Exercise
So, there's this fitness/exercise thing I've been doing. I spend a lot of time thinking about it these days. Maybe I should get some of those thoughts down in case they'll be useful to a future me, or to someone else. This got long.
Since February, I've been walking, stretching, climbing stairs, lifting weights, and dancing regularly. I've completed the 200 Sit-ups Training Program and am on the final week of 200 Squats. I just started 100 Push-ups. My strength, balance, posture, and flexibility are remarkably improved. I have lots more energy. Everything physical I do is easier and more fun. I don't get out of breath walking up a flight of stairs anymore. In fact, last weekend at PenguiCon I did nine flights. It was certainly a cardio workout for me, but I didn't have to stop to rest in the middle and I didn't feel like I was going to die. I have also lost (approximately) 14 pounds and dropped more than one but less than two sizes. I don't look a whole lot different to others, I don't think--partly because I'm broke and still wearing the same clothes which are now baggier and less flattering--but I'm seeing some subtle changes in the mirror that I really like.
I'm not in this for weight loss itself. I'd be lying if I said it didn't please me to see the number on the scale slowly creep down, but it really is an incidental benefit. My main goals are strength and health. This is the only body I get. I want it to WORK. I have a lot of work for it to do! I want to be able to climb hills and stairs, to be able to say, "no thanks, I've got it" when people offer to help me carry heavy things, to get down on the floor to play with the nephews and get up again without effort, to dance for as long as the music moves me. To be able to do these things with ease and grace. To be able to do what I need to do by myself when I need to and to be able to offer a strong back and arms to help others when they need it.
I want to be healthy. There's no such thing as a panacea, but the closest thing we have to one is exercise. I'm obese, I'm pushing pretty damn close to 40, diabetes is all over my family tree, and it's probably time to start paying attention to my risk factors for cardiovascular disease too. A sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits don't really help much of anything.
I'm not on a diet.* I haven't cut any particular food or macronutrient out of my life. Ihaven't been counting calories or fat grams or carbs. I have made myself a couple of simple food goals: Try to eat more fruits, vegetables, fiber, and whole grains; try to eat out less and cook at home more (also good for the budget:); never use the excuse "but I worked out today!" to eat more or differently than I would have without the increased activity levels. I've been varying degrees of overweight to obese pretty much my whole life and have done the usual run of weight-loss plans. I KNOW dieting doesn't work, for me, for the long-term. Food--growing it, cooking it, sharing it, eating it--is one of my joys. Nothing that strips that joy out of my life will work for me in the long run.
I've learned some useful things about exercise and maintaining an exercise program along the way. These work for me, ymmv. I'm obviously not a professional anything. I just have figured some stuff out that seems to work pretty well, in my own opinionated opinion:) If you are more knowledgeable than I and see me talking dangerous crazy talk about this stuff, please tell me.
In no particular order:
1. Do something every day, no excuses. Even if you only have time for a couple of sets of something with the weights or a walk around the block or a few flights of stairs, doing something every day reminds your brain that you are a person who is committed to fitness, and your body remembers that exercise feels good.
2. Exercise should be some flavor of fun, to keep you doing it. Some things are straight-up fun for me, like belly-dancing or hiking in the woods or swimming. Sometimes the fun isn't so obvious, but you can find it by making it into a game or a challenge. For example, 200 Sit-ups was a fun challenge and I'm very proud of my accomplishment there. So Steve suggested that I apply the 200 Sit-up program to lifting weights. So I'm (slowly) doing the 200 One-Arm Overhead Extension program, and the 200 Bicep Curl program, etc., etc. I can't imagine doing 200 Bicep Curls, and I may not get ever there, but then 6 months ago I wouldn't have imagined myself considering 300 sit-ups just a part of a good day's workout.
3. It's boring to do the same thing every day for the same amount of time in the same order. Mixing it up keeps you interested and makes for well-rounded workouts. You have lots of muscles--including some you probably don't even know you have. Why not try to find them all and teach them to do things that are fun to watch in the mirror? (this is a big part of why belly-dancing excercises are so cool--hey, I didn't know hips could do that! hey, look, I can actually see my obliques!)
4. Form is important. To see your form, you need snug-fitting clothes and a mirror. Even if you think you look hideous in snug-fitting clothes in front of a mirror.
5. Free weights are a better all around workout than gym machines because they force you to engage your core and leg muscles in order to maintain good form.
6. Lift with the heaviest weights you can maintain good form with. More resistance makes more muscle. Muscle is good. Also, when you lift heavier, you engage more of your core muscles to stabilize you.
7. Give yourself a day between muscle groups. I work out pretty much every day, but I don't work the same bits every day. Resting in between gives your body time to build back up all the little micro-tears you put in your muscles by working them--that's how you build more muscle.
8. Stretching only works if you hold the stretch. Bouncing really is dangerous, just like they always told us in gym class, and it does not make you more flexible. Sustaining a just-past-comfortable stretch for a count of 30 warms up my muscles for working out and is producing incremental increases in my flexibility.
I have to thank certain people for inspiration, encouragement, lewd (and not) compliments, and wise words. Like Geri and Bamm, who have been seriously inspiring me with their own fitness achievements and their encouragement, and Star and Pooch, who got me started on 200 Sit-ups which was the beginning of the whole thing. And everyone who's made encouraging comments or paid me compliments along the way--you have no idea how much that really REALLY helps. Thanks also to Greta Christina, whose series of blog entries about weight loss, fat-positive feminism, and skepticism are as brilliant as the rest of her writing and have helped me to think about this subject in a more healthy and rational way.
*Don't get me started on commercial diets. Just don't. (The only exception being Weight Watchers, which is, from what I can tell, nutritionally sane, psychologically sensible, and promotes long-term healthy eating habits. When I rant about commercial diets I don't mean Weight Watchers.) Way to set yourself up to fail: Seriously constrict your daily calorie levels or cut entire classes of foods out of your life, get cranky, get cravings, cheat, feel bad about yourself for cheating, give up and gain back the weight plus a few extra pounds. Rinse, repeat. Bah.
Since February, I've been walking, stretching, climbing stairs, lifting weights, and dancing regularly. I've completed the 200 Sit-ups Training Program and am on the final week of 200 Squats. I just started 100 Push-ups. My strength, balance, posture, and flexibility are remarkably improved. I have lots more energy. Everything physical I do is easier and more fun. I don't get out of breath walking up a flight of stairs anymore. In fact, last weekend at PenguiCon I did nine flights. It was certainly a cardio workout for me, but I didn't have to stop to rest in the middle and I didn't feel like I was going to die. I have also lost (approximately) 14 pounds and dropped more than one but less than two sizes. I don't look a whole lot different to others, I don't think--partly because I'm broke and still wearing the same clothes which are now baggier and less flattering--but I'm seeing some subtle changes in the mirror that I really like.
I'm not in this for weight loss itself. I'd be lying if I said it didn't please me to see the number on the scale slowly creep down, but it really is an incidental benefit. My main goals are strength and health. This is the only body I get. I want it to WORK. I have a lot of work for it to do! I want to be able to climb hills and stairs, to be able to say, "no thanks, I've got it" when people offer to help me carry heavy things, to get down on the floor to play with the nephews and get up again without effort, to dance for as long as the music moves me. To be able to do these things with ease and grace. To be able to do what I need to do by myself when I need to and to be able to offer a strong back and arms to help others when they need it.
I want to be healthy. There's no such thing as a panacea, but the closest thing we have to one is exercise. I'm obese, I'm pushing pretty damn close to 40, diabetes is all over my family tree, and it's probably time to start paying attention to my risk factors for cardiovascular disease too. A sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits don't really help much of anything.
I'm not on a diet.* I haven't cut any particular food or macronutrient out of my life. Ihaven't been counting calories or fat grams or carbs. I have made myself a couple of simple food goals: Try to eat more fruits, vegetables, fiber, and whole grains; try to eat out less and cook at home more (also good for the budget:); never use the excuse "but I worked out today!" to eat more or differently than I would have without the increased activity levels. I've been varying degrees of overweight to obese pretty much my whole life and have done the usual run of weight-loss plans. I KNOW dieting doesn't work, for me, for the long-term. Food--growing it, cooking it, sharing it, eating it--is one of my joys. Nothing that strips that joy out of my life will work for me in the long run.
I've learned some useful things about exercise and maintaining an exercise program along the way. These work for me, ymmv. I'm obviously not a professional anything. I just have figured some stuff out that seems to work pretty well, in my own opinionated opinion:) If you are more knowledgeable than I and see me talking dangerous crazy talk about this stuff, please tell me.
In no particular order:
1. Do something every day, no excuses. Even if you only have time for a couple of sets of something with the weights or a walk around the block or a few flights of stairs, doing something every day reminds your brain that you are a person who is committed to fitness, and your body remembers that exercise feels good.
2. Exercise should be some flavor of fun, to keep you doing it. Some things are straight-up fun for me, like belly-dancing or hiking in the woods or swimming. Sometimes the fun isn't so obvious, but you can find it by making it into a game or a challenge. For example, 200 Sit-ups was a fun challenge and I'm very proud of my accomplishment there. So Steve suggested that I apply the 200 Sit-up program to lifting weights. So I'm (slowly) doing the 200 One-Arm Overhead Extension program, and the 200 Bicep Curl program, etc., etc. I can't imagine doing 200 Bicep Curls, and I may not get ever there, but then 6 months ago I wouldn't have imagined myself considering 300 sit-ups just a part of a good day's workout.
3. It's boring to do the same thing every day for the same amount of time in the same order. Mixing it up keeps you interested and makes for well-rounded workouts. You have lots of muscles--including some you probably don't even know you have. Why not try to find them all and teach them to do things that are fun to watch in the mirror? (this is a big part of why belly-dancing excercises are so cool--hey, I didn't know hips could do that! hey, look, I can actually see my obliques!)
4. Form is important. To see your form, you need snug-fitting clothes and a mirror. Even if you think you look hideous in snug-fitting clothes in front of a mirror.
5. Free weights are a better all around workout than gym machines because they force you to engage your core and leg muscles in order to maintain good form.
6. Lift with the heaviest weights you can maintain good form with. More resistance makes more muscle. Muscle is good. Also, when you lift heavier, you engage more of your core muscles to stabilize you.
7. Give yourself a day between muscle groups. I work out pretty much every day, but I don't work the same bits every day. Resting in between gives your body time to build back up all the little micro-tears you put in your muscles by working them--that's how you build more muscle.
8. Stretching only works if you hold the stretch. Bouncing really is dangerous, just like they always told us in gym class, and it does not make you more flexible. Sustaining a just-past-comfortable stretch for a count of 30 warms up my muscles for working out and is producing incremental increases in my flexibility.
I have to thank certain people for inspiration, encouragement, lewd (and not) compliments, and wise words. Like Geri and Bamm, who have been seriously inspiring me with their own fitness achievements and their encouragement, and Star and Pooch, who got me started on 200 Sit-ups which was the beginning of the whole thing. And everyone who's made encouraging comments or paid me compliments along the way--you have no idea how much that really REALLY helps. Thanks also to Greta Christina, whose series of blog entries about weight loss, fat-positive feminism, and skepticism are as brilliant as the rest of her writing and have helped me to think about this subject in a more healthy and rational way.
*Don't get me started on commercial diets. Just don't. (The only exception being Weight Watchers, which is, from what I can tell, nutritionally sane, psychologically sensible, and promotes long-term healthy eating habits. When I rant about commercial diets I don't mean Weight Watchers.) Way to set yourself up to fail: Seriously constrict your daily calorie levels or cut entire classes of foods out of your life, get cranky, get cravings, cheat, feel bad about yourself for cheating, give up and gain back the weight plus a few extra pounds. Rinse, repeat. Bah.