Tag Archives: fitness

The real cost of a peloton (and other good fitness and health links)

Posted on April 17, 2024 | Comments Off on The real cost of a peloton (and other good fitness and health links)

Do you wish you could do gym workouts but you don’t have access to a gym? If that’s you, IKEA is here to help, with their new pastel-colored DAJLIEN collection (shown above). Especially good for people with small spaces.

Maybe you think the secret of working out at home is to go the peloton route. In that case, you own it to yourself to read about the real cost of a peloton.

Do you want to get fit but are feeling stuck? If so, read this: Here Are 5 Ways to Jumpstart Your Life. Mental health experts suggest exercises to knock down the internal roadblocks that are causing burnout and holding you back.

If you think you are too old to get fit, then check this out: can I build enough muscle in my 60s to make it to 100 even though I’ve never weight trained? If you need a workout to get started with, try this 10 minute bodyweight workout.

If you think you have high blood pressure, see your doctor. But also read this: Why High Blood Pressure Matters to Your Health And how to get it under control. Apparently a good way to lower your blood pressure is by doing this:  wall sit isometric exercise.

People who are already pretty fit and are considering running a marathon, read this: Running a fall marathon? Here are 26.2 tips to help you finish.

Finall, this is a funny and artistic way describing how to lose weight.

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IKEA is expanding (their product lines)

Posted on February 16, 2024 | Comments Off on IKEA is expanding (their product lines)

It seems like IKEA is making forays into things other than furniture these days. For example, here’s a story on their smart home monitoring products. Here’s another piece on the exercise equipment they have.They’re even repurposing their old uniforms into a new lifestyle collection (see photo above). That’s all great to see.

I knew how they were doing things like air purifiers and small speakers. I’m glad they continue to offer new things for the home besides furniture. Kudos to them.

P.S. These aren’t IKEA, but they are cool desks for people that like IKEA products. Worth a look.

 

 

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If you are thinking of possibly running a 5K (or just using the Couch to 5K program)

Posted on October 21, 2023 | Comments Off on If you are thinking of possibly running a 5K (or just using the Couch to 5K program)

If you are thinking of possibly running a 5K (or just using the Couch to 5K program), then these links can help:

  1. The fitness line Oiselle has a guide for you: First (or Fastest) 5k.
  2. Darebee has an 8 Week program to go from couch to 5K that’s helpful.
  3. This is a good reminder about how apps like couch to 5K and more can help: How Running Changed Me Mike Murphy
  4. Some things I wrote earlier: In praise of the 5K and other (non-marathon) races.

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It’s Thursday: let’s go rucking. (Here’s some fitness links on exercise, dieting, gear and more for ya)

Posted on October 19, 2023 | Comments Off on It’s Thursday: let’s go rucking. (Here’s some fitness links on exercise, dieting, gear and more for ya)

Exercise: You don’t have to use heavy weights to get stronger. The Washington Post explains. Speaking of weights, you can get a full body workout by filling a backpack full of weights. And the weight could be something as simple as groceries or even books. Get on the rucking bandwagon. Meanwhile, if blood pressure is your worry, skip the weights and consider doing wall squat workouts.

Dieting: Matt Yglesias recently lost 70 pounds with a combination of surgery and dietary restrictions. Here’s what he learned. Relatedly, here’s how former NFL Player Russell Okung lost over 100 pounds on a 40-day water-only fast. I can say I don’t recommend either of those things. Now maybe ozempic is what you are thinking about. Well so are major retailers, and they are worried about it. So much so that Walmart is monitoring the relationship between ozempic use and reduced shopping. I think a lawsuit is going to be coming there.

Gear: If you are using an Apple Watch to improve your fitness, you might find this piece on how to set apple watch move goal useful. I did. Also useful: some tips on what the value should be. If badges motivate you, here’s how to get all of the Apple watch activity challenge badges. You can use your watch for other health benefits, such as monitoring your sleep. Here’s a good article on why you want to get the benefits of rem sleep. Let your watch help you with that.

As for other gear, if you plan to workout this winter in the great outdoors, consider getting a pair of  new balance fresh foam x permafrost running shoes. I am sure they are great. For more advice on working out in bad weather, check out this. It has gear recommendations and more.

Finally, the Guardian has a piece on the new Taschen book focused on Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fascinating. And yeah, Arnold had a head start on most people in the bodybuilding game.

(Link to photo by Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times)

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Can you run in summer? And other fitness advice you can use

Posted on July 30, 2023 | Comments Off on Can you run in summer? And other fitness advice you can use


Can you run in the summer? Of course. You just have to be smart about it. If you are interested and need advice, the New York Times has a whole section on summer running. Check it out.

Not that you have to run. Walking/running or simply walking is a perfectly fine way to get in some exercise on hot days. The Times also has a walking workout that may be just the thing you need to stay fit safely.

Back to running. Sometimes all you need to help with running is some better gear. Here’s six very different runners on what they consider their  essential running gear (not all of it is something you wear).

One of the runners featured there is Martinus Evans. He talks about his slow af run club here. I greatly admire him. He has a new book out: if you need inspiration, check it out. (Image above is of the book.) Running slowly in summer is especially a good idea.

Not all runners are inspirational. Here’s a story of  how embattled Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema uses campaign cash for her marathon habit. She’s a good runner, as this shows, but that is not something I would not want my representative to be doing.

Whatever her motivation is, if you need motivation, maybe running bingo can help you. Or this story on ultramarathon running from dawn dusk  over 24 hours.

It’s not all running here. This is a good piece on self described “swole woman” Casey Johnston who is an inspiration to anyone looking to get fitter using weights. Any type of weight. She publishes an e-book that looks good for beginners especially called Liftoff: couch to barbell. Check out her shop, here for more good things.

This isn’t hers, but this full body workout you can do in 20 minutes might be the thing you need to get in shape or stay fit.

I thought that this was interesting:  how to get the most out of apple watch heart rate zones. Related, here’s how analyse your health with python and apple health

Here’s something on nutrition myths. Here’s a piece in the Atlantic on ozembic.

This is how to tell the difference between being  sleepy and being fatigued differences. Maybe you need a nap: maybe you need a break.

Finally, here’s a cool shoe:  nike waffle one se (shown below). Take a walk AND be stylish doing so.

 

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Some thoughts on using Apple devices to get fit

Posted on May 23, 2023 | Comments Off on Some thoughts on using Apple devices to get fit

I have now become one of those people who tries to close their rings every day! I tease myself, but I am also happy to try and do it. I find my fitness has definitely improved from the low point it was during the pandemic.

Here’s some tips and things I’ve learned along the way that might help you too if you decide to get fitter this way.

Start of with the default goals when it comes to your rings. You want goals that are achievable but not too easy. To determine that, I recommend you use the watch for a week or so to get some measure of how you are doing. Now it is time to determine your goals.

When it comes to determining your goals, I suggest you go into the Fitness app on your phone. Go to the Summary tab, click on the box labelled Activity. Scroll down to Trends. You can click on Move or Exercise or Stand to see how well you are doing. I found I could meet the default Stand and Exercise goals, but I was having problems with the 900 cal/day goal for Move. I was achieving about 750 cal/day. To stretch and encourage myself, I wanted to change my move goal to 800 cal/day. 

To changing goals, you can go into the Fitness app on your phone. Go to the Summary tab, click on the green avatar on the top right and then click on Change Goals. It’s pretty straightforward to do that.

Now all you have to do is get off the couch or step away from the deck and close those rings!

I found the Stand goal is helpful for me because it was the first one I could achieve. Whenever I don’t achieve it I now I am sitting down or lying down too much.

Once I had the Stand goal in hand, I went to tackle the Exercise goal. While typical workouts are a good way to achieve that, so to is a brisk walk. I found I was able to get my heart rate up to 70% of my maximum heart rate just by walking. You likely will too. If I do nothing else in terms of exercise, walking alone can get me to meet my exercise goal.

I hate to say it, but it is easy to cheat on your Exercise goal. I found this out when I decided to include housework as exercise. To do that, I picked “Other” as a workout on my watch. After 15 minutes or so of housework, I stopped the workout and checked the data, only to find my heart rate was much lower than a brisk walk (not to mention other workouts). I think housework is good for helping me achieve my Move goals and Stand goals, but I will not include it off my Exercise goals. But that’s just me, though. Housework can be hard work and for some it definitely counts as exercise. (For more on other workouts, read this.)

Speaking of heart rates, I found them too high and reset mine. These should be the correct target heart rates. You can learn how to change them, as well as display them, here: use heart rate zone tracking with the Apple Watch.

I found the Move goal hardest to reach. Stand and Exercise are easy to measure. If you find that too and you need help with meeting it, read this. I learned a lot from that piece.

Finally, I was disappointed to find all this exercise was not doing much for my VO2 Max numbers. Then I read how smartwatches aren’t very good at measuring this. At best, you want to see the number trend up. But don’t put too much value in a given number.

 

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How to get better sleep using your Apple Watch and the Health app

Posted on April 24, 2023 | Comments Off on How to get better sleep using your Apple Watch and the Health app

I wear my Apple Watch every night while I sleep, and I have found it’s been helping me sleep better.

My watch sends a ton of information to my phone during the day, including information about how I am sleeping. When I wake in the morning, I head over to the Sleep summary in the Health app on my iPhone and check how I did that night. Here’s an example:

You can see this was a pretty good night for me. I slept for 7 hours, and I managed to get in a fairly decent amount (for me) of deep sleep. I don’t know if this is typical for most people, but it is for me. I have a number of deep sleep periods, about 4 periods of REM sleep, and the rest is core sleep. You can see I woke up twice, but barely for any time at all. I also found I was refreshed and alert the next morning. 

That wasn’t typical though. If you look below, you see my sleep for the week:

There’s quite a number of days where I was awake for large periods of time. Every day I would wake up and see that and think: what can I do to fix that? Some days it would be something simple, like the room was too warm. Or I ate too late. Other days it is due to more difficult things like too much stress. (Stressful days tend to cause other issues, like eating badly, which compounds the problem.) 

Before I had this data, I would let myself sleep badly for a long stretch of time. Now when I start seeing I am not getting enough sleep, I work hard to get the right conditions to get a better sleep the next night.

There are plenty of things you can do to maintain good health: eat well, exercise, and sleep well. The Apple Watch can help with all of those things. If you can get one with these features, I highly recommend it.

P.S. Why is deep sleep important? It could be the time your brain gets cleaned. To see what I mean, go here.

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Friday fitness links (April 2023 edition)

Posted on April 21, 2023 | Comments Off on Friday fitness links (April 2023 edition)

Here’s some more useful links on staying fit, physically and mentally. Plus some things on sleep, because sleep is an important part of fitness. And more!

Fitness:

Diet:

Mental fitness:

Sleep:

Misc:

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How to improve yourself this weekend

Posted on March 11, 2023 | Comments Off on How to improve yourself this weekend

For some, the weekend is either a time of relaxing or a time of catching up.  I think that it can always be a time to improve yourself in some way. Here’s some ideas for you:

Get a hobby: Here’s a good piece on how to start a hobby. Perhaps drawing could be that hobby. Here’s how to get over yourself and start drawing. And if even if you don’t think you are very good, remember:  drawing can also be good for your mental mental health.

Improve your plant game: Plants make me and others happy. If you feel the same, maybe take some time this weekend and upgrade your plants: here’s when its time to repot indoor plants.

Get fitter: start with this piece, two simple ways to get fitter faster. If you need exercise routines, try these, fitness routines from Darebee. Or use this: strength training. Some people do better with devices to help them. If that’s you, then use this device to improve your fitness.

Like drawing, fitness can help you in many ways. For example, read this: How To Reframe Your Relationship With Exercise. And don’t forget, fitness is more than exercise. It is also about eating well. Here how you can eat  better:  4 easy strategies for adding more vegetables to your plate.

Get fashionable: sometimes new clothes can help you get out there. If that’s you, I recommend these new balance 574h hiking sneakers, the new balance 997h ice blue sneakers, this intro ponto footwear. Maybe even  jordan system23 clogs .

Finally, here’s a guide to  stop ruminating, if that’s something you do.

Regardless of what you decide to do, I hope your weekend is a good one.

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On Dry January

Posted on January 20, 2023 | Comments Off on On Dry January

Kudos to all of you succeeding this long into your dry January this year. I hope you are crushing it. If you are not, or if you are curious about this and want tips on how to do it well, then check this out.

Dry January does not mean you can’t be social. No sir. If you want to have a party and keep it dry, there’s plenty of ways to do that. One way is with mocktails. For instance, here’s 6 Mocktail Recipes you can use. You can find a ton of such concoctions on the Web these days.

After some consideration, perhaps you want not so much a dry January and more of a…damp January? Yes, it’s a thing. Read this and see what I mean.

If you need more guidance: How to Drink Less Alcohol: 9 Tips for Drinking Less and Enjoying It More this Also this: How to Be Sober and Work in a Bar . And this recovering rule follower sobriety.

For people wanting to get on this healthy bandwagon, don’t wait until next year. As I have argued, February is the best month to do resolutions. Why not have a dry February? The best month to change is the one you’re in on the day you decide to change.

 

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Some help to get you on the path to fitness in January

Posted on January 14, 2023 | Comments Off on Some help to get you on the path to fitness in January

Welcome to another piece on getting fit.

If you are looking to get fit and wonder if you need  to take 10000 steps a day then read that. (Answer: nope). 10000 steps a day is good though. But so are exercise snacks, those bite sized workouts spread throughout your day. If you feel like something more sustained, something more than a snack, why not this nine minute workout?

One of the best things to do is take advantage of exercise you can’t avoid. Case in point: pushing a young one around in a stroller. Make the most of whatever opportunities you have to get fit. Remember: exercise is not just good for the body, but also for the mind. To see what a run does for your brain, read this. To see more on the mental health benefits, read this.

Finally, if you find that even with sustained exercise you still aren’t looking like a superhero, fret not. As this piece shows, some of that extreme fitness is the result of steroid use. You don’t want that.

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How to deal with recurring nightmares (plus four other good pieces on better sleeping)

Posted on December 1, 2022 | Comments Off on How to deal with recurring nightmares (plus four other good pieces on better sleeping)

Do you suffer from recurring nightmares? If you do, I highly recommend you read this. It has worked for me and it may work for you too. Sleep can be hard enough to get: being fearful of repeating a nightmare makes it harder.

Here are some other sleep tips from the New York Times  that I thought were useful.

The Times also has advice on how to deal with waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to get back to sleep, here.

Do you exercise hard? If so, listen to  Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson who argues that among the things you need to be successful athlete is good sleep.

Sleepwell is an initiative to help people sleep better without medication. You can check it out,  here.

 

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If you want to run a marathon but struggle with running

Posted on November 12, 2022 | Comments Off on If you want to run a marathon but struggle with running


It’s Fall, and Fall means marathon season. Many of the big marathons, like the one in NYC, happen at this time. If the idea of running one next fall is appealing to you and you want some advice on how to approach it, the Washington Post has some fall marathon running tips that can help. And you can find advice everywhere on the Internet, including this blog!

However, for this post, I want to recommend some links for people who find running a struggle. For instance, if  you want to run but honestly hate running, then this piece could help. Likewise, this piece is useful: Try This One Simple Trick the Next Time You’re Struggling in a Race or Workout. But what should you do if you can’t even run slowly? Read that. If you think you can never get over your problems with running, this piece can give you hope: enjoy running and actually look forward to it.

Last but not least, this article on Violet Piercy might help you find some  inspiration: Overlooked No More: Violet Piercy Pioneering Marathoner.

Good luck! Get out there and do your best, whatever that is. It gets better, for sure.

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Summertime fitness links, July 2022

Posted on July 20, 2022 | Comments Off on Summertime fitness links, July 2022


Here’s a list of things on fitness and health I’ve been collecting that you may find useful. It’s summer: at the very least it’s a good excuse to walk more and eat salads more. 🙂

Exercise: a nice list of articles on getting in shape…

Diet/weight loss: four pieces on losing weight

Health in general:

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Two pieces on people Doing the Thing despite Difficulty

Posted on June 24, 2022 | Comments Off on Two pieces on people Doing the Thing despite Difficulty

Some people find it motivating to see people doing the thing (in this case art and running) despite challenges. If that’s you, then you may find these pieces worthwhile:

I admire people struggling and working to do the thing they love, despite their physical challenges. But I don’t romanticize the physical challenge. And I wish them (and all of us) the best of good fortune in overcoming it.

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The very fashionable New Balance 327 are perfect for spring

Posted on March 5, 2022 | Comments Off on The very fashionable New Balance 327 are perfect for spring

I think New Balance makes great shoes for lots of reasons. If you are training hard athletically, they can really help you. But not all of us are doing that. Perhaps we just want to go for nice walks in the spring.

If that’s your goal, consider the NB 327.

The cloud version above and the mushroom version below are both really stylish and look really comfortable. They could be perfect for doing that stroll you want to do. They’ll be fine if you also want to pick up the pace.

I love the tread on the back too. I had driving shoes like that and they were incredibly comfortable on long drives on the highway.

(Credit to Uncrate.com for the images)

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Forget resolutions and get healthier any time (My fitness and health links for March, 2021)

Posted on March 1, 2022 | Comments Off on Forget resolutions and get healthier any time (My fitness and health links for March, 2021)

Forget resolutions: you can get healthier and fitter anytime. Heck, stop reading this and go touch your toes or head out for a walk. When you finish that you can check out these 20 links to help you with exercising more, weighing less, drinking less, sleeping better or anything else related to fitness and health:

Exercise

  1. This is me:  When the Last Thing You Want to Do Is Exercise.
  2. Not all cardio has to kill you:  Low-Intensity Cardio Training: What Is It & How Does It Work?
  3. These are an old collection of links I’ve gathered that are good:  Are you in terrible shape? Not so terrible but bad enough shape? Do you need help? Here you go
  4. This Simple Piece of Equipment Could Elevate Your Workout. Can you guess?
  5. Especially good for people who can only workout at home:  How to get motivated to start exercising at home.
  6. One home form of exercise you can do:  Embrace winter with this 5-minute outdoor yoga practice to connect with the earth and stand tall.
  7. You will have to go outside for this, though:  Sprints.

Weight Loss:

  1. Very helpful if you feel stuck:  How shifting your expectations about food can help you lose weight.
  2. 15 Impressive Fitness Goals to Strive for That Aren’t Weight Loss. This is great. For example, stretching and being more flexible.
  3. I felt this was bogus, and so did many who read it:  Mike Pompeo tells The Post how he lost 90 pounds in six months. Glad he got fit, but I think he did that for reasons other than good health, and he lied how he did it.
  4. If you need a challenge:  The 30-Day Well Challenge 

Sobriety:

  1. If you are considering your drinking, think of how it affects others:  My sobriety is not just mine.
  2. This is good:  Reframe: Drink Less & Thrive 17+
  3. As is this:  Should You Try ‘Mindful Drinking’?

Sleep:

  1. A good intro to melatonin. It has not worked well for me, but it might for you:  Melatonin Isn’t a Sleeping Pill. Here’s How to Use It.
  2. My Before-Sleep Ritual Is to Treat Myself Like a Baby. I liked that.

Finally:

  1. Hey, this is good to know:  The Secret to Making Colonoscopy Prep Less awful
  2. I like the qualifiers here:  How to (Try to) Quit (Almost) Anything …
  3. Interesting:  Retiring the Cinderella view of the spinal cord as an intrabodily cognitive extension
  4. Also good:  Health Insider – Workout & Nutrition Blog

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Great dumbbell exercises and other good things to get back in shape post holidays

Posted on December 29, 2021 | Comments Off on Great dumbbell exercises and other good things to get back in shape post holidays

If you are past Christmas feast you may be thinking of getting in shape as a New Year’s Resolution. If so, good for you. But you may need help. Here’s some links to do that.

I am a big fan of dumbbells, both at home and in the gym, and I think they are a great way to get stronger and fitter. This particular guide is one of the best ones I’ve seen: 19 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Building Muscle 2021 | Garage Gym Reviews. If you want to take them up or get back into them, read that.

If you aren’t sure how often you should work out, read this, How to Motivate Yourself to Exercise Every Morning, this Can You Do a Full-Body Workout Two Days in a Row?, and this I Stopped Working Out Daily. Here’s What Happened.

If you want to get started but find the idea of it daunting, read this,  How to ‘Grease the Groove’ and Exercise Easy – The Atlantic and this, From Zero to 45 Days in a Row: How I Built a Habit of Daily Exercise.

Good luck! Get up and go!

(Image from Garage Gym)

 

 

 

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What is healthy? (My fitness and health links for December, 2021)

Posted on December 5, 2021 | Comments Off on What is healthy? (My fitness and health links for December, 2021)


Here’s some links on fitness and physical health that are not typical. For example, I Did 340 Pushups a Day to Prepare for the TV Version of Prison. Then I Got There. Reading about this:  Emily Ratajkowski’s New Book Tests The Limits Of Self-Awareness got me thinking about this Dear Younger Me: Lauren Fleshman. Sometimes we push yourselves from the extremes of one form of unhealthiness to another. You may think these  Sample Menus for a 1 200 Calorie Diet can help you lose weight, but if so you should read this: 1 200 Calories a Day Is a Starvation Diet Actually, you may change your mind.

I still think carrying a lot of weight is unhealthy. As did this father: He Struggled to Play With His Daughter So He Turned to the Couch to 5K App to Lose Weight. Find your own level and continually move in the healthier direction.

If you use a fitbit, read this: How Many Steps Do You Really Need Each Day? If you are in the market for one, check this out: Your Fitbit Can Now Let You Know Whether You Snore. If you are looking for new shoes, consider these: Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next Nature Running Shoe via Uncrate.

(Image via Uncrate)

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Eight links to help you have a fitter fall. (Or my fitness and interests for October, 2021)

Posted on October 29, 2021 | Comments Off on Eight links to help you have a fitter fall. (Or my fitness and interests for October, 2021)

It’s fall and it’s a pandemic, but gyms are opening wide up and no doubt you (and I) want to get some of our fitness back. Here’s eight links I’ve found recently that could help:

(Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash )

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Health and wellness apps can be expensive. Here’s some alternatives

Posted on September 3, 2021 | Comments Off on Health and wellness apps can be expensive. Here’s some alternatives

I am sometimes surprised how expensive health and wellness apps can be. If you leave them running on your phone for a year, that can really add up.

And that’s too bad. People can really benefit from such apps, and being short of cash should not be a limit on getting well.

If this applies to you, then you want to check out these 7 Meditation Apps That Are Cheaper (and Better) Than Headspace and Calm .

Headspace and Calm are fine apps. But check out some alternatives.

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Looking to get fit in the pandemic? Here are 37 great links to help you with that

Posted on August 3, 2021 | Comments Off on Looking to get fit in the pandemic? Here are 37 great links to help you with that

I’ve been struggling to get back in some form of better shape during the pandemic. During that time, I have been researching diets, fitness routines, meditation routines, health links, wellness articles…you name it. Here are some of the good links I have found that are worthwhile:

  1. 7-Day Diet Meal Plan to Lose Weight: 1 500 Calories
  2. Jumping Rope is an Unbeatable Cardio Workouts if You Do It Correctly
  3. Home gyms that complement your IKEA furniture and ensure you fulfil your fitness goals: Part 3
  4. Japanese Fasting Study Reveals Complex Metabolic Changes in the Human Body
  5. More 1500 calorie meals
  6. A Full-Body Workout for Beginners That Hits All Your Major Muscles
  7. When This Mother of Two Started Running She Realized It Was the Self-Care She Never Had
  8. If You Hate Meditating Try These Alternatives
  9. When you burn fat where does it actually go?
  10. Running From the Pain
  11. New Balance Fresh Foam 1080v11 Running Shoes / $150 (nice)
  12. How Long It Takes to Start Enjoying Exercise According to Reddit
  13. Why Fasting Works
  14. The Damaging Double Standard Behind Intermittent Fasting
  15. I’m Often Wide Awake at 3 A.M. How Do I Get Back to Sleep?
  16. Do We Really Need to Take 10 000 Steps a Day for Our Health?
  17. Navigating My Son’s A.D.H.D. Made Me Realize I Had It Too
  18. A 2 000-Calorie Diet: Food Lists and Meal Plan
  19. 25 Ways to Practice Self-Care
  20. How to Build Resilience in Midlife
  21. 6 Ways to Take Care of Yourself When People Disappoint You
  22. Your 3-Day Heart-Healthy Meal Plan: 1 500 Calories
  23. How exercise helps with stress
  24. The benefits of moderate exercise
  25. Exercise snacks
  26. On the 5BX plan
  27. Good exercises to burn calories
  28. On the zen of weightlifting
  29. Jogging and the brain
  30. On marathons
  31. Running sub 3 marathons
  32. Marathon times
  33. How walking in place can help
  34. How long it takes to put on muscle
  35. A chart to help you get fit in 15 days
  36. How to start strength training
  37. On learning to like running

(Photo by Alex McCarthy on Unsplash )

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On getting back into running with Darebee

Posted on July 27, 2021 | Comments Off on On getting back into running with Darebee

Here on this blog I am a big booster of Darebee. While they have a wide variety of workouts, the ones I am interested in recently are having to do with running. If you are trying to get into or back into running, you might find these useful:

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It’s Monday. You need to start getting back in shape. Here’s a good start

Posted on May 10, 2021 | Comments Off on It’s Monday. You need to start getting back in shape. Here’s a good start

If you think, I got to start exercising again, I just got to, but you can’t even begin to know to start, consider this: Easy Cardio Challenge

If you think: that’s too easy, then consider doing them faster. Or add on an additional fitness challenge from Darebee.

And if you aren’t sure how to do these exercises, here is how you a side jack:

Here’s how you do a step jack:

You’re all set. Print off the challenge and put an X through each day you do. In 30 days you will be in better shape than you are now. Just as important, you will have created an exercise routine for yourself. Kudos to you!

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Treadmills are horrible and have been forever

Posted on May 8, 2021 | Comments Off on Treadmills are horrible and have been forever

A horrific accident with a treadmill happened this week, causing lots of understandable worry. To see what I mean, see this: Peloton recalls treadmills after a child dies | CTV News

If you were wondering if treadmills were ever good, read this: The Torturous History of the Treadmill | Wirecutter

They have their uses, sure. But as equipment goes, they are one of my least favorite.

(Photo by Ryan De Hamer on Unsplash)

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To lose weight is simple: eat 2000 calories daily and walk 10000 steps

Posted on April 15, 2021 | Comments Off on To lose weight is simple: eat 2000 calories daily and walk 10000 steps


It seems ridiculous to say that, but it really is simple (but not easy): eat 2000 calories daily and walk 10000 steps. To see what I mean, read these two articles:

  1. ‘The Good News About What’s Bad for You’ Junk Food Diet – Bon Appétit | Bon Appetit
  2. How Fit Can You Get From Just Walking? | GQ

In both of them, the people who lost weight ate about 2000 calories a day. I mean the guy in the first one literally lived on junk food and still lost 11 pounds in a month.In the second one, the people participating walked 10000 steps as well as ate around 2000 calories. The combination will get you fit and keep you in a calorie deficit mode that will cause your body to lose weight.

For more examples of that, see this (Fixing His Diet Helped This Guy Lose 100 Pounds and Get Shredded at 50) and this (Walking For Weight Loss – How to Lose Weight by Walking) and this (Apple Watch, New Year’s resolutions, and losing 50 pounds – 9to5Mac).

Is it easy? For most people, no. Do you have to be disciplined? Yes. Is there ways to go about it that are smarter than others? Certainly.

If you need motivation, read this: You’re ‘Prediabetic’? Join the Club – The New York Times. Why? You might think: I am fine with being overweight. And that’s ok: not everyone looks like a model. But you don’t want to be diabetic if you can help it.

P.S. 2000 calories is a guide. If you are a much smaller person, you might need a smaller number of calories. If you aren’t sure, consult your doctor.

(Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash )

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There is no perfect body for an athlete, and anyone can be fit

Posted on April 12, 2021 | Comments Off on There is no perfect body for an athlete, and anyone can be fit

It can be a problem: people who are fat or whose bodies don’t fit a stereotype of an athlete don’t think they can be fit without changing their body. So they give up or focus on losing weight rather than trying to get fit. That’s too bad. Fitness leads to a better life, regardless of your age or sex or body size.

What I love about this piece is that it clearly shows there is no perfect body shape for an athlete and you can be fit and athletic regardless: The Body Shapes Of The World’s Best Athletes Compared Side By Side | Bored Panda

For more on this, I recommend you read this: In Obesity Research, Fatphobia Is Always the X Factor – Scientific American.

(Image from the Bored Panda site. I recommend you go through it. It is amazing to see just how different are the bodies of athletes in different sports.)

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Fitbit for kids: good or bad?

Posted on March 23, 2021 | Comments Off on Fitbit for kids: good or bad?

I am of two minds on this Fitbit Ace3 Kids Fitness Tracker featured on Uncrate.

The pros are it encourages kids to get fit. It’s designed with kids in mind, unlike other fitness trackers. And it provides them with a watch to track time too.  All good things.

The main con is that all this data for your kid is going somewhere in Google’s cloud. You may not want that to happen. Another con is that these things could take the fun out of fitness. I think it would be a bad thing if kids associated fitness with one more thing they are being graded on.

For some kids this device will be great and it would be a good thing for them to have. You know your kid better than anyone and can make that call.

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It’s a new week. Perhaps you need a new goal for the week. Consider working out in the middle of the day.

Posted on February 15, 2021 | Comments Off on It’s a new week. Perhaps you need a new goal for the week. Consider working out in the middle of the day.

Person doing yoga

I was skeptical of the idea of working out every day, but after I read this, I thought it was a good and achievable goal for a week: Midday Workout Habit — I Tried It: Working Out in the Middle of the Day. The key is to be open to change and not go hard every day. But if you can go harder, try it.

If you are thinking, “exercise? I can barely walk”, then choose walking to be your new fitness routine. If you need advice on that, read this: How to Keep a Fitness Streak — Turn Daily Walks into a Habit.

If you were walking before as exercise and you found it boring (confession, I did), here’s some advice on how to make it more interesting: The Joy of Steps: 20 Ways to Give Purpose to Your Daily Walk

If walking still isn’t your thing, then here’s a guide to finding something good to do: Keeping Fit: How to Do the Right Exercise for Your Age

Remember, you don’t normally have to exercise a lot. Indeed, this article encourages you to take a bit more than 10 minutes to get some benefits: Exercise 11 Minutes a Day for a Longer Life.

While 11 minutes is good to extend your life, if you want to lose weight, then read this: Exercise for Weight Loss: Aim for 300 Minutes a Week

Finally, whatever you do, remember this: Exercise Shouldn’t Feel Horrible

Good luck!
(Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash)

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The Fitbit Aria scale is the honest friend you need if you are worried about your weight. Here’s why.

Posted on December 18, 2020 | 1 comment

I am a huge fan of the Fitbit Aria scale, even when it is brutally honest about my weight situation. It prevents me from deceiving myself about how I am doing. And it encourages me if I’m making even a bit of progress.

The Aria scale measures both your weight and your body fat percentage to the fraction of a pound.  (It also gives you your BMI, but I don’t care about that). That little bit of accuracy helps. I found when I was dieting, sometimes knowing that my weight went down by a fraction of a percentage helped me get through the day. (Motivation often turns on small points like this.) Likewise, right now with the pandemic I see my weight going up by a fraction of a pound every week. So I am trying to get it to go down by a fraction of a pound every week. A half pound every week adds up to 25 pounds in a year.

Having both those numbers prevent you from fooling yourself. If you go on a low carb diet, your weight may drop suddenly, but your body fat percentage may go up alot. (In the past mine did). That tells me that I am not really losing fat or even muscle that quickly. It’s likely water. Over time I did lose weight, but that initial weight loss isn’t what I thought.

The flip side of that is I have noticed my body fat percentage has gone up during the pandemic even though my body weight has stabilized. Makes sense: my physical effort has really gone down hill during the pandemic, and so my muscles have decreased. Sadly. That’s very different from situations I have had in the pre pandemic times when I was working out and my weight was staying the same but my body fat was decreasing. That was good: I was replacing fat with muscle.

Since I also have a fitbit for tracking my activity, all of those numbers sync up in the Fitbit app, which makes it easier for me to track the relationship between my activity and my weight.

I can also use it to track my mental state too. I can tell when I have had stressful times in my life because I either stop eating and suddenly lose weight fast, or I start eating a lot and gain weight fast. I might think I am doing fine, but the numbers say otherwise.

It’s not perfect (what is?).  I tend to weigh myself the first thing every morning. If  eat a carb heavy meal the night before, my weight will be up. If I stop eating early in the evening, my weight will go down. I don’t worry about it though: I am mostly focused on the trends.

I have gone through two of these scales now and if this one dies, I will certainly get another one. I find it too easy to deceive myself about my weight: the Aria scale is the brutally honest friend I need to stay on track.

 

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How to go skating in Toronto in the pandemic

Posted on December 3, 2020 | Comments Off on How to go skating in Toronto in the pandemic

Liisa Ladouceur (shown above) has written a thorough guide for anyone who wants to go skating in Toronto during the pandemic. No, you cannot just show up with your blades and start skating. You need to do more. And you should do more, because skating is a great way to enjoy winter in the pandemic era. So read this: Where to go skating in Toronto in 2020 by Liisa Wanders. Then get out there! Maybe I will see you at a socially safe distance with a fun mask on too.

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Just how short a workout can you do and gain benefits? Would you believe 4 seconds?

Posted on October 20, 2020 | Comments Off on Just how short a workout can you do and gain benefits? Would you believe 4 seconds?


You might find that ridiculous, but if you read this, you might change your mind.

I have been doing what is known as “greasing the groove” while working at home during the pandemic. I have noticed getting stronger. As well, I stretch at least once a day, and I have found I have become more flexible too.

You will not get in the same shape as someone who works out 30-60 minutes every day. Get yourself some weights or even some heavy objects. Or go over to a site like darebee and get a 1 minute workout. After doing it for a few weeks, you will achieve more than you imagined.

Give it a shot.

(Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash)

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In a Hurry? Try Express Weight Training

Posted on October 3, 2020 | Comments Off on In a Hurry? Try Express Weight Training

Weight training has many benefits. If you have been considering it but balking, you likely have multiple reasons for not getting started. One reason might be: you have no time. Well, if you have thirteen minutes, you can do a weight workout. As noted here, In a Hurry? Try Express Weight Training – The New York Times, you can get stronger no matter what. Of three groups tested for strength gain: 

One group was asked to complete five sets of each exercise, with about 90 seconds of rest between sets. Their total time for a session at the gym was almost 70 minutes. A second group was asked to complete three sets of each exercise, requiring they work out for about 40 minutes. The third group had to finish only one set of each exercise, meaning that they were done after a brisk 13 minutes. Each volunteer performed his given workout three times a week for eight weeks and then returned to the lab to repeat the muscle measurements. After the two months, all of the young men were stronger, a finding that, by itself, is beguiling, since it suggests that people can continue to gain strength even if they already are experienced at resistance training. But more interesting and surprising, the strength improvements were essentially the same, no matter how many — or few — sets the men completed. The men who had stopped after one set gained as much strength as those who had done five sets or three.

As with anything, your results may vary. But if you want to get stronger with the least amount of time put in, consider this.

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Three links to help you get back into some kind of fitness routine.

Posted on July 26, 2020 | Comments Off on Three links to help you get back into some kind of fitness routine.

I keep searching for information on fitness, trying to motivate myself to get there. These seemed good to me. If you are in the same slump, check them out:

  1. Just try anything, 3x a week.
  2. Some new fitness routines to try.
  3. Some fitness myths that may be stopping you from exercising.

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Lighten your mental load by lifting a physical one: lift weights to lift depression

You may hate lifting weights, but if you struggle with depression, even from time to time, then you should consider it.

More details, here: Resistance Training May Help Relieve Depression (Time)

What are you looking at in terms of exercise? It says:

He recommends following the guidelines provided by the American College of Sports Medicine: doing strength training at least two days per week by performing eight to 12 repetitions of eight to 10 different strength-building exercises each time.

Sounds hard, but it isn’t. And if you need some exercise routes, go to Darebee and find some routines you need.

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Posted on June 8, 2020 in fitness, new!

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Darebee has great meal plans too (if you feel the need to get off the all you can eat pandemic merry go round)

 

The pandemic working from home has been hard, and for some of us, eating has been a source of joy. However, I am feeling the need to eat better and maybe even shed a few pounds. For help, I am turning to one of my favorite sites for this: Darebee.

I love DareBee.com for it’s fitness routines and the great posters they provide.  They have made getting in some exercise a breeze. But they have other things to help you get fit and live better too. One section of the site is dedicated to Meal Planning. You can find lots of great items there, including ones to help you transition to a vegetarian meal routine

If you feel like eating better, consider checking this out.

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Posted on May 4, 2020 in advice, food

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How to hack your workout routine so you do it more


Ok, fine, your workout routine right now might consist of opening the fridge thirty times a day. That’s fair. It’s hard to get motivated to exercise during a pandemic.

But you might be trapped in thinking that a) I am feeling crappy because I am not exercising but b) exercising makes me feel crappy. It’s a dilemma.

I think this article can help you out of the dilemma: Maybe You’d Exercise More If It Didn’t Feel So Crappy in FiveThirtyEight

I’d rather you read it then summarize it. I will say that one way to get out of the rut you are in is to reconsider what you are exercising for. You may have high goals, and if so, great. But if your goals are: “feel better” then there are plenty of ways to exert yourself (i.e. exercise) that are not crappy. A good long walk (preferably with a destination, at least for me), a bicycle ride, or running around the park with your dog (don’t just stand there) can all work. Stretching daily as a way to break from work is useful. Go to the dollar store and get a jump rope and get outside and skip again. Grab a garbage bag and go pick up some litter (I saw someone on twitter doing this). Do some woodworking or do a lot of batch baking (if you haven’t been exercising, you will find this tiring). Plenty of ways of being active. Or do things like the article says: start off hard into your exercise routine but gradually make it easier and easier.

Most importantly, find an easy way to track it so you stick with it. You will likely find yourself feeling better, or at least less crappy.

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Posted on April 28, 2020 in advice, new!

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Eight easy workouts while staying at home during the pandemic

I am guessing that

  • your exercise routine has died (if not, kudos!)
  • you feel like you should do some form of exercise
  • you are feeling worried about doing workouts outdoors

If this is true, you need some workouts to do at home. Now you might be thinking that you don’t have room or equipment or even the energy to workout at home. Think again: these eight workouts below can be done by most people. There’s a combination of things to make yourself more active during the day, from stretching to exercising:

  1. Morning Stretching
  2. Morning Workout
  3. Energy Boost
  4. Reset Stretch
  5. Mini workout while watching TV
  6. Or while playing video games
  7. Office Yoga
  8. Simple workout before bed

All these workout comes from the DAREBEE website, which has an impressive and excellent database of exercises. You can find all the workouts here, and they are all easily searchable. You can find a workout for pretty much anything.

These days of staying at home during the pandemic are hard days. Being inactive can make it harder. Try lightening things up with a bit of physical activity.

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Posted on April 9, 2020 in fitness, new!

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How should you exercise as you get older?

Like nutrition advice, exercise advice seems to change as often as clothing fashion changes. It can be hard to keep up, and easy to get skeptical that any advice is solid. However, if you want to keep up and are not skeptical, read this: How Smart Exercise Keeps You Younger for Longer.

My take, which is a variation of this, is simple: do a range of exercises, from cardio, to strength, to stretching to balancing. A fitness routine that includes all this is better than a fitness routine that just focuses on one or two areas. And any fitness routine is better than no fitness routine.

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Posted on February 18, 2020 in fitness, new!

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Is warning people about how much exercise it takes to work off a meal a good idea?

According to this, it is: ‘Four hours to walk off pizza calories’ warning works, experts say – BBC News. For example, if you were to buy a pizza or a chocolate bar, they argue that…

Appreciating it would take four hours to walk off the calories in a pizza or 22 minutes to run off a chocolate bar creates an awareness of the energy cost of food, they say.

That’s true. But it’s also not a great comparison. It’s pretty much a given that exercise is not a great way of losing weight, so most foods will come across as requiring a lot of exercise to work off the food. And it may be a lot more exercise than most people do. This will just end up shaming more people than it benefits.

I think a better approach would be to highlight what percentage of your recommended caloric allowance a selection of food is. I believe this would be much better. Foods have something similar already: they tell you what percentage of vitamins, fibre, etc. a selection of food provides for your diet. They could do the same thing with calories. Hey, on some days when you hadn’t had much to eat, something that provides you 50% of your daily calories may be fine.

No matter what, providing health guidance is never simple. But if I had to decide, I’d go with percentages.

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Posted on December 16, 2019 in health, new!

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