Doctor Dumbbell

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the lifestyle of a celebrity?
Where you can get paid loads to exercise regularly.
But with a little daily physical activity,
You too can get benefits available to everybody.
You’ll walk up stairs and run for buses easily,
And with the extra energy, boost your productivity.
You can bring a friend for a social opportunity,
And if you walk, jog, swim or even do tai chi,
You will tone your body and improve flexibility,
Feeling happy and lively, because you’re worthy.
You do not need to be a celebrity or have loads of money,
To be more active this week - it’s fun and easy!

Some people seem to think that you can get fit in a day or a week. For a lucky few, they can get away with just doing a few sessions before noticeable changes start to happen. For most however, this is not the case. The only way to get the long term benefits that regular exercise provides is to develop Exercise Persistence and make it become a habit.

“The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but every time we repeat the act we strengthen the strand, add to it another filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us to the act.” –Orison Swett Marden

The key to making a habit form is persistence and there are certain things that need to happen within you if you are to make your January resolution last throughout the year and beyond, and not just for the month.

The first thing needed is definiteness of purpose. This is basically the reason why you are exercising. It could be to feel fitter, lose weight, fit into clothes, to take part in an event; whatever it is, you should keep this in mind if you want to develop Exercise Persistence.

The next thing is desire. How much does your goal matter to you? How much do you want the result you are looking for? If you want the outcome enough, you will find the motivation to start exercising comes a lot easier. If the short term desire of the TV, sofa, junk food and a warm house is stronger then the desire to achieve your exercise goals you may struggle. This is why you should keep your fitness goals at the front of your mind at all times.

Definite plans are also required if a habit is to be formed, and it is best to record these on paper somewhere and review occasionally. By having a plan to stick to you stay focussed and are likely to attempt at least, to stick to it. Deciding that you will stick to an exercise plan of three times a week has a stronger purpose than just deciding to exercise when you feel like it.

So you have a definite purpose to exercise, the desire to achieve results and some accurate plans, the next thing needed to develop Exercise Persistence is self-reliance. This is the belief in your ability to achieve your goals. If the task seems too big and you don’t think you can get there it is likely that you will give up. As you start to exercise regularly it is important to monitor your progress in some way. If you are looking for physical benefits I would recommend regular Health MOT’s or fitness tests as these will highlight the improvements in your body, increasing your belief in your ability to get results, inspiring persistence.

If you are to develop Exercise Persistence you will also require accurate knowledge. Guessing at training techniques and hoping that you get results may destroy persistence as the results may never come. Books, magazines, TV, the internet; the information streams are vast. Personal trainers can be considered expensive, yet the knowledge you will gain even from booking a few sessions could be valuable in helping you to be more persistent and achieving your goals - money well spent!

Having empathy and understanding from others will help you with support. This cooperation with others can help you through the tough times and keep you focussed when you lose sight of your goals. It could be friends, family, training partners, exercise professionals; whoever it is, find someone that will support you on your journey towards Exercise Persistence.

In summary, if you want to develop Exercise Persistence, set some goals that are especially important to you, develop a weekly exercise plan, and find out your benchmarks. Then, find knowledge on the best techniques for you, enlist the support of helpers and monitor progress regularly. By January 2011 you will be practicing Exercise Persistence and be a healthier, happier person as a result.

How have you got on with your New Year’s resolutions? Are you going out for your morning jog? Have you signed up at the gym?
It should come as no surprise to you that if there’s one thing that is certain it is that you will lapse.
The most important thing is how you deal with these lapses. However, if you are realistic and honest with yourself then you are in with a chance. So rather than go through the same pattern of behaviour that keeps our gyms in business take some positive steps now!
Here are three things that you can try:
i. Put a reminder in your mobile phone calendar (try the middle of February) with a message that you would write to somebody else who you wanted to stay on track with his or her physical activity. We are better at giving advice to others!
ii. Reward yourself when you get back on track after a lapse; but make sure it fits in with your goal- in particular stay away from food rewards.
iii. Arrange to workout with a friend (another person is invested in your success) and do something that you both enjoy.
Good luck to you all and from everyone here at DoctorDumbbell.com we hope that 2010 will be a great year for you. Let us know how you get on by leaving a comment.

Regular physical activity is arguably an essential aspect of life in the same way that food, water and shelter is. Keeping active prolongs life and enhances the quality, with many benefits to be gained, both physical and mental.

With a gadget-based society in which individuals no longer need to use their body’s to get around, keep a house clean, or earn a living, the requirement for structured exercise has grown. Yet almost seventy per cent of the population is not active enough to gain these benefits.

People from a range of backgrounds tend to outline similar blockages in their attempts to maintain regular physical activity levels. These barriers are extremely real and more than just excuses. However, there are ways of getting over these hurdles and reaping all of the benefits of regular exercise, available to all of us regardless of age, ethnicity, sex, or social status.

“I’m too busy to exercise, I can’t find the time.”
The government recommendation for Physical activity is thirty minutes per day on five days of the week. Hardly such a big commitment is it? If this is impossible and time is limited, you could even break this down to two fifteen-minute, three ten-minute or even six five-minute bouts. You could take stairs instead of lifts, walk to the next bus stop instead of waiting, cycling to work, or leave the car at home for short journeys. Basically, building the activity into your daily routine.

The key here is that the intensity must be moderate – this is when you feel warmer, your heart beats faster and you are breathing more deeply but still able to talk. If you can get enough air into your lungs to sing, it is probably low intensity that you are working at, which is better than nothing but not ideal.

“Exercise is too expensive. I can’t afford a gym membership.”
People in today’s society seem to be able to find the money for things like TV’s, junk food, cigarettes and alcohol. There are worse things you could do then spend your hard earned cash on an exercise related activity. Especially if it will enhance and lengthen your life, rather than shorten it.

If you are not convinced and not yet ready to support your health financially, there are various cheap options if you shop around, and the greatest form of exercise that has existed for centuries is actually free anyway – walking!

“I can’t fit in exercise as I have my kids and parents to look after.”
Regular physical activity is needed by all of us regardless of age. Why not involve your dependents in your exercise regime. You could go to the local pool together, put on some music and dance in the house or just go for a walk around the block.

“I can’t be bothered to exercise.”
There are so many benefits available including protection from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, some cancers, strokes, asthma, arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, general colds and flu. Improvements in heart, lung, muscle and bone strength, a stronger immune system, everyday activities like walking up stairs and carrying shopping get easier, better sleep patterns, more energy, improved self-confidence, a mini-break from worries, a better sex life, increased flexibility, clearer skin, a sense of achievement, and more…

With all of this available for just half an hour a day, are you really sure you can’t be bothered to exercise?

“I’m too tired to exercise; I just don’t have the energy to be active.”
Have you ever sat indoors or at your desk at work all day and felt as tired as if you had run a marathon? Mind and body are strongly linked and Energy is like a continuum – you have to give it to get it. The more you move, the more energy your mind gets. If you feel tired, the best thing to do is just start. The energy boost you get will spur you on to do more.

“I don’t like exercise; I’m not the sporty type.”
Have you tried: walking, jogging, running, swimming, cycling, spinning, yoga, pilates, boxercise, aerobics, step aerobics, water aerobics, circuit training, tai chi, dance classes – salsa, tap, ballroom, lindy hop, break-dance and more; body combat, body pump, all of the sports at the summer Olympics, all the sports at the winter Olympics, sports that aren’t at either Olympics? If you have tried them all and not found one that is good for you then I would be very surprised!

If you are not used to exercising starting is probably the most difficult thing. To help your confidence you could try a group exercise class, with the support of other like-minded people and an instructor. Alternatively you could take a friend and help them to get fit with you, seek advice from a health professional, or enlist the help of a personal trainer to help you get the best out of yourself during the sessions.

The obesity epidemic is spreading across the UK at an alarmingly rapid rate. Recent reports suggest we are the fattest nation in Europe with 62 percent of females and 65 percent overweight in 2005, but what or who is really to blame for this current poor health crisis?

In the past people were active enough in their daily lives to burn the necessary calories to maintain a healthy weight. We now have an office-based culture in which people remain static for the entire day. Combine this with the invasion of technologies that no longer require us to move – cars, washing machines, remote controls, escalators, even automatic doors, and it is inevitable that we need to add some kind of physical activity to our daily lives.

The Gym industry has gradually made us believe that this is the only form of exercise available. This puts a halt to many of our good intentions to get fit; “I need to exercise, but I hate the gym…guess I’ll do nothing instead.”

Those that falsely accept that the ‘gym-only’ myth, are bullied into paying huge monthly membership fees, only to receive an insufficient service, such as poorly paid, inadequately qualified gym staff that sit in a corner assuming that keep-fit novices know all there is to know about safe and effective exercise techniques.

Without support and advice the lonely gym journey then gets tedious. Then, results are not achieved and reasons to attend are forgotten. Before long, it’s a repeat of the cycle – “guess I’ll do nothing instead,” yet this time the fees continue to fly out of the bank account, without a word from the profit-guzzling establishment. Lucky for them, room for new gullible members that do not attend. Unlucky for us, our waistlines expand.

A revolution of the gym industry is needed. Forty percent of the most qualified instructors leave the industry each year due to poor pay and prospects. Wages need to be raised to keep the qualified people that actually motivate, educate and support people on their journeys to a healthier lifestyle. Either that or the government needs to step in to develop exercise alternatives.

Other nations with lower levels of obesity have solutions outside of the gym such as Brazil with outdoor exercise stations on the beach, China, with streams of people practicing early morning Tai Chi or Holland with a multitude of pushbikes lining the streets.

If you are paying for a gym membership, either make sure that you attend on a regular basis, or just cancel it. There is just no need to throw money away, making the gyms profits fatter if the inactivity of not attending is doing that to your waistline! Try an alternative exercise type instead.

Little girls do ballet and little boys fight. Don’t they? Girls are interested in sitting up straight and looking pretty; boys like slouching and being mucky. Am I right?

So when they grow up women are more flexible than men and men are stronger than women.

These generalisations are presented to you not as facts but to provoke debate. Different hormone levels and genetics play are a factor as well but let’s concentrate on social conditioning. The pressure to conform to expectations. What does your child’s school offer?

How about a curriculum, which allows all children to sample a wide range of physical activity from an early age? How about more targets or milestones? This is not about competition; it’s about exposing young people to more options.

Is it time to stop thinking as certain sports as having a gender bias? For me hockey is an interesting one. When I was growing up this was seen as a girl’s sport in the UK. In the rest of Europe it was a boy’s sport. There is no obvious reason why.

I would like to think that it might be commonplace to have girl’s boxing, boy’s ballet and mixed football (soccer) teams. What do you think?

I took part in a dragonboat race with colleagues recently and it reminded me what a big role physical activity can play in the workplace. We had a lot of fun and got to know each other a lot better. The next day we all had soreness in muscles that we hadn’t used for a long time. We also had a mutual respect and a strong foundation to deal with the challenges of a working day.

In China, companies provide an opportunity to practice Tai Chi before starting work. What a great start to the day! The body and mind are alert. I’m confident that this would not happen if there were no productivity benefits.

So why aren’t all companies offering this? From market stall to multi-national- there are benefits. Benefits which ultimately mean profit. More profit.

The answer is that most companies don’t know where to begin. To date, there have mainly been ‘in house’ gyms or deals with a local gym. This doesn’t engage everyone.

There’s a need for a senior position within every organisation that deals with physical activity. CEO could be a Chief Exercise Officer and CFO might be a Chief Fitness Officer! Those that get this idea will have distinct advantages.

If you are a business owner or decision maker within a large organisation: take the first step now. Get a consultant in, to show you what can be done. Then create a permanent position. If you don’t, I have a feeling that you will be left behind…

Many People run or jog for fitness as it is one of the best ways to keep in shape by strengthening your cardiovasucular system, burning calories and toning muscles. It’s free, you can do it at any time and best of all, you control the pace you run at, so no wonder loads of people take to the streets to get fit.

However, many people tend to get bored with doing the same old jogging session that they have always done and end up losing motivation. Sound familiar?

Here are a few sessions that you can try to put a bit of spice into your runs:

BASE JOGGING is the perfect beginners pace. This is basically a steady pace where you are slightly out of breath but still able to talk. This is basically a slow jog, a touch faster than a brisk walk. You should be able to continue for longer durations at this pace.

STEADY STATE RUNNING is one step on from base running -  a faster jogging pace. This is a pace similar to if you were late for an appointment. As it is more intense it may take a while to build up to longer durations at this pace.

TEMPO RUNNING is a very tough work out that gives excellent benefits. A consistent run at a higher intensity. Ensure you pace yourself to ensure you maintain the same pace for the duration of your run. This is a session to progress to after a general fitness base has been developed, and is good if you are timing yourself over a set distance.

INTERVAL TRAINING is running over at a reasonably fast pace for a set distance or time, and having complete standing or walking recovery periods in between.

HILL RUNNING is brilliant for toning the muscles of the legs and backside. Run relaxed up the hill and jog/walk down. Repeat 2-10 times depending on the size of the hill.

FARTLEK RUNNING is a good way to become accustomed to running fast. It is a combination of fast walking, jogging, running fast and sprinting for different durations or distances. The more you run and the less you walk, the harder the session!

You can also vary the surface you work on for an added challenge. You could try roads, grass, the treadmill or an athletics track.

Remember to warm up and cool down with some light stretching and keep hydrated. Start easy and progress gradually to minimise the risk of injury and increase your chances of sticking to your programme. Run with a friend to stay motivated!

The Wii has brought physical activity to the computer game generation. The experience and interface has the game player moving in a way that no other computer game has managed previously.

The Wii was launched on 8th December 2006 in the UK. Have we seen a change in the nation’s health since then? Is there any group that has improved their health? Have people improved other aspects of their lifestyle since becoming Wii users? Does average Wii use equate to thirty minutes of moderate activity a day?

There is no doubt that a Wii is fun. I am not normally interested in computer games but the Wii is different. It seems to me that skills are more transferable. What I mean is, that I was never very good at using a keyboard or joystick. When I play the tennis game on Wii I use the controller in a similar way to a tennis racket. But I get the feel of playing tennis without actually having to learn how to grip the racket or run around very much. It is easier to get going.

The television commercials that I have seen portray the Wii as a family console. Everyone gets involved. In the same way that a family might play Frisbee in the park after a picnic, they might now head for the Wii after Sunday lunch.

All in all, I feel that it’s important to keep the Wii labelled as a game console. Not fitness (or sports) equipment. It’s great fun but my childhood is filled with memories of grabbing a tennis racket and hitting a ball against a wall for hours. Or heading for the park with friends to find a game of football. Sometimes we would go to White City Stadium and try the high jump or shot put. Those actual (rather than virtual) experiences set up a love for sport and exercise that I just can’t shake!

What do you think? Do you use a Wii for fitness? Have you got good results?

There’s a colleague called Garrett Turbett doing a biomechanics research project in London, UK. He already has some willing test subjects. The study will compare running gait between runners who always run in running shoes with those that regularly incorporate barefoot running into their routine. There will be a couple of different running trials in each session – getting runners to run in and out of shoes. This seems to be indicative of the interest that scientists are showing in this area.

I have given barefoot running a go for the last week or so. I have a read a fair bit about it and I figured that it was time to start seeing whether some of the things are true.

Well, firstly I’m pleased to report back that I did not injure myself. I survived even though I did not have a cushion of air and arch supports beneath me.

I’ve also noticed that other runners aren’t interested in what I’m doing. This surprised me because I expected questions and comments. I wonder if the power of advertising has many people convinced that they need shoes to run. I also wonder if people are scared. Scared of change. Scared of injury. Scared of being different.

There are parts of the world where running barefoot certainly isn’t being different. Some of the best runners come from these areas. However, once they are on the world stage they usually have a sponsorship deal and they will run in shoes.

Now, my three 5.6 km run this week are not enough evidence of anything. In fact my times were a little slower. But common sense suggests that it’s wrong to not allow the foot to do what it was designed to do! Nowadays many forms of exercise or therapy try and restore how the body was designed to function.

There is a twist! Something that I haven’t told you about ‘my’ barefoot running and how I’m doing it. There’s a small prize to the first person who can guess what it is… email me: stephan AT doctordumbbell DOT com or leave a comment here…