Exercising.

This series of videos changed my life.

You don't need any equipment (even though investing in a mat is great), and it's only 10 to 30 minutes each day.

Highly recommended for anyone who needs to move their asses.

I don't want to run against the current here, but don't strain your selves with walking or lifting (notably!) so much specially if your profession requires you to stand all day, you could end up with varicocele or varicose veins, which are quite common and nasty even among the young population.

in order to loose weight you have to burn more calories than you get.

to do this you have either to increase your activity or to cut down your calories intake or a combination of two. In my opinion, the best option is the combination.

Increase your activity level to include moderate walking as a start with some core strengthening exercises like planks, Focus on building strong lower back, stomach and legs exercises. this can be done at home with simple tools.

Cut down on bread, avoid cola and other canned drinks (even fresh squeezed juice have sugars), avoid fried food, drink coffee and tea without sugar. you will get used to it

A diet isn't something temporary, your diet is your eating habits that will live with you for the rest of your life. so, you have to make one that suits you and one that you can live with.

I was always been able to control me weight, i used to eat 4-6 times a day when I used to go to the gym( of-course smaller portions). i found that eating at this frequency when being active was best for me, I was always able to loose weight or to adjust.

Again, don't strain yourself in the begining to avoid injury, I am also against rope jump for now because it puts a lot of strain on your joints especially if you are over weight. Instead you can run for 30 seconds while your walking to increase your heart rate beats before you continue walking. do this every 10 minutes.

You have to be patient. you can do it if you have the determination and discipline.

First, tldr

In order to understand exercise and how it helps you burn calories and lose fat, you have to understand how intensity, duration and recovery work.. Once you understand these concepts, you can create you own workouts which suit you. Let's take your walk to and from work--it is about 5 km and takes you about an hour. So, in that hour, you probably burned 300 calories or so, but since you have been doing this for several months, you won't be burning many calories after you get back from work. So, you need to burn about 7700 calories to burn a kilo of fat, and if you do the math, it would take you about 26 days to burn those 7700. It isn't bad, but not what most people are looking for.

Now, you could take the long way back from work and instead of taking a half hour, you could take an hour and a half, so you would effectively be doubling your calorie burn from this activity and knocking down the time to burn a kilo of fat to 13 days. That's 2 kg per month--not bad.

Now, recovery--this is where weight training or other physical activity comes into place. When you lift weights or engage in other strenuous l activity, you literally break down your body. The body will naturally want to fix itself so it will expend energy trying to heal itself and make you stronger in the process. This is energy expenditure after your are done with the activity and this is what is going to help you the most. It doesn't have to be muscle repair which triggers this--it could be the rapid depletion of glycogen in your muscles and the body will have to replenish it (hopefully from fat in body). How does this help you without a gym? Easy, you just need to stress your body enough so it starts expending energy to you to recover. To get a good fat burning exercise, you want to look at things like HIIT and tabata to really get you going.

A sample HIIT ( START SLOWLY) would be to warm up for a few minutes and then find an exercise you like (jumping jacks are good here) and do them as fast as you can for 30 seconds--then walk around and catch your breath for 90 seconds, rinse, lather and repeat five times and then cool down.and you are done. You can do whatever activity you want--pushups, burpees, situps, jump rope--it doesn't matter. What you want to eventually accomplish is to reduce you rest time as much as possible so you are doing an exercise for 30 seconds and only resting for 30 seconds, or less. When you start out, take as much time as you need, but you still need to feel like you are out of breath. If you do this right, you can't do this more than twice a week, and if you go nuts, you may throw up, not a bad thing, but still sort of gross.

Other things you can to replicate this would be to find a track at a uni or where ever----walk or jog a lap to warm up and then what you will be doing is sprinting the straightaways and walking to the next straightaway and sprinting again. 4 laps and you are done. If that isn't feasible, find a somewhat isolated road on a hill--the steeper, the shorter it can be (even an underground parking entrance of building may work). Sprint up the hill and walk back down--do it as many times as you can. As you progress, you can increase the frequency and the speed you do this.

I know these are sort of nuts--what you are doing here is maximizing the effort while minimizing the time. These types of exercises stress your body and force it to expend energy long after the exercise to recover. If you are pressed for time, or can't find a gym, this is another way to go. It is much more intense, but doesn't take much time. Just start at your own pace and work your way up.


And guys regarding jump rope, it is considered a low impact activity and puts less stress on your body and joints than activities like running. I don't know where you guys get your information because if you jump rope correctly, you are jumping just high enough for the rope to pass under your feet, which isn't much. Like any activity if done incorrectly, it can hurt you but it is something I would highly recommend (lots of videos and instructions on the youtube). The only injuries you get at beginning are from the rope hitting your legs and arms and you your pride when you can't string more than a handful of jumps in a row.

Joe wroteThis series of videos changed my life.

You don't need any equipment (even though investing in a mat is great), and it's only 10 to 30 minutes each day.

Highly recommended for anyone who needs to move their asses.

Hey Joe,

I am interested to know more about the benefits of yoga and you seem to be a big fan.
Please explain how did it improve your life? (Do you mean mental health as well?)

Thanks in advance.

Backstory and physical condition

I'm 31 years old, in really good health other than the fact that I'm slightly overweight (90kgs for about 180cm). When I was a kid I used to train for Tae Kwon Do intensely (4 times a week for about 5 years) and even after I stopped I kept doing some form of sport (track field and swimming mostly). From ages 20 to 26, I did very little exercising and completely let myself go. I put on weight, but also I stopped moving and being active. Around age 26 I started running long distance. A year into it, I ran a half-marathon in under 2h. Over the past year or so, I stopped enjoying running. It's a very aggressive sport which is pretty violent on my knees (I have a big belly) and I wasn't enjoying the pain anymore.

TL;DR: My point of view comes from someone with good health and moderate exposure to physical activity.


Physical benefits of yoga

On the surface, yoga, (or at least the brand of yoga that I do), is a variation of common bodyweight exercises:

• Planks
• Lunges
• Balancing exercises
• Stretching and flexibility

These exercises are really good for your body, even if that's all you ever do. However there is more to yoga itself. It taught me to care about overlooked parts of my body too. Fingers, wrists, ankles, shoulders, spine, back, there are plenty of body parts that are amassing stress all day (I work as a programmer, not the best for your back and wrists), and yoga taught me to stretch and strengthen these parts.

However, as I progress in yoga, I'm realizing that it's so much more than just these surface exercices. At the core, yoga is a breathing exercise. As you focus on your breathing, you will learn to synchronize your breath to your movement. This synchronization is a very powerful tool that yogis discribe as Vinyasa or Flow in English. If you're a programmer, you're probably familiar with being in the Zone, this period of heighten productivity where your whole mind is concentrated on a task at hand, and your body takes care of all the rest for you. Vinyasa is slightly like this.

The physical improvements I see in myself after 18 months or so of yoga:

• Improved flexibility. I can grab my toes while standing up comfortably. I couldn't touch the floor when I started. Today it actually feels good to grab them, to stretch my back, and I do it all the time.
• Stronger arms. You'd probably get bigger arms lifting weights, but yoga did buff up my biceps, triceps and shoulders. It's those damn planks all the time
• Improved balance. I'm still working on this one, but I'm far away from where I started.
• Better posture. I'm standing straight now. My back, shoulders and neck are much stronger than before.

Overall, I feel stronger and fitter. I didn't notice massive weight loss, but weight is more a matter of food than it is exercise.


Mental benefits of yoga

There's a whole spiritual aspect to yoga, but I'm not super into it. I'm in it to sweat a bit and get out. When yogis start preaching about chakra and karma and namaste I get lost.

This being said there are some mental benefits to the yoga I'm doing.

• Concentration: I work from home so I take yoga breaks whenever. Yoga taught me (teaches me still?) to block out all things work for 30 mins and jump back in. The ability to clear up your mind and focus on one task at hand is very beneficial. If you're interested in this, why not give meditation a try?
• Patience: It's a variation on Concentration. Yoga is slow, and we're holding uncomfortable for long periods of times. Plus the benefits take time to appear. It taught me the patience, discipline and commitment I need to improve in my life.
• Mindfulness: Yoga from home can be dangerous on your body, and if you don't pay attention you can hurt yourself. And a yoga injury sucks and hurts a lot. So I learned to move carefully. To protect my neck, my wrists and other fragile parts of my body. This taught me mindfulness and caution, which I apply outside.

Why yoga?

Most of the benefits I list can be found in any form of exercising. The advantages specific to yoga:

• It's easy to get started: just launch a youtube video and voila. Pick something for beginners and repeat it for a few days. Congrats, you're a yogi.
• It's a full body exercise. Literally full body. You'll work your "vanity" muscles like biceps, pecs or abs but also your "overlooked" muscles like your wrists or fingers.
• Tons of variations! Every day is a new flow, new exercises. I could do push ups and planks every day, but this would be repetitive and boring fast.
• Meditation and concentration. Yoga is traditionally done in a very calm, meditative environment. Listening to your breath and letting it guide you puts you in a powerful trance of extreme concentration that you get to apply to your every day life. So much better than going to a gym blasting techno music full-bass.
• Working flexibility is important. Sure, I want to be stronger and fitter. But I also want to avoid reaching 40 years old and not being able to tie up my own shoes.

Thanks Joe, I've been eyeing yoga for a while now as a good counterbalance to my olympic weightlifting routine.

It's easy to get started: just launch a youtube video and voila. Pick something for beginners and repeat it for a few days. Congrats, you're a yogi.

My concern with this approach, much like with DIY olympic weightlifting, is that you lack an important feedback loop if you don't have someone giving you real-time feedback on your form. Am I right in assuming you could hurt yourself badly doing yoga "the wrong way"?

Joe wroteBackstory and physical condition

I'm 31 years old, in really good health other than the fact that I'm slightly overweight (90kgs for about 180cm). When I was a kid I used to train for Tae Kwon Do intensely (4 times a week for about 5 years) and even after I stopped I kept doing some form of sport (track field and swimming mostly). From ages 20 to 26, I did very little exercising and completely let myself go. I put on weight, but also I stopped moving and being active. Around age 26 I started running long distance. A year into it, I ran a half-marathon in under 2h. Over the past year or so, I stopped enjoying running. It's a very aggressive sport which is pretty violent on my knees (I have a big belly) and I wasn't enjoying the pain anymore.

TL;DR: My point of view comes from someone with good health and moderate exposure to physical activity.


Physical benefits of yoga

On the surface, yoga, (or at least the brand of yoga that I do), is a variation of common bodyweight exercises:

• Planks
• Lunges
• Balancing exercises
• Stretching and flexibility

These exercises are really good for your body, even if that's all you ever do. However there is more to yoga itself. It taught me to care about overlooked parts of my body too. Fingers, wrists, ankles, shoulders, spine, back, there are plenty of body parts that are amassing stress all day (I work as a programmer, not the best for your back and wrists), and yoga taught me to stretch and strengthen these parts.

However, as I progress in yoga, I'm realizing that it's so much more than just these surface exercices. At the core, yoga is a breathing exercise. As you focus on your breathing, you will learn to synchronize your breath to your movement. This synchronization is a very powerful tool that yogis discribe as Vinyasa or Flow in English. If you're a programmer, you're probably familiar with being in the Zone, this period of heighten productivity where your whole mind is concentrated on a task at hand, and your body takes care of all the rest for you. Vinyasa is slightly like this.

The physical improvements I see in myself after 18 months or so of yoga:

• Improved flexibility. I can grab my toes while standing up comfortably. I couldn't touch the floor when I started. Today it actually feels good to grab them, to stretch my back, and I do it all the time.
• Stronger arms. You'd probably get bigger arms lifting weights, but yoga did buff up my biceps, triceps and shoulders. It's those damn planks all the time
• Improved balance. I'm still working on this one, but I'm far away from where I started.
• Better posture. I'm standing straight now. My back, shoulders and neck are much stronger than before.

Overall, I feel stronger and fitter. I didn't notice massive weight loss, but weight is more a matter of food than it is exercise.


Mental benefits of yoga

There's a whole spiritual aspect to yoga, but I'm not super into it. I'm in it to sweat a bit and get out. When yogis start preaching about chakra and karma and namaste I get lost.

This being said there are some mental benefits to the yoga I'm doing.

• Concentration: I work from home so I take yoga breaks whenever. Yoga taught me (teaches me still?) to block out all things work for 30 mins and jump back in. The ability to clear up your mind and focus on one task at hand is very beneficial. If you're interested in this, why not give meditation a try?
• Patience: It's a variation on Concentration. Yoga is slow, and we're holding uncomfortable for long periods of times. Plus the benefits take time to appear. It taught me the patience, discipline and commitment I need to improve in my life.
• Mindfulness: Yoga from home can be dangerous on your body, and if you don't pay attention you can hurt yourself. And a yoga injury sucks and hurts a lot. So I learned to move carefully. To protect my neck, my wrists and other fragile parts of my body. This taught me mindfulness and caution, which I apply outside.

Why yoga?

Most of the benefits I list can be found in any form of exercising. The advantages specific to yoga:

• It's easy to get started: just launch a youtube video and voila. Pick something for beginners and repeat it for a few days. Congrats, you're a yogi.
• It's a full body exercise. Literally full body. You'll work your "vanity" muscles like biceps, pecs or abs but also your "overlooked" muscles like your wrists or fingers.
• Tons of variations! Every day is a new flow, new exercises. I could do push ups and planks every day, but this would be repetitive and boring fast.
• Meditation and concentration. Yoga is traditionally done in a very calm, meditative environment. Listening to your breath and letting it guide you puts you in a powerful trance of extreme concentration that you get to apply to your every day life. So much better than going to a gym blasting techno music full-bass.
• Working flexibility is important. Sure, I want to be stronger and fitter. But I also want to avoid reaching 40 years old and not being able to tie up my own shoes.

Thank you Joe for your articulate response, you sure did inspire me.

samer wroteThanks Joe, I've been eyeing yoga for a while now as a good counterbalance to my olympic weightlifting routine.

It's easy to get started: just launch a youtube video and voila. Pick something for beginners and repeat it for a few days. Congrats, you're a yogi.

My concern with this approach, much like with DIY olympic weightlifting, is that you lack an important feedback loop if you don't have someone giving you real-time feedback on your form. Am I right in assuming you could hurt yourself badly doing yoga "the wrong way"?

Wait wait hold on are you telling me samer does olympic weightlifting. You've grown good on you ;)