Train Safe. Train Smart. Train Hard.

Average Read Time: 00:02:19

Go take a look at your dishes for a second. Do your bowls look like you should be using them to mix cookie batter? Should you take your plates out and start a good ultimate frisbee game? Well, if that is the case, you could be on your way to a much bigger waistline.

Do your plates really make that big of a difference?

In a study done by the Journal of the American Medical Association, a bunch of researchers had a Super Bowl party. Talk about a cool study. At this party they had two all-you-can-eat buffets. (This just keeps getting better huh?) They had the same foods at each buffet, filled with typical Super Bowl faire. The only difference was the bowl size. Those bigger bowls, caused the party-goers to take 53% more food and eat 56% more than those smaller bowl eaters.

Don’t ask for seconds

In another study done by Obesity Research they served soup. For the study, they had two groups. One group, they served soup in normal sized bowls. The other group, they served in normal sized bowls as well, with one small difference. They filled those bowls up non-stop, and the eaters just kept on eating. The group without self-filling soup were allowed to get seconds but they just had to ask for some. What did they find? The soup-eaters with a self filling bowls ate an average of 73% more soup.

The bonus result: The eaters who ate from those same bowls also underestimated the calories they ate by 140 calories, whereas those who had to ask for seconds only underestimated by 32 calories.

It’s not just limited to dishes…

In 2004, Brian Wansink grabbed a group of people and sent them home with either a two-pound, one-pound or a half-pound bag of M&M’s. They were also given a videotape and told to watch and just munch away. By the end of the movie, Wansink took the bags back. It was found on average that the people with the small half-pound bag of M&M’s ate an average of 63 M&M’s. Those with the one-pound bag hit around 120 M&M’s. The larger bag, more still. They did the same test with popcorn. Again, the bigger the bag, the more popcorn that was eaten.

So what does it all mean?

With all the studies done, there is a common theme. The more you put in front of you, the more you are going to eat. So think about that next time you supersize your meal or cut an extra large piece of cake. Whatever you get, you are going to probably chow down.

So what can you do about it?

1. Be conscious of every bite – The participants who just ate soup without thinking just kept eating and eating and really didn’t know how much they put away. If you think about every spoonful you put in your mouth, you might not eat as much.

2. Split it up – When I go out to a restaurant I almost always have dessert. Life isn’t worth it without dessert. But it usually gets split into one plate and two forks. I’ll do the same for supper sometimes. Just ask for two plates. (Small ones!)

3. Go shopping – Go grab some cheap plates and bowls and try it out. If you need seconds, go knock yourself out, at least you’ll be a little more conscious of going back to the stove to fill-up.

Images by JunkbyJo, PatrickYeung, and arianacasellato

Comments: What kind of tricks do you use in order to control your portion control?

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Average Read Time: 00:01:50

Tomorrow you’re going to be shipped off to an island for one year. You are given water and a choice of one of the following foods to bring with you: (I want you to make the choice that would be the best for your health).

• Alfalfa Sprouts
• Bananas
• Corn
• Hot Dogs
• Milk Chocolate
• Peaches
• Spinach

What will you choose? Every day for one year…

This choice was given by Paul Rozin, a Pennsylvania psychologist, to a group of Americans. This is what they said:

1. Bananas (42%)
2. Spinach (27%)
3. Corn (12%)
4. Alfalfa Sprouts (7 %)
5. Peaches (5%)
6. Hot Dogs (4%)
7. Milk Chocolate (3%)

Vitamins and minerals aside, let’s take a quick look at the breakdown of macronutrients:

1. Bananas (Carbohydrates: 23 g, Protein: 1 g, Fat: 0 g)
2. Spinach (Carbohydrates: 4 g, Protein: 3 g, Fat: 0 g)
3. Corn (Carbohydrates: 19 g, Protein: 3 g, Fat: 1 g)
4. Alfalfa Sprouts (Carbohydrates: 2 g, Protein: 4 g, Fat: 1 g)
5. Peaches (Carbohydrates: 10 g, Protein: 1 g, Fat: 0 g)
6. Hot Dogs (Carbohydrates: 5 g, Protein: 11 g, Fat: 30 g)
7. Milk Chocolate (Carbohydrates: 59 g, Protein: 8 g, Fat: 30 g)

* All macronutrient values were taken from www.nutritiondata.com. Each measurement is a 100 gram serving.

Can you see why hobo’s go for hot dogs and bologna whenever they scrape up a couple bucks? If you are going to survive off of something make sure to listen to the hobos…

As you know, we need three macronutrients to survive. These are fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Outside of this we also need micronutrients; vitamins and minerals. So if were to survive for a whole year on just one food, our most balanced options were chosen by only 7% of the population. This was the point that Paul Rozin was trying to make. He writes, “Fat, seems to have assumed, even at low levels, the role of a toxin.”

But fat certainly is not a toxin. It is needed to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. It is used to maintain healthy skin, synthesize hormones, and cushion the body’s organs. It also makes you feel full and provides the body with the highest concentration of energy.

Your body needs that fat. It craves that fat. That’s why low fat diets rarely work, and have you binging on fast food in no time flat. So don’t rule out fat just yet, just make sure not to go overboard…

P.S. I had just finished a book called The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood. In it, he was told by the US Air Force survival specialists that the best survival food in terms of cost per calorie is peanut butter. If you’ve got enough water, peanut butter is an affordable and rich source of energy.

Images by Church Fun, Eric Lafforgue, Michael Pickard, vzonabaxter

Comments: Now with what you know, what one food would you bring with you to the island?

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Average Read Time: 00:02:36

Well today is Blog Action Day and I was excited this year. My first year I could maybe help out a cause. I thought to myself, cool, I can make a little difference and let a couple people know about a topic that will undoubtedly help others. Then, I found out the topic… Global Warming. Well, Super, now what the hell am I going to write about related to Global Warming!? I usually talk about health and fitness so I was really stuck on what I would write about.

Then I remembered Lewis Pugh. The first man to ever swim in the five world oceans. This is because in order to accomplish that feat you have to swim the Arctic Ocean. THE ARCTIC OCEAN! Nobody is that stupid to swim in the Arctic! Now, Lewis Pugh had been to the Arctic before and trip after trip he began to notice the effects of Global Warming, so he wanted to do something that would “Shake the lapels of the world leaders”. To do help he did what he did best. He swam 1 kilometer in just under 19 minutes while wearing this:

A Speedo.

I don’t know how much you know about the water in the Arctic Ocean, so to all get on the same page, I’ll let him describe it to you.

“Just to put it in perspective, 27 degrees is the temperature of a normal swimming pool. This morning, the temperature of the English Channel was 18 degrees. The passengers who fell off the Titanic fell into water of just five degrees centigrade. Fresh water freezes at zero. And the water at the North Pole is minus 1.7. It’s fucking freezing.”

If you are interested in the story of how he achieved this feat, you can see a presentation he gave here.

Lewis Pugh is not the only person to complete a daunting task for a noble cause.  Many have performed great feats for different causes. Lance Armstrong bikes for cancer, Dick Hoyt runs for his son, and Martin Strel swims to save the rainforest. These extraordinary people all have one thing in common. They use the tools they have to find a way to help others.

So this really doesn’t need to be an environmental blog in order to make a difference on Blog Action Day. You just need to use the tools you have to find a way to help. So without further ado, I’ll give you three tips to save the environment and stay fit.

1. Reach for a carrot over a burger

Greenhouse gases from livestock have found to be responsible for up to 18% of carbon emissions. Think about all the grain, grass and vegetables these animals eat. Cut out the middle man and try to eat more vegetables. The Earth and your waistband will thank you.

2. Burn fat, not gas

I moved into a new place that is roughly 3 miles away from work. Now I run to work. No more car. Try to see what you can walk to instead of driving. The grocery store? The bank? Can you bike? It may take a little longer, but it is a great way to get your workout out of the way. If I run to and from work, I put down 6 miles everyday. At first it was rough, but now I hardly think about it.

3. Try Local

It doesn’t take much to buy an apple from North America over South Africa, or local produce over international. Think over every mile your food needed to travel and how many preservatives were used to keep that food fresh over the trip. If there is a farmers market in the area, I highly recommend grabbing your produce or meat there. Most prices are unbeatable by grocery stores and can be much healthier.

Images by Daily Mail

Comments: Do you have any other suggestions to stay healthy and combat global warming?

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Average Read Time: 00:02:11

The best of the best, the fastest, and the strongest… Today I’ll give you the diet of the Earth’s top athletes.

The fastest on land

We aren’t talking Usain Bolt here. When he ran the 100m in 9.69 seconds, he only averaged 23 miles per hour. Pssh, what a slug. The cheetah averages over 70 miles an hour for sprint speeds! That’s almost three times as fast!

Diet: All meat baby! Cheetahs usually eat small animals like rabbits or birds, but prefer dining on antelope.

The fastest in the water

Phelps pulled off eight gold medals and is considered the fastest swimmer alive. How does he compare to a fish? Well, with Phelps finishing the 100m freestyle in 47.51 seconds, you’d think no sushi could beat him. That works out to be roughly 4.7 miles per hour, or a brisk, walking pace. On the other hand, the fastest fish in the world is the barracuda, which can swim over 60 miles per hour! So don’t bother outswimming a barracuda, you’re just going to be lunch. (Note: Barracudas will rarely bite humans, but better watch your toes just to be on the safe side!)

Diet: It’s nothing close to Phelp’s daily meals. Barracudas stick mostly to smaller fish, like anchovies.

The stongest on land overall

This would have to go to the largest land animal, the African Bush Elephant, which can lift 1000 pounds just using their trunk. Try doing a bicep curl with that weight! They’re also known to carry 5 tons.

Diet: The African Bush Elephant is a vegetarian power lifter. Elephants will consume about 5% of their weight everyday including 30-50 gallons of water. But to put this in perspective, I would have to munch down eleven pounds worth of fruits and vegetables before bedtime, in order to match this.

The strongest relative to their body weight

Now you’re beginning to see that humans are certainly not the fastest. How about the strongest? Well, until 2007, it was thought to be the rhinoceros beetle, which was found in one study to lift 30 times its body weight while walking. This is equivalent to a human lifting a pick-up truck overhead and walking a mile without tiring.

Then two researchers, Michael Heethoff and Lars Koerner, measured the strength of a tropical mite, Archegozetes longisetosus, finding it had a pull force equal to 1150 times its own weight, five times more than expected for an organism of its size (1 mm, 100 µg). To put this in human terms, this would be like a person lifting an 86 ton tank, or an elephant with a tower of 1150 elephants on its back. Now I may be able to pull this off in a bench press, but only if the right blonde was watching me.

Diet: Mites really have a varied diet ranging from the body fluids of their hosts to plant juices or some types of fungus. Just no tofu.  You certainly can’t bench a tank on a tofu diet.

Hopefully, this can help you put things in perspective. Our fastest and strongest doesn’t even come close to some of our animal neighbors.

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Images by tambako, michaelhaas75, mae.noelle, and jh_fn.

Comments: Do you know of any other animal athletes?

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Geocaching: Using multi- billion dollar satellite technology to find Tupperware hidden in the woods.

Average Read Time: 00:03:01

In preparation for a course that will undoubtedly put me in the woods for the better half of the summer, I decided to pick up a GPS and have some fun. Namely through the sport of Geocaching.

What is it?

It’s pretty much a treasure hunt using your GPS instead of a compass and map. There are caches on every continent including Antartica, with over 800,000 worldwide. There are also over 1500 caches within 25 miles of my house. (In case you were wondering…)

What do I need to play?

You are probably going to need a Global Positioning System (GPS) to play. If you are reading from Canada, I would highly recommend getting a GPS from www.gpscentral.ca. After all the research I did, this was the cheapest spot for me to grab one. If you are from the States, I like Amazon, but please help me out in the comments, where readers could shop for a good, cheap one. Myself, I have the Garmin 76CSx. However, there are many GPS’ that have Geocaching capabilities. If you are unsure of which one to purchase, here is a link to a handy chart that compares most popular GPS units.

Beyond that, you should just make sure to have clothes that are going to get dirty.

So how does it work?

Once you have your GPS, you are going to go to a website called www.geocaching.com. This website will teach you everything you want to know about geocaching. From there you sign up for a free account and plug in your gps. Once you have found a cache close to your house, just send the coordinates to your GPS and you are on your way. You would be surprised to how many are around you. I found 13 within a 1/2 mile radius of my house!

What am I looking for?

Some type of waterproof container. To the left is a picture of a hidden container that I found in Rockwood Conservation Park. (This was one of five hidden in the park.) In the containers are usually a pen/pencil and a notebook. Make sure to sign your name, just like a B&B guestbook. There is also a few trinkets left in the cache. Most of the stuff you can find in a local dollarstore, but it is fun nonetheless, especially for kids. Feel free to trade items at your discretion.

Most of the caches are well hidden and covered up in a camo/black duct tape. If you are really stuck, these caches have clues through the website to help you find them. Just make sure to write down the clue before you go.

A couple of terms

Just so you don’t come across as a real kook to the game, let me fill you in on a few terms you may come across.

CITO: Cache In, Trash Out. This is an initiative by Geocachers, to clean up the parks that host these caches. At the very least, don’t add to the problem and clean up after yourself.

D/T: Difficulty / Terrain. This refers to the difficulty in finding the cache and how hard it is to get there in the first place. Start with a 1/1 and then you can move up to 5/5 in no time.

FTF: First to Find. The first geocacher to find a newly created cache usually jots this down in the book.

Muggle: A non-geocacher. If a cache has been muggled, that means that a passerbyer found the cache and cleaned it out or destroyed it. It’s some kind of HarryPotter reference.

TFTC: Thanks for the Cache. Just a quick note to leave for the person who created the cache. If you are interested in making your own, go here.

TNLN: Took nothing, left nothing. I really just like geocaching for the hunt so I’ll usually jot this down in the book and leave it as is.

Last safety points

1. Let someone know you are heading out to the woods. Especially if nobody really misses you if are gone for days on end.

2. Bring extra batteries and a compass/map. Just in case all else fails, you have a solid backup.

3. Check your car off as a waypoint while you are walking, that way if you get completely lost, you will be able to find your way back home.

Now go!

So go out and have a good time. Check off your cardio workout for the day as hiking through the bush is certainly harder than hitting up the treamill. I usually like to do a group of five or so when I am out in an area, as this will give me a few miles of hiking. Just make sure you don’t walk off a cliff while staring at your GPS.

Comments: Any other questions of Geocaching? Have any of your tried it?

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Average Read Time: 00:01:46

I finally created a logo for Digital Trainer, the Vitruvian Man. No doubt you’ve seen this image many times .  However, I am willing to bet you know little of the background. Let me tell you the story and why I believe the Vitruvian Man symbolizes the health and lifestyle that I want to emulate through Digital Trainer.

History

The image of the Vitruvian Man was created by Leonardo Da Vinci around 1487. However, it was not originally Da Vinci’s idea. Da Vinci took the concept from a man by the name of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, or Vitruvius as he is better known. Now Vitruvius was a military engineer, writer and an architect. In one of his writings he describes the human body in perfect proportion to itself with geometry. (You can see the man fit perfectly in a square and a circle.) So Da Vinci went and created what he felt was the illustration of such proportions.

My take on the symbolism

I believe that the Vitruvian Man is a symbol for balance in all things. The body acts as a symbol of proportions and I know that in health and fitness, this balance is paramount. There is a time for all things under the sun. A time to be fit, a time to be lazy. A time to eat healthy, a time to eat poorly. This in itself is a challenge. It is hard to still eat dessert, but only sparingly. It is hard to exercise without overtraining or undertraining. Sometimes an extreme is easier. So the challenge is in the balance.

My take on the body

If you look at the body type of the Vitruvian man, there is really no extreme to fitness. He doesn’t look much like a marathoner, powerlifter or body builder. He has abs but you can also see the faint outline of love handles. The Vitruvian Man is not underweight or overweight. He just needs a haircut.

Striving for such balance

Look at your health and your life. How does your body compare to that of ‘perfect proportions’? Are you overweight? An unhealthy eater? What do you need to do to regain that balance? Start small and each step will slowly balance the scale.

How Digital Trainer will help

At Digital Trainer, we train hard. But our life does not revolve around the gym or around the kitchen table. We make healthier choices to find the best balance in each of our lives. Come and join us so you can start making the right choices. You will not look back.

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Comments: What are your thoughts on the logo?

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Average Read Time: 00:02:52

Along with everything else in this world, there are pros and cons to CrossFit. I have seen many of my clients get hurt doing these workouts because of the pressure to complete it within a given time frame. As they get faster, form tends to go out the window. However, once proper form has been enforced to reduce the risk of injury, I highly recommend these following WOD’s (Workout of the Day):

Note: All exercise descriptions and videos can be found on the CrossFit website, here.

1. Tabata This

Choose 4 exercises. If you can take it,  go with a Thruster, Kettlebell Swing, Box Jump, and Burpee.

If you are fairly new to the fitness game, use the Dumbbell Squat, Overhead Press, Romanian Deadlift, and the Lat Pulldown.

Now, take the first exercise and do 8 sets of as many reps as you can do in 20 seconds. Once your 20 second mark hits, take a 10 second break. After the 8 sets (4 minutes) have past, you have earned a 1 minute break. Keep going until you finish all 4 exercises. The whole thing should take 20 minutes.

If you find that a 1 minute break is too short, I recommend taking as long as you need to regroup. Just try to keep the pace for the 8 sets and then take your break.

2. Fight gone Bad

Aptly named, if you finish this one, you look like you just lost a fight.

Start by setting up 5 stations. Get the necessary equipment for each of the following exercises:

• Wall-ball
• Sumo deadlift high-pull
• Box Jump
• Push-press
• Row

You are going to spend 1 minute at each station with no break in between. Count the reps at each station, and add up the calories burned in your row. Calculate your total and try to improve that number each round. If it is too hard, I don’t advise changing the exercises, rather, the weights. CrossFit recommends 3 to 5 rounds of this, but I would start off with just 2. Build from there.

3. Murph

Named after Lt. Michael Murphy, this is an excellent workout if you don’t belong to a gym. All you need are running shoes and a chin-up bar. Complete the workout as follows:

• Run 1 mile
• 100 Pull-ups
• 200 Push-ups
• 300 Squats
• Run 1 mile

You can approach this workout a few different ways. I would recommend starting with 0.5 mile first and building to a full mile after a few times. With the weighted exercises, you can cycle for 10 rounds of 10, 20, and 30 (your best bet).

If you have access to a gym, you can make it easier for the first two exercises. I use a Gravitron to complete all the pull-ups (adjusting the weight as needed), or a Smith Press and slowly bringing the incline up as needed. I really like this workout to prepare for any physical tests like military, police, firefighter, etc.

Note: Angie, Barbara, Chelsea and Cindy are also very similar workouts to use for body weight training.

4. Fran

Ah, the cult favorite. You are only going to do two exercises here, a thruster and a pull-up. Piece of cake huh?

Perform the exercises with reps of 21-15-9. The standard weight for the thruster is 95 pounds. However, don’t feel like that is necessary. By all means, go lighter. As well, if you cannot perform the 21 pull-ups, I would recommend using the Gravitron or a lat-pulldown machine instead.

5. Linda (The three bars of death)

Three exercises-the deadlift, the bench press, and the clean. The weights recommended are as follows:

• Deadlift: 150% body weight (a 200 pound guy/gal lifts 300 pounds)
• Bench: 100% body weight (a 200 pound guy/gal lifts 200 pounds)
• Clean 75% body weight (a 200 pound guy/gal lifts 150 pounds)

Cycle through all three exercises with the following reps: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

As a side note, I rarely have a client who can do the recommended weights. So, what to do is find a weight you can perform 15 reps to failure with. Stick with that weight throughout the entire workout.

Well, there you have it. These are really the only CrossFit workouts I use. Remember to enforce proper form throughout the entire workout (even after you throw up). Each time you do a lift incorrectly, it teaches your body the wrong movement. So train safe, train smart, and train hard!

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Images by scarndp, and BNowack.

Comments: Any questions about the WOD’s? Do you have a favorite CrossFit workout?

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Average Read Time: 00:02:59

This week, we will be addressing the only 7 fluids you should be drinking. Let’s kick it off.

1. Water

Calories per 8 fl oz (220 mL): 0

Recommended servings per day: as desired

This should be a given. I drink a glass as soon as I wake up, which is a lesson I took from the founder of Brazilian Jujitsu. Although I don’t force myself to drink 8 glasses a day, I highly recommend keeping a bottle at hand. Drink when you need to. Overhydrating is also extremely rare, so please don’t let that stop you. As well, if you are counting up to 8 glasses per day, count tea, coffee, and juice as half a glass. If drinking water sounds boring to you, try jazzing it up with some lemon or lime.

2. Tea

Calories per 8 fl oz (220 mL): 3 (No sugar, no milk)

Recommended servings per day: as desired

Tea comes in many varieties and forms, all which have many benefits. It is loaded with antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties, and helps protect us from a wide range of health issues from cancers to high blood pressure. The true teas- black, green and white are all the same, just different ways of processing. White tea has the least amount of processing, and hence, the most polyphenols. Black has the least amount of polyphenols and green is in the middle. I would recommend one to three glasses a day. Just be wary about how much sugar you add.

3. Coffee

Calories per 8 fl oz (220 mL): 3 (No sugar, no cream)

Recommended servings per day: Caffeinated: 3 Decaffeinated: as desired

I never drank coffee until a few years ago when I worked in a restaurant serving tables. Now, I enjoy it every once and a while, but don’t use it as a crutch. If you need a coffee to get you through the morning, you really need more sleep. I wouldn’t recommend more than three cups a day, unless you are okay switching to decaf  or half-caf if you really can’t kick the sweet stuff. Also, watch your stomach. Caffeine is recommended as one of the first things to go if stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, or heart burn arise.

4. Vegetable juice

Calories per 8 fl oz (220 mL): 50

Recommended servings per day: as desired

If you are a juice drinker, I’m afraid you are now stuck with only vegetables. Most vegetables don’t have that insulin spiking effect that fruit does, so you are safe. I have my own juicer, so if I want to sweeten it up a little, I throw in some carrot juice.

If you are buying vegetable juice in the grocery store, watch the sodium. I recommend V8 low sodium. I like to put in a dash Worchestershire sauce to spice up the taste. And don’t be fooled by fruit juice with an added serving of vegetables. They are still fruit juices.

Note: Vegetable juice is not a solid replacement for whole vegetables, but it does help. Treat as a supplement, not a substitute.

5. Wine

Calories per 4 fl oz (110 mL): 124

Recommended servings per day: 1

There are many reasons why a glass of wine a day is good for you. I found a list of 6 good ones here. I would adhere to only one glass per day because, after that, the negative starts to outweigh the positive. So remember to drink in moderation.

6. Chocolate milk

Calories per 8 fl oz (220 mL): 90 (skim) 207 (whole)

Recommended servings per day: 1

Ditch the protein powder. Stop with the supplementation. For a solid post-workout meal, try a glass of chocolate milk. It will help speed up work-out recovery and has anywhere from 8-11 grams of protein. If you are lactose intolerant go for chocolate soy milk. It will work just the same.

Askmen did a good post about why you should choose chocolate milk as your post workout drink here.

7. Your call (in moderation)

Here you can choose whatever you like. I love a great ginger ale (Canada Dry) or a cold Corona. Nothing is wrong with moderation. But the object is to keep it in moderation. Be smart about the beer brand you choose. I also stopped buying cases of ginger ale and switched to singles. Sure it costs me a couple cents more, but the temptation to have a couple a day is gone. Don’t deprive yourself completely, just try to cut back a little.

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Images by shioshvilli, kankan, avlxyz, ajawin, seeks2dream, blmurch, and flasporty

Comments: Would you add anything else to this list?

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A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.

- John le Carre

Average Read Time: 00:04:28

I can’t tell you how many of my clients are workers who have made the transition from blue collar to white collar within the past two years. On average, a 170 lb person who is standing for 8 hours a day will burn 1100 calories. As soon as you make that transition to sitting, that means burning less than 900 calories. If you put that through the ol’ calculator, and nothing else changes within one year, you will gain roughly 21 pounds! No wonder I have so many of these clients!   If I can’t yell at you to pump out 10 more reps, I might as well give you a few solutions to help you get on track while behind the desk.

Note: I am not a fan of sweating while at work, so all of these solutions are very low intensity but add up to a solid workout.

1. Make a game of it

I will usually do this if I am working by myself. I have been caught doing push ups while I should be wrapping up a TPS report. So bloggers, entrepreneurs, and the like, this one is for you.

Squat mail

Every time you receive an email, fire off a few squats from your chair. If I do this, I will try to get 500 in a day. Don’t be intimidated. This means that if you receive 50 emails a day, you are only going to be doing rounds of 10 at a time. That is doable for anyone. Even my clients with artificial knees and hips can pull off ten!

Leg Extension IM’s and email writing

Every time you write an instant message, a twitter message, or an email, straighten your legs. Think of it as a weightless leg extension. Hold it for the entire message. After a few emails, you will be trying to fit your entire message into a few sentences.

Time waster dips and pushups

I am notorious for surfing Digg, CollegeHumor, and a few other time wasting websites. So make a deal with yourself. Before doing some time wasting activity, fire off 10 chair dips and 10 push-ups. Do this for every 10 minutes of mindless surfing.

2. I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more

I remember reading an article in Men’s Health about a writer who tried walking in the shoes of a member of the Amish community. Just as a side note, the average obesity rate in the Amish community is 4%, roughly eight times lower than the national avage. So they have to be doing something different.

The first thing he noticed was how much they walked in a day. He discovered that the average Amish took 18,000 steps a day.  Quite a few Americans can barely hit half that! (You can find the article here.)

Here are a few steps to take some extra steps:

Park far, far, away

You have probably heard this one before. Most likely because it works. Unless it is raining outside, you should be parking your car at the furthest point from the door. Do this for work, lunch, the gym, the grocery store and the mall. Just five places and you will be close to those Amish in no time.

Elevators are for people using crutches, walkers and wheelchairs

The personal training studio in my gym is on the second floor. My first client at that gym said that he got chest pains whenever he walked up the stairs. You know what he does when he sees me? He walks up the stairs.

The only people I have take the elevator are using crutches or a wheelchair. Now, I understand that some buildings are 40 stories high. If you are lucky enough to work on that top floor, then compromise and get off at a wrong floor. Take the stairs the rest of the way.

Water balance

If you are literally glued to your desk, then you will only get up for two reasons, peeing and grabbing a cup of coffee. Use a bathroom on a different floor or take the long way around everytime you grab a cup of coffee. This may be the only time you get out of your chair, so make sure you make it count and get some exercise.

3. Don’t just stand there grinning like an idiot!

As a teacher, my time is divided into about 25% teaching and 75% marking and prepping behind a desk. But, when I teach, I am moving around the entire classroom. I try to walk around everywhere, use some energy, and leer over students I think should stop talking while I am teaching them the functions of the pituitary gland.

If you have the opportunity to make presentations or lecture during your work day, make it count by walking around. Be dynamic and make the audience follow you. Just make sure that if you do stand on a chair that it isn’t on wheels. (My class certainly thought that spill was funny.)

4. Have an active lunch.

Ahh, lunch at the office. It splits up my day and I always have the opportunity to leave. Here are a few ideas on how to spend yours:

Enjoy a pick-up game

There is a basketball court right by work, and I can usually shoot some hoops while wearing a tie. It isn’t too intensive, but it can certainly get the blood pumping.

Sweat

If I am given an hour for lunch, I will head out for a 20 minute run or workout. That gives me 40 minutes to drive to the gym, shower, change and eat. You would be surprised what you can fit into 20 minutes. Need more time? Make a deal with your boss that you will come in an extra 30 minutes early or stay and extra 30 minutes late. As a bonus, that early or late time may give you a chance to skip traffic and get some work done while the office is empty.

Take a walk around the block

Even if I am in the city, I always enjoy a stroll outside. Now that the weather is getting nicer, bring your lunch and grab a bite on the grass or a bench.

If you can pull off these four ways to get some activity in your day, those 21 pounds will never end up on your gut. If anything, you will start to lose a couple pounds. Now stop wasting time, you owe me 10 dips and 10 push-ups!

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Images by chefranden, will_hybrid, yourdon, annia316, jamesjordan, and *sean

Comments: What do you do around the office to ward off the pounds?

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