Types of Archery Sports

There are many types of archery sports...

Archery Biathlon

Bow Running / Archery Running

Clout Archery

Field Archery

Flight Archery

Gungdo / Korean Traditional Archery

Indoor Archery

Kyūdō

Popinjay

Target Archery / Olympic Competitive Archery

The Piecemeal Workout

The concept of a piecemeal workout is simple. Divide however much time you have to workout into 1 minute segments and then do X different exercises, wherein X is the total number of minutes you have available.

So for example if you have 20 minutes available, you are doing 20 different exercises for 1 minute each. Or if you have 60 minutes to workout you are doing 60 different exercises (possibly with a few minutes break during that time).

I recommend including a couple minutes of doing different kinds of stretches in there too, closer to the middle and the end of the workout. That will reduce muscle fatigue and act like a relaxing exercise in-between harder exercises.

For fun you can also make it into an interval training workout, whereby you alternate high intensity exercises with low intensity exercises.

Or whatever you want to do. Just keep it simple and avoid too many pieces of equipment. It is better if you can limit yourself to say 4 dumbbells, a skip rope and a yoga mat.

You can make the focus of your piecemeal workout on weightlifting, or it can be cardio, or it can be a mix of cardio and weightlifting (like perhaps 70% cardio and 30% weightlifting). It all depends on whether your goals are more to lose weight, build endurance or build muscle or all three.

So for example lets say you did the following...

1. Yoga, 1 minute.

2. Burpees with push ups, 1 minute.

3. Squats with weight, 1 minute.
 
4. Push ups, 1 minute.

5. Mountain climbers, 1 minute.

6. 2 arm bent row, 1 minute.

7. Punches, 1 minute.

8. Alternating front kicks, 1 minute.

9. Bicep curls on knees, 1 minute.

10. Lateral raises, 1 minute.

11. Walking lunges with weights, 1 minute.

12. Jump rope, 1 minute.

13. Jumping jacks, 1 minute.

14. Side kicks, 30 seconds each side.

15. Overhead extension, 1 minute.
 
16. Wall sit, 1 minute.

17. Five Sun Salutations, 1 minute.
 
18. Alternating low back extension, 1 minute.

19. Bicycle Crunches, 1 minute.

20. Front plank, 1 minute.

If you are doing longer workouts you will need a longer list of exercises to do. In which case please browse CardioTrek.ca for more examples of exercises you can add to your list. I have hundreds of different exercises listed on here, especially in the Frugal Exercises section since most of those are bodyweight exercises.

After your workout remember to do some light stretches. Helps reduce muscle fatigue.

Is it possible to lose 5 lbs per week doing yoga?

Q

"Hello!

Is it possible to lose 5 lbs per week doing yoga? I read somewhere that this was possible, but I have to wonder if it is a gimmick or something. I want to know if it is actually possible to do.

:)
Helen S., Toronto"

A

Hello Helen!

Well yes, technically it is possible.

But it really depends on how much a person weighs, how many calories the person is burning due to how vigorous you are doing yoga, how long you do yoga and how often you are doing yoga.

For example lets say a 300 lb person does gentle yoga for 30 minutes.

Using a calorie calculator we can determine that would burn 178.6 calories. That isn't really a lot.

In contrast the same person doing vigorous yoga for 30 minutes burns 478.65 calories. That makes a huge difference in terms of calorie burn.

However in order to burn 5 lbs of fat per week doing any exercise you would need to burn 17,500 calories per week. (There is 3,500 calories in 1 lb of fat.)

So to lose 5 lbs per week a person would need to burn 2,500 calories per day, every day, above and beyond their normal routine - all while maintaining a healthy diet!!!

So that means that a 300 lb person would need to do vigorous yoga for roughly 157 minutes to burn 2,500 calories. 2 hours and 37 minutes of vigorous exercising sounds like a ridiculously tall order for a 300 lb person to do.

Even if you did so called "gentle yoga" it would take 420 minutes to burn 2,500 calories per day. 7 hours of gentle yoga per day also sounds pretty ridiculous for a 300 lb person to do.

Now lets pretend you don't weigh 300 lbs. What if you weighed 200 lbs instead?

Well it changes the numbers. Gentle yoga would be 119.07 calories in 30 minutes, vigorous yoga would be 319.1 calories in 30 minutes.

So to burn 2,500 calories every day you would need to do 10.5 hours of gentle yoga (every day!), or almost 4 hours of vigorous yoga (every day!)...

So I think the point I am trying to make here is that the math gets pretty ridiculous.

So in conclusion, yes, it is possible to lose 5 lbs of fat per week doing yoga - but the number of hours per week you would need to do yoga gets pretty ridiculous if you do the math based on your own weight. Find a calorie calculator for yoga online and do your own calculations and you will see my point.

Plus I would like to point out that losing more than 2 lbs of fat per week can result in sagging skin. You have to give your skin more time to adjust its elasticity and shrink down a bit to match the flesh underneath. See my various posts about preventing loose skin to learn more about why it is best to lose weight slowly so you don't end up with excess loose saggy skin.

Now don't get me wrong. Yoga is a great way to exercise and lose weight, but don't expect it to be a "lose weight fast" solution.

If you are looking to use yoga to lose weight then I recommend at most 60 minutes of yoga per day - and pace yourself with respect to how gentle or vigorous you want to go depending on your personal needs and goals.

Later as you get better at yoga you might increase to 90 minutes per day and try more daring yoga postures, but you should not be trying to burn fat in an hurry. Just take your time, do it properly, learn patience and self-control - these are things that are integral to the whole yoga experience.

The Skinny on Walking your Way to Fitness

Can you do math?

Or even if you cannot, can you use a calculator?

What if I told you that you can lose weight simply by walking for so many minutes per day, every day, and that all you need is a calculator to figure out how much walking you need to do?

The beauty of this is walking is easy. Anyone with two working legs can lose weight through walking. Even if you have minor joint pain in your knees or ankles walking is likely your best solution for weight loss.

It is a common problem that many people who experience joint pain or pain in their legs to have difficulty doing harder cardio exercises like jogging, running, many kinds of sports. But walking can be a great solution for people who have minor joint pain and can still walk without any discomfort.

And you will be surprised how much weight a person can lose simply by walking 4 miles per day every day.

So how do you do this?

STEP ONE!

Google the words calorie calculator walking and then check out the wide variety of websites with free calculators which help you to calculate how many calories you can burn during a specific number of minutes of walking, with varying degrees of speed.

STEP TWO

Fill out the fields in the calorie calculator and the amount of time you want to spend walking each day.

eg. Lets say you weigh 300 lbs currently and you want to walk for 60 minutes every day.

Note: It may give you multiple different speed options, such as 2 mph, 3 mph, or 4 mph. Any faster than those and you are jogging.

STEP THREE

Press the calculate button on the page and find out how many calories you would burn.

eg. A 300 lb person would burn 378 calories walking at 2 mph, 594 calories walking at 3 mph or 702 calories walking at 4 mph.

STEP FOUR

Find a walking trail or route that you can walk near your home that is 2, 3 or 4 miles long.

STEP FIVE

Once you know how far you want to walk and the time you are willing to dedicate towards walking each day now you need to determine how many days you need to walk to burn the desired number of calories.

So for example if you want to lose 100 lbs of fat, you will need to burn 350,000 calories. (1 lb of fat is 3,500 calories.)

If you do the math that means that a 300 lb person who wants to lose 100 lbs of fat, they need to walk 4 miles every day for 500 days. (They will also want to eat more healthy during this time period too, drink more water and less soda, more whole grains, more vegetables, and more lean meat.)

I call it the "500 Day Road To Weight Loss"!

So yes, it would take 1.4 years to do, but it would be a life changing experience and isn't that what many people want? To change their life around and do something that changes their life for the better?

HANDY WALKING TIPS FOR BURNING EXTRA CALORIES

#1. Leave your watch behind. It is better if you lose track of time because you will burn more calories.

#2. Take your dog with you. They love the exercise anyway!

#3. Take your camera with you. More fun for you and extra weight to carry!

#4. Wear comfortable walking shoes.

#5. If hiking wear hiking boots instead for better grip, comfort and safety.

#6. Bring water with you.

#7. Bring a healthy snack with you, like an apple or grapes.

#8. Dress for the weather. eg. Bring a scarf, gloves and hat if it is cold out.

#9. If you don't encounter joint problems try walking a bit faster for fun.

#10. Pump your arms as you walk, the increased cardio movement burns calories more and keeps you warmer while you walk.

#11. Go on longer strolls / hikes whenever you go on vacation, to ravines, parks, urban hikes and discover parts of Toronto you have never been to.

#12. Bring a friend!

#13. Join a group of people that go on hikes regularly.

#14. Run errands on foot, such as walking to the post office or to the grocery store for small items.

#15. Take an umbrella if it is raining or try walking at home on a treadmill while watching TV.

#16. Take to the hills, an incline burns more calories faster because your legs are lifting you more.

#17. Get a walking pedometer that tells you how far you have walked. Use it to set goals for yourself.

#18. Use the time to think about what you want to do later, in your life, phone loved ones on your cellphone, listen to an audiobook or music.

#19. Practice good posture with your back as you walk. Don't slouch! Good posture is good for your back and prevents back pain, which can be a nuisance as you get older.

#20. Jump over puddles along the way. Makes it more fun!

The 2% Workout

If I was to write an exercise book I think I would call it "The 2% Workout".

Why?

Because 30 minutes is 2.08333% of your day.

The idea of the book essentially would be to that people should exercise for 30 minutes per day and burn as many calories as they can during that time period.

And since 30 minutes is only a little over 2% of your day there really isn't any excuses for why people cannot use 2% of their day to get fit.

Ask yourself:

"Are you willing to use 2% of your day to get fit 

and get the body you've always wanted?"

And if you answer yes, then it is time to start using that 2% to achieve your goals.

SCHEDULING

Once you say yes the next thing you need to is schedule the time.

That means you need to find 30 minutes in your day to exercise and do nothing but exercise (and maybe listen to music or watch TV while you exercise).

EXERCISES

It also doesn't matter so much what exercise you pick - as long as it is burning lots of calories it is going to be beneficial. The list below is some popular / fun exercises that you can choose from or come up with your own.

Notes - I listed the moderate versions of various exercises because some people may not be able to do the vigorous exercises for 30 minutes. All calorie calculations below are for an 191 pound individual, which is the average weight of an American Male - since 67% of American men are overweight or obese, the average number should be closer to what many people are in weight. If you want more accurate calculations there are many calorie calculators available online and also apps for your SmartPhone.

Archery - 149 calories in 30 minutes.

Boxing Punching Bag - 258 calories in 30 minutes.

Calisthenics, Moderate - 195 calories in 30 minutes.
 
Cycling, 12-14 mph - 378 calories in 30 minutes.

Cycling, Leisurely - 172 calories in 30 minutes.

Fencing - 258 calories in 30 minutes.

Hatha Yoga - 120 calories in 30 minutes.

Hocky or Road Hockey - 350 calories in 30 minutes.

Jogging - 304 calories in 30 minutes.

Pushups/Situps/Etc - 206.5 calories in 30 minutes.

Swimming, Moderate - 264 calories in 30 minutes.

Weight Lifting, General - 149 calories in 30 minutes.

What this tells you is that if you want to do something more aggressive you might to choose activities like boxing and road hockey, because they burn a lot of calories because they are heavy cardio activities. Cycling, swimming and other cardio exercises also burn lots of calories and this will make a fundamental difference in burning fat.

THE AFTERBURN EFFECT

The Afterburn Effect is a metabolic condition whereby your metabolism is raised far above its normal rate and your body burns roughly 500 calories more over the next 24 - 48 hours and you end up feeling really energetic and positive about yourself.

It is caused by raising your blood pressure up to roughly 85% of its maximum potential - which is more easily done through cardio exercises that get your blood pumping fast. Thus the really high cardio exercises like running, vigorous swimming, boxing a punching bag, sports like road hockey, soccer, etc... they can vastly increase your calorie burn because they are more likely to trigger the Afterburn Effect.

Thus lets pretend you spend 30 minutes every day boxing a punching bag. Each time you do this you put some serious effort into it and get your heart rate up to 85% roughly.

Math wise for someone who weighs 191 lbs, this will mean they burned 258 calories and will burn an extra 500 calories over the next 24-48 hours.

In a week they will burn 5,306 calories - or roughly 1.52 pounds.

In 30 days 22,740 calories - or roughly 6.5 pounds.

In a year (364.25 days), 276,101.5 calories or 78.9 pounds. Possibly more if you are eating healthier as you progress. (Less if you aren't eating healthy, or if you are doing exercises that build muscle through strength training or endurance-strength training because you will gain muscle weight during the same time period.)

Don't worry about your weight so much - go based on how you are feeling physically. Your weight can deceive you if you are gaining muscle weight while losing fat at the same time. If you want to measure progress use a tape measure around your middle.

STAYING MOTIVATED

Find ways to have fun while exercising. Sports like tennis, cycling, boxing, archery, fencing, martial arts - these are all great ways to exercise and have fun at the same time. You will not lack for motivation if you are doing an activity that you love.