 2:

2.     I will never, ever answer the phone if you call. And I will never call you back.

3.     The best thing about smart phones is that I don’t have to use them as an actual phone. They are texting devices.  

4.     The next best thing about smart phones is that I don’t even need to listen to voicemails. I just look at Siri’s drunk translation and hope to get the gist.

5.     I used to try to apologize for never answering calls – now I just own it.

6.     The beauty of aging is that I spend more time owning who I am and less time apologizing for who I am.

7.     But….I do still apologize for who I am. I’m a work in progress. But aren’t we all?

8.     If I absolutely have to make a phone call, I don’t, and then spend all of the free time in my head obsessing about it.

9.     I don’t have any free time in my head because I’m already obsessing about all of the things that I’m not doing and hoping that odd pain in my side goes away because instead of calling a doctor, I’m just hoping I don’t die.

10.  I don’t like any music made after 1989.

11.  Procrastination both gives me immediate relief and long-term anxiety.

12.  If I was responsible for buying my own toilet paper, I’d probably just use leaves because that’s the kind of adult I am.

13.  But I’d always have coffee. Because coffee.

14.  If I could go back in time and meet only one person, it would be Ghandi. Also Lou Gehrig.

15.  If I were marooned on an island and could only have music from three people it would be Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, and then toss up between my Dad and James Taylor

16.  My favorite Muppets are Statler and Waldorf – the two wise guys in the balcony. But I’m partial to the Swedish Chef.

17.  My version of cooking is buying pre-made meals from Whole Foods. Or eating those flavored packets of tuna that come with a spoon.

18.  Really it’s mostly that. The tuna.

19.  Every time Sheila tries to slow dance with me, I end up breaking out into the White Man’s Overbite mixed with the Church Lady mixed with the Grocery Cart move. While she stands at me, staring. Yes, I did this at our wedding.

20.  If you play Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You” I have to sing. It’s a reflex. It can’t not happen.

21.  The inside of my mind could be on an episode of “Extreme Hoarders.” I hoard thoughts. Most of them useless, unproductive ones similar to those in one through five.

22.  Give me a year though, any year, and I can probably tell you who won the World Series. Which is why I’m never sure where I left my keys.

23.  I have these, like, three pairs of underwear that I need to throw away because they give me wedgies, but I never remember to throw them away and then I find myself putting them on only to get a few hours into my day and think ugh, these are the wedgie underwear. When will I learn?

24.  I also have a cat.

25.  Going back to number 23, I buy new underwear less often than I buy a new car. I don’t know why. It just is.

26.  I don’t really like Thanksgiving food.

27.  I was named after a character named Kimberly on the soap opera “As the World Turns”

28.  Don’t ever call me Kimberly.

29.  Ever

30.  Every time I commit to making this list, I wish I was younger.

31.  I was in a sorority in college. Phi Sigma Sigma. Yes I can still do the cheers.

32.  I played the drums from fourth grade through my freshman year of high school.

33.  I also have bras that don’t fit right and I neglect to throw them away, only to find myself in a similar situation as number 23. Sometimes it’s both my underwear AND my bra. Those are rough days.

34.  I drink bad beer.

35.  No, like really bad beer. Like Miller High Life, which is most certainly NOT the champagne of beers. Unless champagne tastes like urine. Which I don’t think it does…

36.  I know how to make a potato gun.

37.  It requires a lot of Aqua Net Hairspray.

38.  I once used Aqua Net in my hair. It was like wearing a helmet.

39.  Every time I hear an accent, I have to repeat it.

40.  If you’re wondering, this tendency to pick up other people’s behaviors is called the Chameleon Effect.

41.  According to the Google, people who pick up accents easier are nicer people.

42.  I must be really nice, but I’m nervous to spend more than five minutes South of the Mason Dixie Line.

43.  If you’re wondering, and you’re not, the New York Yankees won the world series in 1943.

You’re welcome.

*Did you know I have a weekly newsletter? Click this link to sign up and I’ll send you a nutrition guide to help get you started.

**Looking for some help with your nutrition? Comment below or send me an email at kim@kimlloydfitness.com - I’m getting ready to open up a few spots in my coaching program in December.

My mom hanging out with me at BP practice before the Cleveland Indians game in July. She’s not too old to do anything, I promise you that.

A few years ago, in a conversation with an athletic trainer about my sore shoulder, he ended the conversation with:

It seems to me you have a case of O.L.D.S.

Nothing came out of my mouth, but in my mind I let loose a string of indignant profanities. Old? At 35? Really? That’s the best you can do?

In his defense, as an athletic trainer he worked largely with high school and college athletes, the oldest of whom was probably 22. So yes, in his line of work, I was old. And let’s face it, 42 year old Tiger Woods has looked very old in some of his recent golf matches as he deals with chronic back pain.

But he also won the Masters at age 42. And as much as it pains me to admit this, Tom Brady is re-writing what it means to play football into your forties. So while I’m not a fan (and you wouldn’t be either if he wasn’t on your team), I love how he is re-defining what it means to age.

No, what bothered me most about various interactions I’ve had with health professionals over the past seven or eight years is the language they use.

There is a danger in telling people they’re old. Because what if they start to believe it?

A quick google search will give you links to a number of studies demonstrating that attitude has everything to do with how quickly you do age.

One study by researchers at the University of Exeter asked 29 people between the ages of 66 and 98 about their experiences with aging to determine what impact their attitudes and beliefs had on aging.

Participants had varying degrees of physical health. Some lived in care homes while others lived alone. The majority of participants indicated that they were in good shape, even though there were others in better condition.

Two people identified themselves as old and frail, even though they were in better physical shape compared to other participants. Their negative perceptions of their age led to a marked decline in health through participants removing themselves from social activities and exercise.

If you are familiar with the idea of the self-fulfilling prophesy, then you know the concept that your attitude affects the outcome. If you believe you’re going to fail at something, you’ll probably fail.

If you believe that you are too old to play golf, go to a gym, or walk you’re dog then chances are you will age faster than if you believe that you can still do those things.

Don’t get me wrong – one of the challenges of aging is adjusting expectations. I’m in the beginning of a challenge that has me doing two 30 minute workouts per day. Eleven days into the challenge and I’m feeling every bit of my 42 years. So I’ll adjust my workouts today to include walking and stretching.

My body is cashing in on many of those checks that I wrote in my teens and twenties.

But that doesn’t make me old.

I look to my 73 year old parents as the best role models in this department. (If you see Dad on Monday, buy him a beer for his birthday…) My mom still gets down on the floor to play with my niece and nephew. Dad golfs every day, mows the lawn, and they both pull weeds in the garden. They are both incredibly active.

They both navigate plenty of aches and pains, but my mom said it best when she turned 70:

Don’t ever call me old.

In fact, don’t every call anyone old. Because they might just start to believe it.

P.S. If you'd like to pick up some Kim Lloyd Fitness gear, my webstore is once again open for business. You can get your own Be Strong Be Kind gear here.