Running Bric-a-Brac: Where your pain is, that's where your life is- "the boiling point of life"
Exercise is no
longer an option; it's a necessity:
Our bodies evolved to be active & labor vigorously to survive. Most of us don't
have to do physical labor these days, don't have to walk a lot or even get up to
change the channel. Therefore, we must balance our technology with "fake work"
in the gym. We are, in essence, an advanced technological society of spacemen
walking around in the primitive bodies of Neanderthals. Our minds are doing just
fine, but as a society we're starting to struggle with keeping the "meat" going.
WESTERN STATES ENDURANCE RUN 100 mile
Summary -
-Running is movement along a horizontal plane, not up and down!
-Center of gravity should always be forward
-Strides should make very light “fwap, fwap, fwap” sounds NEVER loud CLUNKS!
-Foot-strikes, transitions and push off should happen very quickly, try to
spend as less time as you can on the ground
-You should always land on the mid-section of the foot. This allows
utilization of all three lower body joints
-Back should be straight and your chest should be out
-Arms should be loosely held at 90 degrees and should be very relaxed
-Look forward! Not at the ground. There's a lot to look forward to ahead
-Breathing should be in rhythm and synchronized with your strides. It too
should feel relaxed and easy no matter what obstacles you may have (asthma
or equivalent)
-Run outside! There's a lot to enjoy!
"A
great analogy I like to use is comparing a marathon runner to a
sprinter. Marathon runners do a ton of long distance, steady state work, and
yet still average anywhere from 11 to 14% body fat (still somewhat lean, but
not very muscular at all. Many of them still have the "skinny-fat" look).
On the other hand, sprinters do anywhere from 10 to 120 seconds of "work"
and yet average 6 to 8% body fat. Just goes to show that short, intense bursts of energy (anaerobic work) is generally far superior to
longer, less intense bursts of energy (aerobic) when taking body composition
into consideration."
Runner's high: 'It's the release of a hormone, beta-endorphin, which is structurally very similar to the drug morphine. If you've ever had surgery you know how good it feels to be on morphine. It's very addictive. If you've ever talked to an endurance athlete you know that they freak out if they miss a workout. These endorphins are released and they give you a sense of well-being. When an athlete gets back from his run, he's feeling good, he's addicted to that feeling.'
When you're working at 65% of maximum heart
rate, it's like a high rep/low weight set. Your leg muscles and
your heart will be getting most of their energy needs from the
Aerobic Glycolysis/Oxygen System
where energy is supplied by the breakdown of carbohydrates & fats. This is why
it is called a "fat burning" workout. It builds endurance in both your legs and
your heart.
When you go up to 85% of maximum heart rate, it's more like a
low rep/high weight set. Your leg muscles will be getting most of their
energy needs from the Anaerobic Glycolysis/Lactic
Acid System where energy is supplied by the partial breakdown of
carbohydrates. The carbohydrate which is used is either stored glycogen (the
storage form of glucose) in the muscles, glucose which is circulating in the
blood or glycogen stored in the liver which is converted to glucose and then
enters the bloodstream to be carried to the muscles. Lactic Acid is formed as a
waste product of glycolysis and will cause fatigue if not dispersed. Working at
this level builds the capacity to work at a higher level (basically strength).
By using intensity interval training, you can work both systems in the same
session. Start at 65% for 90 seconds, then go all out for 30 seconds. Then drop
back to 65% for another minute and a half and then all out again for another 30
seconds. Repeat the cycle 15 times for a total of 30 minutes and you'll have
done both types of workout in the same session.
It is useful to note that intensity interval training burns more calories than
the so-called "fat burning" workout and those calories have to come from
somewhere. In other words, during the recovery portion of the workout (90
seconds at low intensity) you'll be converting more fat to energy than you would
be if you were doing the whole workout at low intensity even though you go
anaerobic during the all out times. This type of training also raises your
metabolism for longer periods after you stop working out than does low level
training.
Start your workout at the 65% pace/difficulty and then return to that level after each burst regardless of your actual heart rate. As you become more fit, your heart rate will drop more quickly. In fact, your cardiac recovery rate (along with your resting heart rate) is one of the best ways to measure your level of fitness. Taking your resting heart rate (your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning) is also a good way to gauge overtraining. If your resting rate starts to go up, you may be overtraining.
In very intensely trained athletes, the
anabolic hormones (testosterone) tend to decrease while the catabolic
hormones (cortisol) tend to increase. This phenomenon is present in most
endurance athletes and can manifest in weight trainers who do a high volume
of exercise. This imbalance can lead to muscle loss, performance decrements,
depression, and fat gain.
Several supplement strategies can be employed in an attempt to correct this.
In a study done by Steve McGregor, Tribex supplementation increased the free
testosterone to cortisol ratio in elite cyclists. This indicates it may be
useful in balancing the anabolic and catabolic hormones.
Tribulus Terrestris, a very unusual, very powerful herb that has been shown
in numerous studies to elevate testosterone levels.
Avena Sativa, a plant that has chemical properties that increase the levels
of free testosterone in the body.
In addition, supplements like vitamin C, phosphatidylserine, and plant
sterols may help prevent exercise induced increases in cortisol levels.
if you don't replenish glycogen rapidly, your
performance will suffer next time you train and you may even lose some
muscle along the way. Achieving the most rapid replenishment of muscle
glycogen stores is especially important to my endurance athletes because
they often train several times per day. However this can also help those
training for bodybuilding as bodybuilding training (9-12 reps) often can
deplete muscle glycogen.
'Current recommendations for endurance athletes have therefore changed to include protein. Eating every 2 hours is still recommended, but now endurance athletes are encouraged to consume 0.8 g of carbs per kg of bodyweight in combination with 0.4 g of protein / kg of bodyweight. This means that a 154 lb endurance athlete should be consuming 56 g of carbs and 28 g of protein at each meal: right after training, and 2, 4, and 6 hours after training.'
Best Time for Burning fat
When is the best time of day to do your aerobic exercise? The answer is any time! The most important thing is that you just do it. Continuous cardiovascular exercise, such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, or cycling, sustained for at least 30 minutes, will burn body fat no matter when you do it. However, if you want to get the maximum benefits possible from every minute you invest in your workouts, then you should consider getting up early and doing cardio before you eat your first meal - even if you're not a "morning person."
Early morning aerobic exercise on an empty stomach [CC note- RISKY- Caution!] has three major advantages(CC-???) over exercising later in the day: CC note: Fasted cardio will burn to much Muscle while burning the Fat- But be sure to ingest 10-20 g Protein before Morning Cardio!!!Early in the morning before you eat, your levels of muscle and liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) are low. If you eat dinner at 7 p.m and you eat breakfast at 7 a.m., that's 12 hours without food. During this 12-hour overnight fast, your levels of glycogen slowly decline to provide glucose for various bodily functions that go on even while you sleep. As a result, you wake up in the morning with depleted glycogen and lower blood sugar - the optimum environment for burning fat instead of carbohydrate. How much more fat you'll burn is uncertain, but some studies have suggested that up to 300% more fat is burned when cardio is done in a fasted, glycogen-depleted state.
So how exactly does this work? It's quite simple, really. Carbohydrate (glycogen) is your body's primary and preferred energy source. When your primary fuel source is in short supply, this forces your body to tap into its secondary or reserve energy source; body fat. If you do cardio immediately after eating a meal, you'll still burn fat, but you'll burn less of it because you'll be burning off the carbohydrates you ate first. You always burn a combination of fat and carbohydrate for fuel, but depending on when you exercise, you can burn a greater proportion of fat relative to carbohydrate. If doing cardio first thing in the morning is not an option for you, then the second best time to do it would be immediately after weight training. Lifting weights is anaerobic (carbohydrate-burning) by nature, and therefore depletes muscle glycogen. That's why a post lifting cardio session has a similar effect as morning cardio on an empty stomach.
The second benefit you'll get from early morning cardio sessions is what I call the "afterburn" effect. When you do a cardio session in the morning, you not only burn fat during the session, but you also continue to burn fat at an accelerated rate after the workout. Why? Because an intense session of cardiovascular exercise can keep your metabolism elevated for hours after the session is over. If you do cardio at night, you will still burn fat during the session, so you definitely benefit from it. However, nighttime cardio fails to take advantage of the "afterburn" effect because your metabolism drops like a ton of bricks as soon as you go to sleep. While you sleep, your metabolic rate is slower than any other time of the day.
Burning more fat isn't the only reason you should do your cardio early. The third benefit of morning workouts is the "rush" and feeling of accomplishment that stays with you all day long after an invigorating workout. Exercise can become a pleasant and enjoyable experience, but the more difficult or challenging it is for you, the more important it is to get it out of the way early. When you put off any task you consider unpleasant, it hangs over you all day long, leaving you with a feeling of guilt, stress and incompleteness (not to mention that you are more likely to "blow off" an evening workout if you are tired from a long day at work or if your pals try to persuade you to join them at the pub for happy hour.)
You might find it hard to wake up early in the morning and get motivated to workout. But think back for a moment to a time in your life when you tackled a difficult task and you finished it. Didn't you feel great afterwards? Completing any task, especially a physically challenging one, gives you a "buzz." When the task is exercise, the buzz is physiological and psychological. Physiologically, exercise releases endorphins in your body. Endorphins are opiate-like hormones hundreds of times more powerful than the strongest morphine. Endorphins create a natural "high" that makes you feel positively euphoric! Endorphins reduce stress, improve your mood, increase circulation and relieve pain. The "high" is partly psychological too. Getting up early and successfully achieving a small goal kick starts your day and gives you feelings of completion, satisfaction and accomplishment. For the rest of the day you feel happy and you feel less stress knowing that the most difficult part of the day is behind you.
So, you say you're not a morning person? Take heart; neither am I. I can sleep in like you wouldn't believe! But I get up anyway because I know the effort is worth the results. When I have a bodybuilding goal that I am clearly focused on, such as reaching 4% or 5% body fat for a competition, I'm on my Stairmaster for 45 minutes every morning at the crack of dawn without fail. Sure it's a challenge at first, but you know what? After a few short weeks, It's no longer a chore and I'm "in the groove" - and you will be too. Just try it. Make a commitment to yourself to do it for just 21 days. Once those 21 days have gone by, you'll already be leaner and you'll be on your way to making morning workouts a habit that's as natural as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Once you start getting used to feeling that buzz, you'll become "positively addicted" to it. The more you do it, the more you'll want to do it. Before you know it, early morning cardio will your new habit; you'll be leaner, your metabolism will be faster and you'll feel fantastic all day long!
CALCULATE TARGET HEART RATE ZONE
To perform aerobics effectively you need to calculate your target heart rate zone. To do this subtract your age from 220 to find out your maximum heart rate, so if a person is 30 years old then:
Maximum heart rate.. 220 - 30 = 190 beats per minute
Then multiply your maximum heart rate by 65%:
190 x 65% = 123.5 beats per minute
123 beats per minute will be the lower range of the zone.
Now work out your higher range by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 85%:
190 x 85% = 161.5 beats per minute
The example reveals a target heart rate of 123 - 161. When exercising the heart rate should be within your own range at all times and to burn more fat you should exercise within the lower range. Exercising at the lower range enables the body to take up enough oxygen so the cells can utilize stored fat. If you workout within the higher range of the zone but you will burn more calories however most will be in the form of carbohydrates and less total fat.
You can check your heart rate while exercising
by gently placing your index and middle finger on the inner part of the wrist.
Now count how many beats in 10 seconds and times the number by 6.
However, I would recommend using
an automatic heart rate monitor
so
you can concentrate more on exercising.
Nutrition for energy
In order to lose weight good nutrition is important it helps optimize the body's energy system to work efficiently so exercise can be more effective. When people try to lose weight many reduce their food intake dramatically, eventually the nutritional status becomes low. As the body burns fat or carbohydrates the cells require essential nutrients to complete the chemical process. An imbalance in the nutritional state very often affects energy levels, the result is we may feel low and drained of energy!
Obviously the muscles don't become paralyzed from deficiencies in certain vitamins or minerals but an imbalance can affect us in different ways. Have you ever had that feeling where you want to get up and exercise to lose weight but your body just don't seem to want to know, you begin to workout and within five minutes you feel drained or even faint!
Nutritional Facts
Many of the B vitamins are required for the process of energy metabolism. If a reduced calorie diet does not provide enough B vitamins the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates may be affected and result in a feeling of lethargy.
Vitamin C not only helps fight resistance to infections it also helps repair and maintain muscle tissue and blood vessels. Stronger lean body tissue is essential in order to exercise long enough to burn sufficient calories for permanent weight loss.
Its not necessary to buy tons of vitamin and mineral pills just to ensure you obtain all essential nutrients. Taking one multi-vitamin pill each day should be plenty to help keep up energy levels so you can exercise effectively, however if you decide to take any supplements do remember to consult with your doctor before taking any.
Sufficient quality protein is also necessary to limit loss of lean body tissue when losing weight. The less lean tissue loss the less a reduction in the basal metabolic rate.
Proper nutrition means providing all the components - protein, carbohydrate, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. The body can last for a long time on a calorie reduced diet but requires a regular supply of essential nutrients to help the body use stored energy - body fat!
Fast food facts for McDonalds
Hash browns "weight for weight" contain more fat and calories than a cheeseburger or Big Mac.
Mcdonald's regular milkshakes have less than 10 grams of total fat - the calorie content is high due to added sugar
there are more calories in a large portion of French Fries than in 9 Chicken McNuggets
a double sausage & egg McMuffin contains more calories and fat than any other single breakfast item
the hamburger has the lowest fat and calories out of all McDonalds burgers
the new Big Tasty third-pounder burger now has far more fat and calories than any other single item
a large chocolate donut contains more fat and calories than any other desert item
Success is getting what you want, Happiness is enjoying what you have
