Epic Workout Fails

 We have all had them, or will sooner or later. I know that I have made some bug mistakes that left people laughing, thankfully none of them are shown on the link below.

http://mrbonehead.lolspotsarticles.com/1456498-14-epic-work-out-blunders

Finally Cleared For Exercise

Last week, after months of being sidelined from some hand reconstruction surgery, I was given the go ahead to begin working out again. As I have had too much time to think about it and I know my personal history of diving into over-done right away, I chose a simple routine to start with. This routine works with both pyramiding sets and straight sets of 10 repetitions.

This design allows those whose upper body is not as strong as they want or need it to be to build that strength while also hammering the legs hard. What it looks like is:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Push Ups 5  10  15  10   5
Pull Ups   1   2    3    2    1

Side Lunges  1x10-15
Back Lunges 1x10-15
Front Lunges 1x10-15

Bicycle Crunches or Russian Twists or Crunches
(I am going straight for the Russian Twists)
       3x10-15
Jogging/Fast Walk 30 minute

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday
30 Minutes Jogging/walking

How this plays out is you will be moving from one set of exercises directly to the other. Clear as mud, alright. Push ups and pull ups will be done together. Do a set of pull ups and immediately do a set of pull ups. Rest 30 seconds and repeat. If you follow this routine to the letter you will have completed 45 push ups and 9 pull ups in total. That's pretty cool.

Th leg work and the ab work I also like to do in similar rapid alternating succession. It keeps the body moving, the heart rate elevated, and gets you through the routine quick.

Too easy! Have fun, be safe, get fit!!

*****NOTE: Here is an article and a youtube link showing how to do  side lunges. *****
http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/low-side-side-lunges-10731.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUX6Pz8vV0s

Eating for Fitness Results

Eating, it's something that we all do. The vast majority of us really like it, we look forward to the next time we can get something tasty. But, what about eating while being healthy and fit? How does eating fit into a workout routine? Happily, these are simple to answer.

Food is fuel, our bodies need the calories in order to produce the energy our muscles need to propel ourselves through not just our day, but also our workout. I;m not talking about a full meal on the way into the gym. If you are anything like me that would be an awful idea. But, we all need to eat something before we workout AND we need to refuel, eat something, immediately after our workout.

Choosing the right food to eat before working out also means that you need to understand that different nutrients are broken down at different rates. Fat takes between 4 and 6 hours to be digested, protein takes 3 hours, and carbohydrates 2 hours. What we're seeing here is that you would do very well to have something like peanut butter and bananas at noon if you are hitting the workout at 3. This will allow the protein and carbs from your meal to be digested and ready for your body to use for you to power through your training.

After your workout your body is going to go into overdrive to repair all that muscular damage. Let's face it, exercising causes muscle fibers to break, this is trauma to the body, it's damage. Your body is going to work hard to repair that damage and to replenish the glycogen stores that you have just burnt through. So, take a shower and go get some quality protein and carbs within the first hour after your session.

The window of optimal effect is 15 minutes to one hour. Take that shower and then go fuel your recovery with something like your regular protein shake, some chicken and rice, yogurt and fruit, turkey with cheese and apples. Aim for foods that are high in protein and healthy carbohydrates. These foods will go into restoring your energy. Your body is still in a fat burning mode in order to repair that damage you just did. Oh, it would also be advisable to get some solid antioxidants into you, too, as these will help make your recovery more comfortable.

Protein and carbs a few hours before your workout and within the first hour afterwards will, according to research, serve you best.

Stronger Knees

Years ago, I was a competitive power lifter. After 10 years my shoulders had both come apart and I could not deny the pain I had in my knees. I knew people who had decades of experience training and competing without the injuries I had. Some people are just built for it and I was not one of them. As much as I loved lifting, it was not for me. I knew that I needed to have all of my joints working properly. So, how do we train and protect our knees?

There are essentially two ways to protect your knees, nutrition and exercise. This article is going to look at exercises and stretches that stabilize our knees.

Strengthen 

When all the muscles that support your knees are strong and flexible your knee joint is stabilized. The three muscle groups here are quadriceps (you thighs), hamstrings (the back of your legs), and your calves.

Flexibility

Strength building is important, but flexibility through stretching is equally important. Tight muscles are ready for injury whereas limber, more flexible muscles are better prepared to handle the rigors of life.

Stretching the muscles that you strengthen is an important part of preventing injury. Strengthening exercises build muscle to help support your knee, but can also tighten the muscles. Tight muscles are more prone to injury. Gentle stretching after strengthening exercise reduces muscle soreness and will keep your muscles long and flexible.

Strength and flexibility are both equally important. Don't think so? Try these exercises and stretches to see how your knee comfort can improve. First, and always, talk to your doctor before starting or changing your activities.

Start slowly and take your time. My lifting coach and martial arts instructors all said the same thing. Form first. Take it easy, perfect your form, and the strength will follow.

If you have pain, which is different from soreness, means you need to stop. Do not hurt yourself trying to get to your goal.

Be patient, remember, strength will come. Just be sure that you are doing the stretches and exercises with proper form.

Again, talk to your doctor. Unless your knees already sound like rice cereal, they should be happy to hear that you are taking better care of your knees. 

I prefer to stretch daily and not just before or after a workout. Strive to perform each stretch for 30 seconds for each of three sets.

Hamstrings
Stand with feet together, legs straight, bend down and relax. Let gravity pull you further down, relax with each exhalation. You will find that reaching your toes or the floor is easier when your body and mind relax.

Calves
Feet flat on the floor, step forward with your right foot two feet to start. Press your left heel down and bend your right knee. Do not allow your right knee to go forward past your knees, keep your upper body straight up, and allow your weight to lower down through your hips. Gold for 30 seconds, three sets each leg

Quads
Stand near a wall or a piece of sturdy exercise equipment for support. Grasp your ankle and gently pull your heel up and back until you feel a stretch in the front of your thigh. Tighten your stomach muscles to prevent your stomach from sagging outward, and keep your knees close together, hold for about 30 seconds, three sets each leg.

Low Impact Exercises
Bicycle riding, gentle rowing, walking, swimming are excellent activities to strengthen the muscles around your knees AND, as they are low impact, allow your knees to get stronger with a minimum of discomfort

Your knees are vitally important and keeping them pain free will make all the difference. Stay healthy and stay strong with your family.

Health Benefits of Tea

Globally there are more people drinking tea than any other beverage with the exception of plain old water.
There are centuries of anecdotal evidence claiming a wide variety of health benefits and a mix of clinical results.

Green, White, and Oolong tea all come from the same plant. That is the Camellia sinensis. From oral hygiene to fat loss tea from this plant offers a wide spectrum of benefits.

Dental Health
Tea contains a small amount of natural fluoride, with mature leaves containing as much as 10 to 20 times the fluoride levels of young leaves from the same plant.

Flat Belly There are several studies showing that the antioxidants, catechins, in green tea are being found to trigger the body's metabolic functions. This boost in metabolism means a boost in burning calories according to scientific studies.  

The Journal of Obesity published a study in 2011 concerning a high fat diet and compounds in green tea. Mice that were fed some of the compounds in green tea with a high fat diet gained weight slower than moce on just the high fat diet.

Cancer Prevention
Thanks to its polyphenols (the antioxidants found in tea), sipping on a cup may have cancer-fighting effects. Polyphenols are being shown in studies around the globe to have anti-tumor effects. The compounds are being shown in more cases to halt pr limit tumor growth.

Hydration
Was a time my senior NCOs would holler at me for drinking coffee in all weather conditions. The argument was that I was dehydrating myself with the caffeine. Tea has caffeine, too. The upside is that researchers have agreed that, in spite of the caffeine, the drinking of tea and coffee still put liquid into our bodies.
Still, I would use this as a supplement to drinking water.

Heart Health
According to a study conducted in the Netherlands and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, drinking tea was associated with a more than 50 percent reduction in severe atherosclerosis (hardening and narrowing of the arteries) in women who drank 1 to 2 cups a day.

The journal Stroke, found that long-term consumption of black, green, oolong or white tea can cut the risk of strokes by as much as 60 percent.

Brain Health
Tea may even be effective in preventing some neurological diseases including Alzheimer's. The polyphenols are believed to protect neurotransmitters like dopamine (regulates emotional responses, among other benefits) and epinephrin (adrenalin, it is released into the blood stream as a response to mental or physical stress), There are positive indications that the polyphenols also inhibit senile plaques in the brain.

Bone Health
Green tea has been found to improve bone mineral density and strength. Studies have shown that elderly women who drank tea had higher bone density in their hips and less bone loss than women who didn't drink tea.  Researchers also say that these results confirm previous studies that have suggested drinking tea may protect against bone loss and osteoporosis. 

Eye HealthA 2010 study found that components in green tea positively affected the tissues of the eyes, especially tissue related to the retina.

Prevent Wrinkles

A recent study demonstrates that white tea inhibited wrinkle production by strengthening elastin and collagen.

Simply, the amount of clinical studies, research, and anecdotal evidence clearly show there are several benefits to drinking tea. So much so that, in the course of researching and writing this piece, I have added several different teas to my daily routine.

Motivation

Motivation, the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. The dictionary says motivation is a noun. I suppose it must be since it is a thing. I asked several people what motivates them to exercise and received some interesting responses. 

Almost everybody who responded is exercising because of somebody else. The body is the temple of God, to be healthier and more active with my family and friends were some responses. Being eye-candy was also mentioned. The responses to my question basically involved being there for others. This is a great motivator particularly when those others are your immediate family. I come up with, find, and commit to working out for my family, eye-candy for my wife, general eye-candy, and ego. I want to be able to go at lest as far, as fast, and as hard core as people half my age. But, getting to this point took re-framing my initial view of working out.

It comes down to want. Many people 'want' to be there for their children. some 'want' to be sexy. Some do it because they 'want' to be healthier. It all comes from what we want. That can also become the need, if chosen in a positive way. 

Designing your routine to be fun helps. Seriously, make it fun. If slogging through repetition after repetition, set after set is not fun, then what is? If you get bored with lifting weights, lift your body. Maybe you should try swimming for a set period of time trying to go further each time you get back into the pool.

Maybe you like to see numbers adding up. I like to watch the Calories Burned function of my fitness tracker stack up. It feels grand to watch those numbers add up.

Perhaps you have read enough of the success stories to have decided that now it is your turn. You've been watching people drop pounds on a weekly basis on TV and you have made the leap into the game yourself. If they can do it, then so can you. The truth is, you can.

The trick is finding your want and aiming for that. Just like with any other goal setting, this also takes time to become a habit. Once fitness becomes a habit you can write it into your lifestyle as a daily habit. Whether it is going for a walk with your daughter three or four times a week, having a group of friends to count on, a more active future, self-improvement, or that ego boost when you catch someone scoping out your hard earned shape are all good reasons. 

I urge you to find your reason. What is that reason? Fitting into new clothes, a chance to contemplate issues on your mind, the adrenaline pump? Feel free to put your reasons in the comments below. It just might help motivate someone else.

Exercise "as good as medicines" in treating heart disease

That is the title of the article in Reuters. Those of us who exercise regularly have been told this by our doctors for years. Actually, regular exercisers or not, we have all been hearing this for years. We know it to be true. Moderate cardio helps. All out, gut busting sprint workouts help.

Exercise helps people who are recovering from strokes. It helps veterans with PTSD to be calmer. Exercise does not even require a prescription.

This link is for the entire article.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/02/us-heart-exercise-idUSBRE9910HU20131002

"Patients deserve to understand ..."
Yes, we do understand. We have been hearing the results for years. Now it is time to put action to what we know.

Get up and go lower your diabetes risks, lower your blood pressure, lower your body fat percentage. Do this so that you can give the people who love you more of you for a longer time. You deserve better than the chemically synthesized "moderate" benefit of medicines. Tell your doctor your plans.

5 Minute Drills

 ::EDITORIAL NOTE:: After my first day of this challenge I am going to be doing it every other day. It seems to make more sense for me to be able to recover a day. If you can do it daily, five days a week, more power to you. Tell us your progress, please.

We finished the 30 Day Burpee challenge and took a week off for full recuperation. The daily workouts, stopped. The daily diet, not a chance. Now it is time for a new challenge, a new workout to get us moving and into fighting shape. I challenge you to do 5 Minutes Drills. This is an awesome dual purpose routine combining strength training and cardio in an efficient system.

This is a workout that is going to work about every muscle group in your body except your neck muscles. But, you can add neck bridges if you like. When I put this one together several years ago I was interested in Interval Training. I still am interested in intervals, they are fun. This routine is designed your heart pumping and your lings working hard. Cardio is a factor here. This is accomplished by doing each of the 5 minutes blocks without stopping and without resting in between. Doing the routine at a moderate pace, minimum, will result in your heart and lungs really being worked. If you are like me, you will go into each exercise at 80% intensity or better.

The muscles are getting a good push, too. Particularly in the Bodybuilders. This is where you will need some equipment. This point and the jump rope would be the only times in the workout that this is true. You must have a place to do pull-ups. Start standing tall, squat down and place your hands on the ground. Now, kick your feet back so that you are in a full plank with your arms straight. Do a push-up. Do it as hard and as forceful as you can. Quickly pull your feet back in to where they were at the start and jump. While you are in the air try pulling your knees up to your chest before you have to straighten them and land on your feet. Once you have your feet on the ground again grab your overhead bar and do a pull-up. That is one count. Do that for 5 minutes.

The other exercises are fairly common and you should have no trouble with them. You can also substitute Russian Twists for the Bicycle Crunches if you prefer.



The workout is a series of 6 exercises that will be performed for 5 minutes at a time. Yes ,5 minutes for each exercise.

Jumping Jacks
Bodybuilders
Mountain Climbers
Bicycle Crunches
Pogo Hops
Jump Rope


That's it, folks. 30 minutes of digging deep to do more each day. What days of the week are we doing this on? Monday through Friday. I am thinking 4 weeks for this challenge, I may go ahead and do 8 weeks. This mix of exercises is going to burn fat fast. It also gives you an excuse to use your kids jungle gym for the bodybuilders. Share it with your teens as a challenge, who is the better man.

I will post my body weight and body fat changes over the coming weeks. Enjoy your training time.

I Challenge You!

This is going to be a simple challenge in that it has few moving parts. The catch is, it will be harsh.

The fitness challenge which I am planning is a combination of the high intensity interval training (HIIT) and endurance. As I have been writing, the HIIT training is going to force my system to become more efficient at using oxygen and removing lactic acid. This part of the training is also going to rapidly increase my leg strength and muscular capacity. That is, according to all the scientific studies I have been reading. Also, my own experience in the past with Tabata drills and other HIIT routines.

The bicycle riding is an endurance and cardio event. We are familiar with how the low impact, moderately paced cardio workouts burn fat after 20 minutes.

By combining the two routines we, if you also take this challenge, will see a significant drop in body fat along with an increase in our overall aerobic capacity.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Drop Set Pull-Push Routine; Interval Runs (2 mile minimum); Bicycle Crunches (2 min)

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Bicycle Riding, for me, 20.4 miles


If you are still reading this, then the challenge is for you to get up and get going. I am going to be posting my progress. You can substitute the bicycle ride with a long run/jog or a good swim. Join me with this for 4 weeks.

Join me and post your progress. I am starting off with a body weight of 216 pounds and a body fat percentage of 22%.

It Takes Another HIIT

Just in on my feeds is an article on the benefits of High Intensity Training, even for those with heart disease! How cool! So, here is the opening of that article:

I love HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training
I love HIIT because…

1. it works really, really well to help my clients get fit really, really fast,
2. it helps my clients drop excess body-fat really, really fast
3. and because it is really simple to program HIIT workouts and it fits into the busiest of schedules really, really well.

Unfortunately, not everyone sees HIIT like I do. 
There is a large group of trainers and fitness “experts” who…

• think that low intensity cardio is superior to HIIT for developing aerobic fitness, and
• fear that the High Intensity aspect of HIIT is dangerous to the health of their clients.

Their concern is that people with less than perfect cardiac function are at imminent risk of suffering a heart attack if their trainer puts them on a HIIT protocol. Which makes sense….if you haven’t read a medical journal in the past few years and still believe that low intensity cardio is the only safe way to improve cardiac function.

Here is a link to the rest of the article. The long and short of it is, do HIIT. It works!
http://www.healthhabits.ca/2013/09/23/hiit-better-than-cardio-even-for-heart-disease-patients-2/

Fast Full Body Workout

For a fast and effective full body workout challenge, I look no further than my old time favorite, Change of a Dollar.

A lifetime ago I was at Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Center. We often got mashed (had extra physical fitness stunts that HAD to be done) for a variety of reasons. Sadly, none of them included pull-ups or rowing.
That every muscle group but the back was worked bothered me. Not too long after leaving Great Lakes I modified one of my favored exercises to include pull-ups. Before I get ahead of myself, let me describe the exercises for all readers.

The exercise was called Change of a Dollar. It was four exercises done for 25 repetitions each. 25 push-ups, 25 sir-ups, 25, jumping jacks, and 25 body builders. To do the body builder you start standing up. Squat down and place your hands on the ground. Kick your feet back so that you are in a plank position and hold that for a moment. Snap your feet back to where they were and jump. As mentioned earlier, this does not hit the entire body. It ignores the pulling muscles of the upper body, the largest of that group being the muscles of your upper back.

To remedy this, add a pull up after the jump. This one little modification is a real game changer.

Do this with the High Intensity Interval Training methodology. Complete one cycle through, or one dollar. Take one minute to recover then do another. Stay with this until you have finished eight cycles. Set "prices" for certain treats, say you pay yourself one dollar for a snickers bar.

Marathon Kids

I am always on the lookout for ways to share family fitness. I believe that, if the parents are active, the kids will be active. Conversely, if the parents are sedentary, then the kids will be, as well. This year my two boys and I are taking part in Marathon Kids.

This is an evidence based program designed to increase physical activity and improve health.

On the website, the Marathon Kids program remains the only "evidence-based" school-based physical activity and healthy lifestyle program for children in the country (according to all available data) and is succeeding at its mission: to improve the health of children by providing them the motivation, tools and support to live happier and healthier lifestyles.

That is what this blog is about, too. The challenge by joining up with Marathon Kids is that you, the parent, will jog and run with your kids. This goes for a 6 month period. The end result is that you and your kids have gone at least 26.2 miles. How easy is that? You get up with your kids and get moving.

Here is a link to their main site. Get jogging and starting logging those miles, Families!
http://www.marathonkids.org/

Fast Fitness

There are those who want to go to the gym, but just do not have the time available to go there, get changed, workout, shower, and get dressed again. Some people think that this is the way we have to do it. Another mistaken idea is that we need to spend thousands of dollars for a good home gym. What can be done to strengthen muscles, burn fat, and not take an substantial time investment? Tabata Protocol training is the simple, effective, and efficient answer.

What is Tabata training?

Izumi Tabata instituted a training regimen for Japanese Olympic speed skaters. You may have heard it referred to as High Intensity Interval Training. The long and the short of this is that it is intense and it works.

This style of training consists of intense bursts of activity followed by brief periods of rest. This cycle is repeated for the specified training time.

There are several benefits to be realized by doing a simple Tabata drill or adding a month of HIIT to your routine.

Benefits

The benefits we can expect to realize from this are quite impressive.

Calories

Our bodies will burn glycogen for fuel during the beginning of our workout. After several minutes our bodies burn fat for the necessary energy to complete the training cycle. The faster we get into the fat burning zone, the better. Most trainers and the fitness professionals hold that 20 minutes is the minimum period of time needed to achieve the goal of burning fat for energy

Studies show 5 times more effective at burning calories than moderate aerobic activities By working at near maximal heart rates we burn a greater amount of calories. Think about this, when you're on the highway and you smash the gas pedal down, you burn through gasoline very fast.

Studies also show that this type of training causes the body to continue to burn calories at a higher rate for up to 24 hours after the workout. We do not get this from an average, or above average, cardio regimen

Through this type of training our bodies learn to be more effective at cleaning out metabolic waste in between the intervals of intense workout. The body becomes better at immediate short term recovery. Your system will be able to handle longer, faster runs with more ease after these.

HIIT is also one of several ways to boost both testosterone and growth hormone levels. These hormones are extremely important for both muscle gain and fat loss.

Your cardiovascular system will also see rapid improvements through HIIT. The improvements are greater than a moderate level of cardio training.

Muscular Fitness

Jogging is nice and comfortable, and there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoy running with my Akita. HIIT uses endurance muscle fibers, Type 1, and Type 2, the power and strength fibers. Part of this, I believe, is due to our body's natural emergency reflex reaction. What happens when we move explosively, for instance sprinting, our system is screaming 'emergency'. Our muscles react by firing a greater number of muscle fibers than would be necessary to complete the exercise.

By working at close to your maximal heart rate, you will be burning the most calories, and causing the most physiological changes to your body that will be beneficial to fat loss.

How do you do it?

My experience with Tabata drills is a four minute routine. Four minutes, too easy/ Everyone can find four minutes to train, right? This particular drill is 20 seconds of all out, gut busting sprinting followed by 10 seconds of walking or jogging. This cycle is repeated for a total of 8 times. Four minutes, too easy. Let me warn you now, it is a very harsh four minutes.

Sample Routines

All that being said, I have included three outlines for you to try. I have done the 4 minute one before for a month and it is harsh. Harsh, but well worth it.I have included below three Tabata/HIIT routines. They vary in time length from 20 to 25 minutes down to 4 minutes duration.

These first two you will need to download a Tabata app onto your phone or other device to help you keep track.

20 Seconds RUN!

10 Seconds Walk or Jog

Repeat for a total of 8 cycles

Minute 1: Squat Jumps
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
Repeat onceMinute 2: Burpees
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
Repeat once
Minute 3: Squat Jumps
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
Repeat onceMinute 4: Burpees
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
Repeat onceMinute 5 – 6: Rest
Minute 7: Squat Jumps
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
RepeatMinute 8: Burpees
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
Repeat onceMinute 9: Squat Jumps
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
Repeat onceMinute 10: Burpees
20 Seconds on
10 Seconds off
Repeat once

Another training outline consists of running for one minute then walking/jogging for two minutes. This cycle is repeated for 20 to 25 minutes. Or, you can run the straights on the track and jog/walk the curves for 20 minutes.

Thank you, enjoy, and good health to you.

FitBit Link Coming Soon

Ladies and gentlemen, I have recently been using FitBit to track my activities and food consumption. I like the tools so much that I wanted to place a banner for the company on my blog. In furtherance of that, I post this code GVSNBNM10853037 for their agents to see, per protocol. Once my link is up and running, I will be so thrilled as this system is so much fun!

Abs -- What Works

There have been articles written about sculpting your midsection, your abs. We have done countless scrunches, tons of trunk twists, and too many leg lifts. Most people make the mistake of only training their abdominal core.

There are more muscles in play than just "the abs". For trunk stability, a more fit look, and sexy torso people need to understand and train the muscles in play. From the picture below you will see the six muscles involved in gaining that sexy middle that we are all striving for.

Don't just work abs, work the core to include the abdominal obliques as well as the abdominal core ... but, how?

I found an article at Fit Watch (http://www.fitwatch.com/weight-loss/effective-ab-workout-superset-6287.html) about 9 different exercises that are done one set each for each ab workout. The routine also requires some specific equipment. This would mean that we either go to a gym or buy that weightlifting equipment for home. Not sure about you, but no equipment and simplicity are on my short list.


There are back muscles that also help with core stability, for now, though, we will look only at the abs.

Bicycle crunches are a mainstay in this. The bicycle crunch will work both your rectus abdominus (the abs), the big one down the middle, and the obliques.

Doing bicycle crunches is simple. Lay flat on your back with your hands laced behind your head. Bend your knees and lift your legs up while lifting your upper body at the same time.

Once in that position you will bring your right knee to your left elbow. You will extend your left leg straight out and twist your torso touching your knee with your elbow activating your obliques. Now, bring your left knee up and your right elbow together. Do as many repetitions as you can.

I follow up with an immediate set of regular crunches. I do these until reaching the point of muscular failure. You may want to do a bit less it you are just starting out. Also, doing this routine every other day will allow your body time to recover for your next session

These two exercises, bicycle crunches and regular crunches, will work the obliques and the core. My results when I first started doing these I went from a 40 inch waist to a 36 in a month.

Quick and Fun

It was mentioned in an earlier posting that kids need a minimum of 15 minutes to improve their health. So, here's a quick idea that is a blast for the younger kids and fun for the parents, too. Take them to a softball diamond for kickball. Parents, play with the idea of keeping them running. I hammed it up with my three younger ones for 30 minutes. No points, all of us running, having fun, and gettin fit.

Try it and please share your experience with it.

What Should I Weigh?

This is a question that is on, or should be on, everybody's mind. With a population that is 1 in 3 obese, what should we each weigh? I did some tooling around with this myself. I had been a power lifter for many years. The Navy classified me as obese for the longest time. Based on my heck, chest, and waist measurements along with my weight, then between 235 and 245 pounds, I was called obese. I exercise almost daily, but am still told by the VA that I am overweight. The question is how do we calculate our ideal weight?

There are several methods which can be used. I caution you to use them at your own risk. 

Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a calculation that boggles me. I present the calculations below in both metric and imperial units:

• BMI metric units: Your weight (kilograms) divided by the square of your height (meters)
  e.g. Weight 80 kilograms. Height 1.8 meters.
  1.8² meters = 3.24
  80 divided by 3.24 = BMI 24.69.


• Imperial units: Your weight (pounds) times 703, divided by the square of your height in inches.
  e.g. Weight 190 pounds. Height 6 ft (72 inches)
  72² = 5184
  190 x 703 divided by 5184 = BMI 25.76

Health authorities worldwide mostly agree that:

• People with a BMI of less than 18.5 are underweight.
• A BMI of between 18.5 and 25 is ideal.
• Somebody with a BMI between 25 and 30 is classed as overweight.
• A person with a BMI over 30 is obese. 

According to my doctors, I have my BMI is 28.6. To them, I am borderline obese. I run at least 3 miles a day, do 200 jumping jacks, 200 seal jacks, 2 minutes of crunches, and I am up to 55 burpees. Clearly, I am not obese; however, according to the physicians who look at my charts, I am borderline ...

http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/idealweight Is an intriguing little page. This page asks you if you are male or female and how tall you are. The page then proceeds to tell you how much you should weigh. When I put in my numbers the site tells me that I should weigh 140 to 189 pounds. When I was in that range, i was very skinny and gangly.Check it out and see what you get.

There are several ways to measure and calculate what you should weigh and how much body fat you have. Skin calipers, water displacement, BMI, waist to hip, and the list goes on.

None of this answers the question of "Am I fat?" Let's face it, that is what we are asking. Do the naked mirror jump test. Stand in front of a mirror nude and jump up. Body fat jiggles, muscle and bone don't.

Is your doctor concerned about your weight? If yes, then keep at it.

If not, are you able to be happy with how your body is now? I know I am.

Walking and Health

Let's face it, Americans are getting fatter. I am not a doctor, so check with yours about what I am telling you, but statistics show that one in three Americans are obese. As a nation, we are getting fatter. The truth is, as adults and parents, it is our responsibility to do something about it. Get it straight, this is not for the government to solve, not a pill or drug to solve it, but our own choice. If you worry about your kids being obese as children, then you must get off the couch and start walking.

Take a look at the benefits that you will feel yourself and share with your children. Walking is easy. Just as easy as turning off the computers and TVs.

One benefit of walking is it strengthens your bones and, by keeping moving, lowers your risk of arthritis. How cool is that? You don't necessarily have to take a calcium pill and extra vitamin D or a medication to improve your bone health. Get outside in the sun (vitamin D production in your body will drastically increase). As your D increases this will allow your body to absorb the calcium that your are taking in.

According to a 1996 report done by the Cooper institute in Dallas, TX that was also supported by the Surgeon General exercising helps lower your risks of several diseases. Many of which are cardiovascular. This report advises 30 minutes, at least, of moderate exercise seven days a week. Yes, every day. Try to see it as moving more every day that you are in your body.

I get, it, life is often a four letter word. Not many people find that they have a 30 minute block of time every day. So, get a pedometer or a FitBit (www.fitbit.com) to track your walking. It's too easy!

Walking, a moderate exercise, strengthens your bones, keeps your joints healthy, reduces your risk of heart disease, and it lifts your mood. When exercising, our bodies release endorphins into our brains. Endorphins are the feel-good chemicals.

Walking, all it costs is some good sneakers. Take your family with you and make certain that you are living better together.

Walking

It occurs to me that, as I am a bit psycho when it comes to exercising. I kick box, grapple, do military style calisthenics, I am planning out a training cycle to bike from Boston to D.C. next July. Yes, I kind of go through the wall and there is no need for me to take you, my readers, through the wall, too. So, as I was out walking, I figured we should take a brief look at walking.

There are so many articles out there covering the benefits of walking. Lowering blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, relieving stress. You know, I didn't see very many articles that talk about finding things in nature with your children.

I take my kids on walks. They run and play. They discover the world around them. One afternoon, my oldest daughter found a praying mantis. My boys love looking for bird feathers and learning to whistle bird calls.

All this fun without computers, and without knowing they are getting fit in the process.

Take your family out to the national parks and forests. Share the thrill of exploring and getting healthier together.

Make it Fun

My oldest daughter is reluctant to participate unless she is swimming. She will tolerate hikes at one of the various nature centers, though. The younger three, ages 9. 9, and 7 (almost 8 she reminds me) enjoy morning kugs and bicycling. Before we get into the what to do's let's take a quick look at some of the why's first.

As adults, it is generally held that we need at least 30 minutes of getting up off our duffs to improve our health. Which fits with the guidelines that my lifting coach gave me a lifetime ago. That is, 20 minutes to start burning body fat. 20 minutes to get the engine burning that fuel. At that time I made my minimum cardio time 30 minutes. Then, I read this was a good thing. This was what doctors were recommending more than 20 years ago. But, what about kids? Do they need that much time, too?

Fitness Magazine published an article that states children need only 15 minutes of good, hard, body moving events to lower their risk of type 2 diabetes. Apparently, slim kids are moving 12 minutes more each day than their overweight classmates. 12 to 15 minutes a day for kids to improve their health.

Teens, I feel, can benefit from the 15 minutes daily; however, as one of mine is a teen I still try to get her to move for 30 minutes of easy walking.

What are some of the fun things we can do to get our kids moving? I am a big kid. I look for lots things that ARE fun. I enjoy squat thrusts, bodybuilders, push-ups, pull-ups, and so on. One of my 9 year olds had me give him a version of the Army physical fitness test. What the three younger ones enjoy is going to the track with me every morning.

Each morning of the work week I get out to the track with these three little troopers. I jog with my dog while my trainees jog or ride their bicycles. 30 minutes each morning and then they go off to school. It's too easy.

But, I know that most kids do not like this sort of thing.Teach them some of our old gym games. Red Rover, Red Light Green Light, play tag with them. On a Saturday morning take them to the zoo. That will clock up some quick miles and fun time. If it is raining or too cold out, go to a museum. Snowing? Get them to help shovel with you.

These ideas do not have to run all day, just 30 minutes. The limit is your own creativity. Do it with your children and you will find better health and better family ties. At least I have found this.Come on, Moms and Dads, get your bicycles out of the garage and get out their with your kids. They won't do it without you.








http://www.webmd.com/parenting/raising-fit-kids/move/family-fitness-ideas
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/health/family/fitness/family-activity-guide-age-by-age/

Been a while

It's been a LONG time since I opened this blog. Finally got back to it. My current fitness goal is to get lean. Now, right up front, I am no doctor, not a trainer, not certified. I am writing about what is working for me. Before you try ANYTHIG I do talk to your doctor! You do NOT want to do harm to yourself doing something your physician would smack you for.

I have been working at this for two weeks with solid regularity. That is to say, that I have been following my routine very closely. My body fat percentage started out at about 25%. Two weeks in my body fat has dropped to 19%. My weight has gone from 218 pounds to 209 pounds.

I am staying with a calorie defector diet that is focused on quality foods. Plenty of water, protein, and carbohydrates are how I eat. That looks like regular food, not protein shakes, loopy diet plans, and so forth. Fresh eggs, milk, bread, meats. I practice portion control.

The workout I do is simple. No gym membership or specialized equipment at all. A monkey bar set, good sneakers, and a place to run is all this routine requires.

*Pyramid Push Ups 5-10-15-10-5
*Pyramid Pull Ups    1-2-3-2-1
Jumping Jacks 300 (no, you don't have to start there, but do warm up and start sweating before you run/jog/walk fast)
Crunches 2 minutes
Windmills 2 minutes
Walk Fast/Jog/Run for 30 minutes

Explanation time! Pyramiding is simple and deceptive. In my list above I do 1 pull up with strict form for the first set. I do 5 push ups with strict form and exploding out of the bottom. Next us 2 pull ups and 10 push ups. Simple enough?

For windmills stand straight up with your feet at shoulders width and your arms straight out on each side. If you think about it you will look sort of like Da Vinci's Man. In one movement with your arms straight out bend over and reach for your left toes with your right hand. Stand back up and reach for your right toe with your left hand. For both the windmills and crunches I don't generally cout repetitions, I just focus on keeping moving for the entire two minutes.

What this routine does is hit your fat stores from two directions. First, by building stronger lean body mass (stronger muscles) you increase the rate your body burns calories while you are resting. The cardio aspect burns calories while you are performing the exercises.

Start at the top and work your way down the list and challenge yourself. Have fun doing it!