044: One Simple Routine

Physical Exercise for an illustrator.

☕️ Happy New Year Friends! If this newsletter is NOT working for you this is a great time for us to part ways, clear up space in your inbox and you life and I wish you an amazing 2023. It this thing is working for you, can i ask you to lean in? Leave comments share your thoughts, talk to the others and maybe even support the work by getting a subscription. Whatever you decide to do, Thank You. I’m going to kick of the year by starting about exercise but really i’m talking about something else… Still here? Let’s Dig in!

There are many ways to exercise. Here are some and how I’ve failed at them. And what it has to do with being a professional illustrator.

Fabio the lion does Pilates

Running.

I love to run, I can comfortably run 4 miles (slowly) with little prep, just put on my shoes and go.

Here’s some ways I end up not running:

1. I wake up too late

2. I wake up too early

3. It’s too hot

4. Or two cold.

5. My baby thinks we’re going out

6. My baby thinks I’m home to play with her

7. My running app needs an update on the phone

8. My running app needs an update on the watch

9. My phone OS needs an update

10. It rains

It’s easy to fail at running.

Muay Thai

I did Muay Thai for a couple of years. I have a natural aptitude for it, i.e I like hitting things hard over and over again in a variety of ways. I think I either came that way, or became that way in childhood.

Here’s some ways I end up not doing Muay Thai

1. I can’t find a time slot for a class that suits me

2. The personal trainer wakes up late

3. The gym is closed because of one of 55 public holidays we have in our country

4. The gym closed down. Covid

Working out in the Gym

I’ve never been able to go to the gym regularly it seem like there’s just so much friction.

1. I have no idea what I’m doing

2. I know what I’m doing, but it takes so much work to plan and track workouts and meals around the workouts

3. So many of the failure points of running and Muay Thai also apply.

And so…

I could also write about proper football, futsal, Pilates, and hikes, but I think you get the idea. Most types of exercise require an enormous amount of prep and coordination that only serial junkies could do it. (And I’m full of excuses)

There is however a 7-Minute workout that I found on youtube.

It’s 45 seconds of Push-ups to half burpees. Rest 15 Seconds.

45 Seconds of alternating toe taps. Rest 15 Seconds.

45 Seconds of side planks. Rest 15 Seconds.

45 Seconds of high to low planks. Rest 15 Seconds.

45 Seconds of butt kicks. Rest 15 Seconds.

45 Seconds of Knee Taps. Rest 15 Seconds

45 Seconds of Jumping Squats. Done.

It takes 7 minute and it’s really hard to find reasons not to do it, especially since I do it in my studio

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This year when I think of exercise I’m only going to think of my 7 minute routine. No other exercise routine exists in my mind. I might do something else, but that might be as a form of leisure or a social activity. But as far as maintaining my physical health. I’m offering myself one option.

I can do it once, twice or 3 times a day.

I can do them concurrently, or whenever I feel I’ve been sitting too much.

I’m not in a profession that requires me to maintain a physique that you might see in a magazine. So just like I’ve simplified how I eat my meals. I’m simplifying how I do my exercise.

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Of course there are a million ways to exercise that have all kinds of benefits. But real benefits come from ‘just doing it.’ So I’ve picked my exercise and freed up a ton of mental space just by elimination all manner of options.

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Mental space that I will use to develop me illustration practice and other areas of my life.

Narrowing the Gap

Are there areas in your life that will be better served if you stopped dabbling and just picked one simple routine and just did it consistently?