I have been seeing a lot of ads and seeing people around me joining short term fitness bootcamps. The fitness bootcamp idea is generally 5 weeks, 2 to 3 times a week workouts with a trainer in a small group for a couple of hours a session. A couple of nights ago Desperate Housewives (the TV show) brought a fitness boot camp to TV.

Have you tried these group workouts out? The idea is great. You learn a lot of new exercises so that your workouts are not as stale and boring and you have this very immediate feedback loop as to whether the workouts are working or not.

In practice though sometimes I wonder whether the fitness bootcamp is a great new idea or just a fad that will go the way of strippercize. Read the rest of this entry »

So oftern I find that I do not have time or am interested in long workouts and I always like those intense short workouts that kill you but also make you feel great a little while afterwards. Well apparently I am not the only one. The study below shows that this is a great way to raise your metabolism.

Sedentary people who find the idea of fitting regular exercise sessions into their lives so difficult that they don’t even try, may be interested to hear about a new study that found even regular short bursts of intense exercise, such as a short session of four to six 30-second high intensity sprints on an exercise bike every two days, showed a significant effect on the body’s ability to metabolize sugars and could be an effective way to cut the risk of diabetes.

This was the conclusion of a study by professor James Timmons and a team of researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, that is to be published in the journal BMC Endocrine Disorders.

Most people know that regular physical activity is a good way to cut the risk of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, but knowing it and doing it are not the same, and many people feel they just don’t have the time to do vigorous aerobic exercise for several hours week, as suggested by many of the current guidelines. Read the rest of this entry »

I have long believed that stretching was something that was very good to do before you did any exercise and I would do my best to pull on my muscles as hard as I could to make sure that I was very well stretched before I started to run or to do weights.

Well a few years ago when I tried to get serious about running one of the runners that I knew filled me in on the truth. You should nexer stretch until you are well warmed up.

Fitness Black Book, a great blog, has a comprehensive article today about whether you should stretch before or after your workout. With some great studys to back up what he says.

I will let you read it first.

Now that you are back I have to say that I like stretching for myself. I know that Rusty says that he hates it but my muscles always feel tight and throughout the day I find myself stretching. As for working out, before my heavy weights that I lift I do a set of every exercise slowly and methodically using very light weights so that my muscles are not cold when I get started.

Apple and nike are working together to make big changes to the Nike+ program in the future.

If you are not yet aware of Nike+ it is a system where you have a sensor in your shoe (doesn’t have to be a Nike shoe) and and iPod. I do not have one yet but the idea is very exciting. You simply put the sensor in or on your shoe. Start up your iPod and start running. The sensor picks up your steps and distance and tracks your speed and when you finish you sync with iTunes to have it track your stats.

A little geeky but I am a sucker for the geeky stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

For an individual who is overweight, exercising to lose that weight is one of the most rewarding activities he/she will ever embark upon.  However, there are literally thousands of activities you can do to burn calories.

It can be intimidating, to say the least, wondering where to start with such a varied array of exercises.  There are certain activities, though, that can take calorie burning to a whole different level. Listed below are the top X ways to burn calories (note: number of calories burned per activity assume a body weight of 150 pounds and exercise time of 30 minutes).

These activities can be split up into three general groups: Gym activities, training and sports activities, and daily life activities. The top gym activites for burning calories include: Read the rest of this entry »

Newsweek has an article this week called 7 Silly Get in shape Gimmicks. The list is strange and includes the following:

Weighted Hula Hooping
Strippercise
The Bodyblade
Cirque du Soleil-Inspired “Aerial Aerobics.”
Wind-Relieving Asana
Wii Fit Ski-Jump
Dorm Room Workouts

So what do you see in all of these different faux-exercises? Well to me it looks like they are all bad ideas that are an extension on something good. Yoga is good, stripping may be good exercise, the Wii is good exercise when done correctly and of course the hula hoop is fun and helps your core strength. Read the rest of this entry »

I occasionally post articles by Craig Ballantyne from Turbulence training. What happens is he will send me articles and if I feel that one of them is good then I will post it here. Well here is one about getting started with high intensity training like Turbulence training suggests. I thought this was interesting because people that are really overweight think that exercise is not possible for them at all.

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Fat loss for obese people can follow the same Turbulence Training workouts that fat loss for advanced people will follow, but we just need to adjust the exercises and intensity. The principles remain the same.

We’ll use multi-muscle exercises. We’ll do them in superset pairs. And yes, we’ll even use interval training for this. It will be modified, but we can still do it.

Recently, my friend and nutrition expert Dr. Chris Mohr interviewed me on how an obese person can use Turbulence Training for fat loss. Read the rest of this entry »

For a few years I was riding a really crappy mountain bike but last year I finally bought myself a decent mountain bike, by decent I mean about $225.

The new bike was good for a year but then I had trouble with the crank being loose and had to take it in to get some work done. The tech at the bike store said I needed to replace the crank but the housing was seized and was not fixable. Fortunately for me there was a 1 year warranty for the bike so I just got the value of the bike as a replacement.

So here finally is where the story turns to my new Diamondback Odyssey. I paid and extra $30 and picked up the bike in the picture here. The new Diamondback Odyssey has a few features that my old bike did not, holder screws for the bike bottle, better gearing, better shocks. Most of all the bike frame fits my body a lot better. I love riding this bike because it fits me great.

I am especially amazed at how quickly in retrospect that me last bike degraded. I can feel the stability of this bike even though the last one was only a year old. I am really seeing what kind of affect that proper and regular maintenance would have helped my last couple of bikes even though my last one was defective.

I ride my bike to and from work everyday, especially tough in winter but in summer the ride is a breeze. I have had a few snowy mornings riding and the new bike has been awesome for the conditions.

I will be writing soon about how to choose a bike, especially since it is the time of year that beings out a bunch of bike sales but just wanted to intro the new member of my family, my new mountain bike.

This morning my wife bought my daughter and son a couple of jump ropes, the problem was they were really long ones that are to be held by two people.

It is a snowy day today in Calgary and so of course the kids wanted to jump rope so we pushed the table aside in the living room and the kids learned to jump rope. It was tons of fun and of course pretty good exercise.

Did you know that a 160 pound person would burn 760 calories in an hour jumping rope? This is the same exercise output of running 6 miles in an hour. I am not sure how good a shape you would have to be in to do this and the coordination that you would need to jump rope for an hour but jumping rope is the speed secret for boxers and other athletes.

Jumping rope is not only good for your coordiantion but it uses the muscles in your arms, shoulders, legs and glutes and is great also for improving your balance. Another great thing about jumping rope is how easy it is to do. Nowadays with 10 foot ceilings in houses it is easy enough to jump rope indoors all winter.

Try jumping rope and see how exhausting but fun it can be as an alternative exercise for you.

Moderately strenuous exercise, about 30 minutes a day, can lead to enormous benefits in terms of your mood, health, weight and the ability to live an independent and fulfilling life. The exercise doesn’t need to be athletic or difficult. Studies have shown that simply walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes or more on most days can lead to significant health improvements. Add simple strengthening exercises two or three times a week and the benefits are even greater.

The January issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter lists some of the benefits of 30 minutes of exercise a day:

Lower blood pressure: A reduction of 5 to 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) is possible. In some cases, that’s enough to prevent or reduce the need for blood pressure medications.

Improve cholesterol: Exercise often increases the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good” cholesterol in the blood), especially when accompanied by weight loss. Exercise also helps reduce triglyceride levels.

Prevent or manage type 2 diabetes: Exercise helps insulin work better, lowering blood sugar.

Manage weight: Coupling exercise with a healthy diet is the best way to shed fat and maintain a healthier body composition.

Prevent osteoporosis: Exercise may increase bone density and protect against bone mass decline, especially if weight-bearing activities are involved.

Prevent cancer: Exercise has been shown to strengthen the immune system, improve circulation, reduce body fat and speed digestion. Each has a role in preventing cancer, particularly cancers of the colon, prostate, uterine lining and breast.

Maintain mental well-being: Exercise may help reduce stress, improve mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety, improve sleep and boost moods.

Increase energy and stamina: A lack of energy often results from inactivity, not age.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/