#010 - A workout you can LITERALLY do WHEREVER, Natasha's butter obsession returns, and Staying Sane in Tokyo

Plus - bouncing is for everyone!

and

Nov 20, 2023

Workout Wherever by Mazama Wellness is a location-independent fitness system that offers a dose of travel inspiration.

Our goal is for you to feel more confident and consistent with your workouts and access unlimited workout destination possibilities with our portable equipment and Workout Wherever TV.

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My #1 Pick For A Wherever Exercise

Consistency is probably the biggest challenge that most people face when it comes to working out and the most common reason that people pay me as a personal trainer. And I get it. Life can be busy and chaotic and lots of times workouts get put by the wayside. This is why I think it’s important to have some exercises or workouts that can be done anywhere. If you’re traveling, or too busy to make it to the gym, or have a late night at the office, you can still get in a quick one with no equipment from wherever you are and keep consistent with the habit. Skater squats are one of my favorite exercises for these situations. It’s the ultimate lower body exercise for wherever workouts and one that I incorporate into my routine regularly.

Skater squats are a true unilateral exercise. Meaning an exercise that works one side independent of the other. Unilateral exercises are good for addressing or preventing imbalances in strength from side to side. I call skater squats a true unilateral exercise because unlike a bulgarian split squat or reverse lunge that uses the non-primary leg to some extent, skater squats only use the working leg with no assistance from the other leg. This means that the working leg receives a very concentrated effort and makes this exercise really hard.

The reason that I like these for working out wherever is because you don’t need much, if any, weight to make them challenging. When doing the exercise in a slow and controlled fashion, the tensile force is high, and remember mechanical tension on the muscle fiber is one of the ways that it grows. So it really provides a significant stimulus and forces adaptation without much weight - making them a great option for when traveling or working out outside of a gym.

When I do these I generally prefer to elevate the heel in order to put more work into the quads, but this is a personal preference based on my body proportions and mobility and other people might feel just fine not elevating the heel. I also like to use a little weight as a counterbalance because this allows me to get a more full range of motion, which is also another strategy to put more mechanical tension on the muscle fibers and get more growth out of the exercise.

One way to ease into this exercise is to use a TRX or the back of a chair to assist you while feeling it out and finding your balance. Once you feel comfortable, you can move on to no assistance. This is definitely one that I’d work on getting proficient with in order to be able to get some really good lower body work no matter where you are or what equipment you have.

Skater squats - give them a try and let me know what you think in the comments below.

A Visual Supplement

too long; didn't read? - watch this video.

How To Stay Sane In The Biggest City In The World

When I lived in Tokyo, I was fortunate enough to live right near the Chuo train line, which was a straight shot out of town to Mt. Takao. This area was my refuge from the most populous city in the world and one that I would frequent weekly to keep my sanity. There were beautiful hikes through Japanese maple and Shinto shrines and a network of trails that could be used to hike to nearby mountains. Sometimes I’d show up and there’d be a bunch of snow on the mountain and I’d hike through it and find some sunshine and sit there and sip on some green tea and absorb it all.

It’s necessary to have nature close by when living in a city like Tokyo and with how great the trains are, it was easy to access it. I went to other mountains and did other hikes, but Mt. Takao was my main mountain and one I became very familiar with.

When I couldn’t make it to nature, I immersed myself in nature and solitude via Alone in the Wilderness. The PBS series that tells the story of outdoorsman and style icon Dick Proenneke, who was “an American self-educated naturalist, conservationist, writer, and wildlife photographer who, from the age of about 51, lived alone for nearly thirty years in the mountains of Alaska in a log cabin that he constructed by hand near the shore of Twin Lakes. Proenneke hunted, fished, raised and gathered much of his own food, and also had supplies flown in occasionally.” (Wikipedia)

This series is video shot and narrated by Dick himself and is the ultimate bedtime story. Watching and listening to it immediately slows my breathing and I feel a relaxation take hold. It’s therapeutic. Not only that, but the guy's skill is just a pleasure to watch. He built his own cabin by hand and seeing how he constructs a door latch purely out of carved wood is captivating. It far surpasses what you find today with all the ridiculous survival shows on TV. This guy was filming himself with a tripod and film camera. He was the real deal and for him it wasn’t a test of survival, but rather an exercise in solitude and a relationship with the natural world. It’s quite beautiful.

If ever you need an escape for your sanity and nature is out of reach, check out Alone in the Wilderness. You’ll be instantly transported and for me, it doesn't get much better.

Stay Bouncy

I love plyometrics. It’s fun to bounce around and feel athletic.

They use an elastic quality that muscles have to generate more power than doing a similar movement starting from a static position. You can really see this exemplified at the 50 second mark of the video below.

Here they’re doing depth jumps - starting from a high position, jumping down to the ground, and then springing off the ground to clear the object. These movements are characterized by minimal ground contact time. This replicates movements like sprinting, where minimizing ground contact helps you run faster.

Plyometrics are a must for athletes, but even for the average person, they’re a good exercise to help prevent injuries or recover during a fall. They’re sure to put a spring in your step. Plus, you never know when you’re going to have to jump over a piece of office furniture.

Stay bouncy, friends.

Feast your eyes on this

I’ll keep this short and sweet (and also savory) because the following needs little words.

Tis the season to possibly eat a bit more indulgently, decadently, and maybe adventurously.

I’ve been (happily) inundated with recipes and food content the last few weeks during my daily scrolls on the interweb and I must say, I’m fucking salivating. So - today I’m sharing things I would cook for you if we were planning to feast together!*