I wrote for Men’s Health recently about my 100 days (and nights) wearing a Jawbone UP24 activity tracker. If you want to save 5-6 minutes, I’ll give away the surprise: I learned more about what happens when I was asleep than when I was awake, and what I learned is that even a little alcohol affected my sleep quality. Put the saved time to good use.
The Unexpected Thing I Learned from My Activity Tracker (April 6, 2014)
That’s bobsledder Steve Langton, who has a vertical leap of more than 62 inches—from a standing start. It looks like he’s messing with gravity. More about him—and his freakish ability—in this @MensHealthMag post.
Used to be, in my teens and 20s, working out meant the gym and weights, the heavier the better.
I still have a bench downstairs, but the amazing thing to me (now 48) is how little I use it—especially in conjunction with my barbell and weights.
These days, when I use weights, they’re mostly dumb bells. And it’s not the “three sets of 10 reps” routine that grew, well, routine. Instead, I’m much more likely to be using:
Bodyweight. Especially when doing a follow-along workout DVD, including Spartacus, SpeedShred, and 10-Minutes Torchers. Each one is chockfull of bodyweight exercises. Even when I’m doing something else, I will toss in 30 and 40 seconds of a bodyweight lunge or side plank. If you think bodyweight moves aren’t enough of a challenge, you haven’t tried the metabolic resistance routines developed by guys like David Jack and BJ Gaddour anytime recently.
TRX. If you haven’t tried this strap-based system, it uses your own bodyweight and a variety of angles to create load, and is a creative, fun way to get in a full-body workout. I find TRX pretty easy on my lower back, as it encourages me to set my core and basically plank through whatever the movement. That’s a great cue for me to take care of my back. I also love doing pistol squats with TRX—it gave me the balance help I needed and allowed me to work single leg through a full range of motion. I felt the difference, in real life, immediately.
Kettlebells. I’m still getting down my form—less arm, squeeze those glutes—but doing sets of 20 swings with 10 goblet squats and alternating sets of pullups and chinups is a killer workout that I’ve really enjoyed.
The last thing I’ve done is shorten my workouts. While that sounds as if I’m doing less work, that’s not true. I’ve removed a lot of rest and keep the pace higher. I can get in an exhausting workout in 30-35 minutes, easy. That means I can sneak it in at work or at night without disrupting everything else I’m trying to get done.
David Jack has been a good trainer, partner, fitness model for Men’s Health exercise videos, and friend over the last 4 years, and this video (done for Reebok) gets at why he’s so good. He’s about fitness, but more interested in connecting. And connection is what it’s all about in life.
Dave’s also a deeply religious guy who works with causes that marry his interests with purpose, such as the ActivPrayer Project, which hosted a recent event in which a man did 2,501 pullups over 15 hours.
Most of all, Dave’s a dad, a husband, a friend, a believer, an inspiration. Thanks, Dave!
kevdonahue.com 