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Year round, the Washington Post's fitness writers, aptly named the Misfits, are a reliable source of health advice. Now comes an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of Geezer's least favorite exercise: Christmas shopping. Here then, is the Misfits' Fitness Gadget Gift Guide, a nifty slide show presenting six suggestions for those who hope to stay in shape for at least part of the new year.
LDL, the cholesterol from hell, is famous for depositing plaque on artery walls, which can lead to a dirt-in-the-fuel-line problem, and on to a heart attack. In this helpful piece in the New York Times, Jane Brody tells us that cutting LDL by 60 milligrams can reduce heart attacks and sudden death by 50 percent
after only two years. Excellent news, but how do we do it? Brody offer four paths to LDL redemption:
Alcohol. Consuming one or two drinks a day
can lower LDLs by 4 to 10 milligrams. Red wine is considered most
effective. For those who cannot drink alcohol, purple grape juice may
be a reasonable, albeit less effective, substitute.
Exercise. Aerobic exercise, like brisk walking, jogging, cycling and lap swimming, can reduce LDLs by 3 to 16 milligrams and
raise the good HDLs. Consistency is important. Aerobic activities
should be performed at least five times a week for maximum benefit.
Weight loss. When
achieved through diet and exercise, weight loss can reduce LDL levels
by as much as 42 milligrams. When achieved through drug therapy, weight
loss has been associated with an LDL drop of 10 to 31 milligrams.
Yoga and tai chi. These
forms of exercise, which are accessible to just about everyone who can
walk, even the elderly, have reduced LDLs by 20 to 26 milligrams when
done for 12 to 14 weeks.
Read more from Jane Brody in the New York Times.
Geezer is discouraged to recall that serious skiers start getting in shape for the snow a good two months before it falls. But then, few people would describe Geezer as a serious skier. He does, however, talk a serious game, and he does, on occasion, pass along useful information, such as these five tips on how to get in shape for skiing offered by Marc Cirigliano in First Tracks, Online Ski Magazine.
1. General Conditioning: On Monday, Wednesday and Friday do the following: 15 situps, 15 crunches, 15 pushups (bent-knee
are ok). Lay on back and do: 4 alternate knee to chest (hold for 20), 4 raise
one leg and use arms to pull to stretch hamstring. Lie on side and do: 15 leg raises, turn over and do other side.2. 2. Agility: Also on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, do: 4 X 20 yds. of running backwards, 4 X 20 yds. (in each direction)
of side-shuffling, and 5 (each way) turning hops (stand with feet together,
jump and turn 180 degrees, landing with balance) . Try to do all of these on
soft grass or a wooden floor—and always inspect the surface you use for holes,
bumps or other irregularities in order to avoid injury
3. Aerobic Conditioning: On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, do: 15 minutes of exercycle, stairmaster or 15 minutes of
easy jogging on a treadmill, track, running path or mini-trampoline.
4. Anaerobic Conditioning: After your Aerobic workout, rest for five minutes, then: Do 5 intense high
speed bouts for 15 seconds (with 1 minute rest in-between) using whatever aerobic
exercise you used.5. Leg Work: On Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday, do: 15 Step-Downs. Balance sideways with one leg on a step.
With control and keeping knee centered over foot, lower yourself (as if your
“stepping down”) a few inches, then raise up. Repeat 15 times each leg. After
a week, add another set of fifteen. By week four, you should be able to do
4 sets of 15.
Read moreon getting in shape for skiing in First Tracks.
Karen Voight, the excellent fitness czarina of the LA Times, thoughtfully passes on this yoga position that works like few yoga positions do, on the upper body.
Start here: Start on all fours with your knees below your hips and your hands below
your shoulders. Raise your buttocks high into the air, and press your
thighs back until your legs are straight. Keep stretching your buttocks
up as you lower your heels to the floor. Now shift your weight over
your left leg and raise your right leg above hip level.
Then do this: Keep your shoulders above your wrists as you slowly bend and lower
your right knee to your chest. Round your back and pull your navel to
your spine. Hold this position for three breaths, then return your leg
up in the air, pause and lower to the floor. Repeat the pose raising
your left leg.
For more tips from Karen Voight, click here. For more fitness news from the LA Times, click here. To visit a wonderfully comprehensive yoga site, click here.
Hand-eye coordination
NASA astronauts use off-the-shelf computer games to improve their hand-eye
coordination.
Quicker reactions
US scientists found that the attention span and information processing time of
“gamers” was better than that of non-computer-playing folk.
Better decision making
Surgeons who play computer games for more than three hours a week make 37 per
cent fewer errors than their nonplaying counterparts.
These facts and a few others about the health benefits of computer games, plus a great many words that tell us almost nothing, can be found in this piece in the Times of London. Geezer has another reason: Winter is coming, and can be played inside, preferably at fireside.
Geezer wishes he could say that ChiRunning, a relatively recently-conceived style of running that promises to reduce injury and pain, focus your
mind, lift your spirit and open up your flow of chi, is all the rage. But it's not. In certain predictable (read L.A.) locales, it is perhaps a petite rage, and certainly rage enough for Outside magazine to publish a first person piece on one runner's effort to grasp the practice. Nick Heil reports that ChiRunning was developed by Danny Dreyer, a 57-year-old veteran
coach and ultramarathoner who claims that his more
biomechanically efficient technique makes running "effortless and
injury-free." The Tai-chi inspired exercise, Heil tells us, "requires learning
how to relax and let gravity do the work for you. Proper form starts
with an upright posture that aligns feet, hips, torso, and head
vertically. Then you lean forward at the ankles to achieve a full-body
tilt that allows gravity to pull you along, while your bones—rather
than muscles—support your body. Each stride falls midfoot, instead of
on the heel or forefoot, and finishes wherever momentum takes it—which
means a pronounced heel kick behind you at higher speeds."
Could the claims really be true? Geezer has a few questions about the mechanics of falling up an incline. Read more from Nick Heil and find out.
How long does fitness last? Not long enough. According to this story in the New York Times, a mere three months without exercise can render mostg athletes' bodies no different from the bodies of people who have been sedentary all their lives. Yikes! The Times consults Edward Coyle, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas, who advises us that when exercise time is limited, as it is this time of year, “you have to decide where you will get the biggest performance bang for the hour you spend. The
key, according to the Times, is to substitute intensity of effort for
time. “A runner who’s been running doesn’t need much time to maintain
his performance,” Dr. Coyle said. “But the training needs to be almost
like racing.
For more on the special effects of what the Times charitably calls "detraining," read this.
Inspiration, Geezer has noted, is sometimes hard to find. Inspiration to walk farther than necessary is often utterly invisible. Now comes a study, conducted at Stanford and the University of Minnesota, indicating that people who used a pedometer for 18 weeks walked an average of seven miles more per week than pedometer-free people, and shaved 0.4 points from their body mass
indexes. The LA Times reports that the research analyzed results of 26 studies
of pedometer use, with a total of 2,767 participants. Most were female,
overweight and relatively inactive before they started their walking
programs. The average duration of the studies was 18 weeks. The bottom line: Researchers
found that participants who wore pedometers increased their activity by
27%, or by more than 2,000 steps daily, the equivalent of one mile.
Read more about pedometer pressure in the LA Times.
How much do we really want to know about what happens to our Thanksgiving turkey after we swallow it? Geezer guesses that it's about one-tenth as much as is presented in this visually-aided piece in the Washington Post. Here we learn, for example, that the recipe for gastric juice is hydrochloric acid and pepsin, mixed well, and that the average adult stomach holds two to three pints of the stuff, which is corrosive enough to strip paint. Wait, there's more. The large intestine is named for its diameter, not its length, and its walls allow water to pass through, to be absorbed into the bloodstream, rather than wasted. And much much more.Geezer says "Perfect Post Meal Entertainment!"
Geezer understands that many holiday hosts have a relative or two who drives them to drink, as the old and perfectly accurate saying goes. Some people may have no relatives who do not drive them to drink. Jennifer Huget, writing in the Washington Post, also understands, and she offers a healthful alternative. Instead of taking a drink, take a deep breath. Then say OM. Huget rounded up some good advice from yoga teachers in the Washington area. Here you go:
"Wherever you are right now, take a seat," suggests Stair Calhoun of Little River Yoga in Alexandria. "Sit tall, close your eyes, roll your shoulders back and down and breathe. Not big, sighing 'I-don't-have-time-for-this' breaths, but slow, steady, even breaths through the nose.
Susan Bowen of Thrive Yoga in Rockville recommends 10 repetitions of this breathing exercise. Inhale for a count of 10, hold for three counts, and exhale for
10.
Debra Perlson-Mishalove, founder and director of Flow Yoga Center in the District, suggests that you borrow your kitchen timer and find a place (even the car) to sit for five or 10 minutes, undisturbed. "Set the timer and close your eyes. Sit quietly. When thoughts enter your mind, instead of engaging in them, see if you can turn them into clouds and watch them drift away."
Then go back inside and eat some turkey. For more advice, and more from the Washington Post, click here.
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