No Space, No Problem

A friend the other day was saying that the room where classes are held at his gym is too small for sprints. I have the same issue and there's an easy solution -- create more space.

The way to do that is by using angles and setting up markers. For instance, tonight I put a pylon against one wall probably five yards from one end of the room, another on the other side of the room a few more yards from the back wall and a third at the far end in a corner. Then I stood in the corner and sprinted to the first pylon, then ran across the room the second and then back across the room to the third, before making my way back.

So no, I wasn't able to run flat out but by running from side to side, basically, I was able to increase the space. I also was able to stop and start, which is something that happens in most sports and thus is good for you to know how to do.

Finally, a setup like this give you the ability to do multi-directional work. You can sprint ahead, shuffle to the side and back peddle, so that you move the way you do in real life. (We never simply move forward.)

My New Gym

When I moved, I had to find a new gym. Luckily, there's one three blocks from my house, about the same distance as I had before.

But the new gym is a bit like stepping back in time, and not just because of the equipment. People all around me are doing isolation exercises (it's hard to believe people still do so many curls) and one chest exercise after another.

I see far too few leg work and almost no posterior chain work. A full-body workout? Forget it.

In other words, they're doing bodybuilder workouts for the most part. Me, I'm plowing ahead with my full-body workouts because I know they work and make me a better athlete, not a bodybuilder.

We're Lazy

That's what I'm realizing as I go through my daily commute and here's why -- people line up for escalators even when perfectly good stairs are right there.

I see it every single day. I even saw someone walk up to an escalator, see that it wasn't working and walk to one that was working. Of course then once on the escalator people simply stand there instead of walking up them as well.

How did people become so lazy. Take the stairs.

Sorry for the Interruption

I moved recently, which temporarily threw everything into a bit of chaos. There was the move itself, the ensuing lack of Internet access because of the cable company's incompetence and trying to find time to post amid a life that now involves a long commute to work.

But there's a huge upside to all this -- I now walk to the beach to surf instead of driving an hour and a half. And I live where life moves at a slower pace. Just stepping off the train here each day feels nice.

I've Fallen and I ...

You know the rest of that. I've fallen and I can't get up.

I'd bet that most of us know of someone older who fell, broke a hip and soon died. It happens all too often. The New York Times this past weekend looked at the issue and described how doctors are treating falls as serious issues.

I thought of one thing when I read that article -- if they'd maintained their muscle tone, the chance they would've fallen would have to have decreased significantly. It just makes sense.

I never want to fall and not be able to get up so I'm going to do everything I can to maintain my muscle tone as I age.

The Bad Form Hall of Fame

That was my gym today, the Bad Form Hall of Fame. It seemed that everywhere I looked people were using bad form.

There was one guy who did every exercise he tried incorrectly, which had to be some sort of record. When he did tricep pushdowns, for instance, his elbows were flared out instead of pulled tightly against his body (and I'm not even getting into the discussion about why he was doing them in the first place).

I saw a woman try the same exercise. She leaned into it too much, making her entire upper body do the work, not her triceps.

And another guy did tricep kickbacks (again, why waste so much time on these isolation moves?) and he didn't even extend his arm fully.

There's an easy way to avoid this -- do a little reading or ask an expert. I may not always do everything right, but I do work hard to understand the correct form and then try to get it right.

A Better Warm-up, Part 3

I've touched on the benefits of using dynamic stretching to warm-up a couple of times before (here and here).

Today in its Play magazine, the New York Times trumpets this better way to stretch before a workout.

Of course I still see people come into the gym and perform static stretches before they work out, that is if they do anything at all. I'm certainly the only person I've ever seen at my gym who runs through the sort of warm-up that I follow.