The Olympians, when the limelight fades

This posting is a slight deviation from the regular postings on beating the struggle to get fit and stay healthy. But, I couldn’t resist the temptation to offer my reflections on the Olympics held in London, the place I’ve worked in for the last 20 plus years.

The Olympics held in London was no doubt a massive success for the athletes, volunteers and organisers. Anyone who worked on the Olympics should be congratulated on working on mammoth task demanding great organisation and presentation skills. I offer my congratulations too.

One question that’s always played on my mind whenever the Olympics are held, is whether the sacrifice from the athletes, coaches and families involved is really worth it?

The question probably assuages any guilty feelings I have from not really pushing hard to beat the struggle to get fit.

But, other than the gold and silver medal winners who may get lucrative sponsorship deals during or immediately after the games, what happens to them after when the spotlight of the media goes dim? And, their pictures no longer grab the front pages of newspapers worldwide or beamed into millions of homes. Do they remain household names for the months and years after their spectacular achievements?

I decided to do a little research on what became of a couple of gold medal winners from the Beijing Olympics.

Ryu Seung-Min (born August 5, 1982 in Seoul, South Korea) a Korean table tennis player, won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's singles competition.

There are few references to Ryu on the web. Ryu’s fame appears limited to table tennis circles. Earnings for professional table tennis players rarely get to six figures and they don’t become house hold names.

How about weightlifting? The gold medal winner in 2004 for lifting 105 kg was Hossein Rezazadeh from Iran, and nick named¸ The Iranian Hercules". Rezazadeh tried to capitalise on his Olympian achievement by appearing in advertisements to promote real estate in Dubai.

His participation surprised many of his fans and was seen as demeaning to both himself and his country, given the promotion of buying estates in a land deemed as a rival.

Again, Rezazadeh is another example of an athlete who has achieved the ultimate athletic prize, a gold medal, and then quietly slips into anonymity. This begs the question from me why do they do it?

Answers on a post card please or preferably in the comment box below.

Finding the Right Gym, with the Right People

Like a soap opera most gyms have their archetype characters as if specially cast in a role just for the gym. Unfortunately, the roles they play are set to annoy even the most tolerant of us.

At most gyms you get several role types - grunter, smelly, know it all, flirter, talker and care-less

Right Gym, Right People

In this post I'll look at the hogger. The type who are either in love with a piece of gym equipment or they believe they own it.

Despite notices saying something like no more than x minutes on gym equipment, the hogger can't read or, believe they are so special the rules are written for other people to follow.

You have your eye on a piece of gym equipment, say a new running machine with all the latest add-ons. The hogger has been on it since you arrived at the gym.

After an hour you leave the gym, the hogger is still using it. You bite your lip, say nothing and quietly leave the gym - frustrated.

A few days pass you return to the gym, that hogger is still on the same machine. Are they welded to it? You desperately want to use that machine.

What do you do? Shouting expletives won't make them willingly hand it over for you to use. No, the chances are they're so absorbed with what they're doing and haven’t seen you.

Politely ask, at a convenient time such as a pause when they’re changing settings on the gym equipment, how long they'll be or if there's any chance you can use it for a few minutes before you go home. Chances they'll say not long the offer ask again in 10mins. This time they'll either offer to let you use the equipment or stall again with the response not long.

Dealing with Gym Hoggers

If they say not long, ask if you can use it for 15 minutes and if they'll give you some tips on how to get the most from that piece of gym equipment. This way you get to use it, they get to watch over their beloved equipment which they probably view as theirs. Hopefully, you may have begun to build some kind of rapport with them.

If this still fails to work speak to the gym manager to get them to enforce their policy on using gym equipment.

If this also fails to work, ask yourself do you really want to continue as a paying member of this gym that favours certain clients over others?

Your only option is to vote with your feet and wallet. Do your research and join a better gym.

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A GPS Sports Tracker Can Make Fitness Fun

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How do you turn a dull routine, which at a push you can call exercise, into something mildly interesting and evenexciting?
I found that using Endomondo, a little free gps sports tracker application for your Blackberry, iphone or smart phone, it is possible.

Endomondo, GPS Sports Tracker

I started using Endomondo nearly 2 years ago to make my cycle rides more interesting. Endomondo was and is much cheaper than buying a cycle computer to get average speeds, duration, distance travelled and calories burned. Since I first started using Endomondo the user interface has been updated so it’s really easy to use, I guess you could work out all the settings in less than a minute.
Endomondo can track over 30 different exercise activities from Aerobics to Yoga. Included in the activity list are Beach Volley, Martial Arts and Polo. How Endomondo tracks calories burned for Beach Volley or Martial Arts remains a mystery to me. You also risk damaging your phone if it’s in your pocket while playing Beach Volley or Martial Arts.
The main screen settings asks you to enter your name, weight and countdown intervals. You then select your exercise activity, in my case it's cycling. Press start, a couple of seconds later the GPS tracker picks up your location. Press stop when you’ve completed your activity.

GPS Sports Tracker on Your PC

A number of features that make Endomondo worth trying out are:- functionality to share your fitness progress with friends and find out how they’re progressing too in their struggle to become or keep fit. Endomondo uses the contacts on your mobile phone or Facebook account.
- The app keeps a history of all your workouts. Logging into Endomondo via your PC gives you access to detailed graphs of your performance so you can actually measure how well you’re progressing.
For example, if it takes me 45 mins to cycle from the train station to home on day 1, and on day 30 it take 37 minutes I know I’m making progress.
This gives me the boost to persevere so I know my struggles are not in vain.

Correcting Poor Posture, How to Feel More Confident

Getting fit and staying healthy will help you feel more confident and project a positive image about yourself. Slouching or stooping projects negative signals which might make people perceive you as nervous or lacking in confidence and authority.

Slouching and stooping is a result of bad posture which may have developed from childhood and into adulthood.

How any times were we told as a child by our parents or teachers to stand up straight? The primary reason they said this is so we didn’t look slovenly or dishevelled. Another possible reason is they didn’t want us to develop a bad back and maintain bad posture into adulthood.

Good posture helps you look more confident, self assured and contributes to feelings of self-worth. How many celebrities or successful politicians have you seen walking with bad posture? I'd imagine very few.

As well as being told to stand-up straight there are a number of devices that can help maintain good posture. There is the Magnetic orthopaedic posture corrector for your back and shoulder. It’s essentially a back brace/support strap. This is designed to improve posture and correct stooping. Magnets are strategically positioned to target the spine and lumbar region.

For children there are similar devices like a Child Back Support Band to prevent stooping.

A common theme with all these devices is that they physically change your posture. This means as long as you wear the devices your posture improves. They don’t change behaviour.

Bad Posture Belt

A novel device invented by Ellen Sundh is the Bad Posture Belt. What makes this device different is that it detects when your posture is bad and emits a sound, mildly irritating, to correct your posture. The belt detects the degree of curvature of your spine and when this is beyond a certain threshold emits the sound or voice that says, “bad posture”.

This means you learn to correct your posture rather than physically being ‘forced’ to maintain good posture which some of the posture correctors attempt to enforce.

The look and design will not be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re not comfortable with a brace to enforce good posture, the ‘talking’ Bad Posture Belt could be a good alternative.

How to Get Flexible, Easy Exercises for You

One of the rewards of getting old, if you can call it that, is getting stiffness in your limbs or losing flexibility in your body.

You really notice this when you try to run up the stairs or if you’ve been asked to bend down and touch your toes. The latter exercise really hurts.

Body flexibility relates to the the range of movement in your joints. The degree of flexibility differs for each individual. But the degree of body flexibility can be improved by doing some simple stretching exercises.

This is one area of exercise I’ve never taken seriously. I’ll go the garage and use the bench press straightaway, or just jump on my bike and pedal of the train station without giving a second thought slow down and perform a few stretching exercise first.

When you think, a few stretching exercises isn’t that onerous if they are the only exercises we do in our struggle to stay or get fit.

Keeping our bodies flexible is important as a lack of flexibility can trigger physical symptoms such as pain syndrome or balance problems.

You can measure how flexible your body is by doing a Sit and Reach test. This will test flexibility of your lower back.

You do the test by sitting on the floor with both legs outstretched and parallel to the floor. Both feet point upwards with the heel on the ground.

With arms outstretched parallel to your legs, the aim is to see how far you can lean forward so that your hands outstretched are at the same point as your toes.

If you can lean forward so your hands are at the same point as your toes, that’s a zero reading. If you can lean forward so your hands go beyond your toes, that’s a positive reading, if you struggle to get anywhere near your toes that’s a negative reading. You want to aim for a zero or positive reading.

While you can do the Sit and Reach test at home, your local gym should have a Sit and Reach box so the measurements will be a little more formal.

get more flexible If you’re like me you’ll be in the negative zone. Try out some simple exercises where you stretch your arms above your head, touch your toes; while standing rotate each arm in big circles, imagine your drawing the biggest circle you can; finally stretch your neck from side to side and forward and backwards several times.

These simple exercises will improve your flexibility and may go some way to delaying onset of symptoms resulting from lack of flexibility in our bodies.

Bike Commuting – Getting Prepared for the Commute

Do you have an old bike in a shed or garage that’s hardly ever used and when ever you see it do you say, ‘one day I’ll get out on this bike’? I’m sure you’ll not be alone. Several of my friends say the same thing.

You could find your self saving money if you took up the challenge to commute to work or to the bus/train station on your bike.

Ok, here are lots of excuses you could list for not getting on a bike; the weather – it’s too cold, it rains too much, it’s too windy; safety - the crazy drivers, pollution from exhaust fumes; security – where to park when you arrive at your destination.

To be fair, these are valid reasons for not commuting by bike. With a few precautions you minimise the risks.

Here are ten ways you can prepare your old bike so it’s fit for commuting:

1. Tyres/Wheels. If the combined weight of accessories and carry on gear is more than 10 pounds change the wheels to 36 spokes and make sure tyres are wider than 700x28c, with a quick release lever.

2. Gears. A 21 speed gear set should see you through most cycle terrains you’re likely to come across. If you need to change the gear set, unless you’ve an aptitude for mechanics then this is best left to your local cycle shop. If the number of gears on the bike you have is less than 21, I’d do a test run on the commute journey to see how much effort is required. This way you don’t have the stress of getting to work or the bus/train station for a certain time.

3. Pannier Racks. If you’re like me you always take a bag to work. (I envy my colleagues who arrive to work empty handed). If your bags holds a laptop or work files you need to protect. Make sure the rack you buy will support the intended weight. I have a quick release pannier rack which is attached to the seat post. You can fit these in a couple of minutes.

4. Mudguards. Most bikes are sold without mudguards, but they are a must of you commute in the rain. Without mudguards your bags and clothes will get dirty.

5. Rain Protection. Riding your bike feeling wet and cold will quickly put an end to your commuting by bike. Lookout for the following features when buying cycling rain gear - waterproof, taped seams, pit zips on jackets, tail on the jacket, and adjustable ankle and wrist cuffs. For heavy rain, get a helmet visor to keep the rain away from my eyes.

6. Visual Jacket. This is a must. If you’re seen by drivers you’re less likely to have an accident and one where the driver says, ‘I’m sorry I never saw you’.

7. Cycle Helmet. Wearing a helmet is not to my knowledge a legal requirement but it does offer some protection if you have an accident.

8. Bike Repair Kit. At a minimum your kit should include puncture repair, set of bike spanners, and chain repair took.

9. Water. If your commute is over a mile carry a bottle of water so you feel refreshed at the end of your journey.

10. Cycle Pump. A necessity if you suffer a puncture – provided you’ve got a puncture repair kit.

A little preparation for your commute means your journeys will be free from stress getting snarled up in traffic and you’ll no longer look at envy at cyclists that breeze past you in stationery traffic.

Gym Membership, Should I Join?

After weeks of talking about attending a gym I finally bit the bullet and visited a nearby gym attached to a hotel.

A week’s holiday at home meant no stress from commuting or dealing with the challenges of my job.

There was an opportunity of an introductory offer which I took as there was little to lose.

I think one of the main barriers to joining a gym is commitment - this is both good and bad. Commitment compels you to attend the gym regularly because you’ve paid for it, often a few months in advance. This is good. Commitment compels you to attend the gym regularly and few of us like to be compelled to do something. That’s bad.

The gym I visited was small and didn’t have a vast range of equipment. It wasn’t packed wall to wall with Mr Universe types or pseudo Olympians. I didn’t feel intimidated because of the small size, as many standalone gyms can be the size of aircraft hangers.

I tried out most of the equipment. My favourite being the Spinning cycle, this had all the usual features like time, distance, calories burned, heart rate and ability to simulate the type of terrain which changed the effort needed to turn the pedals.

If you haven’t visited a gym for a while and need that extra push to go, lookout for introductory gym offers like a free gym pass, take advantage of any gym membership trials.

Dealing with the struggle to get or stay fit means dealing with one of our fears and that is commitment. Feeling compelled to go because we’ve spent the money means we just don’t go. However, joining a gym even on a trial basis has made my struggle to get fit a little easier.