Blog

Eat to Compete: Nutrition Basics for Runners/triathletes

Posted: 05/20/2011

  Many serious runners and triathletes are looking for that “edge” that will translate into better race times. While some supplements and sports products have their place in the training regimen; most products will not provide the athlete with the winning formula. In fact, most of the top racers succeed because of two main ingredients: quality training fueled...

Older and Stronger: Progressive Resistance Training Can Build Muscle, Increase Strength as We Age

Posted: 05/20/2011

ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2011) — Getting older doesn't mean giving up muscle strength. Not only can adults fight the battle of strength and muscle loss that comes with age, but the Golden Years can be a time to get stronger, say experts at the University of Michigan Health System.Resistance exercise is a great way to increase lean muscle tissue and strength capacity so that...

Beat the HEAT: 5 Ways to Keep Your Outdoor Summer Workouts Safe

Posted: 05/20/2011

 It’s summer and baby it’s HOT out there! Maybe you are planning on a scenic bike ride along the river, hiking in the mountains, or spending the day working in the garden. That’s reason enough to ensure that you brush up on the basics for safely exercising outdoors in the heat. The long dog days of summer have arrived and what you need to know is that exercising...

Fit BODY: Fit BRAIN

Posted: 05/20/2011

 Can’t remember where you parked the car or if you unplugged the coffee pot? Worried that as you age, your memory and cognitive skills will deteriorate? Never fear—a regular exercise routine will strengthen your brain as well as your muscles! New research shows that even older adults who are physically active have a reduced risk of developing many forms of dementia....

Soft Drinks

Posted: 05/19/2011

How sugary drinks can cause diabetes:

1. Sodas and sugary drinks enter the bloodstream through the small intestine causing an immediate spike in blood sugar (or glucose).
2. This triggers the call for insulin to remove the excess glucose.
3. Insulin removes this glucose from the bloodstream by turning it into fat called triglycerides.
4. These fats clog up the insulin receptors on your muscles and cells. Result? They can’t respond to insulin properly (the condition called insulin resistance) so excess glucose remains in your blood.
5. Responding to your still-high blood sugar levels, your pancreas pumps out more insulin. Over time this causes Type 2 diabetes.
6. Eventually your pancreas "burns out" and can no longer produce any insulin (Type 1 diabetes).
7. Now you must take insulin injections for the rest of your life – or else glucose can’t enter your cells and brain, resulting in diabetic coma and death.

It only takes one or two sodas a day to sink you. (And we all know people who seem to be sucking on a soda constantly.)

If that’s not enough to get you off soda and sugary drinks, here’s more of the serious harm they do...

Their high sugar content makes these drinks extremely inflammatory. This means they damage the delicate lining of your arteries as if tiny shards of glass were scratching it. This causes plaque build-up, heart disease, and eventually heart attack or stroke.

Along the way, sodas also cause hypertension, liver problems, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer (because all that insulin and glucose in your bloodstream is carcinogenic.

"Diet soda" isn’t any better for you...
it may be worse.

According to the just-published Northern Manhattan Study, people who drank just one diet soda per day experienced a 61% higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared to those who drank none. What’s more, these diet drinks contain artificial sweeteners that have been linked to cancer and other serious health problems.

Artificial sweeteners also have been shown to stimulate appetite centers in the brain that make you overeat and become obese.
So can the sodas, please, because...

 

Cardio for Fat Loss

Posted: 04/14/2011

To induce rid of fat you wish a calorie deficit. So you wish to burn more calories than you consume. Exercising and dieting are the 2 methods how a calorie deficit can be achieved. It is forever higher to burn a lot of calories with exercise than it is to chop calories with strict diets. There are such a lot of totally different cardio exercises which will be done and it's important to seek out the proper one.
Running or Jogging
Running and jogging are glorious ways that to burn extra calories. You also do not want any special equipment for it and you'll do it outdoors and fancy the contemporary air. It also depends where you live and what the climate is like. Running is not suggested for beginners that much as a result of it could be a little too intense. Running is also not advisable for people who are extremely overweight and have orthopedic injuries. Running tends to own a reducing result on the whole body, including on muscle size. So if you would like to keep your muscle the running might not be the best choice.
Walking
If you're just a beginner and have been sedentary for a very long time then walking could be a nice way to start your fat loss. Walking is also appropriate for overweight, older and pregnant folks. Doing a thirty-sixty minute walk is very good. But the most problem with walking is that it's not a sensible fat burner. So as to burn a ton of calories you've got to push yourself very hard. By the method, shopping for a few hours isn't any proper workout.
Bicycle
Bicycling is appropriate for everybody and it's a no-impact activity therefore the potential for injury is low. You'll be able to conjointly select a bound program that's appropriate for you. Most bicycles supply a dozen levels of issue and
they even have built-in heart rate monitors. The fat burning potential for bikes is moderate to high. If you wish to burn a ton of calories with the bicycle, then pedal as arduous as you can.
Treadmill
Running on a treadmill has some advantages and disadvantages compared to running outdoors. Running on a treadmill will become boring and it's a lot higher to run in contemporary air, than in an exceedingly sweaty gym. However treadmills offer continuous feedback on the electronic consoles as well as such options as time, speed, distance and even heart rate. For instance you'll be able to choose an incline and running or walking up a hill is a wonderful fat burner. You can still do your workout on a treadmill regardless of what the weather is.
Rowing machine
Rowing is regarded as the best overall exercise of all time. It works all the most important muscle groups in the body, together with the legs, buttocks, back, abdominals and arms. Rowing may be a safe, impact-free activity. Rowing is also a very good aerobic workout and an wonderful fat-burner. Because it involves the complete body, rowing burns additional calories than almost any different sort of aerobic exercise. But if anyone has tried rowing then he/she would grasp it's very hard. Many folks cannot maintain an extended enough workout on the rower to attain maximum fat burning. There is a approach how you can avoid this. For example you'll be able to start with bicycling for ten minutes, then use the treadmill for ten minutes and then use the rowing machine for ten-fifteen minutes.
These were only some examples and it's smart to do all quite cardio exercises to avoid adaption. And doing the same stuff constantly is simply boring. If you are a beginner then begin slowly and with the easier exercises like walking.

Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

Posted: 04/14/2011

Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

Convinced you “can’t” run a marathon, or sprint at level 10 on that treadmill? … Are you sure about that?

Even if you have a physical challenge or condition that limits you in some way, most of us also create false boundaries for ourselves — “no-can-do’s” that are only in our heads. And more and more studies are showing that the thing you think you can’t do just might be the one thing you MUST do to light a fire under your workout results.

Breaking through these false limits can also lead you to be more consistent about your workout regimen.

“Intensity is by far the most important factor affecting increases in, and maintenance of, cardio fitness,” notes Jeffrey M. Janot, PhD, technical editor of the IDEA Fitness Journal. “Although we do not know the exact level of intensity that provides optimal health and fitness benefits, we know the optimal range and that it is directly related to exercise program adherence. You may not enjoy an exercise program if you get sore or injured because the intensity is too high. On the other hand, you can grow bored with a program if intensity is below the optimal range and you aren’t improving.”

Why push your limits in your workout regimen?

The body is wired to adapt to routine. Once your body gets used to a routine of walking 2 miles a day, for example, you’ll likely see less or slower weight loss than when you first began that routine. Extensive research has shown that to keep seeing results from an exercise routine, it’s essential to continually include intervals of higher stress and demand on the muscles and cardiovascular system.

Many people work out only hard enough to maintain their existing weight and physique. Going outside your comfort zone includes adding some intense workout challenges to build muscle and get stronger, faster, leaner. That doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon or work out 6 hours a day to lose weight or reach your goals. The point is to keep adding new challenges and different ways of pushing past your limits for speed, distance, weight you can heft, etc.

Why don't more people go "outside the lines" with their workouts?

Challenging yourself is uncomfortable by nature. It’s normal to feel a sense of fear or angst when you think about pushing beyond the places where you usually stop, ease up, or take a break. Common fears include whether you can handle an intense “burn” in your muscles and not get injured; or feeling embarrassed about getting out of breath, or even sweating more than you’re used to.

Can a trainer help you break through that fear — without yelling at you?

Yes! A great personal trainer should confidently instill in you the belief that you can do this.

“We know they can, even though you might not know it yet,” says Russ Yeager, owner of three Fitness Together studios north of Atlanta. “The empowerment our clients gain once they actually do it is awesome. We recently helped a client who at first could barely get through a workout and was very self-conscious. She’s now lost 50 pounds and did a 3.5 mile hike with a straight-up climb at the end!”  You or your personal trainer can determine your optimal cardio exercise intensity range via a number of methods including percent of maximum heart rate, the “talk test,” or rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Whether you’re training for a triathlon, hitting a weight loss plateau or ready to give up on ever having toned upper arms, one-on-one training can help you go where your mind has never let you go before.

3 Ways to Kick The Habit of......Skipping your Workouts

Posted: 04/14/2011

3 Ways to Kick the Habit ... of Skipping Workouts

Trying to get into an exercise habit, but finding you’re more in the habit of making excuses? You can break out of that pattern with these tips from fitness experts on staying motivated and sticking to your fitness routine. Our Fitness Together trainers and studio owners recommend these three strategies to help you stay inspired to work out regularly.

1. Keep your eye on the prize.

You must have a very strong “why” you are doing it. Always connect to that “why,” especially when things get tough or you get busy. If your goal is to get back into your favorite jeans, hang them on the outside of your closet where you’ll see them every morning when you wake up. For an extra nudge, pin up an old photo of yourself wearing them.

Or, if you’re working toward a health goal such as lowering your blood pressure or relieving chronic back pain, mark your improvements on a chart posted on the fridge. Or tape a photo on your bathroom mirror of someone who’s achieved a goal you’re striving toward. Think fit, healthy-looking people your age playing tennis, climbing a mountain, training for a triathlon, running a 5K, or skiing with their kids!

2. Schedule a consistent workout time.

Set a regular time that fits into your daily and weekly schedule, and prioritize it just like you would a meeting with your boss or a top client.

Think of it this way: Skipping out on your commitment to take good care of yourself means sooner or later you’ll start feeling depleted and run-down, with nothing left to give to those who count on you. Sticking to your fitness regimen not only helps keep you healthy, but also refills your well of physical and mental energy. So you’re more likely to be there and be “on” in your job, relationships, family and others who matter to you.

3. Use the power of a pro to keep you on track.

You’re much less likely to be a no-show for your workout when someone’s waiting for you at the gym, track, pool, court …. Agree on a time and place to work out with a trainer.  When someone’s there, waiting, and holding you accountable to your exercise commitment, it’s a mighty motivator.

Scheduling sessions with a personal trainer creates an especially powerful incentive to work out: You’ll feel a natural desire to make your trainer proud, and to respect the time commitment he or she blocked out to work with you. That’s powerful inspiration when you’re mulling whether to pull the sheets back over your head or pull on those gym shoes!

Help for Muscle Soreness

Posted: 08/30/2010

Even those of us who are in top physical shape may still have to deal with muscle soreness from time to time. For years this soreness was attributed to a buildup of lactic acid, a muscle by-product. A common remedy was a good hot soak in a tub with a variety of mineral salts or baking soda, which was believed to leach the acid out and relieve the pain. However, we know now that...

6 Healthy Habits for Living Longer

Posted: 08/30/2010

Do you eat breakfast everyday? Do you always take the stairs? Whatever your daily habits are, there’s no denying that they impact your health. Even though the things we do as part of our daily routines might seem small, over time the small things can add up. So, by keeping your daily habits healthy, you can literally add years to your life.Here are six daily habits for...