I spoke with Lauren Muney yesterday. She’s my wellness coach and a sometimes-reader of Get Fit Slowly. She helped me to set some goals for getting out of this funk. Obviously, exercise is a primary factor, so I have a three-pronged plan while I wait to be able to run again.
First, I’m going to make time to walk every day. I’ve been complaining that I don’t have time to read anymore, and this is a way to kill two birds with one stone: I can listen to audiobooks while tramping through the neighborhood. Also, I want to learn French.
Next, I’m going to do more biking. I like to bike for errands, but I don’t do it often enough. My road bike isn’t built for it, and my mountain bike doesn’t fit right. I’m going to either modify it, or the frame is too small I’ll acquire a commuter bike that fits me. I’ll use it for errands and for exercise. When I’m comfortable on the road bike again, I’ll use it for exercise.
Finally, I’m going to focus my strength training on the following low-barrier programs. I can make all sorts of excuses to not go to the gym, but there’s no reason I can’t plop down and do 20 push-ups here in this office. (I’ve included reference info for the following exercises so that it’s all in one place when I need it.)
- What is a push-up? Instructions for good form.
- A downloadable push-ups “PocketMod” (a printable one-page program summary).
- The push-ups logger is an online progress tracker.
- push-ups iPhone app for the truly geeky.
- What is a sit-up? Instructions for good form.
- A downloadable sit-ups “PocketMod” (a printable one-page program summary).
- The sit-ups logger is an online progress tracker.
- sit-ups iPhone app for the truly geeky.
- What is a squat? Instructions for good form.
- A downloadable squats “PocketMod” (a printable one-page program summary).
- The squats logger is an online progress tracker.
- squats iPhone app for the truly geeky.
Ultimately, I want to get back outside to run, of course. But until then, these three options should give me the exercise I crave.
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I’m on week three of the 100 push-up plan and I am enjoying it. However, I stopped doing crunches and sit-ups after reading this article:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/06/03/stop-doing-sit-ups-why-crunches-don-t-work.aspx
Now I’m just trying to find some ab exercises that aren’t bad for your back. Any suggestions?
Looks like you’re building your own http://simplefit.org/ plan. SimpleFit is way better than these “do only one exercise” challenges.
Better link to the actual workout plan:
http://www.simplefit.org/bodyweight-exercises.html
Actually, JD will get ab workouts with the squats and the pushups if he uses good form on each. He added the sit-ups on his own, because he wanted to. Sssssh, everyone, allow him to work some of this out on his own. In addition, when he works on his current plan, it will prepare him for what he really likes: running and biking.
As for ab exercises that aren’t bad for your back, I’d suggest “chops” and other twisting movemebnt which require twisting plus some strength. Anything that Core performance discusses will work; they have books, DVDs, etc. http://www.coreperformance.com/
I’m proud of you JD!
I am so glad you are getting help, and that you are getting back into exercising. Keep up the persistence!!!
Re: the French, I’d recommend either the Pimsleur Method or Coffee Break French (a free podcast at iTunes). I got Pimsleur from my local library and learned conversational Dutch with it, and I used Coffee Break Spanish to refresh my Spanish, so I’m comfortable recommending both methods.
Regarding abs exercises: I always pull my legs up into a sitting position while doing pullups. It puts tension on my abs, giving them a workout too, and also lets me clear the floor easily (I have a door-frame pullup bar)
Thanks for the tips. I am already doing the situps but I will be adding some pushups and squats to my routine!
J.D.,
PLEASE wear a helmet when you ride your bike. We value your friendship and would like to have you around for a long, long time! You can’t get fit slowly (or rich) if you’re dead!
Reading this put me in mind of an article I read long ago, “The Next Best Thing to a No-Excuses Workout by Jonny Bowden, M.A., C.N.” I don’t remember where I saw this, but here it is in a nutshell:
“This is my next-best-thing-to-a-no-excuse workout. I like it because it can be done in as little as 15 or 20 minutes, but it’s easily expandable to 30 or 40, and it can be done by beginners or by advanced exercisers. It can be done anywhere — a gym with a treadmill is nice but not necessary. A park or a city block in combination with four feet of space in a living room will do just as well. A little twiddling will let you customize it to virtually any combination of time slot and fitness level.
Here it is:
1. Run a mile
2. Do some squats
3. Do some push-ups
4. Do some crunches
Sound simple? Well, yes and no. You can make this workout as easy or as challenging as you need it to be. If you’re just starting, you might have to walk the mile, or “jog-walk,” and you might only be able to do a few of each of the three exercises. No problem. Do one of each if you like. Just finish the circuit and you will have done a very effective mini-routine.
Now, want to bump it up a notch or two?
Run the mile faster. See if you can do it in 10 minutes or under. Do a real set of serious squats — 20 reps, maybe with dumbbells or water bottles for added resistance. Don’t rest. Go right to the push-ups. Try for 15. Go the crunches. Do 25 crunches in perfect form.
You can stop right there, or expand it even further by simply repeating the last three exercises: squats, push-ups and crunches.
With a little imagination you can easily see how hard (or easy) this workout can be. Fitter folk can run the mile faster, do more reps in each of the three exercises and add another “circuit” of the last few. Heck, if you’re truly a glutton for punishment, add another mile run when you’re done with your last crunch.”
Sounds pretty similar. Thanks for reminding me of it, J.D.!
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