Classic Doc Joe: For the next several weeks I will be re-posting some of my original writings. Sadly, the last several months, I lost sight of what I had previously written.
".... to go into a cold gym takes a lot of discipline, boy, I'll tell ya. ... I never liked to exercise, but I like results." Jack LaLanne
"One can exist for an indefinite period without exercise, but one cannot really and truly live without it." Bernarr MacFadden
I was reading on one of the many Facebook pages I belong to and someone was asking about not feeling up to a workout. Some of the responses suggested that workouts must be fun. As I read them I had to ask myself two questions:
Are my workouts fun? Do they need to be?
My exercise routine is spit into two portions:
Strength training, in which I use weight lifting.
Endurance training, in which I use a combination of jogging, sprints and rope skipping.
Yes, I will admit that there is something exhilarating about pitting myself against cold, unyielding iron. I look forward to my mornings in the gym. If I am pressed for time, I always get in some sort of weight training. While I do relish weightlifting, I'm not sure if the word fun would be an apt descriptor.
When it comes to jogging; I like the the time alone {except for the bats circling overhead}, free from distractions, outside enjoying the weather --- but do I have fun?
No, not really. I am not even sure I even enjoy the activity itself. I am not really built for running, either physically or mentally, but because of the results I attain --- I get out there and I do it.
I am not sure if fun should be part of the criteria for going out and exercising or even in the choice of a particular exercise. I pick and chose my routine for the results I desire to achieve. When I am bulking up and adding strength, my weight training is slower and the weights I use are much heavier. I still jog, but I cover less distance and I do it at a much slower pace. When I a leaning out, I decrease the poundages and I move much quicker. I cover more distance when I jog, I do it at a faster pace and I include rope skipping and sprints.
No matter what my particular goal is, I always include both progressive resistance and endurance training. They both contribute to the overall result I desire to achieve.
Is fun important? I guess it could be, but it isn't a requirement. Exercise should be done to improve the overall quality of life. While I don't really consider my exercise routine fun, it makes much of the other activities that I engage in much more fun. When I was in Chiropractic school I spent hours upon hours studying for classes, quizzes, exams and boards. Did I have fun during all that study time? I would have to say no, but it was necessary to achieve my goal. I look at exercise much the same way. My goal in regards to exercise is not to have fun during my exercise time; it is to achieve an improved level of fitness. The fun is in the results ---
- Image via Wikipedia
-because I am fit, I am able to hike longer and more difficult trails.
-because I am fit, I am able to participate more actively in beach and ocean activities
-because I am fit, I am able to live every aspect of my life much fuller and with much greater joy.
So, is fun a requirement when it comes to choosing an exercise routine? Perhaps to some, but it wasn't to Jack LaLanne and it really isn't to me.
I am much more concerned with the results of the exercises I pick. Taking into account travel to the track, then to the gym, showering and dressing --- only about ninety minutes of my day is focused on exercise. While fun is nice; I prefer effectiveness, which in turn improves the quality of the remaining twenty-two and a half hours (and, yes, I sleep better because of exercise) of my day.
Life is lived in color, but sometimes the answers remain black and white.
Aloha, Ciao and Stay Healthy,
Joe
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Doc Joe Leonardi is the author of two books on weight loss and fitness. Obesity Undone and Sometimes the Bastard Returns. Both available on CreatSpace.com and Amazon.com.
Obesity Undone, is the 2nd edition of the life changing book Fat Then Fit Now. Obesity undone is weight loss and fitness uncomplicated. On March 1, 2008, Physical Culturist and Chiropractor Doc Joe weighed a ponderous, pachydermian and unhealthy 340 pounds. One year later he weighed in at 210 pounds.
In Sometimes The Bastard Returns Doc Joe Leonardi discusses the very real 
problem of obesity relapse. How it happened to him, and how on the verge of giving up,he reclaimed his health, wellness and fitness.
problem of obesity relapse. How it happened to him, and how on the verge of giving up,he reclaimed his health, wellness and fitness.
Doc Joe is also available to speak to your group, and for interviews. You may reach him at FatThenFitNow39@gmail.com
************The posting that I write do not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions.*************
