Off the Grid
The benefits of Disconnecting
A brief note for subscribers - This fall, I’m going to begin experimenting with audio content. I’m not quite sure whether that will mean launching a podcast, reading the newsletter aloud or supplementing topics with interviews, but stay tuned!
Over the course of writing this newsletter, I’ve come to embrace my rest days, which, I admit, I was not taking on a regular basis when I started HIIT’N50. I’ve learned that they’re an important part of the fitness journey, allowing your body to recover and helping to reduce the risk of injury, which is important for an old guy like me. I take at least one full rest day every week now and my typical workout schedule now looks something like this.
Day 1 - Cardio (Bike or Run) - 30 minutes; Chest and Back - 15 minutes; Core - 5-10 minutes; stretch - 5 minutes
Day 2 - Same as above, replacing Chest and Back with Shoulders and Arms
Day 3 - Cardio - Bike or Run - 45 minutes to 1 hour
Days 4 and 5 are a repeat of Days 1 and 2
Day 6 - Cardio - 30 minutes; Full Body Workout - 20 minutes (with or without weights)
Day 7 - Rest
We can debate the approach of combining cardio and strength training on the same day in a future newsletter, but the point is that I build that rest day into my weekly schedule now.
One of the other things I do when I begin a workout is to ensure that I don’t get interrupted with notifications and alerts by setting an automation that triggers “do not disturb” on my devices. It ensures that I’m fully focused during my workout and tunes me out of the distractions that come with being connected 24/7.
On a recent family vacation, I discovered the bliss of being completely disconnected and free of these distractions for over 3 days. I’ll say right off the bat that had I had the option, I would not have switched off my devices voluntarily, but I discovered (at least for me) some benefits of not being constantly pinged and nagged by my phone.
Our trip took us to Manchester, Vermont and to Rangeley, Maine. You’re probably familiar with Manchester, but perhaps less so with Rangeley. It’s a hike - about 8.5 hours with stops from my home, but it’s well worth the trip. The centerpiece of Rangeley is the lake, which is absolutely beautiful. We stayed with my cousins who have homes on the lake there - and I mean, right on the lake. The photo above was taken early in the morning (that’s actually the moon) just steps away from their porch.
While driving to Maine from Vermont, I frequently lost cell service and when I arrived in Rangeley, I had no cell service at all (Verizon works, AT&T, which I have, not so much). There was WiFi, but it was shared among the 3 homes and was hit or miss, so I was essentially disconnected from everything for three plus days. The only reason to carry my phone was to take pictures. No calls, emails, texts, Slack messages, social media or anything for more than 3 days.
Now I’m not going to pretend this was ideal, especially for me. I’m very task and schedule oriented, with a relatively strict daily and bedtime routine. When we’re away, I monitor the well-being of our house from my phone. I wind down with TV in the evening. It was definitely jarring, especially the first night.
After a very good night’s sleep (temps in the evenings dipped into the 50’s!), I found it easy to just let go. How can you not, with these two!
Without all the distractions from notifications, I had no idea what I was missing and found myself in a very relaxed state. I enjoyed a 7 mile run (well as much as you can enjoy a run at an elevation of more than 1500 ft.), spent time on the lake and enjoyed time with my family, all without the normal, everyday distractions.
When I started writing this newsletter, I was working out every single day, beholden to the constant nagging of my Apple Watch telling me to go go go. Over the course of the past several months, I’ve learned the importance of rest. Your body needs it for proper recovery and to decrease the risk of injury. But after this experience, I would take it a step further and say that occasionally disconnecting for periods can be beneficial for your mental health as well. I don’t know about you, but there are certain emails and messages that I receive that noticeably increase my stress levels. And there’s plenty of research that back’s that up.
A Few Other Takeaways
As the article above suggests, it’s not necessary to “swear off” your devices and it’s probably not practical either. But, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, you should take some time each day, during exercise or meditation, to just take a break from screens.
I found it surprisingly easy to let go and I say surprisingly because I’m the type of person that needs to stay in the loop. Because I couldn’t see what I was missing, I didn’t think about it.
With that said, I did miss the convenience of being able to check in from time to time.
Work and other obligations are going to be there when you get back. We all have job and family responsibilities with demanding schedules, and it’s perhaps a little stressful to not know exactly what you’re walking back into once you’ve reconnected. And truth be told, I did have to turn something around early in the trip, but luckily I had internet access for those couple of days. But I returned much more relaxed and ready to get back to work.
Other Things I’m Following This Week
Peloton - If you read this newsletter regularly, you know I’m a big fan of Peloton. The company has fallen on hard times, announcing earlier this year that it was laying off 2800 employees and replacing its founder and CEO. Over the past week, Peloton announced another 800 layoffs, the closing of several retail locations and price increases for their bikes and treadmills, after previously lowering the prices on them earlier this year in an effort to move inventory. This morning, I read this piece written by a warehouse worker who was among the impacted. I find it very telling that warehouses are no longer packed with bikes and at the same time, I’m shocked that they seem to be continuing on the path of launching a rowing machine in the fall/winter. What makes the most sense in all of this is the exploration of partnerships that would allow Peloton to install its software on competing hardware. That, in my opinion, is where the value of the company lies, as much as die hard Peloton fans don’t want to hear it. And if all else fails, it makes even more sense to sell the company to Apple, which is flush with cash and has a fitness platform of its own. We’ll see how things play out.
Peleton Lanebreak - Ok, on the brighter side, one of the cooler developments on the platform has been the gamification of exercise in the form of Lanebreak. I wrote about it when it first launched, but I didn’t use it often because it wouldn’t register that I had actually completed a workout. They’ve since added Apple Watch support, personal best’s and a boatload more content. I did one of the 10 minute workouts as part of a larger workout and it was not only a lot of fun, but also a very good workout.