Training to Run Long Distance

Are you hoping to run long distances and looking for a training routine you can use?

Here is a great graphic which shows a 9 week training program which will ready you for some long distance runs by using interval training to build up your endurance faster in the early stages.

5 Common Fitness Mistakes

Mistake #1: You Don't Balance Weights with Cardio
Finding the right balance between weight lifting and cardio can be tricky. Especially if you've been told a lot of misinformation from different sources. Weight trainers will be telling you that you can accomplish anything with weight training and that you don't need cardio. This is not only false, they're lying to you in an effort to get your business. By the same tune some cardio enthusiasts will be telling you that you should avoid weightlifting because it won't help you lose weight (which is partially true, weight lifting will help you add muscle [and weight] to your torso, but its not very good at shedding fat).

What you really want is a balance of both weight lifting and cardio. This can be accomplished via a variety of means and you will reap the benefits as follows.

A) Weight lifting protects your existing muscles and promotes muscle growth. You won't get much muscle growth however unless you are doing 3 things: 1. Lifting enough that it becomes painful and you feel muscles ripping. Ideally after a weight training session all of your muscles should be in a moderate to light degree of pain. Avoid over doing it because then you will need to rest longer to recover and will be back where you started by the time you are done resting. 2. Significant repetitions. If you are only lifting weights for half an hour it isn't going to make much difference. A full hour or 90 minutes is much better. 3. Diet. You need to be eating well and taking in enough protein, vitamins to be building the extra muscles you've just ripped. When people diet without lifting weights, research shows that 75 percent of their weight loss is from fat and 25 percent is muscle. That 25 percent may reduce your scale weight, but it doesn’t do a lot for your reflection in the mirror. However, if you weight train as you diet, your weight loss is more likely to be 100 percent fat. Think of it in terms of liposuction: The whole point is to simply remove unattractive flab, right? That’s exactly what you should demand from your workout.

B) Weight Lifting boosts your metabolism. Actually ALL exercise boosts your metabolism. Especially Interval Training. So what you need to be doing is alternating light activities with heavy weight lifting, mixing up your exercise routine. Doing so boosts your metabolism dramatically for 24 to 36 hours after the activity, according to some studies.

C) Cardio strengthens your heart. Want to know one of the leading causes of deaths for weight lifters / body builders? It is heart failure. Because of their over-emphasis on weight lifting they develop a weak heart. Combined with steroids use their heart becomes weakened to the point that it can't deal with too much stress and just sputters or quits. You need to balance weight lifting with cardio and build a stronger heart. Always remember that cardio means cardiovascular, meaning heart and blood pressure.

D) Running and Lifting both burn calories fast. Okay, so you want to cut the calories and fat from your waist. To do so you're going to need to burn calories on a daily basis. Ideally you want to be burning 1 lb per week so you don't end up with extra skin. It’s common knowledge that jogging burns more calories than weight training because most people don't have the endurance to weight lift for a whole hour. But if you alternate between weight lifting and jogging every 5 minutes during a workout you will find that you can maintain your rate of calorie burn at that pace. The alternating between the upper and lower parts of your body allows your muscles to recover a bit and your heart (and lungs) to catch up with the needed energy burn

Mistake #2: You Don’t Use the Right Dumbbells
A lot of women make this mistake. But so do a lot of men too. What happens is a lot of women get dumbbells which are super light weight and they're basically just going through the motions. It ends up being more like a cardio because the weight is so insignificant. Your goal is to challenge your muscles and you should be lifting a weight that if you do 10 repetitions it should start to be a struggle.

For men its the reverse. Many men try to lift the big dumbbells, but they're stopping at 5 repetitions. Lets say they're lifting 30 lb dumbbells with each arm and they stop at 5. So they only lifted 150 lbs total with each arm. In contrast if they used 25 lb dumbbells but did 20 repetitions the result would be 500 lbs with each arm. See the difference? Which one do you think burned more calories? Which one was actually more of a struggle?

Well you might think the 30, but the answer is actually the 25. After the 10th rep the 25 will start to become difficult and by the 20th rep it will "feel" like you are lifting the 30 lb dumbbell.

Its all about balancing the right amount of struggle with a larger number of repetitions.

Want to challenge yourself with your dumbbell routine? Try balancing in different poses and doing bicep curls.

Mistake #3: You Don’t Work Your Lower Body
To cut inches from your waist, make sure you’re working the muscles below your belt. In a Syracuse University study, people burned more calories the day after they did lower-body resistance training than the day after they worked their upper body. “Leg muscles—like your quads and glutes—generally have more muscle mass than those of your chest and arms,” says study author Kyle Hackney, Ph.D. (c), C.S.C.S. “Work more muscle during your exercise session, and your body has to expend more energy to repair and upgrade them later.”

So the best approach, of course, is to hit every muscle each workout. Both in terms of weight lifting and cardio. So you want to be doing jumping jacks or skipping to target both your upper and lower body, and you want to be doing some kind of weightlifting where you are lifting with your legs instead of your arms.

Mistake #4: You Don’t Watch What You Eat
You can’t exercise properly a bad diet.

You can eat a 1,000-calorie fast food burger in just 5 minutes, but it’ll probably take you several hours to burn that many calories with physical activity. So make sure you’re not using exercise as an excuse to eat whatever you want. Exercising and then pigging out on 500 grams (1.1 lbs) of bacon.

FACT: A 500 gram package of mild cured bacon contains 1900 calories and only 50 grams of protein. 20 slices of bacon may sound like a great idea when you're starving, but that many calories will go straight to your waistline.

Over-eating and sneaking snacks will sabotage your workout goals. Ideally what you want is three balanced meals and if you feel like you need a snack, eat a fruit. Find a fruit (eg. grapes) that you love and use that as your go-to snack when you feel the need for a snack.

Mistake #5: You Skip Workouts
We’re all busy, but that’s really just a lame excuse. Even busy people can find time to exercise.

Plus when was the last time you heard someone say they regretted their workout? But you will regret missing your workout if you fall off the exercise wagon and go back to your old routine.

U.K. researchers found that workers were 15 percent more productive on the days they made time to exercise compared to days they skipped their workout because they can concentrate easier. They were also 15 percent more tolerant of their coworkers and 15% less stressed. Hmm. There is probably a connection there.

Now, consider for a moment what these numbers mean to you: On days you exercise, you can—theoretically at least—accomplish in an eight-hour day what normally would take you nine hours and 12 minutes. Or you’d still work nine hours, but get roughly 10 hours worth of work done, leaving you feeling more productive, less stressed and happier with your job, another perk that workers reported on the days they exercised.

And you can find plenty of times to exercise. While gardening. While spending time with your kids. During your lunch break. Before work. After work. Before bed (a little hank panky counts as exercise if you are energetic about it).

Running - Calories Per Hour

Running burns a lot of calories in a hurry, although it really depends on how big you are and how fast you can run.

For the most accuracy its recommended you run around a track at a local school or park, that way you can accurately measure how fast you can run in an hour. You don't have to do this constantly, but it is nice to do once in awhile so you can get a measurement of how fast you are.

Using a watch start running and count each time you do a lap of the track. When the hour is done take your total number of completed laps, determine using math how many miles that was (eg. 24 laps on a quarter mile track = 6 miles), and then find the calories burned on the chart below. You can also find more detailed calories burned calculators online.

Remember to take Powerade or Gatorade with you and stop periodically and take 1 or 2 gulps before you resume running. You don't want to get dehydrated, but you also don't want to over-drink and become winded. Don't carry the bottle with you, leave it beside the track and stop there whenever you need a gulp.

Running on a track once per month for an hour and measuring/comparing your progress each month can become an excellent motivator to keep up your running routine. You will feel a great sense of accomplishment each month as you see you are getting faster.

Exercise & Calories Burned per Hour	130 lbs	155 lbs	180 lbs	205 lbs
Running, 5 mph (12 minute mile)	472	563	654	745
Running, 5.2 mph (11.5 minute mile)	531	633	735	838
Running, 6 mph (10 min mile)	590	704	817	931
Running, 6.7 mph (9 min mile)	649	774	899	1024
Running, 7 mph (8.5 min mile)	679	809	940	1070
Running, 7.5mph (8 min mile)	738	880	1022	1163
Running, 8 mph (7.5 min mile)	797	950	1103	1256
Running, 8.6 mph (7 min mile)	826	985	1144	1303
Running, 9 mph (6.5 min mile)	885	1056	1226	1396
Running, 10 mph (6 min mile)	944	1126	1308	1489
Running, 10.9 mph (5.5 min mile)	1062	1267	1471	1675

Boxing Testimonial

"Charles is enthusiastic about boxing and a patient teacher - taking the time to teach you the correct boxing stance and the different punch-types... it really is a strength building sport; doesn't take long to work up a sweat! Thank you, Charles, for teaching me to think defensively!"

- Norene W.

Boxing Testimonial

"Charles is very knowledgeable about the sport and is a very patient teacher. I was comfortable learning something new from him despite myself not being very good at it. He made the experience enjoyable and I would definitely recommend him if you are looking to take up boxing."

- Heather H.

Skipping to Fitness

Have you ever actually tried to workout by skipping rope?

Now I admit, most people haven't jumped or skipped a rope since Elementary School. A lot of people think of jumping rope as more of a game or a kid’s toy. Which is funny, because it takes a lot of energy to do and many adults have difficulty doing it. I think it is ironic because it is actually an extremely effective form of exercise that burns a lot of calories (hence why in Rocky films you see him skipping rope regularly).

Guaranteed almost everyone you know can take a brisk walk for 15 minutes... But try skipping rope for 15 minutes and the percentage of people who can jump rope for that long drops to about 1%. Most people would get too tired after just a few minutes.

Muscle Groups and Jumping Rope

So if skipping rope is so difficult, what muscle groups is it targeting?

The answer is just about every muscle in the body. Almost all of them, and even a few muscles you almost never use. Try jumping rope for 15 minutes and you will be sore in multiple, if not many, muscle groups. Especially in the calf muscles and abs. In fact, if you are really trying to get ripped abs, skipping rope will help you a lot. Your core muscles really gets worked hard since your abs have to contract to stabilize your entire body as it propels through the air... and its a cardio, so its good for burning a lot of calories and your heart muscles.

Jumping Rope Helps Release Human Growth Hormone

HGH is a hormone that your body releases naturally, which burns body fat like crazy while simultaneously promoting new tissue growth. Increasing your natural level of HGH in your body is your quickest route to burning body fat. Unfortunately, low intensity cardio won’t assist your body in releasing HGH. The proven way to increase HGH is to alternate high intensity cardio for 30 seconds followed by 30-60 seconds of rest…this is known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Jumping rope is a great way to get that high intensity and release HGH.

Tips on Purchasing a Jump Rope

A good rope will cost you $10 to $15, and you can even get a “Speed Rope” at sporting goods stores. They are basically plastic ropes without the beads. Look for one which is adjustable.

How to Adjust your Jump Rope

1. Place your rope on the ground.
2. Stand on the midpoint of the rope (an equal distance between the handles).
3. Grasp the handles and pull them up to your chest.
4. The top of the handles should reach about 6 inches below the collarbone (never as high as the collar bone or as low as the upper abs).
5. Adjust the rope so it is the correct length.

Note: With time and experience you may decide to shorten it a bit more.

Learning the Skills of Jumping Rope

If you remember doing this as a kid, maybe this part will be easy. But if your memory is foggy then you will need to work on it and hopefully some muscle memory will come back.

Most beginners “double bounce” with both feet during rotations. This actually allows them to rest their core a bit as well as their calf muscles in between rotations and means that they have a low level of core fitness. You will want to jump cleanly in between each rotation and keep the abs and core tight. As you progress you will want to try doing more difficult things like alternating feet and so forth.

Your arms should barely move when you jump rope. The rotation of the rope should come from wrist movement. If you want to increase the speed of the rotations, simply increase the tightness of the circles that your wrist is making (this will make more sense when you start jumping rope). The goal is to eventually work up to a point where you can jump rope for 5 minutes solid without having to stop and start again. This means that if you have to stop because the rope hits your feet, you have to start again from zero. You also want to be able to jump rope alternating feet, so it looks like you are running while jumping rope.

A Sample 15 Minute Jump Rope Workout

1. Stand in front of a clock or timer of some sort - Jump Rope for 3 minutes to warm up
2. Rest for 30 seconds
3. Jump rope as quickly as possible for 60 seconds
4. Rest for 30 seconds
5. Jump Rope as quickly as possible for 60 seconds
6. Rest for 30 seconds
7. Repeat this alternating pattern for 15-20 minutes

If you want to jazz it up you can try alternating feet, spinning the rope twice for every jump, going as fast as you can, or even endurance jumping... like 60 minutes or something equally intense.

What to do when you can't afford a Personal Trainer

So what happens when you're on a tight budget and you can't afford a personal trainer?

Well, luckily humans have been exercising for millions of years before personal trainers appeared and there are quite a few frugal ways to get by without them. So certainly we can come up with lots of things you can do on a budget of $100 or less.

1. Don't buy anything that's going to gather dust.

It doesn't matter whether you have $100 to spend or a million. You should only buy what you know you will use. So don't blow your entire exercise budget on a gadget on late-night TV. Think smaller, think variety, think of getting 20 different things for $5. Everything from skip ropes, dumbbells, a climbing rope, a football, yoga mat and more.

2. Look at what you already have.

Before you even open your wallet, explore your home and look at what items you already have. Rope? Gardening tools? (Gardening is a great source of exercise.) Cans of food and jugs of laundry detergent can replace dumbbells. You can use chairs for exercises like push-ups and dips, and a towel for resistance training with a partner. A homemade jump-rope, crafted from rope or cord. You might even find things you forgot about that you wanted to use but never got around to it: Rollerblades, that old bicycle that just needs some oil and the brakes adjusted, or that hatchet you bought for axe throwing (a growing sport).

3. Embrace DIY.

What you don't have, make for cheap. You don't need a $50 chin-up bar when any old bar will do. Old paint cans and a metal bar can be used for weights. Tennis balls for self-massage. Even just lifting the old broken air conditioner and carrying it up and down stairs repeatedly will be exercise.

4. Buy the basics.

A lot of simple equipment can be found for not much money. Plain dumbbells typically go for about 50 cents to $1 per pound of weight. Men can start with a range between 12 and 25 pounds, while women can buy some in the 5-to-20-pound range. Inflatable stability balls and hard medicine balls cost less than $25, depending on the size and weight. Adjustable chin-up bars that fit in doorways can be more pricey, but if you look for sales you can get them for less.

5. Harness technology.

Amazon.com has a range of DVD bestsellers for exercise, but again only buy what you will use. If in doubt stick to YouTube videos as there are thousands of them offering a variety of workout videos. Don't forget interactive video games like Dance Dance Revolution or Wii Fit if you have those kicking around in your closet too.

6. Invest in some home improvement.

Go buy a large $20 mirror so you can look at your exercise form in your living room while exercising.

7. Don't forget your shoes.

Buy a pair of running shoes that fits you well and is appropriate to your activity, not the most expensive brand. Look for durability if you're planning to put these shoes through the mud and slush by jogging daily.

8. Scrap equipment entirely.

Go to a park and see your gym budget go to zero. Use the monkey bars and other things meant for kids to do your chin-ups. Stand on rocks to challenge your balance, and use other rocks as weights. Hang from a tree branch to do chin-ups. Sprint across the grass. People have been exercising for thousands of years without equipment. The great outdoors is the biggest gym in the world.

9. Browse Craigslist.

You can find lots of cheap (and barely used) exercise equipment on Craigslist.

Of course having the equipment won't really matter if a person lacks motivation to exercise. That is why personal trainers become so important.

Eating Healthy in a Hurry

Many people lead very hectic schedules and thus have a hard time matching their desire to eat healthy with their daily routine. If you find yourself in the same boat here are three easy meals that can be prepared in 10 minutes or less.

 

Behold, three recipes for Eating Healthy in a Hurry
 

1. Eggs and Veggies with Salsa on a Tortilla
 

Frozen vegetables are your friend! A mix of different vegetables should be added to a small pan until they are heated for 4-5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of eggs or egg whites (2 Tbsp) and cook an additional 2 minutes turning once. Cut a piece off the omelet and add it to a tortilla or whole grain toast. Add salsa, pepper or whatever seasoning you prefer, eat and enjoy! The extra omelet on the side makes it seem like you are eating more than you really are so you end up feeling satisfied.
 

2. Cottage Cheese Fruit Bowl

Frozen fruit is also your friend! This one requires a little more planning ahead. The night before put about 1/2 - 1 cup of frozen fruit or berries of your choice in a bowl and cover on the counter. In the morning add 1/2 - 1 cup of cottage cheese. Ground flax can also be added for more texture, healthy fat and fiber. Makes a surprisingly filling breakfast. Best of all it's high protein!

3. Veggie + Protein Stir Fry

Looking to reduce your carbs intake? It's not a bad idea to have a low carb meal every once in a while. Add a generous amount of veggies to the pan and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Add your protein of choice (leftover chicken, tofu or even roasted ham works really well) and a tsp of soy sauce, or a preferred cooking liquid (I like Worcestershire sauce), and cook until done.

All of these quick and easy meals are under 300 calories. They are low in fat and high in protein. Huzzah!

The Importance of Positive Attitude when Exercising

Have you ever been in a fight?

Like a real fight. The kind where someone gets a black eye or a split lip.

Maybe.

Now imagine getting into a fight and thinking you are going to lose. Once you get into that mentality that you're going to lose, it becomes pretty much guaranteed that you're going to lose.

The same idea applies to all exercises. Losing weight or gaining muscle is a bit like being in a fight, metaphorically speaking. If you think you are going to lose the battle and fail, you will fail.

Therefore if you're going to embark on an exercising regimen you need to first foster a positive attitude. Its a must-have.

For me, my source of positivity is zen philosophy. Books like "The Unfettered Mind" and "Zen Bow, Zen Arrow".

But for those you without such handy books, you can also look for inspirational quotes online. Like the following:

"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it's successful outcome." -William James

"To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you?re not, pretend you are." -Muhammad Ali

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances." -Martha Washington

"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind." -Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Organic food doesn't make any difference, says scientists

Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for your health?

Well, yes and no.

The theory goes that eating organic foods will contain less or no pesticides. However organic foods are often genetically modified to create their own pesticides, thus killing any insects or pests that normally bother them. So instead of pesticides on the skin of the fruit or vegetable (which are usually washed off before selling), the pesticides will be INSIDE the plant itself. Which means you can't wash it off and you are eating it.

So determine which was really more healthy Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out — and concluded there’s little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few minor differences involving pesticides and antibiotics.

Eating organic fruits and vegetables can lower exposure to pesticides, including for children, but it still has pesticides in it. The difference between organic and non-organic was negligible. The amount of pesticides measured from conventionally grown produce is within safety limits, the researchers reported in August 2012.

The organic food didn't prove to be any more nutritious either.

“I was absolutely surprised,” says Dr. Dena Bravata, a senior research affiliate at Stanford and long-time researcher of organic foods who began the analysis because so many of her patients asked if they should switch to organic food.

“There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over conventional foods,” she explained, citing everything from environmental concerns to taste preferences, Bravata stressed. But when it comes to actual health reasons, “there isn’t much difference.”

So really the end result is that organic food isn't healthier.

And the environmental concerns is really about whether the pesticides are killing insects. Which if the organic food has been genetically modified, then yes, its still killing insects. And since 90% of organic foods are GM and there is no labels identifying which are GM, chances are likely that if you bought organic food that it contains GM pesticides.

So the last thing then is taste... In which case, if both organic and non-organic foods have pesticides either on the skin or inside the plant, isn't taste really just inside our head? Like a placebo telling us "This tastes better because its a Brand Name".

Well, there is one notable difference.

Bravata's team of researchers discovered a difference with respect to antibiotic-resistant germs, which are a public health concern because they are harder to treat and cause food poisoning. According to the research there was no difference in plant contamination, both organic and non-organic has the same contamination levels.

The difference was solely in non-organic chicken and pork which had a 33% higher rate of having bacteria which is resistant to multiple antibiotics, the researchers reported in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

The finding comes amid debate over feeding animals antibiotics, not because they’re sick but to fatten them up. Farmers say it’s necessary to meet demand. Public health advocates say it’s one contributor to the nation’s growing problem with increasingly hard-to-treat germs (which in turn is why we are getting increased problems with influenza epidemics in recent years). According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest there has been 24 outbreaks linked to multi-drug-resistant germs in food between 2000 and 2010.

The American government has begun steps to curb the nonmedical use of antibiotics on farms, but it is difficult to track whether farmers are complying.

Genetically modified organic foods account for 4.2% of retail food sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It certifies products as organic if they meet certain requirements including being produced without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, or routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones.

Consumers also pay a lot more for organic products and demand keeps rising: Organic foods accounted for $31.4 billion sales in 2011. Up dramatically from $3.6 billion in 1997.

Canada has also seen a similar surge in organic food sales. The value of organic food products sold in Canada was estimated at $2 billion in 2008, up 66% in just two years, according to Agriculture Canada. Organic food sales represented 2.5% of total food sales at the retail level in 2008. (More recent data isn't yet available in Canada.)

The Stanford team analyzed data on 237 of the most rigorously compared organic and conventional foods. The results from organic produce ultimately had 30% less pesticides. The difference between organic and non-organic is negligible.

Part of the problem may be more complicated than we think. According to one study of peaches in Chile some fruits and vegetables can end up getting pesticide residue on them from the spraying of nearby fields. So even though the fruit you buy might be labelled organic, it still may have pesticide residue on their surface too, in addition to GM pesticides inside the plant.

Whether this varies from country to country is debatable. Some people would argue that buying organic produce from the USA or Canada is safer, but that isn't a guarantee either because American/Canadian farmers often can afford higher grade (more deadly) pesticides and just because its grown in North America doesn't mean that there isn't another farm next door that is spraying pesticides willy-nilly.

Some farms that aren’t certified organic have also begun selling antibiotic-free meat or hormone-free milk, to address specific consumer demands, notes Bravata. She even cites her own preference is to buy from local farmers in hopes of getting the ripest produce with the least handling.

Conclusions

So is it worth it to spend twice the money on organic food just because it has 30% less pesticides?

Well, let me put it another way. How far was that food shipped? Do you know what it was shipped in? If it is fresh produce from Africa or South America it was sent here by a cargo plane, which means it is using jetfuel (which contributes to global warming) just to get here. The jetfuel comes from petroleum, which means a lot of it comes from the Middle East. War torn countries like Iraq. What was that about not wanting to hurt the environment or living creatures?

If people are serious about buying fresh produce that won't hurt their "karma" they need to be thinking LOCAL. It will still have pesticides in it, as we've already determined, but at least then the only environmental damage is a trip in a truck to the local market.