$1 + 90min = A Fit and Healthy You

Earlier this year, January in fact, we introduced our 10-to Workday Workout programs to help you take little workout breaks all throughout your workday. If you do 5 to 10 minutes of exercise each hour, you'll have from 45 to 90 minutes of exercise by the end of the day. Awesome!

The program has two versions, the details of which are here. If you're not a Cybercise member, you were left with the written instructions for each exercise which we made available on our website for free. For Cybercise members, you could simply click on the link and follow along to the exercise video on our website.

Until..... (drum roll, please).... today!

Today, we are lauching a new video storefront which gives you the ability to subscribe to a specific set of videos. We are debuting our storefront with The 10-to Workday Workout videos which you can subscribe to for $1 per day (made easy with PayPal). You get access to 9 videos most of which don't require any equipment (or we suggest handy substitutes if some gear is required). You're running out of excuses! Imagine... a full body workout by the end of the day, you'll be feeling great and can have some fun instead of hitting the gym after work.

If you're following along on Twitter, you'll know that today is a B program day and you get a handy tweet reminder at the :45 minute mark of each hour. What are you waiting for??? Head over to the Cybercise Video Storefront, invest a dollar in you today and exercise all day long.

Psssst... As a super debut day bonus, the B Day program is FREE today only. Click here!

Physio-Individuality

Physio-individuality
- n
1. The unique activity requirements each of our bodies need for optimal health.

 

Physio-individuality acknowledges, while all of our bodies are made of muscle, bone, skin and tissue, the optimal exercise for each of us is different. Physio-individuality gives each person permission to exercise for their own bodies, needs and lifestyle. The types, amounts and duration of exercise our bodies will thrive on is unique and is related to a host of variables not often considered including the seasons, our daily mood, the weather, other demands on our time and our sleep patterns. Simply put the kinds of exercise each person needs is different.

Part of the challenge (and opportunity) to help Americans get more exercise is helping them understand what is best for their own body and life. A balanced exercise regime includes a combination of cardio, strength training, flexibility and core over a week's time.  How much of each, how intense or strenous, and the durations will change. There is no one-size fits all exercise program that will work for everyone.

An exercise program that embraces the concept of physio-individuality must include four things:

• Education
• Access
• Goal Setting
• Evaluation

In short, we need to teach each person about their bodies and how to exercise. We need to give them affordable and easy access to experiment with different types, intensity and durations of exercise. We need to help them set proactive and realistic goals (that go beyond their physical shape). And we need to help them learn from their experience, gather feedback, adapt their approach and evaluate their success.

Helping people get more exercise is a critical component of their improved health and longevity. And, it has the added benefit of improving our economy and saving our healthcare system.

Many thanks to Joshua Rosenthal of the Institute for Integration Nutrition who coined the term "bio-indiviudality" and was my inspiration to expand the concept to exercise and create the term "physio-individuality." Joshua - I am ever grateful for being your student.

The Wellness Wheel: Move.

Last week I introduced our wellness wheel (WW) tool to help you assess your overall approach to your health. Our WW is based on the principals of good health we teach in our

Move.Eat.Be. program.

Based on some comments and feedback, here is a closer look at each segment and spoke of our wheel so you are better able to use this tool in your own life.

Today, we'll start with the Move. segment of our wheel.

Move. has five components: Cardio, Flexibility, Strength, Core and Rest. Incorporating each of these activities into your overall approach to exercise is ideal. During Move.Eat.Be. we help you experiment with different aspects of each component so that you better understand how to get each of these activities into your life in an enjoyable and sustainable way. 

Here are some of the tips from Move.Eat.Be.:

• Cardio. It would be great if we could each get 60 minutes of cardio each and every day. Cardio exercise strengthens your heart, gives you energy, burns off stress and improves your immune system, not to mention the added benefit of weight loss. Sixty minutes a day is a big investment, and while worth it, is simply not realistic for everyone. If you can't do 60 minutes, aim for 30. A 15-minute walk during lunch and 15 more minutes after dinner might work for you. Cardio ideas include: run, jog, brisk walk, bike, row, jump rope, and dance. 

• Flexibility. Stretching your body (and your mind)  is a great idea. We subscribe to the idea that doing some stretching or yoga each day is best. These programs are typically gentle and are a good way to balance out your more vigorous exercise (and other daily stressors). We recommend you start the day with a morning yoga routine and end the day with a total body stretch. 

• Strength. Strength training is very important, particularly as you age. A well-rounded strength routine will help you maintain bone density and will up your metabolism. And, the best thing about strength training is it is easily done in small chunks of time all throughout your day. Keep a set of weights under your desk and do a few shoulder presses, tricep extensions and squats several times a day. A 10-minute strength training break each hour is a great way to increase the exercise in your life. 
• 
Core. Core work is perhaps the most disliked type of exercise. Nobody really likes doing sit-ups (though we all like the idea of six-pack abs!). Having a strong core is great for balance and helps you avoid inadvertent injuries while doing other daily activities. We recommend some core work two to three times per week. And, rest assured sit-ups isn't the only way to work your core. 
• Rest. Perhaps our personal favorite! Rest means two things: getting adequate sleep and giving your body a chance to recover from other exercise. Adequate sleep means 7-9 hours a night. You've heard it before, it has proven true over time. Make sleep a priority in your life! As for the recovery kind of rest, traditional wisdom said a day of rest in between any exercise is what you need. Newer thinking is questioning that theory. Your body will be most healthy if you do some kind of exercise each and every day. And, it is wise to rest major muscle groups between strenuous strength training sessions so as not to risk injury. Our best advice is listen to your body. It will tell you when it has had enough (but don't let the lazy bone inside of you get the better of your wellness goals). 

There you go! A glimpse into Move. and some ideas for you to up the exercise in your life. Remember, you will be most successful with your mission to wellness if you experiment and learn what works best in your life and for your body. Make the time and invest in you!

Move. It Outside

The temperature outside is cooling and the humidity is receding. Very good news for those who live in the 'heat belt' and have been enduring temps in the 90s. What can you do with all of this cool air and earthy aroma? Get outside!

Fall is a terrific time to add outside exercise to your regime. You have many options the easiest of which is walking. Believe or not, walking is an excellent cardiovascular and toning exercise. If you're not doing any exercise, walking is the way to begin. Start with 10 minutes a day and add a minute each day until you're up to 30 minutes. As you advance, you can strap on ankle or wrist weights for more resistance.

A great progression from walking is stairs. Many of us remember Rocky and his climb up the famous stairs in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Look around... there are likely a few good sets of stairs somewhere around you.

After you have a good baseline of cardio walking and stairs, you can go for a jog and then work your way up to a run. But, only if it works for you. The secret to successful exercise is choosing something you enjoy and something that challenges you a little bit. If you don't like to run or don't have clearance from your physician, don't run!

There are plenty of other things you can do to get a good cardio workout. Jumping rope is an old stand-by. Or do jumping jacks and remember your primary school gym teacher. Biking is great exercise and if you don't have a bicycle borrow one from a friend or rent one (a quick Google search will give you lots of options in your area). Inline skating and even old-fashioned four-wheel skating is a possibility.

The whole idea here is to take advantage of the lovely weather, get outside in nature and get some more exercise in your life. Grab a loved one, grab a friend, grab a pet, grab a set of weights and get out there and Move.! 

Knowing vs. Doing

How many adults in the US have no leisure-time physical activity? 25.4%

How many adults in the US are overweight? 34%

How many people know exercise can lead to weight loss? Most everyone.

How many people, if overweight, want to lose weight? Most all. 

So why aren't people doing what they know will make them lose weight, get more healthy and feel better?

People have lots of excuses. The most common of which is not enough time to exercise. With 24 hours in a day it seems there should be enough time to get a little exercise. The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise each week which is about 21 minutes a day. So how do we spend our time? According to this data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average American spends 5 hours a day doing leisure activities. Five hours a day! If we were exercising for even 1/2 of that 5 hours, we wouldn't have an obesity problem. 

It would seem we actually have a TV problem which, one could argue, leads to an obesity problem. We spend 2.8 hours a day watching TV! That category exceeds the other things we do by far and is more than a half of our leisure time. Last time I checked there wasn't much on TV worth 2.8 hours of daily viewing. 

If you are struggling with finding enough time to exercise, try this little idea. For the next 3 days, record how many minutes of TV you are watching. Take that number, divide it in half and commit to using that time to exercise each day. In other words, stop watching so much television! For added exercise points, combine exercise with your daily 38 minutes of socializing and communicating. Go for a walk with a friend or call your Mom during your daily stroll through the neighborhood (just watch where you are going... there are few things more obnoxious than someone talking on a cell phone and exhibiting bad pedestrian behavior). 

We know what we should do to take better care of ourselves. So, let's get doing! 

Move. ◆ Functional Exercise

Functional exercise is a way to Move. your body in the same way you use your body for daily activities. The idea with functional exercise is to strengthen the body in the ways and places you will actually use your body. Having big biceps doesn't necessarily help you carry heavy bags of fresh, organic vegetables home from the farmer's market.

At its most basic level, functional exercise takes into account that your body is a system not a dissociated set of bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments. The things we do each day rely on our body system to perform and keep us free from injury. Something simple like a squat engages the gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip rotators, trunk stabilizers, hip flexors and extensors, and the knee flexors and extensors. If you are only exercising your quads, you are more prone to injury when lifting something heavy.

While we have some functional exercises included in the videos on the Cybercise portal, stay tuned for more. Until then, think about your body as a whole and give all of it a little love when you Move. 

Move.

How much do you exercise each week? If you're like most Americans, the amount is well below the recommended minimum. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity. Finding the time to fit all of this in can be a bit daunting and many people who can't do it all do nothing at all.

Mistake #1: Not doing any exercise because you don't have time to do "enough."

A little bit of exercise each day is better than no exercise. If you don't currently exercise start with 10 minutes a day. Taking a walk is an easy and effective way to get started.

Mistake #2: Not doing any exercise because you don't have a gym membership or equipment.

A walk doesn't require any equipment. Nor do push-ups or sit-ups or squats. Or grab a few cans of soup and do some bicep curls.

Mistake #3: Not doing any exercise because you don't know how.

There are plenty of web resources to help. And, the links on the exercises listed give you a sneak peek into the written tips and techniques that accompany our animated videos.

Start with 10 minutes a day which (quickly) adds up to 70 minutes a week. From there, we can keep building. The only thing is really requires is for you to decide today is the day you will make a choice for your own wellness.

Will you? Today?

You Know Best

Have you ever been to the doctor's office with a complaint of a nagging pain or a strange sensation in your body? If so, your doctor probably asked you a few probing questions, he or she maybe even probed the area in question a bit, and without any definitive answer did one of three things: gave you a prescription, ordered some tests or told you to come back in a month if it wasn't any better. And, we pay for this? Yes, we do and a great deal actually.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not attacking physicians. I happen to like them, have several friends among them, and am ever grateful for the times they've kept my family members alive. We need our physicians. No doubt about it.

I do want to share a, perhaps, radical idea: you know your own body better than your doctor. Gasp! Shocking!

The concept is simple and potentially very powerful. If your body is sending you a message, stop what you're doing and listen to it. We talked about this earlier in the week, read about Your Body is Wise.

Today, on this Friday before a holiday weekend, let's take the idea one step further. Declare yourself your own Primary Care Provider. Be the one best person, in the entire world, to look out for your own health and well being. It is not always a glamorous job, but the rewards are terrific. This weekend, you can enjoy some great rewards: get some extra rest, eat some summer vegetables and go outside and play.

Happy 4th of July!

Move.Eat.Be

Today, we launched our six month wellness program called Move.Eat.Be. This self-guided program will lead our members through 24 weekly segments, covering 12 chapters over a six month period. We created the program to help people find their own path to wellness.

Historically, exercise and nutrition programs were orders telling people what to do and what to eat. As Americans continue to struggle with obesity and our healthcare costs continue to spiral upward, we'd contend the historical programs simply aren't working. We subscribe to the theory that each one of us is different and what works for one might not work best for another. Sure, we include basic tenets (exercise each day and eat more vegetables).

Move.Eat.Be. goes well beyond basic advice and helps our members work toward wellness through information, questions, self-reflection, and practices. Don't worry, this isn't like school. This is like finding yourself and how you can feel your best each day (for the very first time perhaps).

Best of all, the self-guided Move.Eat.Be. program is included in our basic Cybercise membership fee (a mere $10 per month). We have a BHAG (big hairy, audacious goal): Help a Million People Live Well. Let's face it, to reach a million people we have to be affordable and compelling and fun. And we are, if we may say so ourselves!

For more information about Move.Eat.Be. go to this page on our website. From here, you'll find everything you need and if you have more questions, you'll also find a special email address dedicated to this new program. We encourage you to join us and we'd love for you to share this with your friends, family and co-workers.

Will you be one of a million?

UPDATE: May 2012

Keep it simple is a great rule for health and for web portals, so we moved Move.Eat.Be. to its own web home so we are better able to keep things simple and focused. Cybercise will continue to deliver animated exercise videos and the new website at www.moveeatbe.com will be the home of both the online and e-book versions of the Move.Eat.Be. program.

As a special bonus, for those of you who subscribe to Move.Eat.Be. you can get a FREE silver membership to Cybercise by writing to us at moveeatbe@cyber-cise.com. 

The Problem with Headlines

The advent of the Internet has brought with it a significant hunger for news. There are millions of people on the world wide web at any given moment and many of them are surfing for something that catches their eye. Sometimes, the speed of surfing stops people from reading full articles and blogs and, instead, they only take with them the headlines. This is a problem.

A headline today read "Too much exercise can cause problems for some women." When you take the time to read the article, only 3 paragraphs long, it goes on to say "inexperienced female endurance athletes can damage their health." I would contend this statement applies to men as well. I'd further contend that doing near anything without experience, or doing so blindly without some training or education, could result in damage to one's health.

The near insatiable need for content to satisfy the thirst for "something new on the web" has resulted in an environment where nearly everything is news. Worse yet, in the absence of actual news we just make things up. This blog is a great example. I sit here and make things up all for the sake of brand recognition. Each writer thinks, of course, their voice and their writing is meaningful. The web gives all writers a platform for sharing their words, good or bad. Some percentage of what is put on the web probably it is helpful. My question is what responsibility does each of us have to be cautious with the snippets we put out there? The headline reading too much exercise can cause problems for women only applies to a minuscule number of women out there exercising. We know most people don't exercise so why would this headline appear at all. More accurately written as, "Are you a new endurance athlete? Read this.

The other women that read it? Perhaps they will skip their workout this afternoon. Perhaps they feel justified in continuing to avoid exercise. Perhaps they'll share the headline with their friends and perpetuate the myth that exercise can be harmful.

I think we need a glut of positive reinforcement out here. After all, some daily exercise is only good for everything in your life.

10 Lists to Write Before You Die

This blog, posted in 2008, contains a list of 10 lists you should write before you die. Kudos to Dee for a great blog that I've used several times. The 10 lists:

• 10 people who helped me most in my life
• 10 most memorable places I've visited
• 3 best things I've ever made
• 5 best days of my life
• 10 best friends I've ever had
• 5 best journeys I've ever made
• 10 things that gave me the most pleasure
• 5 best books/movies/TV series
• 5 best gifts anyone ever gave me
• 10 things I wish I had done but didn't

The original blog suggests these lists are a good exercise for those nearing the end of their life. While a great idea, I think there are several ways to build on the idea. Go to the link and read the original post (great, great stuff) and then stay tuned for my other ideas (and some fantastic stories) on the topic during the rest of this week.

Health and Fitness Expo

Who says standing on your feet all day talking to people isn't fun? Many consumer service companies, web firms in particular, don't spend much time out in the world talking to customers. Today, the Cybercise team spent the day at George Mason University and their Health and Fitness Expo. We talked with many great people, handed out thousands of Cyberbands and had a great time! For now, we're soaking our feet and resting our voices. We'll be on the road quite a bit this Spring and Summer. Fan our Facebook page to keep us with our goings-on. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of two of our best Cybercise team members taking a break and working their muscles.

Exercise. Better Than Death.

Words to live by... Have you Cybercised today?

30 Days

What could you do in 30 days? Google will say it only takes 21 days to develop a new habit. And this research says the number actually averages to 66 days. Have you ever noticed how there isn't really one answer to anything?

Anyway, we're in the 30 day progress conversation per yesterday's blog about tracking progress for the sake of progress instead of the end goal. Since that time I've begun making a list of the things I could track for 30 days. Drinking green tea each day, taking a walk with my dog each day, eating vegetarian for 30 days, doing yoga each day, strength training each day... the possibilities are endless.

So I've begun a few 30 day lists as we do some planning to incorporate the 30 day numberless calendar concept into Cybercise. One big 30 day project occurred to me this evening... eat only whole foods for 30 days. This would be just the opposite of what Morgan did in Super Size Me. This seems like a significant challenge, particularly with travel and lunch and dinner meetings. Is it possible? Perhaps. So I'm off to ponder my ability to eat nothing processed for 30 days. And you? What will you consider doing for 30 days?

Tracking Progress for the Sake of Progress

Yesterday we blogged about trusting the progress you can't yet see. Today, we're going to explore the idea of tracking progress for the sake of progress. As I've shared before, I'm working with a great group of people (none of whom I've met in person) on a little experiment called The First Follower.

On Sunday, Andrew 2 decided to seriously pursue Andrew 1's idea of the Numberless 30 Day Calendar. This is a fairly simple way to track your completion of a task for 30 days without regard to the days of the week or month. How many times have you waited to start an exercise program on the 1st of the month only to then forget, change your mind or be too busy to start anything new?

The Numberless 30 Day calendar, per Andrew 1, is a simple piece of paper with 30 boxes in which you place a check in each box as you complete your task for each of 30 days. Andrew 2 and his group of followers are feverishly discussing the idea and brainstorming on how to make this into a simple, clean and usable web application.

Cybercise? We love, love the idea! We do have a calendar feature on our website so people can plan their workout schedule by day, week and month. And, we think this feature to track progress would be a great addition.

Could we actually revolutionize people's motivation to exercise by giving them a simple tool to "just" check the box? We contend the most important thing is that you do a little exercise each day. Don't worry about what the mirror says just yet. Remember... trust the progress you can't yet see.

Progress You Can't Yet See

Today is the day, you say. Today is the day you are going to start a new exercise program and work up to the six-pack abs or rock hard glutes. For the first few days, things are going well. Abs are crunching or glutes are tightening and you're focused on your goal. After a few days, you check the mirror and notice no changes. Abs still flabby, glutes still sagging. You power through a few more days and check again. No progress. The ugly voice of discouragement starts to creep its way in. Perhaps you aren't working hard enough. Perhaps the muscles will never appear. You wonder why you're spending all of this time and effort on this seemingly futile pursuit.

The difference between success and failure at this very moment is your ability to see the progress you can't yet see. Below the surface, changes are happening. Deep in your muscles, they are beginning to respond. They are accepting and understanding the environment is changing and they have to begun to grow and develop and adapt to the world. How, you ask, do we know this? If you are skeptical, we can look at one example in nature to prove our point.

This year in Maryland, we experienced an unprecedented amount of snow. Nearly four feet when all added up. Over a month went by where I was unable to access my backyard. As the season began to change and the snow melted away, I took an opportunity this morning to walk outside and survey the damage . Upon walking around the corner of the house, I found this lovely surprise.

I had forgotten about planting the garlic bulbs months earlier when the warm sun of early fall still fell upon the earth. So after all of the snow and all of the appearance of no progress, here were these lovely little shoots of garlic leaves pressing their way toward the sky.

The moral of this story? Even if you can't see progress each and every day, know that spring will come, things will happen and take comfort in the progress you can't yet see.

Steps

In yesterday's post, we discussed the difference between people who step and those who leap. If you aren't ready to leap into a new wellness program, here are a few steps you can take to edge yourself closer to the big leap.

Step 1: Add 3-5 glasses of water to your daily liquid intake
Step 2: Add a 10 minute walk before lunch each day
Step 3: Add 1 serving of vegetables to your daily diet
Step 4: Add a 5-minute meditation to each day
Step 5: Add a 5-minute strength program to each day
(Steps 4 and 5 can be done for free on Cybercise for 14 days)

Don't worry so much about giving anything up at this point. You can get more healthy and work your way to wellness by adding things to your life. And, let's face it, adding is often much more fun than subtracting!

Step or Leap?

When opportunity knocks would you step or leap? There seem to be two very different schools of thought. The "step school" says day by day, task by task, you best reach your goal by perseverance and plodding through the minutia to reach the end. Those in the "leap school" believe the net will only appear after you leap. Who is correct?

In this week's NY Times, Tara Parker-Pope wrote an article with discouraging news for those making small changes in their health habits. The theme of the discussion was small changes don't really have a great impact on a person's health status. If true, this delivers a potentially harmful blow to those people who are eliminating one soda a day or adding a walk around the block during lunch. Does the "step school" work in improving your health? If people don't believe it possible, I fear we'll lose masses who can't quite commit to going to the gym for 60 minutes 5 days each week. This is a huge risk for all of us, I say.

If you'd like to see a great example of a leaper, read here about Andrew Wicklander and his leap. It is well worth consuming the entire story (and continuing to follow along), but the basic premise is Derek Sivers created The First Follower and Andrew Dubber said he'd give away one idea a day for 30 days and Andrew Wicklander said he'd implement one of Dubber's ideas and ship by May 1, 2010. Andrew Wicklander is a leaper. And, I'm struck by the similarity between leaper vs. leper (defined as a person ostracized for unacceptable behavior, opinions, character...). Keep in mind, Derek, Andrew and Andrew don't really know each other. Andrew #2 made a leap based on the passion of two other people he met via the web. That, my friends, is a leap. And I think we need more leapers, and lepers, taking more leaps.

So, what does this mean for a person struggling with their weight, not exercising and not eating well? Should they even bother taking a step if they can't leap? Yes! A resounding, certain and loud yes. If you're not ready or can't leap, take some steps. Steps can help you inch your way closer to a leap. If you really, truly want something to happen? Leap with your whole heart and your eyes wide open.

Change happens with steps. Movement happens with a leap.

Pareto Principle Power Prescription

It is easy for " the powers that be" (doctors, family and bloggers alike) to tell you to eat better and get more exercise. The power most often invoked in such suggestions is the power of opinion. Should we all eat better and get more exercise? Yes. What does the advice mean? Depends on who you ask (and there are as many opinions as there are people on earth). Want something more concrete? Keep reading.

Apply the Pareto Principle. To review the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, says we get 80% of the results from 20% of the effort. Suppose your approach to health was based on making the wrong choices 20% of the time? Purposefully, and with awareness.

Here are some ways to implement of the Pareto Principle Power Prescription:

• Exercise. There are seven days in the week. Do not exercise 1 day a week. Be a slug, lazy, immobile.
• Food. Eat processed, non-organic, and restaurant food 4 times a week. Have a greasy fast-food burger and fries and enjoy every single unhealthful bite.
• Fluid. Consume 13 ounces of something other than water each day. Conventional wisdom says we should drink 64 ounces of water each day. Be bad and toss back 13 of those ounces with something colored.
• Sugar. Have sugar during 4 meals each week. Eat your Cocoa Puffs for breakfast and enjoy them!

Freedom! Liberation! Choice! Go ahead, go out there and be naughty. Use your power and do it wrong 20% of the time and enjoy every single moment of it.

Save Time with Better Results?

Good news for the millions and millions of people who say they don't have 2.5 hours to exercise every week? Some recent studies suggest working out more intensely but for less time is more effective. According to the article, "intense bursts of activity are what the body needs to build stronger muscles."

To echo the warnings required in our litigious society: Everyone should get a doctor's clearance before beginning any exercise program, particularly a high-intensity program.

The bottom line:

• Some exercise is better than none
• More exercise is better than less
• Variety (cardio, strength and flexibility/balance) is better than boring
• You will feel better, sleep better and be more happy

Now is the time. We have a weekend upon us... Get some exercise!