Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

When I was deciding which gym we should join, I looked at the Salt Lake County Recreation Centers. The fees at our closest facility were $5.00 for a daily pass. As I look at the website right now, it seems that their rates are the same even though it has been three years.

This is the origin of my idea that a workout costs five bucks.

It cost five dollars, to workout at the county recreation sites, so I now judge EVERYTHING by that measure. If I look at a workout video and it costs twenty dollars, I think to myself, “Will I work out with that thing for at least four times?” I usually have a workout video memorized after two repetitions, so usually the answer is NO. Sometimes I force myself to workout with something enough times for it to “pay for itself.”

I would have to workout with a $700 treadmill 140 times for it to “pay for itself.” That would be three workouts a week for a year for it to pay for itself. Of course, if Mike can workout with it also, then it “pays for itself” faster.

I’ve used this judge of workout equipment for the last three years and it has made me feel so much better about my purchases. That stability ball that felt like such a rip-off at $20 has paid for itself at least four times. Yourself! Fitness was $40 when we bought it over a year ago, but Mike and I have exercised with Maya so many times that I couldn’t count. It was worth the cost.

It even makes me feel better about the workout videos that I HAVEN’T used. That DVD that I bought at Fry’s in Las Vegas because I thought it would be great for working out in the hotel room feels like a waste. It cost twenty bucks and I only exercised with it once. It was a $15 mistake. When I phrase it that way, I feel much better.

Next time you’re looking at exercise equipment, try the Five Buck Workout evaluation. If you are positive that you are going to run on that treadmill three times a week for a year, then it’s worth it. If you have some doubts about your ability to be that consistent, then you can pass it by without another thought.

A study from the University of North Carolina found that children who participated in sports activites were less likely to engage in risky behaviors like drug use, smoking and violence.

• UNC News release — Wide variety of physical activities may protect teens against risky behavior: study

They admit that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Giving the children a chance to try a wide variety of sports and concentrate on their favorites was the essential element.

“We also suspect that all teens might not benefit similarly from the same kind of activity – it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. Helping to provide kids with the opportunity to get involved in any number of physical activities, instead of staying at home and watching TV, may provide a kind of resilience against engaging in these other risky behaviors.”

They didn’t comment on whether children who participated in sports were more physically fit compared to their television watching counterparts, but sports DID help children resist the sorts of situations that could get them into real trouble.

Via: Any Physical Acitivity is Good Activity

This story at BBC News says that when you focus on what your muscle is doing, you exert more energy than when you just perform the move.

• BBC NEWS | Health | ‘Mind control’ over muscle power

Here is how the scientists tested their theory:

The team wired their subjects up to weight machines which monitored levels of electrical activity in their biceps and asked them to think in two different ways while exercising.

The more electrical activity measured – the more the muscle is doing.

When subjects were asked to focus on what their muscles were doing and how they were working there were significantly higher levels of electrical activity.

But when they were asked to visualise lifting the weight, electrical activity was lower.

If you focus on the muscle, it will work harder. If you focus on hitting a ball correctly, it will direct the ball better. This is one reason why running on the treadmill with the television distracting me might not be as good as exercise as when I’m outside running. I have nothing else to focus on but my muscles.

Via: Meriblog: Meri Williams’ Weblog » links for 2006-03-31

As part of video-blogging week, Michael Verdi posted this video about running.

• MICHAEL VERDI » Running

His daughter just joined Track, so he thought he would start running again. Much to his surprise, it was a little harder than he remembered.

After a hiatus, I popped in Yourself! Fitness into my old Xbox and did an intense 60 minute workout. I thought it would be easy on me because I’ve been weight training on my own for the last two months, but Maya was able to give me a challenging workout and I felt it in muscle soreness the next day.

I was wondering what is going on with Yourself! Fitness and responDESIGN because it has been well over a year since they have produced anything new. Are they going to release a new version for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3? Are they working on a more realistic Maya with changeable outfits? How about a sensor that can read the signal from your heart rate monitor and adjust the program accordingly? Even a version where we stretch more than just our quads and hamstrings would be nice.

After looking at their website, I was shocked to see that not much had changed. They still have a rabid fan base in the forums asking questions just like mine, but no one is there in an official capacity answering them. In fact, it took a lot of digging for me to even find any answers of any sort. Here’s what I found:

According to a press release buried deep in responDESIGN’s website, the original Yourself! Fitness will work on Xbox 360: Press Release: Yourself! Fitness compatible with Xbox 360: Only fitness game for all audiences among 200 titles

That’s it. No announcements about anything new in the works. Not even an easy way to link to their press release because of their broken Flash-based website. So, they are abandoning their fanbase in the forums AND not even bothering to advance their product. That’s a shame because the original Yourself! Fitness was a great starting point and I was excited to see what the future held. Too bad it looks like the future brought a sad sizzle instead of a burning fire of innovation.

See other entries about Yourself! Fitness:

• Starling Fitness » Yourself! Fitness for the Xbox

• Starling Fitness » Silver Status on Yourself! Fitness

• Starling Fitness » Yourself! Fitness for Playstation 2

• Starling Fitness » Gold Status on Yourself! Fitness

• Starling Fitness » Workout 35 on Yourself! Fitness

While I was at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Conference, I met an amazing woman, Tish Grier. I have been enjoying her personal weblog, so imagine my surprise when she writes an entry about the gym that hits home with me.

• love and hope and sex and dreams: Weighty Matters

If I had known all this was lurking under the surface of her skin, I would have given her a great big hug when I had the chance in Austin.

“It begins to bother me even more about my weight, that I can’t be happy just the way I am because there are all these messages around me, all this pressure, that guilts me into thinking that I should do my best to try to have that body I had when I was in my late 20’s…that great-looking un-traumatized body that only comes, quite truthfully, once in a lifetime…”

The truth is, the media IS trying to make us feel inadequate because it’s so much easier to sell us stuff when we are. If you have been feeling like you need to live up to anyone’s expectations but your own, take a break and write it out just like Tish did. You might not be able to get to the bottom of the issue in one sitting, but you should be able to find a nugget of truth that makes you feel better.

I’ve been following the news on Cookie Monster and his bingeing behavior for quite awhile now. I was happy to see Happy Healthy Monsters at the library. I don’t have any children to watch this video with, but I enjoyed it just the same. I loved how they addressed Cookie Monster’s past eating behavior. They were careful to explain that cookies can be a part of a healthy diet while they introduced a large variety of fruits, vegetables, dairy and legumes to the children.

This is not a serious workout video that concentrates on exercising every muscle. It’s more of an introduction to the idea of jumping, jogging and dancing to get your heart beating faster. They talk about healthy food and there is even a nod to yoga at the end.

The best part, is that they have Grover describe the moves and then they have real children who are “watching” Grover on television perform the moves. A muppet can’t show you exactly what they want when they say jump like a frog, but the children that are participating with the show give you a clear example of what you should be doing. Genius…

Evaluation:

If you’re expecting a full body workout for your child, this is not the workout for you, but if you want your kid to actually watch it all the way through, then Sesame Street is always a winner.

I found Iron Yoga at the library and I’ve been working out with it several times before I have to return it. Here is how it stacks up.

The workout video is VERY watchable. There is none of that irritating patter. The only thing the instructor says are directions about how to hold the poses correctly. This video is hosted by Anthony Carillo, who is a “nationally ranked Ironman triathlete.” I had never heard of him before watching this video, but the instructor doesn’t need to be famous. All the instructor needs to do is give me intricately clear directions and refrain from saying anything else. This isn’t a workout video that will ever need to be muted in order to be enjoyed.

I’ve been weight training for over two months, so I didn’t think this would give me much of a workout. In fact, I tried this with 3-pound weights because I thought I’d just take it easy the first time through, but it was very challenging. There were several times when I needed to set down the weights because the poses were very difficult with them. For now, I’ve had to use my 1.5-pound weights and I’ll increase the weight when I gain more balance.

It’s not the kind of workout that will burn a lot of calories, however. It’s almost an hour long and I burned about half the calories that I would have burned had I run on the treadmill that long. It’s great for developing balance, but not so good for burning calories.

According to my Nike Imara, these are the stats for my first workout:

Total Minutes: 56′:49″
Total Calories Burned: 274
Average Heart Rate: 109 BPM
Time in Moderate Zone: 37′:47″
Time in High Zone: 4′:50″
Time in Low Zone: 14′:12″

Evaluation:

I usually hate workout videos, but this is one that is challenging. There is no annoying chatter that becomes so irritating after several viewings. This is a workout that I’m willing to buy and after seeing the inexpensive price at Amazon, I was easily able to justify it.

Glen at Videogame Workout just finished his 12-Week course with Eyetoy:Kinetic. It’s an exercise game for PlayStation 2. He gives his full review here:

• Videogame Workout: Eyetoy:Kinetic Week 12 – DONE!

He feels like he has gained some muscle tone and cardiovascular benefits, but laments some losses:

“I’ve lost a little muscle tone (compared to my prior exercise regimen) in my mid and upper body. This is largely because I stopped doing the “optional” segments. As my training progressed the main game portion got longer and more intense and I started to feel like I had neither the time nor the energy left to do a full toning segment. Rather than start a workout segment I know I’d have to bail out of, I just skip right to stretches.”

I’m just grateful that the videogame industry is trying to make games that train your body. This game is first generation. I am excited to see the next generation of exergaming.

I am still tweaking my workout, trying to get the best fit for me and my equipment, but I have a basic workout that I have been doing for the last couple of weeks. Here is the workout that I am doing at home to replace the 24 Hour Express Zone Workout that I used to do at the gym:

Abdominals: Stability Ball Crunch

Full Legs: Squats (For safety, I do them with dumbbells instead of barbells.)

Calves: Standing Calf Raises

Quads: Leg Extensions

Hamstrings: Leg Curls

Chest: Barbell Bench Press (Do not do this exercise without a spotter.)

Shoulders: Seated Dumbbell Press

Biceps: Preacher Curl with Dumbbells

Upper Back: Lat Pulldown

Triceps: Pushdowns

I follow this entire routine, quickly going from one exercise to the other with no rest inbetween. I do 15 repetitions of each exercise with enough weight that I can barely do that last two lifts. I go through this circuit twice. It takes me about 30 minutes to complete the workout.

All animated exercises provided by:

Animated Exercise Examples – TheTrainingStationInc.com©- Exercises