Viewer Mail.

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MizFit, what are your routines. specifically.

I get this email often. It takes different forms, but the essence is the same (one person suggested I post my daily workouts and, while I appreciate his/her enthusiasm, I can imagine nothing more mind-numbing to my readers).

I could give you a bunch of different reasons & excuses but the bottom line is Im not in a place right now where you should want to emulate me (remember this?).

My workouts? SHORT & barebones.

My workouts? PERFECT for where I am right now life-wise (if by life-wise you mean that I fear tiring myself out too much & not having the energy to romp later with the Toddler Tornado —–which I do).

My workouts? Not really the point of MizFit nor the stuff which makes a compelling read.

Hence viewer mail. So we can talk about your workouts.

(how is *that* for superheroine-like deflection of a question rightbackatcha? Dang Im good!)

I’ve been doing the gym thing for nearly 2 months. I had a hard time doing the treadmill at first, but now I got it goin’ on! Every time I go there and see other people using the treadmill and hanging on to the handles I want to tell them to let go – “Let go!!!!” Is it appropriate to give such advice or am I inviting a bit** slap? It bugs me.

I mean if nearly 300 pound woman can let go and walk fast enough to almost have to jog w/out holding on…Come on!

Emailer? I feel your pain.

Back in the day, when Stairmasters were all the rage, it used to make me INSANE to watch people on the ‘master.

It was a crazymaker for me to witness the propping o’the body weight on the arms & the minuscule half steps users would be forced to take because they had the machine jacked up to level 2938472987429847B.

I’ve no idea why this irked me so (as really I shouldnt have given a rat’s ass care whether aforementioned steppers burnt off one calorie or one million)—-but it did.

On more than one occasion I literally walked out of the cardio room rather than watch a particular woman bodypropping tinystepping away for over an hour.

Girlfriend was getting a better arm workout than cardio exercise.

What am I getting at? A long way of saying that yes, your intuition is correct, a b*tchslap mightcould be imminent if you (or I) dare to point out these (oddly irritating) cardio errors.

Ive got not answer/suggestion for you than to lead by overly obvious example.

Swing those arms as you walk briskly.

Wave em in the air (like you just dont care) when you build up to a jog.

Do whatever you need to as, much to my chagrin, we cant beat em but we certainly dont have to join em.

Misfits? thoughts?

I know at least ONE OF YOU has an opinion (& I loved reading a completely unsolicited ‘other side of the story.’)

Everyone is doing the push up challenge right now. Im not but I want to do chest stuff at home and have some dumbbells I can use. How do I do a chest press with them?

Everyone IS talking about the push up challenge, huh? (are pull ups so June 2008?)

I love how things spread life wildfire on the internet—-but I digress.

Chest press with dumbbells can be done a few different ways (using a swiss ball, on a BOSU, at an incline etc) but since you didnt specify Im going to assume you mean the basic press on a flat bench.

The movement is fairly simple:

Plop down supine on a flat bench.

Hold the weights with your palms facing your feet and your elbows bent to a approximately a 90 degree angle.

EXHALE as you press the weights upward in a swift movement.

INHALE as you slowly lower the weights in a controlled fashion to the starting position.

Start with a weight where you can do a high number of repetitions (12-15) until you feel completely comfortable with your form *then* increase the weight and push yourself closer to failure.

(Read this.)

Watch this. Turning your volume & down and ignoring the odd (!) look on my face:

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Comments

  1. How ’bout… if you don’t post your entire workout routine but just in general, the ratio of weights/ aerobic/ whatever else you do.

    🙂

    Unless you already discussed that – I’m a fairly new subsrciber.

  2. I am the same way with wanting to suggest/give pointers/help others who are definitely hindering their workouts… and in fact probably hurting themselves in the long run.
    The hard part is, the approach, and whether or not they even accept or want the input.
    I always play it safe and not offer, simply because, who am I?? How would it make me feel?
    While the intentions are grande, in the end it will be a sour situation that really never needed to be.
    Great thoughts as usual.
    And as for your workout.. work it how ever it works for your girl!

  3. Yet another reason why I don’t do gyms. If the ignoramuses (ignorami?) get you down, I say leave the fools to their douchebaggery and quit the gym. If they haven’t bothered to learn how to exercise properly on their own, why would they listen to the advice of a total stranger? But maybe I’m just cynical like that. I dunno, I also think the gym is kind of an insecure place for everyone. Saying something could really tarnish someone’s precious ego. Then again, some of those bodybuilding boneheads could use a little ego shattering, don’t you think?

  4. I can totally relate to wanting to say something to the arm-using treadmill people! (Don’t though). I think it’s the same form of silliness as paying attention only to calories consumed and not the quality of the food you eat–a “number” becomes a short-cut for accomplishment. People who gobble up low cal processed crap all day long and then brag about eating less than 1200 calories drive me crazy too.

    But I do the same kind of dumb thing when I lift weights with bad form that are too heavy for me because I want the number to be bigger. Sometimes ego needs trump common sense.

  5. Oh my, I get SO mad when I see people on the treadmill hanging on for dear life! Maybe it’s because when I power-walk go to the opposite extreme – I have this quirky, manic “duck-flap” thing going on with my arms which looks so ridiculous that I once noticed a couple of members of gym staff mimicking me across the other side of the room. :0(

    It made me do it EVEN MORE though – hey I may have looked stupid but at least I was getting an awesome arm workout…

    TA x

  6. I can’t help but think of the big girl that took a place next to me on the elliptical and proceeded to crank up the incline and started going to town.

    She was wore out within 10 minutes. She would rest, then try to go at it again at insane speeds.

    A total of 25 minutes went by, she grumbled, and walked off.

    We happened to run into eachother in the sauna. She asked how I could stand to stay on the equipment so long.

    I said I set the machine on a cross training program to use several muscle groups and set just enough tension to lightly feel it whilst maintaining 160rpm.

    She got outright millitant on my izazz. Instantly she turned into this defensive “WELLWHOAREYOUTOTELLME…” person… and she’s the one that asked me.

    I will never talk to anyone at the gym ever again. God bless the iPod.

    Great post, sorry for rambling. The gym just chaps my izazz.

  7. I always go to the Workout Facililty with a Game plan that I mentally prepare the day before after my inital workout. If the equipment I want to use is already being serviced then I re adjust and find something else to use. I feel that focusing on the moment is what makes the difrrence in strick form to maximize my workouts.

    Stay Natural… Stay Strong!.

  8. chiarunner? that SO would be what would happen to me.

    which is part of the reason I started MizFit!

    So I could point people this way and escape being yelled at.

    M.

  9. Yeah, I wouldn’t say anything to anyone, unless something was about to fall from the sky right onto their head.

    I don’t really like getting punched. Or yelled at.

  10. Good Morning 🙂 I love your tshirts- adorable! I want the tank that says Be Present that you wear. I think this is such a great motto and I really think about it every time my mind starts racing too far into the future. As for the Chicken bowl recipe- maybe make it without the refried beans? You could also use different vegis of your choice! I may also try this recipe next time with ground turkey or chicken. Any who- have a wonderful Wednesday!

  11. Well, I am a reformed handle holder when it comes to the treadmill! Don’t be to harsh on them…sometimes it a balance thing. My biggest fear has always been falling off in front of everyone. And since I tend to walk a little crooked (I have no idea why, I always tend to go towards one side..weird…just hope I never have to take a DUI test!!) I have a hard time on the treadmill.

    I am happy to report, I am doing alot better. I can actually let go with confidence now. I am just working on the speed portion of it.

    Hopefully all they need it time and experience to gain the confidence to do better. =)

  12. It’s funny–I have the same internal reaction when I see people hanging on the treadmill or the stairmaster. But I try to remember that hard core weightlifters probably look at me the same way when my clueless arse wanders into the weight room and plays with all the toys…

  13. Good point Shanna and Id not even thought of that!

    and, as we’ve previously established (CLICK HERE) MizFit is working hard to have better balance as well.

    M.

  14. I would never say anything to someone at the gym about their workout. But the things that go through my head!! I don’t even mind people who are holding on to the treadmill while walking with no incline. (balance) But the ladies who have it cranked up to 6 miles an hour and a 15 incline and are hanging on for dear life! Seriously, I want to tell them, “slow it down, lower it, and let go…you will get a much better workout.” There’s this one lady who is practically dangling from the thing.

    Mizfit – re: balance. Not that you needed another reason to want one, but the Wii Fit has tons of fun balance games to help you improve your balance. 🙂

  15. I think it’s best to pretend things you see aren’t really happening when you’re at the gym – makes for a much more pleasant experience. Just zip the lip and do your thing.

  16. There’s a woman at my gym who actually puts on weight lifting gloves for her high-incline, high-speed treadmill experience. I guess a girl can get calluses from hanging on so tightly.

    Like Shanna, I’m a crooked-walker. (we should start a foundation or something.) When I need to use the rails, I’ve learned to keep my palms flat to avoid the ‘hanging on’ tendency. Or I can put my fists against the inside of the rails, which seems to help. But mostly I just walk outside, where my arms can swing freely and I can be as crooked as I wanna be. 🙂

  17. O
    M
    G
    (as the kids USED to say. Im not hip to the current slang at all. my goal is to roll SO 2006)

    Tell me youre kidding about the weight lifting gloves?!

    were I not the consummate adult & fitness professional Id beg you for a photo ala Glamour Mag (read: with the eyes blacked out so you guys couldnt tell it’s me who it is)

    M.

  18. I’m an introvert who hated the gym so much I filled my house with exercise equipment. It’s from when I was uninitiated to the ways of fitness and mortified at doing anything in public. And now I just like being in my own space, not having to share.

    I think I’d have a hard time not saying something, too. I tend to be pretty blunt even when I’m trying to speak gently, so I’d more than likely get b*tch slapped.

    Anyone remember Jillian screaming last season on Biggest Loser- “Neal, take your hands off the treadmill!”

  19. “It was a crazymaker for me to witness the propping o’the body weight on the arms & the minuscule half steps users would be forced to take because they had the machine jacked up to level 2938472987429847B.”

    Too funny…there’s a woman at my gym that uses the new tread climber and she is inclined way back with arms holding on tight to the bar in front of her. I often wonder if that’s how she goes up hill because when I climb a hill I tend to lean forward. I am a trainer and will say something depending on the person and if I’m wearing my “trainer shirt’ just so they don’t think I’m some person off the street acting like I know anything. For the most part, we make conversation and if they say anything relating to their activity then we take action to adjust. If i see that what someone is doing will cause them harm later on I will most likely say something.

    Many are trying to balance though and that’s the problem, it becomes a habit to hold on– a bad habit. However, i don’t let all the crazy stuff at the gym keep me from a good workout, instead i do my workout with proper form. That’s how I learned when I was an amateur, maybe that’s how other will learn as well.

  20. I avoid the gym all together. I either run on my mill at home (with my hands and arm at my side), or I run outside (with my hands and arms at my side).

    I find those that go to a gym and run on a treadmill in the summer, a bit ridiculous. I mean seriously, if you can run on a mill, you can surely run on the road. Why waste a beautiful day inside running, when you could be outside enjoying the beauty and weather? I think merely because there is more of an audience and they can then say.. “Hey.. Hey…. Look what I can do.” Reminds me of the guy on Mad TV.

    Yes, I am one of those doing the push up challenge. I recently found it via another bloggers site and took up the challenge. I did not realize at the time that it was such a fad. However, I am going to finish the program and push out and push up 100 of them bad boys.


  21. Dang.

    That’s how it’s done people.

    There’s no TRYing for the Running Hoosier.
    Only DOing.

    (perhaps SHE’S the poster child for which we’ve all been searching.)

    “I am going to finish the program and push out and push up 100 of them bad boys.”

    M.

  22. Yet another reason the Bag Lady is happy she doesn’t go to a gym! She would be the one hanging on, wearing gloves

    Hanging on due to balance problems – gloves to protect her hands from germs…. 🙂

    And she’d also be the one gettin’ bitch-slapped around, ’cause she’s got a control problem – can’t control her sarcastic mouth!

    Oh, y’all knew that about her already?! Sorry….

  23. Hey – I often wear my weight gloves on the tready! Mostly because I’m doing some kind of crazy circuit and don’t want to take them off and then put them back on as I run back to the weight floor.

    My thoughts on telling other gym goers how to do stuff? Don’t. Just give ’em mental props for being there in the first place and realize that they will probably figure it out eventually. And if they don’t… well? I’m probably sensitive on this issue because people are ALWAYS telling me what to do and half the time they’re wrong. (The other half the time, lol, we won’t talk about that!)

    I love your description of your routine. I’m trying to get into that mentality. I mean -you look AMAZING – so if you only work out 20 minutes a day (or whatever) then I want to do whatever you’re doing.

  24. Workouts – I recommend a couple of books by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove. The first is “New Rules of Lifting” and the second is “New Rules of Lifting for Women”. I use the first, my wife uses the second. The first parts of each of these books is text talking about exercise and nutrition. The last half of each is workout programs and pictures of each exercise. The basic premise of these books is that strength training is essential to building muscle and reducing fat. Cardio is mixed in, but the basic premise again is that the biggest bang for your buck will be to build muscle. I find the books to be an entertaining and easy read. The workouts start easy but quickly ramp up. I’ve been doing these workouts for the last year, and they continually beat me up and knock me down (in a good way).

  26. Hmmm…I don’t think I’d say anything, but I sure would think it. But I also know what it’s like to feel like everyone’s watching you and judging you — after my gym started posting my Shape columns on the wall last year and people started to figure out who I was, I was definitely more conscious of people watching how I worked out and when I worked out.

    It was very unnerving!

  27. I would feel like an idiot and want to slink out of the gym to never return if random people started correcting how I was doing things. If one of the staff approached me? I might feel less like an idiot.

    As for the treadmill – I almost always have a hand on the handle…but it is resting lightly, not in a death grip? Why? Because I am the world’s biggest klutz and fear falling on it (or off of it).

  28. AHHHHH… The holding onto the bars while on the treadmill! That’s a classic. The only time I would hold onto them is to check my heart rate. I am more clumsy if I were to hold on.

    Now thanks for getting a song stuck in my head!

  29. I’m still loving the pull ups! If there was a pull up challenge I’d totally be doing it. And a crunches challenge. Hmm, mayhaps we need to design a whole bunch of challenges? Although then we might all be so busy with these challenges that it’d leave no time for blogging. Decisions decisions.

    About the people holding onto the treadmill, it doesn’t make me angry or irritate me all that much- I just feel the same way that I feel when I see someone ordering things like a salad at a restaurant and then they get it drenched in dressing. Or some kind of sandwich smothered in mayo. I never say anything but I can’t help but wonder if that person is ordering these things/on the treadmill to be healthier and not realizing that by getting loads of sauces/holding onto the bars they aren’t really helping themselves to become healthier. For the longest time when I was younger I had no idea about things that I now take for granted, so maybe these other people just haven’t looked into it and learned these things yet.

  30. I seriously think there’s a national gang of cardio-equipment-holder-ons who frequent gyms in attempts to entertain and annoy club members. They’re seriously everywhere, and I kind of have to blame fitness facilities for never showing these poor people how to work the equipment. I mean, honestly, if you’re a beginnger and you see the handles, then you think you’re supposed to hold on. That’s a whole other rant though…

    What else works my nerve are people who have NO RESISTANCE on the elliptical and go 90 miles a minute, and almost fly off. But maybe that’s just me. lol.

  31. i think my readers would kill themselves (and i would probably take the leap too) if i wrote down my routines, especially strength training. WAY too tedious, and half the stuff i dont even have a name for, or the attention span to explain it all.

  32. This post and the comments has me laughing this morning like crazy. If I did the gym thing, I think my people watching skills would get overloaded and I would implode from the wealth of mockery at hand. Just sayin’.

  33. Like a knife through my stairmaster lovin’ heart!

    I was always careful not to put my weight on my arms when on the master. Also the newer design keeps you more upright and prevents this wrong way to do it.

    However, one day at the gym, there was a film crew there from the local CBS station. I happened to be stairmastering away and they filmed me for use in a segment on fluid loss during exercise. A few days later, I get a call from my mom! “Son, I just saw you on the CBS news!!” I never saw it, but the fluid story went national from our local station!

    You will be happy to know that the Stairmaster company went bankrupt and no longer makes them!

    Oh, well, Miz, we will always have the memories, if not Paris 🙂

  34. As ALWAYS you guys make me think & laugh (uh Jenn? The imagery at the end of your comment? Comedy gold.)

    M.

  35. Yes, I think this is one situation where “don’t ask, don’t tell” is a good policy…i.e., if they don’t ask, don’t volunteer help. People get very touchy even when your motivation is pure and you just genuinely want to help them. You might get lucky and have someone take it in the spirit in which it is intended…but I think nine times out of ten, they’re going to be unhappy about it and won’t listen anyway because of that.

    Mercedes, I DO remember Jillian screaming at Neil about that very thing though and I loved her for it. It’s something that flashes into my head any time I’m tired and tempted to grab on to the handles…

    V.

  36. I think Valerie is right on. If they don’t ask for help, don’t tell them what they’re doing wrong. It might be different if you were wearing a “Trainer” shirt like Spindiva, but otherwise? If nothing else, they’ll probably think the same thing many people have said here: “Random folks trying to help are often wrong.”

    And to play devil’s advocate (because I LIVE for that, LOL), there are some days where I do a half-a$$ed workout because it took every single ounce of willpower I had just to GET to the gym/park that day. At that point, I’m not really there to work out: I’m there to prove a point to my brain that YES, I’m really going to get some activity EVERY day, even when I’m tired and “I just wanna go hooooommmme!!” /whining 😉 Those days the only goal I’m looking to acheive is to spend [x] amount of time in the gym (or the park, in my case), and I really don’t care if I’m not getting a good workout in: I only care that I showed up.

    Though obviously, if you recognize this person from a regular basis, and they’re ALWAYS doing something like that, it’s different. (But I still wouldn’t say anything.)

  37. Marste? fantastic point.
    Im THAT GIRL (shout out to MamaRunsWithScissors) often these days.
    Just happy to be there so please not to tell me how I could BAM! Kick It Up A Notch!

    M.

  38. I have to admit – I hung on to the handles when using the treadmill at the gym. Why, you might ask? Because I have short legs and I was terrified of falling off!! One of the first days I went to the gym an elderly lady got distracted, fell on the treadmill and smacked her face really good. I did not want that happening to me!!!

    (When I had a treadmill at home – that eventually turned into an expensive clothes hanger so I sold it – I was braver and able to swing my arms while walking or jogging.)

  39. Oh yes to the handles! I will fall off. I will throw up. I cannot drive in reverse fast, and I can no longer tolerate carnival rides. Age is a bitch, and the only way we can stave her off is by (literally) running away. That said, there is this 60+ woman at the club I go to who gets on the machines and bangs the hell out of them, her form is all wrong and she’s going too fast. But this pales to the fact that her giant granny panties are literally flowing out of her workout pants. Someday that’s gonna be me….hanging on to the treadmill handles running like the wind with my granny panties billowing behind like a parachute…

  41. Too funny, everyone. Gyms can be comical, but I’m usually too zoned in/out to pay attention to people holding on to the treadmill. With the popularity of fitness shows like the biggest loser, work out, episodes of Made, you would hope that people will eventually catch on to this form thing…

  42. I am terrified of the treadmill so I would definitely be somebody who holds on for dear life, but that’s why I go for runs. I don’t have to worry about losing my balance…usually.

  43. i see people holding on to the stairmasters all the time. i loathe stairmasters, but i myself am guilty of resting my arms (and, yeah, okay, occasionally holding on in SUPERMEGADEATHGRIP) on the stepmill when it’s a bad cardio day (or the gym’s just too damn hot).

    i rarely see people holding on to the treadmill when running – sometimes when walking and mostly when at some super crazy high incline.

    in general, though, i don’t even like to hold on to the handles when i’m precor ellipticalling (new word! – also, at my gym, lifefitness ellipticals have the moving arm handles; precors don’t). i just pump my arms as though i was running.

  44. LMAO @ some of the comments!!! I see those hanging onto the treadmill and I drop a smart comment and say don’t you think if you just walked and a slower pace and a higher incline you could get a better workout than trying to run on 7 and holding on.. I got a few bad looks but hey what are they gonna do? I can fight and pretty much dont give a shyt what people think most times.. so I dare one of em!!! LOL

    Where I workout now.. folks don’t hold on.. they are actually focused on their form which is what I like to see!! LOL

  45. Oh yes! I’ve seen the leaning on the machines, and yes, it did bother me. Now I just think how they are just wasting their time!
    Ah well. I try not to watch other people at the gym anyway – when I do go. Now I mostly workout at home. Much less gym rage there! 🙂

  46. Ditto on pet peeve. Guess though that THIS Fitness Diva better practice instead of preach.

    Arm wagging coming up!

  47. This is exactly why I started running outside. I hate treadmills and I didn’t want to hold on to anything. When I’ve gone to the gym, I typically let people make their own mistakes (unless their about to drop the weight bar across their throat or something) because anytime I’ve given unsolicited advice it usually comes back to bite me. Hard. But it puts you between a rock and a hard place because you want to help, but at the same time, you don’t want to make the person feel bad or stop working toward their goals (even if they are doing it incorrectly for the time being).

  48. There’s this new machine at my gym called the wave (it’s like an eliptical but side to side movement) and it has suggestions for different upper body postitions: upright works the abs, leaning over more quads maybe, and LEANING ON THE HANDLE BARS 🙂 means more action for the glutes. I love that machine for two reasons: nice butt, and i get to lean on the handlebars w/o feeling guilty!

  49. I have a feeling if I went to the gym, I’d be the one people were whispering about beneath their breath 🙁

    You clip…awesome.

    The toddler is off to preschool in the morning, I must do some kind of workout!

  51. One thing that drives me crazy is bad form…When I see people with bad form, I wince not because they look ridiculous but because I’m afraid that they might hurt themselves.

    I would love to give an advice but I usually don’t. I try to mind my business when I’m working out.

  53. All of you kill me. I was in Albuquerque over the weekend and had to visit a health club and literally saw a women leaning over, resting her arms and head on the the Stairmaster with her back and legs at a 90 degree angle. She told me she has been doing that for the past 2 years everyday and still can lose the fat around her belly.

    I tried to explain that she wasn’t expending any energy as she was moving her legs about 3 inches within her 14 or so inches of range of motion. She didn’t get it. I wish I had taken a photo because it would have been the perfect “How not to do something”.

  54. All of you kill me. I was in Albuquerque over the weekend and had to visit a health club and literally saw a women leaning over, resting her arms and head on the the Stairmaster with her back and legs at a 90 degree angle. She told me she has been doing that for the past 2 years everyday and still can’t lose the fat around her belly.

    I tried to explain that she wasn’t expending any energy as she was moving her legs about 3 inches within her 14 or so inches of range of motion. She didn’t get it. I wish I had taken a photo because it would have been the perfect “How not to do something”.

  55. Since starting with kettlebells I have been able to avoid the gym … and it scariness of bad form and death defying tradmill experiences … but seriously weightlifting gloves on a treadmill … did she flex her fingers before she started … she might strain something pushing the start button.

  56. I have to agree with most of the commenters here, especially with Crabby. And LOL at Rocco’s story (he has a great site BTW–thanks for posting that earlier).

    My pet peeve: people more concerned with what they are reading while they do their “cardio” rather than the workout itself. I’m probably gonna rub someone the wrong way, but find an effective way to get through your workouts. Maybe thinking about your goals or how great you will feel after you’re done will help 🙂

  58. @ Rocco – that is funny. I have never seen that at the gym before.

    @IzzyBeth – I have short legs too, so I find myself touching the handles every now and then, just in case.

    @TOSP – how’s kettlebells? Do you find it more effective than dumbbells? Or is it the fun factor?

    I been waiting to get through this DDR craze right now. Since purchasing the game for the Wii, I know that I have neglected my regular routine because I want to pass all the levels. Every evening, I play that game for at least an hour (usually more). Sometimes I realize that am getting little obsessive with this game, but it is so fun.

  59. Oooh, the chest press! I did those this morning at the gym. And I can do them with 25-lb. dumbbells now! I felt like a bad ass once I realized I could upgrade from the 20-pounders. 🙂

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