Zoned Out: So Which Damn Cardio Zone(s) Should You Aim For?

There are many reasons that Cranky Fitness stopped pretending to be a blog about fitness, and became Just Cranky instead. One of them is: health and fitness research keeps contradicting itself. Who can trust it anymore?

And yet, I can't help it: I still keep clicking on headlines and reading studies and listening to experts and watching little how-to videos. I'm frequently asking Chatty, my AI health research assistant, for her cheerfully confident yet often inaccurate advice.

But every time I'm convinced I finally know what the "best" answer is to a health question? Some new take from an equally credible source comes along and says, nope, that was all wrong! How to sort out these scientific cat fights? Who do I listen to? 

Is it best to just "zone out" and ignore it all and go with our guts? 

So I'm still struggling a bit with cardio due to hypoparathyroidism, a rare and completely bonkers endocrine disorder I managed to acquire after cancer surgery. So it feels super important to try to optimize the cardio I can get away with.

But it turns out Expert Advice has changed a bit since back in the Cranky Fitness days! So what's the surprising new twist?  

Why is Creatine Suddenly Trendy and Should We Be Taking It?

 

You've probably seen them too: those jars full of mysterious creatine powder in health food stores. They usually sit in what I think of as the "boys" section, where products often feature the word "Gain" instead of "Lose." Of course I know that's sexist of me. Because it's no longer just beefy lads still sweating from their Crossfit workouts who go in search of quick, easy ways to get more jacked after weightlifting, or to get some modest performance gains in intense excercise situations. These days more and more women want to be Biggest Gainers too, not just Biggest Losers.

But I was never that tempted myself. Mild performance gains didn't seem worth the money or hassle, especially since I am not a competitive athlete. Competitive athletes are those who perform athletics among and against other people. Wheras I would prefer that other people not exist while I am exercising. Competitive athletes are known to challenge themselves to the max, and endure a great deal of pain and suffering in order to squeeze out every last watt of power from their well-crafted bodies. And, well, screw that. A hard pass on optional suffering.

So why am I now dutifully ingesting a heaping teaspoon full of creatine powder every day? Is there more to it than cosmetics and a mild performance boost?

Time to HIIT it?

photo: the Department of Defense

By Crabby McSlacker

In the last few years, you've probably heard the same unwelcome advice quite a few times: for optimal health, you should be adding some High Intensity Interval Training to your weekly routine.

But all too often, nutrition and exercise research gets overhyped and exaggerated. Just let enough time pass, and other studies can come along to soften or even reverse recommendations that all the excited "experts" were so adamant about.

In the case of something as odious as High Intensity Interval Training? It makes a lot of sense if you've been waiting to be absolutely sure it has merit before jumping on the bandwagon. Especially since you're supposed to be jumping on that bandwagon with such speed and vigor that you may faint, vomit, or burst into tears before you're done.

And what if you're middle aged or older? You may be thinking: don't I get a pass? Hell, I should be getting extra credit for doing any sort of exercise at all, given how sedentary everyone else my age is. Surely I'm not expected to be sprinting up hills, busting out burpees, or pedaling all out on a spin bike until I'm struggling for breath so mightily I can't even toss out a few choice obscentities?

Well, a new study has a little more information to add to the discussion. And of course I have some thoughts to contribute too, since I always have thoughts about everything whether I know what I'm talking about or not.

Run Slowly, Live Longer? Exercise Thresholds May Be Key

rackham drawing via wikipedia

Guest Post by Tiffany Reiss

I'm pleased to present another thoughtful post by Cranky Fitness contributor Tiffany Reiss, who as you may recall is a university professor and actually knows something about exercise physiology! She's also one of the innovators behind the website The Hub Edu, which enables users to build a digital library of resources and share with others.  (In beta but very cool, and free!) More about Tiffany can be found by scrolling down on our info page.  --Crabby

The Tortoise and the Hare

As I child I grew up watching all of the Disney movies. My mother loved them and in turn, we watched them. We also watched “Wonderful World of Disney” on Sunday evenings and I remember seeing this Tortoise and Hare Disney short film numerous times on those special Sundays:

The moral of the story is clear. Slow and steady wins the race. But really, the hare seems so much more exciting and seems to have a lot more fun. Maybe I was just delusional but I would still have preferred to be the hare as opposed to the tortoise. Our society seems to agree and support this infrastructure and “speedy” mentality.

However, if some of the latest research is correct, it looks as though that tortoise might have had it right all along, especially when it comes to running.

10-20-30 (Or 30-20-10) Interval Training

Three out of three formidable German women suggest you do 10-20-30's

So, what starts off slowly, then gets more uncomfortable, then downright painful, then proceeds to repeat itself over and over and over 'til you want to puke?

Why yes, it's a Cranky Fitness blog post!

But this also describes the exercise I love to hate, high intensity interval training, or HIIT. And there's a newish variation, getting all kinds of rave reviews of late, called the "10-20-30."

Curious about the why's, how's, when's, whether's, and whatevers? Let's check out this puppy out.

Quick Weight Loss Exercises; Sculpting Sexy Legs: Ask The Trainer

Time for a new workout? Our trainers have tips!

We've got some very cool stuff in this next edition of "Ask the Personal Trainer."

For one, we have a new panelist, Adria Ali! And Dave put together a couple of great custom videos explaining exactly how to do the quick but challenging workouts he talks about. And as usual, Taylor delivers sound advice you can relate to.

You may notice some common themes among the responses, which is heartening, don't you think? I personally hate it when experts come to opposite conclusions and you have no idea what in hell you're supposed to do next. But the specifics from wise panelists Taylor, Dave and Adria are divergent enough to give you lots of choices.

Join us for some tips on Sexy Legs and Faster Weight Loss. And please feel free to ask a question of your own for future "Ask the Trainer" posts. (And if you already have and it hasn't been answered? Please remind me, as I'm not the most organized crab in the world!)

Tabatas: HIIT Made Evil (and Awesome)

Photo: Tim Ellis

What's a Tabata?  Simple: It's a 20/10 HIIT protocol repeated 8 times.

Wait, you want that in English?  Sorry, let's try that again!

A Tabata is a form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Tabatas require 20 seconds of all-out effort, followed by 10 seconds of rest, and this cycle is repeated consecutively for a total of eight times. So it really is "simple," though it sure as hell ain't easy.

And you math majors are all probably way ahead of us here... yep, that's a FOUR MINUTE workout.

Everyone knows that that HIIT interval training comes with great health benefits.  And there are lots of different approaches to doing interval training, including the program we introduced at Cranky Fitness a while back.  Remember Somewhat High Intensity Interval Training?  However, strangely enough, "doing S.H.I.I.T" never really caught on in the fitness community the same way that "doing Tabatas" has.

Go figure!

I'd been doing a rather slapdash, off and on HIIT program myself for years--but with fewer, longer, intervals than Tabatas, and with way more recovery time.  But seeing that Tabatas were getting more and more popular, and inspired by Charlotte's recommendation over at The Great Fitness Experiment, it finally seemed time to check 'em out and report back.

It's been a few weeks now and... wow, they're, um, interesting!

Tabata Basics

A few important things to keep in mind when contemplating adding Tabatas to your fitness routine:

1.  They're intense.  You need to be in good shape before you start messing with high intensity intervals, or else you need to build up to them gradually.  Check with your doctor first, and don't go suing me if you jump on a treadmill and have a heart attack your first time out.  (Note: wouldn't it be amusing if every time someone told us "check with your doctor" before doing something, we all actually ran off and made appointments and dutifully went in and asked our busy doctors?  I'm sure my PPO would just love that! But, um, seriously, it's probably the smart thing to do).


2. You should warm up for a few minutes first.

3. Choose a simple, demanding exercise. You should be using lots of large leg muscles so that you can work intensely enough to cause yourself to  gasp for breath, curse the universe, and seriously ponder whether your heart might explode out of your chest.

This means the exercise can't be too complicated, dangerous, or reliant on small muscles that can tire out quickly.  Sprinting on an uncrowded track or pathway, running up a hill, pumping away on an exercise bike at high resistance (especially standing up), cranking up the resistance on an elliptical, etc are good places to start.

Treadmills work well for some folks, but can be a bit scary for others.  I, for example, fear that if I'm sprinting all-out to exhaustion, it would be all too easy for me to trip up and go flying off the back. And while pausing to suffer major life-threatening traumatic injuries might make a nice break from the Tabatas, they do come with health complications.

4. Consider getting some sort of interval timer.  You will be amazed at how quickly your ability to count to three, let alone eight, is impaired when you are distracted by wanting to die.  There are free phone apps if you have a smartphone that will give you a visual countdown and even blow a whistle at you.  Note: not recommended for those suffering from PTHGCSD (Post Traumatic High School Gym Class Stress Disorder).  I think this is the HIIT app I have.  If you don't have a smart phone, some workout watches come with interval timers, or you can buy cheap stand alone gadgets that will keep track for you.

5.  Don't do this more than 3 times a week; in fact, I'd recommend only once or twice a week.  These get old very quickly!  And once the novelty wears off I suspect they could easily make one start dreading workout times.  You may want to alternate "official" Tabata intervals with adding other more flexible sprint intervals to your cardio workouts.

What Totally Sucks About Tabatas:

If you're doing them right, they get unpleasant rather quickly.  The ten second "recovery" period feels like two seconds.  You have to force yourself to pump harder and harder, even as your body is saying "Leave me the f@#ck alone goddamnit!"

Also, depending on where you work out, you may feel a bit conspicuous.  You will be flailing around, gasping, possibly grunting, and definitely cursing.  Doing Tabatas may make you look trendy in some settings but in others you may seriously freak people out.

What's Mind-Blowingly Fantastic About Tabatas

They are amazingly fast and efficient and gratifying.  You will feel SO damn smug when you're done!  They rev up your metabolism, blast fat, boost your mitochondria, and help you feel superhuman.  It's counterintuitive, but research suggests that somehow these super-short workouts also boost your endurance as well as your peak efforts.  They leave you with a lovely pumped-up feeling long after you're done.

Tabata Variations

You may find it easier to stick to Tabatas over the long haul if you can find ways to mix it up, either across workouts or even within a single workout. Charlotte has a great article featuring a bunch of Tabata variations over at Shape.  Or for the testosterone-soaked version, T-Nation has a big bad-ass list as well, including barbell, kettlebell and bodyweight variations.

I'm thinking if you have a workout partner, some sort of race, contest, or competition might add a bit of real-time motivation.  (Although pie-eating or beer drinking competitions are not highly recommended for this purpose).

Personally, I've experimented with spinning bikes, ellipticals, a stepper, and a dumbbell/bodyweight series of 4 exercises repeated twice.  They all were great!  And by "great" I mean, of course, excruciatingly awful.

Anyone else doing Tabatas or other sorts of HIIT?  Or does this all sound like crazy talk?

[And from our friends at Maxifuel: Need a boost to get through this intense workout? Try Maxifuel sports nutrition for the extra energy you need!]

The Smarter Science of Slim: Review & Giveaway

Curious to hear more about a book that outlines a scientific, research-based approach to weight loss, yet challenges conventional thinking with surprising studies and some downright radical advice?

Or, even better, wanna win a free copy of the book?

Why yes, patient readers, Crabby’s Crass Calvacade of Commercialism continues! This week we’ve got a review and giveaway of Jonathan Bailor’s soon to be released book: “The Smarter Science of Slim.”

And, depending on reader enthusiasm (as measured by total number of comments), the giveaway MAY include an additional hard copy for which Canadian and/or Eurpean readers will be eligible.

Seriously, Do We Need Another Freakin’ Diet Book?

Well, maybe not, but I thought this one looked interesting. So many weight loss books either rehash the hard truths you already know, or are written by self-proclaimed experts who come up with amazing new weight loss discoveries by simply making shit up. Whether the book then hits the best-seller lists depends mostly on which celebrity has written it or can be bribed into endorsing it.

Sadly, the Breatharians are still in dire need of a celebrity.
Hmm...Gwyneth? You Busy?

So while I tend to turn down most diet book review pitches, this one caught my eye. Jonathan managed to acquire a bunch of impressive and enthusiastic pre-publication blurbs by lots of sciencey bigwigs, including John Ratey. (And who is John Ratey? Well, he’s a researcher whose name still lures innocent googlers to an ancient Cranky Fitness post on exercise, BDNF, and growing new brain cells, so I brightened up considerably when I recognized his name). Anyway, I liked the fact that a whole slew of academic types endorsed the research in this book.

So What’s Radical About this Weight Loss Book?

Well, maybe “radical” is putting it a bit strongly. It’s certainly not the first book to suggest that the weight loss picture is more complicated that calories in, calories out. We’ve gotten pretty used to the idea that some exercises are more efficient than others, and some foods are “good” or “bad” for weight loss in ways independent of calories.

But I don’t think I’d ever seen a respectably researched book proclaim that there is so little relationship between calories consumed, hours of exercise accumulated, and weight loss.

In short, The Smarter Science of Slim says: If you want to lose weight, eating less won’t help. Exercising more won’t help either. In fact, to lose weight for the long term, you need to eat more and exercise less. If you stick with this program, Bailor claims you can change the way your hormones work, rejigger your weight "set point" to a lower number, eat a ton of food, exercise for ten minutes a week, and look like a fitness model.

The catch? Well, you gotta eat the right kind of food and do the right kind of exercise. And, hint: Twinkies, Doritos, and long slow walks in the park aren't on the list.

Studies That Got Me Thinking.

While I know that the kind of food and exercise one gets are important, I'm pretty old-school in how I approach my own weight management. In fact, I recently went back to counting calories, which is downright quaint in fitness blogging circles. So to read study after study in this book about the absolute failure of the "calories in, calories out" model to achieve long term results was a bit sobering. It only works about 5% of the time.

In fact, as many hard-working dieters have discovered, weight loss achieved by calorie restriction with low-quality food can totally backfire, leading to rapid regain and a higher set-point weight that makes weight loss even harder the next time.

And, when overweight people restrict their calories, their bodies don't behave the way thin people's do. The book cites a study in which thin people burned off nearly 50% more body fat than heavy people when put on the same zero calorie diet. And sheesh, how unfair is that, when you think about it? Heavy people, who had extra fat to burn, had become unable to burn fat the way slim people do.

This and a bunch of other studies were pretty convincing that something funky is going on with obesity, calorie intake, and weight management that has nothing to do with calories in, calories out. There is a lot of research discussed in the book about hormones, changing your set point, how our bodies deal differently with "high quality" vs "low quality" foods, and how different kinds of exercise impact the body differently. I won't go into it all here because I'm way too lazy Bailor explains it all much more clearly, but I have to say that it made me think very differently about what it takes to lose weight and keep it off effectively.

So What's the "Smart" Way to Eat in Order to Get Slim?

Simple! Eat only "High Quality" Foods. Bailor has an acronym (which you may find either cute or annoying) to describe them: SANE, which stands for Satiety, Aggressiveness, Nutrition, and Efficiency. These have to do with how full foods make you feel, their glycemic index and load, what sort of nutrients they contain, and how easily they are stored as fat in your body. (And since you actually want InEfficient foods that don't get stored as fat, the acronym should probably be SANI, but gotta admit that's not terribly catchy).

The Bottom line of Smart Eating:

Eat as many non-starchy vegetables as you possibly can, especially deeply colored and leafy vegetables. But stay the hell away from corn and white potatoes, and limit other starchy vegetables like turnips, yams, etc. You also want to eat lean protein at least five times a day, plenty of fruit (particularly berries and citrus), and plenty of nuts and seeds.

You can also eat, but go easy on, beans and dairy products.

What do you steer clear of? Oil, whole and refined grains, any form of starch, and all sweets.

And What is "Smart" Exercise?

Rather than piling up tens of thousands of steps a day on your pedometer, running marathons, swimming lap after lap, or taking back to back cardio kickboxing classes at the gym, Bailor says the smart thing to do is ditch all that. You can change your body's hormones and torch off fat in an extremely short amount of time by doing high intensity interval training, and deep muscle resistance exercises using extremely slow, heavy, eccentric movements. (I.e., slowly lowering a weight much heavier than you could lift).

Now here's where the whole notion of Smart Exercise starts to sound, well, a bit incredible: You start with two 10 minute workouts a week. Then, when you get better at it, you can cut back to one 10 minute workout a week. That's all you need to do, according to Bailor.

Again, there is a lot more in the book about pragmatics of the diet and exercise, and lots of research and explanations on how and why this is all supposed to work. Let's just say it's a relatively simple, but not necessarily easy, plan to follow.

What I Liked About The Smarter Science of Slim

As I said before, I liked the way there were actual studies to back up the recommendations. Confession: white lab coats and multiple regression are big Cranky Fitness turn-ons.

And the diet advice seems consistent with my own experience: I'm already mostly eating this way, and it seems to work! (Though I'm only about 90% compliant, but hell, that's as good as I ever intend to be on any diet. At least not until I find one that puts cupcakes and kettlecorn on the "eat more" list.) It's weird, because I approached my eating plan from a totally different direction: the unfashionable, completely discredited "calories in, calories out" model. But when I discovered far too many calories were incoming relative to outgoing, and I started looking for ways to optimize, I ended up with a plan strikingly similar to the "SANE" model. I eat more protein than before, a ton of vegetables, I've started going easier on beloved whole grains and starches, and I'm a big fan of weird but convenient ingredients like whey protein, egg whites, canned salmon, and big-ass packages of frozen blueberries. The sweeteners I use somewhat guiltily are Splenda and Stevia, which the book says are OK in moderation. I've found I can eat a big-ass portions with this plan, which is awesome, because portion control is not my strong suit. So personally, I had to like a book that confirmed my own trial-and-error experimentation.

Another good thing about the book is that Bailor doesn't insist on perfection. He's got a chart saying how to modify the plan depending on your goals. What does it look like to eat like a person who is Obese? Overweight? Typical? Hot? A Fitness Model? There are different targets for different levels of obsession commitment.

It's also nice to see an exercise plan with specific how-to's for HIIT and deep muscle training workouts--there are both gym and home versions.

What I Didn’t Like So Much

The "easier said than done" factor. As many of have discovered, there is a ton of sensible diet and exercise advice out there... and very few people actually follow any of it for more than a few weeks. The fact that this may turn out to be a more optimal weight loss plan than most isn't gonna be much help someone who chooses to stop at Dairy Queen rather than face one more whey protein smoothie or spinach salad. Bailor's premise is that you can "fill up" on protein and fiber to the point where you're "too full" for sweets and starches. Well, sorry Jonathan, but welcome to Planet Crabby, where the laws of physiology and psychology dictate that there is no such thing as "too full" for dessert!

On the other hand, all the motivational tips and tricks that are lacking in this book are available a million other places. (Or hell, pick up this book for guidance, then hire yourself a newly minted, not-too-expensive, shamelessly self-promoting wellness coach to keep yourself on track!)

Also, I had some ambivalence about the exercise claims, but couldn't manage to execute the recommendations well enough to test them properly.  You are supposed to be doing these exercises so f#@cking intensely that it's impossible to do anything other than moan for quite a few days afterwards.  I swore I tried really hard, but could still jump on the elliptical or go to spinning class within a day or two, so was clearly doing it wrong.  And yet my "not quite intense enough" version was still mighty unpleasant, if mercifully brief.   I am definitely a believer in both HIIT (or, well, at least some similar SHIIT) and heavy lifting, but I'm not sure I can (or want to) ditch my other cardio activities.  But then I'm a 51 year old post-menopausal slacker. You kick-ass go-getter types may have better luck reaching the required intensity necessary to make the Astounding Amazing Miraculous Fat-Blasting happen with just 10 minutes a week.

Overall?  Even if one didn't want to jump totally on the "Smart," bandwagon, it's a fascinating and well-researched book with plenty of thought-provoking ideas and pragmatic tips for health, weight loss and fitness. You can checkout the The Smarter Science of Slim on Amazon and it even has it's own facebook page.

And now finally... on to the Giveaway!


So, here's the deal. Enter by leaving a comment below by Tuesday November 29th, and the Random Number Generator will pick a winner on Wednesday November 30th. If there are fewer than 50 comments, we have one copy of The Smarter Science of Slim to give away, and it can only be mailed to a U.S. address. However, if we can get more than 50 comments, a second copy will magically appear, which can go outside the U.S. because I will be mailing it! Note: winner(s) will need to check in by Monday Dec or I'll redraw.)

And in case I don't get around to posting again this week, have a Happy Thanksgiving or just a Happy Thursday!

Avoid this Dangerous Health Hazard!

Nah, I'm not talking about swine flu. I'm not a doctor or an epidemiologist and I know nothing about swine flu. Well, I do know that despite its name, it will probably not turn you into an actual swine.


Which is good! Because suddenly finding yourself with pig-brains instead of human-brains and hooves instead of hands? That might cause some pretty major lifestyle adjustments. Your boss might disapprove. And you wouldn't be able to visit your favorite blogs anymore. And your sex life? Well, let's hope your partner is very understanding and flexible.

So no, the health hazard I'm referring to is not swine flu. It's a common but insidious disorder that you've probably never heard of.

In the comments to Friday's post, reader Tina mentioned a scary bout with it. Fortunately she recovered.

So have you ever come down with a case of EVS?

That's short for Escalating Virtue Syndrome. And yeah, it's something I just made up.

It's just a subtype of perfectionism, a known motivation-killer that I've already blogged about many times. But it's such a sneaky type of perfectionism! It's so easy to get infected with it, and it's contagious, so I thought I'd do a brief public service announcement to warn you of its dangers.

What is Escalating Virtue Syndrome?

Basically, it's doing too much of a good thing until it backfires and forces you to be bad again. But here's a more technical definition:

EVS is the phenomenon that occurs after you discover that some sort of virtuous behavior is not nearly as bad as you thought it would be. Say you take up running, or you try to eat more whole foods. You hang in there for a few weeks; accomplish more than you thought; and you find out that the smug feeling you get is totally exhilarating!

But you're not content to leave it at that. You want more smugness! The next step, "escalation," involves incremental increases in the amount of virtue. You run longer and harder and more often, or you eat more and more healthy whole foods until they make up your entire diet.

If you pump up the virtue slowly and carefully, paying attention to your physical and psychological reactions and adjusting accordingly? No worries. You don't have EVS, you have Motivation and Determination and that's great!

But if all you're paying attention to is the lovely smugness, you're at serious risk for EVS. Because one day, you may suddenly wake up and realize that your virtuous behavior doesn't feel wonderful and rewarding and effortless like before. In fact, the whole routine kinda sucks!

Running 2 or 3 miles a couple of times a week was fun. Running 10 miles five times a week? Not nearly as much fun. Learning to eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day? Not so bad! Eating 18 servings a day? Aaack!

Of course there's an easy cure for the problem of taking a smart behavior and doing to much of it. That would be: dial it back a few notches until it's not so burdensome anymore.

But what's the typical response? Quit completely because it's all too hard.

I have to confess: I struggle with EVS infections all the time.

For example, I've blogged before about adding vegetables to my fruit smoothies. And if I keep it to 2/3 of a cup or less of chopped cauliflower, or 2 cups or less of raw spinach leaves, the smoothie tastes great, and I get vegetable credit. Hooray!

But damned if the vegetable-induced smugness rush hasn't tempted me into adding more and more vegetables. What happens if I go overboard? The smoothie goes from a milkshake-like indulgence to a funky composty tasting medicine. And who looks forward to medicine for breakfast?

The other place where I'm struggling with a creeping case of EVS is when it comes to High Intensity Interval Training. I know from previous experience that if I try to do as often and as intensely as many experts recommend, I will stop entirely. That's the whole reason I frequently suggest that readers try the less hardcore SHIIT workout instead. And yet I read the blogs of people who are fitter than I am, and I feel like a slothful slacker, and I start trying to do more and more sprints, more often, like the fit people do.

I know better, damn it!

Because this escalation will work great and give me huge burst of delicious smugness at first... until one day I'll realize that I just don't want to drink smoothies or do intervals at all anymore.

So, I am going to actually pay attention to the little warning signs this time, and I am going to consciously STOP ESCALATING for now. In order to do so, I need to give myself lots of credit for what I already do, and savor the existing smugness I can get from that. Later, if I get a new burst of motivation and don't feel any tell-tale foot-dragging, I can always drink compost every morning for breakfast and sprint my ass off all week.

So here is your Cranky Fitness public service message for today: If anyone else has been ignoring signs of EVS, and you realize you're getting very tempted to skip your workouts or blow off your healthy eating plan because it's so miserable, then DIAL IT BACK, but DON'T QUIT ENTIRELY!

See if you can remember what you were doing before it all got to be too much, and ease off to that level. There's likely still plenty of smugness to be had if you compare yourself to where you started, and not to some hypothetical superhuman version of yourself. It's way more important to feel like you are still "on track," even if it means adjusting your goals downward a notch. Because what good are lofty goals if you are hiding from them instead of chasing them?


Ever come down with EVS yourself, or have any good tips for avoiding it?

Being All Flexible and S.H.I.I.T.

Photo Credit: Theremina

At some point a while back, I first posted about High Intensity Interval Training, (H.I.I.T) and how doing intervals is really good for your health. I started doing them myself, and it really is a great way to pump up your workout in a minimum amount of time.

But intervals are kind of a pain! The whole point of them is to work hard enough to get uncomfortable, over and over and over.

So later I wrote a post about a new Cranky Fitness exercise invention, S.H.I.I.T., which stands for Somewhat High Intensity Interval Training. It's really just a mellower approach to H.I.I.T., but it still involves a fair amount of being uncomfortable.

Anyway, for those of you are interested in intervals and their awesome health benefits, and who want to know more about how to get started, I have a handy new resource to tell you about below. But for others who have no intention of ever, ever doing this crazy S.H.I.I.T.-- don't worry, this post is not really about that.


It's more about the pro's and con's of being Flexible. And not in that can-you-wrap-your-ankles-around-your-neck-way.

Flexibility is Great!

Generally, the more flexible I can be about how I work out, the better. I tend to get too stuck in a routine, too attached to my favorite exercises and routes. I grow to hate them, and it often takes something like moving across country to shake things up and make things interesting again. I'm always happy when I discover new options, yet I'm stubbornly reluctant to seek them out unless I absolutely have to. I need to get better about this!

However, one way in which I AM awfully flexible is in my exercise goals. Alert readers may notice that Cranky Fitness is not as Hardcore and Ambitious as many other fitness blogs. I never seem to be charting my progress towards some impressive goal like running a marathon, or doing 100 pushups, or climbing a mountain or whatever. And if I do actually set some little goal, I never put a time limit on it or berate myself for backing off if it gets too hard.

This flexible approach means I've never "failed," and keeps me from getting discouraged. Overall, it's been working pretty well for me.

However, back to the Interval Training...


The Disadvantages of Being Flexible

I'm still doing interval training, in my usual half-assed way. And I've been feeling pretty darn pleased with myself when I do it. Hooray for me!

Here I am, a middle-aged slacker of no great ambition, sprinting up fake treadmill hills, gaining all these tremendous health benefits and getting stronger and faster and....

Hey. Wait a minute. I'm really not getting all that much stronger, or faster.

Sure, I'll make a bunch of progress for a little while, and then I start hating intervals too much. I find myself doing 'em a little less often, and then even a less, and then pretty soon I have to dial the speed back down and the incline back down too and take longer rests. But then I'll get tired of my lack of progress, get all determined again, and ramp back up.

I thought I'd been doing intervals maybe six months or so... til I looked at the date of my first interval post. Sure, it was only back in June--June of 2007! That's like a year and a half of intervals, and I'm probably still pretty much doing what I was doing 3 or 4 months after I started. (I think. To tell you the truth I don't track it all that closely).

And it's not just intervals, either. Strength training and regular cardio are the same way--bursts of diligence and progress, followed by grumpiness, slacking and skipped workouts.

I never quit entirely, but I never get a whole lot further along either. I started messing around with fitness, and got real serious for a year or two, let's see.. oh, about 25 years ago! And before that I did sports in school. So it's really been pretty much a lifetime of physical activity.

That's a lot of years without making a hell of a lot of progress.


Different Strokes for Different Folks

Yet I still have no plans to start getting out charts and graphs and stopwatches, or setting the date for my 10K or marathon.

I really admire you folks who do that. It's so inspiring! But it's just not me.

I keep hoping a benevolent Exercise Fairy will wave a magic wand and make me fitter and stronger without doing an extra work. And I do keep trying... just not hard enough to make continuous gains. As much as I'm sometimes jealous of you folks who run 7 minute miles or bench press 200lbs or whatever, I just don't seem to be willing to devote the time and determination and energy it takes to get there.

So I pick little goals along the way, and then I backslide, and then I pick other little goals, and I keep at it, year after year. Compared to most folks my age, I'm in pretty good shape. I'm strong and fit and I'm gaining all the great health benefits, both immediate and long-term, that regular exercise gets you. I think, for me, had I not developed a flexible approach to goals I would have gotten discouraged and given up.

The best thing, though, is the older I get, the more "credit" I get for doing the same things I did when I was in my twenties. And as I may have said before, while temporary goals come and go, my bottom-line goal is to stay at the same level of fitness I was as an in-shape twenty-something... until I'm an Eighty Something. (Once I hit ninety, I figure--screw it). And so far, so good. I got into fairly decent shape in my twenties, and now, with only a couple years until I reach 50, I've managed to cling on to it--whining and griping the entire time of course.


Want to Know More About H.I.I.T?

Over at Experience Life Magazine, they have a good article about H.I.I.T., including research on why it's so good for you, as well as plan to get started. And unlike some resources, they emphasize balance and don't get all extreme and hardcore about it.

Anyone else struggle with the issues of flexibility and setting goals and making progress? Do you keep getting fitter every year, or is it sometimes tough just to keep from backsliding?

High Intensity Intervals For the Rest of Us

[By Crabby]


Exciting Announcement: A Revolutionary New Exercise Program from Cranky Fitness!

Have you been hearing about all the incredible health benefits of High Intensity Interval Training?

Benefits like:

• Raising your Resting Metabolic Rate;
• Increasing Your Strength;
• Burning More Fat;
• Increasing Endurance;
• Adding more Mitochondria to Muscles;
• Building Lactic Acid tolerance;
• Increasing the Release of Human Growth Hormone;
• Raising your VO2 Max;
• Sounding Really Cool when you Throw Around Terms Like "Resting Metabolic Rate" and "VO2 Max";
• Getting Your Workout Done in Under Twenty Minutes So You Can Watch More TV Devote More Time to Saving the Planet.

All these benefits simply from incorporating a few bouts of extreme torture high-intensity exercise into your workout? It almost sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

But you may have looked into H.I.I.T. before and thought to yourself: "Gosh, that sounds great! But sprinting like hell until you can't breathe and want to die, then repeating that cycle over and over again until you want to puke? Thanks, but ... Are You F*cking Nuts?"

Yes, actually, quite bonkers--but we do understand. Very few people wants to feel like puking on a regular basis, least of all us.

So that's why we invented an alternative, the H.I.I.T. that's for everyone! Our brand new patented* program:

"Somewhat High Intensity Interval Training!®"

Yes, you too can join the fitness revolution and do some great S.H.I.I.T® for your health!


So what's this S.H.I.I.T® all about?

It's quite simple: Almost everyone agrees H.I.I.T. works, but it's hard. And no one really seems to "own" it, so there's no money to be made off of it consensus about how to do it.

Some folks say sprint for 8 seconds and walk for twelve seconds and do it over and over again for twenty minutes. Other folks say sprint for 30 seconds. Or 45 seconds. Or several minutes. And accordingly, rest longer in between.

Some say do dozens of cycles per workout. Others say do 4-8 cycles. Do the whole thing once a week . Do it every single workout. It's so confusing!

But with S.H.I.I.T® we say: do whatever the heck you want! Just set aside a workout every now and then to focus, in what ever way you want to, on pumping it UP! And then resting. And then pumping it UP!

But this is crucial: if you're absolutely miserable and traumatized, then TURN IT DOWN A NOTCH, DOOFUS! Doing one or two Incredibly Kick-Ass Invigorating Interval Workouts, then never ever doing them again because they suck, will get you surprisingly limited health benefits.


How Do I know if I'm doing this S.H.I.I.T® right?

If you've tried to do H.I.I.T., you may have noticed that there's no "right" way to do it. Whatever you are doing, someone will tell you it is wrong.

Try one approach you've read about in a magazine somewhere, and then read something totally different in another magazine, then go visit fitness bloggers and find out that they're all totally kicking your ass by doing ten times whatever you were doing.

Who needs that aggravation?

With a S.H.I.I.T® program, you know you're doing it right. Because if you're trying-- then you're doing it right. By definition! It's our program, and we get to define our own S.H.I.I.T®


How Do I Stay Motivated to Keep Doing S.H.I.I.T® For the Long Haul?

Mix it up! Some days, do your S.H.I.I.T® on an elliptical. Do S.H.I.I.T® running up hills. Try 8 second intervals; two minute intervals; longer rest periods; shorter rest periods, whatever. The more you mess around, the more you may find that S.H.I.I.T® happens!


To Learn More About How Fit S.H.I.I.T® Into Your Healthy Lifestyle:

Just ask us! After all, Cranky Fitness is your expert resource--because we're proud to say we totally made this S.H.I.I.T® up!


*Patent Pending. (Pending our getting off our asses and patenting it)