If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
It’s the inaugural weekend roundup at Get Fit Slowly! I’m not a huge fan of link roundups, but they do have their place. Mac and I do our best to post five new articles a week, but the truth is we’re still struggling to find Get Fit Slowly’s voice. It took me nearly a year to figure out Get Rich Slowly’s purpose, and I’m sure it’ll take us a few more months before we know exactly what we’re doing here. But we’re having fun along the way.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of other sites out there providing interesting information on fitness and weight loss. Starting today, I’ll link to some of my favorite articles each week. Some of these articles will come from blogs that are part of the nascent Fitness Health Network, but many will be from other sites around the web.
This week, I’d like to point you to these stories:
At No Calories Needed, NCN is giving up soda cold turkey. I have a friend who did this two years ago. He lost weight and sleeps much better now. In theory, I cut out soda three months ago. In reality, I still have a couple pops per week.
Gal at 60 in 3 says that the number one rule of healthy eating is variety counts. By trying new dishes, he’s able to discover new foods. And having a variety of foods that he likes prevents his diet from getting boring.
Finally, Jim at Journal of Healthy Living says that it’s important to break the routine and monotony of your normal workout. “After you get a routine down, your brain consciously and subconsciously starts to figure out ways to make it more efficient, to use less energy, and consume fewer calories,” he writes. This is something I’ve been considering lately. I’ve been doing the same upper body workout for twelve weeks now. I like it, and I’ve seen definite progress, but I wonder if it isn’t time to mix up my exercises instead of doing the same things all the time. Do I dare try a bench press?
Mac
7 responses so far ↓
1 Kelly // Jun 8, 2008 at 7:21 pm
It’s kind of amazing how much of an effect on your health giving up soda can have. I had a friend in high school who gave up soda and took up Dance Dance Revolution. With only those two lifestyle changes, she went down at least one dress size, possibly two.
I’m to the point where I drink soda about once every three to four months (usually as a mixer with some sort of liquor). I’m kind of amazed at the people who drink two or three cans a day.
2 greenman2001 // Jun 9, 2008 at 2:50 am
I love it: theoretically giving up soda! I’m theoretically doing 100 crunches a day! Keep up the good work!
3 Dave Child // Jun 9, 2008 at 5:05 am
I found the bench press to be my favourite of all of the various things I’ve done so far in the gym. It’s the one where I’ve been able to identify progress the most easily, and I always feel great (aches and pains aside, of course) for the day or two after a good workout.
4 elisabeth // Jun 9, 2008 at 2:35 pm
It may be that variety is good for healthy eating, but I’ve seen a study that shows that it isn’t good for losing weight — weight loss may be easier if one has the same meals over and over, because one will stay with the same serving sizes I guess, and won’t be interested enough to eat more than one serving. My husband has the same lunch breakfast and lunch every day — balanced meals, yes, but I’d be completely bored! On the other hand, he has no weight problem. I control our dinner meal, and I like to cook, so we might go month without repeat meal, and yes, I’m the one who is trying to lose…
5 Miguel // Jun 9, 2008 at 7:37 pm
About the bench press –try it with dumbbells first. For me it’s less of a big deal just lifting a dumbbell in each hand than a bar. You also get the advantage of having both hands to stabilize, and no bar that you can get stuck under. Don’t bother with a smith machine.
6 April // Jun 17, 2008 at 5:37 am
I’d like to change up my exercise routine, but I’m wary because it got me in the best shape of my life and I really enjoy it. I do add in yoga when we have it here at work (we have six week sessions but they aren’t back-to-back).
7 Deb // Jun 19, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Yes, change things up! Most of the “experts” say to change up your workout a bit every 4-6 weeks. It doesn’t necessarily mean changing the exercises, but change the intensity or the duration.
I have workouts I love, but I still change them every 6 weeks or so. Do go to bench press. It’s my favorite! And try it dumbbells. You’ll be surprised how quickly you start upping the weight.
When THAT gets easy, switch it by doing 1/3 of the reps with both hands, then leaving one hand up and only pressing the other. Careful you don’t fall off the bench! (but that’s me.. always looking for ways to add a stability challenge to a workout).
Leave a Comment