I just read a heart warming story on CNN here, about Karen Daniel. Here was a woman that had wrestled with weight her entire adult life. It was kind of interesting but seemingly the stress of having children were the only times she lost weight.
Another thing I noticed is that Karen went to a trainer to help her manage her workouts. This is a good strategy that has paid off well for Karen. Sure you can do the exercise at home providing you educate yourself but by employing the trainer - Karen has the flexibility to focus on just getting through the workouts and on her diet. I will go over how strength training can complement aerobic and diet in this post.
I found a youtube video of a trainer giving a fitness model a workout so you can see some of the kind of exercises one might do.
Some days I think I have it hard deciding if I want to walk the dogs, go for a hike, bike ride, or even a run but have you considered what the astronauts do for exercise? I saw a CNN story here about a new exercise gym the space station is getting.
Astronauts have to workout in order to keep as much of their body mass as possible. Off the planet, weightlessness just does not work the muscles like gravity does for us. To combat the loss, astronauts try and workout a couple of hours a day. I found this video of the current (I think) gym on the space station.
I found a report of a study in Science Daily here, that seems to tout the benefits of even one exercise session increased the body’s ability to burn (oxidize) fat! Whereas overeating tended to increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin (decreasing the ability to use fat). Here is a quick video talks about the role of insulin and another that shows how insulin might become ineffective.
What are the best workouts? That depends on what your goals are and how you like to work-out. You might not even know yet but many people have an inkling what they like (if they remember) because we have been exposed to many activities in our youth! But before I go on I would like to say that I do not think some of the more traditional exercise routines are the answer for everyone. I think rather than going to the gym and walking or running on the treadmill, riding the exercise bike, or doing the hill climber, one should try and complement (or takeover) the gym workouts with REAL workouts!
For example why would you have to go out an buy a MP3 player if you were walking, hiking or biking on some nature trails? Is exercise for the sake of weight-loss your goal or would you like to transition to fun out-door activities you may have participated in when you were a teenager? In this post I will explore the question of exercise for exercises sake vs. having an actual fitness goal. I will compare and contrast the goals and well as give some examples of each. If you end up agreeing with me you can throw away that pesky MP3 player (it will divert your attention anyway - not really safe from a self-defense perspective) and focus on truly entertaining activities. I found this example of Michael Reardon climbing a rock face.
I have just moved across town and have had to put my diet and aerobic exercise on hold. I just unpacked my mirror (I mean scale) and found (not really a surprise) that I had gained a few pounds! I know that you are shocked (just kidding) but I had rationalized my diet of pizza and jumbo-jacks was mitigated by the amount exercise I was getting. You know… packing, cleaning, raking, moving, unpacking, and getting the new place up to snuff!
The thing about my old house was the wonderful full-acre back yard. My dogs and I wore a dirt track in the back yard by our constant use. I had no problem walking/running after it cooled off to get my exercise! I used my home track because in the old place, the roads did not have sidewalks. The new place has a small back yard and the dogs don’t get the same amount of exercise. In this post I’ll examine the effects of a diet and exercise change as well as my mitigation strategies (during and after the move). I will also point out why the temporary slide does not bother me. I found this video on the exercise and weight-loss benefits of walking dog.
We here at LeanAnMean scourge the ends of the earth to find the latest fitness craze for your benefit! I was looking at CNN the other day and was surprised to find a “Pole Dancing Health Minute” video. I don’t know about you but I had always associated pole dancing with exotic dancing at clubs. I did not know there were other valid applications of pole dancing that might entice house wives and professional women alike!
Some of the perceived benefits for woman are (1) feeling desirable, (2) exercise, and (3) just a new fun way to lose extra pounds! I will examine these three points and as well as discuss the benefits of exercise for any weight-loss plan. I should say that when I say ‘weight-loss’ that I really mean ‘fat-loss’! Yes I think that women look better with lean body mass versus the gaunt look that women who starved themselves, look like.
I know women think guys look better when we have some muscle definition after we lose weight. Why do I bring this up? Losing weight is the politically correct way to say fat loss. It is easier not to offend someone by using the term of ‘weight-loss’ but everyone should know you/I are not talking about starving yourself! I found a youtube video with a news story about “Goddess Dance Studio” pole dancing classes for health and fitness.
I read this story on CNN yesterday about an English professor’s journey from fat to fit! Muata Kamdibe’s experience goes to show you that if he can lose weight by himself, most anyone should be able to do the same! Dr. Kamdibe gained part of his weight the same way I did - in school. If he was like me… the stress of trying to keep his grades up while juggling other areas of life, led to letting loose with the eating (the one area of life we most often CAN control). The CNN article is here. Here is the video of the interview. Oops… I just noticed that the video has been removed. His story is interesting though - please review the video in the CNN article above.
According to Wikipedia, “Kata… literally: “form”… is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs.” My interest in this blog, is to point out the fitness benefits of katas. My background in Kenpo Karate (specifically Chinese Kenpo derived from Tracys Karate - now AKKA (American Kenpo Karate Association)) has put me in a good position to use katas as a way to get into shape.
What are katas you might ask? The simple answer is a kata combines a bunch of martial arts moves into a kind of dance. A practitioner of karate or kung fu practices katas for exercise and improving one’s form in there respective martial art. My interest now in katas (I’m already a 5th degree black-belt) are for improving my lifetime fitness. Movie stars in action films have to learn fighting sequences for their movies that are akin to katas. I did a post on my other site, MySelfDefenseBlog.com about the fight senes Milla Jovovich had to do in her movie Ultraviolet here! Here is a sample of katas performed by the Kung Fu Femmes troupe at Las Vegas for your perusal.
Karate has many benefits but not the least of which, it is a great way to get into shape. Why you might ask, well if you stop and think about it and remember back to the last schoolyard fight you got into as a kid - fighting takes a lot of energy! I remember in the eighties I thought of billing, “Karate Aerobics” as a way to get into shape but I did not ever get this off the ground. Many others have thought of the aerobic benefits of karate since and have karate workouts for their clientele. One of the most famous is Billy Blanks, Tae Bo workouts. Here is a short video.
Historically I would have to say most people don’t stick with their New Year’s resolutions but why? When it comes to weight-loss… you did not gain the weight overnight so when you resolve to take it off by the bikini season… is that realistic?
The folks at diet.com did a nice narrative about the top five reasons your diet won’t work. The list includes, (5) starvation diets, (4) eating junk food and sweets, (3) not doing strength training, (2) not varying cardio exercise, and (1) eating too many calories. Watch this video to see their perspective (which I generally agree with by the way).