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Home Page | Routines | Food for Thought | Health & Fitness Articles THE FIREFIGHTER'S WORKOUT
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Father's Day and the Man with No Muscles For 20 years Joe has shown up at the same job, faithfully slaving away to support his rather large, but loving family. He's a got a beautiful, hardworking wife, and four adoring children, two of which are just about to hit college age. Joe works hard every day, putting in 40, 50, and even 60 hours at the office some weeks to keep up with the family's growing expenses. As Father's Day and summer approaches, Joe is forced to contemplate the couple of pounds he gained over the years. The last time he looked, his strapping physique had faded -- as a matter of fact, his size 38 trousers were getting kinda snug. Joe's last physical revealed moderately high cholesterol levels, and his blood pressure was beginning to sneak up on him. He was huffing and puffing even after a short jog for a missed bus, but Joe is not lazy --far from it. He's just a typical "forty something" American male who is a victim of the computer age. Work to Joe, means sitting behind a desk. Fulfilling his most important obligation of being a good father and providing for his family translates into Joe sitting in one spot for over five thousand hours a year with virtually no physical activity whatsoever. When Joe's ancestors went out to do a day's work, I'll bet they didn't sit down. Chances are, they used their physical bodies much more than Joe does in their every day tasks. Whether they were farmers or black smiths, hunters or skilled craftsman, they used their muscles every day. By the time Joe get's home from the office it's usually after dark, and picking up and heading out to the gym seems about as attractive as working late. Though he's barely moved a muscle all day, Joe is wiped out, drained from the 8 hours of mental stress and strain, processing paperwork, creating sales proposals, running off countless memos, along with the other thousand things Joe is responsible for. After dinner Joe collapses in front of the TV and doesn't move. The next morning he crawls out of bed in the wee hours and does it all over again. You can see the vicious cycle beginning. So the question presents itself, without abandoning the obligation to his family and himself, how can Joe find time to maintain his body in a fit and healthy condition? --the kind of condition he needs to be in if he has plans to continue to earn a good living and provide for the financial needs of his family in the years to come. Joe needs to tackle the challenge of getting in shape as he would any business endeavor. He needs a plan of action -- a plan that takes into account all the variables, and then works around them. Experts need to be consulted in the form of reading and educating oneself, compromises must be arrived at, schedules adjusted, while old and outmoded thought patterns change. Unfortunately, the ineffectiveness of the wrong instruction will have the reverse effect and cause someone in Joe's situation to possibly abandon exercise altogether. Through his self education and reading he'll learn just what he needs to do to meet his individual requirements and current capacity -- how much cardiovascular, how much strength, and how much flexibility training to blend together to create the perfect routine. Following sensible guidelines will also ensure that Joe sees his physician first and get clearance before making any major changes to his exercise and dietary habits. Joe must also learn how to stay motivated and monitor progress so he can stay with what works, and drop what doesn't. But possibly the most important thing Joe will learn is that he only needs a couple of hours a week to accomplish all this. Time (or lack of it) is Joe's biggest problem, he needs the gym to come to him. Body weight, dumbbells, exercise bands, and a small bench or step are a few of the low cost (or even free) home or office equipment options available. This eliminates travel time completely, puts a low cost gym at your finger tips, and allows you to squeeze in a workout whenever you get the chance. Exercise can also energize if not overdone. While Joe may feel tired at the start of each workout, 20 or 30 minutes of exercise will actually put some pep in his step, as well as releasing much of the days tensions, inducing a more restful night's sleep, a nice fringe benefit. Man or woman, many of us in today's busy world are in exactly Joe's situation. As a good spouse or parent we want to stay fit and healthy, but barriers such as lack of time, energy, and know-how get in the way. Our commitment to life that centers mostly on home and career sometimes leaves little for taking care of you. But we can't ignore ourselves too long before we encounter a problem. Take care of everyone in your life by first taking care of yourself. Learn how to lose weight and get in great shape in only a couple of hours a week with the most practical diet and exercise guide on the market today for both men and women, The The Firefighter's Workout Book, pick up your copy today: click here |
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