Light Day Workout...And not at the gym.

     All you really need is a pair of good shoes and a kettlebell. That's it. Okay, you also need a little bit of motivation. But then that's it. I think most people think you have to go through some incredible strains to get your exercise needs met. But not really. You just need to want to do it, on some level of your being. If it takes a cup of Bulletproof coffee to get you going, so be it. Just make sure you get up and do it.

     The winter holiday season is always a long-awaited time for me. It signals the end of the year and all of its goings-on, but it also establishes a sense of comfort in knowing I can sit down with a hot cup of something, usually tea when I begin writing, and I compile a list of notes, thoughts and documentation of the work I do, from physical training to energy work. It tells of the entire body of work for the year. It also spells a moment or two in which I go into the dark night of the soul. In order to keep myself from digging too deep into the muck and mire, I usually stop myself and head out for some depression-relieving sunshine.

     I don't like to be cooped up in the gym everyday, but it is my sanctuary. I go in to get work done and I leave out. There is enough drama there to have me consider never going in, but I would not let anything stop me from attaining my fitness goals. In celebration of the fact that we have sunny skies and mostly clean, fresh air to breathe, a walk sounds good for the soul.

     And so I go, lacing up my shoes and heading out. On my path I run headlong into a park, where I grab some earth and deeply reground. At this point I consider finding a yoga class but realize I am the class. I perform my class then and there, complete with some hip openers, then I head back home. At home I grab my kettle and begin.

Here are some hip openers with Tara Stiles. This is pretty much what I do to open my hips. This should be a video of me, as soon as I shoot one. Motivation for 2014.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv_XK6xV7n0

Performed with a 25 pound kettlebell...
300 swings, 1 or 2 hand (not all at once, crazies)
3 sets of 10 cleans on each side
3 sets of 10 clean and presses
around the world (swing the kettle around your tree trunk stance of a body)
Lateral swings (10 each way, 1-2 sets)
60 swing squats (swing the bell as you squat. Powerful fun...)

...That's a long routine, but since I'm on vacation, I have a little more time on my hands (and feet).