I recently came across this brief article on the Huffington Post which recommends five different apps to help you get fit without a coach. I haven't tried any of these apps but, from what I've seen on facebook Couch-to-5K seems to be popular and, people seem to be sticking with the program. We all know that it is difficult to get fit or or maintain a routine so, any tool that can help you is great. I haven't found a fitness app that I have wanted to use but, I do enjoy the calorie counting app My Fitness Pal.
So what fitness apps do you use or like and, what ones have you found to be more of a hindrance than helpful? I look forward to your responses in the comments.
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Exercise Update - May 2013 Edition
For the most part my fitness routine hasn't changed much from last month. I did decide to move all of my bodyweight leg work to the cardio days. I was often feeling tired and sore and my joints felt like they could use some extra rest. When I do Insanity on Tuesday and Saturday I do 3 sets of pistol squats during the stretching. Despite Shaun T insisting that the stretch is the most important part of the workout besides the warm up I disagree. I've started doing some dynamic stretching before going into the sets of the pistol squats. I often found that the static stretching sequence was leaving me tired and not ready to jump back into the intense cardio. I also now spend more time stretching at the end of the workout.
I have been able to push much harder during the Insanity workouts since moving the body weight leg work to those days. I've been able to get my sustained heart rate very high, in the low 160's, which is about as hard as I can go. Overall this change has made me feel better about both my cardio and body weight resistance training.
I was doing yoga on some Thursdays but have changed that to active recovery days consisting of stretching and walking. I changed this because I felt like my body could really use the extra day off during the week. I've also become tired of the same yoga dvd routines that I own. Once a workout becomes uninteresting it is generally a good time to change it up. I do plan on continuing with yoga but I'll need to join a class or buy some new dvds!
Coming up in June I have some exciting stuff going on such as my birthday and a trip to Florence. I'm hoping that the added year and delicious carby Italian food don't doom my waistline. I'm sure I'll be doing lots of walking so I think I'll be fine (tell that to the pizza and pastries though). There is also a new beer store with great selection (by German standards) in Hamburg called Craft Beer Store so I'll also be battling temptation while at home to only sample a reasonable amount of tasty beers. I also started a new beer blog called, Average Guy's Guide to Beer, which you should check out. Don't worry though I will still update this blog with monthly beer reviews!
I have been able to push much harder during the Insanity workouts since moving the body weight leg work to those days. I've been able to get my sustained heart rate very high, in the low 160's, which is about as hard as I can go. Overall this change has made me feel better about both my cardio and body weight resistance training.
I was doing yoga on some Thursdays but have changed that to active recovery days consisting of stretching and walking. I changed this because I felt like my body could really use the extra day off during the week. I've also become tired of the same yoga dvd routines that I own. Once a workout becomes uninteresting it is generally a good time to change it up. I do plan on continuing with yoga but I'll need to join a class or buy some new dvds!
Coming up in June I have some exciting stuff going on such as my birthday and a trip to Florence. I'm hoping that the added year and delicious carby Italian food don't doom my waistline. I'm sure I'll be doing lots of walking so I think I'll be fine (tell that to the pizza and pastries though). There is also a new beer store with great selection (by German standards) in Hamburg called Craft Beer Store so I'll also be battling temptation while at home to only sample a reasonable amount of tasty beers. I also started a new beer blog called, Average Guy's Guide to Beer, which you should check out. Don't worry though I will still update this blog with monthly beer reviews!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Review: 7 Minute Research Based Whole Body Workout
I recently came across an interesting article on lifehacker. It was a quick whole body workout based on scientific research. If you would like to read the original journal article you can here. I can see several benefits from the workout although it is lacking if you are in better shape.
I think the strongest point of the workout is that it can be done in only 7 minutes. The article states that the routine should be done for twenty minutes but going through once to get acclimated would work if you haven't exercised for a while. Each exercise is done for thirty seconds with ten seconds of rest in between exercises (this actually comes to more than 7 minutes but I guess it sounded cooler like that?). This kind of high intensity interval training has been shown to be great for you. The exercises are setup to work different muscle groups in rapid succession. The most common excuse for not exercising I hear is that people don't have time and since this can take less than ten minutes I think most people could fit it into their schedule.
Another great aspect of this routine is that it only requires a chair. I think the next biggest obstacle that keeps people from exercising is the cost of equipment and gym memberships. I myself have avoided joining a gym recently do to the high cost of all the gyms in my area. Also if for some reason you don't have a chair only two of the exercises in the routine require one and you may be able to find other objects to substitute for the chair if needed. This routine could easily be done in a hotel room or while traveling. It is always good to have an idea of an easy body weight routine you can employ if you want to exercise and can't get to the gym.
This workout is obviously targeted towards a person who is sedentary. This isn't a negative if it fits your current level of fitness but I would also imagine that this routine could become unchallenging in a short amount of time. If it serves the purpose of getting someone motivated to exercise again than that is all that matters. It would work to do more rounds of the routine but that also has limited potential. I couldn't imagine someone doing this for more than three rounds before they would get bored and the workout wouldn't be short then either.
I think the largest shortcoming of this routine is the lack of back exercises. I can understand why they are left out. The two most common and effective bodyweight exercises are pull ups and rows and both of those would require more equipment than just a chair. It is possible to do bodyweight rows with a table or two chairs but it is difficult to grip the edge of a table and chairs often lack the weight and balance to be safe to do a row with. Also most people who are sedentary would lack the strength to do pull ups and rows with proper form. A pull up bar and a chair can be used to build up strength until you are able to do pull ups without assistance but once again that requires more equipment which doesn't work with the concept of this routine.
Overall the 7 minutes research based workout is a great routine for a sedentary person to start getting back into shape. Quick simple routines that don't need much equipment and use bodyweight are an excellent starting point for most people who don't exercise. The lack of back exercises is the main flaw I find with this routine. A pull up bar is a small investment and pull ups and rows could easily be added in the routine. Exercise is very important and if you are short on time or have been putting in too many reps on the couch this could help you get back up on your feet and full of energy.
One last question though ... does anyone actually do crunchs anymore? (The abdominal crunch is exercise four in the routine if you haven't check it out yet).
I think the strongest point of the workout is that it can be done in only 7 minutes. The article states that the routine should be done for twenty minutes but going through once to get acclimated would work if you haven't exercised for a while. Each exercise is done for thirty seconds with ten seconds of rest in between exercises (this actually comes to more than 7 minutes but I guess it sounded cooler like that?). This kind of high intensity interval training has been shown to be great for you. The exercises are setup to work different muscle groups in rapid succession. The most common excuse for not exercising I hear is that people don't have time and since this can take less than ten minutes I think most people could fit it into their schedule.
Another great aspect of this routine is that it only requires a chair. I think the next biggest obstacle that keeps people from exercising is the cost of equipment and gym memberships. I myself have avoided joining a gym recently do to the high cost of all the gyms in my area. Also if for some reason you don't have a chair only two of the exercises in the routine require one and you may be able to find other objects to substitute for the chair if needed. This routine could easily be done in a hotel room or while traveling. It is always good to have an idea of an easy body weight routine you can employ if you want to exercise and can't get to the gym.
This workout is obviously targeted towards a person who is sedentary. This isn't a negative if it fits your current level of fitness but I would also imagine that this routine could become unchallenging in a short amount of time. If it serves the purpose of getting someone motivated to exercise again than that is all that matters. It would work to do more rounds of the routine but that also has limited potential. I couldn't imagine someone doing this for more than three rounds before they would get bored and the workout wouldn't be short then either.
I think the largest shortcoming of this routine is the lack of back exercises. I can understand why they are left out. The two most common and effective bodyweight exercises are pull ups and rows and both of those would require more equipment than just a chair. It is possible to do bodyweight rows with a table or two chairs but it is difficult to grip the edge of a table and chairs often lack the weight and balance to be safe to do a row with. Also most people who are sedentary would lack the strength to do pull ups and rows with proper form. A pull up bar and a chair can be used to build up strength until you are able to do pull ups without assistance but once again that requires more equipment which doesn't work with the concept of this routine.
Overall the 7 minutes research based workout is a great routine for a sedentary person to start getting back into shape. Quick simple routines that don't need much equipment and use bodyweight are an excellent starting point for most people who don't exercise. The lack of back exercises is the main flaw I find with this routine. A pull up bar is a small investment and pull ups and rows could easily be added in the routine. Exercise is very important and if you are short on time or have been putting in too many reps on the couch this could help you get back up on your feet and full of energy.
One last question though ... does anyone actually do crunchs anymore? (The abdominal crunch is exercise four in the routine if you haven't check it out yet).
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Do you Exercise while on Vacation or Traveling for Work?
While on vacation last week I was wondering to myself if other people exercise while traveling. I was already planning a week off from exercise so I didn't but I have in the past and sometimes I do enjoy working out while traveling. Looking back I probably should have spent some time in the evening doing some stretching or basic yoga but at the time I didn't feel like it.
I think the most significant obstacle to working out while traveling is having a place to do it. If your hotel doesn't have a gym your options are already limited. You could try your room but many hotel rooms lack adequate space for exercise. There is always the option of going for a run but for people such as myself who don't enjoy running this isn't much of an alternative. The next incumberance is time which stops many people from exercising while at home let alone on the road. Long days and modified schedules don't lend themselves to finding time for the gym but exercise can help to normalize your day and improve your sleep.
One factor which can keep me from exercise on vacation is all the walking I do during the day. My wife and I often rely on public transit while on vacation but still spend hours everyday walking from different sites and places to get food and drink. This is already a significant amount of exercise so additional cardio probably wouldn't be warranted. I still remember a few months back while in Stockholm I discovered that my gym had a large selection of free weights including a squat rack. I decided that I desperately needed to do some squats and went at it pretty hard and heavy. I found walking extremely challenging which made all the walking on vacation seem like a monumental task. Needless to say resistance exercise might not be worth it on vacation too (although I did feel more justified in savaging the breakfast buffet after my workout).
So do you exercise while on vacation or traveling? I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments.
And for your viewing pleasure a few pictures from my trip to Bergamo and Milan, Italy.
I think the most significant obstacle to working out while traveling is having a place to do it. If your hotel doesn't have a gym your options are already limited. You could try your room but many hotel rooms lack adequate space for exercise. There is always the option of going for a run but for people such as myself who don't enjoy running this isn't much of an alternative. The next incumberance is time which stops many people from exercising while at home let alone on the road. Long days and modified schedules don't lend themselves to finding time for the gym but exercise can help to normalize your day and improve your sleep.
One factor which can keep me from exercise on vacation is all the walking I do during the day. My wife and I often rely on public transit while on vacation but still spend hours everyday walking from different sites and places to get food and drink. This is already a significant amount of exercise so additional cardio probably wouldn't be warranted. I still remember a few months back while in Stockholm I discovered that my gym had a large selection of free weights including a squat rack. I decided that I desperately needed to do some squats and went at it pretty hard and heavy. I found walking extremely challenging which made all the walking on vacation seem like a monumental task. Needless to say resistance exercise might not be worth it on vacation too (although I did feel more justified in savaging the breakfast buffet after my workout).
So do you exercise while on vacation or traveling? I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments.
And for your viewing pleasure a few pictures from my trip to Bergamo and Milan, Italy.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
My Fitness Pal App Review
I've dieted on and off over the years and like most people I've found it difficult. One of the main struggles with being on a diet is needing to count calories. Most people (myself included) can not look at a box, plate, or utensil full of food and accurately know how many calories it contains. One of the rare health benefits of prepackaged food is that calorie and nutrition information is contained on the side but, even then it can be difficult to tell what half a box is. Maybe after awhile you have the hang of what most of your frequent foods are going to give you calorie wise but at that point you would still need to log them. One way to avoid all of this headache and get your diet on track is with a diet app like My Fitness Pal.
The main benefit of this app is that it is a quick easy to use tool which can track calories and nutritional information. Just input your current weight and how much weight you want to lose or gain and it will tell you how many daily calories to eat. From there one just needs to start actually tracking their food intake. At first this seems like it will be very time consuming but, the app already has "over 1 million foods" in their database. The barcode scanner or search function often quickly bring results to your finger tips. If the food you're eating isn't included it can quickly be added. The app also has the ability to store recipes and meals if you have frequently eaten items you want to track without having to reenter all the individual items. I've found this as well as the ability to copy meals to other days useful (this can only be done for meals at the same time such as breakfast to breakfast). One problem that you may encounter with food items already in the database is that they may have incomplete or incorrect nutritional or caloric information. If this happens you just need to create a new food with a slightly different name. The more you use the app the easier it becomes because most of us eat similar foods day to day and week to week. Calorie and nutrition tracking is the strong point and focus of this app and it shows.
There are many other useful categories of diet and fitness information that can be tracked such as weight and body measurements. I really enjoy being able to input my weight over time and see it displayed on a graph. The one drawback is that it will only show up to the last three months. For most people dieting is a long process with many ups and downs and three months of information will not do it justice (unless you want to forget your holiday binge!). Sometimes more important then knowing your weight is knowing your measurements and My Fitness Pal allows you to track your neck, waist, and hip measurements for three months as well. I'm surprised and disappointed that chest isn't included in the measurements as well. It would also help to include other areas of the body such as upper arm and leg measurements to give a full picture of progress. I'm definitely glad that the app includes the ability to track some of your measurements but there is room for improvement.
I think one possible pitfall of the app is the tracking of calories burned from cardiovascular activity directly through the app. It can be interesting and some quick positive reinforcement to see that I burned 580 calories from water jogging for 60 minutes but, there is a strong tendency to overestimate energy expenditure. I've found a much better plan for dieting is to set your daily calorie limit and don't subtract calories for exercise. People tend not only to overestimate energy expenditure but also to eat more after exercising from thinking that they just blasted through two jelly filled donuts (calories taken from first search result from the app!). There is a common feeling that calories out are safe to reward as calories in and therefore 580 burned at water jogging allows two 290 calorie jelly filled donuts ... it is all supply and demand right? The app allows you to set your activity level from sedentary to very active and I feel like this is a good basis, even if you are rigorously and consistently exercising, to base your daily caloric needs on instead of subtracting calories burned from exercise.
One aspect of the app that I haven't explored that people may like is the social networking feature found under the friends tab. It allows you to connect with other My Fitness Pal users and keep each other motivated and offer support. I've often read that it is easier and more effective to diet with a friend and since you can keep in touch with people all over the world using the app this will be even easier. I don't think I will use this feature of the app but, I do see its appeal.
Overall My Fitness Pal is a great tool to help guide your diet. Tracking information is quick and simple which takes away one of the more previously daunting and important aspects of anyone's diet. The app could use a few more features and I hope that they will improve their product with future releases. Ultimately the app is only as good as the information you put in and take away from it but at this point I would consider My Fitness Pal an essential tool for the modern dieter.
Rating: 8/10
The main benefit of this app is that it is a quick easy to use tool which can track calories and nutritional information. Just input your current weight and how much weight you want to lose or gain and it will tell you how many daily calories to eat. From there one just needs to start actually tracking their food intake. At first this seems like it will be very time consuming but, the app already has "over 1 million foods" in their database. The barcode scanner or search function often quickly bring results to your finger tips. If the food you're eating isn't included it can quickly be added. The app also has the ability to store recipes and meals if you have frequently eaten items you want to track without having to reenter all the individual items. I've found this as well as the ability to copy meals to other days useful (this can only be done for meals at the same time such as breakfast to breakfast). One problem that you may encounter with food items already in the database is that they may have incomplete or incorrect nutritional or caloric information. If this happens you just need to create a new food with a slightly different name. The more you use the app the easier it becomes because most of us eat similar foods day to day and week to week. Calorie and nutrition tracking is the strong point and focus of this app and it shows.
There are many other useful categories of diet and fitness information that can be tracked such as weight and body measurements. I really enjoy being able to input my weight over time and see it displayed on a graph. The one drawback is that it will only show up to the last three months. For most people dieting is a long process with many ups and downs and three months of information will not do it justice (unless you want to forget your holiday binge!). Sometimes more important then knowing your weight is knowing your measurements and My Fitness Pal allows you to track your neck, waist, and hip measurements for three months as well. I'm surprised and disappointed that chest isn't included in the measurements as well. It would also help to include other areas of the body such as upper arm and leg measurements to give a full picture of progress. I'm definitely glad that the app includes the ability to track some of your measurements but there is room for improvement.
I think one possible pitfall of the app is the tracking of calories burned from cardiovascular activity directly through the app. It can be interesting and some quick positive reinforcement to see that I burned 580 calories from water jogging for 60 minutes but, there is a strong tendency to overestimate energy expenditure. I've found a much better plan for dieting is to set your daily calorie limit and don't subtract calories for exercise. People tend not only to overestimate energy expenditure but also to eat more after exercising from thinking that they just blasted through two jelly filled donuts (calories taken from first search result from the app!). There is a common feeling that calories out are safe to reward as calories in and therefore 580 burned at water jogging allows two 290 calorie jelly filled donuts ... it is all supply and demand right? The app allows you to set your activity level from sedentary to very active and I feel like this is a good basis, even if you are rigorously and consistently exercising, to base your daily caloric needs on instead of subtracting calories burned from exercise.
One aspect of the app that I haven't explored that people may like is the social networking feature found under the friends tab. It allows you to connect with other My Fitness Pal users and keep each other motivated and offer support. I've often read that it is easier and more effective to diet with a friend and since you can keep in touch with people all over the world using the app this will be even easier. I don't think I will use this feature of the app but, I do see its appeal.
Overall My Fitness Pal is a great tool to help guide your diet. Tracking information is quick and simple which takes away one of the more previously daunting and important aspects of anyone's diet. The app could use a few more features and I hope that they will improve their product with future releases. Ultimately the app is only as good as the information you put in and take away from it but at this point I would consider My Fitness Pal an essential tool for the modern dieter.
Rating: 8/10
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