Creating New Habits, Not Excuses

The whole point of Who Needs a Gym is to encourage people to get healthy, live healthy and be healthy, but to keep it simple. My basic belief is that for a person to be healthy and fit they do not need to join a gym or try expensive diets and supplements to get to a healthy weight and to be fit. I have achieved fitness and a healthy weight by watching what I eat and through regular, home based exercise.

I recently read a great book called "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg. The book is brilliant. What I especially liked was how he brought attention to the habit loop (cue-behavior-reward) and how, to make lasting change we need to believe that we can change. I especially like the one part of the book that I quote extensively below and that is related to the intention of this blog (emphasis are mine):

Have Fun and Enjoy

Whatever exercise you choose to do, what ever activities you do to pursue your health goals, remember to always, as Michael Jordan says, "Just Play. Have Fun. Enjoy the Game." My cat agrees!

Cycling - Fantastic Recreational Exercise

Anyone who knows me knows I love cycling. I think cycling is a top notch recreational pastime that helps with overall fitness. Now note I do not cycle for fitness, I cycle for fun and always enjoy getting on my bicycle and exploring the hills and vales of Taiwan. I have documented many of my cycling trips on my personal blog @ Cycling in Taiwan. You can also follow my cycling exploits on Strava: Paul or Garmin Connect: Paul. Now as I said earlier, I don't use cycling as my primary fitness tool but rather as a recreational pastime that has obvious health benefits. Of course, cycling is an optional exercise tool that can easily be fitted into a regular fitness plan.

Combination Program - Pullups & Pushups

Sorry for the silence at Who Needs a Gym over the past couple of months. I got injured and busy and didn't do a lot of workouts. I still managed to control my diet and maintain my weight loss. Anyway, I am back on the exercise cycle and starting to do more workouts. This morning I started a combination of the 100 Pushup Challenge (previously outlined in Pushups - Beginner to Advanced) and the Armstrong Pull-up Program (previously outlined in Pullup Program - Starting Tomorrow).

I was meant to start the Armstrong Pull-up Program a feaw months ago but the day before I wanted to start I injured my shoulder and it is only starting to feel right now. Since my shoulder was injured I also struggled to do push ups but I have finally started to be able to do both push-ups and pull-ups. I did a few trials on the weekend and the shoulder is able to support my weight again and go through the full range of motion with no pain. Happily I started the push-up program this morning and will start the pull-up program again in an hour or so.