Geek Into Shape

Have you packed on a few pounds since you started playing World of Warcraft? Are you never able to get to the flag in Warsong Gulch because you you need to stop and catch your breath halfway up the entrance tunnel? If so, then listen up!

A great way to increase your daily fitness is to push that old, squeaky office chair out of the way and replace it with an Exercise Ball during your game time.   Using an exercise ball will improve your balance and tone your core muscles just by sitting down and playing WoW.   Using an exercise ball for brief periods of time is also known to help improve posture and body alignment.  To get that extra calorie burn, bounce on the ball or do hip circles while you play.  But the fun doesn’t stop there!  An exercise ball opens up a whole new world of quick and easy exercises to do while playing, such as Squats, Lunges, and Bridges.  If you play Warcraft while on the road, a popular portable alternative to an exercise ball is a Fit Disc.

Caution: You’ll want to make sure you slowly transition into the use of an exercise ball and only use it for a few hours at a time.  It is not recommended to permanently replace your office chair with an exercise ball.  And as always, consult your personal doctor before attempting any exercise presented here.  This has been your World of Warcraft Workout tip of the week.  Have fun and stay active!

Also, I would like to thank Scott and Randy and the crew over at the Instance for including the audio version of the World of Warcraft Tip #1 in ther latest episode.  I’ll keep the segment regular as long as they keep playing it!

Have you packed on a few pounds since you started playing World of Warcraft?  Are you constantly breaking polymorphs because you were hungry, and you thought the sheep was for you to eat?  If so, then listen up!

Start using quest turn ins as a trigger for doing ab workouts.  For every quest you complete, make it a priority to to 10 sit-ups as soon as the yellow question mark disappears.  Don’t accept another quest until you are finished.  I average around 7-10 quest turn-ins on a good night of playing.  This means that I have done 70-100 sit-ups in one night!  This only takes a few minutes away from your game play, and will put you on the path to having killer abs.  Note: If you can’t finish the sit-ups, switch to another abdominal workout such as planks or bicycle kicks.  When you do these, try to hold out for at least a minute, but don’t stop if you can keep going.

As always, consult your personal doctor before attempting any exercise presented here.  This has been your World of Warcraft Workout tip of the week.  Have fun and stay active!

I just recently decided that I want to run a 5K on Labor Day.  I haven’t been running at all since I jacked myself last year.  Now that my weight is down, I decided it was time to get moving again.

I only have 3 weeks to prep for the 5K, so I’m going to have to kick this into overdrive.  There is no easing into this.  Keeping that theme, I jogged/walked 5K yesterday.  Here are the stats:

74 degrees, 62% humidity I ran 3.2mi in 37:53.

I know I’m not breaking any records.  The run did feel pretty good.  I’ve decided that a lot of my problems were the shoes I was wearing.  I’ve done a few small runs lately in some cross-trainers and it felt good.  Yesterday I decided to go back to my running shoes and I had some foot pain again.  I’m throwing those damn things out.  They just don’t work with my body.  I’ll go back to Brooks;  they were more comfortable, but they wore out quicker than I would have liked.

I ran the first 1.75 miles at a good pace without stopping.  After that I lost some of my steam and had to walk a minute.  At that point I alternated jogging and walking making sure to keep my walks no longer than 1 minute.  Jogging is so much easier with a few pounds gone.  I can only hope that it will get even easier still.

One of the best things to add to your regular exercise routine is some sort of spontaneity and uncertainty.   Breaking the mundane aspects of working out really helps you look forward to your workouts.  This is why people who get their exercise through sports, such as basketball, soccer, and tennis, are 47% more likely to stick with exercising (I just made that up that statistic.  It sounds great, right?!).  But I suck at sports.  I’M A NERD!  I need a different way to add some variety to working out.  So, I hijacked an idea I heard about a while back: Podcasts and drinking games!

No you don’t get to take shots during this workout, but you are going to play the Diggnation Drinking Game without the booze.  Here’s how it works: You turn on Diggnation and listen for certain triggers in the show that will cue you to do a specific workout.  A trigger could be something Kevin or Alex says, does, or implies.  Some shows might not give you much more than a simple walk in the park, others might make you pee yourself because you are too sore to go to the bathroom.  Either way you are listening to one of your favorite podcasts and slimming down at the same time.  So lace up your running shoes, set your Ipod to the latest Diggnation, and let’s get moving.

Warmup

1. Start off by walking for at least 90 seconds
2. If the show is recorded in San Francisco, stop and do 60 seconds of jumping jacks, then continue walking
3. If they are drinking beer during the episode, lightly jog for 60 seconds, then continue walking
4. Walk for 30 more seconds.

The warm-up should take 2:30 regardless of which combination of exercises you do.  If you hear any triggers during this time, ignore them.  Trust me, there will be plenty more to come.

Workout

Note: After completing every individual workout, walk for at least 60 seconds, regardless of whether any triggers come up during the time you are finishing your workout/walking combo.  This gives your body a chance to cool down.  If you are in very good shape, you can relax off this constraint as long as you feel comfortable doing so.

• Alex mentions his girlfriend: 60 seconds walking lunges
• Alex yells something in a high pitched voice: Jog for 60 seconds
• Either of the guys starts on a new beer/tea (not counting the first round): Stop and do squats for 30 seconds
• One of the guys admits to doing something illegal: Sprint for 30 seconds
  • Sprint 60 seconds if they make a failed attempt at covering their tracks
• Kevin or Alex tastes either of the other’s beverage: Jog for 60 seconds
• They massacre one of the “submitted by” user’s names: Stop and do 60 seconds of Jumping Jacks
• Either one of the guys makes a sexual innuendo: 60 Seconds of stair climbs (If you can’t find a full set of stairs, just step up and down on a curb.  Make sure you alternate your leading leg when stepping up)
• A female Diggnation listener submits a sexy picture of themselves and Kevin and Alex gawk at it: Sprint for as long as you can. This is the worst, but you know you are almost done with the show.  Once you feel like you can’t run any more, just finish walking for the remainder of the show.

That’s it!  You have an instant unique workout.  If you want to kick it up a notch, any time either of the guys cuss, start jogging.  Don’t stop jogging until you hit another trigger from above or you hear a second cuss word.  Another way to step it up is double the workout times if it is a live show.  This will definitely add some extra kick to the entire workout.

The good thing about this is that you can make up your own triggers, your own workouts, etc.  In fact, if you have any good ideas, please post them below so I can make an updated Diggnation workout. This is just a fun way to get us geeks into shape and the community will only add to the fun, so please comment.  And remember that whenever you pass somebody while doing the workout, you have to give them a big, hearty: “DIGGNATION!”

As always, consult your doctor before attempting this.  Stay active, have fun, and get into shape.

Have you packed on a few pounds since you started playing World of Warcraft?  Are you tired of walking into World’s End Tavern and overhearing the group of Scryers at the bar comparing you to a Tauren?  Are you a gnome that is starting to resemble a dwarf?  If so, then listen up!

When using the gryphon or wyvern to travel the vast expanses of Azeroth and the Outlands, instead of just sitting there and staring at the pretty landscape pass by, get up and do some jumping jacks.  The average travel time in World of Warcraft is 2 minutes 24 seconds.  Doing jumping jacks for this amount of time burns ~36.5 calories for a 225 pound person.  Four travels a night results in a total of 146 calories burned, just enough to work of that handful of Cheez-its you threw down during the last Kara run.  To kick it up a notch, fly everywhere.  Stop using your hearthstone and stop taking shortcuts… I’m talking to you mages.  For the long flights, switch it up halfway through and do some crunches.  This little bit of exercise will get your heart rate up and pick away at your waistline without taking any time away from your game play!

As always, consult your personal doctor before attempting any exercise presented here.  This has been your World of Workout tip of the week.  Have fun and stay active!