Be Fit With Biray

In early May, I convinced my parents to buy a Nintendo Wii (finally!). And after pestering my dad to play a game with me after dinner one night, I ended up getting my ass seriously whooped in a virtual tennis match by someone who twice my age! I knew right then and there, my fitness skills were doing me no good in this arena.

I came across this comic and it reminded me of a conversation I had with Alasdair when he came here for his 3-week visit to US in April. He had worried that his Wii-Fit would also reprimand him upon his return back to Scotland. I’m sure he’ll appreciate the humor in this cartoon.

Although I still don’t have a Wii-Fit (yet), my name is on several waiting-lists and hopefully some 17-year-old kid from GameStop will call me when one shows up at his store. (I’m not holding my breath, though.) In the meantime, I’ll just focus on practicing my virtual backhand swing. Next time I play against my dad, he won’t even see the ball coming!

An anonymous coward (seriously, that was his handle) posted a question on Slashdot.com yesterday asking the readers “How do geeks exercise?” It said:

I have always been thin but all the sitting in front of the PC is taking its toll now that I’m getting older. I have begun to get a little heavier around the waist. I don’t eat a lot but the weight seems to stay on these days. Most of the time I don’t have the luxury of just getting out of the house/office. And being an introvert, I’m not enamored of the idea of exercising in full view of *shudder* people. I regularly do press-ups (60 per night) and sit-ups (30 per night) and some fetching and carrying, but that is all and these days it isn’t enough. I need a solid and effective routine that will tone all my muscle groups efficiently. Do any Slashdotters have a regular workout routine that can be performed in the privacy of the home to stave off those pounds?

Well, there’s nothing unusual about this inquiry, right? It seems that ‘Anonymous Coward’ echoes the concerns of most sedentary individuals. Like most people looking for advice, Coward turned to his community. And the community chimed back with their comments (all 1625 of them).

After scanning through most of the comments, I began noticing that these responses were probably more ineffective than good. In fact, most fell under THREE categories:

1) JUDGMENTS: Health behavior change is hard enough without being judged about your current lifestyle choices. If people feel misperceived by a person or community, they may either tune out any ‘health’ advice from them or re-frame their commitment to that person or community. When the writer plainly states that he didn’t “have the luxury of just getting out of the house/office,” why did so many comments criticize him for staying indoors all the time, asking why he didn’t make ’spending time outside’ a priority. Some suggested his personality was the ‘problem’ he needed to take care of first. Another dismissively said, “So you’re an introvert. Big deal! Exercise in front of people anyway.” Imagine how it must feel to get not one, not two, but hundreds of comments in less than 24-hour period basically questioning your actions, motivations, and… well, YOU. But, I assume “Anonymous Coward” already knew the rules of the internet and should have expected some conversations to be cruel.

2) NON-ATTENTIVE: It’s amazing how much people simply don’t listen to other people. How is suggesting kayaking, biking, rollerblading or hiking going to help this poor indoorsman? The guy spends his time inside - what part of “inside” didn’t they understand? And why do people think that getting a ‘gym buddy’ and joining a martial arts club or a community swim team is an effective form of motivation for a guy who clearly doesn’t like the thought of exercising in front of people? Don’t get me wrong - outdoor activities and community support are all great suggestions. But great for who? It seemed no one was considering the variables: indoor, PC-geek guy who does pushups/situps. One person did suggest taking on an exercise video game, specifically Yourself Fitness (also available on PC), but that post also included ‘having sex’ as a viable option. Classy.

3) EXERCISE INFORMATION: Although this is not the most resourceful site for health/fitness information, there were a few folks who claimed they were knowledgeable in the field of weight training and weight loss. (And hyperlinking to health-related websites doesn’t count). These were the ones who took the time to write thesis-length posts on the physiology of caloric expenditure. Unfortunately, it led to a series of broken discussion threads about ‘who had the right answers’ vs. ‘who didn’t know what they were talking about’. And if any reasonable advice was included among the bunch, good luck sorting through 1600+ comments to find it. Let’s face it, the average reader doesn’t really care to apply Mifflin’s predictive equation for calculating resting metabolic rate. I’d probably be more interested in the ‘muffin’ equation of blueberry-baked goods and justifying their caloric intake.

To counter my point, I will say that there were some positive comments that came out of this forum. For instance, other introverts banned together, reclaiming their thrown and proposing there be a sport for all introverts! Countless other posts took the “biking to work” suggestion seriously, spinning-off into an entirely new discussion - from the pros/cons of showering at work to fighting for cyclist equality on the road. And there were a few joke-tellers in the forum… so I did laugh at a few funnies.

In the end, assuming you throw out the judging posts, irrelevant comments, bad jokes and scientific jargon, I really hope Mr. Coward finds a concrete answer to his question. Or perhaps, he’s still reading the answers…

About 3 months ago, I wrote an extensive review of the fitness podcast Cardio Coach Vol. 1 workout, created by Sean O’Malley, founder and voice of Cardio Coach. I had been so impressed with his workouts that I’ve since included his other volumes as part of my personal fitness routine. A week ago I was on a business trip in southern California (Cardio Coach is based out of San Diego) where I met up with Sean for lunch to talk more about health, exercise, fitness and technology. Who was this man behind the science/technology of podcasting cardio?

“I teach a cycle class at 9:15 on Sunday mornings, too” he said on the phone prior to my making the flight arrangements for my trip. “You’re more than welcome to attend.” Cool, I thought. I can get an informal interview AND a great workout in one day! So, I booked a 6am flight out of Phoenix so I could make it in time to Sean’s class. After a physically challenging workout, I was definitely ready for some oceanside cuisine and good conversation.

I always find it fascinating when fitness professionals adopt current forms of technology and use it creatively to deliver exercise to their clients. Over 6 years ago, Sean started delivering his programs via audio to his dad to get him to exercise more. Once the idea gained momentum, he realized his efforts could turn into a business. Cardio Coach now has clients downloading workouts from around the world!

If you can’t tell by listening to him during the workouts, when you meet him you’ll know just how passionate Sean is about fitness. He’s always going beyond the ‘gym doors’ (if you will) by making sure his members and clients are enjoying each workout and meeting their fitness potential. During our conversation I discovered that Sean is just as genuine and ‘real’ in person as he is on his CDs/mp3s. He shared several inspiring stories of those clients whose lives have changed from listening to his workouts - something that he felt both humbled and inspired him throughout these years.

With so much creative potential and grounded spirit, I sense we will continue seeing Sean’s efforts cut across other arenas - not just in fitness. But in the meantime, I will continue to keep him in my playlist this training season.

Thank you, Sean, for taking time out of your Sunday to let me pick your fitness brain! Although I got a little too much San Diego sun, it was definitely worth it!

Last week, I presented at the National Wellness Conference in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. While checking my regular Twitter feeds, I came across @jodyNwellness who had just started following me a few days prior to my departure. After checking out her tweet-feed, I decided to follow her, too.

Because of my crazy schedule, I had to miss the first 3 days of the week-long conference. The morning of my flight, I noticed a tweet from @jodyNwellness regarding a session she was attending, presented by Mary Miscisin. I wasn’t sure, but I asked if she was at the conference (and she was) and mentioned that I’d be there later that day. She gave me the scoop on the tech landscape of the area (wifi connection status, etc). And eventually we agreed we should meet once I arrived!

Jody introduced herself during one of my activity sessions on ‘exergaming’. It turned out, she had already planned on attending a few of my sessions (so I suppose we would’ve met, eventually).

We hung out at breakfast and quickly realized how much we had in common. We were both into health/wellness and technology (and quite possibly the only two using Twitter at the conference - LOL!). I guess Twitter works in mysterious ways. Not only did it make my experience at the conference more engaging, but I also made an awesome new friend!

The National Wellness Conference (held every year at Stevens Point, Wisconsin) is perhaps the most inviting conference within the wellness industry. People always seem to come away having made deep new friendships and feeling professionally rejuvinated. At least, that has been my experience.

This year I was invited as a presenter to speak on various web 2.0 technologies and how they related to wellness. My first presentation “Stop, Blog, and Roll” discussed how health and wellness professionals could utilize blogs to enhance their professional efforts. I was happy that many who attended had heard about blogs (and/or blogging), but surprised that a few knew about the steps in creating one and the benefits/limitations to its implementation. I hope, now, we’ll see more professionals in our field embracing blogs as a way to connect to more people.

My second presentation “It’s URLife, Make It a Healthy WWWone!” was about health behavior change (HBC), specifically referencing the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. People go through various stages of change when it comes to adopting new behaviors. I wanted to explore the effects of web 2.0 technologies with HBC, wondering if ’stage-matching’ various web-based tools might be more effective in creating change in a digital audience.

I also led an activity session on exergaming, since video games are more frequently being used to promote and increase physical activity levels. I did a demo with Dance Dance Revolution and shared a few techniques on how a worksite wellness program could be cost-effective and exciting with a little ‘game-time’!

My goal was simply to get more conversation about web 2.0 and exergaming within the health and wellness communities. Overall, all presentations seemed to have done just that… get people talking…

Over the past year, I’ve been following fitness professionals on YouTube in hopes to learn the various ways they are applying online video sharing technology to their craft. I have written on this topic in this post and this one to document my discoveries. By summertime, I had met many YouTubers and watched enough videos to finally write an official feature article about a phenomenon which I eventually labeled as “StepTube”.

The publication appeared in the IDEA Health & Fitness Journal - July/August 2008 issue. The piece is called “StepTube: The Next Wave” and you can read the full article here.

You can’t imagine how much fun it was writing this article! By far, my most favorite assignment. A special thank you goes out to Sandy Todd Webster, Joy Keller, Christi Taylor, Fred Hoffman, Gay Gasper, Keli Roberts, Rob Glick, Dana Hargis, Seasun Zieger, Leslie Cowling Stewart, Sabine Van Hoecke, Bobbie Stroud, Clara Dixon, Denise Hardy, Carol Espel, and David Albert Pierce for supporting my adventures and in entertaining my inquiries!

I was fortunate to be invited again this year as a presenter at one of the biggest health and fitness conventions for our industry. The IDEA Health and Fitness World Convention, which was held in Las Vegas, NV last week.

I presented a session entitled “Take Your Offline Presence, Online. I discussed the importance of creating an online presence, especially as health and fitness professionals. We, as instructors and trainers, have found success with our ‘offline’ efforts that we haven’t really explored the potential of what new Web 2.0 technologies can really do for us. In fact, compared to healthcare industry, non-profit health organizations, and wellness educators - the fitness industry has been behind in the adoption of new technology. I hoped my session was able to generate some enthusiasm and creative energy! You can view the abbreviated version of the presentation here.

I was impressed with how the IDEA staff covered the event. Blogs were created and updated daily. YouTube videos and photos highlighting various sessions and member experiences were also posted. And, opening ceremonies were streamed live via UStream.tv! Thanks to the accessibility of these technologies, IDEA was able to share the conference experience with their online community!

Next year IDEA is scheduled a month later: August 11-16, 2009. And it will be held in Anaheim, CA!
Disneyland, anyone?