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Sunday, February 21, 2010
Boot Camp WorkoutsBoot Camp style workouts are becoming more and more popular. Why? Here are just a few reasons: Workouts can be done with minimal equipment, In or outdoors, Routines can vary greatly, Exercises can be modified
to accomodate everyones fitness level, They burn a ton of calories! Most
people will push themselves a little harder doing these group workouts. This has dramatic and positive effects on fitness
levels, blasting through plateaus!
8:15 am pst
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Weight Loss 101 Two key factors for healthy weight loss are diet and exercise. If you have ever tried to lose weight by dieting alone,
cutting back on caloric intake, you probably ran into at least two roadblocks. In order to lose one pound per week, you would
have to cut back by 3500 calories per week. That's 500 calories a day! If you are currently eating 2500 calories per day,
that's a 20% cutback. The percentage goes up if you are actually eating less than that. Two things are bound to happen. - You will feel hungry all the time
- If you get past the hunger, your metabolism will slow and additional weight loss will become harder.
You can lose weight solely cutting back calories, but another factor to consider
is the type of weight loss occurring. Studies have shown that weight lost using this method is comprised of 78% fat. That's
good, right? ....Wrong! The remaining 22% of the weight lost is lean mass. As you may have guessed, lean mass is comprised
of muscle. But did you know that it also includes bone? While women have typically been more concerned with bone loss, men
should be concerned as well. Men also lose bone mass as they age; it is just at a lower rate. Considering these factors, restricting
calories to lose weight is not in itself the best method for healthy weight loss. So what about exercise? Well, to lose that one pound per week while maintaining your caloric
intake, you will need to burn an extra 500 calories per day. For the average person that means walking or running 5 miles
or doing some very intense circuit training...daily...seven days a week. Several problems come to mind:
- How many actually have the time to run or walk 5 miles per day,
7 days a week?
- If you have the time, is your body prepared to take that on? Most likely
not.
- The intensity required for burning 500 calories during a circuit training routine
will exhaust your muscles before you can actually finish the 30 minutes.
Additionally, exercising without rest days will lead to mental and physical fatigue, burnout, and injuries, more
likely sooner than later. So
what is the best option? Combine caloric cutbacks with exercise. It is much easier to cut back 250 calories per day. Most
individuals can cut out 250 calories a day by simply eating whole foods instead of processed ones. Whole foods are more filling
than processed foods because they contain more bulk (fiber). So while you are consuming the same or more in volume, you are
actually taking in fewer calories. Exercising to burn an extra 250 calories per day can be, for some, as simple as adding to the activities of daily
living. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, parking further away from the entrance to stores, doing an
extra 10 minutes of housecleaning, getting up to change the TV channel instead of using the remote, etc. Water has zero calories,
but your body still needs to work to process it. So even drinking more water will burn additional calories.
8:31 am pst
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Carlsbad 5000 TrainingOnly one percent of the population has ever run a marathon (26.2 miles). Many have considered it, some have
even started marathon training programs, but motivation to stick through to completion can be difficult to come by. I recommend
starting with a shorter goal, the 5k (3.1 miles). On December 21, 2009, I will be starting a
16 week training program for the Carlsbad 5000. This will be my fourth running of this race, and hopefully my fourth Personal
Record on this course. 2007 - 20 minutes, 2008 - 19 minutes 2 seconds, 2009 - 18 minutes
15 seconds, 2010 - 17:30 Goal If you are not already planning on doing this event, why not register
now. Whether you are just getting off the couch or you are a seasoned athlete, I can help you with a training program that
will result in setting Personal Records. Carlsbad 5000
3:55 pm pst
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON - 06 Dec 2009The race started out very cold, 29 degrees, and finished much the same, 38 degrees. From mid-point to the
finish we faced 15+ mph headwinds, making the race even more difficult. I typically warm up after about two miles at a steady
pace, but my legs felt stiff and heavy the entire 26 miles 385 yards. While I did not meet all
of my goals (sub 3 hour race, win Clydesdale division), in all it was a good day. I did run a Boston qualifying time of 03:07:20
(gun time) and placed 3rd in Clydesdales division. This was my last scheduled race as a Clydesdale
(I weighed in at 211.5) as I am planning on dropping down to about 180# to gain more speed. My
next scheduled race is the Carlsbad 5000 in April 2010.
10:59 am pst
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
DOES IBUPROFEN HELP OR HURT DURING EXERCISE?
Excerpt from the article by Gretchen Reynolds, New
York Times, September 1, 2009:
Several years ago, David Nieman set out to study racers at the Western States Endurance
Run, a 100-mile test of human stamina held annually in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The race directors had asked
Nieman, a well-regarded physiologist and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus,
to look at the stresses that the race places on the bodies of participants. Nieman and the race authorities had anticipated
that the rigorous distance and altitude would affect runners' immune systems and muscles, and they did.
But one
of Nieman's other findings surprised everyone. After looking at racers' blood work, he determined that some of the ultramarathoners
were supplying their own physiological stress, in tablet form. Those runners who'd popped over-the-counter ibuprofen pills
before and during the race displayed significantly more inflammation and other markers of high immune system response afterward
than the runners who hadn't taken anti-inflammatories. The ibuprofen users also showed signs of mild kidney impairment and,
both before and after the race, of low-level endotoxemia, a condition in which bacteria leak from the colon into the bloodstream.
These findings were "disturbing," Nieman says, especially since "this wasn't a minority of the racers."
Seven out of ten of the runners were using ibuprofen before and, in most cases, at regular intervals throughout the race,
he says. "There was widespread use and very little understanding of the consequences." Full Story:http://tinyurl.com/moka69
12:08 pm pdt
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