Month: March 2024

Posted on

The Key to Fitness Success – Consistency

There is only one way to stay fit for a long period of time, and that is you have to be day in and day out consistent. It gets even more important as you get older because any gap in workout time, the body is much less forgiving than when you were younger and it’s even harder to get back on track. One of the ways I have been able to maintain a level of consistency is to create what I think are fun challenges to shake things up.

Last Saturday it was on-and-off rainy and I was scheduled to ride 50 miles on my bike. The rain is not a problem because I have a very nice Stage studio cycle at home but the thought of riding 2 hours, 20 minutes on a stationary bike, in the garage was a bit daunting. So instead of compromising the time or distance down, I thought about how I could make it a fun new challenge. It had to be something I had not done before.

As I am brainstorming with myself on what what I could do, I remembered I am training for the Murph Challenge this Memorial Day weekend. Then boom, it all came together. Combine the long ride with Murph Challenge Training and now I have my workout. Hit the link and you can read all about the Murph Challenge, an awesome Memorial Day tradition.

For this workout I am going to do five sets of 10 Pull-ups, 20 Push-ups, and 30 Squats. I’ll do one set to start the workout and one to end, and three about every 40 minutes give or take depending on the bike interval pattern. I did a little video about halfway through the workout, you can see it here.

All total I did 50 Pull-ups, 100 Push-ups, 150 Squats and rode 51 miles and I had a blast doing it. I used those numbers for strength because that’s half of a Murph. Getting off the bike for those few minutes to do the strength set was a great break in the rhythm. It felt great balancing the bike with some super functional body weight strength training. The whole thing took 2 hours 55 minutes and MyZone says I burned 1,954 calories which is really close to what the bike said as well.

The point is, if you are going to have a fitness program that lasts a lifetime, you have to find the tricks that will help you stay consistent. It all starts with creating a weekly routine that is easily repeatable. For a lot of people it’s having a buddy or a group really helps, and for others it’s setting weekly and monthly goals. Find what works for you and stay with it. I am happy to help anyone who may want some help setting up a weekly routine that is easily repeatable. My email is Ralph@ralphrajs.com.

Posted on

2,500 of Anything is A Lot

On this blog, in the past I have wrote about the motivational virtues of the Apple Watch health rings and all the badges and awards that go along with it. Well, this weekend I hit, what I think, is a pretty big milestone. Hit 2,500 times I closed my move ring on my watch. That’s about 6 years, 8 months worth of daily closures. It takes 500 calories of movement to close that ring. I figure I logged about 2.86 million calories expended in total. Follow my math…

My watch tells me that almost two years worth, 623 times, I hit 400% of my move goal and 1,718 times I double my move goal. So even if my math is off a little, it’s a lot of calories.

So what’s the point? The point is we all need those little things to either shoot for, give us a reason to stay on track, or a little brag point once we hit it. In the Apple watch rings there are several things to help you with all of the above. The features are easy to access and requires absolutely no additional work from you aside from the actual moving around standpoint.

I am proud of this milestone because what it says about my consistency. As we move through our forties and into our fifties working to stay healthy and vibrant, consistency is the key to success. Now that I am in my sixties I feel like I am cashing in on all the work from the previous couple decades. The Apple watch rings didn’t necessarily change my behavior but they did create a paper trail that can can celebrated.

If you have an Apple watch take a look at the “Go For It” section in the rings app. There you will see what’s coming up for you to celebrate. Don’t forget about the monthly challenges also in the app. They are a great little mini motivator that changes every month. Read more about closing your rings here

Posted on

Plan an Event

Today I completed my second half marathon of the year and I had a great time. Last month I did the race with Elizabeth and our daughter Hannah and today with our son Davis.

What I find very interesting is all the positive things that happen just for signing up for an event. First, it keeps you accountable to a time based goal. More important, it gives you an opportunity to invite others to either do the event with you or come along for support. When we did the Huntington Beach Half I invited our family members to participate, and six people signed up for and did the 5K. For all six this was their very first event. We had such a great time and had I not invited them it would have never happened.

5K’ers

This week I did something fun and I signed upfor a 50 mile gravel race in Arkansas. I’ve never done one and I don’t even have a gravel bike but I have plenty of time and I ride about 450 miles per month.

There is something very energizing about trying something new. That is my thought for you, consider signing up for an event this year. There are so many great things to do, especially in the spring and fall. Invite a buddy to do it with you- the world is out there waiting.

Here is the gravel race I’m doing