Training For The Honey-Do List

By Eric Wrona, Exercise Physiologist and Nutritionist

Train for the one you love.

While you are pondering these questions, let me help you expand your perspective. Exercise with a servant’s heart. Your workouts, your chores, whatever you do, you should work at it with all your heart, as though you are doing it for God, not for yourself or others. Let me be even more specific — train for the one you love.

When you get down to the real purpose of exercise, past all the performance, aesthetic, and even health benefits, we exercise to maintain optimal daily function. I can remember my dad one day showing me how to mow the lawn. Shortly after that, the job was mine. Sure, I was being taught discipline, but could it also partly have been because it was getting more difficult for him to complete the chore.

You can change the focus of your fitness regime away from yourself and more towards a servant heart attitude.

You can design an exercise program that strengthens you to show your love for your wife or girlfriend. By doing specific exercises you’ll gain strength to complete the list of chores for which she needs help. Think about your “honey do” list. Not only do I want to make sure that I can physically complete each chore as I get older, but I also feel that completing tasks my wife has asked me to complete is another way for me to show my love for her.
What if we designed an exercise program to better assist the ones we love? What is on your “honey do” list? It might include mowing the lawn, repairing things around the house, lifting and moving furniture, painting, carrying groceries and more. As you know the list goes on and on… The point is you can change the focus of your fitness regime away from yourself and more towards a servant heart attitude. You’ll discover that taking your exercise to this new level is key to better helping the ones you love.

CHORE: MOWING THE LAWN

A variety of tasks on your honey-do list like mowing the lawn may require stamina and endurance for an extended period of time.

CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISES

WALKING/RUNNING/CYCLING/SWIMMING

Improving cardiovascular health is certainly at the top of the list when discussing how to best maintain a healthy active lifestyle. An adequate cardiovascular routine will help improve energy levels, maintain a healthy body fat percentage, and decrease risks of several diseases.

If you are a beginner, then walking is one of the best forms of exercise. If you are a frequent exerciser then various forms of interval training will be more beneficial.

Of course your options are endless like jumping rope, running, swimming, biking and much more.

CHORE: LIFTING AND MOVING FURNITURE AND HEAVY OBJECTS

I don’t know about you, but at the top of my “honey do” list is moving stuff. Numerous times I have talked with clients that injured themselves while moving or lifting something at their home. In most cases they injured their back or shoulders. Proper strengthen of the back and shoulders can help prevent these types of injuries.

SQUATTING AND LIFTING EXERCISES

Try incorporating some of these multi-joint exercises that simulate movements needed when lifting that pesky china cabinet or couch. When performing these exercises try speeding up your tempo, which will help engage more of your fast-twitch muscle fibers that may be used with those types of movements.

DUMBBELL SUMO SQUAT

DUMBBELL CLEAN AND PRESS

MEDICINE BALL SQUAT

CHORE: CHANGING LIGHT BULBS, MISCILANIOUS REACHING TASKS AND REPAIRS

Shoulder endurance is also vital for some everyday tasks such as hanging ceiling fans, changing light bulbs, painting and other repairs that seem to be more static type movements. While performing your shoulder exercises, try lightening the load, slow down the tempo and add 2-3 second holds with each repetition. This has recently become one of my favorite variables with my exercise regimen. Not only does it simulate daily tasks but it really allows the muscles to actually do the work. Slowing down your tempo on certain exercises will allow for less momentum to be used during the lift, and will decrease the amount of inertia on the joints. Yes, you will have to drop your weight, but the intense pump, burn, and results are well worth the small hit to your ego.

SHOULDER EXERCISES

SEATED DUMBBELL PRESS

STANDING LATERAL RAISE

 
FRONT DUMBBELL RAISE

CHORE: CARRYING GROCERIES, PAINTING

Balance and grip strength are often overlooked if worked on at all. However, if we put more emphasis on these two aspects of training your honey do list will most likely be less challenging.

Balance And Grip Exercises:

FARMER’S WALK

A farmers walk is great for grip strength and for added specificity you can wrap a couple hand towels around your dumbbells or kettlebells and walk gripping the towels. Increase balance with weighted step-ups by raising and tucking the knee to the chest and briefly holding the free leg up after each rep.

WEIGHTED STEP-UPS

SINGLE LEG DEAD-LIFT

and muscle awareness in the upper/lower back and upper/lower legs. How many times have you balanced on that ladder with one leg, trying to paint (also a shoulder exercise) that final spot on the wall? Next time you will be prepared.

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER: The “Honey-Do” exercise program
Cardio-vascular training for about 20-30min 3-5x/week. Make sure and vary your intensity.
2-3x/week perform the following on non-consecutive days:
2-3 sets (in a circuit fashion) of 12-20 reps with an explosive/quick tempo. Rest approx. 2 min. after each set.
1. Dumbbell Sumo Squat, 2. Dumbbell Clean and Press, 3. Dumbbell Sandbag Squat
1-2 sets (in a circuit fashion) of 10-12 reps with a super slow tempo with a couple second hold at the end of each phase of the lift. Rest approx. 2 min. after each set.
1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press, 2. Dumbbell Lateral Raise, 3. Dumbbell Front Raise
The last three exercises perform straight sets.
1. Farmers walk 3 sets of 45-60 seconds with 90 seconds rest after each set., 2. Weighted box step ups 3 sets 12-15 reps each leg with a 1-2 second hold at top of each rep. 90 seconds rest after each set., 3. Single Straight Leg Deadlift. 3 sets (controlled tempo) 10-15 reps each leg with 90 seconds rest after each set.

This program will increase strength, cardiovascular endurance and balance, while aiding you in the completion of those honey-do chores.

By training with a servant’s heart you will not only have a new found purpose for your exercise, but your payoff is much more gratifying. Improve your personal relationship by simply completing the tasks for which she needs help. By improving your physique, you can improve your romantic relationship with your girlfriend or your sexual relationship with your wife. That is a reward that goes far beyond self-gain. Women need and want to be shown that they are loved on a daily basis. Show your love for your girlfriend or wife.

It is time to get away from a self-service workout. Train with a new sense of purpose. You will find that what you need to do to get out of your stagnate routine is to show how much you care for that special someone.
No honey-do list is too hard. Work through your list with confidence saying, “I can do everything through Jesus Christ who gives me strength”.