Blog - Page 46 of 48 - 12 Minute Athlete

On Being Hipster, Skinny Fat, and Getting Diabetes in Your 20′s

In my 26 years on this planet, I’ve had the privilege of living in some of the coolest cities in the planet—Portland, Amsterdam, New York, and San Francisco, just to name a few.

The one thing these places have in common?

Hipsters. Lots and lots of hipsters.

If you’re not familiar with the term (although you’d probably have to be a hermit to not have come into contact with it these days), the (condensed) Urban Dictionary definition of a hipster is:

“Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20’s and 30’s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. Although “hipsterism” is really a state of mind, it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs.”

Now, I have no idea why, but one thing nearly all hipsters have in common is that they seem to avoid exercising at all costs (biking is the one exception).

It’s almost as if they consider being healthy and in shape to be ‘uncool.’

The strange thing is, because they subside mainly on cigarettes, beer, and tacos (please do not do this), most hipsters don’t actually appear overweight.

Instead, they perfectly embody what is everybody’s favorite body type to bash these days: skinny fat.

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How to Keep Fit When All You Have is a Hotel Room

It’s no secret that most people use traveling as an excuse to not work out.

They assume that just because they don’t have access to a gym or fancy exercise equipment, there’s no point in even trying to keep fit.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Because despite what you may think, you can actually get a really good workout when you’re traveling—even if all you have is a hotel room as your gym.

And best of all, you won’t have to spend an hour a day of your vacation exercising—or shell out $20 for a day pass at an expensive gym.

All you need is a hotel room—and determination

I used to always use traveling as an excuse not to exercise—even on long European vacations filled with French pastries and German beer.

And even though I’d end up walking a ton every time I traveled, I never did a single push up or lifted even one weight. As a result, I’d end up losing much of the hard work I’d put in before my trip… and have to start from the beginning when I got back home.

So a few years ago, I changed my stance on exercise while traveling, and now I work out just as I would normally, albeit with a little less equipment or space.

How to Keep Working Out—Even When Your Life is Turned Upside Down

Let’s face it: life just doesn’t always go as planned.

No matter how hard you may try and control it, something always gets in the way.

And what’s the first thing that gets put on the back burner when something unexpected happens and turns your life upside down?

Your workouts.

You’re too tired, too busy, too stressed. So you stop exercising regularly, start eating like crap, and let all your hard work disappear.

I should know. I’ve been there.

And it’s completely understandable. But you can’t let it happen.

When moving gets in the way

Over the past four years, I’ve moved a total of 8 times. Three of those moves included going thousands of miles (from Portland to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to New York, New York to San Francisco), and four were into temporary housing—which, if you’ve never experienced it, is very unsettling.

And now, my husband and I are thinking of moving again(!)—but this time, we’re trying to buy a house in San Francisco (not an easy feat).

The one thing all these moves have had in common? They have all been very, very, distracting. And they would have all been perfectly good excuses to temporarily abandon my workout routine.

But I didn’t let that happen.

Need Some Workout Motivation? Read This Right Now

Are you in dire need of some motivation to work out?

Have you been putting off your workouts because you’re just too busy, you’re just not ready yet, or you’re just not feeling up to it?

Well, we’re going to fix that problem right now.

So if you want some motivation, stick around. If not, click away from this post IMMEDIATELY and go read something safe and unmotivating.

Ok.

So you said you want some motivation?

Are you sick of not being able to fit into the clothes you want to wear? Avoiding the beach because you don’t want anyone else to see how jiggly your abs have gotten? Feeling embarrassed… disgusted… and hopeless about how you look?

(I’ve been there.)

Then let’s DO THIS. Let’s get you some motivation.

Now follow these steps below carefully:

Quit saying you don’t have the time to exercise.

We’re all busy. We all have too many things to do in a 24-hour time period.

But go ahead and ask yourself right now: What are your main priorities?

If they’re your family, your friends, your career, your hobbies, that’s all great.

But what about your health?

Shouldn’t that be a priority?

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Putting the Play Back in Exercise

When I was a kid, I never had to worry about my weight.

I could eat all the food I ever wanted, yet despite my rampant sweet tooth, there was never an extra ounce of fat on my skinny, Gumby-like body.

This is true for the majority of kids (or it used to be… childhood obesity rates are at frightenly high levels these days).

Until they reach puberty—or for some kids, college—the word ‘fat’ doesn’t even enter their vocabulary. They can eat as much pizza and ice cream as their hearts desire, and they’ll suffer no noticeable repercussions.

So why is this true? Why don’t kids have to watch their weight, despite their carbohydrate and sugar-filled diets?

Sure, a big factor is their high metabolisms and growing bodies—many of which require so many calories, their appetites can barely keep up.

But the biggest factor in keeping kids slim? Play.

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What Does Living Mean to You?

What does living mean to you?

Does it mean being stuck in a stuffy gym, going round and round on some machine just like a hamster?

Does it mean sitting in a cubicle five days a week, getting your creativity sucked out of you in a dull, windowless room?

Does it mean doing something you’re not passionate about just so you can pay the bills?

Hating your body just because society tells you you should?

Living like you’ve lost your soul because you don’t know how else you should live?

If that’s the way you’re living your life, it’s time to change.

Because we’re only given one life, and we should do all we can to live it to the max.

This means, above all else, we should value:

Our health
Our relationships
Our souls

Nothing is more important. And whether you’re 25, 39, 57, even 88… it’s never too late to change.

Functional Fitness: The Ultimate Guide

Have you ever had a killer workout at the gym…

Busting out the biceps curls, leg presses, and calf raises…

Only to find you have trouble lifting a heavy suitcase above your head in a crowded airplane, or going up five flights of stairs when the elevator is broken?

You’re not alone.

Because the truth is that when most people work out, they focus on exercises that isolate individual muscles, such as the biceps, triceps, quads or glutes.

This type of training isn’t necessarily wrong (it’s used by bodybuilders to pump up particular muscles so they’re big and puffy), but it won’t help you in everyday life.

Because in the real world, your muscles don’t work in isolation—they work together as a whole.

And that’s where functional fitness comes in. Because if you want to be truly fit… you have to be fit inside and outside of the weight room.

Workout equipment:

Workout type: 12 minute

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Why You Should Learn a New Sport

There’s no doubt about it: doing the same thing for extended periods of time can get, well, boring.

This is as true with exercise as it is with anything else in life.

And while you’re never going to be able to get away from the rockstar exercises like squats, push ups, and burpees, you can find ways to mix up your fitness here and there.

Wondering one of the best ways to shake things up?

Learn a new sport!

It doesn’t have to be scary

Yes, I know, some of you probably have nightmare images of P.E. coming back to you when I mention anything about sports.

Maybe you were terrible at softball (I was), or sucked in golf (I did, but then again, we used whiffle balls instead of golf balls). But the beauty of being an adult is that you get to do anything you want to do.

There’s no mean old P.E. teacher anymore to tell you which sport you have to excel in. You can just have fun.

How to Crush Your Workouts

Are you mindlessly drifting through your workouts, never pushing yourself to go harder, faster, stronger?

This kind of working out won’t get you anywhere.

Because if you want to reach your goals, become healthy for life, and get fitter than you ever thought possible, you can’t just half-ass your workouts.

You have to crush it.

Give it your all

The awesome thing about interval training is that you never have to worry about pacing yourself or saving your energy for later.

If you were running a marathon or participating in a triathlon, you couldn’t just give it your all the entire time—because you’d never finish. Instead, you’d have to pace yourself, working hard to find a steady stride so that you could stay at that exact same pace the entire time and never burn out.

Not so with interval training.

With interval training, because you’re only working in spurts of maybe 20, 30, or 50 seconds, you never have to hold back.

There’s no need to pace yourself, to think about how you’ll be at it for 30 or 60 minutes—because that’s just not the case.

Interval training only works when you work harder than you ever thought possible, making your muscles scream and sweat pour during every single interval.

So don’t hold back. Run, jump, and lift like your life depended on it. Crush it.