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#mindbodymat: day 3
Hi Beauties,
Welcome to day 3 of the #mindbodymat challenge!
Today’s self-care challenge is near and dear to my heart…
First off, I must give credit where credit is due. One of my favorite authors (and past PBP participants), Shauna Niequist wrote about making a “things I don’t do” list in her book, Bittersweet (which I highly recommend).
The concept stuck with me and has become a powerful tool in reminding myself of which things matter and which things don’t. Now that we have glimpses into other people’s lives through social media it can be really easy to compare and thing that we need to do all the things that everyone else is doing.
But the good news is, we don’t have to. We get to pick and choose how we spend our time (for the most part).
So I encourage you to make your own “things I don’t do” list today and enjoy the freedom that comes with it.
For inspiration, you can read mine right here.
Let’s workout…
Today we’re focusing on the upper body: biceps, triceps, shoulders and upper back. In my humble opinion, the muscles of the upper back are to blame for much of our poor postural habits and chronic aching backs.
This workout will restore proper alignment and leave you standing taller and stronger for the rest of the day.
Enjoy!
Today’s Check-In: share your list with me on social media! Be sure to tag me and use the hashtag #mindbodymat. You just may inspire others who follow you to do the same.
xo,
PS – if you’re just joining us, it’s easy to catch up! Just complete Day 1 & Day 2 and you’re good to go.
PPS – Friday is the last day to upgrade! If you’re enjoying these workouts then you’ll love the videos that come with the upgrade. Sending the first one out in a few days. 🙂
Robin Long
Robin Long, founder and CEO of Lindywell, certified Pilates instructor, Nutrition Therapy Practitioner, and author of 'Well to the Core,' blends 15 years of expertise with a lifelong commitment to holistic health.
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42 thoughts on “#mindbodymat: day 3”
Oh, my goodness! Amazing workout! Challenging for sure, but i was able to complete the entire workout. Thank you for adding the extra challenge with that more advanced/challenging move. It felt GREAT to be able to do it and know my strength is improving!!
Nice job Ana! Way to challenge yourself and continue moving forward!
Hi Robin! Please follow me on Instagram @hbazan2010
Thanks, girl! Loved today’s workout.
I LOVE the things I don’t do list! I was inspired by your list you posted before and made one of my own then. I still come back to it and will mentally remind myself “that’s something I don’t do” and “Its okay!”
Love hearing that. 🙂
Pilates has been my passion for 13 years now…… I love your mini workouts; just enought to fire up the furnace and bring me back into my body! THANK YOU!
Yay! So glad I could help!
Robin-I absolutely love this self care challenge. I recently posted a similar thing on Instagram. I have depression and with all of the social media it’s easy to think that the grass is greener on the other side because we all mostly only post the happy things-it can be very deceptive-and I often find myself falling into a “I wish I was more like that” mode. The ‘things I don’t do list” is a great way to be realistic and remember that the things we don’t do can be just as important as the things we DO do. Thank you!
So glad you found this helpful. Social media definitely poses some challenges when it comes to being content with our own lives. Keep telling yourself the truth and keep up the great work. xoxox
Omg those tricep dips… This was the most difficult day for me to do so far! Thanks again for providing this challenge for us Robin! Your attitude is what makes me look forward to every video 🙂
Thank you April. 🙂 So glad you’re here!
The tricep dips are always a challenge, but – and I don’t think this was completing my imagination – they were easy than the last time I did them! Progress!
Woo hoo! That’s worth celebrating Mary!
The “things I don’t do list” was great – it reminded me that it doesn’t matter that I don’t always do the same things as other people – what matters is that I do what is important and meaningful to me! I love the upper body workout – a trapped nerve recently in my arm has made me really weak and the pilates workouts are really helping me gradually build up strength again. Thanks Robin 🙂
Exactly. Glad you enjoyed the challenge. And also glad your arm is feeling better! Keep up the great work.
I love the tricep dips! My nephew calls triceps the “bye-bye’s” because “I see them when people wave bye-bye”. Good-bye “bye-bye’s”!
Ha! How funny! 🙂
Ho. ly. crap! I knew today’s upper body workout would be a challenge for me but WOW! And my legs are still gimpy from yesterday! Ha! It’s soooooo good though, I’m loving it. This is my first real introduction to Pilates and it’s amazing how good I feel after just three days of simple exercises. Not easy! Simple! Uncomplicated. I love it. I feel challenged by today’s workout and kinda want to try it again later to see if I can handle more reps. Thanks so much! So happy to be here!
Yay! So glad you’re becoming another Pilates convert! It’s really the best. Keep up the great work Lauren! xo
My quads are definitely still sore from yesterday! The only thing is my wrists are super dainty for my body so it starts to hurt. In cheerleading I always had to wrap my wrists. Otherwise great work out! I think the swims were the hardest for me.
Don’t hesitate to modify for the wrists! Nothing wrong with modifying for comfort. 🙂
WOW loving my workouts! Please follow me @mmatero on Instagram.
Hi Megann!
Leave a comment on one of my instagram photos with a request to follow. 🙂 xo
Another great workout! You had me laughing:). Thank you:)
Glad my awkward comments can make you laugh! haha. 🙂
Oh my goodness, that crazy move after the tricep dips was impossible for me to do. I could get about halfway back but then it felt like my stomach muscles were cramping up on me. Any tips on what I might have been doing wrong or is there an awful lot of core strength involved in that exercise? I don’t want to give up on it because I would love to accept the challenge and conquer it!!!! I think my arms may be short in relation to the rest of my body though, because I notice whenever I do that type of tricep dip, my butt always touches the floor, even when I think I have it lifted pretty high, but my arms don’t seem to be bending all that much. Your butt was really high off the ground. Any tips for me on that one also would be greatly appreciated 🙂 Thanks Robin so much!!!!!
Debbie
That move requires a LOT of core strength! So you are right on that. And it’s actually quite challenging. So hang in there! And if your arms are short you could try propping them up on two yoga blocks. Also think about lifting the sternum. A lot of the lift comes from the chest so you may also need to open up your chest a bit more. Be patient and trust that it will come with time! xo
Hi Robin, thank you for creating the #mindbodymat program. I tried Day 1 and couldn’t do it. Contemplating to quit the program, I skipped Day 2. Today, Day 3, I felt good and decided to check the videos for Day 2 and 3. Surprisingly, I could do Day 2 exercise. Encouraged, I did Day 3 also, except that one movement from the Reformer – need to get longer arms to let my body go through them. Anyway, after exercises 2&3, I feel energized and relax at the same time. So I decided to accept the challenge and look forward to the next exercises. I also love the Self-care challenges, especially challenge #3. Never thought of listing the “Things I don’t Do.” Reading your list, made me think that this is a good way to find out what we really love to do and didn’t do for lack of time, distractions, etc… and adjust our priorities accordingly. After this session, Pilates definitely comes to the top list as “Must Do.” With gratitude, tina
I’m so glad you stuck with it Tina! You do NOT have to be able to do everything or do everything well to get something out of this challenge. It’s all about taking time for you and taking steps from where you’re at today. Hang in there! xoxo
This was the most difficult workout for me. I feel great afterward though! Thank you for “the things I do list” and for sharing yours as an example.
My pleasure! Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much!! I’m loving these mini workouts so much!! Just what the dr ordered at the end of a gluttous summer!!
So glad you’re enjoying them! More to come. 🙂
Almost 10pm Central and I just completed the workout. 🙂
Nice job Heather!
Always glad I make time for this! Things I do NOT do that I feel like everyone else does: run, complete crazy mud/neon/color obstacle courses and watch reality TV (mostly) 😉
Holy moly!!! I am having issues with my right shoulder and cannot rotate to do any type of tricep exercise. Instead I kind of pointed my hands sideways and just lifted my butt off the floor. That didn’t hurt but yet seemed to engage my triceps. Any alternative exercise that doesn’t require me to rotate my shoulder??
Loving the program so far! Also, my husband just picked up a reformer! Woo hoo!
Due to hours differences between my country and the US I’m always lagging a day behind… I loved this workout. And making the “things I don’t do list” was liberating in a way. I felt a little twinge about “giving up” all those things that I want to do (and maybe will one day, if I’ll have the time and energy), but I reminded myself that there are other things I do now that are more important to me. And I just can’t do it all, so it’s better to confront it and let go, than keep trying and feel frustrated.
Hi Robin! I love your blog, and I just completed my first workout with you. Thank you! For the tricep dips, my wrists had a hard time bending and supporting myself. Will that improve over time as I get stronger? Or may it just be an issue with my wrists that I need to work around? Thanks for your help!
A day late, but here. My boogie was almost too big. Lol. Kat
Thanks for the workouts! They are easy to follow and I love that it sounds like a challenge at times for you too!
Cheers, Elaine
Really, really loved this workout. Arms are burning, and that move after the dips, never seen before, and might I add, awesome!