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fitness

    WORKOUT WOES

    With Gyms Reopened, Fitness Buffs Work Off Their ‘Covid-19’

    In Provincetown, no pain meant unwanted gain

    By

    PROVINCETOWN — It happened just weeks ago, when he was shopping: Lorenzo Wigfall pulled on a pair of jeans and realized — to his horror — that it was too snug around the waist. It’s a common discouragement for many, but to Wigfall, it was earth-shattering.

    “I was crying,” he said. “I mean, God, it was so embarrassing. I’ve never had that problem — ever, ever, ever.”

    Wigfall — musclebound in a muscle tee, fresh off a workout at Provincetown’s Mussel Beach Health Club — is one of hundreds of full-time and part-time residents in Provincetown for whom fitness is more of a passion than a pastime. The gym is as frequent a destination for them as Herring Cove, and a day without lifting seems incomplete. Exercise is “everything,” Wigfall said. “Looking good, feeling good — all of it.”

    So, when the Covid-19 pandemic touched down in March, fitness aficionados not only had to contend with the stress of isolation and toilet-paper hoarding, but also the shuttering of gyms and subsequent erosion of a religious routine. Those four-odd months of makeshift workouts were “horrible,” Wigfall said. “Difficult. Sad.”

    Rob Sanders of Columbus, Ohio, on the treadmill at Mussel Beach. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Once phase three happened in July, however, Provincetown’s fitness buffs flocked back to the gym with newfound determination — and a bit of newfound pudge.

    Pre-lockdown, Scott Eischen and Mike Bruning — a buff Boston-based couple — knew exactly where they’d be five times a week: at the fitness center, doing intensive cardio and free-weight workouts. When gyms were shut down, the first thing they, too, did was cry.

    Then they rushed to buy two sets of elastic resistance bands online. At the local sporting goods store, they snagged two of the last 20-lb. dumbbells in stock.

    Their impulse to stock up on personal fitness equipment (even if the dumbbells were dinky by their standards) proved widespread in the fitness community.

    “In the very beginning of the lockdown,” said Dave Oliver, owner of Cape Tip Sportswear in Provincetown, “I started getting all these calls: ‘I’ve gotta get out of the house! I’ve gotta have sneakers!’ ”

    Oliver and his staff began delivering athletic shoes to homes throughout the Outer Cape. And then, after a few weeks, the requests Oliver fielded expanded in scope.

    “All of a sudden, everybody wanted dumbbells,” he said. “And yoga mats and bands. We were getting asked for stuff like that constantly. No one’s ever asked me for those things before. People wanted to be doing real workouts.”

    Even gym rats who managed to get hold of exercise equipment (no easy task at a time of endless back orders) struggled to stay active during their months at home.

    The bands and dumbbells Eischen and Bruning bought to substitute for free weights were not a perfect solution, or even a good one. “It sucked,” said Eischen. “It was awful.”

    Dan Squire, a D.C. resident, was used to spending four or five days a week on ellipticals and Nautilus machines. During lockdown, he bought kettlebells, biked, and went for long walks. “It was fine,” he said. “But the thing about a long walk is, well, it takes a long time.”

    Before the pandemic, Christopher Somma, who splits his time between Durham, N.H., and Provincetown, was training for his first Ironman triathlon. He lifted five times a week and supplemented that with swimming, running, and biking. When Covid hit, with no access to a pool and no at-home gym equipment, most of his routine evaporated.

    He forced himself to get creative, taking online yoga and CrossFit-style classes and using his 60-lb. bicycle as a weight. One woman in a class of his used a skillet; another used her dog. Wigfall replaced his usual regimen with a stream of at-home projects: pruning, digging, planting, painting — plus pushups.

    Matthew Lombardo drove from New York to Connecticut every day of New York’s lockdown to work out. Now, he can use Mussel Beach’s cross cable pulls whenever he wants. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    The Provincetown fitness buffs interviewed for this article agreed on three points.

    First: working out during lockdown was terrible. Second: being back in the gym is wonderful. Squire called it “absolutely great.” Bruning and Eischen found it to be “a huge relief.” And Wigfall: six minutes past Mussel Beach’s closing time, “The lady had to get me out of there with a crowbar.”

    And third? The pudge. “I kept making brownies and stuff,” said Somma. “What else was there to do? I put on a couple pounds. I think everyone did.”

    Such a plight might be detrimental to Provincetown egos, but it’s a boon for Oliver, who has been selling shirts and shorts at elevated numbers. “Nobody’s stuff fits anymore,” he said. “Everybody just kept eating.”

    MOVEMENT

    Ready to Run? Walk First

    How to safely jump-start your legs

    By

    Kathy Stetson at Reykjavik Marathon
    Taking walking breaks every 5 kilometers, Kathy Stetson ran the Reykjavik Marathon as if it were eight 5Ks instead of 26.2 miles. (Photo Reykjavik Marathon)

    Running has great appeal in the age of coronavirus. Here on the Outer Cape, you can probably set out on a run right outside your front door. It doesn’t require much in the way of gear, aside from a good pair of shoes, and it burns a lot of calories. But mainly, what makes it so appealing right now is that running feels like the opposite of being confined — it’s liberating.

    It’s easy to get hurt running, though, especially if you overdo it. The impact on your legs is around three to four times your body weight. That’s twice as much as the force your joints are absorbing when you walk.

    If this strange season has you wanting to start running, or resume after a long hiatus, you’ve got to think about how to do it safely. You know the saying “You have to walk before you can run”? My strategy is to take that literally. If you walk regularly and can cover 12 to 15 miles per week, then you’re ready to begin a run/walk routine. If you’re not there yet, start walking 20 to 30 minutes a day, then add five minutes to each walk every week, until you reach 45 to 60 minutes a day.

    Once your walking routine is strong, you can begin to add running in short intervals to create a run/walk program. Introducing the higher impact gradually gives your bones, muscles and tendons time to adapt. Do the walk/run workouts three times a week on non-consecutive days to allow your body time to recover in between. Continue walking or cross training on the other days.

    You don’t have to graduate from run/walk workouts to running. I used a run/walk method to prepare for a marathon in Reykjavik in 2014. Throughout the race, I took a walking break after every five kilometers.

    Before you head out, do a dynamic warmup such as high knees, butt kicks, or straight leg kicks. Always walk five minutes at the beginning to get yourself going and another five at the end to cool down. A beginner’s plan looks something like this:
    If you find the workouts too easy, you can progress more quickly. If they’re too difficult, go back a week or repeat a week until it feels manageable. Listen to your body; you’re looking for moderate exertion, say seven or eight on a 10-point scale, not an all-out effort.

    Your total time or mileage should increase gradually, about 10 percent per week. There’s no drama in going from a 30-minute run/walk workout to a 33-minute one. But it works. And most injuries come from running too much too soon.

    To stay motivated, it’s helpful to have a clear goal in mind. Right now, I’m training for a solo 5K on May 2. I don’t think the Brewster in Bloom race will happen, but I’ve kept that date on my calendar anyway. Run your solo 5K on any scenic route you like. Choose one that’s away from other people, measure out a course (I use the phone app Map My Walk), mark your calendar, and train for it. When the day comes, do it, rain or shine. Make a big deal of it and reward yourself. Congratulations — running a 5K is an accomplishment, even when the competition is just you.

     

    MOVEMENT

    Stretching: Should You Bother?

    It depends on whether you’re a competitive sprinter or just trying to tie your shoes

    By

    Some things we do mainly because we’ve always done them. For me, stretching is one. When I was a 12-year-old aspiring gymnast, I stretched before class because the coach told me to. In physical therapy school, we learned all sorts of science-y explanations about how stretching could improve range of motion, decrease injuries, and even help injured tendon fibers heal in a more orderly way. I recommended stretching accordingly.

    Now that supposed wisdom is being put to the test as therapists, coaches, and trainers build evidence-based programs. And there’s a hot debate going on about stretching. Researchers are looking especially at static stretching (moving one or more joints to the point of muscle tension and holding for at least several seconds) versus dynamic mobility exercises (repeatedly taking the joint through a full range of motion without pausing).

    Static stretching appears to actually decrease performance if what you’re looking for is speed and strength. It doesn’t decrease injury risk. And no one believes the more-organized-tendon-fiber theory anymore. Results for dynamic warm-ups look more promising, with some studies showing improved performance (for speed or agility), though the jury is still out on injury prevention.

    Moreover, most of the studies behind the findings were geared toward a young, athletic population. But what if you’re not really looking for stretching to improve your sprint times?

    kneeling lunge
    For Kathy Stetson, a kneeling lunge is the feel-good antidote to too much desk time. (Photo Dave Powers)

    Here’s what has been proved about static stretching: it improves range of motion at the involved joints. Anecdotally, most people agree that stretching feels good. Is that enough to make it worth doing?

    How do you bridge the gap between the science and the practical? Do you abandon flexibility work because the research isn’t there? Or maybe it’s just not there yet? How can you be a critical consumer of the health information you read and still honor what your own body needs?

    The key is to consider your goals. Certainly, if you’re an athlete preparing for a game or a race, do a dynamic warm-up series that includes light jogging, high knees, butt-kicks, and other motions that resemble the movements required in your sport. If you like static stretching, save it for afterwards.

    But if you are tight from sitting at your desk all day, you may need to stretch your hip flexors with a kneeling lunge or do a back bend such as cobra to allow you to stand up straight and enjoy your afternoon walk. If you’re 80 years old and your hips and knees are stiff, you may need some stretching in order to get to a position in which you can comfortably tie your shoes. How much motion do you need to perform your goal activity?

    figure-4 stretch
    A seated figure-4 stretch tunes Judy Stetson up for shoe-tying. (Photo Casey Powers)

    The other thing to consider is how your body responds to these mobility activities. You may find that you feel more limber or supple if you stretch. Or that your stretching routine allows you to do your sport or your daily activities without pain. Does stretching relax you? Or do you find some stretches to be painful or problematic, even though they’re popular?

    When it comes to stretching, the thing to do is practice the art of listening to your own body and responding appropriately.

     

    If you have questions about your ability to exercise, consult your health care provider before starting a new routine.

     

     

    MOVEMENT

    How to Fit In Fitness

    Fifteen minutes will elevate your mood

    By

    This is either the most wonderful time of the year or the hardest and most stressful. Either way, for most of us, it’s a time when exercise routines lag. It’s easy to forget about fitness from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. The problem is, come January, starting over is hard.

    The secret to staying at it during the holidays is to avoid an all-or-nothing attitude. When you hear yourself think, “I have to work out for an hour or it’s not worth it,” reframe that notion. Getting active for just 15 minutes will help you maintain your exercise habit — and elevate your mood.

    Start by sneaking a little cardio into your holiday preparations. It helps if you commit to shopping locally. Head to Holly Folly or a Holiday Stroll and walk briskly through downtown for 15 minutes, then turn back and hit the stores. Another strategy is to socialize on the move. Instead of meeting friends for drinks, plan a group hike.

    As for strength training, accept that there will be days when there’s no time for the gym. No matter: here’s a mini strength session you can do at home.

    Set aside 15 minutes, put on some music, have a timer at hand, and get ready to lift your spirits. I’m listing some higher- and lower-intensity ways to approach the exercises. Adjust as you go: you should be working hard, but not to exhaustion.

    Do as many repetitions as you can with good form in the allotted time. If you tire out before time’s up for any given exercise, rest until it’s time for the next move.

     A Fit Fifteen

    Minutes 1 and 2: Walk or march in place while pumping your arms, or walk or run up a flight of stairs and back down again.

    Minute 3: Push-ups on a wall, countertop, or the floor. Be sure to keep your back flat and your head and neck aligned with your spine.

    Minute 4: Sit-to-stand from a chair, or do bodyweight squats, bending your knees and sitting back as you go.

    Minute 5: Bird dog. Get on the floor on your hands and knees with your back flat. Extend one arm straight out in front of you, then lift and extend the opposite leg straight back. Keep your lifted arm and leg parallel to the floor, hold 30 seconds, then switch sides.

    Minute 6: Bridges. lie on your back with your knees bent. Press your heels down into the floor and raise your hips, slowly lower, and repeat. Or, do single-leg bridges: start as before but extend one leg, so your thighs are parallel, then raise your hips, keeping them level, and slowly lower. Repeat for 30 seconds, then switch legs.

    That’s Nancy Civetta of Wellfleet, with a dip that builds triceps better than French Onion does. (Photo Dave Powers)

    Minute 7: Tricep dips. Sit on the front of a sturdy chair, hands gripping the sides of the seat. Move your hips forward, just off the seat, slowly bend your elbows to lower your body, then push and extend your arms to return to starting position. Repeat.

    Minute 8: Hold a forearm plank on a wall, chair, or the floor. Keep your elbows shoulder-width apart, push up and make your body straight from your head to your heels, and draw your belly in to support your lower back. Breathe! You can do one long hold or several short ones to total 60 seconds.

    Minutes 9 to 15: Stretching. Forget about the timer for these, just hold each position for 5 deep breaths:

    Downward-facing dog. If you haven’t learned this in a yoga class, try a modified version, leaning forward to grip a countertop. Extend your arms, lean forward keeping your back flat, and step back to gently stretch your hamstrings.

    Side-body extensions. Stand and reach your right arm overhead with left hand at your hip. Focus on extending long rather than bending to the side.

    Back extensions. Lie on your belly with your forehead resting on your hands, or prop yourself up on elbows. If you’re already yoga savvy, continue into a cobra pose, raising your upper body off the floor. Lower and repeat a few times.

    If you have any doubts about your ability to exercise, consult your health care provider. Forget no pain, no gain — your quickie workout should feel good.

     

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