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Finding time to exercise is always tricky. Unless you happen to be a fitness professional who spends much of your working day in a gym, squeezing in time to get fit between work, family commitments, and just having some time to yourself can be hard. When you factor in that geeks are traditionally the opposite of jocks, finding activities that combine getting fit with any kind of geeky angle is even more difficult. Here then are a few simple ways to add a bit of geek flair to your work outs - hopefully they will give you that extra little bit of impetus to meet your fitness goals this year.
1. Clothing
I hate gym clothes. Lycra and spandex are not my friends, and as for the garish neon colours that seem to inhabit most sports stores - no thank you. Instead, I found myself some t-shirts that mixed geek with sports to wear to my classes. Wearing them makes me feel like I’m not leaving my personality at the door. You could also pair up your shirt with an Aperture Labs water bottle to add some extra geek cred.
2. Running Music
If you’re a runner, whether indoors our out, chances are you listen to music during your run. Picking the right music can be vital as it helps keep you motivated and luckily for us, geeky films and shows often include dramatic battle or escape scenes with upbeat music. If you go out running to some of these you can imagine yourself in the middle of some epic battle running across Middle Earth, Hogwarts or wherever you choose. Check out some examples below, and comment with your own suggestions.
Doctor Who - I am The Doctor (Murray Gold)
- Harry Potter - Dragon Flight (Alexandre Desplat)*
- Star Wars - Duel of The Fates (John Williams)*
- Indiana Jones - The Raiders March (John Williams)*
- The X-Files - Quest for Swath (Mark Snow)*
- Pirates of the Caribbean - The Main Theme (Klaus Badelt/Hans Zimmer)*
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3. Watch TV__
A friend of mine has recently started running each night on her treadmill. Before she starts, she sets up her laptop with an episode of a TV show, and watches the episode during her run. An average episode of a show such as Star Trek, X-Files, Supernatural or Doctor Who is 40 - 45 minutes which is a great time for a run, if you want a shorter work out there are other geeky shows such as The Big Bang Theory that run for closer to 20 minutes. This is a great way to catch up on shows you have been missing and got behind on and it works for lots of home gym equipment, not just treadmills.
4. Sci-fi Yoga
Recently released, the album “Yoga to Sci-fi and Fantasy Classics” does exactly what it says on the cover. The album contains 15 classic pieces of geeky music, remixed as relaxing yoga tracks. Examples include the Star Wars Theme, Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter, The Shire from Lord of The Rings, and the theme from Jurassic Park. If you regular do yoga at home, this could be the a to change up your routine.
5. Play Video Games
Since the first dance games appeared in arcades, fitness games have become the “in” thing amongst video game manufacturers. Along with the home version dance mats, there’s also the famous "Wii Fit", "My Fitness Coach", "EA Sports Active", and the whole “Just Dance” series. If you’re a fan of “Biggest Loser” there is a spin off game available too, and Micheal Jackson and ABBA fans can play dance games based on those artists. If you’d rather not work out to a video game, other games can help you keep track of your fitnes elsewhere. A number of DS games are available such as “My Health Coach”, and “Walk With Me!”. It’s just a matter of picking the right games for you from the multitude available.
6. Fitocracy
If there’s one thing that seems to appeal to geeks, it’s achieving trophies and levelling up. Whether you play World of Warcraft or just a fun little game with your kids, there’s something deeply gratifying about that little notification popping up to inform you that you just achieved the next level. Fitocracy, which GeekMom Mandy wrote about way back in June, brings levelling up to the world of fitness by allowing you to record your work outs and gain points for them, levels are achieved by earning a certain number of points. You can share your achievements on Twitter and Facebook, and compete against friend on the site’s own leaderboards - you can even add some of the Geek Moms.
__7. Striiv __
GeekMom Amy wrote a review of a great little gadget called Striiv back in November. The closest word to describe Striiv is a pedometer but as Amy points out, that word does the device a disservice. It comes complete with an integrated game and also allows you to create real word charity donations such as a child's polio immunization simply by walking. Find out more about Striiv by reading Amy's review.
Do you have any other ways that you add some geekery to your workouts? If you do, share them below.
