Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Here are just a couple of things you can do to minimize your exposure to the flu that is now taking hold in all parts of the world. First and foremost, wash your hands after being in public places or using things like public phones, etc. Don’t use other people’s cell phones unless it is an emergency. Avoid crowded public places like subways, malls and sporting events if you can. Don’t be overly paranoid, just be cautious and remember, wash your hands!
The Power of Coaching- Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
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, Sports, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Last night as I was driving to the gym with my training partner, we got on the subject of taking lessons from an expert instead of trying to “self-teach”. He wants to learn how to play the guitar and mentioned that several people he knew recommended taking a few lessons to get started. I told him of my experience learning to snow ski and how much you can learn in a one hour lesson compared to an entire weekend on the slopes by yourself. As it turns out, a couple of hours of lessons will teach you more than you can teach yourself in that entire weekend and it will be a much more enjoyable experience. The same is true in the gym. After 30 years of working out, I have most of the basics covered- and then some. But I learned the long, hard way. The first 10 years were at least 1/2 wasted- probably more. Such is youth. At any rate, it almost always pays to get good coaching and that is exactly what Andrew says in his post today over at MPF. So listen up dummy!
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When I took up triathlon back in 2005, I ran infrequently, didn’t own a bike, and could barely swim 50 meters without making lifeguards very nervous. The fact that I needed coaching was painfully obvious.
So I joined a club that had pro coaches and learned tons in very little time, particularly about swimming: how to keep my body level, how to get the most out of every stroke, how to keep my head down and stretch out, making myself hydrodynamic. I learned how to pace myself on the bike and how to achieve and maintain optimal running posture. And what do you know, I finished my rookie season with a handful of decent finishes.
I like to think, ah, I probably could have figured all that out myself without those meddling coaches. What did I really learn from them anyway?
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 is not really new news, but it is worth keeping in mind if you have teenager who is overweight. Apparently, the condition sets the stage for problems later in life including, diabetes and heart disease. One of the big problems we have in the US is that overweight people- including teens don’t really view themselves as overweight since such a high percentage of Americans are fat. They simply see themselves as “normal”. This is going to be a very hard perception to change, but it has to be done or the next generations will come to view diabetes and heart disease as “normal”. When you think about the health care cost crisis in America, this has got to be addressed or costs will never be controlled and the average life expectancy will decline instead of increase as it has for the past century. Add to that the quality of life issues that come with all these problems, and you have a very unhappy population.
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NEW YORk – A new study suggests that young adults who gained too much weight as teenagers tend to have greater amounts of deep abdominal fat — a risk factor for heart disease later in life.
The findings, reported in the journal Diabetes, add to evidence that overweight and obese teens may face elevated heart risks by middle age.
Swedish researchers found that among 612 men ages 18 to 20, those whose body mass index increased the most during adolescence tended to have the greatest amounts of visceral fat —deep “hidden” fat that surrounds the abdominal organs and is particularly linked to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
The Psychological Effects of Sports Drinks
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
This is a really interesting study that suggests that high carb sports drinks improve performance almost immediately. The fascinating part is that the benefits are not primarily from any nutritional boost, but rather from an effect that the carbs have on the brain. I would guess that this would work with other sweet drinks like fruit juices and sweet tea or coffee. I have long held that sports drinks like Gatorade had more of a psychological effect that a nutritional effect. I just never realized that it could be real. I always thought that it was a placebo effect. So this is good info to know if you are an athelete or a coach! The really amazing part is that you don’t even need to drink the product for it to work. Back in my High School swimming days, the coach used to give us orange slices to suck on before our events. I suspect he knew something that the scientists have just now figured out. Very cool.
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The researchers had endurance athletes rinse their mouths with either of two carb-containing drinks, the athletes’ exercise performance improved. The same was not true when the athletes were given water flavored with an artificial sweetener.
What’s more, brain scans showed that simply swishing the carbohydrate drinks around the mouth activated particular areas of the brain associated with pleasure and reward. Again, the artificially sweetened water did not have the same effects.
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, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Walking
The good news is that it can be done by the vast majority of people. The bad news is that most will not do it since it requires a pretty big lifestyle change for most of them. But, the prescription is not that hard- exercise for 30 min/day and cut back on calories. Diabetes has a direct correlation with obesity and other diseases like high cholesterol and blood pressure. Exercise and diet are known to
While a lot of people will say that they don’t have enough time to exercise, that is just an excuse. Everyone can find 30 min/day to do something as simple as walking. Higher intensity exercise adds to the benefits, so 30 minutes at the gym doing weight training will have profound benefits for the vast majority of people. It really is as simple as the old Nike logo- Just Do It.
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Nearly 57 million Americans are considered prediabetic. Another 18 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, while the diabetes association estimates almost 6 million more Americans have diabetes and don’t know it. About 90 to 95 percent of diabetics have Type 2, the kind linked to obesity.
The future is potentially even gloomier, with one study estimating that one of every three children born in the U.S. in 2000 will eventually develop diabetes.
But the news isn’t all bad. Thirty minutes of daily exercise and a 5 to 10 percent loss in body weight can lower the odds of diabetes by nearly 60 percent and is more effective than medicine in delaying its onset, according to a diabetes prevention study.
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
Eat This, Not That has compiled a list of the worst foods you can get at a fast food drive-thru. As you check out the list, I suspect you will find some stuff you have gotten! At any rate, it is a good list to learn from so that you can avoid mistakes in the future. Of course, my advice is to drive past the drive-thru and get something healthy like a turkey sub or grilled chicken sandwich. But if you are in the car with a bunch of kids, and need to get something quick, this is really good info to avoid the really bad stuff.
Pass the info on to your friends and family. One thing I have noticed is that most people simply don’t know (and don’t care) about the food they eat. So education is good!
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
OK, so I’m beating the one leg squat thing to death… try them and you will become a believer! Here is a short quicktime video showing how to do them using a cable machine as I outlined in the post below… The professional bodybuilder/actor is not me. He is my esteemed training partner. Check out the video here-
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Sports, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Start Position
End Position
Last night we did some more one leg squats and I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the start and end positions and show you a great way to use a cable machine as a “crutch” until you get enough strength built up to do them alone. Select a weight on the stack that is about 1/2 your body weight so that you can use it for a counter balance. As you get stronger, you can lower the weight until you eventually can do them without help.These are one of the hardest exercises you can do, so don’t get frustrated, just keep at it each week and in a few months, you will be amazed when you can do them without any help. Oh yeah, they will make you really sore, so don’t let that deter you either!
L-arginine, training and health
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 | Add Comment
I’m not a big fan of lots of supplements and stuff like that. They are expensive, of pretty limited value and in some cases you really don’t have a clue what you are really taking since the industry is totally unregulated. But bodybuilders have known for years that L-arginine has a vasodilating effect and helps give you that big “pump”. It may also have a muscle building effect due to increased blood flow and other factors. But there are other really good benefits associated with arginine that can help anyone. In fact, the benefits of arginine in treating heart disease and hardening of the arteries was discovered in the late 90’s and resulted in a Noble Prize for the doctors who did the reasearch. The fact that so few doctors use arginine (cheap and available at any health food store) is just more evidence that the drug companies have a stranglehold on medicine and treatment in the US. Let’s face it, a cheap natural treatment has no upside to the drug companies and so they continue to push their much more expensive prescription drugs on the doctors. But, there are some doctors that really do see the value in using natural treatments whenever possible. Check out this video from one of the Nobel Prize winning doctors and make sure to watch part 2 as well.
If you are training and bodybuilding, arginine has double benefits- not only do you get better blood flow and better workouts, but you also get the long term heart benefits.
Coffee (Caffeine) lessens Workout Pain
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, Supplements, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
coffee
Very interesting article and research. As a coffee lover (and probably addict) I do find that there is some truth in this from my experience. I can generally work a muscle to exhaustion without too much pain of discomfort. But some guys I know seem to really feel more burning or pain. I don’t think the point is that it eliminates pain, it simply lessens it. So, give it a try and see if it works for you.
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After completing an initial exercise test in the lab on a stationary bike to determine maximal oxygen consumption or aerobic power, subjects returned for two monitored high-intensity, 30-minute exercise sessions.
An hour prior to each session, cyclists — who had been instructed not to consume caffeine during the prior 24-hour period — were given a pill. On one occasion, it contained a dose of caffeine measuring 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (equivalent to two to three cups of coffee); the other time, they received a placebo.
During both exercise periods, subjects’ perceptions of quadriceps muscle pain was recorded at regular intervals, along with data on oxygen consumption, heart rate and work rate.
“What we saw is something we didn’t expect,” Motl said. “Caffeine-naïve individuals and habitual users have the same amount of reduction in pain during exercise after caffeine (consumption).”
