What is your Workout?

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.