Weekly Workout Schedules, Baby
Bringing weekly workout schedules (and more) back in 2024.
Okay, so, here’s the thing:
I used to make weekly workout schedules and share those on the internet, but I stopped. I wanted to take time to focus on my own health before I channeled my energy into helping internet pals and strangers with theirs.
Well, I’m back, baby. And with me, comes more weekly workout schedules if you’re in the market for that sort of thing.
Starting January 1st (first emails will arrive December 31st), I will be sending out weekly workout schedule newsletters to paying subscribers. For $5 a month, They’ll get the usual downloadable schedule along with links to each day’s workout videos, but I want to use this format to do a little more.
Each week, I’ll write a little blurb about something I think you might be in the mood to chat about. Each month, I’ll add things like current favorite recipes or links to some things that make me feel good. I also want to use the podcast function of this newsletter to add audio files like custom body scans, NSDR sessions, gratitude meditations (and more) if that’s something that anyone wants.
I feel really excited about this for two reasons.
I always just want to feel good, and this newsletter will be brimming with things that make me feel good.
A thing I’ve learned about myself over the last decade is that I just wanna make other people feel good, too. When I discover a thing that feels revolutionary on the feel good-front, my first thought–unfailing–is always: who needs this thing in their lives, too? And this is maybe the world’s easiest way to help the greatest amount of people feel good at the same time. Nice.
In that spirit, I wanted to include a list. Moving forward, this will be the part of the email where I write something for paying subscribers, but I know that for most of you, this will probably be the only newsletter you receive. For y’all, I compiled a list of ten things that I’ve found to be life-changing in case any of you are in the market to have your life changed or whatever.
10 Things That Make Me Feel Good:
Emotional Spiral - Have you heard of this? It’s a chart depicting a range of emotions. No matter your mood, you find your current state on the chart and then look at the line above it. The idea is that you use this chart as a ladder to step up each line until you ultimately reach the top. Even in your lowest moods, you’re always supposed to be able to get yourself to feel an emotion from the above line. I know how trite this sounds, but it honestly works for me. Every time. When people talk about spiraling, they tend to talk about downward trends, so I love the idea of spiraling upwards. Try it (or don’t, I’m not your mom)!
Yoga Nidra / NSDR - If you’ve heard me say anything over the last year, it was probably about how much I love yoga nidra. I’m a regular yoga nidra head. Of all of the things that have helped with my emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual health, it’s this by an entire landslide. You can google about the myriad health benefits (anything from anxiety to Alzheimer's and everything in between), the way it makes you heal faster, or how it helps you reprogram the seemingly unchangeable, self-inhibiting patterns of your brain. I could go on for days about it. Instead, I’ll just link you to one of my favorite sessions that was created to parallel the deep rest and hibernation of the longest day of the year (today / tomorrow). This is the first yoga nidra session I did with Daniel. When it was over, I genuinely panicked that Daniel might be dead. I couldn’t wake him up no matter how much I shook him or yelled his name. He was just in that deep of a sleep, which was shocking to me because he’s usually the world’s lightest sleeper. Anyway, try it (or don’t, you know the drill).
Solfeggio Frequencies - There’s all kinds of chitter chatter about these guys. There are promising scientific studies and all sorts of anecdotes about how they’ve helped people heal from various ailments. And people who insist they’re not a thing. I can only speak from personal experience (and I’m open to the idea that they’re just a placebo that seems to work for me). I stumbled upon them when a bout of stress was making my heart do weird stuff. When I went to the doctor, she told me I was prehypertension. I was finding it hard to sleep because of the pounding in my chest, and that lack of sleep was then perpetuating my poor heart rate. Out of desperation, I scoured the internet for a natural remedy and found this singing bowl video. A ton of people in the comments had posted their heart rates before and after the video, and they were wildly improved, so I tried it. It only took about 20 minutes for my heart rate to return to normal. I use it any time I feel stressed and my heart rate always returns to normal. I’ve used these frequencies successfully to help ease all kinds of other ailments. I even play them for my dogs when their little Frenchie backs hurt, and they’re the only things that get them to relax and go to sleep. I listen to them via singing bowl videos, Miracle Tones, and even songs on YouTube (like this one) that are tuned to them. I love a thing that is free and available to everyone.
Huberman’s Sunlight Regimen - I’m annoyed by how much I’m not annoyed by Andrew Huberman. My YouTube recommendations are an onslaught of his videos and videos by people who follow his advice. Every time I see one I’m grossed out by how interested I always am in the thing he’s talking about. Makes me feel like some kind of gym bro. Maybe I am? All I know is his morning routine is a big talking point, and his advice to get sunlight into your retinas upon waking to help reset your circadian rhythm is so, so good. Obviously, he doesn’t advise you to look directly in the sun, but getting your eyes out in the sunlight first thing in the morning feels so good and seems to help me with my sleep patterns.
Morning Walks - This one goes hand in hand with the sunlight thing. I like to bang out a morning walk while getting some exposure to sunlight. It’s a twofer. You can look up the benefits of walking first thing in the morning on your own, but I’ll just say that I’m a total walking perv. It’s just another thing I’ve found that makes me feel like I’m a person.
Rule of Five Grounding Technique - This one helps you become completely present in your environment. You count five things you can see around you (I like naming the colors of those things as well), four things you can feel touching you, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. I like to do a few rounds of these on my walks. Makes me feel more engaged with my surroundings and helps my nervous system totally relax.
Earthing - This one is so simple. All you do is get your feet on earth. It could be sand at the beach, grass, dirt, concrete, you name it. You just have to connect with the earth for at least 30 minutes a day. There are all kinds of studies on the benefits of earthing that you can find on the internet. Here’s one. In my personal experience, I spent about a year walking barefoot in the sand for about an hour every day, and I could always feel my immune system begin to relax at around the 45-60 minute mark. 30 minutes is time consuming, but if you can find a way to combine it with another part of your day (ie: making sure any of your leisurely daily sitting happens in the grass in the summer), I think an accumulated 30 minutes is achievable a few days a week.
Cold Showers - I know, I know. They’re all anyone talks about anymore. I don’t want to add to the noise, but I do want to add this to the list of free things that could help make you feel good if you’re on the fence. Personally, I hate being cold, but after about two months, I got past it. I do a cold / hot / cold shower. I start by aiming the shower head at my right foot and go up to my knee. I mirror on the left side. I do my upper right leg. Then upper left. I go to my right arm. Then Left. Then I hit the torso, face and hair. After I feel invigorated, I take a normal hot shower before ending with another round of cold water from bottom to top. Makes me feel alive, I don’t know.
High Quality Celtic Sea Salt - This one is based on a recommendation from my therapist’s naturopath, so take it with a figurative grain of salt. The idea is that a high quality celtic sea salt contains loads of minerals that are missing from our diets so adding this salt to meals, having it in hot water, and even bathing with it can be good ways to get those minerals back into your diet. I’m not a doctor or dietician or your mom, so I can’t give you any sort of food recommendations. What I can say is ask the experts in your life if high quality salt might be something you should be having.
Visualizations - I didn’t save the best for last. I put it in the number two spot so you wouldn’t miss it. This one, however, has been monumental for me as well. What science proves over and over again is that we become our thoughts. What you think about yourself becomes what you believe about yourself becomes your personality and ultimately becomes your entire life / destiny. That’s why your thoughts are so important. Some neuroscientists believe that your brain can’t tell the difference between a real memory or an imagined one—the same chemical reactions take place in your brain regardless of whether or not you have actually experienced the event. So, when you imagine your life as peaceful, joyful, vivacious, etc., your brain sends those signals to the rest of your body. When you’re constantly sending positive visualizations to your body, you’re continuously experiencing good chemical reactions and shaping your reality. The same is true for negative visualizations, so if you have a choice, why not fill your brain with the good chemicals, you know? I have plans to make you a guided visualization meditation in a future email so that you can better experience the phenomenon.
This is the part of the email where I’ll include your weekly workout schedule.
This one is for the last week of December. Hope you like.
Monday - Merry Christmas or whatever!
Tuesday - 10-min Apartment-Friendly, Taylor Swift Cardio, abs
Wednesday - Phoebe Bridgers Stretch
Thursday - Weighted Upper Body, Upper Body, Plank
Friday - 15-Min Cardio Barre, abs
Saturday - Dealer’s Choice (30 minutes of cardio activity—walking, jump rope, jogging, biking, rollerblading, ice skating, swimming, whatever!)
Sunday - Happy New Year!
This is the part of the email where I’ll do something like encourage you to do a thing for yourself.
This week, I urge you to get outside and walk (if the weather permits in your town). Doesn’t matter how long. All that matters is that you’re present and enjoy yourself. Give yourself the permission to not look at your phone. See if you can find something you’ve never seen before. Pay attention to how everything you experience on it makes you feel inside your body. Plan a time. Commit to it. Let’s walk together (separately) this week, eh?
This is the part of the email where I might recommend a favorite recipe or link to something that makes me feel good. This week, it’s Kentucky Fried Chickpeas. I call it this because, as a person who hasn’t eaten at KFC in over a decade, it tastes UNCANNILY like I’m back at it again.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
For the chickpeas
In a bowl, combine:
1 can of rinsed chickpeas
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp olive oil
Combine well. Spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
For the potatoes
Cube potatoes (any kind). My favorites are Japanese sweet potatoes and Yukon golds, in that order, but you can use whatever potatoes you’ve got.
Coat them in:
drizzle of olive oil
salt
black pepper
cumin
garlic powder
onion powder
Spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake them alongside your chickpeas for the remaining 20 minutes of bake time.
Great way to get a complete protein in, I’m only saying.
So, there you have it. I’m putting this out there for anyone who wants it. If nobody’s into it, it’s fine. I’ll get a new hobby.
But,
If you’d like to receive an email like this once a week from me, consider becoming a paid subscriber by hitting that button below. If not, no worries or whatever!
Happy Honda Days!