I was
thinking after what I wrote last night about my fitness regimen and what I have
done to get into shape. I know that this sounds totally bizarre coming from a
two sport lettermen in high school whose two letters came in football (as the
student trainer) and baseball (as the scorekeeper). While I’ve always loved
sports I have never been athletic and was always the tall, gawky, skinny kid
who could never get out of the way of his own limbs. As I got older that all stayed
the same except I went from skinny to pudgier than I would like with no gain in
athletic prowess. However I did try a number of different things to get into
shape and after several years I have found myself in what is probably the best
shape of my adult life. Here is what worked, what didn’t work and some things
in between.
Treadmill:
This was my default workout for years, including those years when I was
woefully out of the shape. I consider it the basic workout for the person who
lives in an apartment complex with a small exercise room and no clue what to
actually do. I am lucky in the fact that I can do forty five minutes on a
treadmill without losing my mind from boredom but I can’t say that this has
been the best workout for me. That said, when I start up on the Couch to 5K
routine in a month or two this will get more play.
Wii
Fit / EA Active: When you are starting out trying to get in shape it is best to
start small. Really small, like just playing video games as activity. I have to
say that I primarily used my Wii for the fitness applications and while they
weren’t the best way to get in shape these two programs definitely helped. Wii
Fit was my first interaction with yoga and discovering just how horrible my
balance is (which was finally explained by the fact that my legs are not the
same length). I can’t say that it was the most challenging workout though I
have fond memories of the boxing game (where your coach sounded just like Adam
Corrola) and the step aerobics (in which I must have looked like the biggest
idiot ever). EA Active was better in terms of overall fitness though it had two
drawbacks. One was, like all video game workouts, it was highly dependent on
the Wii picking up your movements and there is nothing worse than spending half
your time trying to convince the game that yes, you did just do a squat. The
other is more a personal quibble in that for lifting they utilize those power
bands / cords that you see in every Target. I’ve never found a set of those
that I like because they never seem to be made for my height and strength. I
always going with either no resistance or insane resistance.
Personal
Trainer: I think that I have used four different personal trainers over the
years due to a combination of location and the fact that my trainers kept on
quitting on me. You will find a lot of differing opinions out there about using
a trainer and especially if it is worth the money and my view is that a good
trainer is worth it, especially at the beginning, but that you should
definitely reach the point where you no longer need one. When I started out
with trainers I was really starting from scratch with no idea what exercises to
do and worrying that my shoulder and hip injuries would make workouts
impossible. With a trainer you have someone to lead you around the gym, learn
how to use certain machines and have someone watching you to make sure that you
are using the correct form. That is perfect when you are starting out but once
you reach the point where you know your various routines you should be able to
go on your own. Plus you always have to deal with the fact that a trainer can
push you too hard or too little and both have their drawbacks. My view is use
one to start if you can afford it but don’t worry if it does not turn into a
lifelong partnership. You’re not a contestant on the Biggest Loser.
Gym
Classes: There are people who swear by the classes at gyms and while I can’t
really complain about the ones that I have gone to (they all were great
workouts) they simply are not for me. First off, the fact that I have to drive
to the gym uses up to much time for me to begin with so that makes having the
classes fit my schedule is a massive challenge. Then there is the fact that
when you start a new class you are typically dealing with a class where
everyone else is a regular so you spend the first few sessions just trying to
figure out what everyone is doing. This is even worse in yoga where the
instructor will say “go into alligator. Ok, now go into crocodile” and you
apparently should know the difference when the only difference that I can
remember between the two is one has visible teeth and the other doesn’t.
Finally, all of the classes that I have gone to have been predominately female.
When I go with Kim this is ok as I am the supportive husband who works out with
his wife. When I go alone I am the creepy guy in the back who can’t keep up.
Just not my thing.
TRX:
This is a bit of a subset of the last two as it was a Trainer / Class that got
me using this. These are those suspension cables that you can use to perform a
ton of body weight exercises. It is extremely good once you get the hang of it
and all you need is a good doorframe in order to get started. Like a lot of things
you can push yourself too hard though and wind up hurting yourself. I’m hoping
to do more TRX in the coming year.
DDP
Yoga: My current obsession and by far the best workout routine I’ve ever come
across. One of New Year’s Resolutions is to finish the Advanced program and I
am on week nine of thirteen (yes, I know that we are in week eleven of the new
year. I fell slightly behind). To reach this point I’ve done 30+ workouts and
if you have ever purchased fitness DVDs how many of them have you played thirty
times? Especially after having used them for the previous eight months as well?
I’ve never come across any fitness program that has held my interest like DDP
Yoga.
Maybe
it is the fact that it was made and hosted by a retired professional wrestler,
which is just so random that it makes it exciting. Maybe it is because it
combines regular body weight exercises with rehab exercises and yoga poses into
something that gives you a good workout while improving your flexibility. It is
common to go from a squat to a push up to downward dog in the course of two
minutes. But the biggest complement that I can give this program is the fact
that it is the first exercise program that I have ever seen that is made to
start as a beginner and grow with you as you get better. If you look at so many
others you seem to either need in insane shape to just get through the first
workout or they are at the “miniature golf has great fitness benefits” level.
With DDP Yoga there are so many options to modify a move that is too
challenging for the time being and the workouts themselves range from twenty
five minutes to an hour so as your cardio improves the length of workout
increases with you.
(Oh,
and they have real people doing the workouts. When you have a 60 year old and a
300+ pound guy completing the workouts you can’t really tell yourself that this
is impossible.)
As
with all workouts this probably isn’t for everyone. If you want to put on
twenty pounds of muscle or run a marathon it wouldn’t be your primary option.
But all I can say is that I look forward to working out and anything that can
make that happen is a good thing.
