Fit Geek

I got a Twitters. Add me at MsFitGeek!

I’m not very good at the Twitter thing. At least, not with a public one. I actually have another private one where I am completely and utterly inappropriate, but that one is going to stay under wraps. I don’t want to give away all my potentially offensive and off-putting idiosyncrasies just yet…

Exercise Set Point?

In other news, I found this article over at the NY Times blog to be rather interesting. It poses the question of whether or not we have an exercise set point. In other words, if we exercise during the day, does that mean we will move less later on? If we don’t exercise, does that mean we will move more (walking, fidgeting, etc.) to make up for it? Certain researchers argue that we aim to reach our own unique exercise set point to maintain our weight. A study was conducted on several groups of children who all had very different P.E. requirements. One group was required to have 9.2 hours/week of physical activity at school, while another group was only required to have 1.6 hours of P.E. Yet all the children had very similar levels of activity. Obviously, read the article for the details.

So if it is true that each of us has a daily cap of activity that we unconsciously meet, it could offer some insight into why overweight and obese people have trouble losing weight. Even if they exercise, they may compensate by moving less the rest of the day. BUT, I’m not making conclusions either way. The study group was comprised of only 70 children, so who knows how much gravity the study has in the adult world. Regardless of whether or not we do have an exercise set point, it’s clear that NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis, the energy we expend doing daily activities that don’t include exercise) plays an important role in our body composition. So what does that mean? Invest an a pedometer and keep walking! If you want some more creative ways to up your NEAT, try high-fiving people, giving them lots of hugs, brushing your teeth an extra minute, flossing (you know you’ve been slipping on that), tapping your foot to a song or picking your nose in the car. At the very least it provides me with entertainment on my drive home.

Veggies!

I kind of a had fail with a curry soup I made. Just tastes weird. But it will not go to waste! It’s actually pretty decent when I put alfalfa sprouts and hummus in it. Hummus is seriously the savior of all my culinary screw ups.

Today I had more luck with sauteed chard. Had it with garlic, onions and tomatoes and it was gooood. Surprisingly good. I would have taken a picture but I was too busy wolfing it down.

Remember that thing I said about off-putting idiosyncrasies?

Here’s one of ‘em: TMI!

Let's see how many readers I lose after this.

No, that is not a dog penis. It’s what was under a crucial blister I got in my self defense class. And those ridges on the top of my feet were from my socks. Hey, I needed some kind of picture to include here, and that’s about as interesting as it’s been lately.

Anyway, it’s late and I’m supposed to wake up at 6 a.m. for my daily dosage of masochism at the gym. Byeeeeee!

I am a creature of habit. Most days I have a routine that I stick to, and for the most part it’s good. It keeps me productive, and I find something comforting about having a schedule to occupy my time. My routine makes me feel normal. (My boyfriend says I’m a control freak. Whatever…I’m an only child.)

However, this past Sunday my routine was not cutting it. For some STRANGE, unfathomable reason, cleaning and cooking for five hours just didn’t seem appealing to me. I decided to break out of my 50s housewife box and do something FUN and SWEATY and DIRTY.

First, David and I went to the park across the street from my house to play catch with a football. I figured it would be good to get out in the sun and work on my hand-eye coordination. It was hot as hell, and playing catch while you’re just standing there can get boring pretty quick. So we started running and throwing the ball to each other. That was A LOT more fun and fast-paced. I can even see myself doing that like…for cardio, lol.

Then we went to Tropical Park to see what was going on over there. Word is that some LARPers practice there every Sunday. David is into all that nerdy stuff, and I wanted to investigate. We found them, however we didn’t actually get out of the car to talk to them. Next week we plan to, though. So keep an eye out for that.

(Random fun fact: I used to box at the amateur gym in Tropical Park when I was 17.)

We tried out some of the park's fitness markers.

Monkey style.

I know that it’s a universal truth that Sundays are great park days, but I seem to have forgotten that somewhere along the way. Going to Tropical Park reminded me. That place is huge, and it’s buzzing with activity–birthday parties, basketball, fencing, baseball, bike-riding. If you ever need inspiration to just get up and get moving, TP (haha) is the place to go.

Blurry in-car-paparazzi-shot of people fencing.

Basketball!

Another paparazzi shot of people riding these bike-cart things you can rent at the park.

We practiced some more running while playing catch, and I’m actually starting to not be afraid of the ball. This is the perfect example of doing a physical activity for FUN, and then realizing that it counts as exercising too. By the time I got home, I was really glad I broke my routine. And I even managed to get most of my cooking done. Huge win, I say.

I always throw high. High balls, that is.

So now it’s your turn. Do you have a routine? Do you feel “off” if you don’t stick to it? Or does occasionally straying from it revitalize you?

There’s been some fuss at my job about the new parking procedures. Unless we get there early, chances are that we have to park in a lot that’s about a 5-minute walk away. I think I’m the only person who’s actually happy about this.

I mean, do you ever think about how much you actually MOVE on a day to day basis?

For cubicle slaves like me, chances are it’s probably not very much. I have to admit that I’m slightly envious of people who work in retail or restaurants simply because they get to MOVE. I know that to some people 6-8 hours on your feet sounds like torture, but to me it sounds great! If you disagree, then you’re probably on the wrong blog.

I sit on my ass. All day. For eight hours. In front of a computer. Honestly, it drives me nuts sometimes. I was not meant to be that sedentary. So how do I alleviate the problem?

Part of the solution is walking on my lunch break. (Sometimes I also do a full-blown weight training workout on my lunch break, but that’s a post for another day.) When I tell people this, I usually get one of three reactions: 1. You’re crazy. 2 Why? 3. Isn’t that a waste of time?

To address #1: Um, I guess we have different definitions of crazy, but I can see where you’re coming from. I mean after all, lunch time is when you’re supposed to relax, right? Why would I want to spend my break doing even more work? Well, that brings us to #2….and to that I respond, why not?

What are my alternatives? I could go to a restaurant where I would sit some more. Order food that probably isn’t as healthy as something I could prepare myself. Pay for it when I have a fridge full of food that I already paid for at home. Eat. Go back to work to sit some more and possibly nod off from a food coma depending on what I ate.

Or, I could walk for 30 minutes, listen to music and think about my life. Then go back to work and eat a quick, healthy, light lunch before resuming work energized and relaxed. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it?

This is where I go to walk on my lunch break. Not too shabby, eh? (The park, not the quality of the picture.)

And as for #3, walking is so NOT a waste of time. I know it may not seem like much, but it’s the little things that make a big difference in your life. You see, there’s this thing called NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), and it’s pretty significant to how many calories you burn a day. Potentially even more so than a 30 minute cardio session. What is NEAT? In short, it’s how much you burn daily just from moving around (not counting sleep, eating or sports-like exercise). Studies show that the majority of calories we burn a day actually come from activities like walking to and from places, showering, cleaning, doing chores and other little things like that. (LINK)

For example, who do you think burns more calories a day, a person who works in an office, or a hotel room maid? This is a perfect example of NEAT in action.

Even if you don’t need to lose any weight, walking is good for you! Physically and mentally. It keeps you young, man. I know they taught us all this stuff in elementary school, but sometimes I think we need to be reminded of the basics. We get so caught up thinking that we need to be doing p90x or Crossfit or some other kind of craziness to get any results, but it’s not true. If you really want to get somewhere­–and I’m not only talking about a physical destination­—walk there. And then maybe run if you feel like it. Walking is so easy and peaceful, and it’s so good for you. I wish people would do it more.

Seriously, if you are currently living a sedentary lifestyle, try adding 30 minutes of walking to your schedule every day and see how you feel. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

Now, I’m fortunate to work a skip and a hop away from my gym and a very nice park­—JC Bermudez in Doral. On days when it’s not sweltering hot or raining, I take my lunch-break walk at the park. Other days, I go to the gym and walk on the track so I don’t get sweaty. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have their gym or a nice park two blocks away from their job. But if you ARE lucky enough to have either of these options, I’d recommend going for it.

Other creative ways to get some lunch time walking in? Go to the mall. I’m not advocating consumer whoredom. Just a little window shopping and people watching. I’ve been known to go to International Mall and try stuff on when I need a break from the gym. Hey, moving is moving, even if you are just getting undressed and dressed and undressed again.

"Shopping is my cardio." Ew...I can't believe I just said that. I promise to never say anything like that again.

If anyone has any other ideas, pipe up!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011