Jul 7

Jul 7 A Wellness Coach's Perspective on Exercise

Hi, I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Wellness Coach.

In this blog, I want to explore exercise. Many of my clients have the desire to improve their fitness and lose weight or simply stated they want to get in shape. And they are looking for my opinions on what they should do. They have questions about what is enough exercise, and the right program for them.

This is where it gets tricky because even though I'm well versed in what the experts, such as the Center for Disease Control, and The Department of Health and Human Services recommend for exercise and I know how I exercise and what works for me. All that said, coaching is not about prescribing, and I am neither a licensed personal trainer nor do I have a degree in kinesthesiology.

As a coach, I ask questions that allow my client to explore their history, interests, and vision. I ask questions such as:

Tell me about a time you felt strong, fit, and healthy. What form of exercise were you doing then?

What form of movement do you enjoy doing now? Does it calm you or energize you?

What kinds of exercise intrigue you? What would you like to try?

After that initial exploration where my clients tap into their vision, interests, and unique history I might then share the suggested guidelines, my exercise philosophy, and the methods I use to stay motivated and on track.

OK, so first of all,

Suggested Exercise Guidelines:
The CDC recommends that adults get at least

150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week or 21 minutes per day. You are moving at a moderately intense pace if you can talk but not sing.

Or,

75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or 11 minutes per day. You are moving at a vigorously intense pace if you are breathing hard and fast.

And

2 Strength training sessions per week

The Department of Health and Human Services/DHHS exercise recommendations are:
150 minutes to 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise per week.

Or,

75 minutes to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity

Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or higher intensity, that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits.

In general,

Adults should move more and sit less throughout the day.

Some physical activity is better than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain some health benefits.

Exercise Benefits:
Some of the benefits of exercise are it prevents cancers, improves blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar, and it bolsters sleep, attention, energy, and mood.

Unfortunately, though, and this goes against popular opinion, exercise does not necessarily lead to weight loss.

Reasons why exercise doesn’t create weight loss:
Exercise doesn't create weight loss because people seem to increase their food intake after exercise — either because they think they burned off a lot of calories or because they were hungrier.

This review of studies from 2012 found that people generally overestimated how much energy exercise burned and ate more when they worked out.

There's also evidence to suggest that some people simply slow down after a workout, using less energy on their non-gym activities. They might decide to lie down for a rest, fidget less because they're tired, or take the elevator instead of the stairs.

The evidence is now clear: Exercise is excellent for health; it’s just not that important for weight loss. So, do not expect to lose a lot of weight by ramping up physical activity alone.

My Current Exercise Routine:
As of June 2020, when I wrote this blog my current exercise routine consists of a quick daily morning workout, yoga and 70,000 steps per week

I briefly discussed my exercise habits in my videos, my nightly checklist, calendar challenges, and morning routine. In some form or another, exercise has been an integral part of most of my adult life.

Daily 15-minute Morning Workout:
I use two 15-minute workouts that I rotate back and forth. I have them written out on 3x5 cards, and I call the routines, workout A and workout B. I don’t take a rest day, however, every few weeks I opt for a light 15 minutes of stretching instead of my usual routine if I’m particularly sore or feeling off that day.

If you want details about these mini-workouts links to best form videos, benefits of one set workouts, and a link to research about 15-minute workouts, please check out my blog on my website, and I included a link to it in this video's description.

Daily 15-minute Morning Workout:
Workout A: Posterior Chain Exercises
30-second hip flexor stretch/each side 60-second Triceps Dips 60-second Reverse Plank or Bridge
7 minutes: a combination of Kettlebell swings, weighted or bodyweight bridges, reverse hypers, stiff leg deadlifts.
5 Minutes: Yoga pose practice: I learned the tripod, and now my headstand is locked in, and I am almost 100% with my crow pose. Yes, with a 5-minute commitment, I went from the trepidation of inversion postures three months ago to now incorporating tripods, headstands, and almost the crow pose (I'm so close!) into my yoga practice.

Workout B: Core
30-second hip flexor stretch/each side
30-seconds per side waist stretch
10 cat vomit- for the transverse abs (and yes, it’s called that!)
10 myotatic crunch
5 minutes yoga pose practice

I also want to add that, several months ago, I had a third workout that incorporated front and side planks and pushups. I eliminated that workout because of the multiple yoga classes I started taking. In those classes I perform so many planks, side planks, and chaturangas (basically a yoga pushup), therefore that mini-workout became superfluous.

Yoga: Hatha, Vinyasa, and Yin
Most days, I ZOOM into one or two yoga classes, which works out to be about six or seven 60-minute yoga classes per week. The comradery of the ZOOM classes has been essential for me in staying positive during this crazy time of COVID.

Daily walks:
I record a weekly tally of my steps on my nightly checklist. It looks like this:

Steps walked:
Total Steps this week:
+/- for the week:

My goal is 70,000 steps per week and if I go over in a week, say I had 75,000 steps, I will "carry over" 5000 steps. Recording my daily total and tallying it up for the week is a fun way to gamify my goal.

My theory on exercise and on habits I want to add to my life is something is always better than nothing and start small. Or, as the DHHS states in there exercise guidelines: some physical activity is better than none. It matters more what exercises you enjoy doing and accomplish other than a lofty goal that is too overwhelming, so you don't take that first step.

If you want to add exercise or any new habit to your life and find yourself procrastinating, then chances are it’s not easy enough. Your first question must be: What’s the duration of time you can commit to spending on a new habit that you know you would have 0 excuses not to do? Currently, it's my daily 15 minutes, 70K steps per week, and almost daily yoga.

I recommend that you sit down with a journal or talk to a friend and figure out what that first step is for you. It might be committing to a daily practice consisting of a 30-second plank or 20 kettlebell swings or a walk around the block. Find what’s easy and sustainable for you and slowly build from there.

I can’t stress this enough, If you are procrastinating something than make it easier. First, you standardize, and then you optimize.

In sum, as a wellness coach supporting a client in adding exercise to their life is tricky because although I'm well versed in what the experts recommend, and I know what works for me; however, coaching is not about prescribing.

As a coach, I get curious and ask questions that allow my client to explore their history, interest, and vision.

After that initial inquiry, I might then share the suggested guidelines, my exercise philosophy, the methods I use to stay motivated, and on track, mainly employing calendar challenges and nightly checklists.

However, my job as a coach is to empower my client to answer questions about what is enough exercise and the right program for them. Sure, I can give them the information. However, ultimately, I want to coach them to do the self-inquiry necessary to find what kind of exercise and how much exercise works with their lifestyle. What finally works is the exercise they enjoy doing and what they can stay committed to.

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and thank you for reading this blog. If you have any questions about this blog, about health and wellness or wellness coaching, please reach out through my website at lizmosercoaching.com.