2819: 5 Ways to Simplify Your Exercise by Melani Schweder with NoSidebar on How to Achieve Wellness

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep?

[00:00:04] That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily,

[00:00:10] is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations.

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[00:00:28] tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app

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[00:00:41] Simplify Your Exercise by Melani Schweder with NoSidebar.com. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik, reading you

[00:00:48] some of the most popular health and fitness blogs out there, with permission from the websites of course.

[00:00:53] Now, today's post comes from NoSidebar, a simple living site typically narrated on my brother's

[00:00:59] podcast, Optimal Living Daily. And so, if you want to hear a lot more about minimalism and living with

[00:01:05] less, check out my brother's show, Optimal Living Daily. But for now, let's get right to the post as we

[00:01:11] optimize and simplify your life. 5 Ways to Simplify Your Exercise by Melani Schweder with NoSidebar.com.

[00:01:24] 6 Ways to Simplify Your Exercise by Melani Schweder

[00:01:25] Toned, fit bodies are everywhere. They're splashed in magazines, they're at the gym, and they've

[00:01:31] certainly taken over Instagram. No matter where you look, you'll be confronted with muscular definition

[00:01:36] and peak athletic fitness. And while it's natural to want to feel strong and healthy, the way our culture

[00:01:42] goes about getting there can be anything but. The sport and fitness industry has topped over $84 billion

[00:01:49] in the last year, with over $21 billion of that coming from gym memberships alone. There are thousands

[00:01:56] of fitness gadgets and online training programs, many of which spout unrealistic claims about the

[00:02:01] kinds of results you'll get. Every January, like clockwork, sales of health and fitness equipment

[00:02:06] skyrocket. People sign up for personal training and coaching in droves. But every year, without fail,

[00:02:13] by mid-March, the vast majority of people have given up on their exercise routines and their fancy

[00:02:18] new equipment sits, collecting dust in their guest bedroom. We're told that we need to constantly upgrade

[00:02:24] and continually seek new exercises, new gear, and new supplements in order to get fit. Our culture's

[00:02:31] obsession with six-pack abs has us all in a frenzy, willing to completely derail our schedules,

[00:02:37] forego precious sleep, and drop hundreds of dollars in the pursuit of an ideal physique.

[00:02:41] But is this what fitness is really about? And what is it doing for our mental health? I'm certainly not

[00:02:48] the first one to say it, but I'll say it anyway. You do not need any special equipment, nor do you

[00:02:54] need to spend hours and hours in a gym in order to be fit, healthy, and strong. Trust me, as a certified

[00:03:00] health coach and former research scientist, I've seen it all, and the numbers don't lie. Fitness can be

[00:03:07] simple. It can be fun, and it doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg either. Simplifying your exercise.

[00:03:15] If you're sick and tired of droning away on a treadmill every night under harsh fluorescent lights

[00:03:20] or wasting your hard-earned cash on exercise equipment you don't use, you can officially breathe

[00:03:25] a sigh of relief. Here are my five tips for simplifying your exercise routine.

[00:03:31] Tip number one. Ditch the useless products. Don't fall for the slick marketing of all those fancy

[00:03:37] ab machines, butt sculptors, or whatever else they're coming up with these days. And don't

[00:03:42] purchase a huge pack of fitness DVDs either. You don't need any equipment to be fit and healthy,

[00:03:48] except maybe a good pair of shoes. These fitness gadgets don't work. Remember, there's no such thing

[00:03:53] as spot reduction. And when you finally realize this, you'll be stuck with more clutter and less

[00:03:58] money in your pocket. Tip number two. Target large muscle groups. The muscles in our bodies are

[00:04:04] designed to work in tandem to accomplish tasks, so breaking them down into small individual parts

[00:04:10] doesn't make much sense. Instead of spending an hour doing dozens of targeted muscular exercises like

[00:04:15] bicep curls, focus on doing fewer exercises that use multiple muscles. You'll gain fitness in less

[00:04:22] time, and you will have more functional strength and range of motion. Your four key moves? Squats,

[00:04:29] planks, push-ups, and pull-ups. Tip number three. Go high intensity. There is something that we coaches

[00:04:37] call chronic cardio, and it's become an epidemic ever since the 80s. Slaving away on a cardio machine

[00:04:43] for an hour isn't doing you any favors, and can actually be contributing to chronic inflammation

[00:04:47] and potential overtraining. Not to mention it's boring as hell. Instead, give high intensity interval

[00:04:54] training a try. These workouts involve short bursts of intense effort with rest periods in between,

[00:04:59] and have been shown to be more effective in improving oxygen uptake, cardiac fitness,

[00:05:04] and blood glucose regulation. You can accomplish way more in a targeted 15-minute workout than you can do

[00:05:10] in a 45-minute jog. Tip number four. Make it fun. I know you've heard this before, but that's because

[00:05:18] it's true. The more fun you can make your exercise, the more likely you'll be able to do it, stick with

[00:05:23] it, and see long-term benefits. If it feels like a chore, then it's not going to do you any good.

[00:05:29] From a holistic wellness standpoint, the ultimate trifecta of exercise is one that combines

[00:05:35] one, outdoor time, two, spontaneous play, and three, social stimulation. For example, a game of ultimate

[00:05:44] frisbee in the park will boost your health significantly more than an hour on the rowing machine.

[00:05:49] Tip number five. Relax the expectations. We are wired to compare ourselves to others, but this often

[00:05:56] creates unnecessary stress and tension in the mind and body. Stop looking in the mirror and feeling

[00:06:01] upset that you don't have the chest or abs or butt that someone else does. Stop trying to model your

[00:06:07] workouts after someone with a vastly different age, weight, body type, or gender than you. And please,

[00:06:13] please stop using exercise as a punishment. You are unique, and it's important to find the exercise

[00:06:19] that makes you feel good and that works for your body type, your budget, and location. The quest for

[00:06:25] fitness doesn't need to be the source of inner turmoil or a never-ending race for an unrealistic

[00:06:29] standard. It also doesn't need to involve any fancy, expensive gadgets, gym memberships, or multiple

[00:06:35] hours every week. When you can pare down and focus on a few full body movements, short and intense

[00:06:42] training sessions, and make it fun, your fitness and overall well-being can dramatically improve.

[00:06:48] Our bodies already know how to move and how to be healthy and strong. We just need to stop

[00:06:53] complicating everything. Remember, the best kind of workout is one that helps you get the most

[00:06:58] out of the other areas of your life, not the other way around. You just listened to the post titled

[00:07:07] Five Ways to Simplify Your Exercise by Melanie Schwader with nosidebar.com. And I'll be right back

[00:07:14] with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. I loved, loved, loved reading this post because I

[00:07:21] so agree with so much of what Melanie said. I always like using this example with my students.

[00:07:26] I asked them, how many of you have heard of the Thighmaster? Now, when I was younger, that was a

[00:07:33] popular product. And because my students, I'm guessing, are quite a bit younger than me at this

[00:07:38] point, they will have no idea what this product is. And usually I'm correct. When I say, hey, who's heard

[00:07:45] of this product called the Thighmaster? They often stare at me blankly. But when I was growing up,

[00:07:50] this was a hugely popular device. You couldn't go, it seemed like, five minutes without seeing an

[00:07:56] infomercial for this product. Basically, it was this spring that you would put between your legs

[00:08:02] right at the level of the knees, and then you would squeeze against the resistance of this spring.

[00:08:07] The health claims were that by doing this repeatedly, by pushing your knees against this spring,

[00:08:12] you're going to tone your thighs and burn fat. Well, we don't hear about that product much anymore,

[00:08:18] do we? That's because it didn't work. But this hasn't stopped other companies from creating other

[00:08:24] gadgets and gizmos that will help, quote, burn fat or, quote, spot reduce, whatever you want to call it.

[00:08:30] All right, that'll do it for today. I'll be back tomorrow for our usual Friday Q&A,

[00:08:35] so definitely stay tuned for that, where your optimal life awaits.