Day 8: Monday
Today we begin the process of exercise!!!!!
As we dig in- you will see why the week long setup process was important. This will help you stick with the process as we go!!!
Now- remember those short and long term goals? Put them somewhere visible. Make sure you remember them and use them as the inspiration you need to make your exercise happen today.
And remember the stressors that you listed- of things that will knock you off your path? Remember the ideas you brainstormed of ways for you to manage these stressors? Now is the time to put this in to practice!
And finally- remember how you selected the appropriate calendar for you? Are you an over-exerciser? An under-exerciser? Did you pick A, B or C?
Now- no matter what calendar you selected- all calendars begin with day one: abdominal bracing.
If you haven’t started this yet…
In the Autoimmune Strong instructional video, you will learn more about why this exercise is important, what it does for your body, and how to perform the exercise itself. And please note that there are two different ways to perform the exercise: on the floor and on the wall. If you have trouble getting up and down off the floor, make sure you watch the modification video.
There is a reason that I start Autoimmune Strong with this exercise. Abdominal bracing is a perfect illustration of an exercise that is great during flare-up recovery, or at the beginning of the journey to flare-up prevention.
It can be done anywhere and anytime. I’m actually doing it right now as I am talking to you!
It won’t make you sweaty or tired, which are things we want to avoid because they raise our stress levels.
It’s the perfect example of a micro exercise- just a teeny tiny little bit exposes your body to just a smidge of pressure. Adapt to that pressure through repetition, and then you can increase the challenge.
And it works really essential core stabilizing muscles- so it’s really effective. - but you may feel sore tomorrow. If you do, that’s ok. Second, we can make this exercise easy or more difficult. In the video I recommend holding for 30 seconds, but if you are someone who hasn’t exercised in a really long time, or if you are having a flare-up right now, you want to start with less. I often recommend starting with a 5 second hold and working up from there.
Today’s Action Steps:
Exercise: Practice Day 1 on the calendar: Ab Bracing
Follow Andrea’s video instructions to make this exercise more personalized to you:
Did you watch the first video?
Did you see the modification video option (which is great for people who have trouble getting up and down off the floor)
Did you hear Andrea’s intensity recommendations? If the 30 seconds I recommend in the video is too long to start with, I recommend holding for 30 seconds, but if you are someone who hasn’t exercised in a really long time, or if you are having a flare-up right now, or you are living with a ton of stress, or your body just really hurts right now, you will want to start with less. If you said yes to any of these questions, I recommend starting with a 1-5 second hold for this week.
Accountability: Post on the Facebook group your feedback on how it went! Have you done it before? Was it hard? Was it easy? Was it confusing? Was it effective? Did you do it- or did life get in the way? If you have done it before, did you learn anything new when you did it again? Whatever it is, please share with the group!