The dreaded gym

Losing weight is basically a simple calculation, consume less calories than you expend during the day. Sounds simple but when you are over weight even normal chores can be exhausting, so the thought of trying a workout at the gym is close to impossible. Another factor that makes gyms an unattractive option is that thought that you will be watched by all the fit and skinny regulars, destroying and remaining self confidence you had.

Your body also conspires to keep you out of the gym, the stress the extra weight places on your body causes joint pain, blood pressure problems and you are already fatigued from walking across the car park. It also turns out that fat is metabolically active and secretes hormones that contribute to low grade, chronic inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The net result is your excess body fat causes you to feel like crap before you even start.

I'm recovering from a serious back injury and really don't want to aggravate it by doing something daft in the name of getting fit, so my plan is to scour the web for exercise ideas that are low impact, free and will start me on the route to conventional exercise. Here is a list of some of the things I have found and am planning to try this week.

1. Toothbrush squats, we all spend 2 minutes stood passively at the sink brushing our teeth every morning, staring vacantly into space. The idea is to do gentle knee bends or squats whilst brushing. The sink or wall will provide a bit of stability if needed at first.
2. Sinkercise, when stood at the sink, stand on one leg. This simple exercise will work your bodies core muscles improving your balance and posture. Try to do this without holding on to the sink or counter top, the slight wobble is what you are aiming to control with your abdominal muscles.
3. Deskerobics, if you find you spend a lot of your day sat at a desk, during your screen breaks, take a moment to do some stretches. Hold each stretch for a couple of seconds, then relax and repeat.
4. Become the office beverage distribution officer, be the one to walk round the office, collect the cups and mugs and make the teas and coffees. Not a huge effort, but the extra mileage on each tea break adds up. Just steer clear of the biscuit box.
5. Stand up whilst on the phone, walk around if you have a cordless phone. You could also try slowly raising yourself up on to tip toe, holding for a couple of seconds then slowing relaxing. This will help strengthen your legs and ankles, but also work your abdominal core.
6. Adverticise, whilst watching TV during each advert break, slowly raise each leg in turn, and hold for as long as you can, then slowly lower your leg, then switch legs. If you are finding this is getting easier, rest a cushion on your foot and try it with the additional weight. You can also add arm stretching and raises to your adverticise routine.
7. This one is for the guys, rather than performing the heroes walk, where you manage to get all the shopping in from the car in a single finger crippling journey, make a trip for each bag, you will increase the distance walked. To add a bit of upper body workout, carry the bag away from your body, at arms length. Mind your back with heavy bags.

One tip I think is going to be helpful is to make 3 lists, the first should be easy activities. The second list should be moderately difficult and the third list should be difficult activities. Each day plan to do three items from list one, two from the second list and one from the third list. Each week re-evaluate your lists and as activities get easier, move them to a different list. Then each month you can compare lists from previous months to monitor your progress.

One word of caution though, diving into any form of exercise when overweight can be potentially dangerous, so make sure you are careful, listen to your body for warning signs and have a chat with your doctor.


The Science:
ACS: New evidence that fat cells are not just dormant storage depots for calories 
Dr. Nicholas Perricone, MD, CNS