Questions on Health and Fitness Vol.1
Posted on 4 February 2010
I often get questions on the topic of health and fitness. Coming from friends family and of course the comments and e-mails I receive through this blog. Here are some of the most common ones I have heard. So hopefully you will enjoy the post.
What is the best way to do cardio in the gym?
Sometimes it is cold, miserable and or wet outside and we need to get to the gym for a workout. My preference for cardio in the gym is to mix it all up. Keep the intensity flowing and jump from machine to machine every 5 minutes. Not only does this benefit your body by working it in various different ways but it makes the time pass much quicker.
Some of the best cardiovascular machines in the gym are:
- Stepper
- Cross Trainer
- Rower
- Bike
Stay away from the treadmill for anything more than a short run, as it overemphasizes the quads work and neglects the hamstrings making it potentially problematic. Try the 4 above machines for 5 minutes each throwing in a few sprint intervals on each. It works for a great cardiovascular workout that will improve well being.
Lower back pain?
Lower back pain is a tricky one and I suggest going to see someone who specializes in the area especially if the pain is serious. Saying this many people seem to have a slight nagging lower back pain with nothing profoundly wrong, this can be solved pretty easily by strengthening the core.
- Keep your core braced while doing all exercises in the gym, even running. To do this just suck in and contract your abs while working, this will brace your lower back muscles and force them to stabilize.
- Practice The Plank (See Below) until you can work up to holding it with good form for 2 minutes. This sounds challenging at first but so many people report improved symptoms once they strengthen in this static movement.
- Do Posterior Chain strengthening exercises. If you have a kettleBell get swinging!
Best Source of Carbohydrates?
For me it comes down to the following, Base your carbohydrates on fibrous Fruits and Vegetables in abundance (careful on the non fibrous and sugary fruit though) then load up on your god dry carbs, think startchy tubers like Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Squash, Swede, Carrots, Beets and White, Red/Purple Potatoes all the nutrient packed varieties. Next up comes Corn based products and Wild Rice, Polenta can also be a very nourishing addition. I am also a huge fan of some good corn on the cob with good butter and sea salt, its a great easy side to most protein meals. Last but not least comes grain based products, keep these in moderation but if prepared correctly things like Oats and Sprouted/Sourdough bread can be good, especially when fresh.
- Stay Natural, nothing from a packet with added ingriedients….
- Always get them in their most wholesome form….
- Remember to eat your green vegetables..
- Think whole foods your grandma would be proud to see you eating!
Don’t have time to exercise, what should you do?
I can sympathize with this one as many people are working silly hours and going to the gym can be a monumental task especially when you take into account the travel times/ changing etc. So what to do?
- Walk, Walk and Walk some more. Walking is the ultimate exercise which restores Chi and burns fat. Plus it gets you outside and into the fresh air. Get of the bus early, park your car further away do whatever it takes to sneak in some more walking.
- Create a basic home gym (Essentials for a Home Workout….)
- Get some running shoes and hit the road. throw in some Pushups and Body weight squats with a 20-30 minute run and its a pretty time efficient workout most anyone can fit in!
How to not overdo nuts?
Although I have given out some guidelines on this in a previous post, its something pretty hard to control due to nuts addictive nature. My Solution is make yourself a simple rule, only eat soaked and dried nuts. Soaking your nuts not only gets rid of the anti-nutrients it also makes them far easier to digest. As they take time to prepare though you are more likely to use them in moderation.
- Leave your nuts in a bowl of water and sea salt overnight
- Next morning drain the nuts and dry them
- Leave them somewhere to dry out for 12-24 hours a fan oven or blow heater works well. Also in summer leaving them out in the sun is amazing
- Once they have dried to the core and have a good crunch you are ready to go!
Since I started doing this I have become way more careful with my nut intake, sure I will still have some raw nuts or nut butter but I make sure the majority of my intake comes from my own freshly soaked and dried nuts.
Is it bad to eat before bed?
This is a common one and the answer is that it really depends. If you are hungry you need to eat so don’t sweat it although I do find it is best to leave at least 90 minutes after having a largish meal and sleeping. Some nights though I find it hard to nod off if hungry and the best solution for me seems to be warming up a small glass of raw milk and mixing in some cinnamon. It is an old trick but not only does it put me right out it makes my sleep far deeper.
- Eating before bed won’t make you fat, eating unnatural, refined foods wrecks your metabolism and causes fat gain
- Stay light before bed when you can
- Have something to soothe the stomach if you find it difficult to sleep
Normally though I would suggest eating your last meal of the day 2-3 hours before sleeping and going to bed feeling light.
I will try to keep this kind of Q&A type post up regularly. So please comment with some questions which I will try to answer in the next of the Q&A series….
Comment by Dave Ridarelli
4 February 2010
I love using a jump rope for doing simple cardio intervals.
What is your post workout nutrition like and how soon do you eat after you finish your workout?
Comment by JD
5 February 2010
i’ve been reading about paleo problems/overdoing low-carb at freetheanimal.com and matt stone’s blog. the paleo concepts are appealing as guidelines but i’m feeling now, 6-7 months later, that i may have inadvertently done something weird to my metabolism. any thoughts on how to recover or avoid that entirely? i always thought i was eating enough starchy veg, but i’m not so sure the past few weeks.
@ JD: Thanks for the post. It is a very good question and people like Matt Stone definitely have a point and are worth reading up on to counterbalance all the Paleo talk that is taking over the health arena of the web. I will try to address this topic in my next Q&A or even in a dedicated post. My take in a nutshell is eat real food, also check out the recommendations on carbs in this post.
Comment by Grok
5 February 2010
I like the idea of switching up the machines. You could make up a pretty mean sweaty circuit jumping around like that.
Could be problematic at a busy gym though. Gatorade drinking, chatty socialite cardio junkies could mess up your flow!
Comment by Jen-JensFitnessTips.com
5 February 2010
Great post!! You hit a lot of important topics!! I’ve been doing the elliptal and treadmill. I wanted to get prepared for running a race this Spring. I thought with it being Winter, that I would start doing some training on the treadmill. What do you suggest? You said to stay away from the treadmill. I don’t want to be hurting myself. Should I just get some warm clothes on and start running outside even in the cold?! I’d love to know what you think?! Thanks for sharing!
Jen
@ Jen: In moderation the treadmill is fine. Just make sure you use a slight incline (2-3) and keep your heel to toe action going strong…. Otherwise I would recommend running outside when you can, try to run outdoors in the late afternoon when your body is warmed up and you have some food in you to fuel the run.
Comment by Rodney
6 February 2010
Now that I am eating better carbs, and fewer of them (but not excessively low, just 100gm or so daily) I find it easy to stop eating at around 6pm. On the rare nights I am hungry later I eat a small snack, I also find that I typically am not hungry until noon or so the next day. Some mornings I eat at 9-10 am, just whenever the hunger strikes. It really makes IF for 24 hours pretty easy to d0 1-2 days a week too. I could not have done that on my donut and ice cream diet of years past.
Comment by Greg
6 February 2010
A buddy of mine travels a lot for work. He’s started carrying a jump rope in his suitcase for those times when he can’t get to a gym. I piggy-backed onto that idea and it works great.
Comment by Rajiv
6 February 2010
Maybe I’m being draconian, but I’m of the mind that it’s there’s almost never an excuse not to get exercise into one’s schedule. As you mentioned, one solution lies in walking, then walking some more.
I figure that if a person has time to watch TV, they have time to do some basic exercise, perhaps in front of the TV.
This is especially true of students, who claim that they have studying to prioritize. Well, why not study while doing some light walking/other cardio?
I only take this position because I was once the master of these excuses.
Comment by Miss Zen
6 February 2010
I have a question regarding one of your previous post : what makes a healthy breakfast ? I’m really addicted to bread (I’m French) : I often read that it is better to start the day with proteins. Is it really bad to have a “bread breakfast” ? Thanks
@ Miss Zen: You could definitely do a lot worse. instead of putting a sugary spread on the baguette why not try something savoury like cheese or nut butter. This will supply you with more sustained energy throughout the morning. Ideally though cook some eggs and have that with your bread but go for a sourdough bread if you can….
Comment by Fitness Contrarian
7 February 2010
I love nuts and find unsalted nuts keep me from eating too many. Plus Trader Joe’s sells bags of unsalted nuts in small packages which also helps with portion control.
Best – Mike
Comment by TomGreenwald
7 February 2010
I totally agree that you should consult a specialist if you experience back-pain frequently.
About three years ago I was racing 4X (extreme MTBing), attending gym and so on. I was athletic and healthy and didn’t thought I will experience any health problems. One day I felt that my lower back muscles where tightening up. A week later I had pain in my left leg and the big to was numb. I went to a doctor. The result – two herniated discs in my lower back. It took me about a year of physiotherapy and pilates to recover. Now I really love to work out and I’m in a better physical shape than before the injury.
The thing is that I don’t know when and where I herniated those discs. Probably in a bike crash. But you never know. Maybe you already have serious back problems, but the consequences will come later. Be careful.
@ Tom: Thanks for chiming in, back injuries really can be pretty serious so should always be treated with extreme caution. Especially lower back issues as it is a very delicate part of the body.
Comment by Liam | EverythingZing
7 February 2010
With the whole “not having time to exercise” thing, I can see why some people are pushed for time, but you can really get a great workout in 10 minutes or even less! And who can’t spare 10 mintues??
Spot on about keeping it light before bed. Why go putting calories into the body when your metabolism is at it’s slowest? You’re just asking to get fat!
Comment by Matthew Odette
10 February 2010
I’m glad you warned people against treadmills. Sometimes I have a hard time breaking clients of the dreadmill habit. Luckily we have an indoor track available, it might not be a full 1/4 mile but it’s a lifesaver in the winter.