Jul
6
A few months ago I talked about potential gifts that made sense from a healthy perspective. One of the options I mentioned was a dog. What I should have made clearer in the article (and thank you to those of you who made it very clear in the comments) is that a dog is not a responsibility to be undertaken lightly. They demand a huge amount of attention and resources. Please think very carefully about getting a dog before you go ahead and start looking for one. Make sure you’re ready for the time commitment and the frustration that a puppy brings. A puppy is not just about playing fetch and looking cute. That’s about 5% of the puppy experience. The rest is cleaning up messes, teaching them how to behave, taking them for walks and cleaning up behind them.
I say this because my wife and I recently got a puppy, who we love, but boy is she a lot of work. We’re both experienced dog owners but it’s been a while since we had a puppy and we’re learning all over again how much work it is. So before you get a dog, make sure you’re ready for one and please consider adopting an adult dog from your local shelter or rescue society. They’re less work and they need your love just as much.
And with that little public service announcement (which I think I have made once before), here are some articles from this week that I thought you might find useful:
From Consumer Reports, we get this article about the benefits of Vitamin D and how to balance the risk of being outdoors with your body’s need for sunshine. I’m fair skinned myself which means anything more than 30 minutes in direct sunlight with a sunscreen means a sunburn. So I try to take a few quick walks outside every day and spend the rest of my time indoors or slathered in sunscreen. As with many healthy things, sunlight is good for you, but only in strict moderation.
@Consumer Reports
Here’s an interesting health article from the Seattle Post Intelligencer. It reviews a study that was done on three groups of men. The study’s intent was to measure the effectiveness of various treatments for lowering blood pressure. Turns out that the men who got the most attention, support and information did the best. Not very surprising for most of us, and yet many people still choose to work on their health and fitness alone and with no support. I don’t understand this. If you’re lucky enough to have a network of family and friends eager to support and help you, don’t ignore them.
@Seattle Post Intelligencer
And keeping on topic of social help, here’s a neat article from the Detroit Free Press. It’s a bunch of tips from readers on how they stay healthy. These aren’t health or fitness professionals, they’re just ordinary people like you and me struggling to stay healthy in addition to leading their lives. Take a quick look, maybe you’ll find some useful tips.
The Free Press also put out another similar article which can be found here.
@Detroit Free Press
And now that you’ve heard some tips from ordinary folks, how about some tips from an expert? The UK’s Daily Mirror put out a very useful article that goes over 25 health tips from doctor, nutritionists and other professionals. Some of them are oldies but goodies and a few others are repetitions of things we’ve talked about here on 60 in 3, but there’s useful information here if you’re interested. I found the nutrition section especially enlightening.
@The Daily Mirror
And from the Diet Blog we have this article proving that not all gym exercises are healthy. If you doubt this, wait until the day when I relive my experience with a back exercise called Good Mornings. Trust me, just because it involves weights does not mean it’s a healthy workout. Poor form and poorly thought out exercise can cause injuries that will set you back far more than not exercising at all.
@The Diet Blog
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Jul
4
The Sprint Workout
Filed Under Alternative Workouts, Work Out | 3 Comments
So there I was, running like a mad man down my street. I was dodging driveways, jumping over curbs and occasionally startling an elderly woman enjoying a peaceful stroll. My legs were aching, my heart was pounding and I could barely breath. Was I running away from something? Was I chasing someone? Nope, I was workingout!
The Sprint Workout
In my ongoing quest to try all sorts of new and interesting workouts, I came across something called the Sprint Workout. Because I love trying out new things and because this workout seemed interesting, I thought I would give it a try. Let me tell you, 5 minutes into it, I was already reconsidering my decision.
What Is It?
The sprint is sort of like interval training only the intervals are at much higher intensity and the rest periods are almost at full rest. For example, my normal workout is a steady run at 6.5 mph for 40 minutes. When I do intervals I change this to 2 minutes at 7mph followed by 3 minutes at 5.5 mph and so on for 40 minutes. The sprint workout goes even further. You run all out as hard as you can for as long as you can and then you rest until you can breath, then you repeat the whole thing over again. In practice, that means 30 to 45 seconds at your fastest speed followed by 2 to 3 minutes at a walk and then repeating that 10 or 15 times.
By the way, you don’t have to do this with just running. For example, you can do pushups as fast as you can for as long as you can and then stretch for a few minutes while you regain your breath. The action is different but the idea is the same.
Warning!
Don’t try this workout if you’re new to exercise or if you have some kind of heart condition or any other medical condition for that matter. You’re quite literally going all out here and for some people, going all out is dangerous. So please consult with a doctor before doing this if you have any concerns.
Also, if you’re going to be sprinting, you may wish to consider a softer surface than I used. Sand, grass or even a running track are all better than the sidewalk I was running on.
Are There Benefits?
This workout really pushes your limits. After doing repeated sprints for 30 minutes I felt like I was about to die. However, after resting a bit, I jogged the rest of the way home and it felt easy. It was like I had challenged my body to give all that it could and now that I was just asking for a little bit, my body had no problem with it. Also, for a short workout, this one takes a lot of energy. You end up with a very high heart rate in a short period of time. I’m not sure about the science, but it sure felt like i got an hour’s worth of working out in 30 minutes.
Are There Downsides?
Yes, the major one being the injury risk I mention above. Also, people look at you a bit funny when you’re sprinting. I guess they’re worried about what’s chasing you and wondering if they should run too.
Will I Do It Again?
Probably, but I doubt this will become a regular part of my workout routine. It was fun, but too uncontrolled for my tastes. However, if you’re interested in a different kind of workout, by all means, give it a shot. Just be safe about it.
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A new day, a new kind of workout. Even though I didn’t like this one as much, it was still nice to try something new.
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Jul
2
Whole Body or One Body Part At A Time; Which One Is The Better Workout?
Filed Under Building Muscles, Time Management, Work Out | 1 Comment
A few months ago I talked about my four day workout. At the time, I was splitting up my routine to work one or two parts of the body per day. Since then, I’ve changed my routine to work my entire body each time I work out. I’ve had a few questions from readers on which style I found best.
Whole Body Workout
A whole body workout means just that, work out your entire body. It’s 24 different exercises and I usually do 1 set of each for a total of 24 sets.
Body Part Workout
The body part workout works one or two individual body parts per day. I would typically do abs and back one day, legs the second day, biceps and triceps the third day and chest and shoulders the fourth day. You can do different splits but it’s still the same idea. I would usually do 6 different exercises and 4 sets of each one for a total of 24 sets.
Advantages of the Whole Body Workout
- Speed - I get through the whole body workout faster even though it’s the same number of sets. This is because I don’t have to rest as much between sets since I’m not constantly working out the same body parts.
- Schedule Flexibility - With the whole body workout, if I miss one day, it’s not as bad. I still workout my whole body on other days.
- Variation - This workout keeps me more interested in the workout since I’m doing a new exercise each time.
Advantages of the Body Part Workout
- Targeted - You’re working out a specific body part every day and you’re really targetting that part. I seemed to be getting a better workout overall when I was consistently doing a body part workout schedule.
- More Rest - After doing an abs and back workout, you have a week before you workout that area again. That lets you rest that area and allows the muscles to recover.
Which One Do I Recommend?
Well, it depends on how serious you are about your time in the gym. If you have at least three or four days to spend and a good amount of time on each of those days, you should probably go for the body part workout. You’ll get a better workout for each body part and you’ll see better results. However, if you’re like me and you’re trying to juggle working out into an otherwise very busy schedule, I think the whole body workout is a better option. It guarantees you that you workout all your muscles equally, it’s quick and you’ll still see good results, if not quite as good as those of the targetted workout.
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There’s really no right answer here. Neither workout is clearly better or worse than the other. Try them both and stick to what works for you, but don’t be afraid to change things up and try something new once in a while.
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