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The President’s Council on Fitness and Sports has published a fitness test for adults. Though a couple of bloggers have discussed it positively, I won’t touch it with a one-foot sit-and-reach ruler.

Why do I loathe the President’s Challenge Adult Fitness Test? One reason:

The President’s Challenge Kids Test

Go back to your darkest days of gym class and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

“Do as many sit-ups as you can in 60-seconds. Go!” (I petered out after the first 20.)
“Hang on this pull-up bar for as long as you can. Go!” (Zero seconds.)
“Run a mile as fast as you can. Go!” (14 minutes, 36 seconds.)

And then there’s the dreaded sit-and-reach, the easiest test, but also the one I hated most. I remember sitting on the ground with my legs splayed around a ruler, my (male) gym teacher holding down my bare knees with his bare hands, asking me to reach. “I am reaching!”

Thank you, Mr. President, for this hellish walk down memory lane.

Ironically, I may have been a fitter kid if it weren’t for gym class and tests like these. The President’s Challenge crushed my self esteem. Every year. Worse than being picked last for the volleyball team, worse than being forced to take group showers, the President’s Challenge actually made me feel sick to my stomach. The only time I didn’t mind gym class was when we played badminton or learned country line dancing.

It’s absurd, because I wasn’t a terribly lazy or unfit kid. I rode my bike everywhere and roller skated religiously. I even walked a couple miles to school every day when I could have taken the bus. I just didn’t like sports, and I still don’t like competition.

If only the prez measured fitness by how much snow I could lift over my head.
(Is this not the saddest snow fort you’ve ever seen?)

The Adult Fitness Test breaks down fitness into a few components: aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition. But where is self-esteem in all of this? I know I know, you can’t really measure body image. It just irks me so that tests like these tend to destroy the positivity required to BE fit.

MizFit’s recent post has some telling comments about THE SUCK that is gym class and the President’s Challenge. Surprisingly, some of her readers don’t seem to mind the thing, and some even have good memories of gym class. But most of them feel like I do, like Merecedes of Geek Girl Fitness:

I sucked at gym. I faked stomach aches, menstrual cramps, and forged my mother’s signature to avoid class whenever I could, especially on days that I knew we’d be running. Attempts at running were mortifying, and usually resulted in me wheezing like an emphysema patient or sprawled over at the sidelines. And no, I didn’t have asthma… I believe if even one of the many gym teachers who tortured me over that decade had ever said, “slow down and you won’t wheeze, and will make it to the finish line”, I probably wouldn’t have done everything possible to avoid running over the course of the following decade. It was only when i read a beginners article saying to start running sloooow, that I felt I had permission to attempt running again.

Think I’m being too hard on ol’ GW? Do you have your own memories you’d like to share? Back me up or put me in my place in the comments.

How Fit Are You? [Healthbolt]
The President’s Challenge Fitness Test [MizFit]
Running with President George Bush [Runner’s World]

You see it all the time: people cycling around town with the seat to short looking like their squatted over the toilet seat. Bicycle fit is complicated enough, but it’s even harder for women. Many women end up riding men’s bikes, which are designed for men’s wider shoulders and taller statures. Furthermore, seats can be especially uncomfortable for women who have comparatively wider pelvic areas (though now that I think about it, I hear more men complaining about their bike seats than women). Anyone riding a poorly fit bike will experience pains after cycling for a couple hours. And as Merry says on Cranky Fitness, this is the time of year when you want to go out for a long cycle ride:

If I sound preachy it’s because I think it’s really, really cool to go for a long bicycle ride out in the country where there aren’t a lot of cars but there is a lot of nature. You get to see things you never when you’re driving a car, plus it’s easy on your knees and you can get a workout while sitting down!

Amen sister.

In her post, Merry covers the often ignored subject of bicycle fit, making welcome mention of some chick-specific factoids we girlies should consider when sizing up our bicycles.

It’s true there’s a vas deferens between men and women. (That joke never gets old, at least not to me.) To quote the WOMBATS website (Women’s Mountainbike And Tea Society), women often have shorter torsos and longer legs than a man of the same height. Just because you and your boyfriend are the same height doesn’t mean you’ll be comfortable riding his bicycle.

Bicycling Sizing is COMPLICATED, at least for my feeble brain which relied on the very capable folks at Austin’s University Cyclery to size my bike. But if you’re more patient than I am, or you don’t have access to a bike shop with a kick-ass mechanic, then check out these excellent resources for bike fitting:

Bike Sizing For All

• Sheldon Brown’s Revisionist Theory of Bike Sizing
• Colorado Cyclist’s Article on Bicycle Fitting
• Edward Zimmerman’s Frame Fitting Site with Online Calculations

Bike Sizing For Girls

• Bike Fit a la WOMBAT
• Myra and Simon’s Bicycle Fitting for Small Women
• Women’s Saddles and Bicycle Fit by Pamela Blalock
• Myra & Simon’s Buying a bike that fits a woman

Since we’re talking about bike fitting, I have to make special mention of my Jamis Nova, pictured above. You might notice that that front tire is smaller than the rear tire. Why? It all boils down to my being vertically challenged. The bike has a really small frame, and as a result a bigger tire would result in my toe hitting the wheel wheel whenever I made a turn (this is called “toe overlap”). I think it’s cool that Jamis makes a small bike for shorties like me who like to tour, and I’m extra happy that I was able to meet a mechanic who was able to recommend it (a fellow female shorty at the aforementioned Cyclery - it was the last bike shop I visited when bike shopping in Austin, and by far the best and most capable). Terry, the “first and last name in women’s cycling”, uses the same technique. Myra & Simon get into this in more detail on their site.

And in case you can’t tell, I’m ga-ga for my Jamis Nova, who even carry a whole line of bikes designed for women. I’ve taken my Jamis across France and Wisconsin, up and down Texas‘ Hill Country, and a countless number of times through London and Austin. I’ve never experienced achy knees or a sore bum, just miles of good times and sunshine, with the odd goat and rain storm thrown in for good measure.

Who Says Size Doesn’t Matter? [Cranky Fitness]

Recently, we’ve been thinking lots about functional fitness and getting hard without the gym. Although we like to avoid equipment as much as possible, a medicine ball could be a useful addition to our “home gym” (which is thus far small enough to stash under the bed, bicycles aside).

Medicine balls are those big heavy black balls that are a little scary except to those few masochistic folks who like to toss them back and forth to one another. It may harken bad memories of gym class. I remember when my 3rd-grade gym teacher tossed one of these cannon balls at me and I dropped it on my toe, not prepared to catch something that weighed 8 pounds (my gym teacher was a competitive body builder who could lift a car like it was a feather, but he wore those rediculous 80s Zubaz pants so we couldn’t really take him seriously).

Trying Fitness has two great videos that demonstrate various medicine ball exercises that you can do on your own. They look like they’d make you hard really fast.

Medicine Ball Exercises You’ve Never Tried [Trying Fitness]
Zubaz Official Website
Buy a medicine ball online [Amazon]

“Grrrrrrr… half the price.”

That was Tim’s response when I told him the lowest price on a pair of Mizuno Wave Alchemy Running Shoes according to ransacker.co.uk, “the running shoes comparison website that save you time, money and benefits charity.”

Ransacker’s lowest price was £39.99, half of what he spent in New Zealand in February at a running shop. True, did get his foot analyzed by a “pro”, but he didn’t get that nice warm feeling of knowing he got a good deal. In fact he emailed me later that he “felt sick” by the purchase. A happy consumer he was not!

If only he knew about Ransacker, recommended to us by Carl who runs the site. Racksacker makes runners happy by saving them money on shoes, but also makes the charities happy by donating 50% of its commission to the charity of the shoe-buyer’s choice. Tim and I both agree that this is very cool. We wish we thought of this idea! But we were too busy making chains and planning meetings. So thanks to Carl for building this site! I will use it when my current Salomon XA Pro trail running shoes lose their steam.

Do you have a website you’d like to recommend? Then click here to send us a link. If we like it, we’ll post it! And we usually do like it, so why not, eh?

ransacker.co.uk

A recent Harvard study has found that 90 days of athletic training not only produces significant changes in the heart, but those changes vary with the type of exercise performed.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) followed two groups of Harvard University athletes: one group of endurance athletes, and another group of strength athletes. They used ultrasound technology to study the athlete’s hearts before and after the 90-day period. Both groups showed significant increases in the size of their hearts, but the locations of the increase differed:

• Endurance exercise expanded the left and right ventricles, the chambers that send blood into the aorta and to the lungs, respectively, and increased the relaxation of the heart muscle between beats.
• Strength exercise thickened the heart muscle, primarily the left ventricle, and decreased the relaxation of the heart muscle between beats.

Researchers were surprised by both the magnitude of changes over a short time period and by how great the differences were. It also raises questions about the long-term impact of exercise, especially for people with heart disease. Aaron Baggish, MD, lead author of the study, says:

While this study looks at young athletes with healthy hearts, the information it provides may someday benefit heart disease patients. The take-home message is that, just as not all heart disease is equal, not all exercise prescriptions are equal. This should start us thinking about whether we should tailor the type of exercise patients should do to their specific type of heart disease.

How Exercise Changes Structure And Function Of Heart

Yesterday’s New York Times article about competitive middle-distance runner Sara Hall is packed with useful training tips for the recreational runner. For example, Sara’s coach, Terrence Mahon, explains that many runners make the mistake of running the same pace all the time, but the real way to get faster is through interval training, which stresses the body to get it to adapt to running faster.

So, wanna spice up your running routine and cut a few seconds off your 5k at the same time? Here’s what Mahon suggests:

First figure out what your ideal pace for the 5k is by going to a track and running a mile flat-out. Your ideal 5k pace is about 95% as fast per mile. Then do what Mahon calls “over-speed and under-speed training”:

In over-speed, you sprint through quarter-miles, 800 meters and other intervals at a speed faster than your 5K pace (close to your top mile time). Don’t run more than two fast miles.

For under-speed work, time your interval splits to be a little slower than your 5K pace, with shorter rest periods than those within the over-speed intervals. Total mileage can be four to six miles. Cool down with a gentle jog of about half your total interval distance.

The article also has some drills you can do to improve your form.

Read Changing Speeds to Go the Distance

Hey all, I have a good excuse for being so quiet lately: I’ve been busy writing for other people.

So go check out my guest post on Crabby McSlacker’s most excellent blog, Cranky Fitness where I give 5 damn good reasons to quit the gym.

 I was on an elliptical machine watching an episode of MTV Cribs when it dawned on me: “this is totally lame.” What the hell was I doing sweating my ass off in a dingy gym full of boneheads and bad techno? Why was I mindlessly watching bad TV? And worst of all, why was I paying for the privilege?

 Read on…

Last Sunday, I went on my first run since the injection. I’m taking it slow: about 2.5 km and 20 minutes of running. My ankle was fine, my knees were mildly creaky, and my pride was only mildly offended by my absurdly slow pace. I wish I could say I was thrilled to be running again, but really I felt paranoid. “Am I hurting myself?” I wondered with every step. At the same time, I missed the care-free days of 5 milers down Town Lake on sunny Austin Sundays. But things change.

Today I went for run #2. This time, I alternated running with walking for 5km and about 40 minutes. The run-walk was, without a doubt, the way forward. I was able to cover more distance while keeping my heart rate up, plus it alleviated most of my paranoia around injury. I also felt great. Gone were the creaky legs and stiff joints of last weekend. I could almost recall what it feels like to run. If you’ve done much running, you know what I mean - it’s that feeling of lightness, where the run feels completely natural, the legs are fluid, and it’s easy to breath - to me, that’s running.

But for now, run-walking will do. Though he hesitates to admit it, Jeff Galloway agrees. From his Book on Running:

Our bodies weren’t designed to run continuously for long distances… Sure we can adapt, but there is a better way to increase endurance than by running continously. By alternating walking and running, from the start, there’s virtually no limit to the distance you can cover… Once we find the ideal ratio for a given distance, walk breaks allow us to feel strong to the end and recover fast, while building up the same levels of stamina and conditioning that we would have reached if we had run continuously.

Link to Jeff Galloway’s website
Link to Galloway’s Book on Running 2 Ed

Fitness is just a happy side effect in Jes Schultz’ move across NYC. She and her friends did the whole thing by bike in less than four hours.

This film illustrates how with a little ingenuity, determination, and friends, it can be done without creating a huge impact on your environment.

But more than that, it also shows how fun life can be when you have less stuff and more friends.

Link (via Treehugger)

If you know me at all then you know I’m biased against the gym. The Better Business Beaureau has some more fuel for my anti-gym fire. Complaints received by BBB about fitness clubs have risen more than 90% over the past 5 years, largely due to billing complaints.

• 41.5% due to contract disputes
• 31.7% due to billing issues

Consumer Reports followed up with a survey to its subscribers that showed

• The happiest customers were those who used a local or independent gyms (YMCA, community centers, yoga studios, etc)
• Life Time fitness was the only big chain that made it to the top of the Ratings. Bally Total Fitness was at the very bottom
• 16% of respondents reported contract or billing problems
• 38% had trouble cancelling their memberships

My only experience with a U.S. gym was 24 Hour Fitness in Austin, Texas. My only complaints are about the personal trainer I saw for a few weeks. But to her credit, she was always on time and always made me push myself. My complaint is that she didn’t listen to “my needs” and she treated me like I didn’t know anything about food, nutrition or basic physiology. She was always focussed on looks over fitness. “This one’s great for toning.” Toning is bullshit. I was there to be a better runner.

Aside from that singular case, I actually really loved the gym. They had awesome yoga classes, even some at 6am so I could go before work. And the gym itself was clean and spacious (everything really IS bigger in Texas). I also got a sweet work discount, paying less than $30 per month which felt like a steal, a way better use of money than Cable TV.

Still, I think I need to start a How to Get Fit Without the Gym series. But that’s for another time.

On a completely different note, I think there is a ghost in my house that keeps turning down the burner on this pot of beans I’m trying to cook so I can make a 7-Bean and Lager Chili with Vegan Cornbread. But first I must go to the pool, which is, sadly enough, located in my local gym.

Link to Joining a Gym? Complaints to BBB reveal how to get fit while avoiding the pitfalls
Link to Gym complaints soar