Stick with the basics...

Monday, January 17, 2011

I met with an old friend today that I’d coached when he was a high school runner over 20 years ago. I like to bounce ideas off him and was discussing the blog and helping folks with their fitness-related goals. “John – remember to keep it basic. That’s your best message and you do it well.”

I thought about that after I left and considered how simple getting and staying fit really is. Eat stuff from the outside areas of the grocery store…then you don’t get the processed foods. Drink a lot of water…then you’re too full to drink calorie drinks…or overeat. Get enough sleep each night. Do something…anything active…instead of a sitting activity. He suggested trying one different thing at a time…doing it for a couple of weeks and seeing what impact it made.

I’m thinking that if, for two weeks, I decided not to use the remote controls to operate the TV and DVD player, one of a couple of things would happen. First…nothing…because I can’t find the remote I need. Second…after channel surfing during the first couple of commercials, I’d get so tired from getting up and down and walking to the TV that I’d turn the thing off and find something else to do…which could be good.

I’m also terrible about drinking water. I suppose if I drank 6-8 glasses a day for two weeks, I’d lose some weight because I’d be nauseous and full and not want to eat. I’d also spend a lot of time flushing toilets…which is something like exercise.

I think I have the basic exercise attitude down pat. I don’t need a club or fancy equipment, though I do use a trainer with my bike. Still…I head into the park and carry a backpack and get a terrific workout. Simple…basic…effective. There are so many things like this and I think I’m going to do some others of those and see what affects it has and report back.

Oh…and John – I used ‘effective’ and ‘affect’ in the same story. Did I do it correctly?

Bike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 biking.
Calories burned during workout: 900 biking.