Mudd Musings: Ike and Jacks

Hurricane Ike, he's a'comin.' Weather is the one surefire thing that can make adults behave like kids again. At the first sign of a gust or drop, we act like it's a Snow Day in fourth grade.

Gustav dropped Austin's temperature like four degrees for 20 minutes and blew up nine hairs on my head. Here's hoping that Ike shucks and jives us similarly.

A good sign is that Jim Spencer, my go-to weather guy, was measureably less excited during the 10 o'clock telecast than in the 6 o'clock report. Seems Ike is hanging a right. You can always calibrate Mother Nature's impending spell on the Centex by the size of Spencer's on-air erection, his personal CONE OF UNCERTAINTY.

Sunny Jim, by the way, is surprisingly one of the area's top high school football officials. Almost certainly the only guy you can spot, in the span of one night, on the tube, the gridiron and the dance floor at Oil Can's.

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Four Fitness/Nutrition Tips

1. If you find yourself on an elliptical machine and your feet are only a blur, like a cheetah chasing its prey, then you need to increase the resistance. Cardio, much like strength training, is as much about quality (read: intensity) as quantity.

2. People worry too often about how much they are eating and think not enough about what they're eating. Your body can only process good foods accordingly and bad foods in same. So in this case, don't obsess about quantity (assuming quality stays in the equation). There's a reason why all studies point to 5-6 small, nutritious meals a day - that's a lot of eating - instead of two bad meals.

3. Your heart rate needs to average between 65-75 percent of its max for weight-loss purposes. The old-school route to measuring your max HR is to subtract your age from 220. Then multiply by .7. The best investments you can make before tackling a cardio routine are good shoes, a heart rate monitor (basic ones are cheap these days) and good tunes.

4. When in a pickle - or a hotel, or at home, or waiting out a hurricane - these are my favorite body-weight-oriented exercises. No weights, no machines, just you and some elbow grease.

Pushups - Play with the width of your hands to work different parts of the chest and shoulders.
Do high rep sets (endurance) from the knees, and low rep sets (strength) like a big boy.

Wall Sits - Again, vary the angles (close/regular/wide) to hit different muscles. Place your hands behind your head for added fun.

Bench Dips - A great tricep exercise, provided you do them right. Keep your spine close to the bench, shoulders open and chest out. Drop to 90 degrees, then drive through the heels of your hands and get a good squeeze at your peak. Add weight on your lap for more resistance, or au jus for a French Bench Dip.

Jumping Jacks - Old school; just like on your Presidential Health Test. Make Ronald proud.

Plank Hold - Bows and toes, hips slightly higher than parallel. Squeeze, breath and hold for several hours.

Ham Lifts - Lay on ground with legs at 90 degrees and heels on an affixed surface. Keep knees together, squeeze abs and lift to peak. Vary width of feet to target different parts of your honey-baked hams.

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