Jazzercise for Aunty. Really?

Cool for Kupuna is a weekly show on Sundays at 5:30pm on KITV2. I don’t get tv stations but I can watch past episodes on their CoolforKupuna.com website.

Sue Jorgenson is a returning local (Kaimuki!) gal who interviews, visits, and tries all kinds of interesting things around the island that us old mature people would enjoy. I recently met her at the Hawaii Potters Guild when she had a lesson in wheel throwing and panned over the hand building area (where my good friend Esther Nowell used to teach and still plays on Mondays.). This episode will air on Sunday, March 24, 2024 on KITV2.

Her January 14, 2024 episode featured Kaimuki (for the 3rd time) and featured W&M Hamburger and Jazzercise at the Kaimuki YMCA. I watched it, saw seniors moving and moving slowly, and I thought to myself, “Self, you can do this. You really DO need to exercise!” So I joined the YMCA on a monthly basis ($59/mo), signed up for Jazzercise ($15/mo) and went to my first class yesterday morning at 8:00. I figured earlier is better so I can eat breakfast after class instead of moving around with food in the tummy and then having to go. You know what I mean by “go.”

Well, there were some people younger than me, a few that were older, the room was air conditioned and totally not crowded and I was raring to go! (NOT that kind of “go”, but the other kind of “GO!”)

It started off slow – tap, tap, double tap tap, and arms up, up, sway, sway, stretch, shift – nice and easy for the warm up. I liked it! Except it then started adding more steps and different songs and a faster tempo, more steps, slide, ball change, kick, kick, turn, arms up, over, out, all at the same time as legs and feet moving to the beat – and I was SO out of my comfort zone of being a couch potato. I had to sit it out when they grabbed their weights and did a couple more songs and routines. I wanted to go home already. I joined back into the group for the “cool down” – my favorite part.

It wasn’t fun yet. It was mental and physical torture because I didn’t know the steps and my body was not used to an hour of intentional movement. That Cool for Kupuna video (shown below) slowed down the participants in class so I wasn’t expecting that my heart would race, my head swimming with frustration, and me looking like the oldest one there because of being two beats behind them and confused.

Oprah Winfrey, in her book “Things That I Am Sure Of” spoke about determination. If you determine something, the universe and all the powers that be will conspire to make it come true.

And so, as I took my break sitting on a chair and watching the enthusiastic teacher (Caroline Dang) and her devoted students moving and grooving to the upbeat music, I said to myself, “Self, I am determined to become really good at Jazzercise – and I will dance again.”

And so, I will continue.

Episode 42

Update: I went to my 2nd Jazzercise class but this time I ate my regular breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt and coffee a bit earlier than usual. Was able to “go” before class and showed up a little bit late. And I did it! I wasn’t feeling woozy or weak, but still out of sinc with the dance steps. I didn’t do the weights but I didn’t sit it out. It’s happening and I am so glad for it! I guess I should not go on an empty stomach.

4-7-8 Breathing exercise for life, and magnets

breathingAunty first heard about this 4-7-8 breathing exercise from Kay of Musings.  This supposedly helps you fall asleep, and so Aunty, on the few occasions when it was hard to fall asleep at night, would breathe in, hold, and exhale continuously, and find herself becoming light headed – but still wide awake.

Then, a link in one of Dr. Mercola‘s articles was to Dr. Andrew Weil’s instructional video on only doing 4 breath cycles at a time, once or twice a day, and NOT as many as one is able to do.  This cycle of 4 originated in India and has health benefits of anxiety relief, lowering blood pressure (one of Aunty’s new health concerns), and can give one a refreshing boost as well as ease of falling asleep.

Here’s Dr. Andrew Weil explaining how to do this exercise:

Actually, Aunty did put her digital blood pressure cuff on while doing this breathing exercise and it DID result in a nicer lower blood pressure reading!

Aunty will be starting this practice daily. Sometimes while sitting on the toilet in the morning since nothing else is going on at that time.  *It seems like Kay of Musings and Aunty are on the same info plane because just yesterday, Kay posted about blowing while constipated.  What a coincidence, and SO worth a try!

Another practice (unrelated to toilet habits) that Aunty believes in is magnet therapy.  Kay has trigger finger and Aunty suggested she use magnets to help heal the area around her joints.  Sometimes Aunty grabs a business card magnet – those freebie things that come in the mail or are attached to phone books when they are first delivered – and lays it on the area of pain.  For Aunty, this is usually her neck and/or shoulders.  Perhaps it is her imagination, but it almost feels like the pain is lifted away.

In any case, these are 2 free methods of wellness that Aunty wanted to share with you today.  If anyone wants Aunty’s 4-7-8 breathing magnet as well as 3 other of her magnets, please email Aunty (aunty@hawaii.rr.com) with your U.S mailing address and Aunty will gladly mail out a set of her 4 magnets.  You can use these magnets as reminders on your refrigerator or file cabinet, or for temporary magnet therapy.

Wishing you peace, happiness, and wellness!

magnets

Aunty’s computer posture – fix!

Aunty’s posture has been deteriorating – maybe because of entering the older lady phase of life, but maybe not.

TaiChi is helping with balance.  Still, poor posture from sitting hours at the computer watching Korean dramas, blogging, inputting into Quickbooks, google searching, checking emails, etc. etc. etc. was taking its toll.  Playing Kuku-Kube (thanks or No thanks to Jalna, lol) has really made Aunty sit transfixed for hours staring at computer screens.

Along comes a good AND EASY way to reverse and overcome poor posture with 3 simple to do exercises.

1.  Maintain a tight core while walking or standing.  Suck in that gut and keep your ears above your shoulders.  (This makes clothing look great on us – especially that lumpy looking part under the boobs and above the waist.)

2.  Backwards arm rolls with palms facing up.  This one will really feel foreign – we don’t ever use this motion or direction, but it works!

3.  Elbow pushing on a wall.  Something like isometrics (remember those?) but easier.  It is hard for Aunty to relax her neck, but Aunty will learn.

Thanks to the folks at Easy Health Options for this link to Dr. Brett Cardonick’s video demonstrating the exercises:

Look good, feel good!  Or is it the other way around?

Old lady bike

Aunty's bike

Townie Aunty

Aunty is no longer young. But she can still ride a bike. And now, beginning her golden years, she wanted to have a good bike with all the bells, whistles and specs that fit her short, flat butted senior body.  A folding bike seemed like a very usable and adaptable choice, and so, the search was on.

First potential

Giant expressway2

Giant Expressway2 McCully Bike $560

Initial stop was the old standard – McCully Bike on King Street. It was overwhelming to see rows of bicycles, all of them looking huge and youthful. The friendliest looking bike was a folding bike (!) – Giant Expressway2.  It was also the smallest adult bike.

Aunty loved its look.  Cute and sassy.  It had 20″ wheels, 7 speeds (which wasn’t important), handle bars were adjustable in height and the seat could be lowered to Aunty’s short size.

Trying to be cool, Aunty swung her left leg over the low center bar (21.5″) and almost died as her non stretch skirt failed to give enough slack for the up and over leg. Pride and determination won out, and Aunty barely escaped crash mounting in the store by jumping into the seat and luckily finding her balance.  A test drive down 4′ of crowded aisle was excruciating because of the stiff little seat of torture.  How do people ride on those?  A week later, Aunty’s tailbone was still feeling abused from the seat and her near mishap.

The Expressway2 was pricey at $560 before tax, a nice cushy seat would cost about $50 more, and a basket would be another additional expense.

Plethora of potential

Dahon Speed Uno $402.96 Amazon

Dahon Speed Uno $402.96 Amazon

After a google search of “folding bikes” and reviews, Aunty focused in on the Dahon Speed Uno because it had some good reviews and it was simple, simple, simple, like the bikes from Aunty’s hanabata days in Palolo Valley.  One speed, pedal brakes.  No wires and levers on handle bars.  Lightweight and foldable, though a bit macho and sparse looking.

This was one of the lightest folding bikes – 24lbs.  Small and tough looking.

NYCEwheels.com has a video review of the Dahon Speed Uno.  The reviewer, Dave, is a very tall man and Aunty was trying to see if that horizontal bar between the handle and seat was low enough for Aunty to throw her leg over without  getting embarrassed and eating it on the asphalt.  In the video, the bar barely met the mid part of his lower leg, so maybe it was nice and low, or maybe he was a giant and double the height of Aunty.  Dave rode with ease, whipping through U-turns and stopping on a dime.

This bike is bare bones and cool.  No fenders, no basket – just bike, fun and simple.

Schwinn

Schwinn 20" Loop $247.86 on Amazon

Schwinn 20″ Loop $247.86 on Amazon

One of the top rated folding bikes on Amazon was the Schwinn 20″ folding Loop Bike.   It is 32 lbs,  heavier than the Dahon Speed Uno, with shifts and cables for its 7 speed and handle bar brakes.

Notice how the frame dips low?  This is called a step-through because one can easily step through the frame to get on.  Nice feature for Aunty and her skirts. The back rack is part of the frame, handy for cargo or a basket or purse.

Searching “folding bikes” on Amazon will pull this Schwinn up first, but not too many websites even mentioned the Schwinn as a top 10 contender.  Still, it is small and cute, has some nice standard features such as front and rear plastic fenders and the rear rack.  It comes in several color choices, and it has the Schwinn brand name, which used to mean something in the old days.  Free shipping on Amazon makes this a contender.

Brits have it

More google searching for “best folding bikes” opened up several great reviews, but most of them were British and European models, too pricey and shipping to Hawaii was not an option, or if shipping was an option, it would cost an arm and a leg.

“Best bikes for seniors”

Another google search for bikes for seniors was pretty interesting, but not many caught Aunty’s eye since the Dahon Speed Uno was flirting as the numero uno in Aunty’s head.  A helpful website is boomerinas.com with an article about bikes for boomer women.  She suggested searching “old lady bikes”, so Aunty did.  One of the best articles was a 2009 one from AARP about terminology and choosing a bike.  Aunty advises potential bike buyers to check out this great article.

Citizen

Citizen Bike's Barcelona $399 plus shipping

Citizen Bike’s Barcelona
$399 plus shipping

Reading through many online reviews took Aunty to the website of Citizen Bikes.  O. M. G….  Talk about pretty!  The Barcelona folding bike in the champagne color was SO beautiful!  It looked like something that Katherine Hepburn would ride.  Options include a nifty wicker basket in the front mounted just above the front wheels, classy looking 2-tone seats, a bell ringer, and even a mount for smart phones (though how smart is it to use your smart phone while biking).

The rear rack and fenders were standard.  Shipping from Florida to Hawaii was $152 via USPS – yikes!  Florida is a continent and ocean away.  Customer service closed early – 4:00 EST.  Total cost with shipping, nifty basket and a 2-tone comfy seat was just under $600.  This needed some serious back pedaling of thought.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the only color in stock was black, not this yummy ivory color.  Katherine Hepburn would insist on the ivory because black would not suit her style.  Aunty only wanted ivory.

Cheapo option

Stowaway 20" 6 speed Amazon $149.99

Stowaway 20″ 6 speed Amazon $149.99

What is most difficult is not being able to actually sit on a bike and take it for a spin.  How many people would buy a car without a test drive?  Of course, the difference in price of thousands of dollars for a car vs. hundreds of dollars for a bike makes it 100 times less critical, or that’s what Aunty tells herself.

One cheapo (Aunty needs to learn to say “economical”) folding bike is the Stowaway 20″ 6 speed folding bike.  It actually looks decent with a back rack, slightly lowered middle bar and pretty silver color.  It comes with fenders that have dents in it (?) and weighs 38 lbs.  Zooming in on the pictures on Amazon showed rather messy welding.

Reviews about this bike are mixed on Amazon – some have no problems and love it, some encountered problems with poor customer service and quality.  Aunty was leery of speed shifting on bikes and this bike might not fit Aunty’s cup of tea because of the lack of hand holding support.  Still, it was cheapo economical with free (!) shipping.

Changing strategy

A folding bike was a top priority because of the cool factor as well as being able to fold it up and take it almost anywhere one would take a really big rather heavy contraption.  They tended to be lighter and smaller than non-folding bikes, but many of the negative reviews on Amazon about ANY bike was damage during shipment, missed parts, etc.  Some companies required a qualified bike shop to put it together once the disassembled bike arrived.

Hmmm.  Aunty decided to check out more local bike shops to see what could be bought already put together.

Ebikes Hawaii

A2b folding electric bike, prices vary

A2b folding electric bike, prices vary

John and Roy Cho are a father and son team running 2 stores (Kapahulu and Hickam AFB), specializing in electric bikes.  Aunty went to the Kapahulu store on Campbell Avenue, a couple of blocks from Rainbow’s Drive Inn and close to Zippy’s.

Son Roy showed Aunty some nifty looking folding electric bikes.  These run quiet and work on an assist mode combined with pedaling for easy power.  They are a bit expensive from around $800, but you pay for what you get.

One kinda neat option is being able to rent an electric bike for a day for $40-50, which a lot of tourists do.  Aunty was tempted, but not quite ready to hop on one of these bikes, especially since her tailbone was still aching from her first try out attempt at McCully Bike.

Customer service at Ebikes Hawaii is excellent.  Son Roy is super nice, no pressure, and treated Aunty with gentle respect.  Maybe Aunty will be back one of these days when taking on hills becomes part of Aunty’s bike riding experience.

Aunty’s search continued, venturing into the possibilities of non-folding bikes that are comfortable, pretty, and easy.

Trek Bikes

Trek Pure S Lowstep $419 list

Trek Pure S Lowstep $419 list

The Pure S Trek Bike was one found online that was single speed, pedal brakes, and step-through chassis.  Trek is a good bike brand with a nice website.  They are sold in Hawaii, at the BikeFactory on the corner of Ala Moana Boulevard and Cooke Street.  Aunty had to go.

Terrifically, the BikeFactory has lots and lots of bikes!  Salesman/expert Tyler really knew his bikes and was a patient guide to a wishy washy yet determined Aunty.  He pulled down a Trek bike that looked huge.  It was not a Pure S Lowstep, which he said was a slightly recumbent bike, meaning the seat was behind the pedals rather than right above them.  It was not a folding bike.  Aunty didn’t like it and looked at other bikes in the bike crowded store.

Dahon Boardwalk

Dahon folding Boardwalk $349 at the BikeFactory

Dahon folding Boardwalk $349 at the BikeFactory

Ooooh!  The BikeFactory had Dahon bikes! They had the Dahon Boardwalk, a less expensive model than the Speed Uno, and was complete with hand brakes, fenders, and a rack!  It was really spiffy looking, though a little heavier than the Speed Uno.  Plus, it wasn’t as simple because it had the hand brake cable and lever, which Tyler said could be removed.  It really was a cool looking bike and the seat could adjust really low to compensate for Aunty’s lack of height.  Aunty liked it!

Excitedly, Aunty took it out in the parking lot out back, ready to ride.  They say that once you know how to ride a bike, you never forget how.  It’s true, but since it was almost 50 years since Aunty had ridden on a borrowed bike in Palolo Valley, it was like entering uncharted territory.  The ride wasn’t as easy as hoped.  It was stiff Aunty could only go straight, timidly.  Turning was not going to happen with the rather skinny front end and shaky ride.  Aunty felt like a chicken.

The Dahon Speed Uno suddenly was not an option anymore based on Aunty’s test drive of the Dahon Boardwalk. Dave, the New York bike reviewer of the Speed Uno was a biking pro whipping along with confidence – and Aunty was not.

The Townie 3i by Electra in Champagne Pearl

Electra Townie 3i $549

Electra Townie 3i $549

Tyler knew just what Aunty needed.  The Electra Townie. Just the name of it was delicious.  The color was delicious.  It was not a folding bike, but  a one piece low step through and rather light because of its aluminum frame.  The seat goes way down for shorties.  It was a 3 speed bike, 20″ wheels with both pedal and hand brakes.

Aunty took it for a spin out back.  It felt much more stable than the Dahon.  Aunty almost completed a U turn going at snail speed, the seat was surprisingly comfy, and the hand brake had a mean bite which took a bit of getting used to.

This was an old lady bike that Aunty felt good about.  It was also one that Aunty could feel proud to ride around the neighborhood.  A rear rack was added ($49), the bike was given an all points checkout, registration paper signed, and Aunty was ready for the road!

*Update:  It has been a week since Aunty got her new wheels.  Every day when there are hardly any cars on the road, Aunty would pedal down the block, going just a little further each day, making a U turn without stopping, and then pedal back home.  At this rate, it may take a long time before Aunty is ready for the main road and a trip to the post office, bank, or mall – but that is the goal.  It will take some time getting comfortable with riding on the edge of the roads and sharing it with cars – but it will happen.

When you are driving, please be nice to bike riders.

If you do see Aunty perched on her bike with her hat banded hair streaming in the wind and cruising along, please don’t honk.  Aunty might fall off.

 

 

Exercise

I am being a hypocrite here.  I say to everyone that you should exercise but I hardly do myself.  I do love to weed and garden, and that is very good.  I also have started to learn TaiChi in the Young style – my pal Patricia and I take weekly lessons on Tuesdays.

TaiChi section 1 Showing for a limited time, for us beginners who still haven’t quite remembered the first section.  Thanks Gerri and Virginia!

TaiChi section 2:

Walk with Leslie Sansone for those of us who need to exercise but we really don’t have the time to put on our sunscreen, exercise clothes, socks and shoes every day.  A great way to walk 2 miles with a nice perky lady.  You will be glad you walk!

 


Bruce Lee playing ping pong with nunchucks.
Okay, this may be beyond what we will ever do, but in my dreams, I would love to be able to do this.  Woooowaaaah!

Check out the PACE exercises in the Exercise section.  Short, fast, slow to intense.  Build lung capacity and you build good health.

PACE Airplane for building lung capacity

Here’s a great example of a P.A.C.E. workout that can give you more lung power and improve your Age Quotient (Dr. Sear’s standard) starting today. It’s called an Airplane.

1.  Stand with your feet together, knees slightly bent and upper body leaning slightly forward.
2.  Hold your arms in front of you about waist height, hands together in a “praying” position.
3.  Spread your arms and swing them backwards, and at the same time, lift one leg behind you.
4.  Return to the starting position, then swing your arms and raise the other leg.
5.  Repeat until you are slightly winded.
6.  Rest and recover.  This may take a short time, or a long time (since I am quite out of condition).
7.  For the second set, increase the intensity until you can only speak in short sentences.
8.  Recover.
9.  For the third set, increase the intensity until you can’t complete a sentence, then stop.  (gasp, gasp)
The slight increases in intensity make it a true P.A.C.E. workout. You can increase the intensity without increasing the impact by doing the airplanes “bigger.”  That means leaning a little more forward, doing a squat before you “airplane,” or extending your hands and arms as much as possible with each repetition.

PACE Back Stroke Squat

More P.A.C.E. exercise, thanks to Dr. Al Sears:

Remember to do these two things:

Use progressivity – Little by little, you increase the intensity of your exertion over time
Apply acceleration – Try to reach your intensity target faster, and reduce your recovery time.

1.  Stand with your feet shoulder width apart

2.  Bend slightly at the knees and lean forward, arms hanging straight down

3.  Squat down, and as you come back up, swing both arms up and back in a windmill, as if you were doing the backstroke in a pool using both arms at the same time

4.  Return to start position and repeat until you are slightly out of breath

5.  Recover

6.  Do three sets, with recovery periods in between
In the P.A.C.E. studio, we use a 5-7-9 progression for intensity. That means do the first set at what you perceive to be a 5 on your intensity scale. Do the second set at 7, and the third set go almost all out, leaving a little room to where you could have done a bit more.

Every time you work out, you’ll be a little more fit. Your perceived exertion will change over time so that your “5” of today will only be a “4” tomorrow. So you have to progressively increase your intensity to match your fitness.

That might mean adding a little jump to your squat. Or doing two backstrokes on the way up. Or adding a few more squats to each set but trying to do them in the same amount of time. It’s P.A.C.E. as long as there’s a tiny increase in intensity with each workout.

Then, you accelerate the intensity. Instead of resting for three minutes between sets, only rest for two. Then one minute. Then 20 seconds. Also, instead of a 5-7-9 intensity progression. Try for 6-7-9. Then 7-8-9. Eventually you’ll be able to go 9-9-9 right from the start.
Acceleration is so beneficial because it gives you energy fast, that you can feel right away.

PACE Jumping Side Crunch

Here is another of Dr. Sear’s great exercises that even I can do.  He stresses the  5-7-9 intensity scale for working out with POWER Fit, this allows you to get the full benefit of building lung capacity and also endurance.

Do your first set for each routine at what would be about an intensity level of 5 for you. That means you’d still be able to speak sentences afterwards, but you’re a little winded.

Rest and recover, and up the intensity to a 7. After, you should only be able to talk in short, clipped sentences, but you’re not gasping for air. For the third set, go up to 9. That means that you’re breathing hard and can’t complete a sentence.

The numbers are just a way of converting something subjective – exertion level – into something concrete. But they don’t tell the whole story.

They’re also a way to keep your focus on your intensity, so you can be in control. If you get to your peak heart rate after the second set, you’ve gone beyond your current level of conditioning and lost control.

And you want to be in charge of how hard you’re exerting yourself. You want to focus your attention on your use of oxygen, on your heart rate, on your perceived exertion.

We have the capacity to feel that. To feel how we are working in a much more complete and detailed way than most of us do because we’re so distracted. We’re taught to be distracted.

It’s gotten very bad in the modern world because we use our brains to disconnect from what our bodies are feeling. We take our brains somewhere else through TV or music when we work out.

But you want to bring your mind back into your body, and bring your body’s signals back into your conscious focus.

You’ll know with a lot more reliability how hard you’re working. And you won’t all of a sudden find you’re working out at peak intensity and huffing and puffing because you were thinking about something else.

Then you can influence your body, and direct it. And make your exertion, by intent, what you want it to be.

It’s the reason why we find P.A.C.E. to be so exceptionally safe. I think that part of the reason is because you’re focusing on the intensity.

It’s like if you were reading a book and walking on the edge of a cliff, it’d be dangerous. But if you’re walking near a cliff while paying attention to how close you’re getting to the edge, you can get pretty close and be safe.

That’s what you get when you repeatedly challenge yourself. You never get to your maximum intensity, but you are by design looking at how close you are, and getting closer and closer. That progressivity is what makes P.A.C.E. so effective.

Here’s one of the exercises we were filming that you can use to challenge your focus and intensity. It’s called a jumping side crunch.

1.  Start with your feet a little wider than shoulder width

2.  Raise your arms so they’re in a goal post position – upper arms parallel to the ground, elbows at 90 degrees, hands pointed up

3.  Jump up, and as you come back down, turn your upper body toward your right leg –
Do a kind of twisting abdominal crunch, pressing the left elbow toward the right knee

4.  Rise up out of the crunch and return to start position

5.  Jump again, and repeat on your left side, pressing your right elbow toward your left knee.

To increase the intensity, you could do the side crunches faster, squat all the way down before each jump, and jump as high as you can.  Remember to BREATHE!  We all remember to inhale, but don’t forget to exhale (I usually exhale on the down motion).

In every P.A.C.E. workout we use contralateral arm-leg movement. The opposite leg and arm move together. That’s why, for the side crunch, you turn and move your weight onto one leg, but press your opposite elbow into it.

It’s how our natural neuromuscular coordination works. We’re already hard-wired to move this way. People who have been taught aerobics and people who lift weights often forget this natural movement. They tend to use muscles and tendons on the same side of their bodies. It’s one of the reasons I don’t recommend lifting weights.

The solution is to exert yourself with your body weight using contralateral movement and it all works perfectly.

[Try this one – it is easy to do, and Dr. Sears is right – focus so you have complete control over how far to push yourself.  He also said:

“This is something I see a lot with people just starting P.A.C.E.  Everyone does the warmup set (intensity 5) fine. She knew she had to gear up the intensity for the second set, but kind of zoned out and went after it too hard. By the third set she would have had nothing left.

As a teacher of P.A.C.E., I tell my students to work on keeping their focus. I want you to know how intensely you’re doing it. I want you to pay attention because I want you to be in control.

You get more benefit by easing off a little bit, so you can effectively increase the intensity a little at a time.”

PACE Jumping Side Crunch

Here is another of Dr. Sear’s great exercises that even I can do.  He stresses the  5-7-9 intensity scale for working out with POWER Fit, this allows you to get the full benefit of building lung capacity and also endurance.

Do your first set for each routine at what would be about an intensity level of 5 for you. That means you’d still be able to speak sentences afterwards, but you’re a little winded.

Rest and recover, and up the intensity to a 7. After, you should only be able to talk in short, clipped sentences, but you’re not gasping for air. For the third set, go up to 9. That means that you’re breathing hard and can’t complete a sentence.

The numbers are just a way of converting something subjective – exertion level – into something concrete. But they don’t tell the whole story.

They’re also a way to keep your focus on your intensity, so you can be in control. If you get to your peak heart rate after the second set, you’ve gone beyond your current level of conditioning and lost control.

And you want to be in charge of how hard you’re exerting yourself. You want to focus your attention on your use of oxygen, on your heart rate, on your perceived exertion.

We have the capacity to feel that. To feel how we are working in a much more complete and detailed way than most of us do because we’re so distracted. We’re taught to be distracted.

It’s gotten very bad in the modern world because we use our brains to disconnect from what our bodies are feeling. We take our brains somewhere else through TV or music when we work out.

But you want to bring your mind back into your body, and bring your body’s signals back into your conscious focus.

You’ll know with a lot more reliability how hard you’re working. And you won’t all of a sudden find you’re working out at peak intensity and huffing and puffing because you were thinking about something else.

Then you can influence your body, and direct it. And make your exertion, by intent, what you want it to be.

It’s the reason why we find P.A.C.E. to be so exceptionally safe. I think that part of the reason is because you’re focusing on the intensity.

It’s like if you were reading a book and walking on the edge of a cliff, it’d be dangerous. But if you’re walking near a cliff while paying attention to how close you’re getting to the edge, you can get pretty close and be safe.

That’s what you get when you repeatedly challenge yourself. You never get to your maximum intensity, but you are by design looking at how close you are, and getting closer and closer. That progressivity is what makes P.A.C.E. so effective.

Here’s one of the exercises we were filming that you can use to challenge your focus and intensity. It’s called a jumping side crunch.

1.  Start with your feet a little wider than shoulder width

2.  Raise your arms so they’re in a goal post position – upper arms parallel to the ground, elbows at 90 degrees, hands pointed up

3.  Jump up, and as you come back down, turn your upper body toward your right leg –
Do a kind of twisting abdominal crunch, pressing the left elbow toward the right knee

4.  Rise up out of the crunch and return to start position

5.  Jump again, and repeat on your left side, pressing your right elbow toward your left knee.

To increase the intensity, you could do the side crunches faster, squat all the way down before each jump, and jump as high as you can.  Remember to BREATHE!  We all remember to inhale, but don’t forget to exhale (I usually exhale on the down motion).

In every P.A.C.E. workout we use contralateral arm-leg movement. The opposite leg and arm move together. That’s why, for the side crunch, you turn and move your weight onto one leg, but press your opposite elbow into it.

It’s how our natural neuromuscular coordination works. We’re already hard-wired to move this way. People who have been taught aerobics and people who lift weights often forget this natural movement. They tend to use muscles and tendons on the same side of their bodies. It’s one of the reasons I don’t recommend lifting weights.

The solution is to exert yourself with your body weight using contralateral movement and it all works perfectly.

[Try this one – it is easy to do, and Dr. Sears is right – focus so you have complete control over how far to push yourself.  He also said:

“This is something I see a lot with people just starting P.A.C.E.  Everyone does the warmup set (intensity 5) fine. She knew she had to gear up the intensity for the second set, but kind of zoned out and went after it too hard. By the third set she would have had nothing left.

As a teacher of P.A.C.E., I tell my students to work on keeping their focus. I want you to know how intensely you’re doing it. I want you to pay attention because I want you to be in control.

You get more benefit by easing off a little bit, so you can effectively increase the intensity a little at a time.”