Ask Slashdot: How Do You Stay Fit At Work? 635
Dishwasha writes "What do you do to stay fit? Probably like many of you, this code monkey has lead a fairly sedentary life consisting most on fritos, tab, and mountain dew. Every time I attempt to incorporate exercise in even the most modest amount it never really seems to work out. 'Just do it' or joining and going to a gym just doesn't seem to work and with time being my most precious resource at this point, I would like to incorporate exercise in to my daily work process. Our office recently switched to standing desks, which is great, and I would like to possibly bring in a flat treadmill that fits under the standing desk, but my bosses have balked unless the equipment is whisper silent. We are a small business in a traditional office park with no exercise facility. Do any other geeks out there have a similar set up and would like to share what they use to stay heart healthy and improve circulation during their work day? What other ways do you incorporate exercise in to your geeky or nerdy lifestyle?"
Lazy (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Not true. Unless you're in a place where the heat is turned up to high. Which it probably is, because even outside of server rooms, people turn the thermostat up way too high in the winter.
Doing some basic calisthenics isn't going to make you break a sweat. Now, if you're wanting to burn a lot of calories or tune up the heart, that's likely going to require sweat equity.
If you want to get strong and you're spending more than about 10 or 20 minutes a work out, you're wasting time.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You can burn fat and get some decent exercise in 10-20 minutes, but "get strong" is such a nebulously stated goal that you're doing him a disservice implying it'll only take 10-20 minutes. If you're being honest with yourself it's more like 1 hour, three times a week. Ten minutes is probably just enough time to get through a warmup set. And yes, you will sweat. What a ridiculous contention. If you're an out of shape worker in a sedentary job, getting in an out of your chair probably makes you break a sweat.
Re:Lazy (Score:4, Informative)
That's bullshit right there. Strength training is done for short periods of time and large amounts of weight. If it takes you that much time, then you're doing it wrong.
I realize that the fitness industry has everybody conditioned to think that they need to do a dozen different workouts and you've got to hit puny muscle Y, but if you're moving your body as a unit, you'll hit all of those spots. And the fact of the matter is, that there's no reason to be hitting most of those small muscles anyways as they're already getting a work out whenever you're working their antagonizing muscles.
You do 6 exercises across the week and yeah, I guess 10-20 is a bit on the low side, but an hour 3 times a week is way more than what it takes. I work out about an hour a week, tops, and I'm definitely growing strong.
You look at the way people spend their work out time, the penny ante crap that does nothing for them. The stretching and the cool downs, and the multiple exercises that work the same basic groups of muscles, and yeah, if you do cut out all that crap that you don't need in the first place, you can easily cut out half or a third of your time. Not to mention the fact that if you're going into a gym to work out, there's a ton of down time in the middle of your work out when you're switching equipment or waiting on gear.
Re:Lazy (Score:4, Informative)
It won't get you in shape, either.
If you work out an hour a week, tops, you're not in shape. You're probably getting stronger, but you're not in shape.
If you want to find out what kind of shape you're in, get a heart rate monitor and GPS tracker (there are cell phone apps for this) and run for an hour outdoors with your heart rate around 150-165. "Good shape" will get you 7.5 miles. Good weekend triathletes will get 10 miles. Professional triathletes will get 12. Oh, and do this two or three days consecutively, because if you're at least in "good shape" you won't have much, if any, soreness or fatigue on the second or third day.
Having said that, you can get into decent shape with minimal time investment for a particular sport. Running three times per week for about an hour each time in Zone 1 will get you nicely in shape for running, and you'll be in ok shape for other sports, to boot.
Re: (Score:3)
Bull. It takes very little effort to significantly increase/maintain strength if you don't normally engage in significant exertion on a regular basis. My own strategy was keeping a pair of 10lb weights lying around and incorporating 10-20 reps of some random exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, butterflies, etc) whenever I have a random moment - less than a minute of exercise at a time, and using time that would otherwise be wasted waiting for a quick compile or heating a cup of coffee or something. I averaged l
Re:Lazy (Score:5, Funny)
What the poster meant was that he's just too lazy to go to the gym when he could be at home watching TV. Any significant workout is going to make you sweat a lot, which is why you don't do it at your desk. If you just want a physical job then sign up to be a mail carrier or bicycle courier.
You aren't going to do jack in terms of serious cardio or muscular exertion unless your white-collar-knowledge-worker environment tolerates people who look like they think that 'data mining' is something you do with a pickaxe.
However, in terms of destroying your fitness less slowly while at work you have options that are worth considering: If you need caffeine, go with (unsweetened/not-full-of-milkfat) coffee or tea, or a pill. Not a soda. Also, try to distinguish between loss of energy caused by boredom or need for sleep(not a good thing; but temporarily treatable with mild stimulants) from loss of energy caused by hunger(eat something lean and proteinacious). Assorted caffeine+sugar snacks are seductive because the combination of stimulants and a quick energy burst allows you to do a mediocre job of fighting off either kind of slump; but they tend to bite you because if you just need some caffeine you end up consuming hundreds of calories in corn syrup, or if you really need some food, you end up letting hunger drive you into using more stimulants than you need, and crashing once the sugar spike wears off.
None of that will actually make you 'fit' worth a damn, nor will it save you from 'research suggests that people who get less than X exercise die early'; but it is a comparatively painless way to cut down the amount of 'fit-as-in-not-fat' effort you'll need to put in at the gym later. Ideally, you'll even be forced to find a more stable, less spike/crash prone hunger and stimulant cycle, which won't exactly hurt your efforts to get some exercise either before or after work.
Re:Lazy (Score:4, Insightful)
I have two young kids (Score:5, Informative)
I get maybe 1-2 hrs of time in the evening, and I'm usually doing household chores during much of that time. Can't go to the gym because I need to be around if a kid wakes up.
I make do with an elliptical and doing body-weight exercises, but it's hard to find time.
Re:I have two young kids (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Place kids on shoulders.
2) Do squats
Re: (Score:3)
It sucks if you are single parent but if not take turns. Nothing wrong with you taking care of the kids every other day for 2hrs while your significant other gets in their exercise and then you getting your workout in on the other day. Or find a gym that has daycare (most big chains do). I think a lot of them even include it with the membership. So pick the kids up and instead of heading right home go to the gym and fire off a workout your still home by 5 and they can eat by 6. There are ways around almost
Re:Lazy (Score:5, Insightful)
What the poster meant was that he's just too lazy to go to the gym when he could be at home watching TV.
It is not a matter of laziness. A gym membership is expensive, and going there is time consuming. The closest gym to me costs $80/month and is a 20 minute commute each way. I work till 6pm, then after an hour of meal prep, eating, and cleanup, I have about two hours with my kids before they go to bed. I am not going to cut that in half so I can go to the gym.
I stay in shape with a stand-up workstation, and we have a treadmill in front of a internet connected TV in the break room. I usually put about three miles on the treadmill while I watch the PBS Newshour. A treadmill at my desk does not work, because I cannot walk and type at the same time. I have seen salespeople do it successfully, but they spend their time talking into a phone headset rather than typing. I don't see that working for a coder.
Re:Lazy (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Lazy (Score:4, Interesting)
Yep. Gyms exist for one reason - to take your money.
For cardio, try, um walking. Go a place with trees and hills once a week and walk instead of pounding a treadmill in a filthy flu/fungus-ridden gym.
For strength, you can equip yourself for about $20, eg.: http://www.shovelglove.com/ [shovelglove.com]
Re:Lazy (Score:4, Insightful)
Beagles have a bad rep for howling and digging, but those are bored dogs who don't get out. A walk twice a day will keep them from getting bored and keep you both in shape.
Re: (Score:3)
Can you cycle to/from work one or two days a week?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
You have kids and you want to increase your fitness level?
Go play with them.
Because of the crazy power-to-weight ratio that kids have, no adult can even hope to keep up with them. You'll burn 10 times the energy that they do, just trying to keep pace.
Climb trees. Play soccer. Chase them around the park. Throw a frisbee or a football back and forth. Ride bikes.
Your kids will love it, you'll love it, and you'll be more fit than you've ever been!
Re:Lazy (Score:5, Insightful)
Man, what is this? Of course exercise takes a time commitment. It's only your FUCKING HEALTH. Why shouldn't it take a time commitment?
Listen, I know we all have busy days and too much to do and we'd like to sit down and relax. The answer is to work less and rest and relax more. I know that's hard to sell, but it's the honest truth.
Wake up early, go to work, put in your 8 best hours, and then leave and go walk or run or ride your bike for an hour or two. On the weekends, do some exercise in the morning after a small breakfast, and then go for another walk or whatever before coming home to lunch. Then you can go on with the rest of your day.
Don't look at exercise as a chore. You don't have to run marathons or train for them to be healthier. I listen to a lot of science podcasts while I ride and walk, so I'm always learning something.
It's your life and health on the line here. What are you even working for if it's not to live a good life?
Maybe you *should* race (Score:3)
You don't have to run marathons or train for them to be healthier.
No, but it helps. Having actual goals that are not nauseatingly dull and that have a hard time limit go a long way toward keeping one motivated to keep going when one just doesn't want to.
Re: (Score:3)
Umm 1 can of Mt. Dew is 170 calories. http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/generic/mountain-dew/ [livestrong.com]. Still not great but 700 is a bit off.
Re:Lazy (Score:4, Insightful)
Calories are completely irrelevant.
Don't believe me? Quit eating carbs and you can eat as many fat and protein calories as you like. The pounds will drop off very quickly.
I switched to a 125g of carb per day diet and lost 70 pounds in 9 months. I did no additional exercise. My cholesterol, blood pressure and other readings improved dramatically (I no longer take high blood pressure medication). I have a ton of energy now compared to before.
I eat bacon and eggs (in butter) for breakfast 4 days a week and eat buttered vegetables and all kinds of other things, not worrying about a single thing but carbs.
Back to the summary, switch the Mountain Dew to unsweetened iced tea and the Fritos to beef jerky...
Elliptical (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Link? I'd be curious to get just such a device.
Re: (Score:2)
I get up .. (Score:5, Insightful)
3 hours before I need to be at work and go to the gym, and try my damned hardest not to eat the free biscuits or cakes when I get in to the office.
Re:I get up .. (Score:5, Interesting)
Yep, although I don't go to the gym, I just walk. And not for 3 hours. I walk 15 minutes before work, 45 minutes at lunch and another 15-30 minutes after work. And I stopped overeating. That's all it takes. I lost 90 pounds in the last 6 months and feel so much better. Really, it just takes a little discipline. Also take a walk around the floor at work every 2-3 hours, not good to sit for extended periods.
Re:I get up .. (Score:5, Funny)
Of course you would. You're a Walker.
We ask this question on Pi day??? (Score:5, Funny)
C'mon!!
Re: (Score:3)
That's why Sphere Day comes after it
Re:We ask this question on Pi day??? (Score:5, Funny)
Pie: Arse-squared.
I keep the two separate and focused (Score:3)
Its a lot like advice for insurance: combing investing and insurance in one product usually shorts both.
No Magic Bullets (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:No Magic Bullets (Score:5, Informative)
1. Ditched high calorie drinks (soda/juices) and limited snacking. Mornings, I switched to eating a single bowl of cheerios or two shredded wheat biscuits or a banana. Lunch is simple, sandwich, less than 400 cal. Dinner--I rarely eat out, and eating at home I have stopped eating dessert and eat smaller portions at dinner, with no second helpings.
2. Exercise. I run M/W/F for 60 minutes in the morning before work. Tu/Th, I do weigh training (pull ups, push ups, sit ups, other simple stuff), which takes me about 45 minutes. Google Evil Cyber's beginner workout if you want details.
In three months, I've dropped to 207lbs. I'd probably be lighter if I could break myself of *#!*$"&!! cookies, but one needs to be reasonable. My hope is to be below 200 by the end of May, and down to 190 by the end of the summer. You pretty much just have to build on your success, and if you fall off the horse by missing a few days in a row, get back on as soon as you can...but don't beat yourself up about it.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
True, however the other aspect of a diet is to maintain a sense of "fullness" so you're not hungry all the time. It's easy to just take in 500 calories a day and lose a ton of weight. It's a lot harder when you're constantly hungry and everything tempts you. Eventually you'll break down.
Carbs tend to be "bad" because of their higher GI -
Do the math (Score:3)
As others have observed, it's not just about exercise; it's about diet too. The particular form that each takes doesn't matter as long as you do the math to make things balance out.
A typical adult male will burn ~2000 calories a day just sitting there staring into space (give or take a few hundred depending on age and weight). Now look at the calories of your favorite fast food and snacks and drinks -- a few hundred here, a few hundred there, and suddenly you're eating 4000 calories a day while still only
Ditch the Tab and Mt. Dew (Score:5, Informative)
And switch to water, for a start.
Re: (Score:2)
I normally have a shot of espresso (straight back) and orange juice for breakfast, sip on water throughout the day, and have one cup of green tea and one of black coffee for lunch and in the afternoon.
The way that programming culture treats stimulants, narcotics and relaxants is nothing short of physical self abuse. One guy I read a while back was talking about sucking down strong coffee all day then drinking himself to sleep. That is a) a classic addictive cycle and b) ruinous for your body, not to mention
Re:Ditch the Tab and Mt. Dew (Score:4, Informative)
I normally have a shot of espresso (straight back) and orange juice for breakfast,
You'd be much better off have an actual orange than orange juice.
The fiber helps moderate the metabolism of the fructose and keeps you feeling fuller longer.
See: Sugar: The Bitter Truth [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:3)
I also have a couple of slices of brown bread and an apple, plus oatmeal with honey, nuts and raisins. Sometimes a feta and spinach omelette if I've a heavy day ahead too. No, my breakfast and lunch aren't entirely liquid. :)
Or Gatorade (Score:2)
that works too.
Work it into the commute. (Score:5, Insightful)
I knew I'd never reliably hit a gym, etc. (BTDT, repeatedly), and working out *at* work wasn't really feasible, so I worked out by going to / from work by bicycle. At first it was 5 miles each way, then I changed jobs and it was a 35 mile round trip, daily. Lost ~100 lbs in about 8 months. Have kept ~80 of those off since 2008...
Re: (Score:2)
That's a great idea, unless your commute is 60+ miles one way like mine...
Re:Work it into the commute. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Then drive the first 50 miles and ride a bike for the last 10. Hopefully it is possible to find a parking lot somewhere in a reasonable distance where you can also stash a bike. Another alternative would be to consider moving closer to work or changing job to something closer to home.
No need to stash the bike at the parking lot, just get a bike rack for the car.
Re:Work it into the commute. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yup - I have a similar story. Was at 277 - dropped down to 177. Now I'm a little above 200 - but I've been reasonably stable for years.
Before you can say "I can't do it!", keep in mind you probably can if you wan't to. Here are some common objections I
If you don't want to do it, just say so - there's no sin in that. But don't come up with bogus reasons why it's a terrible thing you can't do and noone else should.
Take the stairs. (Score:3, Insightful)
Even when I'm not going anywhere.
Go for a run- (Score:3)
I have tried various things over the years. The best I ever found was to make myself run every day. Get in the habit of roll out of bed, go run, shower, go to work.
One day I went to work, then after eight hours I realized that I never even stood up. I was busy all day long, with all of my meetings coming to my office. I never got thirsty or had the call of nature. I realized that I had been sitting on my rear for a full eight hours. I try to at least go get coffee now...
Work from Home | Yoga and Standing Practice (Score:3)
If you don't mind getting sweaty, exercise bands, push ups and fifer scissors/situps, can be great for your upper body, and easy to use/do quietly in a relatively small space.
Whatever you do, don't stand all day. Standing desks just switch out the health problems you get from sitting. Varying what you do is the best tact - if you stand most of the day, find time to sit and rest your legs (and vice versa).
Bike to work, get a dog, walk at lunch (Score:3)
I bike to work 2 - 3 times/week (In the winter months when it's dark at night, I tend to bike in once direction only and take transit home. It's a 19 mile ride so even a one way trip is pretty good exercise).
The dog makes sure I got out for at least one 30 minute walk or jog (the wife usually takes her for the afternoon walk).
I spend my lunch hour walking with a few coworkers.
I can't imagine that a treadmill would work well in the office -- I'd either be focused on the treadmill and not working, or be focused on working and not the treadmill and would end up tripping myself.
M O V E (Score:3)
- Walk/Cycle to work
- Use stairs whenever you find the chance (ascending only, be kind to your knees)
- Take breaks to go for a walk
- Go running after work (run to home perhaps?)
Re: (Score:2)
Strangely the title of the post you responded to is the only reasonable answer.
_Move_ out of Chicago for fucks sake. Don't move to Detroit.
Re: (Score:2)
Why would anyone in a first world country want to live in such a place, not safe enough to walk/cycle to the office? This is not a rhetorical question, I've never been to Chicago.
excersise (Score:2)
Walk to work (Score:2)
I walk to work. 40 minutes both ways. It's 6.6km round trip. Decent exercise for the day and I get some reflection time and fresh air as a bonus.
High impact weight training: (Score:4, Funny)
I exercise by lifting coffee cups.
Easy: go to the gym (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Whatever solution you come up with... (Score:2)
Please figure out a way that doesn't make you stinky at work. Just because *you* can't smell you doesn't mean others can't.
being fit (Score:2)
Being fit = going to the gym and actively working on your body to stay in shape.
Losing weight, staying in a healthy weight range is not fit.
Saying you don't want to put any effort into getting/staying fit is a sure fire way to make sure you're never fit. You do need to exercise, you do need to make time for it, you do need to make it a priority. There is no quick easy way out of it.
It's a "Jump to conclusions" mat. (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Get enough sleep (Score:2)
Numerous studies have suggested that obesity is linked to not getting enough sleep. Aside from that, try bicycling to work if it's feasible.
Get your bicycle out of your garage (Score:5, Insightful)
Unless you've got a truly ridiculous commute, you can probably bike to work without taking much more time than driving. I've got a 7km commute that takes 15 mintues in rush-hour traffic. I can ride it in 20 (17 minutes is my personal best).
It takes an additional 15 minutes at work to shower and change, but that's 15 minutes that I'm not spending showering at home. All told, I get 40 minutes of exercise in a day with a net time loss of only 10 minutes. AND! I use the hot water at work (free!), where they don't have those horrible low-flow showerheads.
Re:Get your bicycle out of your garage (Score:4, Insightful)
"Truly ridiculous" is anything you can't bike without reaching your personal "I'm gonna die now" limit. For me, I'd set that at about an hour of riding, which would let me acheive the average commute distance on a good day (26km/16mi). But it's a personal choice. Obviously, as the distance increases, the extra time required to bike it instead of driving it increases as well.
I totally understand the stones it takes to join the cars on the road. My route has no bike lanes at all, and is along the biggest, busiest roads in a city of 350,000 people. But I've been riding my bike around town for 15 years now, so I'm pretty inured to the horrific driving that goes on around me. On the other hand, you are correct, I'm not from the US (rather, from that cold neighbour to the North), so at the very least, I don't have to worry about being shot to death when some jackass behind me gets pissed off that I've slowed him down.
If you are going to try this, there are three things I highly recommend:
One - get a rear-view mirror. It's invaluable when you want to change lanes, and for keeping an eye on the cars behind you that might cut you off at that right turn ahead.
Two - practice vehicular cycling, and take the lane (ride in the middle) when it's necessary to do so for your safety. Vehicular cycling means that your actions are predictable to the cars around you.
Three - if you're really having problems, either mount a camera on your helmet, or mount something that looks like a camera on your helmet. I was astounded by how much more room I was given when people thought they were being recorded.
As far as temperatures, I'm one of the lucky few that experiences days as hot as 100F (39C) in the summer, and -30F (-33C) in the winter. I get both extremes! I am fortunate enough to have a shower provided at my workplace, and I recognize that.
Ride a bike (Score:2)
To work if you can. Otherwise just ride a bike. Once you start, you will get so hooked that it will become your priority. Trust me on this one.
bike (Score:2)
cycle to work.
for my commute it saves time compared to any other 'reasonable' mode of transport. (not including jetpack, helicopter, pneumatic tubes) (ok maybe a motorbike might win).
Fitness is a decision, and a lifestyle (Score:2)
TL;DR: Pick something - anything - and commit to doing it 5x/week for 30-60 minutes per session for 30 days. It will become habit after a month and you will be less likely to quit. Install MyFitnessPal on your smartphone and use it religiously as a companion for those 30 days, and beyond. Nutrition is 80-90% of fitness.
---
Fitness and healthy living is a decision you arrive at following an inner monologue.
Experts say it takes 30 days for any new habit to become a routine, to become "cemented" in your lif
Morning Workout to a Video and Treadmill Desk (Score:3)
I do the Power90 workout with my wife six mornings a week before going to work, then I have a treadmill desk at work where I walk all day as I code, read, surf, post on /. If we have a really early or hectic day ahead we move the workout to before dinner. If we're sick or injured in some way we modify the workout a bit. The big secret is not to push hard, just show up and keep moving. The workout is for cardio and strength, the treadmill desk wiped out any aches and pains and bad posture from hunching over and typing for 20 odd years.
Give yourself three months of drill instructor attitude to get in the habit and aim at 3 years to measure your results, just to avoid any short-term thinking. That worked great for us, and now it's just natural to get up and do it.
That's pretty much all you need.
Simple stuff (Score:2)
RFP: Exercise bands (Score:2)
I have a couple of exercise bands at my desk which I use when my hands are free.
More information about desk-friendly exercise bands, please.
Make the time. (Score:2)
What's consuming the rest of your time? I bet you have an hour or so to spend at the gym before or after work if you really want to. Or could you do it during your lunch break? Also, you'll want to change what you eat--the Mountain Dew isn't going to help you. (Not bragging, but I'm a full-time graduate student with two part-time jobs and still manage to work out for about an hour a day--and I still have time to make my own dinner, which lots of people also insist they don't have time for. You might try tha
Martial Arts (Score:2)
I joined three gyms in 5-6 years and never stuck with it for more than 3 months, wasting the rest of the year's membership. Then, I decided to get into martial arts (partly as a family activity). A decent school with good master instructors will keep you motivated. There's always a new goal ahead of you: your next belt promotion, that new technique you saw the senior students practicing, new opportunities, etc. I've stuck with it for 6.5 years now, earning a 2nd dan in taekwondo and have been training in
Go for a walk (Score:2)
Instead of taking a 60minute meal break. Eat your lunch in 30minutes and then go for a 30minute walk. It doesn't have to be right after you eat but insert the 30minute walk sometime in the day.
Block that 30minute walk out in your calendar so people can't (or will try to avoid) scheduling a meeting/concall over that time.
It's absurd if your boss expects you to sit at your desk for 9 hours a day (8hrs of working + 1 hr lunch).
My experience... (Score:2)
-Snack, but on good things. Fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. Read the nutrition label on everything.
-Drink water. A lot of water. I've been drinking 4L a day - that helps both reduce food cravings and avoid kidney stones. Fuck kidney stones, seriously.
-Take up a sport. There's no more fun way to exercise than something fast-paced and competitive. If you play video games, stop doing that and use that time to do something out in the real world.
wasn't this same question asked a few weeks ago? (Score:2)
Take the stairs. Stretch in your office. Walk at lunch. Set your watch to beep on the hour, and when it beeps stop what you're doing, get up, stretch, and walk around the building. Get a dog, walk him when you get home. Try jogging with your dog on weekends. (Don't overdo it until youDo some sit-ups before getting in the shower in the morning. It's not a lot, but it's more than most do, and it'll help keep you alive.
Speaking of which, cross the streets carefully when
Re: (Score:3)
Was supposed to have been:
(Don't overdo it until you get used to it. Heart attacks while trying to get healthy are embarrassing.) When I started jogging, I went around the block, and I was done. Every few days I'd add another block until I was doing five miles a day. That seemed to be good enough and I didn't try to push it any further. Then my knees gave out, so I walk now.
I had this issue (Score:3)
Here is how I dealt with it:
1. Cut back on my work hours. That includes oncall response times. I found I can still get my work done in 40 that I used to do in 60 by working smarter instead of harder.
2. Ride a bicycle to work. If it is ten miles or less away from home, you can do it. If it is winter, consider zip ties on the tires for traction, or using cross country skis. Remember to use lights and have a loud horn.
a. Use a skate board if you are able to, and if you are close enough. Better work out.
b. Use public transit and walk to work if neither of the above work well.
3. Go walk a little every hour. Standing is fine, but walking will help a lot. Don't go longer than 2 hours without moving around.
4. Water, unsweetened coffee, or unsweetened tea. No more mountain dew, ever.
5. Cut carbs. That is how type 1 diabetics keep their blood sugar under control. Excess blood sugar gets converted to fat. The recommended daily minimum is about 200 carbs.
a. The easiest way is to completely fill up on green salad at every meal aside from breakfast. Eat anything you like after the salad.
b. Fats and everything else have to go through extra stages until they are broken down to sugars which get turned into fat.
c. Cut back on the salt. Cut it out entirely unless it is part of a recipe or already part of the meal.
6. Get uninterrupted sleep. If someone or something is making it harder to sleep, fix it.
7. Stretch a lot. People think exercise helps, but actually I found that a lot of stretching went a long way toward slimming me down and reducing my blood pressure. Stretching is also exercise.
8. Buy and wear really good shoes if standing and walking a lot. Extra weight can really mess up your lower joints until the benefits of exercise kick in.
Body tinkering - nerd it up (Score:4, Interesting)
Work out in the evenings at home (Score:2)
My work does have a gym, but it requires a vehicle to drive there. I carpool, so I usually don't have a mode of transportation to get there. Even if I did, I'd have to do it during my 30 minute lunch break. No time to fit a round trip drive, plus a workout, in that time. Sometimes during nice weather I'll go for a jog outside, but most days, I just do a workout routine at home.
I get home at 6 PM, eat dinner, get the kids to bed by 7. Work out until about 8, then go to sleep by around 8:30. Wake up at
Add distance (Score:2)
Park your car not at the office park, but in some other office park 15 minutes' walk distant.
Bike to work (Score:2)
If you live too close : make a detour.
If you live too far : do only part of it on the bike.
You might not develop a gorgeous torso but your cardio health will be top-notch.
Standing desk (Score:2)
I have a standing desk. See this NYT article (which may or may not have been contradicted by a different pop-science NYT article): http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this/ [nytimes.com]
Just walk (Score:5, Informative)
First -- having a standing desk is awesome, and you're probably doing more for yourself just with that than you could with an exercise program while still sitting 8+ hours a day.
Second -- take a break a few times a day and go for a brisk walk. Ten or fifteen minutes of walking will clear your head, helping your concentration for the next couple hours of work, and get your heart rate up a little.
Third -- cut out the crap and start eating healthy.
Fourth -- don't buy into the "you need to get motivated" crap. If getting motivated worked, there wouldn't be such a huge industry in motivational books/conferences/blogs. Motivation will last a week or two, but when that initial enthusiasm wears off willpower and discipline have to be there to take over long enough to establish new habits. For most people that takes about a month.
Fifth -- lead a balanced, healthy life. That's not always possible, but when something is out of whack in your life there are going to be consequences, so take care of yourself -- not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Thomas
Bike to work, use the stairs (Score:2)
Biking to work is a great way to turn a soul-deadening commute into a real workout. And stay out of the elevators, take the stairs.
If you're in a low building with no stairs, follow the lead of your smoking co-workers. Take a "smoke break" every hour but walk around the building instead of smoking.
Easy, stop eating crap (Score:2)
Seriously. The amount of sugar/corn syrup in EVERYTHING is amazing. Cut it all out and you'll notice a change in a few weeks. Now this is really difficult to do. Again. It's in everything. You can thank the corporate food engineers for that.
Exercise? Get up and walk around. If want more? Pick short high intensity things for 10-20 min at home each day. Jump rope is excellent. Plain old pushups and sit-ups cover everything else for starters. Main thing for me was to not make a big deal about it, b
I took up swimming (Score:2)
Bike, sports, good food (Score:2)
I cycle to work, 6km round trip (I cycle to the train station then do the rest of the commute by train). Then I do indoor climbing twice a week for a 2 to 3 hours, and I play 5v5 or 8v8 football (soccer for the americans here) once or twice a week.
During week days I hace orange juice and coffee for breakfast, maybe some buscuits (just a couple) then I get either a good salad and fruit or some vegetarian dish for lunch. I do eat meat, but moderately and at dinner or on weekends (usually on sundays, as it's s
I take long walk back to cubicle (Score:2)
And pretend to work.
Great workout.
Its simple (Score:2)
Get married.
Buy a house
She'll make you do DIY and landscaping until you're sore in places you didn't know you had.
Try a game! (Score:4, Informative)
Get the diet in order (Score:5, Insightful)
Most people in this thread are likely to focus on the highlighted part. And they are certainly good in doing so. Spending 45-60 minutes, 3 times a week, picking up heavy things off of the ground is one of the greatest things I have ever done for my strength and physique. It has been great for building muscle and cardiovascular health. However, when you say "fit" I assume you meant fat loss, first and foremost. And when it comes to fat loss that is done in the kitchen.
Well, here's my angle. Exercise is for strength, endurance and health. That is, when you lift you should be lifting to increase your strength and what you should be counting is the weight lifted and the reps repped. When you cardio, what you should be counting is miles ran/sprinted/biked. However, what many do is count the calories burned instead. And you do burn calories. You burn calories during the activity itself, you usually get a metabolic "afterburner" effect and you burn calories when your body rebounds (this also has the effect of partitioning a portion your dietary protein and fat towards tissue and hormone construction instead of just flat energy). And that's great. But you just CANNOT out train a shitty diet. Saying to yourself that you can eat/drink X today because you did Y is such a dead end, terrible, philosophy that gets many in trouble. The freedom to eat something because "you earned it" just leads to heartbreak for many. If you're going to exercise, exercise for the sake of your body's strength and health, but don't think that it will suddenly make that sugary coffee and bagel a non-factor in your obesity/diabetes.
That said, I honestly believe that the "fritos, tab, and mountain dew" part is the real core of the issue here. Refined sugars and grains coupled with modern fats (seed oils, trans-fats) are the bane of many peoples' lives. Insulin resistance, leptin resistance, celiac disease, IBS, SIBO, etc.. Simply switching to whole foods can almost entirely bypass this issue. Learn to cook your own meats, find tasty vegetable recipes, use fruits and nuts as calorie/nutrient dense desserts. When you do this the trans-fats disappear, the refined sugars and HFCS disappear, the 600+ grams of carbs a day disappear. You will learn the role that protein, fats and carbohydrates play in your body and how blindly trying to cut one of them to zero is a poor decision (seriously, when did we decide that we DIDN'T need dietary fat for healthy tissue and hormone production?). Your hunger will likely diminish as well as these foods tend to be VERY satiating.
It's funny when people ask how to get in shape that they will jump up and be ready to run in place for hours on end per week, but if you tell them that they will HAVE to cook their own meals, well, suddenly they're deers in headlights. People seem more willing to spend hours on end spinning away in their spin classes than spending a few minutes in the kitchen.
In summary:
Exercise = Strength, endurance, health
Diet = Fat loss, disease control, health
Do them together, but don't think you're going to get strong just through eating or that you're going to lose fat just through running.
Re:A couple simple rules (Score:4, Informative)
One great trick, I probably saw it on lifehacker or similar, is to phrase your decisions in terms of priorities - i.e., when choosing to do activity X (TV, long lunch, etc.) instead of Y (gym, run, etc.), consider that you're saying, "no, X is a higher priority for me than Y right now." It's cheesy, but it help keep you focused.
Yes - bringing a home-made lunch saves a ton of money, and is much easier to portion-control with. Don't eat snacks at work (supply yourself with healthy alternatives if need be).
Instead of an hour lunch break, take an hour gym break to a nearby gym, or work with your supervisor for a flex hour instead of a lunch break, show up an hour later (and use that to go to a gym on your way in). You'll be *amazed* at the increase in your afternoon productivity by going to a gym in the middle of the day, instead of stuffing yourself at the nearest lunch spot.
Walk/Run/Bike to or from work - only works if you have access to a shower facility or public transit for one-way commutes at work
Join a gym, *hire a trainer*, set a schedule. I went to the gym 3x/week for 2 years, slowly lost 5 pounds. Added a trainer, lost another 5 pounds ... in 3 months.
It sounds like the company cares about health, which is a great start - getting access to shower facilities at work really opens up a lot of possibilities, so investigate some options there.
Re:A couple simple rules (Score:5, Insightful)
Walk/Run/Bike to or from work - only works if you have access to a shower facility or public transit for one-way commutes at work
Cycling doesn't need to be that strenuous (if the commute isn't long), and is good exercise even if you don't sweat all that much. Considering that the cost of transport is included in the cost of exercise, and how efficient cycling is for both, it's really ridiculous how few people actually commute by bike.
Yeah, I know most of you'll say: it's cold and it rains, the traffic is dangerous, and it's just not practical for me. Some of you will be right, and many of you will be wrong.
Re: (Score:3)
Instead of an hour lunch break, take an hour gym break to a nearby gym [...]
Walk/Run/Bike to or from work - only works if you have access to a shower facility or public transit for one-way commutes at work.
Y'know, nearby gyms also have showers. If you can find a smaller place--most large corporate places don't have this--check with them about getting a "shower membership." Explain the situation and see what you can work out.
Another option: Sponge bath. Get two sponges. Soap one up and put clean water in the other one. Go into the handicapped stall, clean yourself up with the soapy sponge, rinse yourself off with the wet sponge. Get dressed.
I'll also throw my sweaty bike-shirt in the sink, run warm water
Re: (Score:2)
Enforce a straightly East / SE Asian diet at work. Ban Pizza, Hot dogs etc.
Re: (Score:2)
more importantly, unionize so you can make your time on employer's dime. That's the new American way.
Re: (Score:2)
Deep Breathing and Isometrics (Score:2)
Back in '78, I met a guy who was built like Tarzan. He told me all he ever did for it was deep breathing and isometric tension exercises whilst sitting at his desk. I do that, and am conscious of my posture while sitting or walking.
Standing/sitting up straight and breathing are probably the most important things you can do for your health.
Re: (Score:3)
Cannabis is a green leafy vegetable so that is definitely a healthy plan.