Athletic Republic News Letters

Fun in the Sun: How to Keep Cool

2011-05-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Outdoor exercise can be challenging when the temperature soars. Stay safe during hot-weather exercise by drinking enough fluids, wearing proper clothing and timing your workout to avoid extreme heat.

In the excitement of a pickup basketball game or the relaxation of a friendly round of golf, you might not notice the temperature rising - but your body will. If you exercise outdoors in the heat, use caution and common sense to prevent heat-related illnesses.

How hot weather affects your body

Exercising in hot weather puts extra stress on your heart and lungs. Both the exercise itself and the air temperature increase your body temperature. To dissipate heat, more blood circulates through your skin. This leaves less blood for your muscles, which increases your heart rate. If the humidity is high, your body faces added stress because sweat doesn't readily evaporate from your skin - which only pushes your body temperature higher.Under normal conditions, your skin, blood vessels and perspiration level adjust to the heat. But these natural cooling systems may fail if you're exposed to high temperatures and humidity for too long. The result may be a heat-related illness, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

How to avoid heat-related illnesses

To keep it cool during hot-weather exercise, keep these basic precautions in mind:

Take it slow. If you're used to exercising indoors or in cooler weather, take it easy at first. As your body adapts to the heat, gradually increase the length and intensity of your workouts. If you have a chronic medical condition or take medication, ask your doctor if you need to take additional precautions.

Drink plenty of fluids. Your body's ability to sweat and cool down depends on adequate

cooling by letting more air pass over your body. Avoid dark colors, which can absorb the heat. A light-colored hat can limit your exposure to the sun.rehydration. Drink plenty of water while you're working out - even if you don't feel thirsty. If you're planning to exercise intensely or for longer than one hour,consider sports drinks instead. These drinks can replace the sodium, chloride and potassium you lose through sweating. Avoid drinks that contain caffeine or alcohol, which actually promote fluid loss.

Dress appropriately. Lightweight, loosefitting clothing promotes sweat evaporation and cooling by letting more air pass over your body.Avoid dark colors, which can absorb the heat. A light-colored hat can limit your exposure to the sun.

Avoid midday sun. Exercise in the morning or evening - when it's likely to be cooler outdoors - rather than the middle of the day. If possible, exercise in the shade or in a pool.

Wear sunscreen. A sunburn decreases your body's ability to cool itself.

Know when to call it quits

During hot-weather exercise, be on the lookout for heat-related illness. Signs and symptoms may include: Weakness, headache, dizziness, muscle cramps, nausea or vomiting, or rapid heartbeat.

If you suspect a heat-related illness, stop exercising and get out of the heat. Drink water, and wet and fan your skin. If you don't feel better within 60 minutes, contact your doctor. If you develop a fever higher than 102 F (38.9 C) or become faint or confused, seek immediate medical help.

Regular physical activity is important - but don't let hot-weather workouts put your health at risk.

Muscle of the Week:
3 moves that target your CHEST

INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS

1.Lie back on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand atop your thighs. The palms of your hands will be facing each other.

2. Then, using your thighs to help push the dumbbells up, lift the dumbbells one at a time so that you can hold them at shoulder width.

3. Once you have the dumbbells raised to shoulderwidth, rotate your wrists forward so that the palms of your hands are facing away from you. This will be your starting position.

4. Be sure to keep full control of the dumbbells at all times. Then breathe out and push the
dumbbells up with your chest.

5. Lock your arms at the top, hold for a second, and then start slowly lowering the weight. Tip Ideally, lowering the weights should take about twice as long as raising them.

Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

When you are done, place the dumbbells back on your thighs and then on the floor. This is the safest manner to release the dumbbells.

AROUND THE WORLDS

1. Lay down on a flat bench holding a dumbbell in each hand with the palms of the hands facing towards the ceiling.Tip: Your arms should be parallel to the floor and next to your thighs. To avoid injury, make sure that you keep your elbows slightly bent. This will be your starting position.

2. Now move the dumbbells by creating a semi-circle as you displace them from the initial position to over the head. All of the movement should happen with the arms parallel to the floor at all times. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement.

3. Reverse the movement to return the weight to the starting position as you exhale.

WIDE GRIP DECLINE BARBELL BENCH PRESS

1. Lie back on a decline bench with the feet securely locked at the front of the bench. Using a wide, pronated (palms forward) grip that is around 3 inches away from shoulder width (for each hand), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. The bar will be perpendicular to the torso and the floor. This will be your starting position.

As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your lower chest.

2. After a second pause, bring the bar back to thestarting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again.Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.

3. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

How Muscle Reacts to Injury and Rehabilitation

2011-05-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Muscles atrophy (get smaller) following broken bones, surgery, or serious illness. British researchers summarized the way in which muscle react to disuse rehabilitation. Following injury or illness, muscles are resistant to normally anabolic stimuli such as myostatin, which normally retards growth, and stimulates biochemical pathways to promote muscle protein synthesis and growth.

Rehabilitation exercises cause mild inflammation, which triggers the growth of satellite cells and muscle cross-sectional areas.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which slows down muscle rehabilitation. Intensely training athletes should minimize the use of these drugs when recovering from an injury.

(Journal of Applied Physiology, 110: 555-560, 2011)

Shape Up Your Digestive System

It is not always pretty, but your digestive system plays an important role in keeping you healthy. By processing the foods you eat and providing your body with the nutrients it needs to remove waste, it can help you avoid problems such as constipation and heartburn. Here's what to do:

1.) Eat at regular intervals throughout the day

2.) Don't hold it in when you "gotta go" to the bathroom

3.) Avoid fatty, fried foods that upset your stomach

4.) Exercise on a regular basis

Question of the Week:

Q: I like to work out solo, but what are the benefits of a spotter?

A: A spotter can play two roles during your workout: He can observe that you lift with proper technique to avoid injury, and he can prevent heavier weights from falling from your hands.

Your spotter also serves to compliment your final lift by lightly helping you raise the weight when it seems you just cannot go any further.

Very often, this gentle aid will allow you to perform that last rep, which is critical for building muscle strength. Generally, spotters are necessary for upper-extremity workouts such as the bench press or arm work with barbells.

-Carly M.

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

"It is remarkable how ones wits are sharpened by physical exercise"
liny the Younger
-Pliny the Younger

Workout Music: Keep Boredom Away While Exercising

2011-05-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

It has been proven scientifically the listening to music while working out you will get better results. First you will notice that you will be able to do more exercises at a higher intensity. Second you won't feel as tired after a workout. You feel energized and powerful if you listen to the right kind of workout music. The world is yours.

Getting motivated through music is a pleasure for many people.

Some cannot exercise without listening to some good workout music. The kind that makes your blood flow faster. Of course there are people that could care less about music while working out. But still they should exercise listening to music to increase the effectiveness of the workout. If you go to the gym I hope they playgood workout music. If not an mp3-player full of energetic and rhythmic music would be really helpful and recommended.

You cannot listen to the same workout music regardless of what type of exercises you are doing. For yoga or Pilates exercises, you should choose more calm meditative music that helps youachieve inner-peace. For jogging you need some energizing dance or pop songs. Create a playlist of songs you like that make you feel a rush of energy and start jogging.

A doctor form the English Brunel University has studied for 20 years the effects of music on the athletic performances of athletes. All the testing lead him to the conclusion that the best beat for working out is found in the range of 120-140 beats per minute. You need to listen to such a song while working out to get motivated. Maybe there is a correlation to the fact that your heart beats 120-140 times per minute while you workout,reaching even 160 beats per minute. Usually the rock and dance songs have between 120-140 beats per minute. The name of the doctor is Costas Karageorghis. Also keep in mind that the options are always up to YOU!

A workout music top made by Fitness Magazine includes some of the most enduring and famous songs out there used by people while working out. Here are just some starter ideas for you own personalized workout music list:

"TNT" by AC/DC"
Walk This Way" by Aerosmith
"So What'cha Want" - Beastie Boys
"Crazy in Love" by Beyonce
"No More Drama" by Mary J Blige
"Under Pressure" by David Bowie
"I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow
"Gonna Make You Sweat" by C&C Music Factory
"Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson
"Loser" by Beck
"Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker

Muscle of the Week:

3 moves that target your HAMSTRINGS

GOOD MORNINGS

1. Begin with a bar on a rack at shoulder height. Rack the bar across the rear of your shoulders

as you would a power squat, not on top of your shoulders. Keep

your back tight, shoulder blades pinched together, and your knees slightly bent. Step back from the rack.

2. Begin by bending at the hips, moving them back as you bend over to near parallel. Keep your back arched and your cervical spine in proper alignment.

3. Reverse the motion by extending through the hips with your glutes and hamstrings. Continue until you have returned to the starting position.

ROMANIAN DEADLIFT

1. Put a barbell in front of you on the ground and grab it with palms facing down, grip that a little wider than shoulder width.

Tip: Depending on the weight used, you may need wrist wraps to perform the exercise and also a raised platform in order to allow for better range of motion.

2. Bend the knees slightly and keep the shins vertical, hips back and back straight. This will be

straight up, lower the bar by pushing the hips back, only slightly bending the knees, unlike when squatting.

Tip: Take a deep breath at the start your starting position.

3. Keeping your back and arms completely straight at all times, use your hips to lift the bar as you exhale.

Tip: The movement should not be fast but steady and under control.

4. Once you are standing completelyof the movement and keep your chest up. Hold your breath as you lower and exhale as you complete the movement.

5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

LYING LEG CURL

1. Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and lie face down on the leg curl machine with the pad of the lever on the back of your legs (just a few inches under the calves).

Tip: Preferably use a leg curl machine that is angled as opposed to flat since an angled position is more favorable for hamstrings recruitment.

2. Keeping the torso flat on the bench, ensure your legs are fully

stretched and grab the side handles of the machine. Position your toes straight (or you can also use any of the other two stances described on the foot positioning section). This will be your starting position.

3. As you exhale, curl your legs up as far as possible without lifting the upper legs from the pad. Once you hit the fully contracted position, hold it for a second.

4. As you inhale, bring the legs back to the initial position. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Shorter People More Prone to Heart Attatcks

2011-04-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Body size has a lot to do with longevity and the risk ofheart attack.

A study from the University of Tampre Finland found that men shorter than 5'6" and women shorter than 5 feet were 1.5 times more likely to develop coronary artery disease than taller people and had a 52 percent higher chance of dying prematurely from all causes.

The researchers speculate that smaller people have smaller arteries that are more easily clogged with plague. Their conclusion was based on a meta analysis of 52 studies. Shorter people should pay extra attention to modifiable risk factors of heart disease such as lack of exercise, obesity, smoking and high-fat diets.

(European Heart Journal, 31:1802-1809, 2010)

Watermelon Lemonade

Serving: 6 ounces

Ingredients:
6 cups 1-inchcubes seedless watermelon (from about a 5lbs melon)
1 bottle (10oz) 365 Everyday Value®

Organic Lemon Juice

6 cups water

¾ cup cane sugar
Crushed ice
Mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions:
Working in batches as necessary, puree watermelon and lemon j

uice in blender until smooth; transfer to a large container. Add water and sugar; stir until dissolved. Pour over ice in tall glasses, garnish with mint and thin slices of watermelon, if desired and serve.

Nutrition per serving:
60 Calories (0g from fat)
0g total fat
0g saturated fat
0mg cholesterol
0mg sodium
15mg total carbohydrate (0g dietary fiber, 13g sugar)
0g protein

Question of the Week:

Q: What is the difference between chin-ups and pulldowns?

A: Of course, there's the obvious: With chin-ups you pull your body weight upward and with pull-downs you pull a weight downwards. However, there is no immediate difference between the muscles worked; both moves hit your latisimus dorsi as well as your rhomboids, teres major and minor, biceps and core. There is a big difference in difficulty though, with pull-ups being more challenging. Since a pulldown station allows you to change the weight, you can adjust it to suit your ability level, which makes it ideal it ideal for beginners. With chin-ups, however, you're moving the weight of your own body, which requires a ton of body and grip strength to perform. To develop adequate pull-up strength, try using an assited pull-up machine at your local gym or utilize a Superband to alleviate some of your body weight.

Oxygenmag.com

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

"Pain is temporary, quiting last forever."

-Lance Armstrong

Low Back Pain - Numerous Causes

2011-04-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

Iliotibial Band Tightness

Illiotibial band tightness creates an increased risk of lateral knee injury during knee extension activities. Iliotibial band friction syndrome (ITBFS) is a cause of diffuse tenderness over the lateral knee. While weight bearing during knee flexion, the Tensor Fascia Latae contracts to assist the other hip abductors stabilize the pelvis from lateral movement and the Gluteus Maximus extends the hip for forward locomotion. Both the Tensor Fascia Latae and the Gluteus Maximus can place tension on the Iliotibial tract which produces repetitive friction on the lateral epicondyle. Furthermore, hip abductors weakness can exasperate this pull on the Iliotibial tract by allowing the hip to sag slightly when standing on a single leg, or during locomotion (Fredericson, et. al. 2000).

Ankle Dorsiflexion Inflexibility

Dorsiflexion flexibility is required during the lower phases of the squat and leg press, so Ankle Dorsiflexion inflexibility can make it difficult to perform squat and leg press exercises in full range of motion. If the range of motion of the ankle is limited, hip flexion may be exaggerated and knee flexion is often inhibited. To maintain normal range of motion in both the hip and knee, the heel may have a tendency to leave the floor or platform.

Hip Flexor Inflexibility

Increased risk of lower back injury during hip flexion and extension and overhead standing activities. During extension activities, the lower back can hyperextend more than usual if the hip cannot fully extend. During hip flexion activities, the Iliopsoas can hyperextend spine during hip flexor activities. Risk is compounded when hip flexor inflexibility is combined with abdominal weakness.

Abdominal Weakness

Increased risk of lower back injury can occur during hip flexion, extension, stabilization and back extension activities. Erector Spinae muscles can hyperextend lower back more than usual if abdominal muscles are weak. The abdominal muscles tilt the pelvis forward, improving the mechanical positioning of the Erector Spinae, specifically when the lumbar spine becomes straight. When abdominal strength/endurance is not adequate to counter the pull of the antagonist Erector Spinae under load, these low back muscles are put at a mechanical disadvantage (active insufficiency) further placing additional stresses on these very same lower back muscles. Iliopsoas can pull on the spine during hip flexor activities if the abdominal muscles are weak. Risk is compounded when abdominal weakness is combined with hip flexor inflexibility.

Erector Spinae Weakness

Increased risk of lower back injury occurs during lumbar spine extension or stabilization activities. Back extension exercises involving complete lumbar spine range of motion have demonstrated primarily excellent or good results for those with chronic lower back pain. Excellent or good results by diagnosis: 76% Mechanical / Strain, 72% Degenerative, 78% Disc Syndrome, 75% Spondylo. In contrast, McGill condemns the use of isolated lumbar spine exercise apparatuses and argues erector spinae endurance is more important than strength.

Low Back Debate

McGill condemns the use of isolated lumbar spine machines claiming the compressive forces of these devices can cause disc herniation based on a pig spine model. Nelson recommends the use of these devices and has successfully used these devices to treat chronic low back pain. See Erector Spinae Weakness. McGill suggests certain exercises and movements that flex the spine through the full range of motion be should be eliminated although he admits several thousands of cycles under a load to full range of motion are required to produce disk herniations. It can be argued that potential injury would be prevalent in this situation not due to full range of motion, but rather due to overtraining or lack of progressive adaptation. Nelson explains the avoidance of full range of motion during exercise is a short term solution which promotes deconditioning and consequently deterioration of the joint structures. Eric Serrano, MD, (ExRx.net medical advisor) suggests these machines can be useful in the early stages of rehabilitation. Dr. Serrano prescribes more functional movements as the patient progresses, introducing transverse / multiple plane exercises in the later stages, particularly with athletes. Also see adaptation criteria and Dr. Nelson's audio interview.

McGill Stuart (2002), Low Back Disorders, pg 55.
Nelson, B.W., O'Reilly, E., Miller, M., Hogan, M. Wegner, J.A., Kelly, C., (1995). The clinical effects of intensive, specific exercise on chronic low back pain: a controlled study of 895 consecutive patients with 1-year follow up. Orthopedics, 18(10), 971-981.
Nelson, B.W. (1993). A rational approach to the treatment of low back pain. J Musculoskel Med, 10(5), 67-82.

Walking & Low Back Health

Walking may benefit low back health by imposing a rotational torque on the spine at an estimated 8° of rotation. The vertebral disk undergoes this torque along with a slight degree of compressive force from the upper body weight and contraction of the trunk muscles. The torque is impressed on the annular fibers of the intervertebral disks enhancing their rigidity.
Cailliet M (1996). Low back Pain. Soft Tissue Pain and Disability, FA Davis Company Philadelphia. 3; 153-155.

Super Smoothies!

Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie
Natural peanut butter lends texture to this hearty breakfast drink.
· 1/2 cup fat-free milk
· 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
· 2 tbsp creamy natural unsalted peanut butter
· 1/4 very ripe banana
· 1 tbsp honey
· 4 ice cubes
Combine the milk, yogurt, peanut butter, banana, honey, and ice cubes in a blender.
Process until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and serve.

Nutritional Facts Per Serving:
Calories 410
Total Fat 16 grams
Saturated Fat 2 grams
Cholesterol 5 milligrams
Sodium 289 milligrams
Total Carbohydrate 50 grams
Dietary Fiber 3 grams
Protein 19 grams

Banana Berry Protein Shake
· 1 cup of berries (any mix)
· 1/2 banana
· 1/2 soy milk (or any kind of milk)
· 1 scoop any kind of protein powder (or if you don't have protein power add 1 egg white)
· 3/4 cup yogurt (your choice what kind)
· 1 cup ice

Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth.

Nutritional Facts Per Serving:
Calories 274
Total Fat 0 grams
Saturated Fat 0 grams
Cholesterol 4 milligrams
Sodium 170 milligrams
Total Carbohydrate 58 grams
Dietary Fiber 7 grams
Sugars 18 grams
Protein 11 grams

Heart Healthy Snack Ideas

Deeply Colored "5-9 A Day" Snacks
It's hard to get in the recommended 5-9 servings of heart healthy fruits and vegetables a day
unless you eat snacks. Here are some ideas...
Small box of raisins + low fat string cheese
Grapes, dried apricots or dates + toasted almonds
Apple or orange + low fat string cheese
Pear or banana + whole grain snack bar (look for 3 or more grams fiber)
Sugar Snap Peas
Applesauce + toasted almonds
Red, Orange, Yellow Bell Pepper plain or with light dip
Mixed Green Salad with light dressing
Cherry Tomatoes
Coleslaw with green and red cabbage
Mango (fresh or frozen)
Pineapple (fresh, canned in juice or frozen)
Baby (or big) carrots
Celery stuffed with peanut butter or light cream cheese and raisins
Figs
Cubed watermelon, cantaloupe or other orange melon
Sugar free raspberry jello with canned pineapple or pears added
Low-sodium V-8 juice

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES

"Success is about having, excellence is about being. Success is about having money and fame, but excellence is being the best you can be."

~Mike Ditka~

"Every game is an opportunity to measure yourself against your own potential."

~Bud Wilkinson~

"There are only two options regarding commitment; you're either in or you're out. There's no such thing as life in-between."

~Pat Riley~

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."

~Vincent T. Lombardi~

"Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit."

~Author Unknown~

To Eat or Not to Eat Before Exercise

2011-04-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Although exercising on an empty stomach can give you a higher amount of fat burn, it also can cause your body to rely on your muscles for fuel. This in turn means you are losing muscle mass.

The body needs some amount of carbs in order to burn calories and fat more efficiently without looking to the muscles for the fuel it needs. How much you need to eat depends on the type of workout you have planned, the duration and the time of day.

For instance, if you are an early morning exerciser, then eating before working out can be a light meal (200 to 300 calories) of carbs and protein. Your foods for exercise do not have to be an elaborate meal. Just make it simple but be sure to include carbohydrates and protein.

Additionally, be sure to hydrate sufficiently as you have gone all night without water. Drink 2 glasses of water upon waking and then have your meal. Wait for about ½ to one hour before working out.

Another helpful tip to prevent stomach cramps is to make your meal liquid like a protein shake. Since you are only waiting less than hour for your workout this can help prevent stomach pains while exercising. Eating before exercise will provide your body with the needed fuel so you can workout longer and burn more calories.

If your workout is during the day or evening and after larger meals, you should wait longer before exercising. You should allow 3 to 4 hours after eating before exercise for big meals and 2 to 3 hours after smaller meals.

If you are planning a workout for less than an hour, you will want to choose carbs that can be easily digested like crackers, bagels and breads. Be sure to make these low fat choices.

However, if you are planning a workout for more than an hour than you want to select carbohydrates that take longer to digest. Foods like bananas or yogurts are carbs that take longer to digest. Additionally, you want to be well hydrated before, during and after your workout, especially during for the longer exercise routines.

Muscle of the Week:

2 Moves that target your TRAPEZIUS

SHRUGS

1. Stand up straight with your feet at shoulder width as you hold a barbell with both hands in front of you using a pronated grip (palms facing the thighs).
2. Raise your shoulders up as far as you can go as you breathe out and hold the contraction for a second. Tip: Refrain from trying to lift the barbell by using your biceps.

3. Slowly return to the starting position as you breathe in.

4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions

UPRIGHT DUMBBELL ROW

1. Grasp a dumbbell in each hand with a pronated (palms forward) grip that is slightly less than shoulder width. The dumbbells should be resting on top of your thighs. Your arms should be extended with a slight bend at the elbows and your back should be straight. This will be your starting position.

2. Use your side shoulders to lift the dumbbells as you exhale. The dumbbells should be close to the body as you move it up and the elbows should drive the motion. Continue to lift them until they nearly touch your chin. Tip: Your elbows should drive the motion. As you lift the dumbbells, your elbows should always be higher than your forearms.

3. Lower the dumbbells back down slowly to the starting position. Inhale as you perform this portion of the movement.

4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Short Sleep Duration Linked to Obesity in Children and Young Adults

2011-04-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

Inadequate sleep in an important risk factor for obesity. Aliterature review of 71 studies by Danish researchers concluded that short sleep duration was linked to obesity in children and young adults, but the evidence was less clear in older adults. Several studies compared energy balance in subjects who slept normally with others deprived of sleep. The sleep-deprived groups gained weight.

Sleep loss causes an increased release of the hormone ghrelin, which boost appetite and slows metabolic rate. The resulting fatigue makes it more difficult to follow a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise. Poor sleep habits could be contributing to the obesity epidemic. Many factors cause sleep deprivation, so it is difficult to make generalizations based on large population studies.

(Obesity Reviews, 12: 78-92, 2010)

Red Juices:

You may be leery of getting too many calories from juice, but don't be with ruby juices like tart cherry and pomegranate. Science supports their health-promoting prowess: The anthocyanins from tart cherries help speed up muscle recovery after strenuous activity; and pomegranate juice's polyphenols help reduce oxidative stress in the body and hardening of the arteries.

No worries about these red juices creating a belly bulge- a four ounce serving is only about 80 calories.

Oxygenmag.com

Question of the Week:

Q: How much cardio should I be doing?

A: The amounts of cardio you should be do depends on
your goals. Are you trying to loose weight, maintain it or just improve cadio-respiratory health? These are the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) general recommended guidelines: For weight loss, do 250 to 300 cardio minutes per week; for cardiovascular health, do cardio between 3 and 5 times a week for 20 to 60 minutes. You accumulate these cardio in 10-minute workout bouts or more on most days of the week. In terms of intensity, ACSM recommends using a somewhat hard intensity.

Len Kravitz

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

" Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

- Will Rogers

Hot weather exercise: How to keep cool

2011-03-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

How hot weather affects your body

Under normal conditions, your skin, blood vessels and perspiration level adjust to the heat. But these natural cooling systems may fail if you're exposed to high temperatures and humidity for too long. The result may be a heat-related illness, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

How to avoid heat-related illnesses

To keep it cool during hot-weather exercise, keep these basic precautions in mind:

Take it slow. If you're used to exercising indoors or in cooler weather, take it easy at first

Drink plenty of fluids. Your body's ability to sweat and cool down depends on adequate rehydration. Drink plenty of water while you're working out - even if you don't feel thirsty. If you're planning to exercise intensely or for longer than one hour, consider sports drinks instead. These drinks can replace the sodium, chloride and potassium you lose through sweating. Avoid drinks that contain caffeine or alcohol, which actually promote fluid loss.

Dress appropriately. Lightweight, loose-fitting clothing promotes sweat evaporation and cooling by letting more air pass over your body. Avoid dark colors, which can absorb the heat. A light-colored hat can limit your exposure to the sun.

Avoid midday sun. Exercise in the morning or evening - when it's likely to be cooler outdoors - rather than the middle of the day. If possible, exercise in the shade or in a pool.

Wear sunscreen. A sunburn decreases your body's ability to cool itself.

Have a backup plan. If you're concerned about the heat or humidity, stay indoors. Work out at the gym, walk laps inside the mall or climb stairs inside an air-conditioned building.

Know when to call it quits

During hot-weather exercise, be on the lookout for heat-related illness. Signs and symptoms may include:

Weakness
Headache
Dizziness
Muscle cramps
Nausea or vomiting
Rapid heartbeat

(38.9 C) or become faint or confused, seek immediate medical help.

Regular physical activity is important - but don't let hot-weather workouts put your health at risk.

by Mayo Clinic staff

Tennis Elbow

Lateral epicondylitis, more commonly known as tennis elbow, is inflammation, soreness, or pain on the outside (lateral) side of the upper arm near the elbow.

There may be a partial tear of the tendon fibers, which connect muscle to bone.

The tear may be at or near where these fibers begin, on the outside of the elbow.

Causes & Symptoms

When you use these muscles over and over again, small tears develop in the tendon. Over time, this leads to irritation and pain where the tendon is attached to the bone.

This injury is common in people who play a lot of tennis or other racquet sports, hence the name "tennis elbow." Backhand is the most common stroke to cause symptoms.

However, any activity that involves repetitive twisting of the wrist (like using a screwdriver) can lead to this condition. Therefore, painters, plumbers, construction workers, cooks, and butchers are all more likely to develop tennis elbow.

This condition may also be due to constant computer keyboard and mouse use.

Signs and Tests

The diagnosis is made based on signs and symptoms, because x-rays are usually normal. Often there will be pain or tenderness when the tendon is gently pressed near where it attaches to the upper arm bone, over the outside of the elbow.

There is also pain near the elbow when the wrist is extended (bent backwards, like revving a motorcycle engine) against resistance.

X-rays are rarely needed.

Calling your health care provider

Apply home treatment (over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications and keeping the elbow still) if:

Symptoms are mild
You have had this disorder before and you are sure you have tennis elbow

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if:

This is the first time you have had these symptoms
Home treatment does not relieve the symptoms

Prevention

To help prevent tennis elbow:

Apply an ice pack to the outside of the elbow
Maintain good strength and flexibility in the arm muscles and avoid repetitive motions
Rest the elbow when bending and straightening are painful

References:

1. Regan WD, Grondin PP, Morrey BF. Elbow and forearm. In: DeLee JC, Drez D Jr., Miller MD, eds. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2009:chap 19.

2. Schmidt MJ, Adams SL. Tendinopathy and bursitis. In: Marx JA, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009: chap 115.

Muscle of the Week:

Wrist Extensors

Other Names

Forearm (outer or back)
Hand Extensors

Heads
Extensor Digitorum
Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus
Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis
Extensor Carpi Ulnaris
Extensor Indicis
Extensor Digiti Minimi
Extensor Pollicis Longus
Extensor Pollicis Brevis
Radial Deviation

Instructions

Preparation
Grasp half loaded dumbbell with plate on thumb side. Position arm down to side.
Execution
Bend wrist so weighted side is pulled upward. Lower until weighted side is pointing downward. Repeat.

Comments

If half loaded dumbbell is not available, one of two substitutes can be used.
Empty metal bar: to increase resistance grasp further away from center with longer end on thumb side.
Standard dumbbell: grasp so pinkie side is against inside of weight plate.

Wrist Rollers

Instructions

Preparation
Stand behind weight plate(s) on floor and grasp wrist roller handle with both hands; over hand grip.
Execution
With left hand gripping handle, relax grip of right hand and slide grip in front of handle (by flexing wrist) and regrip. Relax grip of left hand and hyperextend right wrist. Repeat sequence with opposite hands, alternating back and forth until weight plate has raised up near hands. Lower weight steadily with opposite movement.

When Parents Work Out, Kids Stay Slim

2011-03-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

No mom wants to see her kid's bare-bellied flab making its TV debut on "The Biggest Loser." But before you head to the gym for Mommy/Baby Zumba, consider a new study that finds it's only the parents who need to muscle up and keep their hands out of the cookie jar.

Despite your best intentions to get your kid to crave carrots and perform happy baby poses in utero, it turns out that when healthy eating and exercise is taught to parents only, their kids shed about the same amount of poundage as if you'd hauled them to exercise classes, too, according to the study published in the journal Obesity.

"Our results showed that the parent-only group was not inferior in terms of child weight loss, parent weight loss and child physical activity," says study author Kerri Boutelle, an associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, in a release.

Though current fat camp-esque childhood obesity programs call

for parent/kid participation, researchers found that parents are the biggest influences on flabby kids, and that it's the healthy behaviors of moms and dads that could have the largest impact in changing recent data that suggests 31 percent of children in the United States are overweight or obese. That adds up to 4 to 5 million kids, the release says.

"Parents are the most significant people in a child's environment, serving as the first and most important teachers," Boutelle says in the release. "Since they play a significant role in any weight-loss program for children, we wondered if the same results could be achieved by working with just the parents, without the child coming to the clinic."

The study involved 80 families with overweight or obese children

aged 8 to 12, according to the release. Half of the families entered a five-month education program with kids in tow, while the other 40 families attended parents-only classes. At the beginning and end of the five-month term, and at a follow-up six months later, researchers measured both parents' and children's body size as well as the kids' daily caloric intake and physical activity.

In every measure aside from caloric intake, the families in the parent-only group showed as much improvement as those getting parent-and-child education, according to the release.

Muscle of the Week:

3 Moves that target your CALVES

TOE RAISES

1) Stand with weights in hands.

2) Feet placed shoulder distance apart.

3) Raise up on balls of feet.

4) Return to start position and repeat.

STEP UPS

1) Hold weights in hands.

2) Stand with involved leg up on step.

3) Shift weight over knee.

4) Step up slowly.

5) Step down backwards, leading with involved leg.

6) Repeat.

SEATED TOE RAISES

1) Sit at calf strengthening machine, feet flat on floor.

2) Place pad on top of knees.

3) Lift heels off of floor.

4) Return to start position and repeat.

Keep an Exercise Journal

2011-03-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

The best way to track your progress is to write every exercise, set, rep, type and duration of cardio, and the date. Your exercise journal can be anything from a notepad, to a piece of computer paper, to a chart you made on the computer.

The key here is to be consistent with writing down your workouts and making sure you aren't taking steps backwards. By keeping a journal you have something can go back in time and see exactly how you have been progressing over the past couple weeks, months, and even years.

Another great advantage of keeping an exercise journal is if and when you get to a sticking point you can look back in your journal and see what you did the last time to get you out of that plateau.

The people who don't keep a journal never know exactly how they are progressing because they have no way of measuring what they accomplished in the past. By writing everything down you can go back to the week before and make sure you aren't using a weight that is less than the week before or that you didn't cut yourself short on a piece of cardio equipment.

The time spent writing everything in the journal during your workouts (which takes no time at all since most people write things in the journal while resting between sets) is well worth the knowledge and progression you will see down the road.

Fact or Fiction
MYTH: You need to eat a lot of protein to gain muscle.

FACT: Your body can only metabolize about 25g of protein per meal/ snack so higher intakes do not offer any further benefit with regards to muscle strength gains and repair. Your best bet is to eat protein-rich foods and/or powders often (four to five times throughout the day) to ensure that you are maximizing your training efforts, supporting your immune system and aiding your body's fat-burning potential.

oxygenmag.com

Question of the Week:

Q: When is the best time to exercise? I have heard that if you are overweight you
should exercise after you eat, and if you are at the weight you want, you should exercise before you eat. Does it matter? And, if it does, why and how?

A: Like many of the factors attendant to exercise, a
considerable amount of misinformation and
mythhology exists concerning the question "when is the best time to exercise"?

For example, for several years, a number of individuals
have erroneously believed that exercising in the morning subjects a person to a heightened risk of a coronary episode. Such a risk is purported to emanate from the fact that most fatal heart attacks occur between 6 a.m. and noon. This is because blood platelets, which are responsible for the formation of blood clots, are stickiest in the morning.

Exercise, however, doesn't make matters worse. In fact, individuals who exercise regularly have a reduced risk of heart attack at any time of the day.

With regard to the specific issue of the alleged relationship between the time of exercising and weight control efforts, no such relationship exists. If you exercise at a particular level of intensity, you'll "burn" the same number of calories regardless of when you exercise.

All factors considered, it may be somewhat more difficult for a person to exercise after a meal, because the amount of blood involved in the digestive process diminishes the level of oxygen-carrying blood servicing the exercise muscles.

The impact of such a factor would depend upon how much the person ate, how soon the individual exercised after eating, and how hard the person exercised.

In reality, the answer to the question of "when is the best time to exercise" is fairly straightforward - whatever works best for you is the best time.

Bryant, Cedric

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"
"Success is about having, excellence is about being. Success is about having money and fame, but excellence is being the best you can be."

- Mike Ditka

R.I.C.E for Sprains and Strains?

2011-03-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

Strains and sprains can be treated at home by following a simple plan called RICE, which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Rest

If you strain or sprain your knee, stop or reduce your activity level for a day or two. Depending on the severity of the pain, your doctor may also suggest that you avoid putting any weight on the specific body part for up to two days. If needed, crutches or a cane can keep you moving.

"The amount of time you rest varies," says Robert Gotlin, DO, director of orthopedic and sports rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "We recommend and promote rest as part of RICE therapy for as long as you have to in order to get the swelling reduced and the pain to an 'ooooh' rather than an 'ouch.' Rest at least a week, but most muscle strains or sprains are micro-tears of the tissue, and that takes at least three weeks to heal. Don't exercise or do the activity that caused the pain in the first place."

William Bargar, MD, director of the Joint Replacement Center at Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento, Calif., and spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, points out that rest can be a double-edged sword. "If you don't use your joints, they get quite stiff. Sometimes they get worse if you use them. I say to use your symptoms of pain asa guide.If, when you do a certain activity, you have significant discomfort or more pain later in the day after doing it on a repetitive basis, you need to cut it out for a while until the pain goes away."

Ice

Use a bag of ice or cold pack on the injured body part four to eight times per day for 20 minutes each time. Don't hold it on there longer than 20 minutes because it can cause frostbite. To be careful and more comfortable, surround the ice pack with a towel to avoid freezing the skin.

"Usually, I tell patients to use ice after the activity that caused the pain but also to use heat before an activity," Dr. Bargar says. "A little warm-up is helpful, and heat to the joint or a hot shower or tub will help loosen you up, helping to avoid an injury or create pain."

Compression

In an effort to reduce the swelling that's causing your joint pain, use a compression bandage. These include either elastic-type wraps, such as an Ace bandage, air casts, special boots, or splints. Check with your health care provider on which one to use and how tight it should be.

Elevation

Another way to help reduce the swelling is to elevate your leg on a pillow above the level of your heart. "Just do this for the first day or so to help control the swelling, but no longer," Gotlin says.

Muscle of the Week:

3 Moves that target your TRICEPS

DIPS

1) Sit on a bench or chair

2) Begin with the hands next to or slightly under the hips.

3) Lift up onto the hands and bring the hips forward.

4) Bend the elbows (no lower than 90 degrees) and lower the hips down, keeping them very close to the chair. Keep the shoulders down.

5) Push back up without locking the elbows and repeat for 10-16 reps.

SKULL CRASHERS

1) Lie on the floor or a bench and hold a light-medium barbell with the hands close together, about shoulder-width apart.

2) Extend the arms straight up over the chest, palms face out and thumbs wrapped around so that they're next to the fingers.

3) Bend the elbows and lower the the weight down to a few inches above the forehead or until the elbows at about 90-degree angles.

4) Squeeze the triceps to straight the arms without locking the joints.

5) Repeat for 1-3 sets of 10-16 reps.

TRICEP PUSH-UPS

1) Kneel in front of the ball and roll forward until the ball is under the mid-upper

thighs (the further out you are, the harder this move is).

2) Place the hands shoulder-width apart and place them just below the chest.

3) Bend the elbows and keep them close to the body and facing the back of the room as you lower down into a pushup in a see-saw motion (i.e., don't bend at the hips)

4) Push back to start and repeat for 1-3 sets of 10-16 reps.

The Dangers of Deep Squats

2011-02-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

In 1961, Kari Klein, from the University of Texas, published a paper showing that deep squats loosened the knee ligaments (J Assoc Phys Ment Rehabil, 15: 6-11, 1961). Based on this study, the American Medical Association recommended against deep squats. This paper caused several generations of American men to practice 'curtsy squats' and leg presses in the gym. Since then, many well-controlled studies showed that deep squats-when practiced correctly-strengthened and stabilized the knee joint. These studies showed that the forces on the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in the knee decreased as the knee flexed.

Performance goals should determine squat depth. Squatting to parallel builds the quads best, while squatting lower puts greater loads on the glutes. People with healthy knees can do deep squats, but they are not recommended for people with arthritis or chondromalacia (sore kneecaps).

(National Strength and Conditioning Association Hot Topics Reports, 2009)

Did You Know?

Mushrooms

Meaty and filling, as a stand-in for beef they can slash up to 400 calories from a meal. They may

also protect against breast cancer by

helping to regulate a woman's estrogen levels.

Try this: Sauté sliced mushrooms and shallots until tender. Add a splash of white wine and cook until evaporated. Serve over roasted fish or chicken. Or try grilled steak, mushroom, and green bean salad.

Walnuts

A surprisingly good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Those are the fats that lower the bad-

for-you cholesterol (LDL) and raise the good-for-you kind (HDL).

Try this: For a healthy on-the-go snack, pack a handful of walnuts with some dried figs and a few anise seeds. (As the ingredients sit together, the anise releases flavor.) Or try corn salad with feta and walnuts.

realsimple.com

Question of the Week:

Q: Should I train my abdominal muscles every day? Also, how many repetitions of crunches should I optimally perform?

A: You should treat your abdominal muscles like any other muscle group, which means you shouldn't train them every day. Your abdominals, like all of your other muscle groups, need recovery time between workouts.
As with any resistance training exercise, you ideally want the last few repetitions to be difficult to complete.
Performed correctly, 10 to 25 repetitions for one to three sets of abdominal exercises provide a more than adequate training stimulus. If you can perform more than 25 repetitions of an abdominal exercise, you are most likely performing the repetitions too rapidly or with improper form.
You can increase the challenge and intensity of abdominal exercises by using added resistance, moving more slowly or performing the exercises on a slant board or exercise ball so that your head is at a lower elevation than your legs.

Bryant, Cedric

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"
"A CHAMPION lets nothing interfere with theri priority - becoming the best they possibly can become"

-Scotty Kessler

Spring-Clean Your Exercise Routine

2011-02-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

Ditch: Old walking or running shoes

Instead: Invest in a new pair of kicks, because worn-out soles are a quick path to injury.

Write the purchase date on the tongue or side of your shoes and let your weekly mileage be your guide. If you walk or run 10 miles per week, replace your shoes every 12 months; 15 miles, every 8 months; 20 miles, every 6 months; 30 miles, every 4 months.

Ditch: Your freebie pedometer

Instead: Spend $20 to $25 for a better-quality one.
A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine tested nearly 1,000 low-end pedometers and found almost three-quarters of them were inaccurate-with most of them overestimating step counts.

Ditch: Lightweight dumbbells

Instead: Use heavier weights that challenge you, says Tim Davis, director, Peak Performance in New York.

Your body has an amazing ability to adapt quickly, so if you don't regularly increase the weight

you're lifting, you'll eventually plateau. Lift as much as you can, as long as it isn't painful and you feel in control throughout the move.

Ditch: Sipping only when thirsty

Instead: Drink 4 to 6 ounces of water for every 15 minutes of

exercise.

Sweating away even a tiny portion of your body weight can doom your workout by making your heart beat faster and causing you to feel weak and tired.

Ditch: The idea that more is better

Instead: Focus on the quality, not length, of your workout, Davis says.Instead of walking or biking at one speed for an hour, halve your workout (and burn the same amount of calories) by doing sprint intervals-30 seconds to 2 minutes at a very fast pace, followed by 2minutes at normal pace.

Ditch: That old cotton T-shirt

Instead: Go high-tech and invest in workout clothing made from wicking fabrics.Why?

Synthetics do a better job of keeping you drier and cooler while you exercise (but you knew that already).

Excerpted from Health.com contributing writer Judi Ketteler February 11, 2008

Stretches of the Week:

Seated Glute Stretch

Target: Gluteus Maximus

Lying Pretzel Stretch

Target: Gluteus Medius & Gluteus Minimus

Lying Illiotibial Stretch

Target: Tensor Facia Latae

Lying Prirformis Stretch

Target: Piriformis & Quadratus Femoris

3 Types of Exercise You Need to Stay Fit

2011-02-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

1. Cardio

In order to lose weight and keep it off, I recommend exercisingaerobically for six hours a week at a moderately high intensity, which I define as vigorous activity with very deep breathing. This may sound like a lot, but you can break up those six hours however you like. Cycling or walking for an hour six days a week would do it, or you could exercise on an elliptical trainer or swim for 75 minutes five days a week. Although you may not be ready for six hours right off the bat, aim as high as you can when you begin. Make your first goal 90 to 150 minutes per week, the minimum amount for disease protection. If you're very overweight or have any medical conditions, check with your doctor before increasing activity.

2. Strength Training

Strength training will increase your muscle tone, which requires more calories to maintain than fat; therefore, your body will burn a greater number of calories as part of its daily upkeep-even when you're sleeping. Strength training also reinforces the skeleton, helping to stem bone loss. You'll want to start with a variety of exercises, using either free weights or machines, that work the

major muscle groups: abdomen, back, arms, shoulders, and

legs. And you'll want to begin with weights that are challenging but not so heavy that they force you to compromise your form.

Ideally, work up to doing strength-training exercises two to three

times a week.

3. Functional Fitness

Being "functionally fit" means having the strength and agility to get through daily life with ease-from toting an armload of groceries to reaching for a coat in the back of a closet. Functional fitness also makes other types of exercise easier and helps protect you against injury. The exercises that improve functional fitness are primarily stretches, crunches, and other resistance exercises that you do with orwithout weights. As a group, they increase your core strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination, as well as improve your posture and help you move more gracefully. They take so little time, you should really do them every day, but if that's impossible, do what you can.

Excerpted from The Life You Want: Get Motivated, Lose Weight, and Be Happy; Simon & Schuster. Copyright (c) 2010 by Bestlife Corporation

Muscle of the Week:

3 Moves that target your glutes

1) Squats

Stand with feet shoulder width apartBend the knees, keeping the knees behind the toes. Press into the heels and stand up.Repeat about 2-3 sets of 8-16 reps.

2) Lunges

Stand with feet shoulder width apart.
With one foot take a step forward. Knee should be at a 90 degrees angle with knee above the toes.

3) Step-Ups

Get a box about knee high. With one leg, step onto the box, slowly pushing through your heel. Then step down slowly. Repeat with the same leg or alternate.

Walk Stairs Two at a Time to Burn More Calories

2011-02-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

Most weight-loss experts advise people to walk the stairs and avoid elevators. What's the best way to burn calories during a stair climb? Jinger Gottschall and colleagues from the Pennsylvania State University found that walking every other step with alternating feet burns more calories than walking one step at a time. People move faster and use more power during alternate step climbing. Stair climbing is an excellent exercise that can be included easily in a physically activity program.

(Journal Strength and Conditioning Research, 24: 2558-2563, 2010)

Onion Dip for Veggies

Do you get tired of the same snacks, and sometimes you need to just change it up. Dips are nice that way. You can still get your veggie in, but you can do it by dipping them in something yummy and healthy. Here's a new take on an old-favorite. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-1 tsp olive oil
-1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
-1 cup VOSKOS nonfat Greek Yogurt
-1/2 cup fat-free mayo
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-1/4 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp white pepper
-1/8 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:
Sauté thinly sliced onions in olive oil over medium heat until starts to brown. Combine onion with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Either serve immediately or keep in fridge. Each servings is roughly 1/4 cup. Serve with fresh veggies.

Nutrition:
Calories 54; Calories from Fat 7.0; Total Fat 0.78g; Cholesterol 2.5mg; Sodium 310.06mg; Total Carbohydrate 6.65g; Dietary Fiber 0.53g; Sugars 2.7g; Protein 4.19g

Question of the Week:

Q: Does any proof exist that exercise can help a person live longer?

A: Absolutely. One of the largest study measuring fitness
ever conducted found that exercise will indeed help a person live longer.

Led by Dr. Steven Blair of the Institute of Aerobics Research in Dallas, the eight-year study evaluated the fitness and mortality levels of 13,344 men and women. Researchers involved with the study found that exercise reduces the death rate from all causes, particularly cancer and heart disease.

Physical fitness was measured by each subject's performance on a standardized treadmill test - a test which is designed to accurately assess aerobic fitness (the most commonly accepted indicator of physical "health"). Based on the test results, the subjects were then grouped by gender into 5 categories ranging from least to most fit. The results of the study showed that the higher the fitness level the lower the death rate, after the data was adjusted for age differences between the subjects.

Compared with the most-fit subjects, individuals in the least-fit category had death rates 3.4 and 4.6 times higher for men and women respectively. The differences in mortality rates held relatively constant even after obvious causal factors, such as smoking and cholesterol level, were considered. For both men and women, the largest drop from one fitness category to another was from the least-fit to the next most-fit group. Expressed as deaths per 10,000 person-years, the age-adjusted death rates for men and women in the sedentary category fell from 64 and 39.5 to 25.5 and 20.5 respectively in the next most-fit group, a decline of more than 60 % for men and 48 % for women.

The implication of Blair's findings are extraordinarily significant, particularly for a sedentary individual. On a major scale, this study documents the fact that a modest amount of exercise can and does go a long way. The equivalent of walking 30 min a day is all that is required to move from the most sedentary category to the next most fit category.

Bryant, Cedric

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

"You can't make a great play unless you do it first in practice"

- Chuck Noll

THE DEADLIFT: A Great Exercise for Building Raw Horsepower

2011-01-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

The deadlift is one of the three power lifts. It is also a great exercise for building total-body strength and power. It is an excellent predictor of performance in high-power movement such as jumping, sprinting, and throwing. However, this exercise can cause injury if done incorrectly. Michael Hales from Kenneshaw State University in Georgia said that the two greatest problems during the conventional style deadlift is excessive trunk lean and premature knee extension at the start of the lift. Most lifters find it easier to maintain a safe spine position during the sumo style of deadlifting.

The choice of deadlift style should consider the athlete's body type. For example, those with long torsos and short arms might prefer the sumo style, while those with long torsos and long arms might be more successful with the conventional technique. Done incorrectly, deadlifts can potentially cause serious injury. Seek the advice of an experienced coach before doing this lift.

(Strength and Conditioning Journal, 32(4): 44-51, 2010)

Homemade Sugar-Free Maple Syrup

Servings:
Makes 1 cup

Serving size 2 tbs

Ingredients:
-1 cup boiling water
-up to 2 cups sugar substitute (ie Stevia Granular)
-2 tsp cornstarch or other thickener (add more if needed)
-1 tsp maple extract

Directions:
Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add sugar. Stir remaining 1/4 cup water and thickener together in a small cup. Add to pot and boil, stirring constantly to avoid clumps. Remove from heat and add maple extract. Keep in a sealed container until needed. Store in fridge.

Nutrition:
-Calories: 3
-Total Fat 0g
-Cholesterol 0mg
-Sodium 0.06mg
-Total Carbohydrate 0.61g
-Dietary Fiber 0.01g
-Sugars 0g
-Protein 0g

Question of the Week:

Q: How important are the warm-up and cool-down portions of a workout?

A: Warm-up and cool-down activities should be an essential part of all exercise programs.
The purpose of warm-up activities is to prepare the body, especially the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems, for the conditioning or stimulus phase of the exercise session. The cool-down phase assures that venous return to the heart is maintained in the face of significant amounts of blood going to the previously working muscles.

Light aerobic endurance activities, coupled with activities, provide the fundamental basis for both the warm-up and cool-down phases. The length of the warm-up and cool-down periods depends on several factors, including the type of activity engaged in during the conditioning period, the level of intensity of those activities, and the age and fitness level of the participant.
In general, the warm-up and cool-down phases should last approximately five to ten minutes each. If the individual has less time available to work out than usual, it is recommended that the time allotted for the conditioning phase of the workout be reduced, while retaining sufficient time for both the warm-up and cool-down phases.

Bryant, Cedric

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."

-John Wooden

Do You Need a Personal Trainer?

2011-01-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

6 Reasons a trainer may be right for you.

Personal trainers aren't for everyone, but a trainer provides certain benefits that you can't find when working out on your own. Here are ten reasons a personal trainer may be right for you.

1.) Motivation

One of the main reasons people benefit from a personal trainer is that they loss motivation to stick with a consistent exercise program. Certified personal trainers can provide structure and accountability, and help you develop a lifestyle that encourages health.

2.) Individualized program
If you have any chronic health conditions, injuries or training goals (running a marathon, for example) a trainer will work with you and your health care provider to plan a safe, efficient program that considers these needs and enable you to reach your health goals.

3.) Efficiency
Personal Trainers help you focus on results and stop wasting your time doing inefficient workouts. A personal trainer has a plan and will help you get maximum results in minimum time.

4.) Improve technical skills
If you play a particular sport, the right personal trainer will help you improve your skill by

showing you new training techniques specific to your sport. The Trainer will incorporate skills training into your program so you improve not only your strength and endurance, but your agility and mental focus as well.

5.) Break through plateaus
Ok, you are already in pretty decent shape, but you've been there for years. If you are stuck in the same routine and want to break out of a rut, a personal trainer is the perfect solution. A trainer will jump start, not only your motivation, but your routine as well.

6.) Lose Weight

There is a good reason that the number one reason people hire personal trainers is to lose weight and get into shape -- it works. If you made a resolution to lose the fat and build the muscle, a trainer can keep you on track and help you realize that goal.

Before you hire a personal trainer you should make sure that they have the proper qualifications to tend to your needs or to achieve your goals.Make sure that you should feel comfortable with the trainer, his/her style of communication and the expectations of your time together.

Elizabeth Quinn

Meat eaters gain more weight over time

Roughly 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. A six-year British study showed that excessive meat consumption might be a contributing factor. Researchers examined the dietary patterns of 100,000 men and 270,000 women in countries across Europe. People who ate the most meat gained more weight during the study, even when controlling for caloric consumption.

Weight gain was proportional to the amount of meat consumed. People gained an additional 4 pounds for every 9-ounce increase in average daily meat consumption. This study did not support the popular idea that increasing protein intake promotes long-term weight control. Reducing meat consumption might help prevent weight gain.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92:398-407, 2010

Question of the Week:

Q: What is VO2 max and why is it important?

A: If you increase the intensity of exercise, a number of things happen in your body. A rise occurs in heart rate, respiration, and oxygen intake, as well as in the activity levels of other parts of your oxygen delivery and utilization (aerobic) systems.
A point occurs, however, beyond which oxygen intake cannot increase, even though more work is being performed. At this point, you have reached a level that is commonly referred to as VO2 max or maximal oxygen uptake. VO2 max is considered to be the best single indicator of aerobic fitness, since it involves the optimal ability of three major systems (pulmonary, cardiovascular, and muscular) of your body to take in, transport, and utilize oxygen.

Thus, the higher your VO2 max, the greater your level of physical working capacity.

Bryant, Cedric

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK"
"A true champion is someone who wants to make a difference, who never gives up, and who gives everything he has no matter what the circumstances are"

-Dot Richardson

5 Ways to Approach Your Fitness Resolutions in 2011

2011-01-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

1.) Break your goals down into something that you will achieve the outcome versus the broad goal itself. Take get fit and weight loss on their own they seem easy enough but these two goals are way too broad to ever be achieved. Instead set a resolution to do a 10km race or a triathlon. These goals are achievable and defined and by doing them you will achieve the goal of getting fit and losing weight as well as you start the lifestyle change needed for long term success.

2.) Get up an hour earlier and hit the gym. You usually can count the number of people at the gym at 5:30 AM on 2 hands or less. Knock your workout out before the sun rises and that is one less thing you have to worry about doing all day.

3.) Get a workout buddy. Meet people online, at the gym, at work that want to meet some new fitness goal and start pushing each other. When one of you doesn't want to workout, the other should "force" them to.

4.) Don't allow any eating out except one meal a week. How hard is this? Not really when you think about it. Just DON'T do it. Sure, getting up and running is easy to get out of. But not allowing yourself to eat out is EXTREMELY SIMPLE. The Anti-Nike Slogan comes in handy: Just don't do it.

5.) Make small goals. Try losing a pound in the next 5 days. Then 3 pounds in the next two weeks. Then on...and on...and on...

I hope these help you all stay focused on such an important resolution.

Eat a Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is high in vegetables and unsaturated fatty acids. Common foods include pasta, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, nuts, and red wine. People living in the Mediterranean countries have the lowest heart disease rates and greatest longevity in the world. Diet may play an important role in their excellent health.

A large study of nearly 500,000 men and women age 25 - 70 years living in 10 European countries found a reduced risk of abdominal obesity in people who followed the Mediterranean diet. The relationship was strongest in men from northern European countries. People living in France, Norway and Sweden were the thinnest, while those living in Greece and Spain were the fattest. Europeans were considerably leaner than Americans. The Mediterranean diet has positive effects on metabolic health and preventing obesity.

(Journal Nutrition, 139:1-10, 2009)

Question of the Week:

Q: Will I lose body fat more efficiently by performing my aerobic workouts at a low, rather than a high, intensity?

A: Many aerobic exercise programs and videos feature low-intensity workouts which surport to maximize fat burning. The argument behind such an alleged theory is that low-intensity aerobic training will allow your body to use more fat as an energy source, thereby accelerating the loss of body fat.

While it is true that a higher proportion of calories burned during low-intensity exercise come from fat (about 60 % as opposed to approximately 35 % from high-intensity programs), high-intensity exercise still burns more calories from fat in the final analysis. For example, if you perform 30 min of low-intensity aerobic exercise (i.e., at a level of 50 % of maximal exercise capacity), you'll burn approximately 200 calories - about 120 of those come from fat (i.e., 60 %).

However, exercising for the same amount of time at a high intensity (i.e., 75 % of your maximal exercise capacity) will burn approximately 400 calories. Using a 35 % fat utilization yardstick, 140 of the calories you've burned will have come from stored fat.

Although the more vigorous exercise burns both more total and more fat calories, the less intense form of exercise has its benefits as well. For example, because many overweight people tend to find that lower-intensity exercise is more comfortable, they may, therefore, be willing to engage in such workouts. The point to remember is that low-intensity workouts do, in fact, promote weight and fat loss. You just have to do them for a longer period of time.
Low-intensity aerobic exercise, however, is not a better or more effective way to lose weight than more intense physical activity - the idea of a "fat-burning zone" is simply a myth.

Keep in mind that you lose weight and body fat when you expend more calories than you consume, not because you burn fat (or anything else) when you exercise.

Bryant, Cedric

ADULTS: Ready to be SHOCKED?

2011-01-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

- Build Strength
- Increase Endurance

- Develop and Tone Muscles
- Increase Metabolism
- Shed Unwanted Body Fat

- Improve Agility and Balance

Come work out for FREE ON:

Jan 5-7th at
Mornings: 5:30am
Evenings: 5:30pm

***No Regestration Needed**Just Show Up**Bring a Friend***

Exclusively offered at Athletic Republic

707 N 30th Street
Monroe, Louisiana 71203
318-323-1613

New Year's Resolution: Get Fit

2010-12-29T10:58:00.000-08:00

Resolved to exercise and get in shape? Here's how to actually do it.

You needed neither that 2nd serving nor the extra round of drinks. Yet you indulged. Aren't the holidays about good times with loved ones, great food, and merrymaking? Beginning Jan. 1, you will eat healthier and work out. Starting then, you will get fit. This will be your New Year's resolution. Life will be better after December. Sound familiar?

In fact, about a third of New Year's resolvers make weight loss their primary goal, and about 15% aim to begin an exercise program. For the average person, a good fitness program consists of exercises that work out the whole body. A cardio workout improves the function and health of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Weight-bearing exercises enhance the function and health of the bones, muscles, joints, and connective tissues. To avoid overwhelming yourself, set realistic expectations. Assess where you are now, and then break it into achievable goals.

How does one go about choosing an appropriate fitness program? Different things work for different people. Fortunately, there are more than enough options. Start by making healthy choices!

Exercise does not need to be a formal activity. It does not require a big chunk of time carved out of your day.Some activities can even double as weight-bearing exercise, the other component of an ideal fitness program. This type of exercise involves anything that uses body weight against gravity. Examples include walking, jogging, playing basketball, yoga, martial arts, push-ups, weight training, and free weights.

To get maximum benefits, focus on working out the larger muscle groups. Most of the muscle mass in the body lies in the trunk, thighs, chest, back, and abdomen. Targeting these areas will give you the biggest bang for your buck for your workout time. Start out with 1 set of 8-15 repetitions of 1 exercise 2 days a week. Consulting a dietitian for nutrition advice may help as well. Healthy eating is an essential part of a good fitness program. Start low and then gradually progress. You shouldn't expect to become well-conditioned overnight."

It is possible to begin a fitness program and stick with it. If you do, perhaps you can scratch off that resolution next year and have the satisfaction of knowing you have accomplished something very important.

Dulce Zamora

NUMB3RS

60 - Approximate number of minutes it would take running on a treadmill at 5.2 MPH to burn off that 44-ounce super big gulp of Coca-Cola Classic.
36 - Percentage by which eating one apple a day lowers your risk of death from stroke.
15 - Number of Carb grams in a tablespoon of honey.
7 - Number of protein grams in one whole egg
114 - Calories in one cup of sweet potatoes, cubed.

Oxygen.com

Question of the week?

Q: My 14-year-old daughter has experienced interest in joining me at the gym. However, I have heard rumors that weight training isn't healthy for young healthy growing teens. Is it ok to bring her along?

A: You are correct, heavy weight training for young teens are not recommended. Too much stress can be applied to their growth plates (cartilage at the end of long bones where growth occurs), which can lead to injury. We often note a decrease in teens' core strength and flexibility during rapid growth spurts. A calisthenic routine or group cardio class can allow your teen to improve her fitness while she is adjusting to her new height. Once teen's have finished growing and have developed their secondary sexual characteristics, their growth plates are generally closed and a heavy weight-training can be initiated.

Exercise With The Family

2010-12-22T19:58:00.000-08:00

A great source of motivation is right where you need it the most - at home with your family!

If you are the only person (or one of the few people) in your family that works out, a great way to get them started slowly would be to include them in your exercise program.

During the holidays after most people stuff their faces, a great way to burn off those extra calories is to take a walk-and take your family with you. A nice walk in the park or around the block will suffice. You don't want to go for a marathon which more than likely will deter your family away from exercising in the future.

The plan here isn't to scare them away, but to show them how much fun it can be to exercise. If they enjoy the walk together, ask them to go through a weight workout with you-explain to them the benefits of exercise. Who knows, you might be just the person to get your family kick started into exercising and you could be the motivation that helps them reach their goals and live a healthier life.

bodybuilding.com

Old Fashioned Eggnog
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup water
- granular sugar substitute (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (prefer freshly grated)

Directions:
Crack eggs, place in a blender.
Add cream and water, blend until smooth.
Add vanilla and nutmeg; blend until foamy and drink immediately.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Net Carbs: 3.5 g

Fiber: 0.0
Protein: 7.0 g
Fat: 27.0 g
Calories: 277

atkins.com

Question of the Week:

Q: What causes the pain in my side that occurs suddenly while I am running and how can I prevent it?

A: The pain that you've described is referred to as a "side stitch".

No clear-cut explanation has ever been offered regarding this painful burning sensation that can occur near the upper portion of the abdominal wall where it meets the rib cage.

It has been hypothesized that side stitch pain is caused by the jarring and pulling on the ligaments that attach the stomach to the diaphragm.Anyone who has experienced a side stitch has probably tried several methods to relieve the pain. While each individual is different, the following methods have been observed to be effective in relieving the pain of a side stitch:

· Reducing the exercise intensity level until the pain subsides.

· Breathing deeply through pursed lips.

· Tightening the abdominal muscles while bending forward.

While you can't totally prevent a side stitch from occurring, you can reduce your likelihood of experiencing one by exercising at an intensity level that matches your fitness level and by gradually increasing how hard you work out as your fitness level improves.

Cedric Bryant

Low-carb diets cause long-term sugar problems

2010-12-15T17:06:00.000-08:00

Low-carbohydrate weight-loss diets increase the production of ketones formed by the incomplete breakdown of fats. Ketogenic diets cause rapid short-term weight loss but are no more effective than other low-calorie diets for long-term weight loss or weight maintenance. A Perdue University study using rats showed that ketogenic diets have long-lasting negative effects on blood sugar regulation. Rats that were fed low-carbohydrate diets and then switched to a normal diet showed impaired insulin sensitivity and poor blood sugar control. Yo-yo dieting (bouncing between ketogenic and normal diets) may have long-term negative effects on blood sugar regulation.

(Endocrinology, 151:3105-3114, 2010)

Fruit Cobbler

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon1 16-oz can fruit (peaches, strawberries, blueberries, etc.)
¾ cup biscuit mix
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Mix cornstarch and cinnamon in saucepan. Stir in a little of the liquid from the fruit until smooth. Stir in remaining liquid and fruit.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 4 minutes.
4. Pour into a 1-quart casserole dish.
5. Stir biscuit mix and sugar together. Stir in water until dry ingredients are barely moistened. Spread on top of fruit mixture.
6. Bake until top is lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition Values:

Calories 174
total fat 3.33g
% calories from fat 17.17%
Dietary fA:iber 2.43g

EatSmart

Question of the week?

Q: Please settle an argument. Is beer a good post-workout drink?

A:It may taste good when you're thirsty, but drinking beer is not an effective way to rehydrate after exercising.
Alcohol has a diuretic effect. As a result, instead of
replenishing your fluid levels, beer promotes additional water loss via urination. Some individuals erroneously
believe that beer gives them a carbohydrate boost plus extra potassium. An urgent need for these nutrients immediately following a workout, however, simply does not exist. Even if an individual needed these specific nutrients, beer is a relatively poor source. For example, compared to orange juice, a 12-ounce can of beer has only 13 grams and 90 milligrams of carbohydrates and potassium,respectively, versus 26 grams of carbohydrates and 450 milligrams of potassium in 8 ounces of orange juice.

Source: Dr. Cedric X. Bryant, ACE's Chief Science Officer; ACE

FitnessMatters, Mar/Apr 2005.

Ginger root decrease muscle pain

2010-12-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

Daily consumption of ginger root decreased muscle pain associated with exercise by 25 percent compared to a placebo- according to a university of Georgia study led by Patrick O'Connor. Men consumed 2 grams of raw or heated ginger root per day for 11 days. On day eight, they performed a weight-training workout designed to cause muscle soreness. Heated ginger root had no additional effect on pain reduction. Ginger consumption reduced perceived effort, prostaglandin E2, and arm volume, while increasing range of motion and isometric strength. Ginger decreased muscle pain by reducing inflammation.

(Journal of Pain, published online April 26,2010)

Fast 'N' Light Linguine

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
- 16-ounce package linguine pasta (preferably imported from Italy)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (I recommend Extra Light Olive Oil for this dish)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 14½-ounce cans Hunt's Choice Cut Tomatoes With Roasted Garlic
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley

Directions:
Cook the pasta to the al dente stage and rinse with cold water. Set Aside. In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil, along with the tomatoes. When the tomatoes are heated through, add the pasta and toss to distribute evenly. Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil with the garlic in the microwave on high for 30 seconds or on the stovetop. Pour over the pasta mixture and stir in well. When all the ingredients are sufficiently heated add the basil and toss a final time to blend. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and pine nuts; add cubed fresh mozzarella, if desired.

Nutrition Totals per Serving:
KCal Breakdown: 11.7% Protein; 68.9% Carbohydrate; 19.4% Fat.

Calories: 364
Protein: 10.6 (g)
Carbohydrate: 62.0 (g)
Fat: 7.7 (g)
Sodium: 596 (mg)
Cholesterol: 0 (mg)

cleaneating.com

Question of the Week:

Q: Can a person be too flexible?

A: Some evidence exists that an excessive level of flexibility can result in a decreased degree of joint stability.

In reality, a trade-off between flexibility and stability appears to exist. This decrease in joint stability is particularly evident when the flexibility increase is the result of lengthening the connective tissue structures that stabilize a particular joint.
Deep knee bends, for example, may increase the range of motion (ROM) of the knee joint to the point where the knee becomes more susceptible to chronic or acute instability. As such, an individual's ROM for each joint should be determined by the demands of the individual.

It should be noted that an excessive ROM for a given joint could result in decreased stability and a greater potential for injury.

Cedric Bryant

Christmas Camp

2010-12-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

WHEN: December 20th & 21st (Mon & Tue)

WHERE: 707 N 30th St. Monroe LA 71203

TIME: 10am - noon

COST: Members - $20/Non-members - $40

AGES: 6-12

WHAT: Fitness activities and games to teach kids that structured body movement activeties plus good nutrition equal healthier bodies and sharper minds!

TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT CALL NOW:

Space is limited

...318-323-1613...

Co-Ed Hitting League Invitation

2010-12-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

Think you can Hit?

- Fast ball

- Curve ball

think again...

- Ball speed: 74 - 80mph

- 2 to 3 person teams

- 5 Innings

- 5 balls per batter/ inning

- Scoring based on points per cage sections

- 30min games

What's your Highest Score?

Co-Ed Hitting League Invitation

Round up your best buddies & come out for an evening of FUN.

Date: Wednesday Dec. 8th
Time: 6pm - 8pm
Place: 709 N. 30th St.
Cost: FREE
Age: 16 & up

...Bring Your Own Bat...

CLICK HERE to see the Pro Batter in ACTION!

ProBatter is a video simulator of baseball pitching. Includes computerized video component permitting a hitter to observe an image of a pitcher winding up and delivering a pitch which is thrown through the video screen by a computer controlled pitching module.

For more information and FREE team regestration call NOW !

(318) 323-1613

People are more active, but just as fat

2010-12-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

More than 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. The good news is that more people are exercising, and that the obesity rate has leveled off. The bad news is that the obesity rate is not decreasing.

The Center for Diseased Control and Prevention reported that 34.7 percent of Americans engaged in regular leisure-time exercise in 2009, compared to 31.9 percent in 2008. Exercise is essential for long-term weight management. However, most people can't sustain weight loss unless they also restrict caloric intake by 100 to 300 calories per day.

(Reuters, January 16, 2010)

Brown rice decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes

Eating brown rice reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to eating white rice. Brown rice contains the outer bran and germ portions of the rice grain, which removes these portions of the rice grain, which slows the digestion in the gut. Manufacturing white rice removes these portions, leaving only the starchy interior. Brown rice is higher in fiber, vitamins and minerals, which are largely removed during the production of white rice.

Harvard University researchers, using data on nearly 200,000 men and women from the Nurses' Health Study, showed that people who ate five servings of white rice per week had a 20 percent increased risk of diabetes compared to those who ate less than one serving per month. Eating two or more servings of brown rice per week decrease the risk of diabetes by 11 percent. Substituting whole grains for white rice may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

(Archives Internal Medicine, 170: 961-969, 2010)

Question of the Week:

Q: I sweat profusely (literally dripping wet) during my aerobic workout. Is this an indication that I'm out of shape?

A: The reason for profuse sweating is that body core
temperature becomes significantly elevated by the increase in metabolic heat production during exercise.
In response to an elevated body core temperature, the brain signals the body to dissipate the excess heat as rapidly as possible. Eccrine sweat glands are then activated, and fluid is transported to the skin so that it can evaporate and create a cooling effect.

Rather than indicating a lack of conditioning, sweat dripping off the body may be more indicative of the fact that the humidity of the environment is so high that sweat can't evaporate. All factors considered, this is not an ideal situation, because it may mean that the body is not being effectively cooled via evaporation.

On the other hand, profuse sweating can also be a sign of being relatively fit, since one of the adaptations to consistent exercise training is that individuals will sweat more and sweat sooner so that their bodies don't store extra heat.

Cedric Bryant

Stay Grounded for Building Strength

2010-11-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

Exercising on stable ground builds core stability andincreases lower- and upper-body strength. No study has found that exercising on unstable surfaces improves athletic performance or builds significant strength in major muscle groups better than training on firm ground.An Appalachian State University study led by Jeffrey McBride found stable squatting was superior to unstable squatting for overloading the lower-body muscles. The best total-body strength exercises include kettlebell swings and snatches, squats, deadlifts, standing overhead presses, and plyometrics. These exercises use heavier loads, shorter tension time, and higher speeds than exercises on unstable surfaces. Ground-base exercises have the same force, velocity, and core-stabilizing elements required in most sports and movement skills. The take-home message is to stay grounded for strong muscles.

(International Journal Sports Physiology Performance, 5: 177-183, 2010)

Zippy Cranberry Appetizer

Tart cranberry flavor blends nicely with mustard and horseradish in this out-of-the-ordinary cracker spread. It's quick to fix, too.

Servings: 10

Prep: 20min.+ chilling

Ingredients

-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup pack

ed brown sugar
-1 cup water-1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries

-1 to 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

-1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
-1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

-Assorted crackers

Directions
-In a large saucepan, bring sugars and water to a boil over medium heat. Stir in cranberries; return to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Cool.
-Stir in horseradish and mustard. Transfer to a large bowl; refrigerate until chilled. Just before serving, spread cream cheese over crackers; top with cranberry mixture. Yield: 2-1/2 cups.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1/4 cup) equals 178 calories, 8 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 25 mg cholesterol, 114 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.

(Zippy Cranberry Appetizer published in Taste of Home October/November 2005, p13)

Question of the Week:

Q: Does aerobic exercise suppress a person's appetite? Some experts say it does, others say it doesn't. Who's right?

A: The vast majority of studies have demonstrated that caloric intake is usually unchanged or slightly increased in response to long-term aerobic exercise training.
Energy intake is, however, usually increased below the level of the increase in energy expenditure. This situation results in a negative energy balance (i.e., energy expenditure > energy intake) and, concomitantly, a loss of body weight and body fat.
Some evidence exists, however, that if you vigorously exercise before you eat, you will actually eat less because of an increase in your body temperature and an alteration in your hormone levels.

Keep in mind that the centers for the thermoregulatory system, appetite, and sleep lie right next to each other in the brain stem. When you affect one, you will likely affect the others.

Cedric Bryant

Poor Sleep Patterns Promote Weight Gain

2010-11-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

America is a high-stress society in which most people don't get enough sleep. We could be paying for it with our health. Sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.

A seven year Finnish study of nearly 9,000 people, led by Peppi Lyytikäinen, found that people who develop sleep problems during the experiment gained more weight than those with normal sleeping patterns. Trouble falling asleep, walking during the night, or trouble staying asleep increased the risk of weight gain by more than 50 percent. Nighttime snacking is common in overweight people with sleeping disorders. The body produces powerful signaling chemicals during sleep deprivation that promote over eating. Chronically sleeping less than six hours per night is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
(International Journal of Obesity, published online June 8, 2010)

Makeover Crunchy Sweet Potato Casserole

This makeover version of sweet potato casserole still has its comforting flavor and sweet topping, but it boasts half the fat of the original. It also has fewer calories and contains 46% less cholesterol.
Servings: 6

Prep: 20 min. Bake: 35 min

Ingredients:

1-3/4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

1/3 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup egg substitute

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon Spice Islands®, All Natural, No Corn Syrup Added, Pure Vanilla Extract

TOPPING:

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour-1 tablespoon cold butter

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions: Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a food processor. Add the milk, egg substitute, egg, butter and extracts; cover and process until smooth. Pour into a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.

-In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture; sprinkle with pecans. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°.

Nutritional Analysis: 1/2 cup equals 331 calories, 10g fat (4 g saturated fat), 48 mg cholesterol, 113mg sodium, 55 g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 6g protein.

(Makeover Crunchy Sweet Potato Casserole published in Light & Tasty October 2005, p10)

Question of the Week

Q: What is a ''second wind''?

A: No matter how fit you are, the first few
minutes into vigorous exercise you'll feel somewhat out of breath, and your
muscles may ache. Your body isn't able to transport oxygen to the active muscles
quickly enough. As a result, your muscles burn carbohydrates anaerobically,
causing an increase in lactic acid production.

Gradually, your body makes the transition to aerobic metabolism
and begins to burn nutrients (carbohydrates and fats) aerobically. This shift
over to aerobic metabolism coincides with your getting ''back in stride''
(a.k.a. the ''second wind'').

The more you train and the more fit you become, the sooner you
will get your ''breath'' back and reach an aerobic steady state that you can
maintain for a relatively extended duration.

Cedric Bryant

12 Best Ways To Lose Stomach Fat Fast ...steps 7-12

2010-10-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

7. Get more sleep ...
If you are not sleeping at least 7-8 hours per night you will find it difficult to find the energy to work out and eat well. Studies show people who are constantly tired have slower metabolisms. So, make sure you get a good night sleep every night!

8. Cut down or eliminate alcohol consumption ...
Because of alcohols effects on the liver, drinking alcoholic drinks slows down the body's natural fat burning process. An occasional glass of red wine is probably the best option as not only is it low-carb but it has some other health benefits.

9. Take the long way ...
Try to resist taking short cuts in order to increase your movement and metabolism. Park in the space furthest away from the entrance, take the stairs instead of the list and when possible walk and leave the car at home. See other great ideas on how you can burn more calories during the day!

10. Reduce your salt intake ...
Excessive consumption of salt makes the body retain water. This makes the abdomen appear bloated. We can get enough salt from our diet without needing to add it to our food. Also junk food contains a lot of salt and is best eliminated in order to lose excess stomach fat.

11. Avoid stress ...
You may find it surprising but stress can cause weight gain. Not just because we are more like to comfort eat, but when our body detects stress it releases a lot of hormones that cause changes in metabolism. Bad news for belly fat. See how you can become stress-free with these 5 Easy and Cheap Techniques to Beat Stress.

12. Stay motivated!
Have a think about what could help you stay motivated. Keeping a food diary, joining an exercise class or rewarding yourself for small successes are great ways to keep you on your toes. But most importantly, if you do hit a low, don't punish yourself or binge. Just start afresh and keep a picture of those dream abs handy!

SOCCER SPEED

2010-10-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

I really like the Mia Ham Quote at the top. It pretty much sums it up, on why you should train. Training for Soccer is more than just kicking a soccer ball around - it's about improving your overall athleticism. In today's era of sports, athletes are so much more developed in overall athleticism. We see it all the time where the athletes who have more speed, more power, more strength, better agility, and a faster reaction time dominant their opponent and sport. The most athletic athletes are not necessarily the most skillful athletes. What they lack in soccer skill they make up for with speed; being the first one to the loose ball; stronger and quicker which allows them to defend better. The good news is that athleticism can be developed in the hands of a skilled Sports Performance Coach.

The first step that needs to be taken when developing a better athlete is to define athleticism. I define athleticism as "the ability to use a variety of motor abilities (strength, power, speed, agility, coordination, stability, flexibility, balance, energy system.) to effectively and efficiently perform a wide variety of sporting actions." Athleticism is not just one component. You can not just train speed nor can you just get stronger. The training program must be designed so that all the motor abilities (strength, power, speed, agility, coordination, stability, flexibility, balance, energy system) are being trained in a systematic way that progresses the athlete to a more improved athlete.

One of the biggest mistakes we make when training athleticism is that we put athletes in groups of 20 or more. How can true athleticism be achieved if every athlete is doing the same drill and or progression? Yes, their will be some improvement in athleticism but in the end, athletes will not be allowed to reach their real potential. It is very hard to give feedback to each and every athlete during the training session. When the groups are big, the tempo must be high so that athletes are not just standing around, which means that some athletes will be neglected. Usually the neglected athletes are the ones you struggle with each drill and tend to be the last ones in each line.

Athletic Republic of North Louisiana: Monroe & Shreveport recognizes that a training program must be individualized. Our groups are no bigger than 5 athletes per coach and with team training the ratio is 6 athletes per coach. Every athlete/team is tested before their training sessions begins. The data that we collect from our test allows us to develop a training program that will be tailored and specific to the needs of each and every athlete.

The Soccer Speed Program that we have at ARNLA is dedicated to developing true athleticism in your soccer player or team. Click Here to see some soccer specific training going on at our Monroe Facility.

For more info about setting up your athlete or team for 2 FREE training sessions call:

AR Shreveport 318.869.1600

AR Monroe 318.323.1613

ARE FEMALE STUDENT-ATHLETES getting the attention they need to be successful in their sport?

2010-10-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Male and female athletes may spend their time on different playing fields, but the way athletic budgets are often set up leaves many wondering when female athletes will have a fair shot at succeeding on the field. After Title IX was passed in 1972 and fully enforced in the 1980s, it was meant to give female athletes and their sports more control in a male-dominated industry. Since the 1990s, even more laws have been passed to give female athletes equity in athletic programs, specifically handling female scholarships, facilities, scheduling and other forms of athletic support. Despite all the efforts for a lot of female athletes are neglected in their athletic development which results in female student-athletes not reaching their true ATHLETIC POTENTIAL and/or a CAREER ENDING INJURY .

It is SAD to say, but we are not taking care, we are not developing and we are not paying enough attention to our female student-athletes. Female student-athletes have 4 to 10 times more ACL injuries than male student-athletes have. The reasons for the different rates of injury in male and female are not clear, but some theories include differences in anatomy, physiology, knee alignment, and/or ligament laxity. To be honest with you, those theories are probably true; but can we really change the anatomy and physiology of the female student-athlete? No! The best prevent/reduction measure we can do is to offer our female student-athletes the same (if not better) SPORTS PERFORMANCE TRAINING program we offer to our male student-athletes.

Do you have daughter that plays sports, and is she prepared for the season? Would you like to find out? If so come into your local Athletic Republic for an Athletic Assessment. This
assessment will allow us to screen you daughter's "energy leaks" and determine if she is fit to play.

AR Shreveport: 318.869.1600

AR Monroe: 318.3231613

2010-10-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father's wisdom. I hope you enjoy this interview on Ted Tv with Coach Wooden as he talks about true success.

Click Here to view the interview with Coach Wooden

12 Best Ways To Lose Stomach Fat Fast ...steps 1-6

2010-10-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

We all have our problem areas, and few of us are ever really satisfied with our shape. However, by taking some simple steps we can improve our body shape, health and general well being. Not only is belly fat unsightly but it has been scientifically linked to many health problems such as bloating, heartburn, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and dementia. And you thought having a muffin top was the worst part! The good news is there are a number of ways to reduce belly fat, to feel more attractive and avoid those scary health risks.
Let me outline twelve steps to take for fat loss to take the belly down a notch!

1. You need to eat more meals and more often!
Don't get too excited because at the same time you need to reduce the size of your portions. Eating 5-6 small meals per day will first of all prevent you from binging or overeating at meal times and it also keeps your metabolism running as it is constantly burning up food.

2. Never skip breakfast ...
If you don't eat after many hours of sleeping your body goes into "˜starvation mode'. This is bad news for shedding belly fat as it slows your metabolism down in an effort to save energy and burn less calories. In fact a lot of dietitians advise that the best breakfast is a heavy one.

3. Carefully monitor the food you are eating ...

Try to eat more fat burning foods such as: brown rice, whole grains, vegetables, natural fruits, skimmed milk, lean poultry or meat, seafood and egg whites. I'm sure you already know all the ones to avoid as they are likely to be your favorites! The list includes: pizzas, burgers, deep fried foods, bakery foods, fatty meats and all products that contain lots of sugar.

4. Eat slowly ...
Get into the habit of taking smaller bites and chewing them slowly. By doing this you will avoid overeating and bloating.

5. Do the most effective exercise efficiently ...
Cardiovascular exercises are the ones that get your heart thumping and the fat burning, so cardio workouts such as brisk walking, jogging, aerobics and cycling are best for slimming your stomach. If you exercise before breakfast your body will burn the excess fat in your body as there is no food available to burn, making it the best time to burn off that belly fat.

6. Drink, drink and drink again!
Keeping your body hydrated is essential to losing belly fat as if you are dehydrated your liver won't function and the fat burning process won't be as effective. Drink lots of water and also hot green tea neutralizes the effects of fatty foods.

Crack Down on Cravings

2010-10-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Don't let your hankering for chocolate and cheese sideswipe your otherwise clean diet. Find out how to fight back and win the daily challenge!
There is some debate about what causes cravings but the most plausible reason is grounded in how food affects the brain. Some of the most commonly desired foods affect our brains like drugs, sugar and chocolate both cause the brain to release opiates. By stimulating our brain's pleasure center, these foods cause us to make the connection between them and a slight euphoria, leading us to seek them out for a repeat performance---we become addicted.

1. Eat Breakfast
A high-fiber morning meal will prevent hunger-induced binging later on because low-cal fiber staves off hunger pains longer with soluble fiber (found in oats and fruit) and insoluble fiber (found in whole grains). For example, add a tablespoon of natural peanut butter (protein) to your whole grain bagel (fiber and complex carbohydrates).

2. Strip Temptation
Clean all unhealthy food from your fridge and cupboards, making sure to keep them well stocked with healthy alternatives to your most common cravings. The best foods to have on hand register love on the glycemic index such as pears, low-fat cottage cheese, and black beans.

3. Meal Time
To make sure that hunger doesn't get the best of you, eat small meals every three to four hours. Another strategy to avoid overindulging is to remove all distractions while eating. Keep the television from the kitchen and you'll keep from feeling as though you are hungry every time you watch your favorite shows.

4. Dear Diary
Tracking your eating habits by writing them down can help you to gain a better understanding of when and why you get cravings. To maximize the benefit for each entry write down the date, time of day, what you ate, how much, how hungry you were before you ate and how satisfied you were afterward. By doing this you'll be able to assess your eating patterns, plan good habits and create less opportunity for bad ones.

5. Falling off the Wagon

Even if you do fall to your cravings don't sweat it, instead figure out where you went wrong and what you can do about it. Instead of making a commitment to cut out all carbohydrates and sweets cold turkey, give yourself a month to switch to whole wheat bread and stop eating chocolate. But remember, it takes time, practice and persistence before your new ways become the way you live life.

Oxygen Magazine

Myth: Skipping meals can help lose weight

Many people think that by skipping a meal, they will be eating less food and therefore lose weight. As we now know, this is a nutrition myth. People who think skipping meals means weight loss do not understand how our bodies work.

If you skip a meal, your body will think that you are in starvation mode and therefore slow down the metabolism to compensate. You then tend to overeat at the next meal. Often, skipping a meal and then eating too much at the next one means that you have a higher total caloric intake than if you just ate more frequently throughout the day. A better approach is to eat smaller frequent healthy meals and snacks to keep your blood sugar balanced.

Gloria Tsang

Question of the week?

Q: If I miss more than a few days of exercising, I get really sore following my first workout back. Any tips that can help me avoid this?

A: Muscle soreness occurs when muscles are pushed farther then they are accustomed. This can happen if you haven't worked out in a while, you try a new exercise for the first time, or if you make an increase in weight or reps during your daily routine. A small amount of soreness isn't harmful and usually dissipates as you get your body warmed up and moving.

If your soreness keeps you from doing your everyday activities in the 24 to 48 hours after your workout, you are probably doing too much on your first day back to the gym. To avoid being overly sore, don't try to do the same workout you did when you were going to the gym regularly. To allow time for your body to adapt, scale back the amount of weight, the amount of reps, or even both. Doing a "cool down" routine after your workout will also help keep soreness at bay. Try walking for 10 minutes and doing some gentle stretching.

Whether you experience light or heavy soreness, the quickest way to alleviate the pain is to get the body moving again. While it might be tempting to stay stationary on the couch and wait for the soreness to go away, inactivity will actually keep your body sore for longer and make your muscles tighter. Instead, do a light workout such as walking, slow swimming, and gentle stretching. Or, you can do the warm-up routine you usually do before a heavy workout. This light activity will help increase the muscle temperature and blood flow, which will help your muscles recover and get you ready for your next regular workout.

Leslie McNab

A Journey of Strength: Mastering the Push Up

2010-10-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

It amazes me how many athletes walk through my doors and are not able to do a basic Push Up with the correct movement pattern. I have been here for a year and have seen only two athletes reach 30 reps on our push up test. Last spring I had two offensive lineman come through who could not perform more than 5 Push Ups BETWEEN them. Their job as an offensive lineman is to block, push, and move their opponent's body. How can you ask these athletes to push their opponent's body-weight around when they can not push and control their own weight!

We need to ask our selves are we progressing or regressing our athletes?

I ask this questions because so many strength programs involve around the "Big Three": Back Squat, BENCH PRESS, and Power Clean and they intend to neglect the efficiency of the movement patterns. My philosophy and progressions has always been to "master your body-weight before adding external resistance."

The inability to perform a Push Up with correct form could be a sign of structural weakness or movement dysfunction. Because of the influence of faulty mechanics have on performance and the prevalence of overuse injuries in sport and sport-specific training, athletes who have a faulty Push Up pattern should go through a proper program that progresses the athlete to perform a correct push up pattern.

Athletic Republic's Criteria for the Push Up:

Head centered and held stable
Shoulders held back and down away from ears
Elbows tucked to the side
Thoracic spine neutral - with fluid and controlled scapulae movement
Lumbar spine in neutral
Hips aligned with the ankles, knees, and shoulders
Knees aligned wit the ankles and hips
Feet/Ankles aligned with knees
MUST touch the baseball with the chest.

Athletic Republic's Push Up Progression Level 1:

Push Up Progression Level 1 goal is to get our athletes doing a basic Push Up with the correct movement pattern. All athletes will go through Level 1 Progression, but not every athlete will follow the same progression.

Beginner Standard: Any athlete that does 0-10 reps on test day will start at Step 1.

Intermediate Athlete: Any athlete that does 11-19 reps on test day will start at Step 3.

Advance Athlete: Any athlete that does 20- 30 reps on test day will start at Step 5.

Elite Athletes: Any athlete that does 31 or more reps on test day will start at Step 6 and use the Elite Athlete progression.

Push Up Progression Level 1: (click to view)

Wall Push Up
Incline Push Up
Kneeling Push Up
1/2 Push Up
Classic Push Up

Rep Progression is as follows for each drill:

Week 1 3x10
Week 2 3x20
Week 3 3x30

If an athlete has done 31 or more reps on test day they are considered Elite and should follow the Elite Athlete Progression:

Week 1 3x30
Week 2 3x40
Week 3 3x50

Learn to master your body before you master an external object/resistance. Once you have mastered the Push Up come talk to me about Level 2 Push Up Progression and how to advance to doing a One Arm Push Up.

Your Coach,
Drew

At What Age Should You Start Lifting Weights?

2010-10-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Prior to puberty (13 or 14 years of age), most youngsters lack the muscular and skeletal development required to safely participate in a vigorous weight training program. This does not mean, however, that they should not engage in strength training activities.

Children as young as seven who can follow directions, use correct exercise technique and have discipline, can improve muscular strength and endurance by doing callisthenic-type exercises.

Regardless of age, the first year of formalized training should be to learn correct exercise technique and develop a general fitness base.

Exercises should be fun and include activities for the total body using only body weight as resistance. Children should workout three times per week and do 1x 10-15 reps of jumping jacks, push ups, pull-ups, dips, sit-ups, squats, lunges, step-ups, step-downs, etc. to strengthen the body core (legs, hips, abdomen and back). They should also learn basic running mechanics and play simple games involving starts, stops, relays, shuttles, hopping, jumping, skipping, swinging and throwing to improve agility, balance and coordination (ABC). Keep the volume low. Over training can cause a loss of interest and/or injury.

At 9-10 years of age, most children are physically ready to begin training with light external resistance. Start with DBs. Do 1x 10x5 lb for the hips and legs and 1x 10x2 lb for the upper body. Keep the exercises simple and monitor how the child tolerates the stresses of training.

Do a total body program using DB squat, step-up and lunge for the legs; DB bench press, arm curl, triceps kickback and forearm exercises for the upper body and MD ball swings and twists for the trunk. Gradually build to 2x 10-15 with 1-10 lb resistance. Introduce squat and touch (SAT), push up plus, simple plyometric drills (tuck, pike and split jump), backward skips, backward runs and moderate intensity games and relays for ABC.

The 11-13 year-old group should continue the basic exercises using light resistance and be introduced to more advanced exercises (lat pulls, leg press, leg curl, leg extension, calf raise, rows and shrugs) with little or no resistance. Add MD ball throws and sit-ups for the trunk. Run forward and backwards and laterally, do plyometrics (hops and jumps), play games and run relays for ABC. Start with 2x10 and build to 2x15).

Add sport-specific exercises and increase the volume of training at 14-15 years of age. Start with 2x10 and build to 3x10. Introduce walking, lateral and crossover lunges, power step-ups and box crossovers for the legs. Do bench, incline press and/or flys for the chest, rows for the back and back squats and lunges for the legs. Hop 1-2 times before doing MD ball throws to strengthen the trunk. Do agility ladders, run 1.5 miles and do sprints and interval runs on alternate days.

By age 16, most athletes are ready for entry level adult programs, but only if they have gained a basic level of training experience. Start with higher volume - lower intensity work and gradually build to lower volume - higher intensity work. Begin with 3x10. Gradually add resistance and build to 3x6. When they can do 3x6, reduce the weight until they can do 3x10 and gradually build to 3x6 with a heavier weight. Avoid max or near-max lifts until age 18 or older. For max safety, avoid training with loads that cannot be lifted at least six times. Continue to do distance, sprint, interval, plyometric, abdominal and ABC work.

Children are not miniature adults and therefore should not use programs designed for adults. They lack the physical development, emotional maturity and training background to safely perform adult- orientated programs.

Gene Coleman

The Essentials of Cord Training

2010-09-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

The competitive advantage provided by our patented cords should not be overlooked. The performance gains that athletes can realize with a well-executed cord program will always be superior to a program that doesn't include cords. But a word of caution, improper use of the cords can have a detrimental effect on an athlete's performance potential and even risk an injury. We patented theses devices to help you further develop the athletes you train. Learn how to use them right and you will be an invaluable coach helping your athletes reap the benefits!

The key element of nearly all our cord patents (SprintCords, Throwing cords, Kicking cords, Plyo cords, and PowerCords) is that they are designed to load adjacent body segments. This is what makes them to be such a powerful tool for helping athletes improve power in sport-specific movements.

We always emphasize "training between the asymptotes" of the force-velocity curve, or in simpler terms, expanding the athlete's range of movement velocities they train. Athletic Republic's patented cords provide one of the best tools for doing just that. Science based, proven and developing power in sport specific movements.

Its time to revisit how the cords can improve your business and ensure your trainers are prepared and educated to integrate these tools into your programs. For more information about Athletic Republic's patented cords please call Kobus at 318-323-1613.

Did You Know?

Broccoli contains twice the vitamin C of an orange.
You don't need to eat bananas for the potassium! (Although it is present in bananas, potassium is the predominant nutrient among most all fruits and vegetables.)
Celery is the best vegetable source of naturally occurring sodium.
To obtain the maximum nutritional benefits, onions should be eaten raw or lightly steamed.
Be careful: eating too many sweet potatoes may cause abdominal swelling and indigestion.

Question of the week?

Q: I want to lift heavier but it stresses my joints - especially my wrists. What are my options?

A: This is actually a common problem for many. First off, it's important to check with your doctor first to rule out any injury. If you have the go-ahead from your doctor, one way to address this problem is to use less weight, but do more repetitions. Stay within the eight to 12 repetition range, which will lead to strength and muscle gains. You don't have to minimize the amount of weight drastically. The problem in your wrists could also be caused by barbells. If so, try switching to dumbbells, which can reduce the strain on the wrists and allow more movement of the joints. You could also try isometric training, a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction, either worked against an immovable force or held in a static position while opposed by resistance, such as pressing your fingers together in front of your body.

There are also a couple non-training options to tweak: Wearing a wrist wrap to support the area and/or using a resistance band to build strength. If all else fails just go light for a few weeks and rest - it's better to train light than be sidelined with injury by training too heavy!

Jeff Edney

A Journey of Strength (Part 1)

2010-09-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

recently read a book called "Convict Conditioning" about using ones own bodyweight for strength training. Really loved the concept and I have applied some of those principles to our training program. I have seen athlete after athlete come through our doors and not be able to squat or lunge with proper form, do a basic Push Up or a Pull Up. Walk into virtually any gym in the world and you will find any number of pumped up athletes who think that they are "strong" athletes because they can bench press a heavy bar, have eighteen inch arms or look big in a tank top or T-shirt.

But how many of them are truly strong?

How many of them have genuine athletic strength they can use?
How many of them could drop and give you twenty perfect one-arm Push Ups?
How many have the pure knee and hip strength to squat right down to the ground and stand up again - on one leg?
How many of them could grab hold of an overhead bar and execute a flawless one-arm Pull Up?

The answer is
:
Almost none.

You will find almost no athlete today, whether it is a FOOTBALL to SOFTBALL athlete who can perform these simple body-weight feats. In today's sports performance world being able to bench press 300 lb, power clean (who cares about technique) 400 lbs, flip a monster truck tire (my biggest pet peeve) 100 yards has become the accepted status quo of ultimate conditioning. This seems like total insanity to me. What does it matter how much weight you claim to be able to lift in a gym or on a special machine? How can somebody be considered to be "strong" if they can not move their own body around as nature itended.

Calisthenics is not a word commonly heard much in strength circles anymore, indeed, most personal trainers would have trouble even spelling it. The word itself has been used in the English language since at least the nineteenth century, but the term has very ancient origins. It comes from the ancient Greek kallos meaning, "beauty", and sthénos, which means "strength."

Calisthenics is basically the art of using the body's own weight and qualities of inertia as a means of physical development. Unfortuantley modern calisthenics is not really understood as a hardcore strength training technology. If you mention calisthenics today, most people would think only of high reptition Push Ups, crunches (a worthless exercise), and less taxing exercises like jumping jacks or running on the sport. Calisthenics has become a secondary option, a cheap form of circuit training more like an aerobic exercise. But it wasn't always this way.

I could pretty much write a thesis on why old school calisthenics is in a different league to modern, gym-based training. But since space is short, I'm going to stick to the basics. Here are six dang important reasons where old school calisthenics scores over other, more modern methods:

1. Bodyweight Training Requires Very Little Equipment: There has never been a system of strength training more perfectly in harmony with the principles of independence and economy, and there never will be. Even the most ardent weightlifter will have to admit this fact. For the master of calisthenics, his or her body becomes a gymnasium
2. Bodyweight Training Develops Useful, Functional Athletic Abilities:Calisthenics is the ultimate in functional training. In most sports, the human body doesn't need to move barbells or dumbbells around. Before it can move anything external at all, it has to be able to move itself around!
3. Bodyweight Training Maximizes Strength: Calisthenics movements are the most efficient exercises possible, because they work the body as it evolved to work; not by using individual muscles, or the portions of a muscle, but as in an integrated unit. This means developing the tendons, joints, and nervous system as well as the muscles.
4. Bodyweight Training Protects the Joints and Makes Them Stronger - For Life: One of the major problems with modern forms of strength and resistance training is the damage they do to the joints. The joints of the body are supported by delicate soft tissues - tendons, fascia, ligaments and bursae - which are simply not evolved to take the pounding of heavy weight training. Weak areas include the wrists, elbows, knees, lower back, hips, and the rhomboid - complex, spine and neck. The shoulders are particularly susceptible to damage from bodybuilding motions.
5. Bodyweight Training Quickly Develops the Physique to Perfection: Strength and health should be the major goals of your training. You need to be as powerful and functional as you possibly can be, for long time into your old age. Calisthenics can give you that.
6. Bodyweight Training Normalizes and Regulates Your Body Fat Levels: Weight-training and the psychology of overeating go hand in hand.Before a hard session, an athlete convinces themselves that if they eat more, they'll lift better and put on beef. After a hard session, an athlete is artificially depleted and his appetite increases accordingly. The opposite dynamic occurs when an athlete begins training seriously in calisthenics. If obesity and bodybuilding are best friends, obesity and calisthenics arenatural enemies. If your goal is to bench press 300 lbs., you could overeat as much as you like and probably still meet your goal despite carrying around a massive gut. But you couldn't set a goal doing one-arm Pull Ups with out watching your bodyweight. Nobody ever became better at calisthenics by bulking up into a big fat pig.
In the next several newsletters I will take you on a Journey of Strength.If you would like to take that Journey than make a commitment to your - self and joining me on this journey. If you would like to join just post your commitment on our Facebook Page.

Your Coach,
Drew
Wade, P. (2010). Convict condtioning. St. Paul, MN: Dragon Door Puclications, Inc.

Getting Better or Getting Tired

2010-09-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

I see so much "stuff" out there now that just makes the athlete tired. Just making a workout hard or an exercise an butt-kicker does not make it a productive workout or a beneficial exercise. Each exercise should be carefully chosen to fit into the overall program. Each training session needs to be strategically placed in the context of the previous workout and subsequent workouts, in other words as part of an overall plan of development to meet the athletes' needs.

If you are logging onto the Internet each day and downloading the workout of the day, you are not meeting the above criteria. It is just work, just training, in all probability it is hard, just like yesterday and the day before and the day before that, all hard. Step back and take a close look at what you are doing. In all probability you are probably just finding different ways to make your athletes or your self tired, but are you really making them/yourself better?

Need a PLAN? Athletic Republic can draft one for you? By using our philosophy TEST-TEACH-TRAIN, every athlete is train specifically as an individual. Our PLAN for the athlete is to train their weaknesses to be their strengths and to train their strengths to be even stronger.

Holiday Camps

Thanksgiving Play 360 Acceleration Camp
The Play 360 program is designed to introduce and create foundations of overall FITNESS, ATHLETICISM in a FUN, POSITIVE environment The Play 360 Program uses games and structured play to encourage improvement of overall fitness, improve eye/hand coordination, teach proper running form, promote agility and balance, develop sport-specific movements and skills and much more.....

Dates: November 22nd - 23rd: Monday & Tuesday
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Cost: Members $20, Non Members $40
$10/$20 per day
$10 non-refundable registration fee

Ages: 7-12
Class Size: Limited to 20

Christmas Play 360 Acceleration Camp
The Play 360 program is designed to introduce and create foundations of overall FITNESS, ATHLETICISM in a FUN, POSITIVE environment The Play 360 Program uses games and structured play to encourage improvement of overall fitness, improve eye/hand coordination, teach proper running form, promote agility and balance, develop sport-specific movements and skills and much more.....

Dates: December 20th - 23rd: Monday - Thursday
Time: 10:00am -12:00pm
Cost: Members $20, Non Members $40
$10/$20 per day
$10 non-refundable registration fee

Ages: 7-12
Class Size: Limited to 20

Knee Deep Injury

2010-09-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

ACL tears are eight times more likely for women than men. Here's how to prevent this type of grueling injury from happening to you.

ACL Anatomy: The ACL is found deep in the knee join and acts together with the PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) as the primary stabilizer of the knee joint. The ACL connects the tibia (shin bone) with the femur (thigh bone) and helps to prevent excessive forward movement and inward rotation of the shin on the thigh bone during agility, jumping and deceleration activities.

Are you at Risk? The configuration of the knee makes the ligaments and the cartilage prone to injury with any contact to the knee, or often with just the force of a hard muscle contraction-like performing a quick change of direction when sprinting or a very sudden deceleration maneuver. You can also incur an ACL injury with an improper landing technique; landing with a straight knee and hip on a flat foot.

The four common risk factors include anatomy, environment, hormones and biomechanical. In terms of anatomy females demonstrate a wider pelvis, greater lower leg rotation and more inward caving of the knee. Athletic footwear is designed to allow the athlete to cut and pivot quickly. However, if friction is between the shoe and the playing surface is too high, you can increase the force on the lower leg. There is a fine line between performance enhancement and increasing risk of injury. When it comes to hormones because receptors for estrogen, progesterone and relaxin have been found to physically exist on the ACL ligament there have been studies on the female menstrual cycle to see whether or not the monthly fluctuation in estrogen and progesterone can be linked to an increase in ACL injury. As of yet, no consensus has been reached.

Biomechanical risks do seem to have merit. Intervention programs designed to alter strength, balance and joint awareness have been highly effective in decreasing the number of ACL injuries.
ACL prevention programs tend to be sport specific and focus on core stability, flexibility, trunk strength, lower body strength, balance and power. One program that has experienced great success is the PEP Program (Prevent injury, Enhance Performance) from the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation. It is a highly specific, 20-minute field training session that replaces the traditional warm-up. Here is one exercise included in the program:

Walking Lunge: Lunge forward leading with your left leg. Drop the back knee straight down with your front knee over your ankle. Keep your shoulders over your hips and control the motion to avoid letting your front knee cave inward. If you can't see your toes on your leading leg, you are doing the exercise incorrectly. Step forward with the right leg and repeat. Complete 30 repetitions on each leg.

Holly Jacinda Silvers

Is Brown Sugar Better than White Sugar?

The brown sugar sold at grocery stores is actually white granulated sugar with added molasses. Yes, brown sugar contains minute amounts of minerals. But unless you eat a gigantic portion of brown sugar every day, the mineral content difference between brown sugar and white sugar is absolutely insignificant. The idea that brown and white sugar have big differences is another common nutrition myth.

Gloria Tsang

Question of the Week?

Q: How much protein do I need to build muscle?

A: With increases in training intensity, you need additional protein to support muscle growth and increases in certain blood compounds. On the basis of the latest research with strength trainers, I recommend that you eat 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.9 grams per pound) a day. Here's how you would figure that requirement if you weigh 130 pounds or 59 kilograms:

2.0 g protein x 59 kg = 118 g of protein a day

0.91 g protein x 130 lbs = 118 g of protein a day

Strength trainers living in high altitudes need even more protein: 2.2 g per kg (1.0 g/lb) of body weight daily. If you do 5 or more hours of aerobic/endurance exercise during the week you need the same amount as the high altitude strength trainer. And, vegan vegetarians should take in 10 percent more protein. I recommend 2.2 g of protein per kg (0.91 g/lb) of body weight a day to make sure their diets are providing all the amino acids their bodies require.

Susan M. Kleiner

Holiday Camps

Thanksgiving Play 360 Acceleration Camp
The Play 360 program is designed to introduce and create foundations of overall FITNESS, ATHLETICISM in a FUN, POSITIVE environment The Play 360 Program uses games and structured play to encourage improvement of overall fitness, improve eye/hand coordination, teach proper running form, promote agility and balance, develop sport-specific movements and skills and much more.....

Dates: November 22nd - 23rd: Monday & Tuesday
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Cost: Members $20, Non Members $40
$10/$20 per day
$10 non-refundable registration fee
Ages: 7-12
Class Size: Limited to 20

Christmas Play 360 Acceleration Camp
The Play 360 program is designed to introduce and create foundations of overall FITNESS, ATHLETICISM in a FUN, POSITIVE environment The Play 360 Program uses games and structured play to encourage improvement of overall fitness, improve eye/hand coordination, teach proper running form, promote agility and balance, develop sport-specific movements and skills and much more.....

Dates: December 20th - 23rd: Monday - Thursday
Time: 10:00am -12:00pm
Cost: Members $20, Non Members $40
$10/$20 per day
$10 non-refundable registration fee
Ages: 7-12
Class Size: Limited to 20

2010-09-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

I was reading a blog this morning from one of the pioneers of Strength & Conditioning. His name is Vern Gambetta and he is internationally known as the father of functional sports training. I have two of books along with some DVDs. Coach Gambetta was talking about the importance of in-season training. I see so many athletes who train for 3 months prior to their season and stop when their season starts to only train the next 3 months prior to the next season. My question is how do you expect to become better if you are not training all year round? If you do not think in-season training is not important than read Coach Gambetta's blog:

The Slow Leak

Here is the scenario. A team or for that matter an individual makes a huge investment in their off season and their preseason training. Training camp commences which usually consists of multiple sessions a day and the emphasis is now entirely on the sport itself. Training of the physical qualities is stopped, or drastically reduced. There is minimal work done on strength training, power development or speed development outside of the actual activities of the sport practice. The process of the slow leak begins. All the physical qualities that were developed in the off and preseason begin to erode. Some erode faster than others. In the female athlete strength and power erode rapidly. The best analogy is that is like driving your car with a slow leak in a tire. For quite sometime it is virtually unnoticeable but a time goes on and the tire loses pressure the ride gets bumpier and bumpier until the tire is entirely flat.

This is precisely what happens to athletes when they do not follow a comprehensive program to maintain during the off-season and even in some cases continue to build the physical capacities they have developed during the off-season. Mind you that if the job has been done in the off-season then maintaining those qualities during the competitive season is not especially difficult, but it must be done in a systematic manner. In season training is not a matter of volume, it is more a matter of very intense directed work designed to hone and sharpen specific physical qualities based on individual needs and sport demands.

All of this comes back to the law of reversibility - use it or lose it. Relatively small training session that target speed development, power and strength trained on a regular basis can certainly help maintain those qualities for the duration of the competitive season. With younger developmental athletes who are in the competitive season it would be careless not to continue to develop their physical qualities. If you do not, you are missing a huge window of adaptation, an opportunity to take advantage of the endocrine hormonal advantage their have during their developing years. For females generally this is in the age range of from 12 to 16 and for males from 14 to 18. Those are general guidelines that must be adapted to each individual.

An in-season sports performance program is just as important as the off-season performance program. The only difference between the two is that you should take more of a strategic approach that emphasis various qualities based on individual need. Look at what qualities the games, matches, meets and actual practices address and reinforce those without adding stress to stress. My rule of thumb is that, as the season progresses I want to make sure to keep a good thread of strength training up to and through the peak competition phase. The female athlete must NEVER stop strength training, even up through and to the championship competition. The male athlete can reduce and sometime curtail strength training entirely during the taper with no ill effects.

The moral of the story is that to keep the tire from leaking you must train during the competition season.

2010-09-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

When you think of success do you look at your wins vs. your losses?

Look at this "Pyramid of Success" created by Coach Wooden. Where is the win block? Where is the losing block?

If you look at the cornerstones of the pyramid what are they, "industriousness and enthusiasm" and in between them forming the foundation of the pyramid are "friendship, loyalty and cooperation". Nothing about how many wins, points, touchdowns, or homeruns. On top of the foundation row is the mental row "self-control, alertness, initiative and intentness", followed by the physical row "condition, skill, and team spirit". These two rows Coach Wooden valued them most. This is where he coached "be quick but don't hurry. In the heart of the pyramid is skill. Coach Wooden always taught his players to think small during games and to concentrate on quick but proper execution. Right before the apex comes the spiritual row of "poise and confidence". This row can be thought of as Mr. Wooden's definition of success: peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable. Nothing about how many championships you won! At the apex of the pyramid is "competitive greatness". "Competitive Greatness" turns out to be a byproduct of what has gone before, and the so-called corny phrases that built the Pyramid turn out not to be words at all but the example set by all who want to become more than just a winner.

Physical Education Philosophy

2010-08-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

Introduction

Physical Education in the early childhood years can lead to positive feelings of self-worth and a lifetime of physical activity. Although there are many methods of teaching physical education, an excellent way to start is to integrate movement education with simple group games. At Athletic Republic of North Louisiana: Monroe and Shreveport (ARNLA) our program is created to provide an exciting, enriching, educational program that has a positive impact on children.

ARNLA Fundamental Movement Education Defined:

Fundamental Movement Education is a method of teaching physical education using a problem solving or question's approach. For example: "How many different ways can you move from one side of the room to the other"? At ARNLA we are presenting movement problems in a logical progression beginning with exploratory questions that encourage experimentation. These are followed with guided discovery challenges that lead to some degree of refinement. During the training sessions our coaches observes, evaluates and encourages the child or children through activities that promote the learning of a concept or concepts. As the training session progresses the coaches will attempt to challenge the child or children with a series of movement questions; for an example:

Can you keep your feet together and jump up and down?
While jumping up and down, can you move around the room?
Can you jump around the room as quietly as possible?
How lightly can you jump up and down?
How tall can you stand while jumping up and down?

After observing the children, our coaches can further refine the questions.

Advantages of ARNLA
Fundamental Movement Education:

It builds the foundation for more complex and specialized skills required by children throughout their lives to competently and confidently play different games, sports and recreational activities.
Children are using another sense - their kinesthetic sense to help understand a concept.
It's fun.
The evaluation of what you are teaching is immediate and easily observable.
You may discover children with special needs or talents.
Children learn by watching each other.
The group setting is small with ratio of 5 athletes to 1 coach.

Fundamental Movement Education addressed:

1.) Locomotion skills - running, jumping, dodging, skipping, hopping, bounding, sprinting
2.) Stability skills - (ABC's of athleticism) agility, balance, coordination, speed, change of direction, disassociation
3.) Manipulative/Object Control skills - ABC's of athletics) throw, kick, strike, catch, dribble, dodge
4.) Awareness - spatial awareness, kinesthetic awareness, body awareness, rules

Program Objectives:

Make sure fundamental movement skills are mastered, skill acquisition makes up 90% of the program.
Perform fundamental pre and post screen to monitor progress in skill development.
Utilize games to capitalize on the first speed window by encouraging agility, quickness, and change in direction activities.
Physical fitness should be 10% of the program and focus on body weight exercises for stability and overall mobility.

Teaming up

ARNLA and Jesus Good Shepherd Catholic School in Monroe, LA have partnered up to but the FUN back into P.E. Click HERE to see our "New Take On P.E".

If you are a P.E. teacher or a Principal we would love to come to your school and implement our FUNdamental Challenge (video coming soon).

For more info please call:

318. 869.1600 AR Shreveport

or

318.323.1613 AR Monroe

How to Get Perfect Legs

2010-08-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this article to help both you men and you women alike get the nicest, most sculpted, tone legs you can imagine. If you follow the steps I include in this article, you will have sculpted, tone looking legs, male or female, in no time at all!

Instructions

The first step to get perfect legs is to do some form of sprinting 3 times a week. This will make a world of difference. The reason I recommend sprinting instead of plain old, easy cardio, is that it will burn even MORE fat off your legs while TONING MUSCLE at the same time. Normal steady-state cardio hardly tones muscle at all compared to sprinting.

The sprinting work out I suggest you use for this step is called High Intensity Interval Training (or HIIT for short). Let me tell you, people -- this work out is AMAZING! It hurts so much, but you will feel like you just injected mass loads of ecstasy when you are done. The reason why is that it releases SO many beneficial hormones and chemicals, including a bit of naturally produced dopamine! I am seriously chemically addicted to this work out and after your first time trying it, I GUARANTEE you will be too.

So how do you do High Intensity Interval Training? It's simple, but it's hard.

Start with a 5 minute walking warm up at a comfortable walking pace, yet a brisk one that will get your blood flowing. For me, I like walking at 5 miles per hour during my walking warm up. The speed you will want to use will vary from person to person depending on height and weight.

After the 5 minute walking warm up, break into your first round. A round is composed of three minutes. The first minute you sprint as FAST as you can without slowing down for a full minute. You want this sprint to be a full blown all out sprint where you think if you were to even relent just a little, you'd be thrown off the treadmill. The treadmill has got to be fast enough you feel like your life is threatened if you slow down a bit. I know this sounds extreme, and I want you to play it safe, but this is one of the most extreme work outs out there. To give you an idea, I normally do my 1 minute sprints at just over 11 miles per hour. It's got to be tough!

After the first 1 minute of the first round, go down to a light jog. You want to use this 2 minutes of time to recover as much as you can before you go into the next round and start sprinting again for another full minute. You don't want to walk here, but you don't want to run. Just a nice casual jog works.

Do HIIT 2 or 3 times a week and this alone will start giving you those tone, sculpted legs you've always wanted.
Do leg work outs with weight! That's right, you too ladies. Don't think your legs will get all big and bulky like a man's would though. The female body is designed to look even more feminine with weight lifting, despite what some might think. The reason is that women don't have as much testosterone as men. Testosterone is what allows guys like myself to back on size when we lift weights. If you're a girl, you'll find your legs gain a much more feminine, sexy shape with leg work outs. Not to mention your butt while get more firm and shapely. All around, you WILL benefit from doing leg work outs whether you are a man or a woman. Plus, did I mention that working the legs increases your resting metabolic rate?

Do the following routine twice a week and you'll see great improvements in the over all look of your legs.

* 3 Sets of Barbell Dead Lifts (8-12 reps)
* 3 Sets of Weighted Calf Raises (20 reps)
* 3 Sets of Barbell Squats (8-12 reps)
* 3 Sets of Alternating Dumbell Step Back Lunges (8-12 reps)
* 3 Sets of Alternating Forward Dumbell Lunges (8-12 reps)
* 2 Sets of 60 seconds of wall squats

When doing the above work out, do all of them once before going through and doing the second and third steps. This will keep your muscles from adapting to the pattern. After a few weeks, mix up the order that you do them in for muscle confusion.
Do yoga once a week! I can not emphasize how important this single step is to developing strong, sexy legs. For anyone who has ever done yoga, you know how much it stretches and works on your legs. The stretching will also keep your muscle development in the legs from coming to a plateau. Yoga is a very critical part of developing sexy legs and if you really want a pair of two stunningly amazing legs that will make the jaws of members of the opposite sex drop, you have to do it!

by: Jared Bangerter

Goal Setting Tips

2010-08-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective goals:

State each goal as a positive statement: Express your goals positively - 'Execute this technique well' is a much better goal than 'Don't make this stupid mistake.'
Be precise: Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
Set priorities: When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.
Write goals down: This crystallizes them and gives them more force.
Keep operational goals small: Keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward.
Set performance goals, not outcome goals: You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. It can be quite dispiriting to fail to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control! In business, these could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, these reasons could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them.
set realistic goals: It is important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (employers, parents, media, society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Alternatively you may set goals that are too high, because you may not appreciate either the obstacles in the way or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance.

SMART Goals:

A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants, SMART usually stands for:

S Specific
M Measurable
A Attainable
R Relevant
T Time-bound

For example, instead of having "to sail around the world" as a goal, it is more powerful to say "To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2015." Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand!

Achieving Goals

When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress you have made towards other goals. If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you build the self-confidence (build self-confidence here) you deserve!

With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:

If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goals harder.
If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier.
If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so.
If you noticed a deficit in your skills despite achieving the goal, decide whether to set goals to fix this.

Failing to meet goals does not matter much, just as long as you learn from this. Feed lessons learned back into your goal setting program.

Remember too that your goals will change as time goes on. Adjust them regularly to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience, and, if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then consider letting them go.

Key Points
Goal setting is an important method of:

Deciding what is important for you to achieve in your life.
Separating what is important from what is irrelevant, or a distraction.
Motivating yourself.
Building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals.

If you don't already set goals, do so, starting now. As you make this technique part of your life, you'll find your career accelerating, and you'll wonder how you did without it!

2010-08-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Pre and Post-Workout Nutrition

For your mass gain workout to be maximally productive, your pre and post-workout nutrition must be supplying the body with the right nutrition at the right time. If you don't do this, if you forget to eat before or succumb to that desire to fall onto the couch and "veg" for a couple of hours after your training, you are cheating yourself out of muscle gains. While you will only be in the gym engaging in intense resistance exercise for less than one hour, it is what you eat in the 90 minutes before and the 90 minutes after that workout that can determine how effective that hard work will be at moving you towards your goals.

This "four hour window" (90 minutes before, 60 during, 90 after) will be the most important period of time in your program in terms of feeding your body for muscle growth. It is during these four hours that you can significantly enhance your ability to build muscle. The body will be both most in need of muscle building nutrition and most receptive to it.

Pre-Workout Nutrition

Your pre-workout meal is the second most important meal of the day, topped only by the post workout meal. The goal of this meal is to prepare the body for the assault you will soon be putting it through. During intense exercise, as stored energy is used up, the body will turn to glycolysis to replace this energy. Glycolysis is the process of converting sugars (carbs) into ATP and ultimately the very energy you need to contract a muscle. Therefore, it stands to reason that you want the ingredients (carbs) that make energy to be readily available. Not having them will impair your ability to workout to your full potential.

The pre-workout meal needs to be all that different from one of your normal meals (assuming you make eating for mass gain a practice). It should be focused on protein and complex carbohydrates. It is important that both of these macro nutrients be present. The meal should be consumed about 60-90 minutes before exercise begins to allow the body time to digest and make the nutrients available to the body during exercise.

Complex carbohydrates in your pre-workout meal will help ensure you have adequate energy levels for your workout. Another practice to consider is consuming simple carbohydrates (fruits, fruit juices) and/or protein in a quick drink 15 to 30 minutes previous to the workout to provide the body with an immediate energy source

Post-Workout Nutrition

The basic goal of weight training for mass gain is to force the muscles to break themselves down (catabolism) and then rebuild (anabolism). When the workout provides sufficient trauma to the muscles, small tears in the muscle fibers and connective tissue are created. In the hours and days following the workout, the muscles will attempt to rebuild themselves and become stronger and better able to deal with such trauma in the future. This process is called adaptation.

Notice that I said they will "attempt" to rebuild themselves to be stronger. In order to accomplish this goal, they need to be provided the raw materials to do the job - They need good post-workout nutrition. The muscles need carbohydrates to replace their drained fuel sources (muscle glycogen) and they need protein to begin the rebuilding process. The better the materials you provide them, the better work they will be able to do. The sooner you get them the materials, the sooner they can get started.

The goal of proper post-workout nutrition is to quickly and efficiently refuel the muscles and then provide them with the raw materials they need to rebuild themselves to be bigger and stronger. For mass gain, a good goal is to try and make your post-workout meal about 15-25% of your total daily caloric goal (if your diet calls 3,000 calories a day, your post-workout meal would be about 450-750 calories). It should contain a quality carb mixture and a quality protein source.
A sports drink is a good first step in post-workout nutrition. It will act to quickly replace energy stores, replace lost nutrients and also create an insulin spike more on the importance of insulin. High glycemic index fruit or fruit juice can also address this need as well as some "creatine plus" products and other bodybuilding supplements made expressly for this purpose.

Providing the body with a quality protein source is the next thing on the post-workout nutrition agenda and it should follow the first step as quickly as possible. A liquid source is ideal because it can be processed and utilized by the body quicker. Whey protein powders, certain meal replacements and weight gainers can fill the bill.

Studies have shown that time is truly of the essence, the sooner the body is provided with these materials the quicker it will exit its catabolic state and enter an anabolic state (the less muscle you will lose and the quicker you will start building new muscle).

Following your workout, consume your post-workout nutrition meal as soon as your stomach and schedule will allow it. This can vary by individual. Generally, the longest you want to go is 90 minutes post exercise but ideally you would want it within the first 30 minutes. The resulting muscle gains you experience as a result of your workout can possibly be dramatically affected by how quick you are able to re-supply the body with muscle building nutrition.

The post-workout meal should be heavy on protein and carbohydrates. While protein builds muscle, do not forget the important role carbohydrates play in the process. By providing an insulin spike, carbs provide the body with an excellent transport system for the nutrients to reach the muscle cells. The insulin release and the sensitivity of the muscle cells (caused by the trauma of intense weight training) is also the reason most recommend taking creatine at this time.

In short, there is no other time that the muscles are as receptive to being fed as in the post-workout period. Bodybuilders often refer to this as their "free time," a time when they can eat anything and not have to worry about it turning into fat. The muscle cells are incredibly hungry for nutrition and will suck up all you can give them, lessening the chance that fat cells will instead be the recipients of the provided nutrients.

Increase your burning power

2010-08-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

1. Become a Spice Girl. Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their hotness, lights a fire in your metabolism as well as on your tongue. Recent research indicates that eating one tablespoon of red or green chilies can give you a temporary metabolic spike of up to 23 percent! To increase your fat-burning potential, chop up some chilies and add them to a meal an hour before working out. Other great options include cayenne, white pepper, black pepper and jalapenos, according to Robyn L. Goldberg, a registered dietitian based in Los Angeles.

2. Always eat breakfast. According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, participants who did not eat breakfast and rev their metabolism early in the day gained two times more weight over time than those who did!

3. Skip the cosmo. A study at the University of California, Berkeley revealed that having just two alcoholic beverages could slow fat-burning by up to 73 percent! Your liver converts the alcohol into acetate and starts using that as fuel instead of your fat stores. Limit your imbibing for best fat-burning results.

4. Don't skimp on sleep. There is a direct link between metabolism and circadian rhythm - your daily pattern of activity versus rest - according to a new study from the University of California, Irvine. Findings suggest that maintaining a proper sleep pattern - between six and eight uninterrupted hours a day - and a clean, healthy diet play a key role in maintaining an elevated and healthy metabolism. Lack of rest and sleep disruption can lead to obesity-related illness and accelerated aging, so turn off the television and go to bed already!

-Lara McGlashan

Salt Shocker

Being active, you're always trying to eliminate sodium from your diet - you certainly don't want the side effects of high blood pressure, heart disease or potential weight gain that come with ingesting excess salt. To stay lean and healthy, your salt intake should be no more than one teaspoon per day (2,300 mg) - that's the upper limit advocated by various agencies, including the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine.
Sticking to this amount isn't too difficult if you're only eating fresh whole foods, but it's not easy to abolish processed, packaged fare from your diet. Even clean eaters can be lured in by hidden sources of salt, which account for 77 percent of the sodium in the average American's diet. While you do need some salt for basic bodily functions, you can unintentionally go over the limit if you eat too many of these sneaky sources of sodium:

SNEAKY SOURSES:
* 1 protein bar = 200mg
* 1 cup low-sodium chicken noodle soup = 140mg
* 2 slices whole weat bread = 480mg
* 1 cup cottage cheese = 918mg
* 4oz smoked salmon = 889mg
* 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce = 533mg
* 1/2 cup canned spinach = 345mg
* 5 asparagus spears from a can, drained = 258mg

Bonus tip: If you must have salt, choose sea salt, and add it to your meal after it's cooked. Its well-rounded flavor can help you use 1/3 less than table salt.

-Helen Vong

Question of the Week?

Q: I would love to be able to get up in the morning and work out, but I just don't seem to have the energy. Is there something that I could eat, some sort of vitamin I could take that would boost my energy?

A: I think the answer lies more in establishing a routine that works for you than in vitamins. Have a look at your sleep schedule. What time do you go to bed regularly? What time do you wake up every morning? Add two hours on to your wake-up time to figure out the best time for you to schedule in the gym. If that conflicts with work or family obligations, try out a new sleeping schedule, in order to get to bed early enough so that you get your eight hours of sleep.

And when your sleep schedule finally agrees with you, take your time at the gym. Fitness experts warn to start slowly in morning routines because your muscles are colder and it's easier to injure yourself this way. So make sure you warm up for at least 10 minutes, and do your exercises in order of growing intensity.

Another thing to consider is breakfast. Make sure you eat the proper kind of food. When you are preparing the first meal of the day think carbohydrates. If you don't it'll slow you down. Too much protein and fat may take too long for you to digest, so be careful. Your best bet is carbs for energy. A study from the Journal of Sports Science found that eating carbohydrates before, during and after exercise delays fatigue. Pour yourself a glass of orange juice, have a bowl of cereal and top it with some fruit. But relax and don't rush to the gym. You want your energy levels to be on an even keel. If it's fast to rise, it's fast to crash.

As for vitamins - vitamins provide nutrients, not so much energy. If you are looking for energy supplements, it's best to speak with your doctor. Some supplements aren't best for everybody and he or she would be the best person to suggest your healthiest options.

-Lisa Hannam

7 Ways For You to Be the Best That You Possibly Can Be

2010-08-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Are you satisfied with your life and who you are? Are you living your life to the fullest possible? In this hectic crazy world it is very easy to lose sight of what is important. Many people have lost their self esteem and self respect. With the economy creating havoc in many peoples lives is it any wonder things are the way they are. There are so many people unemployed, many have lost their homes and families as well. And after losing all they had, they may also end up losing their most precious possession - themselves.

For many it is easy to give up, after all it is tough losing everyone one cherished and 'loved'. I remember an expression I learned a long time ago, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going". So I have to ask myself and you, are you tough? Do you have what it takes to tough it out? It is easy to give up and quit, but quitters never win. Do you want to be one of the quitters? I expect not, but life does throw us curves from time to time, the question really is how do we handle them? Here are seven suggestions for you to consider before you throw in the towel. Ponder these ideas and see how you can change and improve your life.

1. Do you know your purpose?

Everyone has a purpose, can you believe that, or do you see yourself as wandering through life with little or no direction. Are you hoping that things will work out, that you will find happiness, that prosperity will come knocking at your door? If you can find your life purpose you can turn around any situation ailing you at the moment. There are enough stories of people near the brink of total disaster or ruin who have found a purpose and turned it all around to become a success.

2. Do you know what your personal values are?

What is it that you value above all else? Do you know? Is it security, family, success, freedom, or just being happy? What is most important to you? If you do not know then how will you reconcile them to your purpose? Your purpose and values need to be aligned. Make a list of your values and compare it to your purpose.

3. Do you know what your needs are?

Have you been too busy taking care of everyone else that you have neglected yourself? Do you know what you need, or are you just satisfying everyone else. It is time to start taking care of yourself.

4. What are you passionate about?

Is there anything that you are passionate about. Find a bigger cause than yourself and get involved. There are many places where you can volunteer your time or services and by doing so you will get a better sense of self worth.

5. Are you living 100% on the outside instead of living from your heart?

Are you so busy looking outside that you have forgotten to go within? Perhaps you've heard the cliche, 'go within or go without'. Do you take any time to sit quietly and listen to what is going on inside? Or are you like a leaf floating in the breeze.

6. Do you honor your skills?

What is it that makes you who you are? And if you are not sure then ask those close to you, you might be surprised what you hear. By sharing what you know and are good at you will increase your sense of self worth and self confidence.

7. Have you ever put your needs on hold and served others?

We are all part of humanity, living on this planet as individuals, yet at the same time as a family. Have you ever given back to the family, or to the planet? By giving of yourself you become richer in ways you may never have thought possible. Try it and see for yourself.

So the bottom line is regardless of your circumstances, or situation there is always hope. There are countless ways you can improve yourself and those around you. You are a child of the universe, there is not another one exactly like you. Please find your purpose and light your light so we may all see.

Drink and Dieting - the Best Drinks for Dieters

2010-08-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

When people diet they don't think carefully about what they drink - You need to! drinking and dieting go hand in hand. Eat the right foods and drink the wrong drinks and you will reduce your chances of losing weight. Let's look at the best drinks for dieters.
When people diet they don't think carefully about what they drink - You need to though.

Eating and drinking are closely linked eat the right foods and drink the wrong drinks and you will reduce your chances of losing weight.

What are the best things to drink when on a diet?

Here we will look at the best drinks to aid weight loss and the ones that can slow down, or make your diet ineffective.

Let's look at drink and dieting and start with the best drink of all first.

1. Water

Water pure and simple is the single best drink for losing weight and is the most important catalyst for weight loss in ANY diet. A dieter should drink at least eight glasses of water. Water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.
It acts as a natural appetite suppressant by keeping your stomach full and fending off dehydration which can lead to hunger pangs.

Many times when you feel "hunger signals", they are actually "thirst signals", so before eating, drink a glass of water instead. Most importantly of all, water helps your body metabolizes stored fat by helping the kidneys flush out waste. When you don't drink enough water the liver which works to provide stored fat for energy also takes on the task of helping out the kidneys and thus becomes less effective at metabolizing fat. Drinking eight glasses of ice cold water a day burns about 62 calories because your body has to work to raise that waters temperature to body temperature - That amounts to about 430 calories per week.

2. Alcohol and soda

When dieting, don't drink to much alcohol or sodas that are high in sugar. They contain plenty of calories and also make you feel hungry. So moderation is the order of the day. Not all alcoholic drinks contain the same ingredients and have different affects on a diet. Pure spirits are one of the best type of drinks to consume while on a diet because they contain approx 100 calories and very little in way of carbohydrates.

Examples would be shots of vodka, rum, Bacardi, or gin - With no mixer added. If mixing these drinks when on a diet make sure you use diet tonic and diet cola's etc. Wine is ok in moderation and many people like a glass with their meal a typical glass of red or white is both low in carbohydrates and calories. Don't go for sweet wines though stay with dry as they are not so fattening. Beer is full of calories and really when dieting drink in moderation. Keep in mind that a pint of beer can contain a whopping 300 calories.

3. Coffee & Tea

Coffee is fat-free, but drinking it can be detrimental to diets why? - Because even though coffee in itself is fat-free, it is what can be added that hurts your diet. Low and fat free milk is fine, but avoid cream. Finally, go easy on the sugar, if you have a sweet tooth.
All you have to do is remember that without added sugar or cream, coffee does not contain any calories. Plain tea does not have any calories before you add your sweeteners and milk.

If you are looking for an option that does not contain caffeine, you may want to check out black or green tea. Many herbal teas possess a diuretic effect. When it comes to the drinking of iced tea, you need to check the label to make sure that it contains no sugar.

4. Green Tea

A favorite diet drink is green tea. The benefits of drinking green tea can be seen through the high concentration of antioxidants that can be found. Studies have also shown that the benefits of green tea for dieting are visible when drinking just one cup a day and weight loss is sped up.

5. Fruit Juices

When choosing a fruit juice while dieting, you should always look at the nutritional information found on the label. You need to make sure that the juice is made from real fruit and not the sugar-filled concentrates that are loaded with calories. Providing the juice is natural any fruit or vegetable juice can be incorporated in your diet.

6. Milk

Milk contains calories but if used correctly in a diet can help you lose weight. Make sure that you choose low or fat free varieties that contain far less calories One of the reasons that milk helps some to lose weight because it makes you feel full. It also aids in bone strength, as well as lowers blood pressure and provides a load of other nutrients our bodies need.

When dieting we all have to drink and the choices we make can have a big affect on how much weight we lose as you can from the above. By all means enjoy any drink even alcohol but do so in moderation

By Sacha Tarkovsky

What the heck are shin splints?

2010-08-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Shin splints is a term used to describe pain in the front of your lower leg, specifically across your tibia (or shin bone). This condition can be caused by running down hill, training in worn-out shoes, overtraining and playing sport with a lot of stop and starts such as tennis and basketball. Sometimes the pain fades away while exercising, but it usually returns the next day and can worsen when ignored. If you think you have shin splints:

Treat them at home with RICE (Rest, ice, compression and elevation).
Take a few weeks off from high-impact exercises such as running, jumping, kickboxing and the like.
Invest in a pair of shock-absorbing insoles or orthotics to correct your gait if necessary.
Stretch the lower leg both in the front (tibialis) and rear (gastrocnemius and soleus) every day.
Engage in cross-training activities that are different than your primary form of exercise.

-Oxygen Magazine

What's for Breakfast?

If you haven't been a habitual breakfast eater, it may take some effort to make this meal a regular part of your day. Here are four tips to making your morning meal something you can swallow.

1.) Change Your Mindset

Eliminate your breakfast barriers. "People hear 'breakfast' and think that means time and planning and sitting down for a cooked meal. They don't have to do that," says Suzanne Steen, registered dietician, director of sports nutrition at the University of Washington and co-author of The Ultimate Sports Nutrition Handbook. "Get rid of all the excuses - not enough time, I'm not hungry, I'm on a diet or I'm afraid I'll feel hungrier all day. You need breakfast. Think of it as a small snack if you want, but eat something every morning."

2.) Habit Forming

While variety is a good thing, it may be easier to have the same thing to eat every morning. "Often people skip breakfast because thinking about what they're going to eat is stressful," says Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, registered dietician and author of Power Eating. By coming up with a healthy breakfast idea and eating the same thing every day, it eliminates the stress excuse. Don't feel you need to exercise your chef skills either. A simple meal of cereal, milk and fruit will meet your nutritional and energy needs with minimum fuss.

3.) Plan Ahead

"Most people are squeezing out breakfast in the morning. They're not leaving enough time to sit down and eat," admits Suzanne Havala Hobbs, registered dietician and author of nine books including Being Vegetarian for Dummies. If that sounds like you, plan on taking something with you to work. "Even if it's a Ziploc bag with fruit and nuts, pack something to take with you to eat at the office." says Hobbs. "When you've got more control over what you're eating, you'll eat more nutritiously." Also, when you shop for groceries, remember to include healthy breakfast choices. Yogurt, prepackaged oatmeal, frozen waffles, energy bars and other simple choices should all be on your list.

4.) Retrain Your Body

If you're not used to eating breakfast, you may not feel hungry first thing in the morning. Ease into a breakfast routine and you'll start waking up with the desire for food. "Think about retraining your body and setting a breakfast clock," says Steen. "Stick to a routine as much as you can, just like you would with a workout. By training your body to know when to feel hungry, you'll end up helping yourself stick to a diet and facilitate weight loss."

On the Run?
Here are some fast and healthy breakfasts you can grab on the go:

Yogurt with granola
Sliced apple with peanut butter
Instant oatmeal mixed with a scoop of flavored protein powder
Bowl of fresh fruit salad and a slice of cheese
Smoothie made with soy or skim milk, a banana, ice cubes, frozen fruit, a scoop of protein powder and a tablespoon of wheat germ
Protein bar
High-fiber blueberry waffles with fresh berries on top Peanut butter and banana on whole-wheat toast -Whole-grain cereal with fruit and skim milk
Scrambled egg whites with cheese and veggies.

-Kelly James-Enger

Question of the Week?

Q: What can you do today to stop the cravings?

A: Try replacing sugary foods or refined-carbohydrate foods with higher-protein foods for a few days.

-Mens Health