Winning The Mental Battle of Physical Fitness

That was excellent. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing!😊

OP: Thanks for posting the video. It was both insightful and inspiring to me.

I have not lacked the motivation to lose/maintain my weight and to exercise but I'd be lying (by omission) if I didn't also say that it hasn't been easy to stay on track and that I didn't get lazy and slack off now and then.

I started using MFP when I first hit 198 around 7 years ago. At that time, the only exercise I was doing was weight lifting but I was able to lose the 48 pounds down to 160.

However, for 1 reason or another, I ended up slacking off, stopped using MFP, started eating whatever I wanted w/o logging the food and (of course) regained 46# and was back to 196 about 2 yrs later, when I then decided to lose the weight again, which I was again able and was back to 160 again about 3.5 years ago.

After I lost the weight the 2nd time, I bought a Concept 2 rower which I initially used to row 10km/day (in an hour/day) which resulted in an additional 10# of weight loss in about a year but I got burned out rowing THAT much and I regained the 10# in six months after stopped rowing entirely during that time.

Had to get motivated again to lose those 10# which I was able to do by more carefully logging my food (which I think was at least part of the reason why I regained that weight) and rowing 5km/day (in 1/2 hr/day) so as not to get burned out again.

Then I went on vacation for 2 weeks in Sep/Oct 2019 and didn't start rowing again after I got back UNTIL today when I watched the video which inspired me to start rowing again.

FWIW, IMO, a rower is the ideal exercise machine because it provides exactly the type of exercise recommended in the video.

It works your entire body below your neck, it provides variable resistance AND you can get more than enough exercise in 15-20 mins to make you tired and breathe hard (provided you put in the work necessary).

One important thing the speaker in the video said that stuck me was his statement that (and I'm paraphrasing it) that "the more fit you get, the harder you need to work in order to maintain and further improve your fitness."

While I had been rowing 5km/day recently, I was still slacking off because I was just "coasting" while rowing and was hardly breaking a sweat and certainly not breathing hard, which I usually did in 2 sets of 2.5km in 13 mins each at an energy expenditure rate of about 600 cal/hr. A very leisurely degree of exercise.

So, after seeing the video today, I decided to start rowing again BUT to work harder.

I just rowed 2.5k in 12 mins at an average rate of 710 cal/hr. Doesn't sound like much of a difference but I was exhausted and breathing hard when done and too tired to do another set right away again; will probably to another later this evening.

Going to keep rowing BUT I have an elbow procedure coming up in 2 wks which will probably sideline me from rowing again for at least a month BUT I will keep this video in mind and will make the effort to start rowing again as soon as possible after the procedure.

BTW, I'm male, 5'8", 150# w/a BF% of about 12-15% based on DEXA and hydro testing.

I can touch my toes but I can't bend over and extend my fingers 5" past them (which was one of the fitness tests mentioned in the video). I have been able to reach past my toes in the past but only when I stretched daily; the problem for me is the stiffness of my hamstrings. I haven't tried the other 3 min step/HR test (also mentioned mentioned in the video) yet but will try it later.

As noted in the the video, exercise is not fun but is nonetheless is essential to our health and well being.

The problem to overcome is laziness which pernicious to our health when it provides us w/an excuse for not exercising DAILY as recommended in the video.

I have also used MFP to count cals/daily It has become habit that I've developed which believe is also essential to maintaining my weight and by implication my health and well being.

I know it's hard but all you can do is keep at it the best you can.

Good luck to you all in doing so!

PS: I was looking for info on Dr. Mark Anshel, who I did not find listed on the current faculty at Middle Tennesse State University in the Depts of Psychology and Health & Human Performance as mentioned in the video, but I did find the book that he apparently published in 2006 here: Applied Exercise Psychology. This link is only to a partial preview of the book which is apparently out of print but available on Amazon for $55-60 if you're willing to pay the price.

I finally got around to it. This was great, I'll have to find other talks he's given.

I disagree about it can't be fun if you're doing it right, but that's a minor quibble. I'd urge anybody to try a bike and Nordic skis, going fast and being competitive are fun and require intensity. Otherwise, not really much to disagree about.

Great share!

I disagreed with him saying that you should never eat for weight loss. I also do not think there is any habit you can form for even 5 years that cannot be undone. Of course you can return to sedentary.

For a high level discussion though it was very interesting.

Lately I am more interested in the details of habit change. I have come a long way but there is still room for improvement and certainly things like exercise that need a greater level of consistency.

kshama2001 wrote: »

NorthCascades wrote: »

I finally got around to it. This was great, I'll have to find other talks he's given.

I disagree about it can't be fun if you're doing it right, but that's a minor quibble. I'd urge anybody to try a bike and Nordic skis, going fast and being competitive are fun and require intensity. Otherwise, not really much to disagree about.

Yes, the only disagreement I can recall was also that exercise isn't fun.

Did anyone dig up his checklist for physical fitness? There was something about stairs...

It may be something he charges for. It doesn't look like anything on his site is free.

Great speaker but lots of things he said didn’t chime with me. Exercising for 20 mins each day wouldn’t work for me. I do enjoy exercise. I don’t enjoy it in the morning which is what he recommends.

He was also saying women should be 20 body fat or less. Lol. Unachievable for majority.

I can’t do any of the exercise tests. But I can deadlift twice my body weight. Horses for courses eh?

kshama2001 wrote: »

Did anyone dig up his checklist for physical fitness? There was something about stairs...

hansep0012 wrote: »

The reference to stairs was to gauge your fitness level by stepping up and down on an 8.5" platform (or stair) for three minutes and then take your pulse and then reference it against his metric to determine if you had a basic level of (I assume cardio vascular) fitness. His estimation was that most of the room would not pass this marker of fitness, much like the stretch beyond 5" of your toes.

I enjoyed the video because it's what I've been unknowingly been teaching myself these last eight months on MFP. Move every day. No more than 30 minutes. Increase intensity.

The more interesting question to me is: What does fitness look like for me? I've started already thinking about how my golf swing will improve with less bulk at my bust and upper arms - this is measurable in both inches and performance. Fitness looks like being able to hike all day with my grandchildren and take elevation changes in stride, literally.

Great opportunity to reflect and take action.

Thanks!

I found a transcript* and here's more on the toes stretch, " I want you to be flexible enough to sit on the floor, your legs straight, and reach your fingertips at least five inches past your toes."

I'm going to have to work on that. When I was a full time yoga teacher I know I could bend down and have my palms flat on the floor alongside my feet, but I don't have a memory of a seated toe reach. As of right now, my fingertips are an inch short of reaching my toes. Will do some yoga and see how that changes at the end of my practice.

*The transcript is a pdf and I am unable to link it, but it was the first result in google for "Ogie Shaw stretch 5 inches beyond your toes."

kshama2001 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

Did anyone dig up his checklist for physical fitness? There was something about stairs...

hansep0012 wrote: »

The reference to stairs was to gauge your fitness level by stepping up and down on an 8.5" platform (or stair) for three minutes and then take your pulse and then reference it against his metric to determine if you had a basic level of (I assume cardio vascular) fitness. His estimation was that most of the room would not pass this marker of fitness, much like the stretch beyond 5" of your toes.

I enjoyed the video because it's what I've been unknowingly been teaching myself these last eight months on MFP. Move every day. No more than 30 minutes. Increase intensity.

The more interesting question to me is: What does fitness look like for me? I've started already thinking about how my golf swing will improve with less bulk at my bust and upper arms - this is measurable in both inches and performance. Fitness looks like being able to hike all day with my grandchildren and take elevation changes in stride, literally.

Great opportunity to reflect and take action.

Thanks!

I found a transcript* and here's more on the toes stretch, " I want you to be flexible enough to sit on the floor, your legs straight, and reach your fingertips at least five inches past your toes."

I'm going to have to work on that. When I was a full time yoga teacher I know I could bend down and have my palms flat on the floor alongside my feet, but I don't have a memory of a seated toe reach. As of right now, my fingertips are an inch short of reaching my toes. Will do some yoga and see how that changes at the end of my practice.

*The transcript is a pdf and I am unable to link it, but it was the first result in google for "Ogie Shaw stretch 5 inches beyond your toes."

After yoga I can reach to about a half inch past my toes.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I can see how this might be helpful for some, especially people with busy lives whose goal is health (and not much else) when it comes to exercise, but I'm not a big fan, for myself.

I don't like morning, for working out or anything else. I'm happy to have a form of exercise activity I truly enjoy, so it's an anti-advantage to do it for only half an hour. But that's my odd self, not everyone else. (I do think that finding something you enjoy so much you'd do it even if it weren't good for you is pretty magical, when it comes to exercise.)

I think his BF% goals are weird (not consistent with common advice on the subject, for women at least, as I understand it). I think it's also weird that the HR goals for men and women are given irrespective of age, which is also an uncommon way of looking at it. (If you believe the 220-age estimate of HR max - which I mostly don't - a 20 year old at 156bpm is just over 70% (heart rate reserve assuming 60bpm resting) and a 60 year old is at 95% (same assumptions). That seems silly, unless older people are intended to be much fitter in order not to fail, or something? Maybe he's oversimplified for the TED talk, but jeez, it really doesn't make sense to me.

FWIW (which is not that much ), I can reach 5" beyond my toes in the seated reach test (have flexible hams and posterior chain generally, but not necessarily equivalent flexibility everywhere else). I didn't try the step test, because my crap knees hate steps, but I'm not too worried about CV fitness adequacy (based on resting rate, difficulty of reaching high rates even with pretty intense activities, and ability to hold a pretty high rate for minutes at a time when I do get there). May not meet his standards, but it'll do for me.

I admit I'm surprised to find I'm on a planet so far from most others, personally, wrt this one, but if it works to get more people more active, I'm all for it (sincerely).

Thanks for that Ann. I was underimpressed and found the whole thing to be strangely generalized and biased at the same time.
(Didn’t day as I thought I missed something. I didn’t have it in me to re watch it. )

The 16.25” step challenge is higher than the crook of my knee, so not going to attempt that for 3 min.

I did a few step ups on my old 16” kitchen chairs and even with a good fitness level, and knees, found it challenging. I suspect my 6’4 long legged SO wouldn’t have the same thigh above horizontal problem.

I did plop off the couch onto the floor and easily bent to have the heals if my hands and feet line up, so fingers 6” past toes.
SO would have to do his yoga classes daily for a month to even get an inch past.

Agree with the BF and early exercise too. No way in heII are they going to happen and me still be a nice person.

Sleeping in and 23-24 BF is a healthy happy me, as is 60x5 exercise per week.

Cheers, h.

NorthCascades wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

NorthCascades wrote: »

I finally got around to it. This was great, I'll have to find other talks he's given.

I disagree about it can't be fun if you're doing it right, but that's a minor quibble. I'd urge anybody to try a bike and Nordic skis, going fast and being competitive are fun and require intensity. Otherwise, not really much to disagree about.

Yes, the only disagreement I can recall was also that exercise isn't fun.

Did anyone dig up his checklist for physical fitness? There was something about stairs...

From the transcript I mentioned above:

"I want you to have enough [bad transcription / cardio something] to be able to step up and down on a 16 and quarter inch box chair or stool or an 8-inch stair for three consecutive minutes.

Take the pulse for 15 seconds and multiply the beats by four. If your pulse is higher than 144 beats a minute for men, or 156 beats a minute for women on a sixteen and quarter-inch step, you just failed the test. And 75% of the people in this room, if you’re typical, will fail that test.

A lot of you runners don’t have good cardiovascular fitness, but no one has been able to explain that to you, that test will.

And it’s not my test. I didn’t make it up. It’s out there being used by the research community."

I'd like to hear more about runners having poor cardiovascular fitness, because it doesn't ring true for me, so maybe he's talking about something other than what seems obvious?

I'm curious to see how I'll do in the step test. I'm healing well and this will have to wait a bit, but I'm going to try it. Question is how fast do you step up and down? I'm sure I could pass or fail this test depending on my pace. My LTHR is about 165 bpm.

Speculating: Perhaps typical runners have poor CV fitness on this test because of the sport-specificity of conditioning? I kinda raised an eyebrow at that, too.

Besides not saying how fast to step, he mentions nothing about different standards about the two different sizes of steps. Huh?

I'm no expert, but I can't think of a reason the female standard is so different from the male one, either - common to see sex differentiation in some fitness standards, but not so sure about this one.

I think (but have no proof) that the bizarre step test thing is from this (or thereabouts):

https://www.acefitness.org/ptresources/pdfs/TestingProtocols/McArdleStepTest.pdf

That seems to be presented as a way to estimate VO2max in fit people (who don’t have joint, height, or a bunch of other issues)? So it looks like the HR’s he lists kind of back into a VO2Max of 36-ish (I think). Which also makes not a lot of sense because VO2Max standards/grades/classifications vary by age (40 for a 70 year old may be outstanding but may be just ok for a 25 year old).

But anyway-I think that’s what the step test with the static Hr thresholds came from. I’m not sure how the 8” step fits in though.

middlehaitch wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I can see how this might be helpful for some, especially people with busy lives whose goal is health (and not much else) when it comes to exercise, but I'm not a big fan, for myself.

I don't like morning, for working out or anything else. I'm happy to have a form of exercise activity I truly enjoy, so it's an anti-advantage to do it for only half an hour. But that's my odd self, not everyone else. (I do think that finding something you enjoy so much you'd do it even if it weren't good for you is pretty magical, when it comes to exercise.)

I think his BF% goals are weird (not consistent with common advice on the subject, for women at least, as I understand it). I think it's also weird that the HR goals for men and women are given irrespective of age, which is also an uncommon way of looking at it. (If you believe the 220-age estimate of HR max - which I mostly don't - a 20 year old at 156bpm is just over 70% (heart rate reserve assuming 60bpm resting) and a 60 year old is at 95% (same assumptions). That seems silly, unless older people are intended to be much fitter in order not to fail, or something? Maybe he's oversimplified for the TED talk, but jeez, it really doesn't make sense to me.

FWIW (which is not that much ), I can reach 5" beyond my toes in the seated reach test (have flexible hams and posterior chain generally, but not necessarily equivalent flexibility everywhere else). I didn't try the step test, because my crap knees hate steps, but I'm not too worried about CV fitness adequacy (based on resting rate, difficulty of reaching high rates even with pretty intense activities, and ability to hold a pretty high rate for minutes at a time when I do get there). May not meet his standards, but it'll do for me.

I admit I'm surprised to find I'm on a planet so far from most others, personally, wrt this one, but if it works to get more people more active, I'm all for it (sincerely).

Thanks for that Ann. I was underimpressed and found the whole thing to be strangely generalized and biased at the same time.
(Didn’t day as I thought I missed something. I didn’t have it in me to re watch it. )

The 16.25” step challenge is higher than the crook of my knee, so not going to attempt that for 3 min.

I did a few step ups on my old 16” kitchen chairs and even with a good fitness level, and knees, found it challenging. I suspect my 6’4 long legged SO wouldn’t have the same thigh above horizontal problem.

I did plop off the couch onto the floor and easily bent to have the heals if my hands and feet line up, so fingers 6” past toes.
SO would have to do his yoga classes daily for a month to even get an inch past.

Agree with the BF and early exercise too. No way in heII are they going to happen and me still be a nice person.

Sleeping in and 23-24 BF is a healthy happy me, as is 60x5 exercise per week.

Cheers, h.

I kind of tuned out some of the specifics and walked away with "Exercise Good!"

Which I of course already knew, but it was a nice reinforcement for unmotivated days. Which is many of them. Part 2 of the message was "Do it anyway!"