Fitness Advice and Cool Apps For A Healthier You

Aside from our love of everything geeky, we also enjoy inspiring you, our readers, with different ways to improve your outlook and encourage you to pursue your passions. Being active online can put a toll on one’s health and we both have been doing our part to ensure we stay fit even with our busy schedules. We strongly believe that one needs to take care of their body as much as their mind to get the most out of life. As geeks, we have been using some cool apps that have been recommended by friends to help us achieve our fitness goals and have fun doing it as you’ll see in the following video.

free email updates!

FREE PodJam.tv updates delivered right to your inbox

We both acknowledge the fact that we are not experts in the field of fitness and wellness so we have also asked three people who inspire us to weigh in on this topic and we hope they can inspire you too. We asked each of them three questions and here is what they had to say:

Question 1:  What is your favorite fitness regimen and why? 

Sean Brown –  My primary fitness regimen is running.  In general, I run 5 days per  week, but the distances vary depending on where I am in a marathon training cycle.  At the beginning of a training cycle, I run about 35 miles per week, and at my peak, I’m at 60 miles per week.  This summer, I’ll be moving toward 70 per week as I make a push to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

 

I love what running does for me.  To me, running is a mirror for life.  Some days you feel like you’re floating on top of the road and every  step brings more joy.  Other days every footfall is a struggle and you  battle with yourself just to keep going.  Just like life.  But, just as it is in life, improvement happens slowly, over a long period of time, and that’s an easy lesson to forget in our instant gratification, always-on lives.  And as much as that lesson helps me stay grounded, it’s an even more critical lesson for my kids to learn.  As a parent, I know that they absorb far more by watching what I do, rather than what I say.

Joyce Cherrier - I thrive on variety and outdoor activities so I incorporate weight training and outdoor sports as much as possible. I also adjust my training to fit my lifestyle. The summer season I spend preparing for my Maui trip home to get ready for doing up to 4 sports in one day.

Christina Yow-  I don’t really have a favorite. I work out on the Treadmill and Cross-Trainer (but more on the Cross-Trainer as I get a good cardio work-out AND get my arms toned!) on say, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays are for Strength-Training.

 

On weekends, I can afford to spend more time at the gym. So I attend Body Pump, Body Combat, Zumba (dance), Pilates and Spinning classes!  Not all at the same time/ same day though!  I restrict myself to 2 classes per day (eg Spinning, Body Pump OR Body Combat and Pilates).

Joyce Cherrier-  I learned to surf at about 16 and that began a life long journey of water sports, fitness and learning how to eat healthy.

Christina Yow-  I have always been active but in my previous job – and with the crazy working hours I had to put in (read: no life!), I had to forego exercising. Besides, my the time weekend came, I was just too tired to do anything but sleep! My health also deteriorated.  I noticed I was falling ill (cough, cough) pretty often. Must be due to the stress! So when I joined Nike in December 2010, it was a no-brainer for me to start living a healthy lifestyle again.  I am a corporate member of the Fitness First Platinum Gym (which allows me to use their gyms here in the Asia Pacific region and anywhere else in the world that has a branch, operated by the same group).

 

These days, I am at the gym almost daily!  I don’t recommend anyone to follow my example. My case is unique.  My office is next to the Fitness First Gym. On weekdays, my colleagues and I will hit the gym just before lunch time, and we’ll work-out for approximately 40 minutes. It’s either on the treadmill, cross-trainer or strength-training. Then it’s back to the office to work. All refreshed and rejuvenated!  On Saturdays and Sundays, I attend classes like Body Pump, Body Combat, Zumba (dance), Pilates and Spinning! I usually spend about 2-3 hours at the gym on weekends. Of course, I do have days when I slackened a bit  when I can’t go to the gym with my colleagues to work out if  I have tight deadlines to meet. So I am perfectly normal and need to be motivated too! I did have a personal trainer to help me out initially. Nowadays, my Nike colleague (Grace) acts as my personal trainer! She is amazingly fit (at 40+ years old) with a body to-die-for! She is my inspiration!

Sean Brown - The mileage and marathons I mention above are a snapshot of where I am today.  But it wasn’t always the case.  I started running in September of 2009 when one morning, I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn’t believe how lazy I’d become.  I knew it wasn’t healthy for  me, and I also knew I wasn’t setting a good example for my two sons.

 

Since watching a friend run the Chicago Marathon soon after we graduated from college, I had been intrigued with long distance running and wondered whether I  had what it takes to complete a marathon.  So, on that September day, I started by following a plan called Couch to 5K.  This plan eases you into running slowly and sets you up for success.  Over the course of 9 weeks, it takes you from running 60 seconds without stopping, to being able to run 3.1 miles without stopping.

 

After making it through the program, I ran my first 5K on November 8, 2009, and I was hooked.  I haven’t stopped running since. When I was finally ready to try for a marathon I decided to go where it had all started or me, the Chicago Marathon, and did it on October 10, 2010.  Since then I’ve run three more marathons and four half marathons.  For people making a decision to begin running, I can’t stress enough how important it is to begin slowly.  I’m sure all us know someone who started running only to give it up after just a couple of weeks, walking away thinking it’s just too hard or they’re in too much pain and have come to the conclusion that they’re just not cut out to be a runner.  Almost every time, the culprit is going out too far, too fast.  Take it slow; the progress will come if you take your time, and that progress will motivate you to stick with it.  Use a program like Couch to 5K to help set you up for success.

Question 3:  What is your favorite fitness related app and why?

Christina Yow-  I enjoy working out on the Treadmill and Cross-Trainer (but more on the Cross-Trainer as I get a good cardio work-out AND get my arms toned!). And for strength-training, I rely on kettlebells, resistance bands and smaller sized hand weights.

Joyce Cherrier-  The two I most use are Fooducate and Whole Foods Market Recipes. I’ve found that not only have they been helpful for me, but also for the health of my whole family.

Sean Brown –  As I mentioned above, when I started running, I used the Couch to 5K program.  I started by printing out the schedule and putting it on the fridge to track my progress and keep me accountable. But I’m a pretty big gadget guy, so it wasn’t long before I found a C25K app for my iPhone  that really helped me.  I also use a Garmin Forerunner 610 fitness watch. It helps me keep on track during my runs by showing me my current pace, average pace, and distance covered.

 

While not an app, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention dailymile.com. Dailymile is a social website for runners, cyclists and triathletes. Members post their workouts and get support, encouragement, and advice from others in the community.  A number of “virtual” friends have become friends in real life and I always look forward to meeting up with them at one race or another.

Image Credits:  Joyce Cherrier  Sean Brown

About our guests:

Sean Brown is a father of two great boys (12 and 10), husband to his beautiful wife, Michelle, and owner/playmate to a completely insane German Shorthair pointer named Mosely.  When he’s not running, he can usually be found dragging his family to local baseball parks to watch his kids play, or baseball stadiums around the country to watch the big boys play. At work, he is the EVP of Technology at Barefoot Proximity, a full service digital agency that is part of the BBDO agency network. He can be found online here: Twitter: @SeanBrown Blog: Why I Run  and Daily Mile

Christina Yow loves Singapore. She has stellar taste in music (test her!), food, fashion (ah, shoes!), movies, love animals (especially dogs!) and she loves her job at NIKE.  She enjoys unleashing the Indiana Jones spirit in her and exploring the world. She could feast on Sashimi everyday and take any chance she can get to live like a local in whichever city she happens to be in!  She can be found online here: Twitter: @KrystynnSG Blog: Tumblr and  AboutMe.

Joyce Cherrier has over 30 years experience in health and fitness ranging from a professional athlete (windsurfing) to a co-owner of a very succe­ssful health food store to gym management to personal training. Her love for all things healthy motivates her to promote a healthy lifestyle and green living. Her goals are to share with people what has worked for her over 30 years and to find ways to fit healthy living into their life. She promotes brands that help people accomplish that goal. She can be found online here:  Twitter: @JoyceCherrier Blog: Freaking Fitness and Pinterest

Marty McPadden founder and host of PodJamTv is a professional photographer, videographer, blogger, apple geek and a Production Supervisor at ESPN one of the largest sports network in the world. His vast knowledge in the above mentioned field will allow you our readers to tap into tools, apps, reviews and tips that he has learned and mastered over the years. How to’s and hacks that will allow you to have a richer online experience.

Misty Belardo co host and co writer of PodJamTv is an experienced blogger, designer and a self proclaimed Twitter-holic and an avid Facebook user is a Senior Production Manager at Barefoot Proximity, one of the most awarded advertising agencies across the globe. Her experience with writing, designing, SEO and brand and advertising strategy will give readers a point of view of what happens behind the scenes in the digital sphere.

© 2012 – 2013, PodJam.tv. All rights reserved.