Squirrel Syndrome
Photo starring: Arcadia Burke
July 28th, 2020 marks a moment in time when I’m sitting at home in Vilseck, Germany, aimlessly scrolling through Facebook when I see a picture that catches my eye. It was of this cute young pup who was only about six months old and looking for a new home. Her owners were a young Military family from Vilseck that quickly came to the realization that this pup would be better off with somebody else. This led us to a few days' trial with her, in which we fell in love with her personality and decided to make her part of our team.
This pup was a blue heeler (mixed with something) and Arcadia is the name she came with. We all tried to rename her, but this dog wasn’t having any of that! Arcadia it was! With the acceptance of her birth name, I did some research to see what it stood for and here’s what I found: Arcadia is a region of ancient Greece known for its rural peace, simplicity, and contentment. Clearly the name was picked long before this dogs’ personality came through because our Arcadia is quite the opposite of peace and contentment.
Arcadia has what we like to call, “Squirrel Syndrome.” She’s full of extraordinary energy, is always on high alert 24/7, and goes from one thing to the next. Whatever catches her eye, she’s after it for a second or two and then she’s on to the next best thing. It’s quite entertaining to watch!
If we translated this ‘Squirrel Syndrome’ into a human reference, you’d see the name in big bold letters: SARAH BURKE. I’ve had this syndrome all my life. Oddly enough, I can very much relate to Arcadia; something I never thought I’d ever say. Ha! On the topic of fitness though, my Squirrel Syndrome serves me quite well and is the point to this entire blog.
After a while, fitness routines can become quite mundane. Right? Eventually you flatline, stop seeing results, and/or stop working out altogether. For this reason alone, I constantly switch up my routine. One day you might see me doing my 300 Workouts, other days you could find me doing some sort of CrossFit WOD, strength training, yoga, kayaking, Stand Up Paddle boarding (SUP) , walking my dogs, mountain biking a cool trail, and the list goes on and on. This is not a made-up list folks. Just this week, I have done all but the SUP and mountain biking and it's only Thursday as I write this! I also forgot that I even went and did a Barre class this week with a friend. Don’t ask!
My point in all of this is to remind you that if you feel you have flatlined, try incorporating a little Squirrel Syndrome into the fitness aspect of your life. Switch it up. Do something or try something different…and often. That goes for nutrition too! Try some new healthy recipes over the weekend. There are plenty out there to choose from. I have a friend and fitness buddy that I frequently chat with in Cork, Ireland. She recently shared an awesome website with me, The Happy Pear, that has a lot of great plant-based recipes. Thanks Doc! I’ll be trying some of these out myself.
To end, may your weekend be filled with new and meaningful experiences; Always in Pursuit!
~Sarah
