Exercise Ideas

[Larry Browning]

My doctor told me that if I didn't start and CONTINUE doing aerobic exercise I would end up dead. I said, "Hmmm, tough choice!" I HATE to exercise! However, I know that I absolutely must change my sedimentary lifestyle, and apparently shop time does not count for aerobic exercise.
So far in my life I have never been able to sustain working out for more than a month or 2. I always seem to find some excuse to skip exercise and pretty soon I find that I have quite all together.
We are considering investing in a Wii fit which is going to set me back $300. I am pretty skeptical of this, due to me past experience with workout equipment.
If you have one of these, what has your experience been with it? Also, do you have any alternative ideas? I have been racking my brain to come up with something I can stick with, and have yet to come up with anything that seems to have even a remote chance of working for me. The wii seems to be my best choice so far, but I am skeptical of that as well.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Walking is still considered to be one of the best low-impact activities we can do to stay fit. And, it's free.
.

[David G Baker]

Larry,
I watch for folks that spend big bucks on exercise gadgets and I buy them in almost new condition when they sell them at garage sales or Craigslist. I have found that gadgets rarely work unless the individual is really dedicated. The exercise that I followed the most was the Canadian Air Force exercise plan. It is pretty painless, takes 10-15 minutes a day and doesn't require any gadgets. Do a search on Ebay or the Internet and you will find the instruction manual. The manual is geared to all ages and both genders. I am 66 years old and am still in pretty good shape.
I now have an exercise room that has most of the exercise toys and use it 3 days a week. If I get bored with the equipment I will go back to the Canadian Air Force Program. Remember, if you don't use it you will loose it. Once you get those endorphins pumping through your system you will love exercising.

[Scott Shepherd]

Walking is still considered to be one of the best low-impact activities we can do to stay fit. And, it's free.
.

True, but it's also one of the easiest one's to make excuses for not doing -

"It's too hot today"

"It's too cold today"

"It's raining"

"It looks like it's going to rain"

"My toe hurts, I'll walk tomorrow"

"My knee hurts, I'll give it a break for a few days"

And the logical reply to some of those is that you don't have to walk outdoors, find a mall and go to that and walk inside. Then, that turns into :

"I don't have time to drive to the mall today"

"Too much traffic getting to the mall"

"It's costing me a lot of money in gas to get to the mall every day"

....and on and on and on. You either want to get healthy or you don't. That's a decision that has to be made before you start. If the answer is "maybe", then the result will be poor, in my opinion.

[Dee Gallo]

Steve,

You're not going to change a lifetime of hating exercise - so make your normal life more aerobic. Make sure you park far away from the store and do some extra walking there. Make extra trips up and down stairs, carrying smaller lighter loads instead of one big lug. Avoid elevators. Same with emptying the groceries - do one bag at a time and walk with some pep! Put stuff on the floor of your workshop so you have to bend over to pick it up as you work. Don't try to be efficient putting things away - do one thing at a time and make more trips necessary. Do a "tour" around the outside of your house at least once a day, don't try to make a mile walk part of your day...it ain't gonna happen!

After you've done this a while, it will pay off. Little life shifts are easier to deal with than big changes and they stick with you too. You can always add more when you become more comfortable.

cheers, dee

[Larry Browning]

Steve,

You're not going to change a lifetime of hating exercise - so make your normal life more aerobic. Make sure you park far away from the store and do some extra walking there. Make extra trips up and down stairs, carrying smaller lighter loads instead of one big lug. Avoid elevators. Same with emptying the groceries - do one bag at a time and walk with some pep! Put stuff on the floor of your workshop so you have to bend over to pick it up as you work. Don't try to be efficient putting things away - do one thing at a time and make more trips necessary. Do a "tour" around the outside of your house at least once a day, don't try to make a mile walk part of your day...it ain't gonna happen!

After you've done this a while, it will pay off. Little life shifts are easier to deal with than big changes and they stick with you too. You can always add more when you become more comfortable.

cheers, dee

Thanks for some really good ideas! I had not thought of doing things like this. However, I think I am going to need more than that, but I do think I will try to add your suggestions to whatever I do. Oh, btw Dee, I do have a cousin named Steve, but my name is Larry

The way I can get excited or "into" something is to start by researching the different options available. Be it my work, my hobby, anything. So this thread is just a part of that process.

Does anyone have any thought on the Wii fit?

[Zach England]

Get a dog.

[Zach England]

Aren't you going to, at some point, end up dead anyway?

[Larry Browning]

Well, news flash! SWMBO has just informed me that we are making a trip to Best Buy this afternoon and getting the Wii fit. So, I am thinking that this thread may change into a review of the wii fit. The review will start at 5:00am Monday morning!
She never has shared my slow "research" oriented approach to decision decision making.

[Larry Browning]

Aren't you going to, at some point, end up dead anyway?

That was my first response, but nobody thought it was funny.

[Phyllis Meyer]

Hi Larry,

In our town they have a program called Wel-Fit (through the hospital). It costs $28 a month. There are young and old, I go at 6 am and there are folks there age 85. They are moving!!! (You can use the weight machines, treadmills, and they set up the program for you) There might be something like that offered at your nearest hospital. Getting out, talking with others and seeing that we all need to keep moving is so important! And...your insurance might cover it because your Dr. ordered you to exercise! Good luck and walking is the best!!!

Sincerely,
Phyllis

[Eric DeSilva]

Does anyone have any thought on the Wii fit?

Larry,

I fully understand your reluctance to exercise. For me, exercise always came out of things I did for other reasons--biking, hiking, climbing--but I never exercised for the sake exercising. Now, however, I have to get some aerobic exercise in to alleviate my guilt about eating the things I like to eat.

Being of a bit of a data-head, one thing that I find helps me with exercise is to analytically track my progress. One hard part for me about exercise is the lack of any tangible feedback. But, when I track the data myself, it does give me a sense of forward progress that sustains me.

Since you asked specifically about the Wii Fit, I'll throw in a response there too. We have a Wii Fit, but neither my wife nor I do anything with it that resembles a real exercise program. We occasionally play with it, but it is largely because it is fun and we can play some things with the two year old. Remember, the Wii is first a gaming console, second an exercise machine.

That being said, my limited forays into playing with the Wii Fit have left me impressed. The reason neither my wife nor I use it for exercise is that it is keyed for lower impact exercises; I prefer my elliptical and the corner gym, my wife favors the elliptical and (!) the heavy bag. But, if you want a relatively low impact aerobic work out, you might really like the Wii Fit. There are a lot of isometric exercises, there are some keyed to getting your heart rate elevated, there is variety, and--to my original point--it is very good about the feedback element and giving you a tangible sense of progression. So, I'd encourage it.

In the short term, it might feel like you are losing woodworking time, but in the long run, you might gain a lot of shop time. If you know what I mean.

[Caspar Hauser]

+1 on the dog, and the wii fit and another dog and a paper round and a...

[Greg Peterson]

Larry - I spend a fair amount of time at the gym.

Couple of pointers.

Have a plan and ease into it slowly. Gradually increase the duration and intensity. Too much, too soon and you may become overwhelmed or discouraged.

This is probably one of the most important things to keep in mind when starting out. I think once the enthusiasm wears off all one is left with is sore muscles and the seemingly daunting task of achieving a pre-determined and perhaps unrealistic level of fitness. In other words, take your time and enjoy the journey. That destination you initially start out trying to achieve curiously seems to always be just out of reach.

The Wii is likely a good ice breaker for you. However from the little I have seen or read on the Wii as an effective cardio workout I am skeptical.

A good cardio workout works your heart. Think of it as taking that sedan that only see's city miles and putting it out on the hiway to blow out the carbon. Get that heart rate up near red line for a while. Sweat is a good sign. But pain and discomfort are not. Just be careful to not over do it. It's a marathon, not a race.

The one tool I use for my cardio workout is a heart rate monitor. It's basically a RPM gauge for your heart and takes the guess work out of knowing if you are exerting yourself at the correct level. Determine your maximum heart rate. General rule of thumb is .80(220-Age) = Cardio Heart Rate. My maximum heart rate is 139. .80(220-46) = 139. But during interval training my heart rate briefly will get up into the mid 160's.

The monitor records the duration of the workout and provides an average heart rate for the session. I find this data invaluable.

One thing to keep in mind with any exercise program is variability. The body quickly adapts to the routine. For example, if you go for a thirty minute walk every morning, and you maintain the same rate and level of exertion, the body will learn to conserve energy (fat) and pace itself accordingly.

I do interval cardio training. Work at a high heart rate for a minute or two, then work at a low rate for three or four minutes.

Here's a measure of success on your cardio workout that is seldom mentioned. Anyone can get their heart rate up to the age appropriate level. Getting your heart rate to recover to a lower level is the real trick. Active recovery time is the key and the better, quicker, your active recovery time the better condition your heart is in. When I get my heart rate up into the mid 160's I am more interested in how quickly my heart rate drops back to about 130 than the mere fact that I pushed my HR that high.

In summary:

1. Ease into the lifestyle change.

2. Realize your expectations for condition level are always just beyond your current level. Enjoy the journey.

3. Use a heart rate monitor and record or at least observe your chronological progress.

4. Mix it up. Don't let your body and mind get into that dreaded, predictable routine.

5. Don't give up. Your reward will be better health. And the only regret you will experience from the daily commitment is that you did not do this sooner.

[Belinda Barfield]

Can't comment on the Wii fit, Larry, but I do have one suggestion. This doesn't work for me, but apparently works for a lot of other people. Have a walk/work out buddy - at least in the beginning. If you have an appointed time to meet someone, and they are depending on you to be there, you may be more likely to keep the routine. The buddy system doesn't work for me because when I work out I like to work out hard and can't stand "chatting". I've only had one work out partner who wasn't a chatter and that was years ago when we were both into amateur competitive body building.

As Greg said, you have to get that heart rate up. You can't just mosey along once you get your exercise tolerance up a bit.