Healthy Living For Smart People
I’m writing this on a Saturday afternoon. I went hiking this morning and I’m about to head out later this afternoon for some outdoor fun at the park. I weighed myself on Friday and the scale showed 230lbs. Goal Achieved! However, what about all my other goals? [Read more...]
I’ve been looking around at exercise classes lately, as a way of making my workout more interesting. I’m quite happy with my weight training and jogging, but I’d like to add another bit of cardio on the days in which I don’t run. So my curiosity was piqued when I saw an advertisement for TurboFire
Now let me clarify something. I am not affiliated in any way with TurboFire
I’ve spoken about cardio before, many times in fact, but since this is a reboot of the site I would like to mention it one more time as the groundwork for a healthy life. Cardio means doing some physical activity that challenges your cardio vascular system. That’s the part of your body in charge of moving oxygen around and includes some pretty important organs, like your heart. Cardio exercise means anything that increases your heart rate to a certain level. A good goal for cardio is usually between 60 to 80 percent of your max heart rate which is calculated as 220 minus 30. I emphasize that this is a very imprecise method and, when in doubt, you should consult with your doctor.
The benefits of cardio are improved health, lower blood pressure, lower risk of heart attack and lower weight (cardio burns a lot of energy). For optimal performance, you should plan on doing cardio exercise for at least 15 to 30 minutes at a time but even shorter intervals can be fine. In fact, Mark over at Mark’s Daily Apple is a big fan of sprints as opposed to long runs. I don’t have a problem with that as long as you do some kind of exercise on a regular basis that leaves you out of breath.
I will say that cardio is probably the lowest bang for the buck you’ll get in your quest to become healthy. As you can see in previous posts, it’s really the last 10% or so of being healthy, and yet it takes a lot of effort. Still, if you intend to be healthy, you can’t really avoid this.
Common Types
Running – I’m guessing this is the most common type of cardio exercise out there. Joggers out on the road, the track or the trail, running until they’re sweaty and out of breath. Seems a little intimidating but it can actually be quite fun if you do it right. Running is a great way to burn calories but it’s a bit hard on your feet. Anyone with a health issue of some kind would be better off trying other forms of cardio exercise.
Biking – Another common type of cardio exercise, biking isn’t as hard on your feet but it can be hard on your back and your wallet. A good bike and a helmet will set you back a few bucks but you can make most of those back by replacing some of your car commutes with biking.
Swimming – I would call this the perfect cardio exercise except that I find it incredibly boring. Swimming back and forth and back and forth and back and forth without being able to talk to a friend, listen to music or watch the scenery drives me insane. However, you merfolk out there can enjoy this cardio exercise that gives your whole body a workout while eliminating any harmful impacts.
Rock Climbing – Challenging, adrenaline filled, cardio based with a lot of resistance elements thrown in. This would be the other perfect cardio except for that whole falling thing plus the fact that rock climbing equipment and gyms tend to be horribly expensive.
Aerobics – This includes everything from Jazzercise to Zoomba or whatever the heck they’re teaching down at the gym these days. These are basically classes or videos that you can follow, usually to very loud music, as they guide you through a variety of movements at a rapid pace. Excellent all around exercise with the possible exception of the damage to my self esteem done through watching little old ladies dance around while I fall down like a klutz. If you have no rhythm, you may want to skip this one. Also, not as convenient as some of the others since it usually requires a gym and scheduled classes.
Martial Arts – Traditionally, martial arts practice was about form and accuracy, not speed and sweat. However, western civilization has turned martial arts from zen practice to something like jazzercise with a lot more kicking. Now you can get a great workout while also learning how to pound the crap out of the person in front of you. My favorites are boxing and krav maga but try them all and see which one you like. (Personal recommendation for you guys, wear a cup!)
Others – There are an infinite number of ways to get your heart rate up. From stair climbing and rowing to dancing and energetic sex. I’m going to cover a bunch of them in the future (except maybe the energetic sex one) but I’ll leave you with this. Two to three times a week, you should be doing something that leaves you short on breath and high on heart rate for at least 20 minutes. That’s an hour total every week for something that could stave off that heart attack for years. Even if it is just the last 10% of a healthy life, isn’t that worth it?
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Thank you to On A Mission From Goddess for including my post on your health tool kit in their latest carnival of healing.
As owner and author of 60 in 3, I tend to get various offers for free stuff. Most of the time they’re for things I’m not interested in. Things like diet pills, weird workout gadgets, energy bars and so on. On rare occasions though, someone comes through with an offer that’s interesting enough for me to look at. That’s what happened to me last week with LA Boxing.
LA Boxing is a string of gyms spread all around the US which specialize in boxing and boxing related workouts. Their PR rep made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. “Come down to one of our gyms and try out a boxing workout. Then tell us what you think.” This came at a perfect time for me since I’ve been thinking about buying a punching bag for my house and I’ve been wanting to try out boxing for a while. So last Saturday morning I went the local LA Boxing gym in San Jose and spent an hour training. Note that this was not some special class that they set up for me. This was their normal Saturday morning class with their regular customers.
First Impressions
My first thoughts as I entered the gym were “huh, this is not what I was expecting.” Maybe I’ve seen too many boxing movies, but I was expecting a run down gym filled with men hitting one another. Instead, LA boxing has just one ring, a few exercise machines and class workout area filled with punching bags. Everything was clean and well maintained. Also, the customer base included a lot of women and children. The ratio of women to men was actually a lot higher than any other gym I’ve been to.
Equipment
Each participant picked a punching bag and had boxing gloves. That was all the equipment necessary. Gloves were provided by the gym if you didn’t have any. I would also recommend hand wraps since without them, you’re going to scrape some skin off your knuckles.
The Workout
I’m not sure what I expected from a boxing workout. A lot of punching a bag I suppose. What I got was very different. We started out with the gloves off doing a bit of calisthenics to warm up. Jumping jacks, push ups, crunches, lunges, jumping squats and so on. Fast sets with the instructor urging us on. After 5 or so minutes, we stretched for 5 more minutes and then the workout began in earnest.
The workout alternated boxing combos with calisthenics. For example, the instructor would show us a 6 or 8 move combo and have us repeat it multiple times using either speed or power. Speed means you punch fast, power means you punch hard. Either way, the workout was very fast paced and much more demanding than I expected. After each 5 minute punching set, Tony (the instructor) had us do 5 minutes of other exercises like crunches, leg lifts and lunges. These sets worked out muscles that the boxing parts of the workout did not.
The combination of boxing and calisthenics had me sweating in no time. Now I’m in pretty good shape but I have to say that I found the workout very challenging. I got caught up in the boxing parts and was enjoying them so much that I didn’t notice how much energy I was pouring out into that bag. By the end, I was sore and covered in sweat. Still, it was a good kind of sore, that kind you get from a great workout.
Notes
Dexterity - This is one of the few workouts that I felt worked on dexterity as well as physical conditioning. The various combos and moves you work on will improve your hand eye coordination as well as your overall agility. That’s a benefit I have not seen in any other workout.
Full Body – I expected a boxing workout to only work out my upper body, but the combination of boxing and other exercises made sure that my whole body participated.
Boxing High – A few weeks ago I spoke about a runner’s high and mentioned that it’s something you can only get when running. Well, now I’ve experienced something new, a boxing high. It’s not the same as a runner’s high but there’s just something about punching that bag. Maybe it’s a guy thing, I have no clue, but wow. I wasn’t just physically tired at the end of that workout, I was emotionally spent as well. Any aggression, hostility or other kind of negative emotion, it all went into that bag. It felt good.
Recommendation
Would I go back? Definitely! LA Boxing is a bit far away from my house but still. I enjoyed that workout so much that the trip back would be worth it. In the meantime, I’m definitely thinking of installing a punching bag in my garage and doing some boxing workouts of my own. If you have a boxing gym anywhere near you, sign up for a class and see if you like it. I think you will.
Thank You
Thank you to Monica and LA boxing for giving me the chance to attend a class. Thank you to LA Boxing San Jose for being my hosts. And thank you to Tony Johnson, my instructor, for an incredible workout. If you’re in the San Jose area, you can contact Tony and LA Boxing at (408)729-5269.
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And thank you to Me-Ander for including a 60 in 3 article in their debut weight loss carnival.
I get this kind of question a lot “here’s my routine, is it good?” The routine in question can vary. Some people tell me about their cardio routine, others tell me about their weight lifting days. I even get questions about things like Wii Fitness workouts and the SEAL training regimen. The answer to all of these is “well, it depends.” There’s no specific set of exercises or routines that is good or bad. Yes, there are a few exercises that are more injury prone and a few that are less effective than others, but almost any workout can be good if done correctly. So rather than go into specifics, I’d like to present to you a few general rules on what makes a good workout routine.
Cardio
Yes, cardio is a must for any workout routine. Three to four times a week, you should be engaging in high level exercise that elevates your heart beat to around 70% of max, give or take a little. You should maintain this for at least 15 to 20 minutes AFTER you reach this heart rate, which could mean an additional 15 to 20 minutes of warm up.
Running, biking, playing basketball, swimming, aerobics, jazzercise, spinning, whatever you pick, it’s all good as long as you follow the above rule. Each of these activities has its advantages or disadvantages and you’re going to have to try them and decide for yourself which one you like best. You can even mix and match like I do, doing running a couple of days and elliptical the other days. As long as you’re doing something that gets your heart rate up, you’re good.
Weight Training
Yes, you do need weight training and yes, even if you’re a woman. At least two times a week would be my recommendation and three or four if possible. Now weight training does not necessarily mean training with weights, so I suppose I should call this resistance training if I want to be more accurate. For example, doing push ups is great resistance training even though it involves no weights. Some forms of Yoga are good resistance training, as are some forms of pilates. Whatever you pick, it needs to challenge your muscles. You’re basically trying to work your muscles to the point of failure.
You know that point where your arms are quivering and you’re not sure you can lift anything else? Yes, that’s the point of failure. You want to do that with all the major muscle groups in your body and you want to do it multiple times a week. By the way, guys should know that there are muscle groups other than chest and biceps and girls should know that there are muscle groups other than ass and legs. 
Seriously though, you should be challenging every muscle group in your body to the point of failure multiple times a week. Preferably in a variety of ways. So for example, a good chest workout means three or four different types of exercises each done to the point of failure. The reason for this is because a muscle group is just that, a group. It’s not just one muscle. Each exercise trains and challenges different muscles in different ways, even within the same muscle group. Lifting weights straight forward trains muscles differently than lifting them out to the side, which means different muscles in the same muscle group are being used. So doing multiple types of chest or leg exercises means all the muscles within those muscle groups are trained, not just one.
Also, if you’re curious, the main muscle groups most people train are upper arms (biceps and triceps), Shoulders, Chest, Abs, Back and upper legs (which includes your butt). Sure, you can train the lesser muscle groups like calves and lower arms, and if you have time, I highly recommend that you do. However, for those of us with limited time, focus on the major muscle groups. Even better, do compound sorts of exercises that train multiple muscle groups at the same time. For example, squat down with dumbbells in your hands. Now slowly stand up. As you stand up, extend your arms up, lifting those weights over head and keep straining up until you’re standing on your tip toes. Guess what, you just training multiple muscle groups (upper legs, shoulders, triceps and calves) all at the same time.
Keep Active
Yes, a workout doesn’t just include your time at the gym. You need to use those muscles you built. That means that when you’re not in the gym you should still keep active with things like walking, yard work, dancing or really energetic sex with your partner!
Rest
Your body does need a break from time to time. Pick one day a week and try to take it easy that day. No hikes or dances and keep the sex to a slightly less than energetic level
Read more
How to design a workout
Four day workout
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If you’re curious, my current workout include resistance training three times a week for about 45 minutes each. Jogging twice a week for about 45 minutes each and elliptical three times a week for about 40 minutes. Plus I stay active on non workout days other than Sunday, that’s my rest day.
Darshant writes in:
I want to add more cardio training to my gym workouts but my gym has limited cardio options. Which one would you recommend, treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical?
Your gym sounds like mine Darshant
But no worries, you can still get a great workout using these machines. Let’s take a look at each one.
Stationary Bike
This is actually my least favorite machine, for a number of reasons.
On the plus side, the stationary bike is easy to figure out and has no impact on your feet. However, these two advantages don’t outweigh the disadvantages.
Elliptical
One of the best options out there. The elliptical does suffer from the same speed maintenance problem as the stationary bike. That is, since you’re the one setting the speed and not the machine, there’s a tendency to slow down unless you’re constantly watching the readout. However, the elliptical does have a two very strong advantages that make up for this.
So as long as you can maintain a good pace, the elliptical is a great option.
Treadmill
Another great option. The treadmill’s strongest advantage is the ability to set a pace and follow it. Just program your desired speed into the treadmill and off it goes. At this point, you have no choice but to keep up or fall off. That means no slacking and it’s the reason why I think the treadmill provides the strongest cardio workout. However, strongest does not mean best and the treadmill does have a few disadvantages.
My Recommendation
Avoid the stationary bike. Instead, alternate between the elliptical and the treadmill. Personally, I work out on the treadmill every Tuesday and Thursday and on the elliptical every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That gives me a a good variety of workouts while not being boring. I would also recommend varying things up by doing faster, shorter workout followed followed by slower, longer workouts and so on.
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Oh, and if you can, try to convince your gym owners to get a stair master. A real one, the one that looks like a small, steep escalator. Those are great! It has all the advantage of a treadmill without the impact to your feet.
Before last year, the most common reason I would hear for not working out was not enough time. People were busy, they had things to do, places to be and people to meet. No one seemed to have time for working out even though they knew it was important. These days, things have changed a bit. All of a sudden, it’s not that people don’t have time, it’s that they don’t have money. The gym costs too much, exercise equipment for the house is too much money and no one can afford a personal trainer.
Well, those things may be true, but health and fitness do not have to take up a lot of time, nor do they have to cost a lot of money. To illustrate this example, I am going to use my commute to work.
First, The Cost Comparison
I traveled around 2000 miles on my bike last year. I spent around $10 in maintenance. The previous year I spent a bit more since I also tuned it up so I’m going to use an average yearly cost of $20. That means my bike costs me an average of $.01 a mile to operate. That’s a cent per mile that I’m on the bike.
My car is a 1999 Infinity Sedan. It’s not a gas guzzler but it’s also not the most efficient of cars. It gets an average MPG of around 25. With today’s gas costing about $4 in California, that means a cost of 16 cents per mile. I also spent about $500 in maintenance last year and drove 10,000 miles. That’s an additional 5 cents per mile for a total car cost of around 21 cents per mile.
By the way, I’m not including calculations for the purchase price of the car, which was much higher than the bike obviously, or the lower healthcare costs I incur by being in shape. Those are just a bonus. The above figures are already good enough to illustrate my point.
My Old Commute
With my old house and office, my commute was about 5 miles or a 10 mile round trip. So doing the math, commuting on the bike cost me around 10 cents while commuting in the car cost me $2.10. That’s $2.00 saved every single day. Actually, it was a bit less than that since gas prices weren’t so high back then but it was still around $1 saved every day.
Commuting on the bike took me about 20 minutes each way while the car commute took around 10 minutes each way. So yes, I was spending 20 more minutes per day on my commute. However, I was getting a decent workout and I was enjoying myself far more than spending 20 minutes in traffic.
My new commute
Since we moved homes and I moved jobs, my new commute is about 20 miles each way. In the car, this would cost an average of $8.40 every day. Yep, that’s right, with current gas prices, I am paying $8.40 every single day just to get to work. My alternative is to take the bike to the train station, take the train and then ride the bike from the train station to the office. This means 10 miles per day on the bike for a cost of $.10 and a train ticket. I buy a ten ride ticket which works out to about $5 per day’s worth of commute. Total cost is $5.10 which means I save $3.30 per day.
Time wise, the car would take me 45 minutes each way due to awful traffic. The bike / train commute takes around 1 hour each way. At first that sounds like I’m losing 15 minutes each way for a total of half an hour each day. However, please consider that time on the train can be productive. For example, this entire post was written while on the train this morning. I could also read a book, do some work or just nap. Whatever it is, it’s a lot more stressful than 45 minutes of stop and go traffic. So both time and money wise I come out ahead.
So What’s The Point?
Some of you might be saying “woopty doo! You saved a couple of bucks and a minute or two here and there. Who cares? This is too small to be significant.” However, you’re missing the point. This isn’t a blog about time management or personal finance and so the money saved and time not wasted are nice, but they’re not the point. The point is that I got a workout and I did it while saving money and not wasting time. Every single day, even if I don’t go to the gym, I am getting 20 minutes of solid physical activity and I didn’t have to spend an extra cent for it! In fact, I saved both money and time by doing it this morning.
Now this doesn’t apply to everyone equally. Some people have commutes where public transportation or biking is not possible. Others may not enjoy biking as much as I do. Still, the point is that you can get more physical activity into your day without spending extra cash. That day out to the movies with your friends? Why not make it a day out to the park with a frisbee? It’s a lot cheaper and more fun. That fancy dinner with your wife or husband? Why not wrap up a picnic and go hiking? Cheaper, healthier and far more romantic. There’s so many options out there that are both cheaper and healthier that money should never be an excuse to not be fit and healthy. In fact, money can be a motivator towards fitness.
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Stop thinking about health and fitness as things that use up money and time. Done right, living a healthy lifestyle can save both time and money.
NOTE – corrected my math based on Alex’s comment below. It’s a good thing my stats teacher didn’t see me fail basic division.
