DailyDirt: Who Has Time To Exercise?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There are all kinds of exercise fads, creating a vast array of gadgets that are supposed to help people get in shape or lose weight or magically make their lives better in every way. But no one really needs plastic handles attached to springs/elastic cords or wheels/pulleys or even weights to improve their health. It takes commitment. And usually that means dedicating some time to exercising regularly. The good news is that the minimum required time for exercise to have any impact seems to be pretty short. Here are some links for those of you looking to start exercising now that it's summer (in the northern hemisphere). If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
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Filed Under: aerobic activity, exercise, fads, health, high intensity training, workout
Companies: american heart association


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2013 @ 5:19pm

    I just make flexagons.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2013 @ 5:26pm

    Does playing a flame throwing wind pipe counts as aerobic exercise?

    Just don't tell darryl, his kangaroo mates are pirating music on the streets.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    ioconnor (profile), 27 Jun 2013 @ 5:56pm

    Have you ever seen a 50 to 70 year old person in good shape doing only a 4 to 7 minute routine?

    Or for that matter doing only 30 minutes 3 to 5 times a week.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Killercool (profile), 27 Jun 2013 @ 6:27pm

      Re:

      It's not about being "in good shape."

      It's about being healthy. The two are not necessarily interdependent.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2013 @ 6:32pm

    The best thing that most people could do for their health AND fitness would be some basic strength training.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    PeterScott (profile), 27 Jun 2013 @ 7:04pm

    HIIT over-rated.

    I have do occasional HIIT workouts and you need to separate the hype from the reality.

    They don't count warmup time, which is critical if you are going to do an all out intervals. So add about 4 mins. Also the rest periods often aren't counted. Add 1-2 minutes per interval, and likely another 4 minutes to cool down.

    I did a peak 8 type interval workout today. Here is what it looked like:
    4 Min warmup
    8 X intervals(20 sec all out + 100 sec rest) 16 minutes total
    4 minute cooldown.

    Total Interval time is only 160 seconds. Less that 3 minutes of Work. This is how it often gets hyped.

    But it takes 24 minutes of real time.

    Also if you are really going all out on your intervals, you won't enjoy the "rest" part. You will be deep in oxygen debt, and gasping to catch your breath.

    If you ever watch video of anyone doing these workouts, the moderate aerobic control group is left on their own to relax and go at moderate pace, while the interval group is coached to: "Go!, Go!, Go!".

    Are you going to have a coach at home, or are you highly motivated to push yourself very hard over and over like you were being coached?

    Intervals have their place, but be aware the are quite overhyped in general.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2013 @ 7:39pm

    "Being healthy" without running nonstop for 25 hours a day? Blasphemy!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Nastybutler77 (profile), 28 Jun 2013 @ 6:18am

    "I call it '7 Minute Abs.'"

    "What if someone comes out with '6 Minute Abs?'"

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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