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Stop Acting Like an Adult - Play Like a Kid

By David DiFabio

Adults are supposed to be much wiser, if not smarter than kids. Yet, with summer on the way, I've been fielding questions from many of my adult clients about how to keep from getting bored with old workouts. There are a million directions I could go with this. However, when I get this question, I think about what we used to do for fun as kids. When I was a kid, my friends and I were always on the move. If we weren't playing sports we were going somewhere to find something interesting (or exceedingly bone-headed) to do. We were on foot, on a bike, or on skateboard going from point A to B to C and back to A (and I can tell you we weren't traveling at a steady pace, but more on that later). We didn't have to think about staying fit. Staying fit just kinda happened because we were just having fun doing what we were doing.

So then what happens to the adult brain as we get older? I think we lose a few brain cells along the way. We're definitely dumber as adults. How else would you explain the torture we put ourselves through in the name of exercise....Lay on a platform and press a heavy metal bar over your chest and risk decapitation....get on a conveyor belt and try not to fall off of the back like George Jetson....Sit on a rear numbing seat and pedal nowhere while staring into space. No wonder we're bored, unmotivated, and sick of the gym.

I can't tell you how many people tell me they hate the stationary bike or the treadmill or some other machine. "If you hate it, then why do you do it", I ask? "To lose weight", is the answer I get. Folks, you don't have to torture yourself with boring, steady-pace exercise to lose weight. As a matter of fact, without getting to technical, interval training, resistance training, and sports/games can help you lose more weight by increasing resting metabolic rate and post-exercise metabolic rate.

Earlier I mentioned that when we were kids going from place to place, we weren't traveling at a steady pace. Have you ever watched a kid at play? What do they do? They're usually bouncing off the walls for a minute or so and then they stop. Then they bounce some more and they stop. And again. And again. That's call interval training. I'd bet a months worth of training that kid can run circles around 95% of the 22 year-olds I see in the gym.

Here's another thought... Some of my clients are high school kids. I don't know any kid that wakes up in the morning and says "I WANT to start running everyday to take some weight off". Now don't get me wrong, if that kid is a runner and is training for a race, then that kid needs to run. Furthermore, I'm not trashing the sport of running. If YOU LOVE to RUN, as I do, then by all means...RUN FORREST RUN!!! Enjoy, have fun! That's the point...find something you love to do and do it well. However, many people would consider running to be "cardio" while a runner would call it TRAINING! That's an important difference in perspective because most people would rather remain overweight than to go for a run everyday. So if you're not TRAINING for a particular event, do you need to do traditional "cardio"? Hhmmmmmm?!

There are other ways to lose weight and other ways to build stamina and endurance. There are other ways to improve heart health and improve cardiorespiratory function without doing traditional, steady-pace exercise. Traditional exercise is not working for most people. Obesity and other health problems are still on the rise for adults and children. Maybe it's time to get unconventional. Maybe it's time to stop the torture and time to start having fun again with an activity or TRAINING regimen you actually enjoy. Stay tuned for the next article on this topic. It might contain a sample interval training program. Maybe you won't need any equipment or a gym membership to do the program either.

About the Author:

Dave DiFabio MA, CSCS, USAW, is the Founder of Team Speed Fitness. He is also a Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Professor at Rutgers University. Dave is also available for online personal training.

Dave has 12 years of training experience and holds a Masters and Bachelors in Exercise Physiology. He is certified by the National Strength & Conditioning Association and by USA Weightlifting. Dave’s clientele includes collegiate and high school athletes, adults and children, and those with special needs or medical concerns. Dave is a regular contributor to Men's Fitness Magazine and has coauthored two research studies dealing with antioxidant supplementation and overtraining. The results of the above studies were presented at the American College of Sports Medicine's 52nd and 53rd Annual Meetings. Dave can be reached via his website TeamSpeedFitness.com. Be sure to view the free “Food for Fitness” videos to learn how to make intelligent, healthy choices at the supermarket.