Is Your Car Making You Fat?
It seems that the more time we spend in a car the fatter we become.
Over time we’ve simply got too used to driving a couple of blocks to run an errand when we could get there under our own steam.
And it’s funny, what do we do when we arrive? We drive around for 5 minutes trying to get a “decent” parking spot – the one that will mean we need the fewest steps possible to get to our destination.
We do all that – and then find we have to join a gym to keep fit and lose weight.
Now I know, some of the distances you travel are probably longer than a couple of blocks but I’m sure you get the picture. Could you do even a little more walking?
Research has shown that at least half the journeys made by car in urban areas are for 3 miles or less (and 41% are less than 2 miles).
It’s not that we can not walk – in fact going everywhere in a car is a modern phenomenon. It’s as if we can’t find our way anywhere under our own steam. It has become the default that we don’t even think to question.
Well why not question it from now on? Every time! Always ask yourself
- could I walk there (safely) or could I carry out the same errand on foot (say at my local store rather than an out of town mega huge faceless store)?
- could I park a little further away?
- could I enjoy my journey more by walking/cycling and getting in touch with what is going on in my local area?
- could walking/cycling mean that I can combine my keep fit routine with my chores today and save myself a bundle of time?
And remember if you are stuck driving in your car a lot you can still get some exercise – remember the 4 Easy Car Exercises post from a few weeks ago
How Much Exercise is Enough?
I’m sure it’s not news to you that working out and eating right can make you younger.
But it’s all a question of degrees. A plateful of broccoli and a gentle stroll in the park once a week are not going to keep any drooping and disintegrating at bay (though they won’t do any harm).
And yet it’s no good overdoing it and making your life one long chore of worthy eating and exercise either. (They do say enjoying yourself and feeling happy keeps you young too).
So how much is enough to push back the years?
Authors Henry Lodge and Chris Crowley of the books “Younger Next Year” and “Younger Next Year for Women” believe it’s quite a lot.
Lodge says “If someone who is sedentary really commits to exercising six days a week, he would be something like 10 or 15 years younger in the functional respect within a year.”
And according to Crowley that commitment consists of relentless, steady exercise including strength training and aerobics six days a week, 45 minutes a day.
In many respects, it’s really not much to combat all the signs of aging we don’t want to see, although of course, you may need to work up to that level if you’re not there already.
How does exercise help combat aging?
According to Lodge, the cells in our body turn over all the time and each time they regenerate they can become a little stronger or a little weaker. Exercise is key to that switch. Along with avoiding the worst dietary excesses. The big culprits in the march towards old age are sugars, simple starches (such as those found in white bread and pasta) and saturated fats.
Of course, the authors have one view about the level of exercise required but not everyone agrees. Some research carried out in the 70s which is the basis for my Fitness in No Time program shows that as little as 10 minutes three times a week can be enough the keep us healthy well into old age.
If you have 45 minutes 6 times a week then I believe it’s a good idea to do that amount of exercise – why not? It will make you feel and look great. You know it will!
But if weeks go by and you’re just not getting out for a run or managing to hit the gym then 10 minutes three times a week of the right exercises sure beats getting old.
***Many Thanks to Gonzalo Haro for that striking image of him aging from 29 to 89!***
Is Your Job Getting in The Way of Your Fitness Plans?
When I was a project manager a few years ago, working flat out, I often didn’t make a gym session I’d planned. Sometimes I didn’t make the three gym sessions I planned for the whole week.
Either there would be a sudden meeting called about some triviality over lunchtime (my gym time) or there’d be a real crisis that needed dealing with.
When I got home I’d be too tired to go out again and there was only once I was organized enough to go to the gym in the morning before work.
Now that I work from home and set my own timetable I have to find other excuses 
But seriously, if you are going to get a fit, healthy toned body you have to find some way to fit exercise in around your work and the rest of your life.
There is no way you are just going to “find” the time to exercise – it has to be found. You are not going to get more than 24 hours in a day so if you want to spend an hour exercising, then something that you were going to spend an hour on is not going to get done. You get to decide what that is – although your boss may have something to say about it if you decide it’s an hour of work!
What are you prepared to give up to feel fit, toned and top of the world?
An hour of rubbish on TV? An hour of lounging about? An hour on the phone or PC? An hour of sleep?
Maybe when I worked in that office I should have always had a plan B for my lunchtime exercise – and followed that Plan B no matter what. I just didn’t get around to it and exercise time was always the first thing to suffer when I got busy – which was most of the time.
I do know that this was one of the many reasons I left my job in the end. Some things are just too important to ignore.
Why Separate Cardio and Weight Training?
It feels great to get your workout over and done with in one session by combining a cardio and muscle training session at the gym.
But if you would like to burn maximum fat, get fit AND strengthen up you are better to work on your fitness and on your muscles in separate sessions rather than working them both on the same day.
That’s because research has shown overall calorie expenditure to be greater when you separate your workouts. It seems you get a metabolic boost each time you work out – and so combining sessions is counter-productive if you want to burn fat.
If you have too many time constraints to work out on separate days, be sure to carry out your weight training first while glycogen stores are highest to make better gains in strength.
Lose Weight: Work Out on an Empty Stomach
If you can manage it, working out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning burns more fat than at any other time.
Don’t ask me about the exact science behind it, but it’s something to do with insulin levels being at their lowest level and glucagon levels being high – causing the body to use fat for fuel.
On top of that, for a double whammy, exercising first thing in the morning will get your metabolism revved up and into high gear for the rest of the day.
Personally I find that I feel light headed if I exercise without eating – and keeling over is not a good idea. I drink a cup of mint tea and eat a big juicy orange and that seems to be enough to tide me over but maybe that defeats the purpose – and I just use the calories from the orange
But if it’s right for your body chemistry then why not give it a go and get out from under the duvet and straight into your fitness gear?
Exercise when under the Weather?
Should you exercise when you don’t feel well?
There’s a general rule of thumb for minor illness which says that if you are sick from the neck up it’s ok to exercise but if you’re sick from the neck down you should take the day off and rest.
By sick from the neck up it means if you have just a head cold, a slight headache or are feeling a bit stuffed up then it should be ok to work out. Sick from the neck down means you are sick all over – you are feeling shivery flu like symptoms and you really should take to your bed, rest and stay hydrated while you recover.
Like all general rules of thumb you have to be sensible about self-diagnosing anything more than a minor cold and talk to your doctor if necessary about any illness you have. And of course, injury is a different matter entirely.
If you do exercise when you are unwell you will probably find your heart rate elevated from it’s usual level and you will reach your maximum heart rate at a gentler pace. So take care not to overdo it because you don’t want to challenge your system when it is already coping with you being under the weather. Use a heart rate monitor if possible and check your heart rate frequently while you work out.
If you just have a head cold you will probably find that you will feel much better after your workout – as well as feeling buoyed up by getting out there and just doing it despite not feeling 100%.
Interval training – Ideal for a Busy Schedule
Interval training is the way to go if you can only manage a 20 minute exercise session but you want all the fitness benefits of a much longer session.
Why is that?
In a long session your body will make the most effort at the start of the session while it gets used to the level of exertion you are asking of it.
If that intensity doesn’t change throughout the session, your heart reaches a “steady state” after a short time and it does not have to make as much effort/expend as much energy to maintain your pace.
You are then coasting along for the remainder of the session – making an effort, of course but not really pushing yourself or using as much energy as you could.
With interval training you work at a higher intensity in intervals with a more moderate recovery pace between bursts. The bursts of higher intensity exercise can last from as little as 30 seconds to as much as a few minutes with the moderate intensity periods being just enough to recover from your high level exertion – usually about one and a half to twice as long. So you might jog for 2 minutes and then run at top speed for a minute and then recover by jogging for two minutes before picking up the pace again.
With this pattern your heart does not reach a steady state – every time you have a burst of higher intensity exercise your heart rate is elevated again and as a result you use more energy to keep your body moving throughout the session, not just during the higher intensity bursts.
If you follow this pattern for 20 minutes you will find that you use as many calories as you would in a much longer session and you will become fitter faster. As well as training your heart, intervals help build new capillaries within your cardiovascular system giving a boost to your endurance. All those new blood vessels mean that you will be better able to take in oxygen as well as deal with the waste products of exercise such as the lactic acid which causes burning and sore muscles.
Take Charge of Your Fitness in the Credit Crunch
Whatever is happening in the world you know that within the next 3 months you could be as fit as Madonna if you put your mind to it, don’t you? And you can feel like a million dollars, credit crunch or no credit crunch.
All things being equal it’s better to be awash with cash than poor as a church mouse, of course. But the wealthy are often trapped in unhealthy bodies whereas you can feel on top of the world for no money at all. See 27 ways to get fit for free if you’re short on ideas on how to get fit when money is tight.
You certainly don’t need a personal trainer (but don’t let me stop you if you can afford one!) and you don’t need a gym (especially one you keep promising yourself you’ll go to but never do). The most important thing you need is motivation to just get out there and do it. And that costs nothing at all.
Being super fit is just one way of staying in control in a world which seems to have been a bit uncontrollable lately. Fitness is something you can do for yourself no matter what happens “out there”!
Exercise: The Best Thing About The End of Summer
Actually I’m not sure we had a summer this year in the U.K. but anyway – it’s definitely becoming colder, windier and wetter so winter must be coming soon.
Many of us give up exercising outdoors in winter (and I must confess that I take to the great indoors for exercise most days come November). But if you can bear to live with the initial chill of getting out your front door you will reap the many benefits of winter exercise.
And the best one?
You will burn more calories than in the summer!
The thing is you will stay cooler so that you can work flat out without getting overheated. This means your workout will feel like less effort and you will work harder. Plus keeping warm itself burns calories – so a workout which feels like less effort (because you stay cool) will actually burn more calories than in the summer.
For the best effect, wear layers which you can take off as you warm up and start with just enough clothing so that when you go outside you feel cool but not so cold you’re shivering while you do your warm up.
If getting out there is a major deal in cold or wet weather, time management coach Mark Forster has a great trick for that. He motivates himself by setting a goal just to Get Outside
Free Stair Climbing for Fat Loss Report
Stair climbing is great exercise as we mentioned before – although, as you probably know, it’s not for the feint of heart.
Personal fitness expert Virgil Aponte is a long time advocate of this method of training and is the author of a the Ultimate Stair Exercises program – a whole program based on this method of training and well worth a look.
Virgil kindly wrote to me this weekend to offer my readers a free copy of his report “Stair Climbing for Fat Loss” – you can download the Stair Climbing for fat loss report here.
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