I went out and bought a pedometer today. I got it from Mountain Equipment Co-op as I live just 2 blocks away. I picked up the Timex Digital Pedometer for $22 Canadian. It counts steps, calories and distance in either Km or Miles. It’s a lot smaller than I had figured it would be so that’s great.

I’m going to follow the format that I outlined in the 10000 steps a day program for week 1 and track what I’m already doing first as I’m kinda curious. I KNOW that I am not as active in walking as I should be as I’m blogging and writing a lot, but I wanted to do the program just as others would.

I remember that when I started my weight loss program back in 1990 that I wanted to do push ups and crunches but could only do 5 push ups and only a few crunches. I have decided to modify the 10000 steps a day program to include daily push ups and crunches as well. Why Not? If you’re out walking, why not begin something else new as well and do some daily body weight exercises as well.

Basic Crunch

The Crunch uses the abdominal muscles. It’s the most basic of abdominal movements. I want to point out that the abdominals are used to raise the shoulders off the ground and that’s it. If you continue to go farther than that, you involve the hip flexors which are not part of the abdominals, so stop and hold the crunch for one second or two and then return to the starting position. The exercise you know as a “sit up” uses the abdominals first, then the hip flexors. I see no value in doing a situp and they can be hard on your lower back and cause a lot of pain over time. My trainer forbids doing crunches as she focus’ on “core based training” to stimulate the entire core section. For the purpose of this goal though, I just want people to get started and get active and a crunch is fine to begin with. Then consider having a look at Core Based Training.

My buddy David Grisaffi wrote the definitive book on abdominals. It’s called Firm and Flatten Your Abs and in it David teaches how to quickly shrink your waistline, lose body fat, eliminate low back pain and develop great ab. He even included a walking guide with some twists as well.

Start with a goal of at least 5 push ups and lets say at least 25 crunches. If you’re more physically fit, then adjust the numbers, but do them daily.

They don’t have to be in a row either, just as long as the number is done each day. When I was working at the Peak Potentials Warrior Camp last year, my goal was 200 push ups a day. As with any exercise program, track your results. Keep a log. See how you progress over time.

I have to go buy new shoes now due to an unfortunate cat issue. I’m not going to get into the details of what my cat did to my shoes, but lets just say “bad kitty” and that I have to by a little more regular on cleaning the litter box. My cats are funny, each has their own personal responsibility in keeping me up to date on certain issues. Pumpkin is in charge of cat food while Boo is in charge of the litter box. They each let me know in their own special way that it’s time to check on things. But I digress.

Make sure you register for the weight loss forum and track your progress on the 10000 steps a day weight loss program.

See you on the trails.

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