Travelling Fitness- Run Stairs
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Sports, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
If you travel a lot like my brother does, getting the right exercise (or any exercise) can be tough. Eating right can be tough too, since it is all restaurant food on the menu (check “eat this, not that” for good info when eating out).
One easy type of exercise you can almost always do is to run the stairs in your hotel. If you can, pick 4 flights of stairs and run up them 2 at a time and down 1 at a time for at least 15 minutes- Killer workout without ever leaving the hotel. If the hotle doesn’t have 4 floors, do whatever you can. Since most hotels also have a fitness room, 15 minutes of upper body training is a good way to finish out the day even if it is only on an old multi-function machine. Remember, anything is better than nothing!
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Supplements, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
California became the first state to ban trans-fat oils and margerines in restaraunts. Several cities have already done so, including NY and Seattle, but more states will probably follow in the months and years ahead. Trans-fat (typically called hydogenated cooking or vegetable oil) is doubly dangerous in that it reduces your good cholesterol while increasing you bad. It is just an all around bad product that was used because it increased the shelf life of products- and it was cheap.
So, what do you need to do if you don’t live in CA? Well, even if you do live in CA, you stil need to check the label on packaged products like crackers or cookies since the ban doesn’t affect those products. If you see that the product contains trans-fats, just pick another brand. Most companies advertise “trans-fat free” on their packaging and that is a good thing. If you quit buying products with trans-fat, they will qiut making them.
Broccoli- the Wonder Vegetable
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Supplements, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
If you like broccoli, that is good because it has been shown to be one of the best vegetables you can eat. Now, researchers think that it may be an important way to keep prostate cancer at bay. For a good blog of someone who has had prostrate cancer, go here.
…
The researchers believe a chemical in the food sparks hundreds of genetic changes, activating some genes that fight cancer and switching off others that fuel tumors, said Richard Mithen, a biologist at Britain’s Institute of Food Research.
There is plenty of evidence linking a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables to reduced cancer risk. But the study published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS One is the first human trial investigating the potential biological mechanism at work, Mithen added in a telephone interview.
…The researchers also took tissue samples over the course of the study and found that men who ate broccoli showed hundreds of changes in genes known to play a role in fighting cancer.
The benefit would likely be the same in other cruciferous vegetables that contain a compound called isothiocyanate, including brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, rocket or arugula, watercress and horse radish, they added.
Broccoli, however, has a particularly powerful type of the compound called sulforaphane, which the researchers think gives the green vegetable an extra cancer-fighting kick, Mithen said.
…
I think one of the common attitudes people have nowadays is the “it’s inevitable” syndrome. You hear it when people talk about their weight, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. While there are people who will have a genetic predisposition to certain problems, assuming that it is a certainty and you can do nothing about it is wrong thinking. So with that in mind, make a decision to do the things you need to do to stay healthy-eat right, lose weight, exercise and avoid things that are known to be harmful like smoking. Oh, and don’t forget to eat your broccoli!
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Spiritual/Emotional, Sports, Supplements, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
If you use Firefox as your web browser, you probably got a warning message that slashfit has some kind of security flaw. Not to worry, there is no real problem and if you use Internet Explorer you will not get the message. We are working on finding a solution and will do an update to the latest version of Wordpress soon. For now, you can either just ignore the warning, or view the site in IE.
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Sports, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
First, let me start by telling you that doing a bunch of crunches is useless. Don’t waste your time. Plus, done incorrectly (which they almost always are) they can hurt your lower back. So what do I recommend? Well, squats, deadlifts and other total body exercises are very good ab exercises. But in terms of isolated exercises, 1 of my favorites is hanging leg raises. They are tough and they work well without any stress on your lower back.
Start by hanging from a pullup bar and slowly raise your legs until they are straight out so that your body is in an L shape. Slowly lower your legs until they are straight down again. It usually helps to bend you knees slightly so you don’t swing as you do them. Try for 5 sets of 10-12 reps. Like I have said before, though, if your abs are covered by fat, you can do all the ab exercise in the world and still not see them. Diet is equally important in the 6 pack quest!
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Prime/fit, Sports, Youth/fit | Add Comment
I saw this over at MSN and thought is was worth commenting on and passing along. The workout basically uses one piece of equipment- a 50 lb bag of sand. Very cheap and easy to store! The great thing about this workout is that you can do it at home (no driving with gas at 4.00/gal!) and it will wear you out. The author is the strength coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so he knows what works. The bad part of this is simply that most people won’t get past the part where you buy a 50 lb bag of sand from Home Depot! But if you are the disciplined type, it is a great off day/weekend workout. I’ve got a 50 yard long driveway with a steep hill that will be perfect for the walking part. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.
…
Your first step, of course, is to bring home a 50-pound sandbag from your local home-improvement store. Any shape will work. Next, use my four pillars of sandbag training below to build a stronger, leaner, and more athletic body. Simply follow the directions and perform the exercises in the order shown. After you’ve completed all four, rest a minute or two and repeat the circuit a total of 3 to 5 times.
…There’s no convenient place to grip a sandbag. To hang onto it, especially in muscle-making moves like bent-over rows, you must crush the bag with your hands and pinch it with your fingers. As a result, you’ll train all the muscles in your hands and forearms while intensively training both your back and biceps.
…
Sandbag lifts don’t have to be complicated to be effective. And few exercises can compare to the classic squat for building total-body strength and muscle.
How to do it: Stand holding a sandbag in a bear hug. Initiate the movement by pushing your hips back. Lower your thighs until they’re at least parallel to the floor, and then press back up. Too easy? Pause for 2 or 3 seconds in the down position of each rep.
…
New Yorks’s Calorie Labeling Law
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
This has been in effect for a while, but most restaurants are just now complying since the fines don’t start until Friday. But let’s face it, they are fighting with all they have for the right to be irresponsible and continue “feeding” the obesity, heart disease and diabetes problem. Make sure you go and read the whole article. For reference, typical caloric requirements for the average adult is between 2000-2500 calories. Most people eat that in a single meal. From MSNBC Also, check out “Eat This, Not That” over at Men’s Health.
…
New Yorkers have been in the throes of sticker shock since this spring when the Big Apple became the first city in the country to implement a law forcing chain restaurants to post the calorie count of each food in the same size and font as the price.
Restaurants have not exhausted their legal challenges, but the city will start fining violators up to $2,000 beginning Friday, say officials with the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
While some sit-down chains and fast-food eateries are waiting until the last minute, coffee shops like Starbucks — home of the 470 calorie raspberry scone and 610 calorie cookie — have been replacing their menu boards and adding calorie tags to pastries in recent weeks. The result: Do a little eavesdropping in a New York City restaurant, and you may think you’ve stumbled into an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.
…Many New Yorkers are finding that even the foods they thought were lower calorie really aren’t. Vicki Freedman, who lives in Manhattan, watches her weight and always tries to choose a light option when eating out. But the 26 year old just discovered that the Friday’s pecan-crusted chicken salad, served with mandarin oranges, dried cranberries and celery, has 1,360 calories. “That surprised me the most because they market it as a healthy option,” she said. “It’s like false advertising. You think it’s better than the burger and the fries. It’s misleading.” (The cheeseburger served with fries is, indeed, 1,290 calories.)
…
The crazy part is how many people seem to want to be left ignorant so they don’t have to face reality.
…
“I’m so upset,” she said, noting some entrees — like the Jack Daniels ribs and shrimp dinner — contain almost 2,000 calories, and the desserts were more of the same (the brownie obsession is 1,500 calories). “I wish they wouldn’t have done this.”
But then Fowler noticed that the waiter had handed her friend an old menu, which didn’t have calorie counts on it.
“You got a menu without anything on it?” she asked her friend. “Can I have yours?”
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Sports, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
In general, even “fitness myths” are myths. But there are a few that are real and people seem to believe no matter what. One of those is that you can do enough sit-ups or crunches to reduce the size of your waist and get the coveted six pack. Another one is that you can get rid of your love handles by doing certain exercises for your obliques. The reason both are wrong is simple. Your body stores fat where it wants to. On men, this is generally around the waist. On women it tends to be more in the legs and hips. But it can be anywhere and everywhere. You can’t spot reduce fat. Your body will burn it off from where ever it is stored when your caloric intake is less than what you are burning. It is that simple. So if you want to get great abs, you need to build the ab muscles as well as burn the fat off. The ab exercises will build the muscles, but your body will burn the fat off in a uniform way so that the last part to get really ripped will be the part with the most fat. So if you do an hour worth of abs twice a week and still don’t see an improvement, chances are that the six pack is still hiding under the fat. It is always a balance between diet and exercise.
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Sports, Supplements, Travel/fit | Add Comment
Someone asked me about this the other day in the gym and I told him I doubted it. I guess I was wrong! After I did a little search, I found that this double blind placebo study does in fact show that caffeine helps the body with glycogen uptake when taken with carbs after exercise. That is good news for me since I often times have coffee right before I go to the gym and right after while I’m eating. I love coffee, so this makes me feel a little better about how much I drink! At any rate, for most people, the caffeine prior to a workout acts as a stimulant and helps with fatigue. But the post workout glycogen boost is also important- especially for endurance athletes like runners and cyclists. It would be interesting to see the effect on different sports and activities. By the way, this doesn’t mean that your pre and post workout meals should be at Dunkin Donuts!
…
Glycogen, the muscle’s primary fuel source during exercise, is replenished more rapidly when athletes ingest both carbohydrate and caffeine following exhaustive exercise, new research shows. Athletes who ingested caffeine with carbohydrate had 66% more glycogen in their muscles four hours after finishing intense, glycogen-depleting exercise, compared to when they consumed carbohydrate alone, according to the study.
It is already established that consuming carbohydrate and caffeine prior to and during exercise improves a variety of athletic performances. This is the first study to show that caffeine combined with carbohydrates following exercise can help refuel the muscle faster.
“If you have 66% more fuel for the next day’s training or competition, there is absolutely no question you will go farther or faster,” said Dr. Hawley, the study’s senior author. Caffeine is present in common foods and beverages, including coffee, tea, chocolate and cola drinks.
…
I recommend not making a habit out of getting your caffeine from Coke and chocolate. Stick to coffee and tea to avoid the sugar. If you want to eat carbs with it (which you should), eat a half bagel or something with more complex carbs and less sugar. Remember that everyone has a different tolerance to drugs like caffeine, so don’t go crazy with this. Try a single cup of coffee before your workout and see how you feel. Then perhaps add a cup after with some carbs. Train hard!
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
When I was bodybuilding in the 80’s, we used to go to the beach (I lived in Florida) and stay out all afternoon with no sunscreen. Just tanning oil. We literally cooked ourselves. It is probably a miracle that I don’t have skin cancer at this point- and I may still get it. But statistics show that people like me are an anomaly. I have several friends who have gotten skin cancer. More and more people, especially young women are are finding out that skin cancer is a real risk and it is growing.
…
Increasing numbers of younger women continue to receive diagnoses of the most dangerous form of skin cancer even as the rate of new cases has leveled off in younger men, federal health officials reported yesterday.
…For young men, the rate of new melanoma cases rose from 4.7 cases per 100,000 per year in 1973 to 7.7 cases per 100,000 per year in 1980, but it then stopped rising.
“The reason for the leveling off in melanoma rates among young men is not known,” Purdue said in an e-mail. “This may reflect reductions over time in the amount of sun exposure experienced by young men (public awareness campaigns regarding sun exposure and melanoma were widely launched in the US in the 1980s). However, we really don’t know for sure.”
For young women, the rate went from 5.5 cases per 100,000 per year in 1973 to 9.4 in 1980, and it kept rising to 13.9 in 2004.
“These findings are important because they suggest that public education campaigns to educate Americans about the risks of skin cancer from sun tanning do not appear to have resulted in a reduction in melanoma rates among young women,” Purdue said.
…
The rule of thumb is that 15-30 minutes of sun exposure per day is probably safe for most people. In fact, we need sun exposure for our skin to make vitamin D. But that’s about it. Cooking yourself by the pool or in a tanning bed is very risky. And being a little pale is still infinitely better than skin cancer. Check out lots more info on it here.
