Been Too Long, The Humble Push Up.

Part of the inspiration behind writing this blog has been consistency. One imagines that when building an exercise regiment, how you decide to structure things will have the greatest impact on how you follow through with them. To me, demanding that a record be kept (this blog) provides the framework and will thus define the lines that have to be filled in.

This aspect of Dear Dietary has kind of warbled in and out of solidity like a weak pull up. So here's a long awaited (maybe) and much needed first entry -- The Humble Push Up.

I, being the writer of this blog, have a different perspective on engaging with fitness while travelling since the circumstance of my work actually allows me (and demands of me) a certain level of fitness to begin with, so i'm at an advantage.

The Norms, The Beginnings --
Drumming for 40-60 minutes a night at high speeds at the very least works up a sweat, and at best can be a surrogate work out. This exercise is generally bookended by two bouts of heavy lifting and general exertion: load in and load out. Admittedly, these days while the playing remains the same intensity (if not above and beyond as the sets get longer, the songs more complex, and the tasks gain facets), the loading has been pretty low impact in the past months. It was, however, this combination of exertion that kind of lead me down the path of keeping fit.
Life on the road is monotonous and repetitive. Regardless of the peaks and valleys, the day to day remains the same. Van; Road; Club; Load; Wait; Play; Load; Sleep; Repeat. Once I discovered that this was a way to use my body to burn energy in a productive way, I was off to a roaring start. Since not everyone has the "luxury" of touring in a band, i'd suggest replacing 60 minute sets of drumming and loading Marshall stacks with a short jogging routine annnnnd:

The Humble Push Up --

This was the gateway to any kind of fitness for me, and is the ultimate travel workout. Can be done anywhere, anytime, and in as many different ways as you can imagine. At the beginning of the trek towards some semblance of being in shape (i'm certainly not perfect) I could do about 1 push up. They are the easiest exercise to learn.

Keep your back straight, and your hands on the ground right about where the edges of your shoulders are. On the way down, make sure to keep your back straight and bring your waist down with you as your arms bend. On the way back up, make sure you're moving all at once. Tighten your middle, back straight, etc and voila!

Start with 1 full push up. Rest, maybe do a second one later that day. Do that for about 4 or 5 days or until you're really bored of it.

After you've mastered one, try two. Maybe do it twice in a day. Do it daily until you've had it or are ready for more.

Once you've mastered two, try three. Same as above.

Once you've mastered three, try five...and so on and so on until you're incrementally higher and higher. Pushups -- once your mortal enemy -- will then become the effortless act of shoving planet earth away from you with two hands 65 times a day. Pushups use every major muscle group if you're running them properly. Back, legs, arms, chest, core....the more diverse ones use of the push up becomes, the more strenuous and challenging the workout can become.

Next time...push up variations and using a tight corner to your advantage.