I was in a hotel gym recently at 6 am, a time I’m normally just rolling over for another half-hour of sleep when I’m home but it was West Coast time so I was up way early, and I was noticing how most of the men, in their 30s and 40s, were just lollygagging on the cardio equipment. You could see both men and women clearly just passing time jogging lightly or disinterestedly spinning the pedals. And I thought, “Well, why would you even bother to show up to the gym if you’re not going to put any gusto behind it.”
Sure it was 6 am in Portland, Oregon and most folks should be still in their cushy beds instead of on the stair climber. But still, folks, if you’re gonna bother to go to the gym, step on the pedal a little. Here are some fitness tips that I’m working on to get ready for our family’s big beach outing in August:
Cardio intervals: I don’t have an hour to hang-out and dawdle on a treadmill. You don’t either. Instead warm up for 5 minutes at a moderate pace and right when you hit 5:00 on the timer, crank it up and go at 80-90% of your max effort for 30 seconds. Then gear it back down for 60 seconds of cool-down. Then gas it back up for another 30 seconds. And throttle it back for another 60. Do this 5 to 8 times of 90 seconds each. Then cool down and get off the equipment. You’re done. Total time: About 20 minutes.
Jump rope: Jumping rope is a good alternative to mindlessly banging out intervals on cardio equipment. Why? ‘Cause it’s hard to sustain and it’s a full-body workout. Try grabbing a rope and jumping for a minute or two straight. It’s hard. You’ll be sucking wind after 90 seconds straight. Vary the pace. Start out at an even tempo and then go faster by alternating lifting you knee up to hip height – like you’re running in place except with a jump rope. Alternate skipping on one leg. Go 10 minutes only stopping when you mess up. Great leg workout , plus shoulders, arms and core benefit, too. Oh, and your heart.
Flexibility: Guys in their 30s start getting stiffer. I don’t mean THAT kind of “stiffer.” I mean you sit all day and your body starts to settle. Keep limber so you don’t throw out your back lifting three sacks of groceries or picking up your 4-year-old. Or your woman. Whatever stretching you do, focus on your hamstrings and hips. That’s where most back pain and knee pain can be alleviated, with loose legs.
A strong butt: Your butt is more than your center of gravity. It’s also more than something you work on so women will check you out. A strong butt is your core. It is the key to reducing lower back pain and knee pain by shouldering much of the “heavy lifting” you do in your day-to-day. Focus on deadlifts (both straight-leg and bent-leg), half-squats and variations on lunges. The key is to focus your mind on what your butt’s doing so it’s fully-engaged in the movement. Give it a month and it will look good in trunks.
More core, but crunch-less: Lately I’ve been reading that the key to building core strength is NOT by doing crunches for 20 minutes. In fact, doing much movement at all is not as beneficial as holding a plank for 30-60 seconds. Planks are simple: get in push-up position with your core tight. Lower yourself on to your elbows. Then hold it. Don’t move. 30-60 seconds. Then rotate 90 degrees on to one elbow and do a side plank. 30-60 seconds. Then over to the other side. Try that for 5 minutes – you’ll be schvitzin’!
Bonus Tip: Stronger forearms. All the typing we do all day weakens our forearm muscles, which means your grip when you to go shake hands or grab a heavy rock in your yard gets weaker. Don’t neglect ‘em. Do a few sets of forearm curls each week to keep your strength up. Also when you grip a barbell, grip it tight. That engages your forearm muscles more so you get multiple benefits from your usual bench press.
Sure it was 6 am in Portland, Oregon and most folks should be still in their cushy beds instead of on the stair climber. But still, folks, if you’re gonna bother to go to the gym, step on the pedal a little. Here are some fitness tips that I’m working on to get ready for our family’s big beach outing in August:
Cardio intervals: I don’t have an hour to hang-out and dawdle on a treadmill. You don’t either. Instead warm up for 5 minutes at a moderate pace and right when you hit 5:00 on the timer, crank it up and go at 80-90% of your max effort for 30 seconds. Then gear it back down for 60 seconds of cool-down. Then gas it back up for another 30 seconds. And throttle it back for another 60. Do this 5 to 8 times of 90 seconds each. Then cool down and get off the equipment. You’re done. Total time: About 20 minutes.
Jump rope: Jumping rope is a good alternative to mindlessly banging out intervals on cardio equipment. Why? ‘Cause it’s hard to sustain and it’s a full-body workout. Try grabbing a rope and jumping for a minute or two straight. It’s hard. You’ll be sucking wind after 90 seconds straight. Vary the pace. Start out at an even tempo and then go faster by alternating lifting you knee up to hip height – like you’re running in place except with a jump rope. Alternate skipping on one leg. Go 10 minutes only stopping when you mess up. Great leg workout , plus shoulders, arms and core benefit, too. Oh, and your heart.
Flexibility: Guys in their 30s start getting stiffer. I don’t mean THAT kind of “stiffer.” I mean you sit all day and your body starts to settle. Keep limber so you don’t throw out your back lifting three sacks of groceries or picking up your 4-year-old. Or your woman. Whatever stretching you do, focus on your hamstrings and hips. That’s where most back pain and knee pain can be alleviated, with loose legs.
A strong butt: Your butt is more than your center of gravity. It’s also more than something you work on so women will check you out. A strong butt is your core. It is the key to reducing lower back pain and knee pain by shouldering much of the “heavy lifting” you do in your day-to-day. Focus on deadlifts (both straight-leg and bent-leg), half-squats and variations on lunges. The key is to focus your mind on what your butt’s doing so it’s fully-engaged in the movement. Give it a month and it will look good in trunks.
More core, but crunch-less: Lately I’ve been reading that the key to building core strength is NOT by doing crunches for 20 minutes. In fact, doing much movement at all is not as beneficial as holding a plank for 30-60 seconds. Planks are simple: get in push-up position with your core tight. Lower yourself on to your elbows. Then hold it. Don’t move. 30-60 seconds. Then rotate 90 degrees on to one elbow and do a side plank. 30-60 seconds. Then over to the other side. Try that for 5 minutes – you’ll be schvitzin’!
Bonus Tip: Stronger forearms. All the typing we do all day weakens our forearm muscles, which means your grip when you to go shake hands or grab a heavy rock in your yard gets weaker. Don’t neglect ‘em. Do a few sets of forearm curls each week to keep your strength up. Also when you grip a barbell, grip it tight. That engages your forearm muscles more so you get multiple benefits from your usual bench press.
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