Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

This article is an excellent argument for walking more and driving less:

• Get Rich Slowly » How to Walk for Fun and Profit

I love this great list of reasons to walk:

• The average cost of operating a vehicle is 52.2 cents. Walking is free.

• A regular walking regimen can take less time than going to the gym. And there are no membership fees.

• When I walk to the grocery store, I buy much less. A car effectively gives me unlimited carrying capacity. When I have to haul each item home by hand, I’m much more particular about what I purchase.

• Walking helps you become more aware of your surroundings. I see a lot more of my neighborhood when I walk.

• The only pollutant you produce when walking is sweat.

The next time you’re tempted to jump in the car for a quick trip to the grocery store, remember to strap on your tennis shoes instead. You might just find a source of exercise that feels much more useful than walking on the treadmill.

The complete 2006 Tour de France route has been mapped into Google Earth. You can see more about it here:

Google Earth Blog: Tour de France 2006 in Google Earth

I found last year’s Tour de France incredibly inspiring. I watched the DVDs of the race while riding my bike on my CycleOps trainer. I found that I rode at a higher intensity for longer when I watched those videos because it felt like I was in the race right alongside Jan Ulrich and Lance Armstrong. You can find out more about this year’s Tour de France here:

• Tour de France 2006: welcome on the official website

Anything that can keep you motivated to exercise every day is a good thing. I found watching these people compete very inspiring and it kept me working hard all winter long.

Via: kottke.org

This video shows a five year old boy playing DDR. He gets a perfect score.

I’ve heard parents say that their children are too young for DDR and it’s impossible for the little ones to play it. Now I know that it’s not impossible. I loved watching this video because at the end, the father is so happy with his son. It made me smile to see this little perfect dancer turn around to see if his father was happy with him.

Exercise is taught to our children. They want to please their parents so much that they will work on whatever we think is important.

Via: Rocketboom – June 19, 2006

Neurotica is a comic about a woman named Petunia and her grandfather. They moved to California a couple of years ago, but Petunia is just now learning how to surf.

That feeling of learning and mastering a new sport is hard to get any other way. The feeling of trying and failing is even fun. When you finally do it right one time for the entire day, you feel an ecstacy that is difficult to describe in words or drawings. Big Al (the author) does a pretty good job of showing the feeling of success when you finally get it right.

This is why we exercise, so we are strong enough to do fun things like surf, mountain bike, ski or kayak. This is why we lift weights. This is why we build our endurance.

If you have never felt the joy of learning a new sport, get out there. There are so many choices of sports to choose from, choose one. Get used equipment (or rent some) until you know whether it’s the right sport for you. If it’s not, move on and try another one. Keep trying until you find something that you like. You can do this!

Research has shown that part of being able to effectively lose weight involves journaling your food and exercise.

How do you journal your food and exercise?

Do you use a computer?

Do you use an online service?

Do you write it down on paper?

What has worked the best for you?

The Question of the Week is meant to be an Inner Workout for you. Find some time during the week and allow yourself to write the answers to the questions posted. You can write them on paper, on a word processor or here in the comments section. Whatever works for you as long as you do it.

Keep writing until you find out something about yourself that you didn’t know before. I’ve also heard that it works to keep writing until you cry, but that doesn’t really work for me. Whatever works for you. Just keep writing until it feels right.

There is an episode of Friends called “The One Where Phoebe Runs.” Rachel and Phoebe go for a run together, but Rachel gets embarrassed because Phoebe runs like a little kid with her arms flailing. I love what Phoebe says to Rachel when they argue about it.

“I run like I did when I was a kid because that’s the only way it’s fun. Didn’t you ever run so fast that you thought your legs were going to fall off?”

Rachel is reluctant to try it, but on a run alone one day, she tries running Phoebe’s way.

She runs into Phoebe while running and they scream at each other.

Rachel: “I’m so sorry! You were right! This feels great!”

Phoebe: “See? And you don’t care if people are staring. It’s just for a second ’cause then you’re gone!”

I love this episode and whenever I’m feeling bummed out about exercising, I think of it. If I’m huffing and puffing along, sometimes I try running like Phoebe for a second or two. I let my arm fly out and just run as fast as I can like I did when I was a kid. It makes me feel so much better!

Update 02-21-08: I found the video!

• Starling Fitness » The One Where Phoebe Runs Video

Friends: Season Six – Disc 2: The One Where Phoebe Runs

I have a huge list of links in my drafts list and you are getting them all here at once. None of these really deserved an entire entry all by themselves. I don’t even like a lot of them, but I thought I would pass them along to see if you like any of them.

• PUSH – Customed personalized training DVDS for $25 a month. You would need to exercise with these five times a month in order to make it pay for itself.

• iMusic | Your Soundtrack for Success – They say that they can get your brain in the “peak performance” mode with their iMusic. It sounds like baloney to me. Maybe a real scientist would be able to tell, but until it sounds less like psuedo-science, I’d save my money.

• Podfitness.com – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) – They say their a personal trainer in your iPod for $19.95 a month. You would have to exercise with it four times every month to make it worth it.

• The Gadgeteer – BioTrainer – This gadget is supposed to tell you how many calories you burn every day. They aren’t clear about how it can tell your calorie-expenditure, but all I know is you have to pay ten bucks a month just to use it. When I buy a gadget, I don’t want to have to pay a monthly fee just to use my new toy.

• HyperStrike online health trainer – Lifehacker – Yet another online website that wants to be your trainer. Unless you can actually take your computer into the gym with you, this might be less than helpful.

• We Endure social training log – Lifehacker – This looks like a MySpace for exercise and competition. I looked to see if the Salt Lake 5K had been entered in the Events category, but there was nothing there. I guess it’s not being used much in SLC. This is FREE, so it doesn’t hurt to sign up. If a lot of people use it, it would be good for people looking for training partners. If not, then it’s just a place to put all your exercise information.

That’s it for my links for the day.

It seems counter-intuitive to me. When I work out, I get really hot and sweaty. How could getting hot and sweaty help prevent me from getting hot and sweaty? Somehow, it works.

• CNN.com – Working out might tame hot flashes – Jun 9, 2006

Sadly, even the doctors don’t know WHY it works yet.

She Dr. Lila Nachtigall, a spokeswoman for the North American Menopause Society, said it is critical for women to get exercise at this time of life despite the lack of conclusive evidence that exercise relieves menopausal symptoms.

I think it’s great that exercise helps women with menopause. It’s something that we need anyway for heart health, so get out there and do it!

Bruce was challenged by his neighbor to a pedometer contest. They’re fighting now, and here’s why:

• Rocky Mountain News: W. Bruce Cameron – Pedometer Competition Part 1

• Rocky Mountain News: W. Bruce Cameron – Pedometer Competition Part 2

It began with a hostile act: Tom called to invite me over so he could give me a present. “Sort of an early birthday gift,” he explained.

This is a seriously funny story. Just click on the links and read both parts. Totally worth it.

Bruce was referring to a website and pedometer. Tune in this afternoon to see more.

Via: About.com: Walking – Carnival of the Walkers #47 by Wendy Bumgardner

Jeremy Zawodny is another blogger who has undergone a startling transformation. He has lost 50 pounds over the last year and he is sharing his tips and tricks this week. Here are the links to the first two entries:

• Diet Tips or How To Lose Weight with a Spreadsheet and a Web Site (by Jeremy Zawodny)

• The Diet Plan and The Three Habits (by Jeremy Zawodny)

• The Diet Spreadsheet (by Jeremy Zawodny)

• Diet Tips: How To Eat Less (by Jeremy Zawodny)

• Diet Plans and Goal Setting: How Many Calories? (by Jeremy Zawodny)

• Closing Diet Tips and Advice (by Jeremy Zawodny)

Over the year, he learned the following things:

• Eat Fewer Calories and Monitor Your Intake

• Weigh Yourself Daily but Don’t Obsess Over It

• Learn the Difference Between “Not Hungry” and “Full”

This is a really simplified list, so you’ll have to go to his weblog to get the full story. Keep reading each day this week to get all of his tips and tricks.

Way to go Jeremy!