Spend a lot of time sitting at home, in the office, or both? Check out this NY Times Health article, The Men Who Stare at Screens. Your regular workout may not be as effective as you think in preventing heart disease.
It’s often been said that if you want something done you should give it to a busy person. While this may be true of some busy people, namely the ones who are highly motivated, highly productive, and highly efficient, what about all the other busy people?
What about those who are busy through poor time management skills, or maybe those who are simply overwhelmed? How about them? Does the task they are given merely get thrown on top of a growing pile of “To-Do’s”, or even worse, shuffled to the bottom? What if the task they are given, or give themselves, is directly related to increasing their quality of life and most likely longevity as well? What if that task will help them be more productive at all their other tasks by reducing stress levels, increasing energy, and their overall sense of well being? What if that task would help them to reduce, remove, or otherwise prevent a host of daily aches, pains, and illnesses that are stoically (or sometimes not so) suffered as things that “just happen” as we grow older?
Here’s a list of 8 ways for these busy people to fit in their fitness and reclaim a healthy lifestyle:
Scheduling is the key to successful time management. Look at your weekly calendar and plan to exercise just as you would plan an important client meeting, a lunch with an old friend, or coaching your kid’s Little League team.
Joint mobility sessions can be done at your desk – see here.
Work in an office building? Take the stairs instead of the elevator. See how fast you can make it to your floor – beat those lazy suckers in the elevator to your floor!
Have a lunch break? Go outside and go for a walk. 10 minutes in the fresh air will do wonders for you. Eat at your desk while you work and then go for a walk. Want to make your walk more productive? Try inhaling for 5 steps, holding you breath on the inhale for 5 steps, exhaling for 5 steps, then holding the breath after the exhale for 5 steps. When you can comfortably do that for the entire duration of your walk, increase to 6, 8, 10 steps!
Get up earlier and workout **warning – this one requires effort and commitment!!**
Spend quality time with your kids. Exercise together – see Warrior Fitness for Kids.
Got a spare 15 minutes? Bring the intensity and lose the long, boring workouts. See the Warrior Fitness WOWs for some ideas.
These require very little time to be effective, need no equipment, and can be done literally anywhere.
Obviously, this list is neither exhaustive nor all inclusive, but I do hope it has helped you and sparked some ideas to help you fit in your fitness no matter how busy you are. What ideas do you have?
One of the greatest challenges a long term fitness enthusiast faces is the debilitating impact of age. Certainly everyone understands the concept but what does it actually mean? The average person has a higher metabolism when they are younger, a faster recovery rate, greater use of energy stores and suppleness around the joints. So why exactly do we age? Well did you know that for the average person the maximum heart rate is 220 – age? That means when you are 20 your heart can go up to 200 bpm, whereas at 60 your max is 160bpm. That’s a big difference. Essentially like all human tissue the heart is constantly in a state or recreation, cells die and new ones are created. However as the body gets older this ability to replace old cells with new ones becomes less efficient. In a sense it is not the body that ages, but the ability to rejuvenate decreases over time.
That is the bad news. The good news is that a lot can be done to counter-act the effects of ageing via exercise. This can be divided into circulatory, respiratory, structural and the nerves.
As mentioned the heart output decreases with age, generally a very fit endurance athlete has developed a large heart capacity. That is the volume of blood per pump has increased as a result of training. If age means that the heart will pump less frequently and become less powerful then what can be done? Quite simply the best thing to do is make better use of the blood that is being sent around the body. Exercises that improve blood circulation to the extremities are extremely beneficial at all ages and very useful for combating age. Joint rotations, light resistance frequent repetition exercises are excellent for this. Walking is perhaps the best of all.
As many biology students know, a major purpose of blood is to transfer oxygen around the body so focus should also be paid to the respiratory system. It should also be mentioned that the oxygen in the body is very useful for cell reproduction too. Breathing exercises not only help with good quality respiration but also assist with the structural stability of primarily the upper body but also the body as a whole.
Structurally speaking the body may be divided into bones, connective tissue and muscles for simplification. As stated good blood flow and breathing will already provide a boost to these systems. Perhaps we must accept that due to age repetitive actions will not be maintained to the same count as was possible in youth. But what about strength? Scientists have been studying muscle strength and age for at least the last 15 years and concluded that muscles can grow and remain strong at any age. This means resistance exercises such as moderate and heavy weights will be very useful for maintaining structural strength. Also bone mass is related to muscle mass directly, so strengthening muscles reduces the risk of damage to bones and increases calcium absorption. Studies have shown that laboring women in areas with limited calcium in the diet have less cases of Osteoporosis than sedentary women with high calcium diets. In other words resistance exercise not only maintains more youthful strong muscles but also increase the utilization of chemicals like calcium in bone tissue. Joining the muscles and the bones are connective tissues which get stiffer and less elastic if under utilized. Lack of flexibility results in lack of mobility, this in turn impacts the benefits of exercise and increases the risk of injury. Flexibility training such as Yoga or Makko-ho is very useful for combating decreased flexibility and also rejuvenating connective tissue.
Stretching and structural organization is beneficial not only for maintaining mobility but also because it opens up an often forgotten part of the body called the nervous system. It is not possible to strengthen nerves directly and again age will deteriorate nerve function. But, by using muscles and working on flexibility the nerves can be stimulated to be more effective in function. This is important for not just general co-ordination but also the non-voluntary nervous system which is responsible for among many things, yes, the heart.
We have come full circle and this is an important point. When we are younger we can focus on weights, or marathons and any kind of activity we like. This is because our general health is fine and we simply pursue excellence in whatever activity we choose. As we get older however the general health starts to decline if not maintained. That is why aging persons should take a holistic approach to training to ensure all the important body systems are being stimulated. The circulation, the breath, the structure and the nerves must all be improved upon. It is very tempting to wait until the effects of age are experienced before reacting to change. Of course it is fine to start exercising and focusing on health at any time. However the best solution to aging is to prepare early on for the kind of body you will need as you do age. Combine light exercises and breathing with heavy exercises and stretching now and save making major adjustments tomorrow.
Tony Notarianni has been training in martial arts since the age of 12. Up to this point, although quite active, he had very little interest in sports and fitness but that all changed over the coming years. He started studying Sport as a subject at school and finally graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Sport and Exercise Science in 1998. Although not a typical sportsman and not a great fan of any one sport, Tony was always keen to try new activities and considers the world to be literally full of physical experiences to explore. Before graduation he was working at a sports complex where he was a lifeguard and could join and observe many different forms of exercise. He also taught circuit classes and was a qualified personal fitness instructor. After graduation he chased the dollar and ended up working in Software Development. Although becoming more sedentary he still has a deep rooted interest in improving himself physically and developing his knowledge.
Do you know the enemy?
I do. It inhibits peak performance. It makes you lazy and keeps you unmotivated. It cajoles you into seeking comfort.
It distracts you from your goals and dulls your mind. The enemy sells you on an “easy” lifestyle and lulls you into a false sense of security.
It conspires to sabotage every move toward a healthier diet or consistent workout program. It will aim to destroy any action or activity that moves you towards bettering yourself, be it education, a new job venture, a move towards a more spiritual life, or writing the great American novel.
Ultimately, it weakens your spirit.
The enemy comes in many forms and assumes many guises. It may tell you that it’s alright to sit down on the sofa and watch Lifetime Television with your wife after dinner; you can get to that workout later. It may convince you that just one brownie bite is okay, after all, they’re just “bites”. You may feel tired from a busy day at the office, and rightly so – the enemy will whisper in your ear that you can begin your fitness regimen tomorrow and that will be good enough. What exactly is this enemy who kills our motivation and procrastinates our calling (sometimes indefinitely)? Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy as “Resistance” in his excellent book, The War of Art.
“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole… If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get. Resistance is always lying and always full of shit.”
Sometimes the most insidious form the enemy can take is the form of knowledge. We fall into the trap of, I know what I need to do, I just need to do it. Knowledge comforts us. It allows us to rationalize that since we are in possession of it, we can carry out the action at any time. We don’t need to do it now. Tomorrow is fine. Next week is OK to start. So, why worry? One of my favorite quotes (just ask my daughter, she’s heard it often enough!) on this subject is:
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In his book, Awakening Spirits
Here’s a hint – conditions are never perfect.
There is no better time than right now.
How do you defeat this omnipresent enemy? By doing your work. By starting right now. Don’t delay. Don’t defer. Begin. Do the work(out). Trade the 3 o’clock junk food snack for an apple. Skip McDonald’s on the way home from work and prepare a healthy meal. Don’t allow yourself the luxury of excuses. Be firm. Be strong. Get it done. Be resolute and committed to your health and fitness goals.
1. Are the Warrior Fitness workouts applicable to beginners?
Absolutely! The workouts in the Warrior Fitness program are completely scalable based on your level of fitness. Each exercise is explained step-by-step.
2. Is nutrition covered in the book?
Nutrition is an important aspect of a complete, healthy lifestyle, but is not discussed in the Warrior Fitness book. My own personal ideas about nutrition can be summed up fairly simply though. Eat lean proteins, lots of fruit and vegetables, and some complex carbohydrates. Eliminate or reduce white sugar, white rice, and white flour from your diet. Drink plenty of clean water and green tea.
3. Does the Warrior Fitness program teach Amatsu medicine , a traditional system of Japanese Natural Medicine taught by Hatsumi Soke?
No. I have not been taught any Amatsu medicine within the context of my Bujinkan training.
4. Is this program just Junan Taiso (basic stretching exercises used as warm-ups for martial arts practice)?
No. The Warrior Fitness book provides a comprehensive program consisting of joint mobility, flexibility, strength, conditioning, breath work, and recovery. Much more than simply junan taiso exercises.
5. Do I have to workout every day?
You do not need to do a full workout, but I highly recommend doing some movement everyday! Joint mobility work, combined with breathing exercises can take as little as 15 to 20 minutes in the morning. It’s a great way to start your day!
6. How much time do the Warrior Fitness strength and conditioning workouts require?
The workouts contained in the Warrior Fitness book are designed to be fast and effective. You can achieve a quality workout in 15 minutes, if you are short on time. Longer workouts can also be programmed, depending on how much time is available.
7. Do I need a gym membership for this program to work?
Definitely not! Warrior Fitness workouts are designed to be done anywhere with little to no equipment necessary.
8. How do I fit in working out and the skill training for my martial art?
Excellent question. This is where scheduling and time management skills come in handy. Time will not simply appear out of thin air. You must make time. However, the most important advice I can give on this topic is that if you do not have time for both skill work (martial art training) and conditioning, skill work must take the priority! You are training to be a martial artist after all.
9. Is this book applicable only for those training in the martial arts?
No. This book is certainly not just for people in the martial arts. The exercises and ideas contained within are applicable to anyone of any range of fitness and ability. Pick up a copy today and see for yourself!
Please feel free to email me here with any additional thoughts or questions concerning the book.
Although Warrior Fitness has it’s origins in the martial arts, you do not need to be a martial artist to benefit from my program. Since it’s inception, I have continued to test and refine the Warrior Fitness methodology to work with and help almost any level of fitness from couch potato to high ranking martial artist, and everyone in between.
The only real requirement is the certainty that you have a greater capacity, greater capability, and greater purpose to your life than you are living right now. You must desire to improve yourself for the better and be willing to fight for it. I only work with those who are willing to take massive action!
Here are a few examples of how Warrior Fitness can help you to awaken your inner warrior….
My objective in sharing Warrior Fitness is to help you meet your goals. To transform your life and share my passion for training with you. I honestly enjoy teaching people and helping them to realize their health and fitness goals; I simply love to see people “get it”. Allow me to help you reclaim your fitness and awaken your inner warrior!
PS – Sick of being average? Ready for extraordinary? Let me know how I can help you…