Know how a homemade chocolate chip cookie warm out of the oven kicks the crap out of dry, crusty bag cookies? It turns out figuring out your own workouts and diet kicks the crap out of cookie cutter options, too. Also: Chuck updates us on the changes he’s seen from adjusting his sleep schedule and we discuss some cool new food options, including a 46-calorie mocha cappuccino (and the 17-calorie non-mocha version).
By some strange coincidence, I started a fitness program around the same time you started FitSmart. I think it is a great podcast. In fact, I have had many questions that are usually answered in previous casts after listening to a podcast again. It really helps to hear of someone who was overweight and achieved a huge goal. I get irritated listening to people who have never had a weight struggle saying that “it just takes a little effort” to stay in shape. Ok, irritated is putting it mildly. In my head (usually) I say, “Well I can solve complex math equations in my head. Why can’t you? It just takes a little bit of focus and effort”.
Anyway, I have been overweight almost all my life. I decided to try to get in shape for a variety of reasons, but not the common “look better, feel better” etc reasons. A co-worker had a heart attack (and lived) and one of my initial thoughts was “wow, if that happened to me, the EMTs would hurt themselves before they got me into the ambulance”. (Granted, not the most cheery reason to start, but I think whichever reason gets me going is better than the one I used the day before I started). I started working out, and was quickly crushed by how out of shape I am. It took me 6 months to get to 45 minutes on the elliptical at the easiest setting. The first week, I could only handle about 15 minutes. Then I decided that I should buy a home gym. I shopped and shopped and couldn’t find one I liked, then I priced a gym membership and found that a two year membership was 1/3 the price of a home gym (that I would never use, to be honest). It has been about eight months since I really started diet (by diet, I mean trying to only eat enough food for ONE human) and exercise. I have had to change my routine frequently, talk to a nutritionist, my doctor, and get a personal trainer [All of these things are extremely irritating because I should already know everything, even if they went to school for the subject and I haven’t]. I still have a very long way to go. Thanks for the help you guys give from your podcast.
Now, a question that (finally) relates to this thread: I travel a lot for work and don’t actually have access to a gym everywhere I go. I am working with a personal trainer to develop a workout that involves resistance bands for the strength building portion of the workout. Right now (summertime) if I don’t have access to a gym, I take a walk for 45 minute to an hour. In the winter, that won’t really be an option because of the cold and snow. [For those people from places like Texas, “cold” is when you have to wear these protective outer layers called “coats” to stay alive. “Snow” is sort of like an unflavored frozen margarita that falls from the sky when the townspeople have sinned]. What kind of aerobic exercise can be done; without access to gym equipment, preferably indoors, and preferably still low impact? The only one I can think of is walking in place, and I am not sure that walking in place for 45 minutes is aerobic enough. Thanks for your help.
James
James, glad that you are making progress on your goals. Even thought I live in Texas and don’t get to experience the unflavored frozen margarita falling from the sky much :), I can appreciate your not wanting to exercise outside in layers. One thing that you can do for cardio while traveling is put together a circuit, if you have no equipment you can do something as simple as jumping jacks, push-ups, lunges, skipping rope (even without the rope - normal people would say jumping in place lol), squats, crunches. Do all of these in a row without a break, when you reach the end rest for 1-2 min depending on how elevated your heart rate is. Then repeat 1-3 more times. This will incorportate some body weight resistance training while giving you some cardio as well.