What is fitness?

January 26, 2008 – 10:44 am


Image source youmakehistory

Using dictionary.com I ran a search for “fitness” these were the results:

  1. Health
  2. Capability of the body of distributing inhaled oxygen to muscle tissue during increased physical effort.
  3. Also called Darwinian Fitness (Biology)
    • the genetic contribution of an individual to the next generation’s gene pool relative to the average for the population, usually measured by the number of offspring or close kin that survive to reproductive age.
    • the ability of a population to maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations.

These definitions are all correct in their own right but they offer little explanation as to what fitness means in the context of exercise. In order to define exercise fitness one has to consider the term fit and what its definition is. When someone describes another person as being fit what are they referring to; their strength, health, appearance or something else? The key to answering this is to ask yourself “Fit for what?”

For example:

  1. A person that is qualified for a job position; a fit candidate
  2. A person in good physical shape; fit for the race
  3. A person that is ready to leave; is fit to go

In these examples the word fit is used to describe specifically a persons suitability to perform a task related to their environment or lifestyle. If we change the task to an exercise related task, for example, swimming then a person who is a fit swimmer is said to be a competent swimmer.

If we take this one step further we can also define fitness in an exercise context. If fit describes a persons suitability to an environmental or lifestyle task then fitness must describe their level of suitability i.e. low, moderate or high levels of suitability. In general, exercise fitness is divided into two groups:

  1. health related fitness - including strength, speed, stamina, muscular endurance, and flexibility
  2. skill related fitness - including agility, balance, co-ordination, reaction time and power

In summary, if someone ask you if you’re fit, your reply should be “fit for what?” Knowing that being fit implies that you are suitable, qualified or competent to meet an environmental or lifestyle task. If someone asks “How is your fitness” they are asking you to describe your level of suitability to perform an exercise related activity.

By Daniel Posted in What is...? No Comments

Which fitness component do you train primarily?

January 25, 2008 – 7:44 pm


The topic for this weeks poll is “Which fitness component do you train primarily?”

I know that there are more components to fitness than those that are listed but for me to list them all would take up too much space. If you carry out combination training for example, jogging and strength endurance calisthenics then simply choose the component that is most dominant in terms of duration per week and that is most important to you.

The poll can be located in the sidebar to the left so please take a minute to cast your vote.

By Daniel Posted in Polls No Comments

Stub it out - the truth about cigarettes

January 24, 2008 – 7:22 pm


Image source The Accidental Expert

If you’ve been following me on twitter you may already know that i have been working, on a temporary basis, for a company that engineers industrial sized machines. Today i was having a general conversation with a guy, in between me painting the mezzanine hand rails, when i asked him what these gigantic contraptions were. In response he said, “…these things, erm, they’re for making cigarettes, this one’s going to Belgium and a bunch of our guys are over in America installing one.” I replied something along the lines of “Are they? They’re huge.” I won’t carry with a novel style transcript of the conversation but i will outline the main details:

  • Machine costs over £1,000,000
  • Each tobacco company makes their money back within 6 months from cigarette sales
  • You wouldn’t believe the chemicals that we put into these machines

All three of these points in the conversation struck a chord with me, most significant of all was the final point. When i heard this i thought to myself what actually is in a cigarette and do smokers know? This post will clear up all the ambiguity.

Why smoke?
Smoking causes many health related issues, most notably; lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and bronchitis. Tobacco use also causes cancer of the throat, mouth, pancreas, bladder, stomach, liver, and kidney. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of cancer in the world. Approximately 1.3 million deaths worldwide per year as a result of lung cancer.

Other health related issues that are not as widely known are:

  • stained teeth, bad breath, gum disease and loss of taste
  • poor circulation therefore decreased fitness, cold skin, narrowed veins and arteries, gangrene and cramps
  • reduced oxygen to skin causing premature skin ageing
  • decreased bone density
  • decreased fertility

source gosmokefree.nhs.uk



Image source Wikipedia

The ingredients

  • Acetone - Nail polish remover
  • Ammonia - Toilet cleaner
  • Arsenic - Rat poison
  • Benzo(a)pyrene - Diesel exhaust fumes
  • Carbon Monoxide - Petrol exhaust fumes
  • DDT and Dieldrin - Insecticides
  • Formaldehyde - Preservative for dead bodies
  • Hydrogen Cyanide - Poison used in gas chambers
  • Methanol - Rocket fuel
  • Titanium - Metal used to make aeroplanes

A single cigarette contains more than 4000 toxic chemicals. Research has shown that at least 50 are capable of causing cancer. When i look at the list i think of a garden shed or a garage shelf with all the bottles of chemicals that daddy said not touch because “they’re dangerous”. So why then do people disregard this and decide that i won’t touch them but i’ll roll them all up in a piece of paper and smoke them? Maybe, there is a general ignorance amongst smokers to find out the complete list of ingredients because they know it can only be bad. Maybe tobacco firms are shirking their responsibilities by not displaying the ingredients on packages? Maybe smokers simply don’t care? Maybe…..a whole host of reasons exist?

You may have guessed that i’m not a smoker. I grew up in a household that was occupied by stagnant second hand smoke every hour of the day a disgusting environment for anyone to be in, even worse when you’re a child and have no option but to put up with it. Being forced to eat, sleep and drink in putrid and pungent haze of smoke soon instilled the opinion in me that i should never take up smoking no matter how cool it was hyped up to be. I went through a period when i would not associate myself with people that smoked and was quite active in stamping it out among my friends at school. These days i don’t ostracise people so readily but i am forever thankful that the UK is a smoke free country so that my friends and i can go to any public place and not enter into a cloud of smoke, choke as we talk, and then go home stinking like an ash tray.

On that note, i’m glad to say that my time with the company comes to end tomorrow (Friday) and the job that i’m waiting for (ambulance care assistant) becomes ever closer.

What are you opinions on the listed ingredients? Did you know about them? What can be done to inform people so they can make the right choice and kick the habit? I would really like to hear your thoughts on this and so would others i’m sure.

For advice on going smoke free and what to expect when giving up click here

By Daniel Posted in Advice 1 Comment

Where do you exercise? Poll results

January 24, 2008 – 12:01 pm

The results of the recent poll are:

Home only (47%)
Gym only (13%)
Home & Gym (27%)
Outdoors (13%)
Other (0%)

Thank you to the people that took time to vote.

It’s good to see that people who visit my site are motivated to train at either at home solely or in conjunction with the gym. There are probably different reasons for people to choose to train at home and maybe for some it isn’t a choice. This was the case for me when i was at University and couldn’t afford the time or money to train at a gym.

My vote was for the Home & Gym category. The gym offers a social aspect to my training, and is a place for me to chat with like minded people. The majority of which also train at home and the great outdoors.

By Daniel Posted in Polls No Comments

10 reasons to be wary of what you read in a blog

January 22, 2008 – 7:35 pm

Image source funnybusiness

A post over at GearFire titled 10 Reasons to Use an Exercise Ball as Your Chair caught my attention this evening. The post sounded interesting and relevant to me being an advocate of methods to improve all fitness aspects while at home or outdoors. As the title suggest, using an exercise ball or Swiss ball (the same thing) can pay dividends in respect to one’s posture, however as i read the post i found that i disagreed with almost all of the justifications the author provided.

The 10 points:

  1. Forces proper spine alignment.
  2. Causes you to frequently change positions.
  3. Fitness is at your fingertips.
  4. Improve your balance.
  5. Get that 6-pack you’ve been wanting.
  6. Improves your circulation.
  7. You’ll feel more energetic.
  8. Burn up to 350 calories per day.
  9. Really cheap.
  10. C’mon, its fun!

I’m not writing this post because i have a grudge against the authors, i actually enjoy the blog a great deal as it provides a lot of good information for students. I’ve recently graduated and miss the student life so me reading their blog is probably a means of weaning myself away from an academic lifestyle.

I was intending to write about this topic myself because i do own an exercise ball and am sat on it as i type. But, since reading this post i’ve thought to myself, if misinformation exists in this form regarding a low risk topic what else out there in the blogsphere is being posted as ill-informed advice?

To Geoff R., i appreciate your efforts in offering people advice regarding their postural health, but, some topics are best left to those with specialist knowledge. Nowhere on your “about” page does it mention “exercise science” as an “area of expertise”.

  1. Forces proper spine alignment - sitting on an exercise ball is an activity that requires co contraction of the inner unit of the core muscles and the spinal muscle groups. Without this co contraction the person sat on the ball will slump forward at the desk and support oneself using the wrist and forearms for stability. Simply sitting on an exercise ball does not force proper spinal alignment. The body will only sit upright with correct posture when reminded to by the brain, until the postural muscles are sufficiently adept to the correct posture. This will occur as a result of repeated bouts of sitting on the ball in the correct manner.
  2. Causes you to frequently change positions - this is a valid point. Sitting on an exercise ball is like sitting on a normal chair on ice. If you’re not careful you may fall off.
    I agree with Geoff here. Because of the instability of the ball the postural muscles are systemically working to ensure that an upright posture is sustained. Likewise, when moving around at the desk to fetch the phone or other item, the postural muscles are required to counteract the instability of the body on the ball. This helps to promote flexibility of the trunk, strength, and endurance of the postural muscles.
  3. Fitness is at your fingertips - for this point Geoff mentions that you can have a quick workout getting up. I’m going to take this point with a pinch of salt because you can do a few crunches, sit ups and errrm…more crunches. I’d prefer that if you do find yourself with a spare 5 minutes that you make the effort to get up and promote some circulation to the legs. Perform some squats with the ball against a wall, followed by a back stretch, and ab stretch. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better and ready for you next stint at the desk.
  4. Improve your balance - another fair point by Geoff. All that i will say about this point is that balance requires interaction from a multitude of senses, muscular sense being only one of them. Also, balance training is specific. By sitting on an unstable ball you will improve your balance at sitting on an unstable ball. For example, to improve your one legged standing balance, you must train standing on one leg and remove one or more balance stimulus, i.e. stability.
  5. Get the 6-pack you’ve been wanting - completely untrue. As i mentioned earlier, the ability to balance sitting on a ball requires co activation of the spinal and inner unit muscles. These muscles have to constantly readjust to ensure the correct upright posture is maintained. The work effort exerted upon these muscles during co contraction has been hypothesised to provide a benefit to their endurance capacity. In search of the secret to gaining a 6 pack you will not find exercise experts advocating endurance training. What they will mention is eating clean with minimal fat intake, appropriate aerobic and/or anaerobic training, and an excellent core training programme.
  6. Improves your circulation - in comparison to sitting on some chairs sitting on an exercise ball is 100 per cent better. The problem with sitting in a chair for a long period of time lies in the compression of surface veins and arteries therefore restricting blood flow. Also, blood pooling in the legs can occur. When sitting on an exercise ball this is accounted for by the small postural movements that help to pump the blood around the body. Also, so long as an angle of less than 90 degree is observed at the thighs, in relation to the floor, then blood will not pool as dramatically.
  7. You’ll feel more energetic - true to a certain extent. After a period of prolonged use, sitting on an exercise ball will become second nature, in that respect you will be feeling a whole lot better about yourself simply because you will be in an upright and commanding posture. However, early on into switching from a chair to an exercise ball you will be liable to feel lethargy of the core muscles. This is due to the newly found activation they will receive after however many years of inactivity at a desk. My advice is not to run before you can walk. Don’t assume that you will be able to sit on the ball for 8 hour shifts 5 days per week. Start off simply with 20 minutes a day and gradually increase the duration of sitting over a number of weeks. The last thing you want to do is cause harm to the muscles that account for posture.
  8. Burn up to 350 calories per day - I think this point was probably read on a piece of promotional packaging. I grant that the extra work performed by the postural muscles will add up to a few calories, but, a few calories only. I once read in a piece of research that it requires 250,000 crunches to burn 1 lb of fat. Make of that what you will.
  9. Really cheap - I’m all for this point. Exercise balls are cheap in comparison to ergonomically designed chairs and are twice as versatile because they double up as a workout bench. It is important that people but the best version of exercise ball they can afford. Many of the cheaper versions do not guarantee against bursting. For the sake of a few pounds/euros/dollars/generic money you can buy a ball with a lifetime guarantee against bursting.
  10. C’mon, it’s fun! - This is very much true. I’ve been using a ball for a couple of years now. I’ve found that my sitting posture has improved no end, and that my sitting balance is superb. I often find myself adopting challenging balancing postures, trying to push my new found skill to the limits.

I hope that by writing this post i don’t come across too harshly? The only motive for me writing in this way is a dislike for misinformation when it comes to health and fitness related issues. The authors at GearFire provide a great service for students, but, they should only advocate what they truly know and understand.

To me health and fitness are specialist subjects that should only be tackled from a qualified perspective. Be that experienced based, academically or both. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?

By Daniel Posted in Advice 4 Comments

An example of a calisthenics routine

January 21, 2008 – 7:08 pm

Lego man creates the ultimate calisthenics circuit


Image source design_inspiration

A good friend of mine recently explained to me that the his time for retoxing had long over run, and that he now wants to get back into training. I pointed him in the direction of this blog to learn a few of the basic calisthenics exercises, in reply to this he asked, “Do you have a routine i can follow?” This is when it dawned on me that i haven’t published a post that outlines a routine. Here is that post.

When I train at home I like to make the most of the time available so my routines have minimal rest periods. Instead of rest periods I prefer to exercise a muscle group immediately followed by an unrelated muscle group. This isn’t advisable for everybody so I will outline a breakdown of work/rest ratios.

The benefits of exercising in this way are:

  • short workout time
  • emphasis on aerobic and anaerobic respiratory systems
  • emphasis on muscular endurance and strength
  • simple movements relevant to life and sport
  • whole body workout
  • numerous exercise variants


The routine template

  • Whole body
  • Upper body
  • Core & trunk
  • Lower body
  • Whole body


The exercises

Whole body: burpees, alternate squat thrusts, squat thrusts, star jumps, walk arounds, and running on the spot
Upper body: press ups, triceps dips, pull ups, inclined/declined push ups and handstand push ups
Core & trunk: sit ups, crunches, back extension, supermans, cross over crunch
Lower body: squats, single leg squats, box step ups, forward lunges, and backwards lunges

The example

  1. Squat thrusts watch
  2. Push ups watch
  3. Cross over crunch watch
  4. Back extension watch
  5. Squats watch
  6. Burpees watch


How to use the routine

Where to start if you’re…

A beginner:

  • work/rest ratio = 20/30 seconds
  • 2 circuits with 2 minutes rest between

An intermediate:

  • work/rest ratio = 45/20 seconds
  • 3 circuits with 2 minutes rest between

Advanced:

  • work/rest ratio = 60/10 seconds
  • 4 circuits with 2 minutes rest between


Key points

The above are guidelines only. They are not set in stone, and can be manipulated specifically to your fitness. I recommend adapting the work/rest ratio initially, then number of circuits, and finally the rest between circuits. Complete the calisthenics circuits training session twice a week with at least 48 hours between each session. If you intend to perform another type of training, for example cardio, on the same day then i suggest that the calisthenics session should follow, with a suitable recovery period. Remember, you can interchange the exercises so long as the template is adhered to. For example, a whole body exercise for an alternative whole body exercise.

A calisthenics routine is as simple as that. Let me know if you decide to try it out or already do. This particularly applies to that friend i mentioned.

You might like to read the series on calisthenics before starting this routine, found here:
What are calisthenics?
What are calisthenics? Part 2
What are calisthenics? Part 3

By Daniel Posted in Calisthenics 3 Comments

Beating Heart Disease

January 19, 2008 – 11:11 am

Fruit makes a good heart

strawberry hearts

Image source iamhomosquirrel

Every blog that I’ve read recently has referred to the topic of goal setting, me included. I agree that setting goals is perhaps the most important factor in determining if you will fail or succeed in your ambitions for the coming year. That said, goal setting is about self, people ask how can I achieve this or that, the advice people give refers to your goals, and people set about their own needs for the year. Then, a few days ago i received a letter from the British Heart Foundation wishing a Happy New Year to me and all my family, and mentioning that no doubt after Christmas and the new year that i may feel the need to get fit and active. I thought to myself, “Why not integrate my fitness goal with the needs of others?”


In 2005 one in five men and one in six women died from heart disease, including heart attacks, making heart disease the biggest killer of people in the UK. - bbc.co.uk/health

Stats via - Office for National Statistics

What can you do to help?
This is the simple part. Combine your goals with that of a charity. A fitness goal of mine this year is to enter 5 or more running events. Not necessarily road running, but, cross country, adventure runs, and multi terrain. The letter that the BHF sent my way offers me the opportunity to tick off the first event of the year. I live in a seaside town in the UK called Bournemouth where fortunately we have access to 7 miles of beaches. The BHF holds biannual runs along a coastal path for people to enter from all over Europe. The events are the half marathon, 10 km, and 5 km distances that attract over 2500 runners each year. If you are from Europe and are interested then use the following link to find an event in the UK.

Link: Events

The events are mixed and varied in terrain, so if running is not your thing then choose cycling or swimming.

In the USA
If you do not live in the UK or Europe then the American Heart Association provide a similar events calender. They organise a Heart Walk geared towards raising money to fight heart disease by raising money for a sponsored walking event. Also, Hoops for Hearts is an event where people can play basketball, shoot hoops, and have fun while raising money for the AHA.

Link: Events

I know that i have only provided links for the UK and USA so here is the link for the World Heart Federation. I couldn’t possibly appraise every heart charity for every country in the World so please forgive me. Point you browser to this site, you will find links to every continent in the World that participates.

How will it help you?
Charity events are an ideal way to set yourself a fitness goal. They are perfect in allowing you to follow the SMARTER principles of goal setting. They are fun and you make many new friends. By taking part you will be looking after your own heart as well as raising money for those with more vulnerable hearts, and to assist research. One day the recipient might be you.

Why not enter an event outside of your local area? This way you get to travel, see some new sights and meet new friends.

What about the sense of achievement? How many people do you know that have run a marathon, swam for 2 miles in the sea, or cycled for 50 miles? Not many.

What this post isn’t.
Don’t think of this post as a way for me to tell you what you should be doing this year in terms of charity work and goals. I simply posted this because of the great opportunity that landed on my door mat. I want to enter more running events, I like the idea of helping a charity, and hey presto i can run an event and raise money for charity. If the letter hadn’t arrived through the post would i have considered running for charity? Probably not.

One last thing, if you do consider an event for charity then by no means should you choose a heart related event on the basis of this post. I didn’t sit down and think of which charities to run for, it came to me. Make your own choices but please do let me know. I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment or send an email and I’ll get back to you.

By Daniel Posted in Advice 2 Comments

Armed forces fitness

January 16, 2008 – 8:08 pm

Fun in the mud


Image source Londonkoreanlinks

I recently viewed a post at fitnesstipsforlife.com that that referred to an article in the British newspaper the Guardian serialising how the British Army advises potential recruits to prepare physically to enable them to pass basic training.

I won’t bore you with the complete program as they outline everyday for 16 weeks. That said it is a very thorough guide to improving fitness steadily and using only minimal equipment. The program uses calisthenics techniques as the core component coupled with speed interval and fartlek (Swedish for “speedplay”) style running. I will say that the first week is aimed at people who have not exercised for a long time or maybe never, as the most demanding exercise prescription is 5 triceps dips. If you are considering this programme then i would suggest that you start at a week that closely resembles your level of fitness, This way the programme won’t take 16 weeks and you won’t become bored. The programme prescribes that at week 16 a potential recruit will be able to:

Day 1
· Steady run for 30-40 minutes
· 2 x press-ups for 1min
· 4 x 20 squats
· 2 x sit-ups for 1min
· 4 x 20 dorsal raises
· 4 x 12 chin-ups
· Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
· Rest day

Day 3
· 10-15 minute warm-up
· Alternate running hard, then recovering, for intervals of 1,2,3,2 and 1 minute
· 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
· Rest day

Day 5
· 10-minute warm-up
· Brisk walk/run for 30-40 minutes or go swimming, cycling or rowing for 30-40min
· 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
· Rest day

Day 7: fitness assessment
· Press-ups for 2 minutes to establish new max score
· Sit-ups for 2min to establish new max score
· 1.5-mile timed run

So, if these are goals that tie in closely to your own why not give it a try? If you are training for the forces then it might be an idea to exceed these fitness requirements because on the day of the test I’m fairly sure you won’t be given the luxury of too many rest periods.

Also posted by the Guardian were 6 how to booklets offering a comprehensive guide to improve fitness. My favourite being number 6 called Improvised Training that details how to make the most of what is around you for effective power training, and speed, agility and quickness.

Useful links Armed Forces links:
Royal Marines
RAF

By Daniel Posted in Calisthenics 2 Comments

Stair climbing for fitness

January 15, 2008 – 10:02 pm

To step or not to step?

image source Dipp

I recently read an article that caught my attention about the methods that Governments employ to reduce current coronary heart disease (CHD) rates in the western world. The most striking point of the article is regarding the factors that are attributed to the rate of CHD. The authors cite the U.S. Department of Health and Services when they say that a sedentary lifestyle poses a greater risk to CHD than smoking, cholesterol levels and, hypertension.

Their research attributes the increased mechanisation of labour and the long sedentary office hours of many workers as the main reasons for a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, they postulate that if people were to reduce their inactive nature CHD levels be reduced and that the workplace is the ideal place to activate their working day.

Previous research they cite discusses that ideally the exercise programme should not interfere with the working day, take a minimal amount of time, incur no financial costs, involve no special equipment, and have clear benefits to health. Their research led them down the path of stair climbing. Mainly because many offices have a stairwell, people are familiar with the actions involved and, it has been shown to be related to life longevity.

image source bbc.co.uk

This brings me back to the point I made at the start. Why do Governments insist on spending a mountain of money trying to stop people smoking? I know that cigarettes contain an incredible amount of carcinogens and that smoking related diseases are high, but, I’m discussing health related issues in the context of CHD and not diseases such as lung cancer.

A review of a study cites that in the year 2000, the 7 top causes of death in the USA were:

  • Heart disease (710,760 deaths)
  • Cancer (553,091)
  • Stroke (167,561)
  • Lung disease (122,009)
  • Injuries from accidents (97,900)
  • Diabetes (69,301)
  • Flu and pneumonia (65,313)

As the list shows CHD killed more people than lung disease therefore it seems logical that Governments should focus their efforts on increasing physical activity not necessarily more than anti smoking campaigns but at least to the same degree. I will point out that smoking is a major contributor to CHD and this is why I wont say that Governments should withdraw their funds but, I do believe that awareness of the risks of a sedentary lifestyle need to be addressed.

That’s my little rant over as I become increasingly aware that I’m going way off topic.

In terms of the stair climbing study, 29 sedentary men and women were assigned an 8 week stair climbing exercise programme and their results were compared to 16 sedentary people who did not stair climb.

The exercise programme
Week 1 and 2 consisted of 1 bout of 145 steps = to 23.9 m
Ween 3 and 4 consisted of 2 bouts of 145 steps = to 47.8 m
Week 5 and 6 consisted of 3 bouts of 145 steps = to 71.7 m

This programme averaged 6 minutes exercise per day.

The results
The study showed that the experimental group improved their predicted aerobic (cardio) ability by 9.4%, a result that was consistent with other similar studies. No differences were observed for other variables including: cholesterol, BMI, body fat, and blood pressure.

What does this mean?
Firstly, the results mean that a 6 minute stair climbing programme can lead to improvement of aerobic fitness, but not to improvements of metabolic and physiological fitness.

The main point discussion point revolves around the duration and intensity of the exercise. The fact that an average of 6 minutes per day of moderate intensity exercise induces similar results to that of walking for 45 minutes at a low intensity is an eye opening finding. Many people feel that they need to go out jogging for 30 minutes 3 times per week when in reality they don’t. Further research to this study has discovered that continuing the stair climbing programme for an additional 4 week elicited 25% improvements for aerobic ability.

My advice
If you are a sedentary person with a low aerobic capacity then consider an exercise strategy that fits in well with the working day. I’m not saying that at lunchtime you should slip into your gym kit and dash for the nearest stairwell, unless you’re willing, but, at least take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park the car a little further from work and walk the remainder of the journey. Walk the dog on a regular basis. Play football in the park with the children. Search the web for a programme that you can follow at home, i recently posted about calisthenics a way to exercise using body weight as resistance in the comfort of your own home.

Do anything that elevates the heart rate because low cardio fitness is a strong predictor of mortality. Keep the exercise durations low and the intensity high as to save time away from the office and all other aspects of life.

If you are a person with moderate to high cardio fitness then keep doing what you are doing. If you train for long durations at a low intensity, then integrate a day of high intensity low duration exercise into your programme. I personally run for 8 miles on Wednesday evening. The first 3 miles are at a steady pace then i switch to lamp post training for 2 miles, and finish off with a steady 3 mile run home. The lamp post training involves sprint intervals when i reach a lamp post i will sprint to the next, here i jog until the next lamp post. Then i sprint for 2 posts and match it with 2 jogging. I continue this for 6 posts and then return to 1 post until the 2 miles are covered. This is a great way of opening up the lungs, sucking in the fresh air and training the heart to work efficiently.

So how hands up who shirks the stairs for the escalator or elevator? I’ve been caught on a few occasions but i try to make a habit of the taking the most challenging route when I’m navigating the shops or work places. What do you think of the study? 6 minutes sound like a reasonable amount of time? Let me know your thoughts.

Article reference
Evaluating the effects of a low volume stairclimbing programme on measures of
health-related fitness in sedentary office workers. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2007) 6, 448-454.

By Daniel Posted in Research 2 Comments

New Poll

January 15, 2008 – 7:19 pm

Just a quick post to let you know that I will be running a poll as a tribute to the comments of Eartha and BluezFire on the previous post. The title of the poll is Where do you exercise? It aims to uncover the exercise habits of the readers and will run for one week.

Please take a moment to vote as the information will be useful for determining the direction of future posts. There are no right or wrong answers, only a true reflection of the voters exercise habits.

I will the post the results a week from now for all to see.

Thank you in advance

Daniel

By Daniel Posted in Polls No Comments