Category Archives: Health / Fitness

Although I had a vision of a coherent, organized series of health/fitness posts, I’ve decided I’ll just have to shoot from the hip when I feel the kick.

Today’s post is about short workouts. For some reason there seems to be this myth that all workouts have to be at least one hour long, and usually longer. Personal trainers suggest 1.5 – 2 hours. This is nonsense. If you don’t exercise, start with a 10 minute walk each morning.

If you exercise regularly, don’t be afraid to shorten your workouts during a busy period. I had a decently busy day today. Not really busy, but a few meetings, a few calls, a few faxes, 75 emails sent/received. I didn’t want to take two hours to do aerobics and lift weights, even though my lats and pecs are more than deserving of some Casnocha Style Lovin’ (out of guilt, I had two Clif Bars).

So I did a quick 45 minute workout, door to door. Since I happily pay more for the convenience of a local gym, it’s a 3 minute walk, 20 minutes on bike, 10 minutes treadmill, 10 minutes elliptical, some stretching / push ups and out the door (ok – a little longer than 45 mins). When I got home I felt refreshed and focused.

Again: if you don’t exercise, start with 10 minute workouts. If you do exercise, don’t be afraid to do short ones when you’re busy, but be sure to pay a little extra for a lot more convenience (if possible) since it will save time on the transit, and every minute counts.

I just created a new category for future blog posts: Health & Fitness. In the coming months I will discuss the idea:

A strong mind starts with a strong body.

I firmly believe the entrepreneurial lifestyle must start with the living, breathing organism. As a Jamba Juice cup has said, "Your body is a temple. Respect it." Unfortunately, some people think the entrepreneurial lifestyle means disrespecting your body by depriving it of exercise, sleep, or proper nutrition.

I will argue that people who claim they are at their peak mental performance while not maintaining a healthy body are deluding themselves (and you). I’m assuming that the dualist "mind and consciousness is distinct from the biology of the body" argument is not credible with most readers, so I won’t address it in this series. I think: Our brain is a bunch of chemicals and subject to biology.

I’m not a personal trainer. I’m not a nutritionist. I’m not a sleep consultant. But I am someone who cares about each of those things and who has reaped the benefits of being physically fit in many ways.

This series of posts won’t target Iron Man or Marathon runners nor will be a dieting plan for the obese. It’s for people like me — casual enthusiasts who realize the importance of fitness. It also won’t be a attack against people who’d rather not worry about their body. As the former University of Chicago president Robert Hutchins once said, "When I feel the desire to exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes." To them I say, "Enjoy!"

Some of the topics I’d like to write about include:

• Basic nutrition — the foods and liquids that elevate you to peak performance
• The argument, "I don’t have time to exercise."
• Different kinds of exercise
• Physical fitness habits — how busy people make it a priority
• Exercises to do at the gym
• To gym or not to gym, that is the question
• Sleep
• Weightlifting — the joys of a beach without your shirt on (joking)
• Hydration
• Nutritional supplements
• Fitness when traveling
• The music of exercise — Is Kelly Clarkson as good as it gets?
• Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Anything else you’d like to see?

Link: The (over)exercise of power – Los Angeles Times.

I don’t know, I admire Bush’s obsession over exercise and think it’s great he’s even asking supreme court nominees what their workout regimen is! And as for the author of this article, in fact the busiest, most successful people DO find time to workout, in my experience.

I get emails like this from time to time, so I thought I’d include the exchange. —— From: Richard To: Ben Casnocha 8/31/05 Hey Ben. I came across your blog while doing some research on Millenials, and thought you might be able to offer some helpful input. I’m involved in the development of a family health service in partnership with a major media company, and I’m working on developing a behavioral profile for Millenials as parents, particularly with respect to their likely future attitudes regarding the health of their families. Based on your membership in this demographic, could you offer any thoughts regarding what your generation’s attitudes (and consumer behavior) will be, in the aggregate, concerning family health/fitness/nutrition? Congrats on your many accomplishments to date. Liked the blog. —- From: Ben Casnocha To: Richard 8/31/05 Richard – happy to offer my quick thoughts. As you know from presumably reading Millennials there are a number of defining characteristics of my generation. Without rehashing those, I will say that I think health/fitness/nutrition are going to be BIG influences for us. As we learn more about how our bodies and minds work, we will look to improve both physical and mental health by paying close attention to nutrition. There is a big outrage in schools now to offer healthy snacks and low sugar drinks. It is increasingly the case that it is COOL to eat healthily; a Cliff Bar is much more “in” than a Snickers. Why? Why do we care more about tuning our bodies and minds than getting a quick sugar buzz? Because we’re under more pressure than ever to succeed and be super achievers. My generation is under smothering pressure to optimize every aspect of our daily lives to ensure that we can handle the plethora of activities we engage in. Therefore, I think products that promote a message that good health is the foundation for everything else, to help you succeed, will resonate. You don’t need to worry about it being un-cool – it’s cool already.  You just need to worry about making sure the message is that physical health is the foundation for intellectual/mental success. When my generation goes astray, it’s when we think we can live up to our own grandiose ideals, which requires mental effort, while concurrently trashing our bodies. Is this helpful? —- From Richard To: Ben Casnocha 9/1/05 Thanks, Ben. Very helpful. I’ll likely be following up with a few more questions. Look forward to a continuing dialogue.