It is important to move our bodies. We are bipedal critters, made/designed/evolved/adapted to move. Movement produces a variety of desirable side effects, including lowered blood pressure, better mood, better blood sugar control, and a stronger body. But who has the time, right? An hour or two at the gym or out on the road running or doing crazy yoga moves on a daily basis is just not feasible for most folks. What to do, what to do? It's important not to get frustrated and give up altogether. I've learned that exercise doesn't have to mean special clothes and shoes and breaking a big ol' sweat. There's a lot you can just do while you go about your business for the day.
In Turkey, I learned about the ease with which exercise can be built into a day out of necessity. Walking to the stores and markets to get groceries and run errands meant that I was probably walking 1 or 2 miles a day, without ever putting on workout clothes and sneakers. I was having to carry bags of groceries for some of that distance, climb stairs, avoid tripping over sidewalks...great cross training! I learned to dress in a way that was presentable, but comfortable, and wear shoes that were flat and good for my feet, but not sneakers. I stopped "working out" so much, and started to go about my daily tasks. This was a great way to increase fitness, though not always enjoyable. Rain, heat, and humidity can all make running errands a lot more daunting, and pulled shoulder muscles from trying to carry home too many groceries were fairly common. But it did keep me moving! It's harder in suburbia. There are no stores to walk to - everything is 2-3 miles away from my house, so that means jumping in the car anytime there are errands to be done. Very irritating. I hate sitting in cars when my body is so good at walking. I have developed some tactics to stay fit and stay on my feet despite this change in lifestyle. I thought I'd share some below. If you have other ideas, feel free to comment. I do participate in some intentional exercise, but not much anymore. The backbone of my fitness routine, at this point, is all done at home or on the streets around my home. Two days a week, I do a bodyweight-based strength routine that takes 20-30 minutes. Easy. Once a week, I try to do some sprints and interval training on the treadmill or with a jump rope (not a pretty sight due to my remarkable lack of coordination, but a really hard workout), or outside when the weather permits. This is usually limited to 30 minutes. I might do yoga or pilates once a week, go hiking in the mountains, or take a swim at the Y, but lots of weeks it just doesn't happen. The rest of the exercise I get is just built into my day. People who work on their feet all day (teachers, nurses, doctors, construction workers, etc.) have some great built-in activity. But for many people, a desk job or other sedentary work makes it difficult to stay active. Living in the suburbs makes it challenging, as well, as there is nowhere to walk. Here are some ideas for keeping active: 1. A standing workstation. I first read about this idea on Mark's Daily Apple, and I have grown to love this adaptation to my working time. Last year, I set up a standing work station area in the back of my classroom at a lab bench. When I want to sit down, I just move my laptop to a table or desk. Of course, they make real, honest-to-goodness adjustable work stations, but this works just fine for me. Why stand more? Standing uses more energy than sitting. It allows you to do a number of fun stretches, exercises, and maneuvers while you type or surf or read or grade papers...toe raises, lunges, squats, standing tree pose...you get the idea. Sure, you'll look funny to your workmates, but who cares. You should feel more alert and engaged in your work than if you were sitting all day, so you'll be more productive. OSHA has published guidelines for setting up an ergonomic standing work stations. You can see them here: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/positions.html 2. If you don't live in a big city, pretend like you do. Park far away from stores or other destinations when shopping or running errands. Carry your bags back to the car instead of using a cart. (I know, I know, this doesn't work well for moms with young kids. Sorry. You get enough exercise chasing toddlers.) Walk to the end of your street and back once or twice a day, just because you can. 3. Work some bodyweight, strength-building activities into your daily routine, especially easy if you have kids to play with. When you walk down the hall, mix in some lunges. Get in a plank position, call yourself a bridge, and let your kids crawl all over you. Crab-walked or bear-walked lately? It's a great full body exercise, and your kids will gladly race you. Do 40 squats or 60-second plank hold during a commercial break. Run up and down the stairs 10 times. Again, you might get some strange looks from those around you, but that's okay. You're getting fitter. 4. Housework like cooking, cleaning, laundry, and vacuuming requires moving, lifting, standing and provides some great activity in the day. Don't underestimate the contribution of these activities to your overall fitness level. 5. I tend to want to sit when I get on the phone. I have no idea why. Try standing. Waiting somewhere? Stand. And so on. All of these small efforts through the day will add up to make big changes without setting aside time to "work out". Any other ideas?
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I just completed something I am very proud of: a 2-day, 20-mile solo hike. I stayed overnight in an AMC hut, so I sort of cheated, but it was 2 days of carrying my own 25-pound pack, no one to talk to, no one to take care of...just me, my thoughts, lots of granite, and ridiculous amounts of beauty. I was in need of some thinking time and space, and there is nothing more therapeutic for me than doing that to the cadence of hiking feet. Nine years ago, I did this hike with one of my closest friends in honor of her 30th birthday. I figured it would be a good first solo hike for me, as I was familiar with the trail and had done it successfully before. It is also one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and very peaceful. The Crawford Path starts in Bartlett, NH on Route 302 and is the oldest maintained trail in the US, built in 1819. It is 8.9 miles from the parking lot to the AMC hut named Lakes of the Clouds, which was where I had reserved a bunk for the night. I love the Crawford Path for several reasons. One is that it is a gradual climb (by NH standards) to the first 4,000 footer that you get to summit. And if you choose to, you can summit three on your way to the hut - Mt.Pierce, Mt.Eisenhower, and Mt. Monroe. And also, for much of it, you are above treeline and walking on a ridge. It is other-worldly up there - mossy and rocky with views in every direction. Summitting the 3 southern mountains on the way is more like taking short, rock-scrambling detours up to breathtaking views than anything, as the path already has you at high altitude. I'll be honest - I was nervous. I made a thorough packing list. I brought a map and compass, an emergency whistle and pepper spray, matches, rain gear, a down coat (it was 80 in the valley when I started out), lots of calories, matches, a flashlight...I was prepared for everything. (I didn't use any of it, except for the calories and down coat, but only to snuggle up as I sat on a rock to watch a sunset that night). I had never hiked alone before, and this was exciting but a little nerve-wracking. Mainly, I'm afraid of running into a bear. Irrational, I know. But still. The trail starts in the luscious New Hampshire forest and ambles alongside a river, then a waterfall, then continues higher into a thicker forest. Soon the trees start getting shorter, springs of water run across the trail, the moss carpets the forest floor, all sorts of interesting flowers blooming among the green moss. After a few miles of climbing, the higher alpine forest begins with even smaller trees and larger swaths of granite. I hike differently now than I did 9 years ago. I have a very sensitive knee, so I find I take smaller steps. I'm more contemplative. I take my time. I don't rush. I consider more carefully where I put my feet and how I bend my knees. I know that the more cautious I am, the more longevity I will have on the trail. I made great time, but also avoided injury. I got to the hut in about 4 hours. I lightened my pack, then I headed up to summit Mt. Washington for the 6th time in my life. It's 1.4 miles to the summit from the Lake of the Clouds hut. It's a long, granite staircase to the top, but it's a relatively gentle climb, and breathtaking views are a welcome distraction. I hung out at the summit for half an hour or so, then headed back down to the hut. My knee was starting to complain a bit. Dinner was served at 6, and around 8 a fabulous sunset began. I found a comfy patch of granite to sit on, wrapped up in my down jacket, and watched the sun sink into the sky over a panoramic view of the valley. It was breathtaking. The rest of the evening was spent reading, writing, thinking, and dreaming. From my bunk, I could watch the stars - thousands and thousands of them - move across the sky. (And I did watch for hours, as there were at least 6 people snoring like freight trains in the room with me.) I hiked out the next day, the same way I came in. I had another clear day with sweeping views the entire way. So much beauty - I could hardly stand it. Views to every side. By the time I got to my car, my feet were yelling, my body was tired of having 25 pounds hanging on it, and I was ready for a warm shower and a little relaxation.
But it didn't matter. I found the solace I was looking for in this time alone, and in the beauty I drank in, and in the accomplishment of doing this on my own. I would highly recommend. It was over 4 years ago now that I really started to cut weight and get to the point I'm at now. There were a few key paradigm shifts that had to occur in order for that weight loss to happen, one regarding what I ate, and the other regarding how I moved. Having grown up in the eat-less-fat and do-cardio-until-you-hate-it years of the 80's and 90's, my mind set was, well, pretty well set. Eat less fat, more whole grains and carbs, and move more, and you'll lose weight and be fit. I started to read current research in exercise about the efficacy of eating more fat and protein and less carbs, and doing less cardio and more resistance training. Even after much reading, I was still "afraid" to try one of these changes - cutting out a step workout in favor of weight lifting? Crazy. Buy full-fat yogurt instead of nonfat? I'll gain weight! But finally, finally after doing all the right things for so many years (according to standard American dietary recommendations) and finding myself steadily gaining weight, I decided something different was worth a try.
Unfortunately, at the time, we were living in Istanbul, and I couldn't afford to pay for a gym, nor did I have the energy to navigate the gym experience in a foreign language on a regular basis. After extensive research online, I discovered the concept of bodyweight exercises - using your own body for resistance, instead of using weights. This fit well with my lifestyle, as I needed a workout that was portable, didn't require equipment, and could be done quickly and easily in a small space. I read a few different workout plans for this, and finally picked and chose the exercises that I felt offered the most bang for the buck. I created a program that I could do while watching the news or listening to music, in my bedroom or the living room, in a very small space (maximum I needed is 4' x 6'). This allowed me to stay relatively fit at no cost. I took many of the ideas for this workout from one I read online entitled the prison cell workout, as apparently many prisoners employ similar methods for staying fit. The nickname stuck, and now my whole family knows exactly what I mean when I say "I'm gonna go do my prison cell workout now." Wouldn't you know, as I substituted this simple, 20-30 minute workout for my hours of walking/running/step 2-3 times a week, I started to not only lose weight, but the shape of my body started to change. My waist got smaller and my stomach flatter. I felt stronger. My knees hurt less. I found my levels of fitness were improving. When walking/running, I had more endurance. And the numbers on the scale continued to drop. Since adding this in to my routine, I have lost a total of 30 pounds and maintained this loss fairly effortlessly. I still do this workout 2-3 times a week, though I did add dumbbells in about 2 years ago. Sometimes I do it at the gym (despite the funny looks), but usually I sneak it in at home, in the mornings, when I find myself with a 20-30 minute window of time. I love the simplicity - yet the effectiveness - of this workout. I love that it can be done in a hotel room when traveling, a bedroom, living room, basement...it's so adaptable. Below is an outline of my standard workout. Sometimes it looks different, but this is the "backbone" of what I do. Ideally, I would have video clips demonstrating the moves, but I have found a website that offers images of nearly all of my favorite exercises. There are links after each exercise. Basic Explanation: Do the following exercises in order, not resting in between exercises. After you’ve gone through the whole list, rest for 3 minutes, then start again. Work up to being able to repeat it 3 times in about 20 minutes. As you build up endurance, you can incorporate handweights into most of these. Start with 5 pounds. I have worked up to 12 pound dumbbells at this point. - Squats (40) – Keeping your weight on your heels, sit back as if you are going to sit in a chair. Go as low as you can, keeping your knees behindthe line of your toes, and not bending deeper than 90 degrees at the knees. Toes should be pointing straight forward, with feet hip width apart. Knees should be in line with 2nd and 3rd toes. (To add weights, hold one handweight behind your back, and place the other handweight on the floor in front of you. When you squat down, pick up the weight on the floor, and as you stand, raise it up above your head. Do 20 with one arm, then 20 with the other arm.) - Mountain climbers (40) - http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/Exercises/MountainClimber.html - Lunges (15 each leg) -http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BWLunge.html (To add weights, hold handweight in both hands and do biceps curls as you step into a lunge.) - Squat thrusts or "Burpees" (15) -http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/Exercises/Burpee.html (To add a challenge, jump up at the end of each one instead of just coming to a stand.) - Triceps dips (20) -http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BWBenchDipFloor.html (To make more challenging, step your feet further away from your body, or lift a leg off the floor.) - V ups (10 to start, work up to 20) -http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/WtVUp.html (You could strap on ankle weights if you have them.) - Renegade rows, 8 on each arm. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSgzs5P2XIc&feature=related (Sorry for the poor youtube quality, but it is a good demonstration of the exercise.) You might want to start these with no weights at all, then slowly add weight. There are many other great body weight exercises that you can mix in. Push ups, pull ups, planks with all sorts of variations - there are lots of great ideas out there. This workout hasn't failed me in over 3 years. Have fun!! I appreciate the gym, the dependable asphalt of the roads around my home, and my handweights and yoga mat for the daily, maintenance-style exercise I need to do to stay strong, flexible, and fit. But it does get tedious and boring some weeks, and sometimes one just needs to get out of town. Yesterday, upon seeing a bit of sunshine after a loooonngg week of rain, we made a spontaneous decision to head to the White Mountains for a hike. We have woods all around us and certainly could have hiked somewhere closer to home. (For those of you who are local to southern New Hampshire, Wason Pond in Chester, Pawtuckaway in Nottingham, and the fire roads around Lake Massabesic all offer great, woodsy walking, biking, and riding.) But it's hard to beat the White Mountains. There is something magical that happens once we get north of Plymouth. The landscape continues to change, the air feels cleaner, and I relax. Maybe it's a conditioned response: the only time I head that far north is for recreational purposes. But it feels great, and amazingly, in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, we can be in Franconia Notch, Mt. Lafayette and its neighbors towering above us to the right, and Canon Mountain and Profile Lake on the left. It's gorgeous. Yesterday we opted to hike Lonesome Lake, highly family friendly, with rewarding views at the top. It's only 2.4 miles round trip, making it non-torturous for small children, especially a certain 9-year-old, and therefore for us. It's a moderate climb, with an elevation gain of maybe 800-1000 feet. At the top is a beautiful lake and an AMC hut. There are great picnic spots, and, on a clear day like yesterday, a breathtaking view of the Lafayette Ridge. We hiked the loop around the lake, adding about a mile to our total distance. The loop trail is mostly boardwalk made of hewn logs, and it takes you through a beautiful ecosystem comprised of wetlands and lush, mossy forest. There were many nerdy family moments as we discussed the biology behind everything we were taking in. A huge pile of moose scat was one of the highlights. :) Hiking uphill is a highly beneficial activity. It utilizes some of the largest muscle groups in the body, making it a great calorie burn. It tends to be interval-like naturally - a long, straight, steep climb, stopping for 60-90 seconds to catch your breath, then climbing again - which cranks up the fat burn and keeps your metabolism elevated for hours after the activity. If you carry a pack, you add on a nice upper body workout to your activity. Going down the hill uses a whole new set of muscles, giving you a great total body workout. Another benefit to hiking? Just being in the forest. Mark Sisson wrote about a concept called forest bathing a while back - it's an intriguing concept, and worth a read. Check it out here. As it turns out, just spending time in the forest reduces stress, even long term. Think of it like sunbathing, but in a forested environment. Even just 20 minutes appears to confer benefits! And, of course, these benefits could be gleaned from a more local, woodsy environment. Tabata is the last name of a Japanese researcher (Izumi Tabata) who, along with his colleagues, discovered that athletes could make incredible gains in aerobic capacity and endurance by exercising just 4 minutes at a time. I know, it sounds too good to be true. It sounds like the introduction to an infomercial. But the research is compelling. This is a link to a Wikipedia article - well-cited Wikipedia article - and you can follow the links to the original papers if you are a skeptic, or a nerd, or both. The idea of high-intensity interval workouts is based on the same principles. All- out effort, punctuated with a recovery period, and repeat for a short period of time, results in a more effective workout than a long, body-pounding, moderate effort workout. More results in less time.
Here is the abstract from the original paper (feel free to skip): "This study consists of two training experiments using a mechanically braked cycle ergometer. First, the effect of 6 wk of moderate-intensity endurance training (intensity: 70% of maximal oxygen uptake (˙VO2max), 60 min·d-1, 5 d·wk-1) on the anaerobic capacity (the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit) and ˙VO2max was evaluated. After the training, the anaerobic capacity did not increase significantly(P > 0.10), while ˙VO2max increased from 53 ± 5 ml·kg-1·min-1 to 58 ± 3 ml·kg-1·min-1 (P < 0.01) (mean± SD). Second, to quantify the effect of high-intensity intermittent training on energy release, seven subjects performed an intermittent training exercise 5 d·wk-1 for 6 wk. The exhaustive intermittent training consisted of seven to eight sets of 20-s exercise at an intensity of about 170% of ˙VO2max with a 10-s rest between each bout. After the training period, ˙VO2max increased by 7 ml·kg-1·min-1, while the anaerobic capacity increased by 28%. In conclusion, this study showed that moderate-intensity aerobic training that improves the maximal aerobic power does not change anaerobic capacity and that adequate high-intensity intermittent training may improve both anaerobic and aerobic energy supplying systems significantly, probably through imposing intensive stimuli on both systems." I have been in a workout rut lately. I am tired of my home workouts. I like home workouts because, let's face it, the drive to and from the gym is longer than my workouts. That makes no sense. I do go to the gym on occasion, but this morning I needed a quick workout that would allow me to get on with my day. I was sitting on my butt, listening to the cold wind blowing outside, but feeling beckoned by the January sunshine. I decided to give it a go - a 4-minute workout. Eight repeats of 20 seconds of all-out sprinting, with 10 seconds of recovery in between. Thanks, Dr. Tabata. So I donned my outdoor-friendly clothes and headed out. I walked 5 minutes to the top of my street, then headed onto a relatively flat, very quiet street in the next neighborhood over. I knew I would look silly, if anyone happened to be gazing out their window, but oh well. The older I get, I guess the less I care. I did my 4 minutes of sprinting - approximately - and it was a kick-butt workout. I felt sick afterwards, but sick in a good way. Two big problems: One, the drawstring had fallen out of my running pants and I didn't take the time to put it back in. Loose pants + sprinting = pants falling down. So I had to hold onto my pants. I'll avoid this scenario next time. Two, I didn't have a watch. A second hand would have been really helpful, and much better than counting "one Mississippi...two Mississippi..." in my head. Duh. After sprinting, I had my 5 minute walk home. I did about 100 feet of walking lunges (again, looks silly, but highly effective) and came in to the warm house, did 90 seconds of planking, 2 minutes of hip flexor stretches, and I'm done. I feel great. Twenty minutes a few times a week can do wonders. This style of workout can be done on a bike, with a jump rope, or burpees, or any other exercise that you can put everything you've got into for 20 seconds. Indoors, outdoors, equipment, no equipment, at home, at the gym - it is infinitely adaptable. And effective. Try it out for yourself. |
AuthorI'm Emily. I currently work in online education management, but I also have a Masters degree in Nutritional Sciences (my true passion). In addition, I am a mom, cook, avid reader, novice gardener, and enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. On my blog, you will find articles on food, fitness, weight management, and eating issues. ALL recipes on my blog are gluten-free. Many are low-carbohydrate. Most are grain free. Enjoy! Categories
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