Changes June 26, 2008
Posted by regimit in Activities.add a comment
I’ve been doing 20 minutes a day on the elliptical and/or riding the bike and/or walking a mile or more a day since late April. I’ve only technically lost two pounds, but things fit better, and I look better. People have started asking me if I’m losing weight and saying that I look good. After five years of trying with no results, this feels really good! And it has provided incentive to keep going. My daughter and I walked about 3 miles today, and I’m riding the bike to work tomorrow. Summer is nice.
Is There a Trainer in the House? June 21, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Fitness.1 comment so far
I had a good run tonight. I’m repeating Week 3 of the <a title=”Cool Running” href=”http://www.coolrunning.com”>Cool Running</a> <a title=”The 5k running program” href=”http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml”>Couch-to-5k-Run Progam</a>, and as I burned through the first 200-yard stretch tonight I thought I was toast. I got my head right by the end, though, and pushed through the last 400 yards and stacked on a few extra yards for good measure.
The problem is my right leg is killing me. My left’s a little achy, but my right is hurtin’. It might be shin splints, but I’m starting to worry it’s skeletal rather than muscular this time around. Each impact brought a zap of pain, so I started concentrating on the way my foot hit the track. I’m not 100% sure, but it feels like I’m landing flat-footed and rolling onto the ball of my foot a little too quickly.
I’ve read a few sources discussing the proper stride, but my question is how do you <em>train</em> that stride. I try to alter my stride on the track, but it’s tough; I keep falling back into the bad habit. That makes me wonder if I’ve got tight muscles or screwy joints that are preventing me from doing it right. If so, what should I be doing to correct this?
I let an ingrown toenail get out of control a decade ago, and I dealt with it for far too long by limping around. Then I did it again with the other foot a year or so later. That screwed up my gait for a long time. I caught myself walking on the outside edges of my feet and not rolling off the front of my foot, and I’m worried this may be a lingering problem.
So, again, any trainers in the house?
Routines and Activities June 15, 2008
Posted by regimit in Activities.add a comment
I wish I could answer Mike’s question about how to keep a routine. I’m not terribly good at it. But I have managed to keep jogging on the elliptical machine several times a week and riding my bike to work. The problem I have is saying, “Well, I rode my bike to work today so I don’t have to get on the machine.” My motivation is the results I’m seeing. I haven’t lost a lot of weight (2 pounds, according to the doctor), but my clothes fit better. And I *feel* better. I like that. I live by an ice cream shop that does a “Doozie’s Run” every couple of weeks during the summer. They’re fun runs, not competitive, and you can choose 1 mile, 3 mile, or 5 mile paths. I jogged and walked with my daughter and did 3 miles in 41 minutes. That’s pretty good considering the state of my knees – which has improved with using the machine – and the fact that when I jog on the machine I do about a mile and a half in 25 minutes. I plan to keep doing the runs as motivation. There’s nothing like seeing skinny little teenagers or, worse, older people who can run 5 miles in the time it takes you to do 3 to get you motivated. All the same, I’m in much better shape than I was a year ago and I’m betting the rest of you are, too.
I Shall Call Him Mini Me June 12, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Activities.add a comment
Nike+ has added a new feature to their website, the Nike Mini, which is a customized, animated avatar that reflects your energy level. You can check out my Mini here.
Cute little devil, ain’t he? He’s a better dancer than I am, too. I’ve just made him the screen saver on my iMac, so if he starts slowing down or running of out energy, I’ll know I need to get my ass back on the track. The program’s still in beta, but I’m hoping in the future I’ll be able to add him to my sidebar as a small Flash applet or something; it’ll be more interesting than the current Nike+ goal window.
Speaking of, those of you who visit my website directly (as opposed to reading in RSS or on MySpace) may have noticed the return of the Nike+ goal window. I’ve set another goal for 10 runs in 4 weeks. I may bump that up next time, but for now with Wizard World coming up at the end of the month and a probable short trip next month, 10 runs in 4 weeks is a reasonable goal.
Maintaining Habits June 4, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Advice, Routine.Tags: habits, karate
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Developing a routine is easy. Maintaining a routine is difficult.
At least it is for me. If I miss a couple of days — sometimes just a day — I completely fall off the routine. My running is a good example: I made my goal, then crummy weather returned and I ramped up my karate workouts in prep for a big review, and I haven’t run since. I want to rectify that, but I’m finding it difficult to shake the new routine, especially when we’ve been seeing thunderstorms and tornado warnings for the last week or so.
I’m glad I found Steve Pavlina’s blog post “How to Maintain Not-Quite-Daily Habits”. He offers five tips, most of them easy to follow. It’s easy to see how they could be effective, and I’m already looking into how I can start setting up one or two.
I’ll add a related note to the list, that of developing a specific workout routine. Rather than making up a karate workout as I go along, for example, I could develop a full calendar which would tell me exactly what to practice on a given night. It would help me both make sure I cover everything and give me a visual checklist for the day so I know when I have and haven’t worked out.
Anyone have a better way to maintain routines?
Educate Yourself June 3, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Fitness.Tags: fad diets, mens health, muata kamdibe
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Face it: most fad diets are bullshit.
In the last two jobs I’ve worked, I’ve had co-workers try this diet and that in hopes of losing weight. Oftentimes it will work for about a month, then they’ll gain the weight right back (and sometimes more). They don’t look into why the diet works, or how the diet affects the body, they just change their eating routine and hope for the best.
This weekend I read about Muata Kamdibe, a college professor who lost 133 pounds over four years through eating smart and exercising. An important lesson I picked up is the way he researched the way food and exercise affects the body, and he used that rather than following strange diets that may affect the body different ways for different people. In fact, he tried the Atkins himself before stalling out on it and looking into why it does or doesn’t work.
My tome of choice is Men’s Health. It’s full of articles and tips on food and exercise, and none of it has anything to do with bizarre and/or limiting eating routines. It keeps me motivated and gives me ideas to shake things up in my own routine.
Whatever your source, definitely educate yourself. Food’s important for the body, but don’t neglect to feed your mind. Brain food is the real fuel for fitness.
