The shape of things

It's Halloween today and chances are you have some plans either with a big candy jar at the end of the day or at a party with a big cocktail glass. Today is a great day to remind yourself of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle - in hopes that you'll go easy on the candy and cocktails.

MSNBC put together a list of how to exorcise your fitness demons. It's such a great play on words - and a great article - that I decided I'd share it with you today.

Thought this pic was funny. Adrian Grenier gets rid of his fitness demons by becoming Richard Simmons?? (source)

So what are your demons?

If it's always coming up with excuses not to workout - MSNBC says you should create a detailed schedule for the week including time and type of exercise (i.e. monday- 4:30 p.m. run 30 mintes, tue/thur - 5:30 p.m. pilates). This way it will be harder to make excuses if it's already planned into your schedule in the first place.

If you think you're chained to your desk - MSNBC says it's time you learn to let go of being able to finish everything and leave work at the end of a work day, at a decent time.

If you have a terrible diet - You eat healthy the first couple of days, then go way downhill from there - you need to remember that having small treats is not a bad thing, and in fact, if you don't you'll probably continue to spiral downward every week. (See yesterday's post)

If you drink too much - Remember that those cocktails have lots of calories, so a couple of drinks after work could lead to hundreds of calories. If that's the way you unwind, it may be time to find other ways to relieve stress - maybe yoga, massage, pedicures, warm baths.

Read the article here. Have a Happy Halloween!

I'll admit. I've been stuck in a workout rut lately. I'm still churning out three times a week, but lately I've felt that it's been more of a chore. To help that, I started taking some new group classes (spin and pilates) and they have definitely helped me get a little more excited about going to the gym. It's so hot here that my usual evening jogs are just not worth the heat and humidity, and running on the treadmill more than 3 miles is...well... BORING.

So lately at home I've been sneaking in some workouts. It started the other night when I had a little pain in my back, so I broke out my yoga mat and started doing a routine from a magazine while watching Gilmore girls. It was very relaxing. And then on Saturday night my husband and I were watching a movie and decided we needed a break - so he went and played guitar, and I did some more yoga.

It got me thinking about my idea of "working out." For so long (well, pretty much forever) working out for me meant going to the gym sweating it up or running miles around the neighborhood.  But when I thought about it, a lot of the strength moves I do at the gym really don't need any equipment except for a resistance band, a stability ball and a few weights.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go to target and buy up a "home gym" and keep my workouts at home - that just wouldn't work for me. But, it made me think about all the hours I sit at home (either watching tv or something else) where I could take 30-40 minutes and do crunches and an ab routine, or yoga, or pilates, or anything else.

Basically I realized that I don't need to be stuck in this "three workouts a week" and a workout doesn't have to be at a gym, on a run, or make me sweat like crazy. Instead I can get those gym workouts and runs in each week, and I can (in addition) do crunches while watching tv, or do some pre-bed yoga to relax and clear my mind. 

So my goal for the week is to work in some strength training while at home. If you've got any great ideas or home workouts that can be done while watching tv or with very little equipment, please comment and let me know all about it. Here are a few I like:

Self's Very Calming Yoga Routine (not challenging, but very relaxing)
Women's Health Total Body "No-Wait" Workout (you'll need some weights and a stability ball)
Turn on, Tune in, Tone up (This one was made for working out in front of the tv, need weights)

My all-time favorite columnist, Chris Rose, wrote a wonderful piece a few days ago about the lack of quality playgrounds for children in New Orleans. He tried taking his children to several playgrounds that had only one piece of equipment and over-grown grass and were quickly deemed "boring" by his kids. He heard about a company named Kaboom! that donated money and resources to build dynamic playgrounds for children in the hurricane-devastated communities. When Mr. Rose tried to bring his kids to one of the new "Kaboom!" playgrounds, they found them locked and chained (on a Saturday during the summer!!). This prompted him to write a very interesting and witty (like always) piece on how the children of New Orleans have nowhere open to play. That's a very sad thing.

The column brought back great memories of going to the park when I was a kid and sliding down that impossibly tall slide that made you go so fast you thought you were flying. It reminded me of all the summers we spent outdoors playing pirates, orphaned children and boxcar kids (yeah, like the children's book series). It reminded me of riding our bikes around the neighborhood pretending to be on horses (or unicorns). Ah, it was so fun. And the best part was that we were outside, using our imagination, sweating up a storm, and getting tons of physical activity.

I don't have kids - but I've worked at several day camps and it seems to me that a lot of today's children aren't playing outside as much. They have so much to occupy them indoors - video games, tv, internet, myspace (eek), etc. - that the art of playing outdoors and coming up with elaborate ways to keep yourself entertained all summer is completely lost on that generation.

And then I read this article about children (as young as 6!!) getting personal fitness trainers to help them lose weight, get fit, and "gain balance" WHAT?!? Yes, our kids are overweight, and yes, we need them to be active and fit... but outsourcing our children to gym trainers seems outrageously ridiculous and so "American."

Why can't these parents encourage their kids to go outside, ride bikes, go swimming, take up a recreational sport, throw a ball with them outside? I know they might be busy, but are you so busy that you can watch your child eat themselves into obesity??

It all coincides. Because then you have fathers like Mr. Rose, who really wants his kids to play outside, use their imagination and go wild, but unfortunately due to the idiocy that is New Orleans politics, his kids are limited to lame under-kept parks.

And so goes the cycle. We need to end it. We need to make sure every child has access to incredible and safe parks. We need to give them some outlet where they can be fit without going to a personal trainer! We need to encourage our kids to use their imaginations and have fun outdoors even if they don't have a Kaboom! park. We need to make sure our kids know that being active isn't a chore (like going to the gym to be with your trainer) but that it's a part of life. And it's a fun part of life. We need to go outside with the kids, and teach them "balance" on our own.

They're not going to be children forever, and the values you instill in them now will last a lifetime. So come home early from work, don't go to the gym, stop going to happy hour drinks, don't sign up for another professional association and GET HOME and PLAY WITH YOUR KIDS.

I've been reading a lot of fitness articles and information and I have found a common thread on how people respond to news/research/advice that says to have physical activities for at least 30 minutes on most days. And the standard reaction is: "how do I have the time to workout that much, it's not my job?" (by the way, the bold and italic should be pronounced in a very whine-y tone)

It gets me every time. It's not like they told you to workout 3 hours a day each day. That would be tough. It's 30 minutes! And best of all, you can split that up by either doing 3 - 1-hour workouts. (Amounts to 3 hours a week, which would be 6 days of 30 minute workouts) OR you could split it up into 15 or 10 minute increments. Wake up 15 minutes early and go for a jog or walk. Get home at night take the dog for a jog or walk. It doesn't mean you have to go to the gym!

So it got me wondering - how do those of us who do workout regularly (well, most of the time ) fit it into our schedules, because, sorry but we do have lives other than being fit, right? (hey, it's not our jobs)

I admit I don't have the busiest schedule, but I do have a lot on my plate. I'm a newlywed that loves to spend her evenings with her new hubby, I just started a 40-hour a week job sitting at a desk, I'm finishing my Master's degree taking classes and writing a thesis. And yet, I still fit in 3 workouts at the gym and sometimes squeeze in a fun workout on the weekends (i.e. tennis, swimming, or walking in a park). So, how do I do it?

Well I carve out an hour after work and plan on going 4 times a week (Monday-Thursday). Inevitable something comes up on one day (like yesterday's doctor appointment) so I usually end up at the gym for an hour 3 times after work.

Let me know how you squeeze working out into your busy schedule? And if you haven't yet, let these responses be motivation and show you that it is possible because we all have a lot on our plate, but not so much that we can sit back and watch our health deteriorate.

hey, even the President of the United States fits in a workout each morning! Are you busier than him?