by Marty Coleman | Dec 30, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories |
The Woman With the Cell Phone in Church
She sat in the front row of the balcony with wild burgundy hair and blue eyeshadow, which matched the color of her pants. Many people down below looked up at her. She was in a salmon orange hoodie and had her cell phone in her lap. She was texting. She was proud of her nail polish, which was hot pink and very shiny. It clashed with her hoodie.
The choir sang while she looked at a video of a woman working out. She was jealous of the woman and wanted to have her body. Her father looked over and didn’t say anything. She resented her father for bringing her to stupid church. She never looked up during the sermon until the pastor said the word ‘sex’.
She said she wanted to go to IHOP as they left.
The End
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 27, 2013 | The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan |
Lunges
In Place, Forward and Backward
I use lunges as part of my running group’s active warm up before every run. It’s a great way to get your large leg and butt muscles warmed up and ready to go. These are so easy to do wherever you are, in work clothes, pajamas, or naked, and it takes no time at all to get a good bun and thigh burn in, there no excuse to not do them a few times a day.
When I am doing these in my morning workout I do them standing in place, not walking forward. I go forward and back in the same movement, for about 20-40 reps. Then I switch legs and do the other one forward and back as well.
Lunges help build your glutes (your butt) as well as your major thigh muscles, front and back.
Guidelines:
- Keep your back straight and your head level.
- Push your butt forward a bit when you go forward.
- Don’t let your front knee go past your toes.
- Use dumbbells if you have them. Hold them down by your side. Don’t use heavy ones at first.
- Balance aptitude as one of it’s primary goals. Focus on that at first over heavy dumbbell weights.
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Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
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Drawing and guidelines by Marty Coleman, whose butt is in pretty good shape due to these.
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 26, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories |
The Missionary – A Short Short True Story
Prologue
Our connecting flight was late.
Chapter One
She had been a missionary and now lived in California. She had interesting skin that I liked looking at. She did most of the talking.
Chapter Two
Her husband helped make medical machines. He had been a missionary too, in New York. He was slight of build and smiled nice.
Chapter Three
Her sister was going to be a missionary soon but didn’t know where she was going to go. She was still in college. She looked young.
Epilogue
I drew her after our conversation was over but before we got on the plane.
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman, who has never been a missionary.
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The End
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 25, 2013 | Quote Authors |
Here’s the Napkin’s Christmas message – same message every year.
I love all my Napkin Kin,
Marty
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 24, 2013 | Quote Authors |
It’s the day before Christmas,
Most things are done.
Now it’s about cooking,
and having some fun.
A few presents to wrap,
A little cleaning to do.
Getting ready for Santa
To come through the flue.
Miracle in the background,
On TV and life.
A movie, a moment,
A respite from strife.
Children amped,
Anticipation supreme.
Wanting them happy,
With joy to beam.
For me I want,
What I already own.
A family, a love,
A life well honed.
For you and yours,
My wish is the same.
That you have joy,
And love untamed.
I love you all,
Marty Coleman, The Napkin Dad
Christmas, 2010
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 23, 2013 | Quote Authors |
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my Napkin Kin!
This year I am reposting Christmas Napkins from years past. Here’s one from 2010.
This is ironic since I have to go out shopping today!
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 16, 2013 | Marty Coleman, The Napkin's Guide to Happy Living |
Take an educated guess as to what day it is? It’s Happy Living Day #4!
On Topic Education
I can explain things pretty well. Much of the time this ability is due to my education. I am relatively educated about art for example and I can explain certain things about it. Most of us can do that in some area. My father could talk forever on all facets of aviation. My sister can talk about genealogy in detail. My wife on the business of electrical and gas utilities, my oldest daughter on neuroscience, my youngest on fashion design.
Off Topic Education
But what about areas that have no connection to anything in your life, what is the value of being educated in those areas? In 2005 Steve Jobs gave a commencement speech at Stanford University. He said something very important about how education really happens.
“Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
Replacing Explain
So, the idea stated by Mr. Jobs above is that ALL of your education matters. It doesn’t matter just for your job, it matters for your happy living. Yes, the more you educate yourself the more you can explain things, explain connections, explain ideas, to others. But it is more than that. Here is what I mean. In the quote above, replace ‘explain’ with ‘understand’. Now replace it with ‘please’. Now replace it with ‘forgive’.
A lifestyle of self-education is a major key to growth, to understanding, to wisdom about yourself. And those things can lead to some level of living happy.
Replacing Yourself
Now go even one step further. Replace ‘yourself’ with ‘others’ – explain others, understand others, please others, forgive others. Commit to self-education throughout your life and it leads not just deeper into yourself, but past yourself to others. And then you will really be living happy.
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Love – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #1
Courage – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #2
Smiling – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #3
Education – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #4
Transformation – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #5
Judging – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #6
Expression – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #7
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Drawing and guide by Marty Coleman, who once took a course on building a stone wall without mortar.
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 14, 2013 | Marty Coleman, The Napkin's Guide to Happy Living |
Smile, it’s Happy Living day #3!
A Short Short Story
She was raised swimming and it made her smile when she was able to afford a pool when she grew up. She loved cats and it made her smile when her cat would come and play with her. It made her smile to drink her favorite coffee when she sat out in the late morning. She was happy living. The End
Holiday Time
The Holiday season is a great time to do create a world that makes you smile. My friend Danielle, the force behind Extraordinarymommy.com, posted this photo the other day. The caption that went with it read, “I have moved my office into the family room… I want to embrace every minute of this view…”
Danielle Smith’s Family Room at Christmas Time
Why was that? Because the view made her smile. Obviously she and her family live a comfortable and well-off life. But that is not the key to the happiness this room gives her. The key is the love that went into it, not the money.
Humble is no Excuse
Very early on in my first marriage, we lived in a 90 year old rental house in downtown San Jose, California. Most of our furniture was old, hand me down furniture. But we still were able to make the space warm, welcoming and pleasing. We had a really old trunk I bought for $3.00 at a garage sale in San Francisco as our coffee table. It had brass hardware on it. I took the hardware off and polished it to a high sheen. It made a big difference in the look of the trunk. It made me happy to put my feet up on it.
We weren’t able to do everything we wanted to the house or have all the furniture we wanted, but what we had we made as beautiful as we could.
Suburbs Are No Excuse
Years later, after we moved to Oklahoma and could afford a nice, big house, my first wife and I divorced. I retained ownership of the house and our daughter’s lived with me during the school year, since their mother had moved out of the school district. During the summer they lived mostly at her house. I took advantage of having them gone most of the summer to paint the inside of the house. I painted it red, gold, and cream. Sound crazy? I loved it. It made me happy.
Our home 1994-2006, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
I added black spots to my white picket fence so it matched my dalmatian, Oreo. That made me smile and it made the neighborhood kids smile.
Oreo and the Barking Fence
I remodeled my kitchen, taking out a dropped ceiling. After I was almost done I still had some holes in the ceiling where electrical and other things had come through. I decided that instead of fixing the holes in the traditional way I would cover them by hot gluing the ceramics my daughters had created in elementary school onto the ceiling. My kitchen ceiling became a permanent art gallery. That made me smile and it made my daughters smile. No, none fell down.
My Daughters’ Ceramic Gallery
Crazy Artist Type
I know what you are thinking, ‘Marty, that’s fine for you, you are the crazy artist type and can get away with that stuff. But not me.’ You would be surprised what you can do if you decide it’s is worth doing. The idea, no matter what level of creativity you have, is to create a physical world that makes you smile. Do it a bit at a time, as you can afford it and as circumstances allow, and it will add to your happy living. Don’t settle for a world that doesn’t make you smile.
What have you designed or experienced that makes you smile?
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Love – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #1
Courage – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #2
Smiling – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #3
Education – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #4
Transformation – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #5
Judging – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #6
Expression – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #7
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Drawing and Guide by Marty Coleman, who isn’t above framing postcards that make him smile.
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 12, 2013 | Marty Coleman, The Napkin's Guide to Happy Living |
Once again the key to happy living comes from speaking AND doing. It’s great to say you love something, but it’s in the doing that you understand what that really means.
Courage, Creative and Practical
There are at least two elements to this. The first is illustrated in the drawing, finding a creative outlet you love. The second is the day to day life you lead and the practical choices it entails.
Creativity
I’ve mentioned this before but it’s such a fundamental lesson it bears repeating; if you are going to be a consistent creative force in the world you have to love what you do and let the world know it. It might seem obvious but the roadblocks can be high. To give just one example, the woman in the drawing might have a spouse, family, employer or church who does not approve of her doing nude sculpture. But if the nude is what she loves, if it’s what she is creatively moved by, then she has to find a way to make it happen. She has to find the courage to stand up and say, this is what I love to do. She has to do this knowing she will face the anger, misunderstanding or rejection. That is the definition of courage. She does it because creating her art as she pleases makes her happy and that is worth it.
Practical
There are other examples that reside in our daily life. They involve individuality, style and interests. For example, the woman who likes blue eyeshadow but knows people laugh at it and thinks it’s tacky. The man who likes to bird watch even though all his buddies like to hunt and think he is a wuss. The couple who like to take separate vacations even though their families think it means they don’t really love each other. The female bodybuilder with 10 cats whose landlord makes fun of her.
What they all have in common is their pursuit of what makes them happy and their willingness to face disapproval because of it. What are some other examples?
Developing
I first wrote the guide above to say ‘Have the courage…’ but I changed it to ‘Develop the courage…’ because I realized as I wrote it that courage is a muscle. It’s no different than a physical muscle. It needs to be developed through practice and training. One needs to learn what it entails and how to implement it. How to withstand an onslaught. How to respond to an attack. How to make peace with disapproval. It isn’t easy. I like to think I’ve been a courageous artist for 40 years and it still is hard for me to face the disapproval of my wife or family or the art world or society. Trust me, I know. I live in Oklahoma, the land of judgment. I don’t have all the answers but I know one aspect that helps, and that’s to have a sense of humor about it.
Reward
In my years of going through it I discovered something. The happier and more confident I am about my choice and direction, from the beginning, the more those around me bow to it. I don’t mean bow in any sort of grandiose way, I mean that those who see a confident person stepping forward in a creative vision usually respond with respect after a while. Yes, they may push back at first, but if you are consistent and resolute, they see you are not going to be stopped and they let you go. That is where consistent application of your creative vision gains a reward for you. You become known as that person. Your identity is secure and others respect and admire that.
Be courageous, confident and consistent in the choices that make you happy and others will see it and respect it over time.
What examples do you have of courage and creativity?
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Love – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #1
Courage – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #2
Smiling – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #3
Education – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #4
Transformation – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #5
Judging – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #6
Expression – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #7
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Drawing and guide by Marty Coleman, who has been known to draw naked people himself.
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 10, 2013 | Marty Coleman, The Napkin's Guide to Happy Living |
The First Responder
My daughter, Caitlin, was driving from Dallas to Tulsa, coming home for Thanksgiving, a few weeks back. There was a car accident immediately behind her and she stopped to help. She steeled herself to perhaps see something pretty traumatic but luckily the guy wasn’t really badly hurt. She went to her car, got paper towels and other stuff and helped him with his injuries. She didn’t think of her actions as being about love I don’t think. But they were. She could have driven on. She could have just watched from a distance. But she didn’t. She chose to get involved and help him.
Acting
When I first came up with this I had it as ‘Think in terms of love’. But I quickly remembered another important lesson, ‘It’s easier to act your way into another way of feeling than it is to feel your way into another way of acting.’ and realized that many times the action of love has to come before the feeling (or thinking) of love. The action actually leads one closer to the feeling, they compound each other.
Thinking
Even though acting is key, acting without thinking can lead to many missed opportunities. The reason is this; just as a frame around a painting changes the painting itself, how you frame what you experience changes the experience. For example, when you see an activity, let’s say a business trip, as an obligation or duty then there is a certain dread attached to it. But if you think of it as an opportunity to show love, then there is much more excitement and enthusiasm for it.
Love to Whom?
But a business trip? How can I show love on a business trip? It’s actually a great opportunity to evaluate and frame what it is you do, seeing if what you do can be categorized as love, or, if not, can adjust your attitude or actions to be more loving? Think of all the people you meet on a business trip? Flight attendants, fellow flyers, cab drivers, hotel staff, business colleagues, restaurant workers. What better group of people to help you see if how you act (and think) is in terms of love?
Happy Living
The end result of acting and thinking in terms of love is that you feel happy. Happy with yourself, yes. But just as likely you will feel happy about the circumstances you are in as well.
And since it’s impossible to live a happy life all at once, the best we can do is to have happy moments within a life. Have enough of those and at the end you will discover you’ve lived a happy life. And it all starts with love.
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Love – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #1
Courage – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #2
Smiling – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #3
Education – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #4
Transformation – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #5
Judging – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #6
Expression – The Napkin’s Guide to Happy Living #7
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Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 9, 2013 | The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan |
I drank a whole pot of coffee drawing #5 in the exercise series.
Knowing vs Doing
Another simple exercise that we all know is Jumping Jacks. But knowing it and doing it are two different things. Knowing anything is of little value if you don’t put it into practice.
Jump Start
Practicing jumping jacks is a great way to get joints loose, blood flowing and heart rate up just a bit. Sort of cardio jump start. Make sure you keep your arms fully extended and bring them all the way to the top. Stretch those arms up. Doing jumping jacks half-hearted is not worth doing so do them right or skip it. Unlike the exercises I have shown so far, women probably want to have at least a sports bra on for this one. Some men might as well.
Stretch Start
Number 2 is illustrating something that really helps me, Mr. Unlimber. It’s not Jumping Jacks, it’s Laying Down Jacks. Spread your legs as far as they will go (maybe use some barrier, like a table leg, to keep your legs open, that is what I have to do) while you also spread your arms out and up at about a 45 degree angle. Make sure the backs of your hands are touching the ground and your arms are as flat as they can be. It may not seem like much to do, but hold it for 30-60 seconds and you will really start to feel the stretch in your pectorals and your inner groin muscles.
This is a great stretch to help runners keep from getting to tight and wound up in those areas. We often think about our legs getting tight in a run but long distance runners have a lot of problems with shoulders, chests, and arms starting to hurt and cramp as well. It’s important to keep the upper torso limber as well as the leg muscles.
Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
_________________
Drawing and instruction by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 7, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories |
Prologue
She always remembers that day.
Chapter One
She hadn’t showered that morning even though she knew she should have. She had been out late and done something she wasn’t proud of.
Chapter Two
She got to church late and sat next to a woman wearing a lot of perfume. She could see the woman’s face reflecting all the bright lights on the stage. It looked like she had a lot of makeup on, bad acne scars and a top plunged down much farther than appropriate.
Chapter Three
Everyone stood up to greet one another. She turned to the lady shook her hand. It was warm and soft and made her feel wonderful. In the light she saw that she really was quite beautiful, her makeup wasn’t as heavy as she thought and she had pulled up her blouse so it didn’t show as much as it had before. The woman complimented her on her teal sweater and said she always was attracted to that color.
Chapter Five
After the service the woman asked if she knew of a lunch place nearby. She told her they had a cafe at the church and led her there through the crowd. The lady asked her if she would like to join her and she said yes.
Epilogue
She always remembers that day.
The End
_________________
Drawing and story by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 6, 2013 | Travel |
I am down in Texas to run my first marathon in 3 years. This is what it looks like throughout Dallas today. More coming tomorrow and temps are staying below freezing until after the marathon is suppose to be over on Sunday.
It looks like they will cancel but as of now (Friday afternoon) they have not.
I also came down to help my daughter move to a new apartment, which we did 2 days early to avoid the weather.
So, for now we are watching the news and waiting for an announcement from the Dallas Marathon organizers.
Running is an adventure!
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 4, 2013 | The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan
My Morning Routine
I have gotten into the habit of having rice cakes for first breakfast. I toast 2 of them, then put on a bit of jelly and peanut or almond butter. They are crunchier when you toast them but you have to watch out, some of them have a glaze on them that will start to smoke in the toaster oven. I then take them into my office and eat them while I start my day. Speaking of office, we recently had a slew of visitors to our humble abode for Thanksgiving weekend. My office was used as a bedroom so I thought I would try out moving my napkin drawing studio into the dining room so I could draw early in the morning while our guests were still asleep. It worked out pretty well so I think I might keep it like that for a while.
Exercises #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #4 – Oblique Crunches
In the sequence, #4 actually comes twice, once on the left side once on the right, so I do one side first, then do #3, then do the other side of #4.
In the original photo I saw on how to do oblique crunches the guy was laying on the large flat side of his glute, a 1/4 of the way towards being on his back, and raising his torso up to get the crunch as in version #1. The legs stayed on the ground. But when I started doing them I laid directly on my side and found my legs came off the ground as did my torso. I like the #2 version better because it seemed to work the lower oblique region as much as the high region. But I notice that #1 tends to work the lower side back more than #2 so I do both on and off.
One of the coolest things about doing these is where the lower arm (on the floor) ends up going. It is folded in front of you with your hand actually on your obliques. What that means is you can feel the muscles working, contracting and releasing, as you do the exercise. Over the months I have started to feel all the definition throughout the oblique and ab areas. It’s very cool.
Exercise #3 – Abdominal Crunches
These are pretty straightforward. They are the beginning of a sit up, but you don’t go above about 25 – 30 degrees from the floor, then you go back down. That is enough to get the abs working. The drawing is a bit off actually because you really shouldn’t be bending your head forward at the angle I have it. Keep it as straight as you can.
Do 10 to start and repeat each time you come around to it in your circuit.
Finish up by doing the oblique crunches on the other side and you are done.
To Repeat or Not Repeat
As usual, you can do these two ways, one is a set amount done in a circuit with the other exercise. Most of the time a circuit of 3-4 is good. Or you can do each exercise to the fail point, with no repeats. It’s sort of like the two different versions of Solitaire you can play, once around drawing every card and you are done, win or not, or every 3 cards until you can’t do anything more or you win.
Either way, you’ll get a good work out.
Benefits
Obviously your abdominal muscle and the oblique abdominals are the main beneficiary. Did you know that the ab muscles are actually just one big sheet muscle? The ‘six packs’ aren’t different muscles, they are parts of same muscle that just happen to build up. Each of us has a different landscape when it comes to our one big ab muscles. The oblique are separate however.
By the way the pink bumps on her tummy are not her intestines popping out don’t worry, they are her six pack of abs (of which you can only see 3)
Speaking of…If you are hoping to have that six-pack by just doing exercises, it’s not going to happen. Well, it can happen, but it will be under a layer of fat and you won’t be able to see it. To see your abs you really will have to change eating habits so you not only lose fat but build your muscle as well.
That’s It
And that’s it. These 4 exercises should take you about 10-15 minutes, max. That’s about the length of time a pot of coffee takes to brew. It’s not sophisticated or complicated or hard to figure out. It’s easy and it’s doable today, right now. Start somewhere, and repeat. That’s the key. You can do it.
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Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 3, 2013 | The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan |
My Morning Routine
When I first started doing this morning routine it was just stretching and warming up for the day. I still stretch and warm up before I do the exercises because I am an old and creaky guy. You should limber up too, even if you aren’t old and creaky. The run groups I coach always start with an active warm up time to get the blood flowing, the heart beat up just a bit and the joints and muscles lubricated and ready to work. It’s alway a time to just be quiet and meditate for a few moments before you start exercising.
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Version #1
This is the version you need to do. Even if you can do only one pushup this way, you need to do it this way. It’s where you want to get to so why not work at it from the very beginning. If you can’t do 5 pushups this way, do at least one, then do the other 4 in the version #2 method. A full push up goes all the way until your nose touches the ground.
Version #2
Forget the sexist crap about this being the version for women. It isn’t. It’s the version for those who aren’t yet strong enough to do version #1. That’s it. It has nothing to do with whether you have a penis or vagina. Nothing. Here is the truth, male or female – if you can’t do one pushup in the version #1 method, then start with version #2. If you can do 5 of version #2 then next time you do the exercise start with #1 and try to do one of that. Keep trying #1 each and every time you do pushups. Do not settle for version #2, it’s only for those who can’t do #1 and everyone can do #1 if they work at it.
To Repeat or Not Repeat
Once again you can do these as part of a circuit of exercises that you repeat 3 or more times, or you can do them once to the fail point. Both have their benefits and you should try both types of regimens during the week.
Benefits
Obviously the arms and chest are the prime beneficiary of pushups. In the arms it’s the entire shoulder and the triceps (back of the arms) that get the bulk of the workout. The pectorals of the chest are being built as well.
Remember, to lose weight you have to burn calories. To burn calories you have to have metabolically active tissue, and that’s muscle, not fat. If you build muscle you get a better metabolism and that means better calorie burning.
When To Start
Duh, now. Don’t wait until you have the right workout clothes or the right mat or the right headband. Do it first, then get all those things as you have time.
Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
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Drawing and workout description by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 2, 2013 | Fitness & Health, The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan |
My Morning Routine
I typically get up around 5:30am and have about an hour to myself before Linda calls me in to cuddle before she gets out of bed. My usual routine was to let the dogs out, make coffee and go into my office/studio immediately. In April I decided to add some early morning stretching and calisthenics into that routine. Instead of going directly into my studio while the coffee brewed I went into the living room and stretched. I am not a limber guy by any means and stretching is something I really need to do for my running. While I was doing the stretching I started to add some light calisthenics. I timed the exercises to about the same time it took the coffee to brew. Over the course of the months I have worked out a very brief workout routine that is easy to do with no need for equipment or extra space. If you have a space on the floor as big as your body, you have room.
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
Version #1
Version #1 starts with your leg bent with the knee on the ground. You kick the leg back to be slightly above horizontal and return it. You aren’t kicking hard, just putting it out there until it’s straight. And yes, I know the drawing makes it look like the person is farting. She might be, farting is allowed!
Version #2
In version #2 you put your leg straight out back and have your big toe touching the ground. You then lift your leg up past horizontal and return it to the ground (or close, you don’t need to touch the ground and break your toe!) I usually do this version, I just like it better. And yes, the drawing sort of looks like she is peeing. That is not allowed, it will ruin the carpet.
To Repeat or Not Repeat
You can do the reps two ways. One way is to pick a number, 10 to start is good, and do them, one leg at a time (as opposed to alternating legs like you are riding a bike). You will do those, go on to the next exercises and then return to these after you have done the circuit. When I do it this way I do the circuit 3 times.
The other way is non-repeating. This way is one time only. You don’t pick a number, you just do it until you can’t do them. You do it to ‘fail’. I do this way when I have less time to do the entire workout. You aren’t going to come back to these at the end of your circuit of exercises. You will be done after one circuit.
Benefits
The benefits of this exercise are in your glutes (that’s your butt just in case you weren’t sure) and your hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your thighs).
When to Start
DO NOT wait until January 1st. That is an arbitrary date, it means nothing. If you start this (or any) exercise regimen now, and start in on making some simple diet changes, you can lose 5 lbs by the start of 2014. Why wait? I will talk more about all of this as this series continues. In the meanwhile, today is the day.
If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to add them in the comments, I would love to hear them.
Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
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Drawing and exercise plan by Marty Coleman, © 2013 – All Rights Reserved
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