Danswers 06: Fitness with Danielle

Cool! I need help on finding a good podcast app for android that can handle the premium podcasts too. Any recommendations appreciated.

Just download the MP3, no app required.

@seanord: I use beyondpod, works great!
PocketCasts is a decent app too, but the dev has said there's no plans to add support for password protected podcasts.

The GB premium casts work on PocketCasts, I'm using it.

@mnzy: Oh. Guess I'm out of date on that one then. In that case, both are good choices probably.

@seanord: This works in Pocket Casts and Overcast and probably other players: http://www.reddit.com/r/giantbomb/comments/2sodyj/how_to_add_giant_bomb_premium_podcasts_to_your/

@dannyodwyer, @danryckert,

Challenge accepted! My goal is to get so fit that whenever I start exercising, someone, somewhere in the world, instinctively starts playing the Rocky IV soundtrack on a boombox without really knowing why.

Kudos to Danny for coming up with this here idea, it not just damn fun, but I'm sure it will also do people some actual good, but then again, that's what Danswers are all about. Hope you guys will revisit the subject and offer some status updates over the coming months.

On another note, Danielle's just fantastic.

Hm. This episode was too "fitness heavy", not that it's not an important topic but I definitely welcome variety when it comes to this podcast. I think someone mentioned that guests shouldn't dictate the whole show and I would agree with that.

I also sent in a question and because it didn't fit the "theme", it didn't get danswered, so maybe that also adds a little to my apprehensiveness with this theme plan...? :S

I kind of like the idea of themed episodes. Bring someone on that knows stuff and discuss it. Nice change of pace from the 3 episodes I had listened to.

And Danielle listening to podcasts while doing P90X is great. I do the same with other workouts, and I do it with GB videos. You're working but laughing at the same time. Positive reinforcement!

My advice for those who want to get in to lifting weights would to have a few different people who you lift with (If possible). This really helped me mainly because you gain a little bit of knowledge from each new person you workout with.

I'm back on board after this episode. Thanks, guys!

Rad stuff. Exercise is interesting and yeah, it sounds like y'all are overdoing it to meet a goal. It's really important to approach working out slowly, especially if you have computer-body. You aren't ready to go ham on excessive conditioning.

Yoga, walking, etc, graduating into longer work-outs and stuff is key.

Great advice on helping people develop habits to structure their lives around, too! Body weight exercise owns bones since you can more or less do it at your desk or indoors.

"Brain over Brawn" and "Fuck Calories" give some good general advice and don't require much equipment... and the books themselves are free ebooks!

There was ONE thing that the podcast conspicuously did NOT mention enough:

REST IS VITAL TO EXERCISE. You are tearing down your body to build it back up, but if you never let it build back up and strengthen, you're risking injury! Once you're injured, your chance of re-injury is greatly increased! I forget the statistics on that stuff, but definitely listen to your body's cues as they *did* mention in the podblast.

Hey @danryckert, you might not want to do this now because you've already been training in a specific way, but there are some changes you can make to reduce or eliminate your heel pain. I'm not an expert, but I've been running for years and lead a few running groups with folks who have tons of experience running etc. The heel pain could be caused by a few things, you mention yo-yoing, this is probably number one - it takes time to acclimate to the stress of running distance. But it also has to do with how your foot strikes the ground, and probably your shoes as well. If you strike the ground with your heel, you want to make sure you have enough support under your foot to absorb the force you're throwing into it. I'd recommend checking in with a local running store to monitor your stride and see if maybe there's a better shoe for you. I personally started using a more minimal shoe about 2 years ago, the Brooks Pure Connect, and it totally changed the way I run. I went from a heal strike to a forefoot strike. Doing this meant I had to build up calf strength, but the results were fantastic and I became a better runner overall. The forefoot and midfoot strike will put much less stress on your heel if you can train to do it. Basically, it allows the force generated from the impact of striking your feet to the ground to be absorbed through your calves, rather than just your heel - it's a much healthier way to run. But it takes training to really build up the strength in your calves to do it properly at longer distances.

My two cents. Good luck with the races! Also - absolutely love this podcast, keep up the great work!

When I left for college, my dad took me to the airport (it's an 8 hour drive to the school) and the last thing he told me was, "Watch out girls, they're trouble." No tears at that goodbye.

Also for working out/socializing, join a group. I play a few sports in social clubs and it's pretty fun. I also trained for a marathon by joining a running group and they had people who could help me out with injuries and they usually had a mini health fair after our long runs so we could get screened by professionals. It cost money of course but it's better than pain.

I also do group exercises at my gym.

yeah as someone who's been in the 270 range for the majority of my adult life (but not really ashamed of it or anything) I always wanted to start exercising and eating better once I hit 30 years old just for my own health and now that I'm there I'm realizing I don't really know where to start. Listening to this helped out a bit but any extra tips would be appreciated!

I'm just going to say that I'm not sure that anyone should take fitness advice from a guy who went to the gym drunk to run and seems to eat almost nothing but fast food by his own word... Seriously.

Time to start running again

If the objective is just to lose weight, Danielle's advice on thinking about dancing is an extremely good one. Especially if the person is also self-conscious and/or socially akward, since a dance group/course does wonders for your confidence.

i started going to the gym back in early 2012. it pretty much saved my life at the time, as suicidal depression was taking a real hold on me. i had dealt with being overweight in my teens and had many issues with bullying and ultra low self esteem, so feeling like i could change my physicality and lift the weight that my friends couldn't was an immensely empowering feeling.

that said, i began to become obsessed. i was going at least 6-7 times a week and absolutely destroying my body each time. what's worse is that i was going at absolutely stupid times (2am usually) because, as is mentioned in the podcast, i was incredibly scared of people being around me. what sleep pattern i did have was completely gone, as was any energy i might have had. i got the body i wanted, but i was becoming unhealthy in an entirely different way. whenever i couldn't go to the gym for whatever reason, i would have panic attacks. whenever i would plateau and not see any progress for the work i was putting in, i would freak out and think i was doing things wrong. it got to such a bad state that i tried to kill myself because i couldn't go to the gym.

so yeah, fitness and the 'gym lifestyle' can be incredibly empowering and useful to people who feel that they don't have much control over their lives, but i also feel that it's by no means the be all and end all that many people like to present it as - if you try it in order to better your self-image and you find it doesn't work for you, that's not because you're doing it wrong or whatever, it might just not be for you. i feel that perhaps dan r maybe presents this whole thing as a little simplistic (like, you exercise and you get better and that's it), and obviously he is not by any means presenting himself as a professional in this field by any means, but there is so much more to mental illness than the idea that if you work out you'll get better.

i actually think that it might be potentially dangerous to push that as a cure of sorts - if someone feels like it's not making them better but it's all they've been told to do to help with the illness, then it can lead to further feelings of worthlessness and incompetence. one of the most intensely helpful things i ever heard was from someone close to me (who has a lot of experience bodybuilding and of mental illness) telling me that the two things are not necessarily related, and if i felt that it wasn't for me then there are numerous other ways to try and sort out depression and anxiety.

tl;dr - fitness can definitely help certain people, but it is by no means a 'cure'. it can help with some of the peripheral symptoms of depression and anxiety (low self esteem, lack of energy, etc.) but in order to get to the core of the problem you really need to dig past that by talking to a professional. one of the most common things people with depression get told is 'go do some exercise! it'll make you happier!' and that just makes you feel worse when you can't get out of bed in the fucking morning.

Danielle is wonderful! Yay!

@anonymous_jesse: yup. Same goes for quite a bit of content on GB nowadays, for me :(

@mooseheadchris: agreed! (Not with the "white knight" turd)

Stupid app only for iPhone, get bent. :-)

great episode

Interesting hearing Danny R talk about the pain between his belly button and his 'area' here, considering how he ended up in A&E

3 hours a day!? I'm jealous but that still borders on obsessive.

@danryckert I know this is an older episode, but to your point about you having issues with running and getting muscle pains and shin splints and what not; something to keep in mind is the importance of stretching. I didn't notice you mention it, but you should always stretch before any exercise. I learned about it when I was in the army so I always do it.

I find when I run I tend to get shin splints a lot if I don't stretch my shins enough. Plus doctors say you should also make sure to stay hydrated as that will cause muscle issues as well if you don't.

I don't know, you probably know that, but it's important for people to know anyway. So hopefully it helps =)

Hi all, first time poster, and decided to jump in on premium. Can anyone tell me how to download the mp3 so I can transfer it and listen to it on my phone?

There's a big red button called "Download MP3" RIGHT THERE