How to Walk Yourself Fit

Walking burns a good chunk of calories. Indeed a 1 hour walk in hilly terrain will burn approx. 350 calories depending on your weight. Do that every day for a year and you've lost about 40 lbs of fat.

Some people struggle to find an exercise that they enjoy, or if they’re not fit enough to try a more strenuous activity like jogging or running because it hurts their knees. Walking is the perfect solution for people who want to improve they're fitness without the added stress on their joints. Many people write off walking as a daily task that everyone does anyway rather than as a fitness activity, those people who walk regularly have been scientifically shown to have lowered chances of developing certain illnesses, including diabetes and many different kinds of cancer.

So how do you make sure you walk more often?

#1. Take a Camera with you!

Having something fun to do while walking, such as a crossword puzzle, listening to music, doing photography, gives you a reason to go walking more often. You forget your goal is exercise and instead you may even lose track of time and your hour long daily walk may turn into 90 to 120 minute forays into wilderness photography.

And take the dog with you!

#2. Switch Car Journeys for Walking

How often do you drive somewhere when its only a 5, 10 or 20 minute walk away? It could be 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back, and you've just got your 1 hour of walking done.

If you do not have much spare time in your life right now, you can easily increase your walking by taking journeys on foot rather than using your car. There are many people who drive for journeys which would take no more than ten minutes to walk, and if this sounds like you then you could make the most of these chances to start walking. You should always ensure that you’re walking at a pace that allows you to talk but wouldn’t allow you to sing.

#3. Buy a Pedometer

As a general rule, you should try to take 10,000 steps per day. To measure these, you can purchase a pedometer for $5 to $10, which you can attach to your belt or waistband. These steps are not made up from your scheduled walks alone; they include all of the steps that you take during the day. If you have a busy job that keeps you on your feet daily, you may find that it is easier to get to this number than you might have thought.

#4. Make Waking Your Routine

If you have the time, you should try to include scheduled walks into your lifestyle at least once each week. Soon, you should find that you are able to notice an improvement in your general health and fitness. Walking is one of the most effective exercises possible, because you can walk for a long time before having to stop, so it doesn't require much endurance at all. So don’t make any excuses, and simply start walking!

#5. Make Sure That You Have The Right Shoes

If you become a serious walker you should ensure that you have a good pair of shoes. If you wish to walk in the countryside, you may find that walking boots or hiking boots are a good investment, however for the average person simply walking through the streets a pair of trainers will probably suffice. You can visit a specilaist walking or running shop to be professionally fitted for walking or running shoes. With regards to what else you should wear whilst walking, it is best to wear several thin layers rather than just one thicker one, as this means that you’re able to remove them if you get too hot. You should also wear comfortable trousers that are not too tight.

#6. Take a Backpack!

Looking for an added challenge when you go hiking? Take a backpack and load it up with water and healthy snacks. Even if you don't eat it all the extra weight works a bit like weightlifting over a long journey.

Imagine if you were a commando during WWII, carrying a 60 lb backpack across rugged terrain for 10+ miles at a time. That is some serious marching! Don't believe me? Watch the documentary film "The Greatest Raid of All Time" produced by the BBC.

I know its off topic, but its a really good film.

Exercise Motivational Quotes for the New Years

Happy New Years!

Here is some great quotes to help get you motivated to exercise in 2013!

"When you set yourself a goal and decide to do it, make certain you also make a plan. Think of it like a Mission Impossible episode and plan out every detail and then follow that plan. Know what you want to be doing in terms of exercise. Know how many calories you want you to be eating. Keep a journal of everything. Before you know it you're making progress and are already half way to finishing your goal."
- Charles Moffat

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity."
- John F. Kennedy

"There’s no easy way out. If there were, I would have bought it. And believe me, it would be one of my favorite things!"
- Oprah Winfrey

"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a person healthy wealthy and wise."
- Benjamin Franklin

"The body is like a piano, and happiness is like music. It is needful to have the instrument in good order."
- Henry Ward Beecher

"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be."
- David Viscott

"You suppose you are the trouble, but you are the cure. You suppose that you are the lock on the door, but you are the key that opens it. It’s too bad that you want to be someone else, you don’t see your own face, your own beauty, yet, no face is more beautiful than yours."
- Rumi

"To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself."
- Simone de Beauvoir

"Is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? Not to me."
- J.K. Rowling

"Even the models we see in magazines wish they could look like their own images."
- Cheri K. Erdman

"You are not your buttocks."
- Kaz Cooke

Two Alternative Models for Predicting Muscle Growth

See my older post How Fast Can You Grow Muscle for more on this topic.

There is a lot of different theories in the bodybuilding industry as to how quickly someone can build muscle. Below are two different theories of how quickly muscle can be built.

The McDonald Theory

This theory was created by fitness writer and author Lyle McDonald who also coaches bodybuilders on nutrition. He came up with the following equation for how fast you can build muscle:

His theory is based on the concept that the longer and harder you train the more difficult it becomes to build additional muscle mass. In theory your body can only support so much muscle depending on your height and bone structure, however his theory emphasizes years of training instead. It amounts to roughly the same thing as after 4 years of training you've probably reached a point where its very difficult to add extra muscle mass - and frankly, unless you are a professional bodybuilder, why would you want to?

Note how in the chart above the estimated 2 pounds per month is only roughly 0.5 lb per week, which is not a very fast pace. Over a year that 2 lbs per month adds up to a solid 24lb of muscle. Certainly other factors may also affect the pace of muscle gain, but the concept is sound.

Also the values in the preceding chart apply to male weightlifters. Lyle estimates that females gain muscle weight at roughly half of these values (e.g. 10-12 pounds in the first year of proper training).

The Alan Aragon Theory

The esteemed Alan Aragon is an exercise physiologist who loves constantly staying on top of the latest exercise and nutrition research. Awhile back he addressed the issue of rates of muscle gain in terms of percentage gain for natural lifters.  Here’s the theoretical model he came up with:

Using this theory a 130 lb teenager who never has lifted weights might gain 1.3 - 1.95 pounds of muscle per month (15-23 pounds per year) in a year with a great weightlifting program and a protein focused meal plan.  After a year, he’s now at around 155lb and might be capable of gaining 0.77 - 1.55 lbs per month (9-18 pounds per year) or he might still be a considered a Beginner since he is still a teenager and still growing...

After another year of proper training and smart eating, he’s now at 170lb and is in the Advanced lifter category. Or is he? He might still, depending on his exact age be considered to be in the Beginner or Intermediate category.

The flaw in Alan Aragon's theory is that it supposes a precise 1 year - 2 year - 3 year approach, almost like years of university or college. Which is a very simplistic approach and doesn't factor in age or the fact the person might still be growing in stature.

Nevertheless lets continue to follow his model...

From here on out, the teenager may only gain 0.5-1 lb per month, at which point the closer he approaches his maximum muscle potential, the slower the rate of muscle growth. To be fair that is why most of the really big guys at the gym have been lifting for a good 5 to 10 years and have peaked at a point where its difficult for them to get any further results.

The Moffat Theory

The following theory was created by Charles Moffat and follows the mathematical formula below using a series of acronyms to represent different factors that effect muscle gain.

H X SW X MR X DS X G X TC = RMG
H = Height Modifier, above or below average, wherein 100% = 70 inches tall, the average height for a male. The female average is 65 inches tall, but use the male average height for calculating the percentile. Thus if a male or female is 60 inches tall, the percentile to use is 85.7%. If the person is 74 inches tall the percentile is 105.7%.

SW = Shoulder Width (measured from the outer tips of the shoulder blades) above or below average, wherein 100% = average. Average for males is 15.5 inches, for females it is 14.0 inches. Like above use the male average for determining the percentile.

MR = Metabolic Rate, which is based on your age and other health factors. This rate is measured as a percentile wherein 18 to 24 is 100%. Subtract 2% for each year over 24. Thus a 44 year old person has a base Metabolic Rate of 60%. Various health factors such as a history of obesity and other factors may lower this metabolic rate by an additional 10% or more.

DS = Dietary Sufficiency or Insufficiency, wherein 100% = Sufficient protein/nutrients to support lots of muscle gain and a lesser percentage indicates a shortage. If you are not eating properly follow the assumption that this percentile is 50% or worse. 100% would only be possible if you have the help of a nutritionist and are following a strict high protein structured diet, involving daily consumption of 150 mg of whey protein in addition to a balanced meal plan.

G = Gender Modifier, wherein 100% is an Alpha Male. 80% for Average Male or Alpha Female. 60% for Low Testosterone Male or Average Female. 40% for Low Testosterone Female. If in doubt, assume the average for your gender.

XR = Exercise Rate, wherein 100% indicates you are maximizing your muscle gain via 120 minutes of daily weightlifting on a strength gain program. If doing less than that calculate the percentile based on the total number of minutes done weightlifting. eg. 30 minutes of weightlifting indicates an XR of 25%.

TC = Training Category. The year of your weight training. Year 1 - 36; Year 2 - 24; Year 3 - 16; Year 4 - 11; Years 5 to 10 - 8; Year 11+ - 4 or less. Eventually a person would reach a Hypothetical Maximum Weight of bulk muscle and will be unable to add any more.

RMG = Rate of Muscle Growth, for that year. Remember to adjust the TC for each year.

1st Example

Jake is 6' (72 inches) tall, making his H is 102.9%. His shoulder width is 16 inches, making his SW 103.2%. He is 30 years old and has a past history of weight problems, giving him a MR of 80%. He tries to eat healthy, but is actually pretty average in his eating patterns so his DS is 50%. He is an average male and not terribly high in testosterone so his Gender Modifier is 80%. He only does weightlifting for about 20 minutes per day so his XR is 17%. On the plus side he has only been weightlifting a short period of time, so he is in the Year 1 category.

H (102.9%) x SW (103.2%) x MR (80%) x DS (50%) x G (80%) x XR (17%) x TC (36) = 2.08 lbs of muscle per year.

What this tells us is that Jake may be trying a little, but he is being held back a lot by his poor diet and low level of exercise. Lets run the numbers again, but this time lets say that he is taking whey protein and vitamin supplements to boost his DS to 80% and that he doubles his weightlifting regimen to 40 minutes per day.

H (102.9%) x SW (103.2%) x MR (80%) x DS (80%) x G (80%) x XR (33.3%) x TC (36) = 6.52 lbs of muscle per year.

Obviously he is gaining a lot more muscle by improving his diet and how much weightlifting he is doing, but if he maximized his diet as best he could and did weighlifting 120 minutes per day he could improve his results even more dramatically.

H (102.9%) x SW (103.2%) x MR (80%) x DS (100%) x G (80%) x XR (100%) x TC (36) = 24.47 lbs of muscle per year.

The following year, assuming he kept the same routine as above he could add an additional 16.31 lbs of muscle.

2nd Example

Sara is 5'2" (62 inches) tall, making her H 88.6%. She is petite and has small shoulders, 12 inches, making her SW 77.4%. She 26 years old and has no history of health problems, so her MR is 98%. She is a vegetarian and eats healthy, but she doesn't consume a lot of protein so lets assume her DS is 50%. She is an average female so her Gender Modifier is 60%. She is new to weightlifting and is only doing it 30 minutes per day, so her XR is 25% and her TC is 36.

H (88.6) x SW (77.4%) x MR (98%) x DS (50%) x G (60%) x XR (25%) x TC (36) = 1.81 lbs of muscle per year.

So Sara isn't going to be adding much muscle with her weightlifting routine. For her it is more like cardio. Like the 1st Example above, she could also increase her weightlifting regimen and start eating more protein. If she maximized both she could increase her muscle gain to 14.52 lbs in the first year, but maybe she doesn't really want to because she might have different priorities.

Notes

The average male's Skeletal Muscle Mass is 42% / the average female's is 36%.

The average male who is medium frame and 5'10" tall has 65.94 lbs of Skeletal Muscle Mass, with an overall weight of 157 lbs

The average female who is medium frame and 5'5" tall has 48.24 lbs of Skeletal Muscle Mass, with an overall weight of 134 lbs.

10-Minute Fat Blaster

The beauty of the "10-Minute Fat Blaster" is that you can do these exercises basically anywhere, you don't need any equipment so its frugal and it only takes 10 minutes to do. Thus if you do it in the morning right after waking up you can burn calories before you jump in the shower with this aggressive bodyweight circuit.

Perform this circuit without rest between exercises. Then rest 1 minute and repeat the circuit. Do as many circuits as you can in 10 minutes.

When you consider a day is 1440 minutes, a mere 10 minutes is less than 1% of your day. A mere 0.69%. And if you can't exercise for 10 minutes daily, something is wrong with you.

For reference 30 minutes is 2.1% of your day, and an hour is 4.2%. Exercising less than 5% of your day doesn't seem horribly unreasonable.

Jumping Jack

Start with your feet hip-width apart and hands at your sides. Simultaneously raise your arms above your head and jump so you can spread your feet shoulder-width apart. Then jump again to lower your arms and bring your feet together. Do 20 reps.

Prisoner Squat

Stand with your hands behind your head, your chest out and your elbows back. Sit back at your hips and bend your knees to lower your body as far as possible without losing the natural arch of your spine. Squeeze your glutes and push yourself back up to the starting position. Do 12 reps.

Pushup

Assume the classic pushup position: legs straight, hands beneath your shoulders. Now brace your abs. Keeping your body rigid, lower yourself until your chest touches the floor. Then push back up until your arms are extended. Do 15 reps.

Forward Lunge

From a standing position, take a large step forward with one leg. When your front thigh is parallel to the floor and your back knee is off the floor, hold for 1 second. Then return to the starting position and repeat with your other leg. Do 12 reps with each leg. (Make it harder by holding the lowered position for 5 seconds.)

Stickups

Stand with your back to the wall and feet about 4 inches from the wall. Place the back of your arms against the wall, with upper arms parallel to floor and forearms at 90 degrees. Raise your arms overhead while keeping them against the wall at all times. Slowly return to below the starting position, tucking your elbows into your sides and bringing shoulder blades together. Do 10 reps.

50 Snacks that are Under 50 Calories

Did you know that snacking reduces cravings and is actually healthy for you? 

Studies of primates (apes, chimpanzees, etc) have determined that they eat 6 to 8 times per day, and much of that eating is best described as snacking. The same is true of humans. We are supposed to be snacking multiple times per day and we're not meant to gorge ourselves on 3 large meals every day.

If you divide up your daily 2,000 calories into six meals instead of 3 you are looking at approx. 333 calories per meal. However since most people are used to eating 3 meals per day making the transition is more difficult.

That is where snacking comes in. A mid-morning snack, an afternoon snack and an evening snack so your daily diet should look something like this:

Breakfast 550 calories

Mid-Morning Snack 100 calories

Lunch 550 calories

Afternoon Snack 100 calories

Dinner 600 calories

Evening Snack 100 calories

TOTAL 2,000 calories

You may discover however that once you get adjusted to snacking that you don't need 2,000 calories per day. In which case, depending on your body type, you might drop to 1,800 calories per day, but you really should not go below that because it isn't healthy. Likewise going above 2,000 is really only recommended for athletes and people who exercise a lot as part of their occupation (eg. construction workers, arctic explorers, deep sea divers, firefighters, etc).

In which case how do you decide what to snack on 3 times per day? Well in the list below are 50 Snacks that are Under 50 Calories, so you can pick a choose, double up on 2 or more snacks (not that some of them below are only 10 calories or even zero calories) and no shortage of variety. If you read labels in stores you can find more things to add to this list.

Satisfy your sweet tooth

1. 1⁄2 medium apple, baked, topped with 1 Tbsp lowfat yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon (45 calories)

2. 1⁄2 small banana, frozen (45 calories)

3. 4 oz unsweetened applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon (49 calories)

4. 1 miniature box of raisins (45 calories)

5. 2 sugar-free ice pops (30 calories)

6. 1 sugar-free fudge ice pop (35 calories)

7. 12 cherries (48 calories)

8. 1 individual serving sugar-free gelatin with 3 Tbsp light whipped topping (40 calories)

9. 1⁄2 cup strawberries with 21⁄2 Tbsp nonfat yogurt (47 calories)

10. 14 seedless red grapes, frozen (48 calories)

Indulge a salt craving

11. 11⁄2 cups salted air-popped popcorn (46 calories)
12. 1⁄4 cup shelled edamame with sea salt (37 calories) 
13. 8 oz miso soup (36 calories)
14. 1 pretzel rod (37 calories) 
15. 1⁄4 small bag of Glenny's lightly salted soy crisps (35 calories) 
16. 1 medium sliced cucumber mixed with 1⁄4 cup sliced onion, 1⁄2 cup chopped celery, 4 Tbsp vinegar and salt to taste (45 calories)
17. 6 oz eight-vegetable juice (39 calories)
18. 1 kosher dill pickle (10 calories)

Crunch and munch

19. 1⁄2 cup jicama with 4 oz salsa (49.5 calories) 
20. 11⁄2 cups sugar snap peas (40 calories)
21. Small celery stalk smeared with 1⁄2 Tbsp natural peanut butter (49 calories)*
22. 1⁄2 small apple with 1 tsp soy butter (46 calories) 
23. 1 brown rice cake with 1 Tbsp sugar-free jam (44 calories)

* NOTE:  Celery by itself has almost no calories. Its the peanut butter that adds the calories. Some people argue that celery is actually calorie negative because it takes more energy to digest it than it actually contains.

Smooth and creamy

24. 1 Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb wedge spread on cucumber slices (35 calories)
25. 1 tsp almond butter (34 calories)
26. 1⁄2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt with 1 tsp sugar-free strawberry jam (43 calories)
27. 1 oz avocado (about 1⁄8 of an avocado) squirted with lime (45 calories)
28. 8 grape tomatoes dipped in 1 Tbsp light cream cheese (46 calories)

Cheesy whizzes

29. 6 pieces of endive filled with 1⁄2 oz reduced-fat feta cheese (49 calories)
30. 1 slice fat-free American cheese (30 calories)
31. 1 large tomato, sliced, topped with 1 Tbsp Parmesan, broiled (44 calories)
32. 1 oz fat-free cottage cheese on 1 slice caraway Finn Crisp Crispbread (38 calories)
33. 1 oz fat-free mozzarella dipped in 1 tsp marinara sauce (46 calories)

Power up on protein

34. Turkey rollups: 2 slices white meat turkey rolled in 2 lettuce leaves (46 calories)
35. 1 oz smoked salmon (about 1 slice) on 2 Wheat Thins crackers (Multi-Grain) (48 calories)
36. 1 tofu dog with 1 Tbsp sauerkraut (48 calories)
37. 1⁄2 cup plain fat-free yogurt sprinkled with 1 tsp sunflower seeds (49.6 calories)
38. 1.3 oz water-packed tuna with 1 tsp Dijon mustard (48 calories)
39. 2 large hard-cooked egg whites with 1 cup sliced cucumber (48 calories)
40. 1 slice Wasa Fibre Crispbread with 2 tsp hummus (45 calories)
41. 1 medium water-packed sardine with slice of red onion (35 calories)

Solid standbys

42. 1⁄2 cup melon with 2 Tbsp 1% cottage cheese (47 calories) 
43. 1⁄2 small grapefruit (32 calories)
44. 1⁄3 cup blueberries with 1 Tbsp light sour cream (47 calories) 
45. 1⁄2 cup carrots with 1 Tbsp light ranch dressing (45 calories)

Thirst quenchers

46. 1⁄2 cup nonfat milk with 1 Tbsp Walden Farms calorie-free chocolate syrup (40 calories)
47. 1 packet of sugar-free hot chocolate made with 1⁄4 cup skim milk and 3⁄4 cup hot water (47 calories)
48. 3⁄4 cup almond milk (45 calories)
49. 3⁄4 cup seltzer with 1⁄4 cup cranberry juice and a lime wedge (33 calories)
50. Homemade iced green tea (with artificial sweetener if desired) (0 calories)