The start of each year challenges my internal dialogue day in and day out.
On one hand, a fresh start. A chance to shake off bad habits and negative thoughts and lean into as much Zen as possible.
On the other hand, I live in the Midwest. It’s a frozen tundra until Memorial Day and January is just the start of a gauntlet of subzero temps and little sunshine. It’s everything not to just curl up into fetal position under a weighted blanket with a family-sized package of Oreos.
So, I try to anchor myself in positivity wherever I can. Often times, that’s been in nonfiction, where I can learn something new or read something that changes my perspective.
Bonnie Tsui’s “On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters” was the perfect choice to reset my “have to” when it comes to exercise back into “want to.”
“On Muscle” is not a deep dive into any new trend or exercise plan, nor is it necessarily a super-scientific breakdown on the make up of your muscle makeup. (Full disclosure: It’s a little science-y. But listen, you are reading this to yourself, no one is going to ask you to pronounce some of these words, you’ll be OK.) Rather, it’s an exploration of the how and why we move and the muscles that make it happen. If you are like me, you’ll feel like you are on a field trip with Tsui as she explores the myths and legends that have set the stereotype around muscles and the physical, sociological and emotional realities attached to them.
Tsui breaks this journey down into several distinct sections — Strength, Form, Action, Flexibility and Endurance — each with its own conversational counterpart to Tsui’s research. In “Strength,” we’re introduced to Jan Todd, a renowned chair at the University of Texas at Austin, in its Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and the first woman to have successfully lifted the Dinnie Stones.
In “Action,” readers learn about the motivation that drives Chicagoan Dan O’Conor to jump into Lake Michigan every morning, 365 days a year — a pandemic-driven adventure now recognized as a source of joy not just for himself but the thousands that follow him on social media or even travel to jump in the lake with him. From this, we learn about our muscle of joy, the zygomaticus major.
Tsui interviews scientists, athletes, regular folks and even invites into one of her most intimate relationships — the one with her father, as she investigates the understated importance muscles play in our everyday lives. And now, as I start to move even more firmly into the back half of my life, and my social media algorithm keeps reminding me that grip strength and being able to get off the floor without using my hands is MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER, I needed a read that would motivate me to think about how I am training for the future me every time I go to do weight exercises.
“On Muscle” is a fascinating read and could score you a few fun facts to pull out at the next cocktail party — my favorite being that Jack LaLanne’s last wife’s name is Elaine. ELAINE LALANNE. And in her late 90s, she is STILL doing pushups every day. Love it. If that isn’t motivation, I don’t know what is.
LitzyDitz 