Fitness – The ugly truth

Every additional smartphone that is sold brings more and more users into the potential for combining their normal off-line activity with their online life.  Here’s an app and community combo that does a great job of tracking peoples fitness activity and help them track and share the results.  http://beta.mapmyfitness.com/

Article regarding a study performed comparing the effect of cardio workouts vs. strength training workouts.  In a direct comparison, at the 40 minute time interval after training, strength training shows a greater increase in blood flow to the limbs and lower overall bloodpressure when compared to aerobic exercise.

http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2010&issue=10000&article=00038&type=abstract

Study covers over 1.6 million people over a 10 year period.  Based on BMI, those people who were in the obese range were 13% more likely to die during the 10 year span of the study.  Morbidly obese people were more than 2.5 times more likely to die during that 10 year time frame.

Here’s a link to the article at CNN – http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/12/01/weight.shortens.lifespan.health/index.html

Check out Sarah’s blog.  She’s a great writer and has been blogging about her progress in losing over 100 pounds.  She started back in Oct. 2008 and is about to reach her goal.  If you like emotion filled writing Sarah makes her story very vivid by sharing more than just the basic stats.  Check out her site  http://www.fatlittlelegs.com/

Very cool site for information on how to lose weight, eat better and look great.  Awesome photography, videos and instruction on how to workout effectively at home.
Take a look through Zuzana’s challenges and notice how active the community of her followers are on the site’s comments.  I think her workout will totally kick my butt and sounds like something I’m going to have to try. http://www.bodyrock.tv/

The number one question people ask us before they start (or re-start) a workout program is “Which machine should I be using, a treadmill or an elliptical?”.

Before I go into any reasoning about which type of machine I like better, please understand that I absolutely HATE running. The last time I enjoyed running was at about age 11. From there on out it has always been a crappy punishment either put on me by a freaking gym teacher, martial arts instructor or my guilty conscience telling me that my workout will never amount to anything unless I’m in pain. With your permission, I’d like to change the question a bit, here are my alternatives:

• Which machine will be less boring so I can manage to get myself working out each day?
• Is the pain of running really necessary? (I feel the guilt of being fat, is the only way out to suffer through running)

Will you use it?

In my, moderately humble opinion, the best machine for you is the one that you’ll use on a regular basis. You need to be able to exert yourself enough to force your body to adapt over time. The basic features of any equipment are the ones to focus on, not the MP3 docking station or how many micro fans will be blowing on your face.

Will I use this equipment on a regular basis? If you hate running as much as I do, you’d really be crazy to buy a treadmill. The question reminds me of a fitness equipment purchase I made about 15 years ago – The Versa Climber. Imagine yourself stepping onto a ladder leaned against a house. Next, put your arms above your head in a ladder climbing position. Now do that for about 30-40 minutes. It’s a joke, it can’t be done. Well at least not by me. Ultimately, I was still the one that made the decision to buy this little torture device.

Why did I buy the single worst piece of workout equipment (The Versaclimber) that I’ve ever owned?

• It was cool looking
• It was insanely difficult to do for any period of time – which I just assumed meant I was in really poor shape.
• I have no recollection of what the price was, but given the behaviour of my “younger self” it was on the expensive side.

Ultimately, my wife and I didn’t use the thing for 2 reasons. The machine was insanely difficult to do for more than 4-5 minutes so the odds of me losing weight or getting into better shape were slim. The second reasons was that we lived in an apartment with downstairs neighbors. The machine, when in use, acted as a pile driving hammer simulation. The neighbors never complained but then again, my willingness to use them as the excuse for why I shouldn’t work out, was an easy excuse.

Impact on joints

I weigh over 215 pounds and have for most of my adult life. Sometimes more muscle, some times more fat, but typically a big sized dude with crappy knees and sketchy lower back problem. Honestly, I think that a treadmill is probably a better workout when it comes right down to it, but I also know that if I dread getting on the thing it won’t be happening for long. I’ll workout on an elliptical or arc trainer or even stair climber 3 times longer than anyone could get me to run on a treadmill. This idea reverts back to the original question/answer – buy the machine that you’ll use, not the one that you think you should punish yourself with because that flawed logic won’t work in the long run. Pun intended.

The smooth gliding motion of a well built elliptical is really easy on my ankles and knees. Hands down this is one of the biggest reasons that I think ellipticals are a great choice for so many people.

Safety Issues

Even though I would never classify myself as being clumbsy the thought of falling on a treadmill sure seems like a “real and present” danger; honestly it kind of freaks me out. I’m not saying that falling off an elliptical would hurt any less, but it sure seems like it would be harder to do. One caution for you, please don’t be as lazy as I was when I owned a treadmill. If you buy a treadmill, please use the safety key and attach it to your clothing. If you “move away rapidly” from the center of the treadmill, the equipment is supposed to come to a screeching halt. Also, pop that safety key out of the machine when it’s not in use so your favorite little 5 year old doesn’t have an unexpected trip to the hospital with treadmill burns.

Space requirements

The average elliptical and treadmill aren’t to different in total footprint size.. Don’t be fooled by this quick scan at the stats. In order for a treadmill to be safe to use, you’ll need to place it far enough away from other objects to give you a safe landing zone. It’s not my intention to scare you away from a treadmill, but they do have certain increased risks compared to using an elliptical trainer.

Smooth movement

Exercise isn’t always the most thrilling task on your todo list. Having a bit of distraction or even multi-tasking time can go a long way to helping me feel really good about forcing some exercise into my day. In my experience the smoother movement of an elliptical keeps my head from bouncing all over the place. My point is this, less bouncing equals more ability to focus on my multi-task distraction of choice.

Calories burned

The experts say there’s not much differnece between the two. Working out just your lowerbody (in other words, not using your arms) then the treadmill seems the better choice. Use the handles on the elliptical and you’re on your way to breaking-even or even besting the treadmill workout for calories burned. I’m kind of amazed at how often the “how many calories will I burn per hour” question comes up in conversations about what type of exercise equipment to purchase. As if 30-40 calories per hour of exercise should make a huge impact on your workout decisions. How about this – don’t eat a donut that day and workout on whichever machine you’ll be able to pass the time on more easily.

Apartment Dwellers Beware – Fitness equipment can get noisy. It’s not necessarily the motor or the equipment itself that cause the problem but the impact of you bouncing up and down on the machine that rattles the floors and walls. If you see yourself at a walking pace for most of your exercises, then either treadmill or elliptical will be about the same to your neighbors. If you’re looking for more intense workout, my guess is that the footfalls on a treadmill will provide a more annoying pounding for your neighbors to endure.

Just a guess on my part, since I haven’t measured the decibel differences with scientific precision it just makes sense to me that the low impact exercise that the elliptical is known for producing should also translate well to keeping your new workout routine going without worrying about what the folks downstairs think.