#AskAway 5/10/20
Coach MK livestreams question and answer sessions each week on the Fitness Protection Program Facebook Page, The Fitness Protection Program YouTube Channel, and Twitch, simultaneously. Join us! They are a lot of fun, super informative, and anyone may ask follow-up questions during the live broadcast!
This week, we take questions about long runs, foam rolling, and the value of walking.
Intro
Before we begin, let me just say, “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!!” If this is your favoritest day of the year, AWESOME! Take a minute to use the bathroom while I talk to everyone else.
It is Mother’s Day, and I’m just not excited about it, you guys. People have asked me all week what I want for Mother’s Day, and the answer is equity. I want all mothers to feel supported in this world and have equal access to the resources children need in order to thrive: quality healthcare, safe affordable childcare, decent education, a safe home, and a justice system that values their futures equally to that of others regardless of skin color or their ability to afford a good attorney.
So yeah, I’m a spoilsport, I’m REALLY NEGATIVE< and I’m totally ungrateful for this manufactured holiday that arose from a need to remind men to thank the persons who labor for free doing work NO ONE VALUES because this day reminds me that NO ONE VALUES MY WORK unless it produces dollar signs. I don’t want flowers or chocolates or whatever convenient crap you picked up at the last minute, I want my contributions to be seen, valued and my efforts validated EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.
Let me be clear: I am grateful. I am grateful to be in a position to be 100% myself all of the time, a luxury awarded through my marriage to a white man of considerable privilege that extends to our children because, luckily, our relationship is a good one. But I won’t settle for coffee mug platitudes until my daughter is free to be 100% who she is AND be judged by the same metrics as the men around her, until every doctor who will ever treat her realizes that Health is possible at every size, until her future children, may they be light or dark skinned, are treated equally to her white college-eduated cisgender heterosexual upper middle class father in the eyes of the law.
Today is not that day. As grateful as I am for my privilege I resent that I obtained it via luck. I want better for my kids before they become mothers themselves.
If this day is hard for you, no matter what your reasons are, I see you and I support you, too. The world may not have your back, but Fitness Protection will. I want my legacy to last- it is my intent that this company will be here to support you, as well as my own children, long after I pass. What we are really doing here is pushing back against every force that has held us down, back or to an unfair standard: and that starts with the way we have been taught to evaluate our own efforts as well as what our bodies really say about us.
Eff that. The fact that you are here tells me everything I’ve ever needed to know about you, the only thing that matters. That you’ve made it this far, which means you are Tenacious AF. We don’t need anyone to remind us to celebrate you. And we never will. Still think I’m negative?
To the white men in this program, remember I’m raising one. I don’t hate you, I only hate the ones who know the system is rigged in their favor and abuse it, or who refuse to see it. You shouldn’t need daughters to see it, just like you shouldn’t need a publicly traded company to remind you to be grateful. Those guys are ruining it for you, not me. I appreciate your help in correcting those guys, whenever they appear.
Most of all, thank you to my beloved, who held his breath the first time he saw me wear a shirt that said, “Lord Give me the Confidence of a White Man” then did the work to understand what that meant. It wouldn’t have been easier to shut me up, but I’m grateful you’ve never once tried. Real, lasting change is never comfortable. Today, more than everything else I feel, I am grateful for you prioritizing my voice over your comfort. That’s what gives me hope, day after day. I love you, and I want our kids to not need luck.
Runner Interrupted
Char Gore is enjoying the freedom of waking up without an alarm clock
Build
Andrea Yagodich completed her first avocado toast
Patricia Luna has had a great perspective shift that has helped her find the workouts more manageable
Heidi Staddon is feeling great after her runs and feeling very motivated to make positive changes!
ReBuild
Jennifer Sutton ran an 80 min avocado toast in a rare May snow squall.
Brenda Haskills back is back to feeling 100% and she has been easing back into running
Kristen Frazier’s daughter is home from the hospital and recovering. She has still been managing to get runs in this week even with all the craziness.
Beth Hobson is finally able to start building back her running endurance since tax season is over.
Maintain
Amanda Williams completed a virtual marathon!!
Francine Scheller decides to do the 24 hour yeti challenge on a whim
Amy Wilson celebrated her birthday this week and participated in a quest to complete 49 miles this week!
Carissa Hatling completed her longest run ever - 16.69 miles
Trisha Thome celebrated her birthday with a run and baking bread
Questions
Maintain
Would you remind us of the ‘minimum’ long runs? Is it 90 min? Why?
Hi Coach, I know you recommend using a pvc pipe for foam rolling. I will admit that I started with the “pool noodle” foam roller I already had and since it hurt really bad I figured I would keep using it till I acclimated then move to something more firm. I’m really now, do you have recommendations for the length and diameter to get. Also what do I cover it with? Could I glue a yoga mat to it? Thank you!’n
My office gym is not open so running at lunch isn’t really an prion, but I try to walk 20-30 min outside a few days per week. What should I consider or focus on to get the most benefit? Engage core? What else?
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Coach MK Fleming is the founder of Fitness Protection, LLC. Click HERE to download her most popular training plan, Tenacious AF, free!
Dalia Kinsey is The School Nutrition Dietitian utilizing a background in public health and school nutrition in preventative health care.