OnePhatMan
There are three key elements to a good physical transformation:
All three are important, and though I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on the first one—after all, what’s in your head dictates what your body’s doing—the other two are worth thinking about. Today, let’s talk about your fitness, about what you can do to build a better body.
Your body longs to be worked. Depending on your current fitness level, right now you might be rolling your eyes. Good God, Fred, you’re thinking, you don’t know my body. Work is the last thing it wants.
Sorry, friend. Excuses don’t work here. Work may be the last thing your head wants, but (barring physical limitations) it’s the top thing your body wants. Without a strong and fit body, how else are you going to be able to do all those things you want to?
Remember, you have to start somewhere. I started by treading water in a pool because that’s all I could do. Within a couple of years I reached a point where I could do almost anything I wanted. Now, the sky’s the limit.
When you’re ready to start working out, one question is tantamount: What am I willing to do? The answer to that question is different for each person. Just bear in mind that your results are directly related to your effort. If you’re only willing to do the easiest thing you can, don’t expect to turn into a model of physical perfection.
(Yes, I did want to add “like me” to that)
So what can you do?
The fastest, easiest, and cheapest thing to do is get outside. You can walk, you can jog, you can ride your bike. The point is to move, and break a good sweat. When you’re able, start looking for hills or stairs. If you put out the effort, your body will repay you by getting stronger and faster.
Lots of people like to use exercise tapes. They’re cheap and easy, like some of my ex-girlfriends, and you can get them anywhere. I’ve used walking videos by Leslie Sansone, and I enjoyed them back when I did. Don’t let Leslie fool you, though. You outgrow them. If you’ve been working out for years with her videos and are physically able, you might consider getting something a little more challenging.
Like Tae Bo. That still kicks my butt when I do the advanced tape. Billy Blanks knows how to push people. He’s got a new series out called “BootCamp” that I’ve seen the infomercials for. They look good, but I haven’t tried them yet. If anyone out there has, please leave a comment and let the rest of us know.
Videos from “The Firm” are also butt-kickers, as I can personally attest. I tend to do them during the weeks between weightlifting stretches, and they make me sore as all get out. And if you’re a man, and you think these videos are for women, try one. They can make you cry.
I can’t attest to this personally, but I’ve heard tons of good things about yoga and Winsor pilates. I tried yoga once, but was so embarrassed (despite being the only person present) I haven’t tried it since. If you’ve seen Madonna lately, she credits her ripped up shoulders and arms to yoga.
Still others—for reasons unknown to me—like to use cardio equipment, like ellipticals, tradmills, or rowing machines. We’ve got an elliptical trainer, which I’m currently using daily, and as far a trainers go it’s a nice one. It’s good, but it makes me insane. I hate the monotony so much not even a good audiobook can take my mind off it. Plus, right now it’s irritating something deep inside my left knee, so I’m probably going to start alternating the elliptical with Tae Bo (hey, maybe I can use this new pain as a reason to get those BootCamp tapes) or Firm videos.
Of course, no good workout program is complete with just cardio. Getting in shape without resistance is like farting without a stank. It’s possible, but not nearly as effective.
I’m talking weights, baby. Iron. Sadly, this is the one time I have to recommend that you do as I say, and not as I do, at least while my shoulder heals.
Just as with cardio, there are both cheap and pricy options. The cheapest—free—is exercises using your own bodyweight as resistance. Pushups, squats, chinup, lunges, crunches, and so on. They work, and you can’t beat the price.
Next up is free weights: barbells and dumbbells. Plates are inexpensive, as are most bars. A bench can be bought for $40-$50, or less if you find one at a garage sale.
And believe me, you can find plenty of exercise equipment at a garage sale.
Finally, there’s the cream of the crop, home gyms or gym memberships. They can get expensive, but the safety and wide range of options they offer (and possibly even a personal trainer, if you join a gym) can make them worth it. I love my BodySolid gym, and when I’m lifting, I try to work it into every routine.
All these things I’ve listed are great, but it boils down to one thing: are you willing to do what it takes to make the change? Only you know the answer to that.
Site changes today:
I’ve started a recommended reading list in the right sidebar. In it are books I’ve found helpful and enjoyable. The initial grouping (there will be more as the spirit moves me) are non-fiction books for making a better life. With the exception of The Purpose-Filled life, which is there because I’ve heard so many good things about it, I’ve read them and think they’re worth recommending.
On the left, those of you who like your sites via a feed, there’s a new FeedBurner link. As of this writing, 4 of you already found it.
Also on the left, I’ve started a page of links to other personal sites of people on similar paths.
I’m still taking (since not a single person has written one to me) questions / suggestions on topics. Drop me a line if there’s something you’re interested in hearing about.
What’s your favorite workout routine? What do you do to get yourself / keep yourself physically fit?
How’s it paying you back?
If you want to get notified when I write an update, this link will do the trick.
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You forgot to mention that some of the FIRM tapes incorporate weightlifting along with cardio, and you can increase the amount of weight you use as you grow stronger.
Hi Fred, I find that varying the intensity profile during cardio workouts helps a LOT with the boredom. I use the endorphin-pumping high intensity segments to fuel my athletic fantasies of winning marathons or kicking the sh*t out of problems at work, and the lower intensity segments for active recovery, water gulping, and granting fantasy interviews. I particularly like the Body-for-Life profile of perceived exertion but I suspect anything that varies the incline and resistance levels would work. Endorphins rock. You rule. Love the rejuvenated site. Welcome back, Phat Man!
Thanks for starting back up with the OnePhatMan. It’s a great motivator! About a month ago, I started doing the Leslie Sansone videos. I am way out of shape, so her videos were the perfect start for me. I started out with the 30-minute 2-mile video. It was hard the first time I did it, but I made it through. I did that video every day; and by the end of one week, I was able to get through it without thinking I would die. Now, I’m actually able to do the 30-minute video and then get right on the elliptical for another 20 minutes. Slowly but surely, I will build up my tolerance. I know it’s not the best workout in the world; but compared to sitting my fat ass on the couch, it’s a good start!
JB -
Body-for-Life’s exercise program is excellent, I think. There are lots of good things to be said about high intensity interval training.
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Katy -
It definitely is a great start, and way better than sitting on the couch. Believe me, I think they’re terrific for people who are just getting going.
Although Leslie is almost too perky.
Oh yeah, speaking of too perky! I’ve also got a few Richard Simmons DVD’s, but I just can’t get with his program! Maybe I’m the most uncoordinated no-rhythm-having white woman in the world, but I find his videos extremely hard to follow. In addition to him screaming like a maniac, he doesn’t stay on any one step long enough for me to catch on. And the idiot operating the camera often focuses on people’s faces instead of giving a full-length shot so you can see what their feet are doing. I know Richard has done wonders for many people out there, but I just can’t follow him!
I love my cardiac rehab. I’ve made several new friends there. I’ve had several heart attacks and they keep an eye on me in case I have problems. I also have chronic bronchial asthma so the air-conditioned workout area is perfect for me. I went from no exercise to intense one hour 3 times a week cardio. Its taken 7 months to get there, but thanks to you I’ve done it.
Hi, Fred. My absolute favorite workout routine right now is taking my bike out to the trail behind our development and riding it until I’m too exhausted to keep going. I just bought the bike a month ago and once I got used to an actual adult bike with hand brakes and gears and stuff, I got addicted to cycling. It almost seems like cheating — for some stupid reason I still can’t entirely get used to the idea that exercise can actually be enjoyable, even though I’ve been working out all year and have also grown to enjoy hikes, weights, and yoga.
I’ve been a runner for 23 years. That’s a lot of bangin’ on the joints, and the payback has been a buttload of full-blown arthritis in both hips at the ripe old age of 36. Four years ago, my doctor started talking about double hip replacements. He’s a three-time Kona Ironman, and he preached strength training to me until I finally became a believer. I’m still a marathon runner (though I’m retiring from marathons after New York this year), but when he started talking about doing the hip replacements in the next couple of years, I started praying to the Iron God. Twice a week, I do full-body in the weight room, and at the moment, that includes the following: 3×12 squats (185 pounds, BOOYAH for this short-ass woman); 3×12 plie squats; 3×12 stationary lunges each leg; 3×12 bench presses (95 pounds); 3×12 incline flys; 3×12 kneeling rows (40 pounds); 3×12 bent-over rows (50 pounds); 3×8-12 dips on the parallel bars; 3×12 cable triceps presses (95 pounds); 3×12 oblique biceps curls (30 pounds); 3×12 hammer presses (30 pounds); 2×100 bicycle crunches; 2×20 oblique crunches each side; 65 regular crunches. My injury rate from running has dropped, but the real payoff is that a year and a half ago, I was released from the annual benchmarking of my hip degradation. The reason? The crumbling in my hips has STOPPED. . . and there is some indication that it has started to REVERSE. That’s all the testimonial I’ll ever need that lifting weights matters. It matters a LOT.
I like free weights, treadmill, and walking. I’m glad to know I’m not the only person in the world whose knees don’t like the elliptical trainer. Both the elliptical trainer and the recumbent bike are touted as easy on the joints, which make be true for many people, but they put me in serious pain.
I’m a big fan of the home gym bit - but not the big expensive machines though. I have some free weights, bars and a bench. I’m going to be making my own “medicine balls”, thanks to some info on Krista’s site: http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html (it’s under September on the right side of the page)
I’m interested in finding a good yoga dvd, if anyone has any suggestions. That way I don’t have to embarass myself in front of a group!
After years of being too shy and self concious about joining a gym I finally took the plunge and joined the YMCA. I was pleasantly suprised that it wasn’t full of jocks and bimbettes but with people of all ages, size, shape and abilities.
Great fitness classes and pool programs and every kind of fitness machine imaginable. Love it !
Fred - was pleasantly surprised to see you starting up your website again, and I know it will help me in keeping with the programs I follow. I do belong to Weight Watchers, and I have tried them all! But, it seems, at least with the Weight Watcher program, you grow more conscious of what you are eating, portion-wise, and it is so much easier to follow since you can eat anything in moderation - which is the whole key! Anyway, I do belong to a club - Bally and work out 3 times a week there, 1 hour of cardio and 1 hour of weights. Usually for my cardio I mix it up and do 20 minute intervals of first the treadmill, then the recumbent bike, and then the elliptical trainer. And I do a high intensity on all 3 of them. I am not a runner, never have been, but days I do not go to Bally, I will do an hour long CD of walking music to the beat which gets me 4 miles! So, I do sweat. Here is where I get my walking tapes/CD’s from: http://www.workoutmusicvideo.com/ I have lost a total of 50 lbs., but need to lose another 60. So, glad to see you back with it, and helping out our cause
. I love your book, and I think it’s time for me to reread it!!!
I have the Billy Blanks Bootcamp videos and the “Ultimate BootCamp” kicks my butt so much that I can only do it once a week. I feel if I could do it every day I would be in the best shape ever. I like the resistance bands and the routines. I still do the abs similar to what Billy does in the video at least once a week in addtion to running, step aerobics and yoga.
Laura, I don’t know what level of yoga you’re looking for, but I used “Yoga for Dummies” when I was first starting out and really liked it. I’d also recommend Rodney Yee’s DVDs. I particularly like his routine on the “AM/PM Yoga” disc; the “Beginners” DVD that has three workouts for abs, upper body, and lower body is good too, but you’re liable to really feel it.
For those of you interested in workout videos, I highly recommend www.videofitness.com for consumer reviews of all sorts of videos (including some non-retail ones that make the Firm seem like they’re for wussies!
) and forum.videofitness.com for a discussion forum of exercise videos. Collage video (www.collagevideo.com) is a great source of almost any video made, and www.newideafitness.com carries anything you can’t find anywhere else.
Just doing my part to enable!