Archives for March 2009

Things To Avoid While Working Out So You Won’t Get Hurt

After having an injury in the summer of 2007 to my rotator cuff while involved in some strenuous exercise, I realized just how important it is to be careful when you’re working out so that you can avoid injury. If you don’t take precautionary steps, you can end up injuring yourself like I did, and find yourself on the sidelines for weeks, or even months. And then where will you be?

An article on MSNBC this week talks about some fitness faux pas that many people make when working out that can lead to injury. Here they are – try examining your own situation to see if you’re doing any of these:

Not using the right gear: A lot of people will often not use the right equipment when working out, which can lead to injury. Things like not wearing a helmet when riding a bike or roller blading (A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that 92 percent of bicyclists killed in 2007 reportedly were not wearing a helmet), or not wearing shin guards when playing soccer. Even wearing the wrong type of shoes while running can lead to an injury. Make sure to use the necessary safety gear, and fitness equipment when working out.
Not paying attention to instruction: Many people when they first start playing a sport – or using a new piece of fitness equipment – will try to engage in the activity without first learning how to do it. Not playing tennis correctly? You can get tennis elbow. Not using a piece of weight lifting equipment correctly? You can easily strain a muscle or hurt yourself in other ways. Get some instruction from a personal trainer, a tennis coach or other professional to make sure you’re doing it right!
Overdoing it: This is particularly a risk for those not used to exercising – couch potatoes just getting back into exercise. Instead of overdoing it, ease yourself back into an exercise routine gradually to avoid injury, health problems, etc. Overdoing it can also be a risk for more experienced fitness aficionados. Exercising too hard day in and day out can be harmful to your body and lead to “overuse injuries”. Try alternating hard workouts and easier workouts to stay healthier.
Not varying your routine: If you do the same workouts and exercises day in and day out, it can lead to overuse injuries and muscle imbalances. Instead of running every day, try throwing in some alternate exercises like a workout tape or mountain biking. Cross training is a good idea!
Overexposing yourself to the elements: If you’re going running outside in the winter, make sure you dress appropriately with a first layer of moisture wicking clothing, as well as making sure to wear gloves and a hat. Not doing that can lead to illness. By the same token make sure to stay hydrated in warmer weather, wearing clothing that is conducive to cooling you down. Sunscreen is also a good idea.

Some good ideas to take into account to help you avoid injury.

If I had been more careful and listened to instruction, I may have avoided my rotator cuff injury. The injury happened because I wasn’t using proper form while lifting some heavy weights. That allowed me to get off balance, and to tear the rotator cuff. If I had used proper form I wouldn’t have been on the sidelines for 4-5 months while it healed. I’ll be more careful next time.

Have you ever had a situation where you injured yourself because you weren’t being careful, using the right equipment or weren’t using common sense? Tell us about it in the comments.

Working Out When Sick: Is It A Good Idea?

By Peter 3 Comments

These last few months have been tough ones on my diet, and on my exercise regimen. It seems like every time I get motivated and start working out, something will blindside me and I get short circuited. This year it has mostly been because I’ve been sick off and on for a good part of the year. In fact, right now I’m coming off of being sick for over a week with an ear infection, pink eye and a sinus infection. Not fun!

The Center For Disease Control estimates that during flu season up to 20 percent of Americans will suffer from the flu. That’s a lot of people getting sick!

One thing I’ve been curious about through all this sickness was whether or not it’s a good idea to work out when you’re sick, or whether you should put a hold on exercise until your body has recuperated.

An article on CNN.com gives one expert’s opinion on whether or not you should exercise during illness:

At least one expert says that if you think you’re coming down with a cold or the flu you should probably skip your daily workout.

“I tell people to listen to their bodies. If they are sick, their body is telling them something is wrong.” said Dr. Rick Kellerman of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Even though it may be tempting to not break an exercise routine, working out may actually prolong the illness,” Kellerman said. And, in rare cases “viruses can damage heart muscles,” he added.

Kellerman said it is a myth that you can sweat out germs and toxins. He acknowledges that “low levels of exercise increase endorphins and benefit the body, but an intense workout that creates high levels of endorphins can wear down the immune system.”

In other words, “Don’t count on endorphins to heal you,” he said.

So working out when you’re sick can actually be bad for you in some cases, and may even prolong the illness. Some low level of exercise is probbably ok, and may benefit the body, but intense workouts probably aren’t a good idea.

So when should you, and when shouldn’t you exercise?

Kellerman advises his patients to skip their workout if they have a fever. It puts too much stress on the heart, which already is beating faster because of the higher body temperature. If you’re suffering from chest congestion, coughing and shortness of breath, he said, you also shouldn’t work out. And exercising with a stomach ache will probably make you feel worse, he added.

But if you have the sniffles and milder symptoms of a cold, moderate exercise is probably OK, Kellerman said.

Only have the sniffles and a head cold? You’re probably alright for some moderate exercise. More severe? Hit the sheets and rest up!

So a couple of things to remember:

Have the flu, a fever or coughing or shortness of breath? You’re probably better off not exercising
Have a slight cold or a runny nose? You’re probably fine with some light cardio. It may even help a little. Don’t overdo it though!

Have you ever exercised while sick? How did it affect you? Let us know in the comments.

How Much Exercise Do You Need To Lose Weight?

By Peter 15 Comments

Whenever I’ve looked into information about losing weight, and how much time you should be exercising every day in order to lose weight, I would always hear a quote about how you need to exercise 30 minutes a day 3-5 times a week in order to see any type of sustainable weight loss.

how much exercise to lose weight

Today I was reading an article on MSNBC.com that wants to modify that notion a bit. 30 minutes 5 times a week may not be enough any more!

Greater amounts of physical activity than currently recommended may be necessary to prevent people from gaining weight, and to help them lose weight and keep it off, according to updated guidelines issued by the American College of Sports Medicine.

In a 2001 position paper, the ACSM recommended a minimum of 150 minutes per week (roughly 30 minutes per day 5 times per week) of moderate-intensity physical activity for overweight and obese adults to improve health; however, 200 to 300 minutes per week was recommended for long-term weight loss.

“More recent evidence has supported this recommendation and has indicated that more physical activity may be necessary to prevent weight regain after weight loss,” reads the ACSM’s position paper published in the latest issue of the College’s journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Specifically, evidence published after 1999 indicates that between 150 and 250 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity is effective in preventing weight gain greater than 3% in most adults but will provide “only modest” weight loss.

Greater amounts of weekly physical activity — in the order of 250 minutes or more per week — have been associated with “significant” weight loss, the ACSM notes. Overweight and obese adults will most likely lose more weight and keep it off with at least 250 minutes per week of exercise.

So if you want to lose a significant amount of weight – and keep it off, you should be exercising at least 250 minutes per week, or 50 minutes a day 5 times a week. Ok, that’s doable!

They also suggest including weight training as a part of your regimen, to help increase your fat free body mass.

Once you’ve lost the weight, continue on with your new fit habits to keep the weight off!

How much are you exercising every week? Is it enough? Do you need to be exercising more?

Here’s My Home Gym. What Does Yours Look Like?

By Peter 9 Comments

I’m always interested to know what kind of a setup other fitness bloggers are working with in their home gyms. Do they have fancy weight machines, $3000 treadmills and other workout equipment? Are they working with just a set of elastic resistance bands and a workout video? Or do they just go to a gym?

In the interests of sharing what I’m doing I thought I would share a few pictures of the setup I have in my house. If you’re a blogger, put up a post of your setup as well – and leave a comment here. I’d love to see what you have, and how you use it! I’ll update with links if anyone is bold enough to answer the challenge!

My Setup

So what kind of setup am I using in my home gym? I have a pretty basic setup, but for me it has proven to be pretty effective. I don’t think you have to have a lot of fancy equipment to get started on the road to fitness.

Weights For Weight Training

First, I have a set of weights (pictured below). The weight set was actually pretty expensive because I bought it piece by piece and each weight is actually pretty pricy on its own. I’m sure I spent several hundred dollars piecing the weight set together. If I had it to do all over again I would probably end up buying an all in one weight set where you dial in the weight, and then use only what weight you need to for the exercise you’re doing. Something like this one.

Treadmill

Second, I have a treadmill for doing my cardio days. Personally I think a treadmill is almost a necessity in a cold climate like we have here in Minnesota. I am NOT going outside to go running on a -23 degree day, like we’ve had recently. We bought our treadmill, made by Fuel, for about $650 last year (pictured below). We bought it to replace my wife’s walking only model that I wasn’t able to use (because I’m too heavy).

We’ve been extremely happy with the treadmill, and we were told that it is basically the same as a more expensive model made by Sole. Same factory, etc – just a different label and less features/programs on the console. Highly recommended! Check out the comparable Sole F63 on Amazon.

Other Workout Tools

Other things that I use in my workouts include a workout dvd from the TV show – “The Biggest Loser”. I used to hate doing workout videos, it just seemed so silly. But this one that I use is actually a lot of fun. Check it out here.

One last tool I have in my arsenal is a set of workout dvds that I just bought used online. It is the P90X workout series. It promises to be tough to complete, but I need a challenge right now! Check it out here.

How About You?

How about you? What do your workout facilities at home look like? Do a blog post and show us! If you don’t have a home gym, why not?