Ask Rocco: Frugal Fitness

Question: I'm a very poor. Poor with a capital P. So, a membership the gym is out. I'm also a Mom to a very adventurous crawler that lives to eat the cat's food while I'm not looking. My fitness solution is to walk for about an hour daily carrying my 20-pound cat food-craving child. I am working on becoming fit, and need to lose about 30 pounds. Along with a healthy diet, will this work?
-SJ

Answer: I’m glad you wrote me, because no one should actually have to pay for fitness and well being (don’t tell my clients that or I’ll be eating cat food). To answer your question: No. Your current program is lacking several real fitness components. First, I’d like you to pick the cat food dish up off the floor and put it where Spider Baby can’t get at it. Then, put down Spider Baby – preferably in a crib or playpen with a dome roof and a bunch of toys to keep him occupied for only five minutes. In order for you to lose fat, you need to gain muscle first. So, let’s perform some muscle building exercises. Then when you walk, you’ll just be burning fat. Do these exercises before you take your walk:

• 50 jumping jacks with your arms perfectly straight
• 25 Lunges each leg (do not alternate, that is for wusses),
• Stairs, two steps at a time and come down that flight walking one step at a time (do not run; that would be stupid. You may fall and want to blame me. So again, don’t) Do eight flights of about 16-18 steps (or 8-9 double steps).
• If you can do push ups, do 20 if not perform 15 negative push-ups
• 50 more Jumping Jacks and go for your walk. Without the kid on your hip. We don’t want you looking like Quasimoto.

Good Luck! And if you don't know how to perform any of the above-mentioned exercises, go to askrocco.com to download workouts with exercise illustrations.