How often should you weigh yourself?

Regular checking of your weight is very important.

Keeping track of your weight is very important for a healthy life-style as it acts as a warning indicator in case you  suddenly start gaining weight (or losing weight for that matter). All you need to do this is a cheap bathroom scale that you find in any super-market.

But how often should you weigh yourself? My recommendation would be to weigh yourself at least once a week (If you can do it daily, then that would be ideal).

By weighing yourself frequently, you will notice if the weight is going up and you can then determine the root cause of the weight-gain - and hopefully, take corrective action to reverse the process.

Keep in mind that your body weight fluctuates during the day by at least 1 to 2 kilos so it is very important that you weigh yourself at similar times. For example, if you noted your weight immediately after getting up, make sure that the next time you compare your weight, you do it at the same time.

Keeping track of your weight itself is of not much use - unless you have a target goal in mind.  Calculate your target weight by using a BMI calculator, and then plan your course of action (exercise, diet or both) to achieve your ideal weight. Keep track of your progress by noting the weight on a notebook. Analyze your progress and adjust your diet/workout accordingly.

  

Anatomy of a half-marathon.

My half-marathon run on 2nd Oct. 2010.

Few months back, I started doing half-marathon runs (21.09 km) once a week. I usually reserve this run for Saturday morning (which is a non-working day) and I make sure that I don't do any workouts on Friday to ensure that my legs are well rested in preparation for the run.

The half-marathon run is a very interesting run. It is very challenging and requires lots of physical and mental preparation to complete the grueling distance. But at the same time, it is not as energy sapping as the full-marathon. 

When I initially started running the half-marathon distance in March 2010, I would be totally drained of all energy and would need at least 2 days to recover. When I compare that to todays run, I realize just how far I have progressed in my running. After I finished the run today, I did 5 minute stretching and relaxed in the jacuzzi for 15 minutes to unwind, and I was back to my normal self. It is amazing just how much our body (and mind) is capable of doing. We are very good at under-estimating our capabilities, and usually need a good kick in the butt to make us realize our potential.

There are no short-cuts in fitness. Your fitness level is directly proportionate to the amount of effort you put in your daily workouts and your nutrition. If you are not willing to work for your fitness, you will be unfit and suffer from health-related problems. On the other hand, if you work extremely hard, you can be sure of extreme success in fitness. For most people, the balance should be somewhere in the middle.

Coping with Injuries.

Illustration purpose only. I don't walk
around half-naked like this.

Once we start working out (especially heavy resistance workouts), injuries are expected. We try out best to minimize the injuries with:

1. Proper warm-up and cool-down.
2. Proper form.
3. Gradual increase in weights or intensity.

Even when we do all of the above, injuries will still happen. This is because we all have our breaking point - and by increasing the weights or intensity, we are essentially testing our body "breaking point". At one point or the other, you will find the breaking point. Result is Injury.

My resistance workouts (especially the upper body workouts) have come to a complete standstill for the past 2 weeks after I suffered a minor elbow injury. The injury may be minor, but it essentially prevents me from lifting any weights.

Fitness theory suggests that I should work "around" my injury - giving my elbow enough time to recover, while focusing on other parts of the body (legs, abdomen etc.).

That is exactly what I have been doing so far. I've focused more on running (I run almost every day now for an average of around 60 kilometers per week). I also do some ab-workouts. This should help me to reduce some more body fat (hopefully without any muscle-loss).

Once the elbow heals, I will have to start the whole process of slowly training my upper body once again and then increasing the weights till I reach my breaking point.

And the cycle will continue.

The Power of Perseverance

There are tons of body transformation videos on YouTube. But I think this particular video says in 5 minutes everything I have written on this whole blog - and whatever I will write in future on this blog.

Move It!!

The PlayStation Move.

I've always been fascinated by the concept of active video gaming. It all started off with the revolutionary Nintendo Wii. Not only was I one of the first adopters of the console, I also convinced  all my friends with kids to buy the Wii instead of the PS3 or XBOX gaming consoles. When Nintendo released the Wii-Fit, I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon and paid a heck lot of money to ship the big box all the way to Kuwait.

One of the reasons I like active video gaming is that generally games tend to be more sporty in nature - so I don't feel guilty letting my children play such games. On one hand they are enjoying gaming like all kids, and on the other hand, they are staying active moving around. It's a win-win situation.

The main problem so far has been the lack of interesting titles on the Nintendo Wii. The other problem being the rather sluggish and imprecise controls of the WiiMote. The MotionPlus accessory made this a little better, but still left a lot to be desired.

This is all set to change - now that both Sony and Microsoft have come up with their version of active gaming. I just picked up my copy of the Playstation Move sold at a very aggressive price of KD 19 in Kuwait (compared to nearly KD 30 on Amazon).

The Move device is built solid like any Sony accessory and the controls are very precise. The starter bundles contains a bunch of min-games (including Tiger Woods Golf). The mini-games show the promise of what the Move device is going to deliver once game developers start incorporating this into their future games.

I also plan to pick up the Kinect accessory for the XBOX, which is a completely device independent method of playing games. The system uses advanced facial recognition and movement in 3D space to determine what the player wants to do. This is (in my opinion), the future of video gaming.

Play games and stay fit?. It doesn't get any better than this.

Game on!

Nike+ App gets Wireless Sync.

Nike+ application.

Nike currently has 2 applications available for the iPhone.

1. Nike+ : This is part of the iPhone and you get it automatically when you purchase the iPhone (or iPod Touch). This app works with the Nike+ sensor (that you slot in your shoe) to provide accurate information of distance run. This app is ideal for running indoors on a treadmill, though it can also be used while running outdoors.

2. Nike+ GPS: This is a new paid app that was recently released. This works using the built-in GPS to track distance run. This is ideal for running outdoors where the GPS satellites can track your movement. My review of this app is here.

I mostly use the first application (Nike+) because I primarily run in the gym on treadmill. Up until now, I had to wait till I connect the iPhone to the computer and synchronize my runs to the Nike website using iTunes. The newer app (Nike+ GPS), on the other hand, has built-in sync that allows it to connect to the Nike server and upload the run data directly over a 3G or Wi-fi connection.

Login to Nike server from the iPhone

Few days back, I noticed a red dot on the "History" tab of the Nike+ application. Out of curiosity, I clicked on it and was surprised to see a new option available "Send to Nike+". I have no idea when this was updated (probably with iOS4). I clicked on it and Voila!. My run was magically transmitted to the Nike server.

I entered my login credentials and I could see my run data and other statistics on the Nike server without ever going to the computer.

My iPhone is becoming better and better with each update.

Status Update: Body Fat Percentage.

Comparative Body Fat Index Results

Back in July, I stated keeping track of my Body Fat (BF) Index. Today, I did a new measurement and the results are a sort of mixed bag.

I gained 1.3Kg weight, which is actually not a bad thing since almost most of that weight gain (1.2Kg) is pure lean muscle. My fat free mass went up from 56.5Kg to 57.7Kg.

The problem that I see so far is that I am unable to get rid of my body fat. It has remained nearly constant. This is really surprising (and disappointing) for me considering the level of cardio workout and strict diet regimen that I follow.

I can only conclude that the remaining fat is the one that I gained over a long period of time and is most likely ingrained in my organs (visceral fat), and getting the Body Fat percentage down is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought. Running half-marathons every week has no effect on my body fat? Come on!!!

If the BF% does not go below 20% within the next 2 months, I will need to start looking seriously at fat burners to kick-start the fat loss process. For the time being, I will stick to safe fat-burners (coffee and green tea) which contain caffeine and assist in the fat burning process.

I will see after 2 months.