Exercise for Geeks?

An anonymous reader asks: "A bunch of friends and I have been wondering for a while how to stay fit (and additionally, how to bulk up). While common suggestions include team sports, few of us are able to get together and play something outdoors since the weather here is abysmal. We would like to know how you geeks stay fit individually in your homes, and are there any ways to do so (while building up muscle) that don't involve expensive equipment? Thanks."

Comments

Swimming, hiking, biking, weight-lifting

[Ivan Raikov]

Well, you can lift weights for strength training (because all that sitting in front of a computer really affects your upper body posture); swim for flexibility training; on weekends you can go hiking and/or biking with your buddies -- that helps improve general endurance, and is a lot of fun, especially if there are beautiful mountains near where you are.

None of these are particularly expensive, but they do require you to get out of your home -- I think exercising is a lot more effective when you do it with a friend, because you tend to slack off more when you are on your own ("Oh, I feel tired today, I'll just go tomorrow" versus your buddy dragging you to the gym).

I especially enjoy group outings, because then you get to have fun while getting a good exercise. So do try to be more social in your exercise activities, and you'll benefit greatly.

How to Lose weight 101

[phoenix_orb]

As a geek who also has a social life and (what the women call) a hard body, let me let you in on the two secrets to staying in shape.

Excercise and Food intake.

The first thing that I would do if I were you would be eliminate soda's. I still drink coffee in the morning as I probably only get 3-4 hours of sleep a night (thank you WebObjects), but because I eliminate soda, I have kept off tons of weight when I see the geeks around me slowly adding a gut. That is just a start, and you may want to change other eating habits as well. I have found that because I no longer drink pop (at 170 calories a can x 5-6 cans a day) I save almost 1000 calories. That leaves me enough room to pig out occasionally. Also if you excercise your metabolism will speed up, allowing you to burn off more calories, even when you are just sitting there.

I personally work out maybe 30 minutes a day, with 10 minutes of warm up streching and 5 minutes of cool down streching. That is 45 minutes a day. Yes, it sucks, yes it takes time out of my day, but YES I LOVE the eventual benifit. As an aside, I have more energy, and feel better about myself. As an aside, streching is VERY important. You will be stiff and sore the next day, and get burned out on working out IF YOU DON'T STRECH OUT. If you do the soreness is kept to a minimum.

The workout program is simple, but I know that you may want to taylor this to your own. I run two miles, which I can do in 10 minutes, then I work out my upper body and abs, and I alternate between the two of them. I have free weights at home and a curl bar (the bar was $30 at play it again sports, the weights are about 40 at wal-mart) As a person who has obnoxiously strong legs (I used to race bicycles long ago) I run with leg weights on, but that is something that you may not wish to start out on.

There are a couple of books which I use as a guideline to help me out, and I recommend them highly.

They are the "Stronger Abs and Back: 165 Exercises to Build Your Center of Power"

I am finally getting close to a rock hard 6 pack thanks to this book alone. WOW.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/088011558 0/ 104-1080760-7878365

The Body Sculpting Bible for Men

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/157826085 X/ 104-1080760-7878365
Great book, hints on eating correctly, and hints on using what you have to achieve what you want.

Strength Training Anatomy

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/073604185 0/ 104-1080760-7878365

This book is very good if you wish to get into a gym and you really want to know which excersices work what. It has diagrams and walk throughs of dozens of machines and free weights, and shows you drawings of what muscles it works.

I have been working out for 4 months now. I have lost 15 pounds, went from 14 to 7% body fat, and really started toning up. I have found that it has really done a lot more than just make me look better. I hope that you find what you need and start working out yourself. :)