Fitness: The Moving Crew

Fitness

You need to get moving.

Let's face it, we all do -- not to claim boasting rights in the gym or look good in a Speedo (you don't) -- but to boost our chances of staying healthy and energetic, regardless of age and athletic ability.

The Moving Crew is not aimed at health faddists, body builders or extreme athletes. But if you're a harried desk jockey trying to find creative ways to squeeze in exercise, a senior looking to stay active or a workout enthusiast whose routine's gone flat, you might find the answers here.

Each week the Crew will explore some facet of fitness from the inevitable new trends to the latest research and offer ways to overcome the excuses that keep so many of us desk- and sofa-bound.

Join us Tuesdays at 2 p.m.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Post Health Section:
Welcome, Moving Crew chatters.

It's all about finding time, isn't it? Breathes there an adult in Washington who hasn't wished for more time to relax, spend with family, travel, and--oh yes--exercise? Somehow, exercise always seems to get booted down to the bottom of the list.

A big part of the trick, as B. Don Franks, University of Maryland kinesiology professor, says in today's Moving Crew column, is to slip little chunks of fitness into your daily life. Climb the stairs. Walk a few extra blocks on your lunch hour--no hardship on a gorgeous day like today. Throw in a few stretches and weights a few times a week, and you're there.

Not so simple, you say? Tell us about it, or anything else fitness-related. We're standing by.

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washingtonpost.com: Looking for meaningful exercise options? Read today's Moving Crew Column.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: I spend a lot of time on the Metro. Any
suggestions on how to keep moving and
active while I'm moving?

Metroman

Post Health Section: Hi Chevy Chase,
Well, short of pacing in the Metro car--something that might just alarm your fellow passengers--I have a suggestion for you. Actually, it comes from a reader who submitted to our Walk the Walk column, the predecessor to the Moving Crew. He took to pacing the length of the platform while waiting for a train--claimed it added up to some serious mileage by day's end.
Other suggestions?
--Susan

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washingtonpost.com: Discover the benefits of walking and local groups to walk with in our Walking Special Report.

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Fairfax VA: In last Sunday's Parade Magazine, a fitness column author said that the idea of strength training was to "tear muscle fibers" then let them rest and repair to build stronger muscles. This does not seem "normal" to me. Do you really need to cause muscle fibers to tear to develop stronger muscles? Thank you.

Post Health Section: Hi Fairfax, Craig here. Would the publication that brings you In Step With and Marilyn Vos Savant lie to you?

Let's set that question aside and say: They've got it right here. That hurtin' feeling you get in your muscles after a good strength workout is indeed the result of slight damage to muscle fibers. The body, sensing the damage, sends in cellular squadrons to repair the fibers, and in after their work is done the muscle becomes stronger.

I don't know if it's possible to make significant gains in strength without going through this process. Clearly you don't want to hurt yourself by *trying* to cause damage, though. Work with a weight you can use for a specific exercise that leaves you unable to do another repetition beyond 12. Do two sets. You'll feel sore the next day; your muscle will get stronger.

Don't work out the same body part until the hurt is gone. I find that, at 46, it usually takes me more than a day to come back. I give it at least two days between workouts of the same muscle.

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Reston, VA: For someone who runs 5-6 miles on a treadmill, what would be the best cross training to save the knees. I have both a Schwinn stationary bike and an old Nordic track (the wooden type) cross-country ski machine. Thanks.

Post Health Section: Hey Reston,
If you're doing 5 or 6 mile runs on a treadmill (good for you!) sounds like your knees are doing pretty well. But yes, it's true the treadmill surface is kinder to your knees than pavement. Back to your question. A stationary bike is usually the first prescription orthopedists make to knee patients for exercise, so that's a good move. A cross-trainer, of the kind you find in most gyms, is another easy-on-the-knees option. Good luck.
--Susan

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Washington D.C.: Does anyone have good suggestions for arm exercises at home? I am pretty routine about toning everything but arms... I think because I haven't found an exercise that I get into enough to stick to.

Post Health Section: Hi Washington, Craig here. In my never ending effort to try new types of exercise equipment and run up my Visa balance, last weekend I purchased a pair of fitness bands at a place called Leisure Fitness on Rockville Pike. They cost $18 bucks each. They are very good for doing things like mimicking a rowing machine, doing standing curls, standing presses, etc., all of which can tone your arms yet without having to have dumbbells, barbells and benches. Because the bands are twisty and bendy--forgive my digression into technical jargon--they benefit your core too, as they require you to keep your balance as you do the motions.

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Fairfax Station, VA: Any suggestions for someone in mid-20s who has never taken formal dance classes but might be interested. Do beginners actually take ballet at 24, or will I look like a moron?

Post Health Section: Hi there, Fairfax Station,
Indeed, people do take beginners' ballet at 24--and a good deal older. I understand it takes a few classes to learn to stare down that big mirror, but once you get past that, you may just love it. Let me send you a link to a story we ran a few years back on just this subject. Back to you in a minute.
--Susan

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DC Metro Area: Like so many of us, I made a resolution for New Year's to lose weight (I'm determined to lose 40 pounds this year). Diet is not the problem; I've been eating healthy foods all my life and still do so today. My problem is getting enough exercise. I can't afford to go to a gym, and I have no transportation to get to one because my husband needs the car to get to work. The only exercise I can do is walking, but that doesn't do anything for me (I used to be a swimmer and a dancer, so my body's used to higher-impact aerobic exercise than walking), and half the time I can't get out TO walk due to inclement weather anyway!; If I had the living room space, I could use a workout video, but I'm not fond of crashing into the furniture. Any higher-impact at-home exercise suggestions you can pass on to a chubby house mouse?

Post Health Section: Hi, DCMA, Craig here. I hear you, and I feel your pain (and your bulge. I have put on a few during these Alaskan weeks we've had recently, since my general level of activity has really shut down).

Two suggestions for indoor stuff:

* Yoga or Pilates tapes (beginners). While these aren't aerobic, they will at least prevent you from crashing into furniture. And once you get better, you'll find you really put on a sweat.

* The exercise bands I mentioned in my previous posting. I know, they also aren't aerobic, but they require little space or money can be used for high-repetition workouts that will get your heart moving at least a little.

Aside from that, I turn this over to our ever-resourceful chatsters, many of whom, I imagine, find themselves in your cross-training shoes. Anybody?

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Baltimore, Md.: Hi. What are some good affordable gyms in Baltimore City?

Post Health Section: Howdy Baltimore. Let's see if other chatters have suggestions.

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Washington DC: Hi, I have a question about morning exercisers. I generally exercise in the morning, at a moderate level. By the time I shower and eat breakfast afterwards, I'm falling asleep again - the endorphin kick really puts me out. While endorphins are a good thing, I can barely function even with coffee at work. Any suggestions for staying awake? I've tried most forms of exercise (many types of cardio, weights, and yoga/Pilates) with the same result, and can't really switch to a later workout.
Thanks.

Post Health Section: Hi, Washington, Craig here. I (sometimes) banish myself to the basement for morning workouts at about 6 a.m. and find that, like you, the rush is gone by the time I get into my car for my lovely commute downtown. If it makes you feel any worse, I haven't found a solution other than going to sleep earlier, an outcome my wife, two boys, African gray parrot and a serious reading habit conspire to prevent.

I've heard if you use a French press to prepare the coffee it's more caffeinated. . . .

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Washington: I wind up working out at 8 o'clock most nights, when I haven't yet had dinner and am super hungry. What types of food should I be eating before/after (please, none of those yucky energy bars!;)? Don't want to eat a full dinner before working out, and don't usually make a big dinner when I get home.

Post Health Section: Hi Washington,
I do that on occasion, too. Used to go regularly to tap classes at that hour. When I didn't violate all the rules and have tapas and wine first (nothing like it for loosening those mirror inhibitions), I'd have a cup of yogurt and some juice or milk. That usually did the trick. Tried that?
--Susan

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Baltimore, MD: Hi!; I am a dance student (mostly dances of the middle east, North Africa and Asia) but need to shed some pounds and make my upper body stronger.

Any ideas of exercises that would be complementary??

Thanks!;

Post Health Section: Hi Baltimore,
Assuming you don't have access to a gym (where there are any number of machines to recommend), there are still lots of good upper body exercises you can do at home. Push-ups, either unassisted or with your legs on one of those big inflatable balls, are good. You can also use free weights or stretch bands to do some simple biceps or triceps work. I'll bet The Firm has some good tapes for upper body work, too.
--Susan

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Washington, DC: Any suggestions for lower ab and mid-back exercises? I have access to a gym and also have one of those exercise balls at home (the big plastic kind that some people use to sit on).

Post Health Section: Hi Washington, Craig here. I've been working on my abs and back (to improve my golfing life) and have a couple of suggestions:

* On the floor, lie down flat and make like Superman, lifting your arms and legs from the floor and holding it a second or two. Rinse and repeat. (I believe our Web site has an excellent video of this very exercise.)

* Lie face down on a fitness ball, wedging your feet lightly against the wall behind you. Put your hands lightly behind your head and lift your torso up (don't crank your neck back!)

* Using the same fitness ball, do crunches (you don't have to go up very high to make them effective; make sure you're not yanking your neck up with your hands).

* Reverse crunches: Lie on back, knees bent 90 degrees. Move your knees slowly toward your torso, without changing the 90-degree angle of your knees. Keep your back on the floor. This is a killer, at least for me.

Anyone else know good ab/back exercises?

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Atlanta, GA: I want to add pull-ups to my workout. I live in a tiny apartment. Can you recommend a brand of over doorway bar that is strong enough to hold my weight and will not damage the door or the wall?

Post Health Section: Hi Atlanta: Sally here. We bought a bar like this at Modell's which is a local sporting goods company. But the have website that you could check. I fear, however, they it did require some hardware. Could you just patch the door before you move? Other thoughts out there?

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washingtonpost.com: Read about how a local woman started taking ballet in her late 40s in the article Dancing Against Time.

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Wash., D.C.: Has anyone in the audience tried Gin Miller's newest exercise "invention", "The Ramp"? I read the article printed in the Health section back in October, in which one person said one could get a challenging workout on it, but I want more testimonials before I decide I want to use it. So, has anyone found that it provides a good, sweaty, challenging workout out in the audience?

Post Health Section: What do you say, out there? Anyone sold on "The Ramp"?

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Washington, D.C: Hi,

I've taken lately to walking up and down the stairs here at work - it's only about 3 floors, but if I were to go up and down, up and down, for 10 minutes at a time a couple of times a day - worth the time?

Post Health Section: You bet, DC. (Sally here.) It's definitely worth the time. Plus it will help you tone your thighs and ahem, rear nether regions. And studies show those 10 minutes add up big time for both improved fitness and weight control or loss. So climb away. The more the better.

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Washington, DC: Be careful of the pull-up bar. Mine became an extra closet.

Post Health Section: Always a danger with home exercise equipment. But that's no reason not to try. Plus my physical therapist recommended the hanging on the pull up bar when I did some damage to my back. He said it helps because it's a bit like traction. Your weight stretches out your vertebrae. However if you do have back problems, check with your doctor or physical therapist first, of course.
--Sally

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Fairfax, Va.: Hey I'm having a hard time starting up my workout regimen. I am intimidated by classes because I feel like they are so far along when I'm just beginning. Also, I'm intimidated by some of the machines. Is there a difference between being on a treadmill or an elliptical for 30 min.

Post Health Section: Hey Fairfax, Craig here. We've heard this beginner's lament often. I think the problem is that clubs don't have "real really beginners" classes, and put brand-new, never-done folks with people who have been at it for several weeks or even months. I wish clubs offered those special intro-to-the-intro classes.

But, to get practical:

* Please ask your club staff to have someone accompany you on one orbit of the equipment to show you how all the machines work. They'll do this if for no other reason than legal liability. But you do have to ask, especially if the people on duty are the buff blockheads who don't seem to want to give you the time of day that work at far too many clubs.

* An elliptical machine will work out both your arms and your legs; I'd recommend it as a way to gently get both upper and lower body moving and establish a base of fitness. You may want to do just that for a few weeks and then start to add a few weight machines or other exercises. I think you'll feel a lot better when you start to feel your wind improving and a few muscles coming around.

P.S. Ellipicals always tell you you're burning off more calories than you burn off in the same amount of time on the treadmill, but there's no evidence that's accurate. Just keep your time and miles and you'll be able to measure your progress.

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washingtonpost.com: Not sure what "ramping" is all about? Read New Slant For Gyms?

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Capitol Hill, DC: HELP!; I've been working out 6 days a week (trying to make up for my happy hour habit-- beer=calories, I know) but have developed a huge appetite. I mean, I'm always hungry. Always. I'm glad I'm working out a lot, I'm toning well, but I'm finding myself grabbing for any food I can get my hands on-- eating when I get home from work and at dinner, snacking my way through the day. I try to grab carrots and other healthy goodness, but even then... the appetite is the problem. How can I keep working out but keep it under control??

Post Health Section: Okay D.C. Pat yourself on the back for the workouts. But know that as wonderful as they are, if you're now boosting your intake of food, you're working at cross-purposes. There are all kinds of reasons to workout, but sadly, most exercise doesn't burn huge numbers of calories--or certainly not enough to compensate for an out of control appetite.

Okay, so what to do?

Check out Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. It's a great resource for fueling workouts. To figure out (very roughly) how many calories you need each day, multiple your weight times 10. So if you're 150, you need a baseline of about 1,500 calories. Add about 20-40 percent more for your activity. Now divide that number by three and you'll see how much you could aim for at each meal. You want to find the balance between calories in and out. And if you want more tips, we talk about this every week at the Lean Plate Club, also on this site and in the Health section. Let us know what happens.

-Sally

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Baltimore Gyms: My sister teaches at Brickbodies in Baltimore. I've gone a few times with her - and the one I went to (above - possibly Perry Hall area) was quite nice. Rates were pretty cheap - less than 40 and they had a pool. Nice staff as well.

Post Health Section: A suggestion from a chatter on Baltimore gyms. Thanks for that recommendation!

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Washington, D.C.: I'm wondering what I am doing wrong. For the past month and a half, I've been running 3 times a week for 4 miles each time. My eating habits haven't changed. Well, I haven't changed either. While I have better stamina, nothing else has changed in terms of clothes fitting, weight, etc. I guessed that I would see some results since I am expending more calories than before, while my food diet hasn't changed. What am I doing wrong?

Post Health Section: Hi Washington, Craig here. Two thoughts:

* Are you keeping a food journal? Additional calories can sneak in without your knowing it. If you tally everything that passes your lips, you'll know if you've flat lined your intake or not.

* I have heard fitness pros suggest to folks in your spot that they do some different form of exercise to shake things up. I have no experience with this, but for what it's worth, that's what some of the conventionally wise say.

Any Crewers had this problem?

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RE: ab and back: There is also that machine that you stand on with your thighs pressed against a pad and you bend at the waist forward and come back up to exercise your back. I've also seen people do it on the side, placing the hip onto the pad, and go down and up. I guess it's for side abs?

Post Health Section: thanks, ab/back, Craig here.

Yes, that's a good one and yes, doing it sideways (which I've never been able to do more than a couple reps of) would work the obliques, the muscles running along your sides, beneath your love handles.
If you have them.
I do.
If you must know.

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Columbia, MD: One suggestion for the arm person and the person with little space - The Firm tapes!;
I use the firm body sculpt for my arms and legs and I really like it - it doesn't take up too much space (about one step forward and one back for lunges). The nice part about the body sculpt DVD is you can do either the lower body, upper body or both. I'm also just trying Kathy Smith's cardio kickboxing tape and it's great - although I haven't made it through the whole thing yet.

Post Health Section: Thanks, Columbia.

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Logan Circle, DC: Regarding the general thought that gym memberships are expensive: yes, they are. I too have a budget and $60+ a month memberships initially seemed so steep to me. But here's what I've done: when we moved into our house from our apartment, we didn't have cable for about a month or two. (installation problems) During that month of not spending $60 for cable service (something I had always more or less just thought of as part of living in the modern world) I noticed that I only missed not having cable about once a week. The rest of the time I was content to read a book or catch up on chores after work....But when we finally got the cable installed, sure enough, each night I would find I would spend an hour at least wasting time channel surfing, or watching crap shows I didn't really even like. A year or so later, I had gained quite a bit of weight, due to a variety of factors. I decided to join a gym...and also to cancel my cable. (Thankfully my husband understood!;)

I now get home about an hour later, as I work out after work. (I joined a gym 2 blocks from my work: $10 more a month than one that's 2 miles away, but I do use it more!;) This extra hour spent I rationalize has replaced my couch potato TV habit. I still don't miss cable: and I've lost the weight I had gained, and then some extra pounds too!;

It's all about choices. Some are harder than others, but often those harder choices provide better outcomes in the end.

Post Health Section: Well said, Logan Circle. It is indeed about choices. And by the way, you've stumbled upon something that research also has shown: people are more successful at workouts when they either use facilities that are either convenient to their home, their office or somewhere in between. If you have to go out of that boundary, the odds of continuing with it are lower.

--Sally

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Washington, D.C.: I hope double posting is okay. I sent this in to Sally's chat, but I think it's more appropriate here -- I can squeeze in 20 minutes a few mornings a week, by getting up when my husband's alarm goes off instead of staying in bed and hoping (and failing) to get a few more minutes of sleep before the kids wake up.

"Recently, for a change in my cardio routine, I decided that I really wanted to jog; I could walk 20 minutes (pretty fast, even) without a problem, but could only jog for about 15 seconds before getting so winded I'd have to stop. About a month ago, I buckled down, and 4 times a week, I got on the treadmill and jogged for 15 seconds, then walked 4 min 45 sec, 4 times. The next week, I upped the jogging to 30 sec increments; then to 1 minute, etc. As of yesterday morning I'm up to jogging 1.5 minutes out of 5. I know it's hardly amazing, but it's so much better than it was, and I hope to be able to keep it up until I can jog the whole 20 minutes, even if it does take me 6 months to get there."

Post Health Section: We cross-pollinate here at the Health section. So it's perfectly okay to post here and at the Lean Plate Club. It was a good posting there too! Thanks!
--Sally

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Washington, DC: As part of an effort to get in shape and lose weight, I recently started walking running on a treadmill for about 30 minutes a day. Over the last month, I've gradually managed to go from only being able to run for a couple of minutes at a time to being able to do 20 minutes straight last week. In the last couple of weeks, my shins have started to hurt when I run - just a dull ache and not shin splints - and I think it is probably from not being used to the impact. I'm going to start using the elliptical machine more, but I still want to be able to run on the treadmill occasionally. Is there any way I can get my body used to the impact of running (besides losing more weight)?

Post Health Section: Good work, Washington, on your gains so far (Craig here)--you've already improved your health and fitness quite a bit. As it happens, I have shin problems, which an orthopedist and podiatrist have both told me are due to the fact that I'm a bowlegged pronator (sounds like a horrible insult, I know). When I run or walk fast, the tendons and other fun stuff along the front of my legs get fatigued and stretched before the other parts of me do. A few things I've done:

* Gotten orthotics. Helps with pronation, but the shin pain is still there.

* Stayed away from using too much incline on treadmills or trails; they stress my shins more. Flat's better.

* Stretch my shins (yes, you can do that) every night, and before every workout, by straightening my legs (gently bent at knees), and cocking my feet backward, toes back, heels forward. I got that from Bob Anderson's book Stretching.

The bad news is, the problems' always there for me. Ask my wife; usually when we fitness walk, I have to tell her to slow down because my shins are starting to ache. I think she thinks I'm a wuss. But I know I'm just a bowlegged pronator.

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Trappe, MD: On your advice, I've broken up my 45-minute weekday workouts to 3 days cardio, 2 days weights. For weights, I do 1 set of 12 reps on about 12 machines, working every muscle group. (got this from a book) If I wanted to add some chest exercises -- now do chest press machine and fly(??... I'm lying on a bench and bringing barbells together over my chest), what would you recommend?

Post Health Section: Hi Trapper, Craig here. The exercises you suggest--chest press and flys--are good ones. You can certainly find free-weight machines (that put the weight on tracks) for the bench press, and you can use the bench for the flys. But if you're feeling brave or want some work on that all-important core (abs, back, butt, etc.), do these exercises with dumbbells while balanced on a fitness ball. It's more challenging.

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Manassas, VA: Comment to DC Would be exerciser.

Every morning, I have to move my family room furniture back so that I can workout with my home videos. Some home workouts like Walk Away the Pounds can be done without a lot of space or moving too much of anything.

Post Health Section: Thanks, Man (assas), good idea.

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Washington DC: A previous questioner wrote about wanting to lose weight, saying "Diet is not the problem; I've been eating healthy foods all my life and still do so today. My problem is getting enough exercise." While exercise burns calories and has many other benefits, I still have to take issue with her statement. It is VERY difficult to lose weight with moderate exercise alone. To lose 40 pounds in a year, the writer needs a calorie deficit of almost 400 calories a day. For a 150-pound person, that's 80 minutes of walking (at a 3 mile/hour pace). Even if you're eating healthy foods, you can always eat just a little less. Changes in exercise AND diet will increase the odds of success tremendously.

Post Health Section: Excellent point, DC. In fact, the point I was trying to make earlier in the chat. Last year, the National Academy of Sciences advised that Americans get at least 60 minutes a day of activity. They defined that as walking a 15-minute mile for an hour, which is fairly brisk. Thanks for the reminder that it is an equation. Calories in versus calories out.
--Sally

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Manassas, VA : I just started doing cardio workouts on a rebounder (mini-trampoline) 2x a week. I do additional cardio and strength the other 4 days a week. Mainly old Firms v.1,2,3 and Cathe cardio tapes. It's fun but since my primary goal is fat loss, I'm wondering if it's as effective as other high impact cardio activities. Any ideas?

Post Health Section: Hi Manassas,
Those things are a lot of fun--a good motivation for doing and sticking with any exercise--and, as you say, all that bouncing around can get your heart rate up. Both good reasons for keeping it in the rotation. How it compares, calorie burning wise, to other cardio work is hard to say without knowing what exactly that other cardio work consists of and how long you're doing both of those. Keep up the strength training 4 days a week. That's a standard recommendation for weight loss. Good luck
--Susan

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Post Health Section:
Thanks, chatters, for a lively session. Afraid that's all we have time for on today's chat.

Be sure to take advantage of the break in the weather to do some walking, jogging, biking--what have you--in the great outdoors. All you folks who've been whining about how you hate to exercise in the cold and the ice--you know who you are--this is your chance! It won't last long.

But you will, if you keep moving. (And you'll feel better about it, too.) Look for ideas in next Tuesday's Moving Crew column, in the Health section. And see you here again--same time, same place--on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

--Susan

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