Especially with Carve’s remote work culture, it can be easy to stay indoors all day. But, that doesn’t stop our team from getting up and going after our fitness goals.
Outside of our hacker caves, the Carve team likes to keep active with activities including running, weightlifting, biking, rock climbing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In 2021, Carve team members took part in iVision’s annual Walktober step competition, with with Mike Zusman and his team winning first place and John Poch taking the individual top step count at 767,000 steps for a 363 miles total.
If you’re looking to be more active in 2022, here are some of the ways the Carve team stays on top of fitness with all the other demands of life:
- Build a routine: whether that is waking up earlier or setting aside half an hour during the day, build your discipline by picking a routine and sticking to it. Habits are formed by repetition and exercise can become as routine as eating and sleeping.
- Baby steps: large changes in your sleep schedule, workout volume, or workout intensity can be both miserable and dangerous for injuries. Try setting your clock back a half hour earlier every week. Volume/time increases should be no more than 10% per week for most activities and if you’re running, try to keep an 80/20 split on lower vs higher intensity work. Always warm up and take more time to do so during colder months to prevent injury.
- Stretch and massage: staying injury free is one of the most important parts of fitness. Don’t neglect your stretching, and be sure to invest in a foam roller for those larger muscles. A lacrosse ball does wonders for your feet even if you’re just walking.
- Eat and sleep: working out breaks our bodies down. Food and proper rest helps us build back up. Aim for a portion of carbohydrates, protein, and fats in each meal. An easy, general dietary change you can make is to reduce the processed, packaged foods you eat and opt for fresh, whole foods where possible. Sleep needs can vary, but doing things like setting a cool temperature, keeping a dark room, and reducing screen time before bed can help you get better rest each night.
- Listen to your body: there isn’t a perfect process to exercise and training. It is important to listen to your body for signs of injury, fatigue, and burnout. Persistent low-grade pain, prolonged lack of motivation, and discomfort associated with certain movements can all be precursors to injury and burnout. Injuries take you out of action much longer if you don’t catch it early.
- Trust the process: lastly, trust the process you are undertaking. Fitness is built over time, and not overnight. You will have your ups, down, good days, and bad days. Have patience, trust the process, and get after it.
Going into the new year, the team is setting lots of new goals, including but not limited to:
- Mike Zusman: Running a self-supported 24-hour ultramarathon in his neighborhood. 2.5 miles on the hour, every hour
- Max Sobell: biking every day in January, and increase his overall biking frequency
- Jeremy Allen: Training to run the Leadville Silver Rush
- Jeff Ake: continuing to build a healthier and more sustainable relationship with his fitness, exercise, and jiu jitsu
- Brad Dixon: learning how to jump on his mountain bike
- Geoff Robinson: increasing his running, weightlifting, and Tai Chi practices each week
- Roman Faynberg: running his first half marathon
- Danny Rosseau: making more time for swimming and conquering a 5.12 graded rock climbing route
- John Poch: continuing to stay injury-free, reaching a 6:00 mile, and running the Seattle Marathon
Article Link: January Fitness Feat | Carve Systems