Have Fun; Be Fit! - Phil Ammendolia

Have Fun: Be Fit! Been a while.

2011-04-23T03:43:00.000-07:00

Well, even the most disciplined can fall behind. I'm guilty. It has been way too long since I posted, and frankly, I've let my exercise routine slip. As part of my work, I've been traveling to Shanghai, China about every 6 weeks for 7 to 12 days. When not in China, I have to go to my office in Los Angeles (about 6 hours from my home) for 3 days a week or so. I was doing great at maintaining an exercise routine until about 6 months ago when time changes and scheduling got the best of me. Now, I get to follow my own advice and get back to it.

At 52 years-old, I'm still in better shape than a lot of people my age. Considering the shape I'm in (or not in) that's pretty sad. At 30, I could push for 90 days and easily maintain that shape for 12 months or more. At 40 that started to change and at 50, I could push for 12 months and pretty easily maintain that shape for about 30 days. The older we get, the more important consistency is; the more important it is to maintain muscle density; and the more important to stay flexible.

I have a plan and I'll keep you posted.

Have Fun; Be Fit ™

Phil Ammendolia
Factory Phil's
© Phil Ammendolia 2011

How to Have Fun and Be Fit riding a Trikke

2008-11-26T06:11:00.001-08:00

http://www.factoryphils.com/

In previous articles, I've written about how to get started, how to get into "pre-shape" and how to find your fitness level. I've mentioned that keeping your workouts varied and FUN is, in my opinion, the best way to develop the habit of a healthy exercise routine. For me, getting into and/or being in shape is an important part of life. It's also something that like most people I struggle with daily. Even when something is FUN it can be a challenge to find the time. Still, the more fun you can have while exercising, the easier it becomes to find that time. Today, I want to talk about one activity that is fun and offers a great overall workout and makes it a little easier to get out the door and do something good for your body.

One of my favorite aerobic activities is riding my Trikke (pronounced "trike"). The spelling is not a typo and if you've never seen one you can visit my website http://www.factoryphils.com/ and click a video to see one in action. Trikkes are human powered 3-wheel carving vehicles. Some people think of them as a 3 wheeled scooter, but they aren't. Once you understand how they work, you can get them moving without ever putting a foot down on the ground. You stand with your feet firmly planted on the footpads, hold a set of handlebars and literally rock and roll to get them moving. When you are standing on a Trikke, you'll find that they are amazingly stable, it is really easy to keep your balance on one, and there is NO IMPACT in a Trikke workout. Once rolling, the rock and roll motion continues and you carve gentle, curving "S's" as you glide along the street or sidewalk. The rhythm of riding a Trikke has a calming effect as you gently sway from one side to the other and learn to lean with the vehicle. I've heard people say that the motion is a lot like skiing or in-line skating. It's also a wonderful, light aerobic workout. Your heart rate increases to that magic but hard to find "increased but not too hard" zone.

In a future article, I'll get into target heart rates and different opinions on how to figure out what rate you should try to hit and maintain while exercising. For the purpose of this article, I believe in the old concept that if you can hold a conversation while you are working out, you're probably not overworking; if you can sing a song while you are working out, you're probably not working hard enough. You, your doctor and common sense are going to be your best guide on this. From my personal experience, I believe that you can get wonderful gains in fitness, decrease your blood pressure, body fat and weight by getting a reasonable amount of light to moderate exercise. What's a reasonable amount? I'd say 25 to 30 minutes, 3 to 4 times per week. It's also my opinion that you should add 10 to 15 minutes of cooling down and stretching to this routine for the best overall benefit. Remember, you can stretch almost anywhere. There are myriads of articles on stretches that you can do at your desk while talking on the phone.

When you are starting out, you may not be able to maintain even a light pace for 25 to 30 minutes per session. That's O.K; Start. Perhaps you can do 5 minutes. Well, then do 5 minutes. In the weeks that follow, add just a minute or two per workout per week. Maybe in your second week, you work out day 1 for 5 minutes, day 2 for 7 minutes, then back to 5 minutes for day 3. As you get stronger and more fit, keep adding a minute or two per week, and then add an extra day when you feel you are ready. If you have a strong day and perhaps double your usual workout (not too hard to go from 5 minutes to 10), take a day off and let your body recover. If you are able to start with 10 minutes, start there. Listen to your body and don't be lazy. When you are ready, with light to moderate exercise, you can certainly increase to 5 or 6 days per week without worry of overdoing it, and you will get in shape faster.

By the way, all of us should start any exercise routine with a chat with our doctor; but if you aren't up to 5 minutes of light exercise, I think it is IMPERATIVE.

25 to 30 minutes 3 to 4 times per week. This is the first target you should aim for. If that is all you ever do, you will get tremendous benefits. If you can extend it to 4 to 5 times per week, even better. But to do that, you need to be having FUN.

Trikkes are fun and are a pretty easy path to this light to moderate type of workout. When you ride one, you use your legs, arms, and core, giving you a total body workout. It's easy to control your pace, and therefore easy to keep your heart rate where you need it to be. The best part is that riding a Trikke is FUN. Just because they are relatively easy to ride does not mean that you can't ride them hard and fast. There are athletes who jump them, hop them and slide them. Basically, they offer something for everyone in one easy to use human-powered vehicle.

Another aspect of a Trikke that is appealing has to do with that ability to control your pace. For parents of young children who are still learning to ride a two-wheeler, it is easy to stay at a pace that works for both the child and you. Because of the "S" motion of a Trikke, the parent can still get a decent work out while traveling at a slower clip. Plus, because a Trikke is stable and will stand alone, it's easy to get off of to assist a little one when need be.

So, just to overstate my case, you need to have FUN if you plan on making exercise a routine part of your life. Finding a variety of fun activities is a great way to keep you interested and motivated. Riding a Trikke is a great overall body workout and is a lot of FUN.

Have Fun; Be Fit! ™

Phil Ammendolia
http://www.factoryphils.blogspot.com/
http://www.factoryphils.com/

Coming up, information about maximum exercise benefits and heart rates.

How to Have Fun and Be Fit - Part 3 - How to test yourself to determine your aerobic fitenss level.

2008-10-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

www.factoryphils.com

In my last blog, I wrote about getting into “pre-shape.” Hopefully, it was helpful and you’ve started seeing some results. How long someone should stay in the “pre-shape” mode is an individual thing based upon the shape you were in when you started and how you are feeling now. You (and your doctor) are the only ones who can really decide when you are ready for the next step. The cool thing is if you test yourself and feel you aren’t quite ready to step it up, you can always extend the pre-shape period for as long as needed. Remember, you are doing this so you can have more fun and feel better. To achieve that, you need to have fun doing this. Odd way to say it, but I think you catch my drift.

This article is about a way to test yourself and determine what kind of shape you are in aerobically. It is always a good idea to check with your doctor before trying anything of this nature and I wouldn’t waste my time until I felt I had done a fair job of completing pre-shape activities.

In 1977 a really neat guy by the name of Joe Henderson wrote a book called Jog, Run, Race. Joe was an editor for Runner’s World magazine and his style was friendly and inspiring. I wrote to Joe and asked for permission to share this info. He still writes and can be found at www.joehenderson.com. I also went online and found an original copy of the book. In it he offered some wonderful step-by-step (literally) methods for getting in shape as a runner or walker. Through the years, I’ve found that with slight variations, his methods could be transferred to almost any activity I wanted to use for building endurance and staying fit from cycling to Trikking (Trikking- “Tryke’-ing” - Verb - To ride a Trikke 3 wheel carving vehicle. See www.factoryphils.com). As part of the book, he referenced the 12 minute test developed by Dr. Kenneth Cooper. The 12 minute test uses a measured distance achieved in 12 minutes as a good method for determining what kind of shape a person is in. Though many years have passed, the simplicity of this has always stuck with me and I feel it is still a great way to benchmark your progress.
Whenever I have wanted to do a 12 minute test I’ve found the easiest way is to go to a local high school and use their track. It is easy to remember that 4 laps is a mile and also easy to determine how much of a lap you have completed at any given point. If you have a friend along to help with keeping track of distance and time, this can be a huge help, as your job is to cover as much distance as possible in 12 minutes. Walking is perfectly acceptable, but you have to remember, this is about pushing yourself as hard as you can while completing all 12 minutes. (Don’t hurt yourself! You have to finish the 12 minutes or you waste the test and get to sit around recovering. Yuck!) Once the time has elapsed, you measure the distance covered and compare it to the chart below to see where you line up in the world of aerobic fitness. Here is a copy of the chart:
__________________________________________________________________
Female - Age 15-30 - <1.2 miles – Needs improvement Female - Age 15-30 - 1.3 miles – Minimal acceptable Female - Age 15-30 - 1.4 miles – Good Female - Age 15-30 - 1.5 miles or more – Excellent!
__________________________________________________________________
Male - Age 15-30 - <1.3 miles – Needs improvement Male - Age 15-30 - 1.4 miles – Minimal acceptable Male - Age 15-30 - 1.5 miles – Good Male - Age 15-30 - 1.7 miles or more – Excellent!
__________________________________________________________________
Female - Age 31 - 50 - <1.1 miles – Needs improvement Female - Age 31 - 50 - 1.2 miles – Minimal acceptable Female - Age 31 - 50 - 1.3 miles – Good Female - Age 31 - 50 - 1.4 miles or more – Excellent!
__________________________________________________________________
Male - Age 31 - 50 - <1.2 miles – Needs improvement Male - Age 15-30 - 1.3 miles – Minimal acceptable Male - Age 15-30 - 1.4 miles – Good Male - Age 15-30 - 1.5 miles or more – Excellent!
__________________________________________________________________
Female - Age 51 - 70 - <.9 miles – Needs improvement Female - Age 51 - 70 - 1.0 miles – Minimal acceptable Female - Age 51 - 70 - 1.1 miles – Good Female - Age 51 - 70 - 1.2 miles or more – Excellent!
__________________________________________________________________
Male - Age 51 - 70 - <1.0 miles – Needs improvement Male - Age 51 - 70 - 1.2 miles – Minimal acceptable Male - Age 51 - 70 - 1.3 miles – Good Male - Age 51 - 70 - 1.4 miles or more – Excellent!
__________________________________________________________________

It took me a couple of tries before I got used to how hard I could push and still complete 12 minutes. I chose to allow several days to pass between tests to allow myself time to recover and the most I ever used this after figuring out the proper pace for me was once in 30 days to 60 days. Of course, I was 20 then. Today, once in a long while is enough. This 30 to 60 day interval was my choice and whether right or wrong, I have no idea. It worked for me. I would recommend you research this further if you decide you want to try it. Still, even if you only do it once, you will have a much better idea of what kind of shape you are in.

Be Fit; Have Fun ™
Phil Ammendolia

Next: Some ideas for getting fit while having fun, with specific daily workout schedules for each activity.
© Phil Ammendolia 2008

How to Have Fun and Be Fit - Part 2: Getting into Pre-Shape – A 30 day plan

2008-10-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.factoryphils.com/

As I mentioned in the first article, I believe the best way to be fit is to have fun. Sometimes, we might have let a little too much time pass since our last exercise regime and because of that, we feel like we can’t do ANYTHING that is fun without hurting ourselves; and that might be the case. So what do we do? Well, as I’ve said, no matter how bad it is, it probably isn’t ALL bad. If this is the level you feel you are at, you need to start by getting into what I call “Pre-shape.”

Get your body moving.

A common challenge to getting into shape is that our bodies are too tight and don’t have enough muscle tone to keep us from injuries that can be caused by the twisting, turning, lifting and jumping that many activities require. Pre-shape is all about getting you to the first real level of fitness. It starts with getting your body used to the idea of moving. You might take a short daily walk and follow it with some very light stretches. You might get some VERY light weights and do some curls and lifts while watching television in the evening. After you’ve warmed-up a little, you can do a few push-ups during the commercials. Always add some light stretching after you’ve worked out and your muscles are still warm.

When my wife Laura and I first decided to get back into shape, we started by taking a walk to the local coffee shop to have a roll and a coffee. Admittedly, this wasn’t a great way to diet, but it WAS a great way to get ourselves out the door. The place was a little over a mile away. It seemed like a long walk at first, but we got to take a break once there and enjoy a treat before we walked home. Once home, I would do a few push-ups and light stretches for my hamstrings, quads, and low back. It was actually a pretty easy thing to do and before long we were walking at a faster clip and then looking for other things to do. Our next step was to start riding our bicycles on the same route; the coffee shop. But after our treat we took a longer route home and I continued to stretch. Please note: We walked to a coffee shop and had a pastry. As you can imagine, this isn’t something recommended by Olympic coaches, but it worked to keep us moving. In my opinion, it’s OK to use this method to get yourself motivated and moving. But limit yourself to one pastry and if you can’t, pick a different fun destination.

As we continued to get into better shape, we slowly reached the point where we were more considerate of what we ate. We didn’t do anything ridiculous like not eat chocolate or dessert. We just found that we wanted it less often and we usually ate smaller quantities when we did have it. The results were great. We both had more energy, slept better and hurt less.

When you are going for pre-shape, start easy and increase gradually. The two main ingredients are getting your body moving and then doing some light stretches once your muscles are warm. The secondary portion is where you start to pay a little attention to your diet. I’ve often found that this gets easier as I start to get into shape.

I’m a real believer in low-impact at the start. You don’t need to take a pounding to get in pre-shape. I don’t believe in “No pain, no gain.” You can get into shape without tearing ligaments and pulling muscles; you just want to start gradually. Take a walk. Do low-impact aerobics. Swim. Use resistance bands while you watch T.V. Just get your body moving, do a few stretches and then add a little more each week or two. Ultimately, in my opinion, a good target is the ability to achieve 15 to 25 minutes of a moderate to fast paced walk and the ability to do about 10 push-ups (standard or knee-style is acceptable) as a guide to when you are ready to take the next step.

Set a goal.

One of the best ways that I’ve found to get into pre-shape is to set a goal for an activity you want to be involved with. Maybe you want to play with your kids. Maybe you want to water ski next summer or snow ski next winter. If you look ahead about 6 months and find something you want to do, it can make it a lot easier to take the steps needed to get yourself into the shape to do those things. The ultimate goal is to find an event you want to be involved with and then plan to be ready for it. In my case, I wanted to race motorcycles again. When I was a kid, I raced. I raced in my teens, twenties and thirties. I was 48 and realized I had raced in every decade of my life since my teens but had never raced in my forties and I wanted to continue the tradition. I found a “fun” race that I thought I could compete in without hurting myself or others that was about 6 months away. I set the goal of being in good enough shape to ride that event. I REALLY wanted to ride. Whenever I wasn’t in the mood to exercise, I thought about that event and how fast the clock was ticking. I got a friend to commit to the same event so I would have someone to answer to if I backed out. It helped.

You might want to run a 5K or walk for a cause like a cure for cancer. Pick an event, put it in your head and decide you are going to be ready. Find someone you can count on to commit to the same event. Then, set out a plan to get in pre-shape over the next 30 days or so, which will get you ready to take the nest step of physical fitness. You can do it.

1) Get your body gently moving.
2) Do some light stretching.
3) Try to reach a point where you can do 10 push-ups and walk at a moderate to fast pace for 15 to 25 minutes. This is only my opinion and you need to let your age, condition and your doctor to decide what is right for you.
4) Set a goal that is 6 months out for something you want to participate in that requires a reasonable level of fitness.
5) Let your body and your doctor be the guide as to when it is time to go to the next level. For some, a couple of weeks are enough. Others might need 30 days or more. Your body will tell you. Increase GRADUALLY.

© Phil Ammendolia 2008

Next: How to test yourself to know your true fitness level.

How to Have Fun and Be Fit - Part 1: Get started.

2008-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.factoryphils.com/

This article is about getting started from a very basic level. If you are already in decent shape and already a bit active, you may want to wait for an article or two. But please check back.

You’d like to be in better shape. You’d like to feel better. You’d like to have more energy during the day and sleep better at night. Maybe you would like to lose a little weight; or maybe a lot. Maybe you want to lower your blood pressure. You are not alone. Each month there are tens of thousands of people using the major online search engines entering terms like “health and fitness.”

All of these goals are common and good. So why do so many of us have so much trouble achieving them or maintaining them when we do gain ground? I’m going to answer that and give you a few simple ways to achieve more than you have ever managed in the past. But to achieve you have to start, so this is about how to give yourself a good start.

1) Have fun and be fit

There have been times in my life where I really looked forward to going to the gym. And then, there were times that I didn’t. Sometimes it was just too hard to get there. Sometimes, I didn’t have the time. Sometimes, I was away from home. Mostly, after a few months, it just wasn’t fun anymore. Hence, lesson #1. How hard is it to enjoy a great meal, have an interesting conversation with a good friend or watch your favorite movie? It’s not hard at all. Why? Because, those are fun things to do. If you’re having fun, things are easy. So why not have fun to get in shape? What is fun to you? Swimming? Cycling? Tennis? Playing basketball? Skate or snowboarding? Walking? Soccer? Hopping on a pogo stick? Gliding on a Trikke? I could write a book about fun things to do; but what’s important here is that you find something that you think is fun and enjoyable and then DO IT. If you need to be in better shape to do the things you have most fun at, start where you can with the goal of doing the thing you love as quickly as possible. You might start with a walk with a friend and a light stretch; maybe a dance to your favorite song in your own living room; maybe you’ll take the stairs at work for a week or two, even if it is only the first flight and then you hop on the elevator. You can walk to the second flight next week. The real point here is that your first goal is to have fun. If you’re not in enough shape to have fun, then set getting to that point as your first goal. Decide what you want to do and DO IT or take small steps to get yourself where you can do it.

2) Become an accomplished underachiever

Yep; you read that right. Set out to under achieve. How often have you set lofty goals to start a strict diet, get up at 5 am to exercise before work or complete a boot camp-style training regimen, only to fail quickly, or worse yet, never get going? Instead of deciding to run a marathon, how about deciding to walk to the end of your block? I’m serious here. Set a goal that you KNOW you can achieve without any doubt; then do it. After you are good at doing that simple thing, raise the gradient. If on any given day, you feel like doing more, DO IT. But make sure you minimally do your under achieving workout the next day, no matter what you do today.

3) Don’t change your diet.

I’m not kidding. DON’T CHANGE YOUR DIET! Do you eat ice cream every night? Then eat ice cream every night. The only thing I’d ask you to change is the “how much.” If you eat 3 scoops a night, dish out 3 scoops, but then put one tablespoon worth back in the container. In other words, eat just a little less. If you usually eat two burgers, try leaving two bites worth on your plate. Then, as you get used to eating a little less, leave 3 bites, and so on... I promise you’ll still be satisfied. And as you continue to do this, it will become easier and easier to do with a little less each meal.

4) Throw away your scale.

Quick; think of some movie star or athlete that you think has a great body; a body that you would like to have. Now pretend for a moment that your body was just like that person’s and you felt healthy and had energy. Would you care what you weighed? If you looked just like that and weighed what you weigh today, would you care? Throw away your scale or at least hide it for 90 days. If you get active and are consistent, you will get results. Daily weigh-ins are daily de-motivators for most people. It’s not about how much you lost yesterday; it’s about a lifestyle that offers more.

5) Appreciate what you have.

There are few people on planet earth that have perfect genes. There are a few; but not many. You know the ones of which I speak; no matter what they eat, they look great; no matter what they wear, they look great; no matter how many birthdays, they look great. I’m not one of them; are you?

On the plus side, like most people, I did get some breaks when it comes to my body. My legs have always stayed muscular even when I’ve slacked at the exercise and diet routine. My arms get toned pretty easily. In other words, no matter how bad it is, it isn’t ALL bad for me, and it probably isn’t ALL bad for you. Appreciate what you have and celebrate the little victories.

If you are like most people, you’d like to feel better. You would like to be able to do more without paying for it for days afterward. You’d like better sleep; more energy; more freedom to eat the things that taste good. If it has been a long time since you have done any physical activities, these are the first steps.

Next: How to get into “pre-shape.”

Having Fun; Be Fit! - www.factoryphils.com

2008-10-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Factory Phil's Blog!!!

This is a new venue for me. I'm working on articles that can help you to have fun while you get fit. All of the items I sell from Factory Phil's are picked with that in mind.

I plan to have my first article online by October 25, so please check back soon. I have several in the works and plan to change them often.

Please visit my site, www.factoryphils.com.

Have Fun: Be Fit!
Phil