Comments on: The uncluttered exercise routine

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:47:48 +0000

Ditto checking out videos from the library – you can use the same video for a couple of weeks, then switch, so you a) don’t spend money on a video you don’t know if you’ll like, b)don’t have to store the videos, and c)don’t have videos that you’ve gotten tired of or advanced beyond. My wife favors yoga (the mat lives under the futon) and pilates with an exercise ball (which doubles as a chair at the computer desk!) A yoga mat could also be stored on the floor at the kitchen sink. They’re easily cleaned if food gets spilled on them, and are a bit nicer to stand on while working at the sink than a bare floor. Just because something is sold as exercise equipment doesn’t mean it has to be a unitasker!

By: gypsypacker

gypsypacker — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:51:40 +0000

Back in the living-in-a-pickup-truck days, mine was simple: 1-Walk to the bus stop. Keep walking back and forth while waiting for the bus. 2- If no-one is on the bus bench, use the bench for plank pushups and modified squats. 3-Walk another 2-3 blocks from bus stop to work.
Kept me healthy on a minimalist diet, for two years. I’ve now aggravated my arthritic hands with a Bowflex , use a treadmill, and work at home without even a tag number or VIN…

By: lahope

lahope — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:16:43 +0000

For minimalist, but strenuous aerobic exercise that you can do at home, get a jumprope. For you multi taskers– you can actually jump rope while watching TV! Order the jumprope from a website that specializes in fitness supplies so you get a good one. Also, I highly recommend a yoga class. Everyone can fit in one class a week, and it has the added benefit of increasing your friendship circle–I met many of my best friends in yoga. But if you can’t get to class, pick up a yoga tape and learn a few basic poses.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:49:14 +0000

Good post. Just wanted to point out that Leo’s routine is aimed more at people who want a full-body workout.

Situps, pushups and walking is good for beginners, but if you do only those exercises you’ll neglect many parts of your body and create muscle imbalances. Pushups, for example, should be balanced by a pulling exercise that work your back. And the best exercises — squat and deadlift — workout your whole body.

By: Success Professor

Success Professor — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:57:46 +0000

Thanks for the article. I’m going to try to add the sit-ups and push-ups to my elliptical workouts.

By: verily

verily — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:36:36 +0000

Good breakdown of a minimalistic routine.

If I can manage the daily walk, I’ll be doing well. I do pull out the Wii fit at least twice a week, but I know it really should be more often than that.

By: Joanne in Canada

Joanne in Canada — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:35:17 +0000

Fortunately my husband is as keen on walking as I am. Once each weekend we combine an 8-12 km walk (in good walking/hiking shoes) with an errand, e.g. a visit to the high-end cheese shop. The walk is usually 4-5 hours and we try to do it in a loop which involve cuts through green spaces and over hills. We also use the time to just talk and get caught up on stuff. Great for fitness and the bonding is bonus.

By: Leslie in Canada

Leslie in Canada — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:54:19 +0000

I do bike racing but I have managed to keep the masses of clutter (multiple bikes, clothing, parts, food, books) under control but for people unwilling to spend a lot of time working out you could do much worse than using FitDeck, which is a set of playing cards with floor exercises on them. You shuffle them up, determine how many you want to do and away you go. I bring my set on business travel and do a 40 minute workout in my hotel room without having to go to the gym. However, while you will build strength and flexibility with these, losing weight requires more extended exercise.

By: Chris - Zen to Fitness

Chris - Zen to Fitness — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:08:43 +0000

This is a great concept and an extremely good way to ease into fitness and exercise!! Great post

By: Mer

Mer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:33:21 +0000

Walking has done more for me than any other form of exercise. I also did the routine in Jorge Cruise’s “Eight Minutes in the Morning” for a month and you wouldn’t believe the results on my muscle tone and flexibility. I need to go back to that one. I suggest that book as a simple regimen that requires little time and no equipment except for a set of hand weights.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:57:02 +0000

For years I used to lift with weights, following the Nautilus/Arthur Jones plan of 3x a week, 1 set per exercise. I wasn’t making much gains, so I tried volume training, and began regressing.
Next I tried Mike Mentzer’s HIT consolidation program, where I was working split sets once a week, for a total 1 hour (!) a month. I made my best strength gains on that program, and stuck with it for 7 years.
When I moved, I didn’t take my home gym with me, so I switched to calisthenics similar to Leo’s program. I find I don’t miss weights anymore.
My 3x/week program takes 10 minutes a day:
1) Hindu squats (video on Leo’s site)
2) Hindu pushups/dand (ditto)
3) hinged plank (similar to a static plank, it’s like a push up but with elbows on the floor and pumping the hips up and down, it’s the best abdominal exercise I can think of)
4) pull ups
That hits every major muscle group. I’m weaker than I was with weights, but I’m now without joint pains.
Very uncluttered!

By: Molly

Molly — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:54:03 +0000

I’m lucky to live in a city and situation where I can have a super-uncluttered exercise solution: I own a bike instead of a car. I commute by bike 9 months a year (and I’m working on those other 3!), which means I don’t need a gym membership, exercise equipment, or any kind of schedule. I just can’t go anywhere without exercising. Even nearby errands require a walk.

It’s not practical for many people, but lots of people could and don’t. And let me tell you—it’s wonderful. Wind in my hair, whipping past slower bikes, getting to pass whole blocks of backed-up cars at rush hour, no problems with parking or insurance, no monthly payment, no garage to keep clean, no car to keep clean, etc, etc, etc.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:35:27 +0000

Well, walking, pushups and situps certainly would make a pretty effective minimalist exercise plan. That only thing I would add to that is pull ups or chin ups (or hangs for those not yet strong enough to pull themselves up). Pushups and situps are primarily anterior chain exercises. It’s good to keep your body balanced by throwing in a posterior chain exercise like pull ups.

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:26:28 +0000

Erin’s routine sounds like a good way for fit people to stay fit, but I wonder if it would be enough to actually lose weight. It’s not a criticism. I’m just curious. In the most pragmatic sense, I think the only uncluttered workout is one that works for you.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:14:45 +0000

I run 2 miles in 15min.
25 pushups > 50 situps > 25 pushups > 50 situps > stretches.

This seems to work for me and it takes less than 30 minutes.

By: Journeyer

Journeyer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:43:58 +0000

Sounds great Erin! One other thing that can be incorporated daily almost without thinking is to put some extra elbow grease into the housework. By scrubbing instead of using chemicals or going superfast with the vacuum or as others have suggested by doing the gardening you can usually get your heart rate going. No extra equipment or gym memberships needed.

By: McChris

McChris — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:21:43 +0000

I’ve found something that’s worked really well for me, and it’s uncluttered – if you already own a bike. Last fall I got a bike trainer, a resistance device that attaches to the rear wheel of a bike. It’s far from a unitasker since it also serves as means for storing or displaying your wheels. I’ve been losing weight more consistently than I was with longer gym workouts, and it’s easier to workout if the equipment is already there. I also think it’s more attractive to have a little gizmo on the bottom of a real bike than to have some industrial-looking stationary bike hulking at your pad.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:37:13 +0000

I bike commute, and I sold my car last year. Not only do I get in a minimum 40 minutes a day, but I’m saving $400 a month, I’m a size 6 instead of a 14, and I don’t have to pay for parking or garage space. Plus, I think twice before going shopping or buying anything, because of the extra travel and the cargo space required. A bicycle can be the ultimate uncluttering tool.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:58:30 +0000

@Greg — I walk at the same time every day, otherwise it doesn’t get done. I don’t see what you’re referencing about “whenever you want” in the post …

By: HistoricStitcher

HistoricStitcher — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:38:47 +0000

I was overwhelmed by all the different exercise plans, and at the same time trying to regain my health after an exhausting illness. With the help of some online friends I met through a fprum, I developed an easy, no stress, make it as hard as you want exercise program to be done at home, with minimal equipment, to build both strength and endurance. It has helped all of us who participated.

In essence, we do one body part per day, 2 exercises for each body part. The only exception being doing abs and back on the same day to keep the core strong. And it incorporates walking daily.

I’m thrilled with the results, and have no intention of ever paying to work at a gym for general fitness again. At it’s most cluttered, I use one set of dumbbells, and an exercise ball. And the floor. Easy enough!

Let me know if you are interested in any of the specifics. I’m putting together a one-sheet instructions page to share with the group as a visual reminder of what to do today. Just put it in a page protector and use a highlighter to mark off what you did today. Tomorrow you do the next on the list!