The website is chocked full of very valuable information including training methods, nutrition, how to deal with injuries, clothing and even how to pick the perfect pair of shoes. There are news stories on races and inspiring stories of other runners. I am encouraged by the number of older runners and so inspired to not only maintain but to pursue greater distance and longer times.

But the best feature of the website is the Training Log. You will need to register for this feature but it is the best on-line training log I have found. You choose to set the major aerobic exercise to run, bike or swim and then you are off. It records your time a distance in walking, running, biking and swimming. It displays the primary exercise on the home page by weekly totals and gives a graph of your daily totals. At the bottom are the totals of all the aerobic exercises you do with weekly totals and totals for the year. You can see your last 6 weeks of running so you have a minimum weekly distance to reach and a maximum to inflate your ego. you can also put in some of your strength training exercises. I keep track of my bench press, military press and squats with it.

You can also add other aerobic equipment as well. I have added rowing, climber and elliptical as well. This helps in increasing your distances. for instance, I simply look up what I last rowed and set the standards a little higher (longer time, faster pace, longer distance) so I am always getting stronger and better.

Tere is a complete Workout Summery that lists all the workouts that have been recorded. This gives a great complete record of all your efforts by time and distance. This is certainly a better tool that my old notebook records.

So sign up and set some goals. Strap on those shoes and go for it!

I have to confess that I never really understood this statement. I seemed to get a bigger and more cleansing breath with two or three short chest heaves for air. But in my training guide this was cautioned against and labeled as dysfunctional breathing. I now understand why it is counter-productive to the workout and that it leads to an inefficient oxygen supply to the cells.

The whole idea of fitness is that the body in movement works in a coordinated fashion, or in synergy. There is an intimate relationship between the cardiorespiratory system and movement (kinetics) of the body. Simply put, we need oxygen to move. Likewise, there is a synergy between natural breathing and postural alignment. In short, the way we breathe can lead to muscle imbalances relating to flexibility and tension. If we breathe with our chest the pattern is more shallow and uses, and over uses, the secondary respiratory muscles which play a major role in our posture alignment and balance. To aid in efficient use of oxygen and not put excessive tension on balance muscles we, and that goes for me too, need to practice proper natural breathing.

How do you know if you breathing right?

Improper breathing is the taking of quick shallow breaths primarily with the chest expanding. This shallow breathing pattern leads to overuse of the secondary muscles that assist in balance and posture. These secondary muscles are those in the chest, upper back and neck. Improper breathing is evident when a person tilts their head forward or leans their head down, Often they round their shoulders up and suck in two or three breaths.  If this is you then the result is failure to catch your breath, anxiety, stress possible chest pains and even head ache. Quite often this can lead to lower back pain and tightening of the small muscles in the lower back.

Correct breathing takes practice.

Correct breathing begins with using the predominant muscle for this function- the diaphragm. This is not located in the chest but actually below the rib cage. Now inhale deeply and while consciously expanding your lower abdomen, that is your stomach. One way to practice this is to lie down on the floor and relax while breathing normally. Notice the rise and fall of your tummy, not your chest. The diaphragm and deep abdominal muscle will releases the tension from our upper extremities and bring about better posture and no painful results. This will increase the consumption of rich oxygen through our cardiorespiratory system and so aid more efficient energy transfer during the workout. Correct breathing during physical activity will increase performance, improve body awareness, prevent injuries and lead to greater results. What is taught in the gym is practical for our everyday routine as well. We should be conscious of our breathing habits and integrate the proper methods into our daily routine. Take time several times a day to sigh, that is a deep abdominal cleansing breath. This will aid in relief of tension, get oxygen to the extremities. Blow up your abdominals and exhale by "hollowing out" your tummy. Two or three good breaths

'Right breathing' helps you to direct your energy to your center of gravity (Core) and out to your extremities. Brings awareness to our diaphragm, lower ribs, and lower back. Reveals the unnecessary tension in our muscles and allows fluidity. With each inhale expand your lower abdomen (navel area) and with each exhale allow your abdominals to 'hollow out' by imagining your navel touching your spine.

So what if you are strapped for time and cannot workout as much as you like. You might want to look into kettle bell training. This is a very intense workout using one piece of equipment that will help strengthen your muscles while conditioning your heart and cardiovascular system at the same time.

Also a simple strategy if you really cant fit much more into your schedule is to invest $20 in a pedometer. Shoot for 10,000 steps a day. While this isn't hard to achieve it may take some effort on your part, but considering you can incorporate this into your every day activities it does make a lot of sense.

If your looking for an edge to burn a few extra calories and cut your workouts down you might want to try a high intensity aerobic workout. There are different plans for these but essentially you go all out for a short stint like a minute followed by a moderate pace for another time period alternating this cycle over a period of about 25 mins. While you do not burn more calories initially doing this over lets say a 45 min to an hour moderate work out. If done early enough in the day. Your metabolism is raised much higher throughout the day and by the end of the day will have burned more calories!

Ich habe schon hunderte Diäten versucht seitdem ich schon 14 oder 15 war, hat manchmal geklappt, manchmal auch nicht, das einzige Problem war aber schon immer dass ich Sport, ich könnte fast sagen, gehasst habe. In der Schule habe ich immer versucht möglichst wenig zu den Sportstunden zu gehen, ich habe eine große Reihe von Ausreden benutzt, zu Hause habe ich auch nichts gemacht, außer PC und Fernsehn, und somit hat es auch nie mit dem Abnehmen geklappt. Doch irgendwann habe ich mich überwunden, es wenigstens zu versuchen, also bin ich ins Fitness-Studio gegangen. Leider war das für mich ziemlich langweilig, ist es übrigens immer noch, also habe wieder mal eine lange Pause gemacht, bis ich wieder realisiert habe, dass es so nicht mehr weiter ging. Ich fing an zu bemerken das mein Körper völlig schlapp war, ich hatte keine Energie, ich wollte den ganzen Tag nur herumliegen und nichts machen, ich konnte nicht mal mehr als 100 Meter laufen ohne völlig erschöpft zu sein. Das hat mir zu denken gegeben, und ich bin wieder im Fitness-Studio gelandet, doch dieses mal habe ich etwas anderes versucht, Aerobic. Aerobic verbrennt nicht nur Kalorien und verbessert die Ausdauer, sondern macht zugleich flexibel und beweglich. Ausdauersport verbessert die Herz-Kreislauf-Funktionen und reduziert das Körperfett. Der erste Monat war etwas schwierig, die ersten Tage konnte ich mich kaum noch bewegen, und beim Training war es sehr hart am Anfang mitzuhalten und nicht umzufallen, doch dann wurde es immer besser, und kaum zu glauben, es hat auch risiegen Spaß gemacht. In drei Monaten war ich schon fit, und die Anstrengung war ja auch nicht wirklich so groß, drei, vier mal pro Woche für eine Stunde Training. Außerdem kann man verschiedens versuchen. Etwas was mir auch sehr Spaß macht ist Tae Bo, das hat mir auch viel beim abnehmen und beim Muskelaufbau geholfen, und ich kann es auch jedem empfehlen.

Also wenn ich es geschafft habe, denke ich kann es jeder schaffen, man muß nur versuchen etwas finden das Spaß macht.

Cardio:

• A quick walk
• Skipping rope
• Jogging on the spot
• Burpees
• Intervals (walking and running between telegraph poles)

Strength:

• Squats
• Lunges
• The plank
• Tricep dips

Stretching

• Every night or every morning stretch your whole body:
• Stand up and touch your toes
• Roll your sholders backwards and then forwards
• Roll you r neck backwards and then forwards
• Lying down, reach up high and point your toes

Be creative! Walking to the kitchen to get a cup of tea or a glass of water? why not do walking lunges there and back! You can incorporate exercise into your daily routine very easily. You don't always need to go to the gym to get the best results, you can do it all at home.

Proper technique is essential when rowing so as not to injur your lower back and to become more efficient and produce better results.

The Start:

Your arms should be straight and relaxed with your body pressed up to the legs.

The Push:

With your arms remaining straight push the legs down as your body slides back.

The Finish:

Finish with the rowing handle by your abdomen and your legs straight.

Don't forget to set the rowing machine's resistance to a level that is a bit challenging but not overwhlming on your back, you may be tempted to set the resistance as high as possible to burn more calories in less time but you run the risk of injuring your back.

Working out using a rowing machine has many benefits:

1. Works out many muscles in your back, abdomen, arms and legs.
2. Rowing provides low impact motion.
3. Excellent all over muscle tone.
4. Increasing muscle mass.
5. Losing weight and burning calories
6. Raises heart rate and gets the blood flowing.

Have a look at the video provided here for proper technique when using a rowing machine.

In Part 1 of this series, I introduced you to Angela, a new client of mine.

Angela is beyond frustrated by her failed attempts to burn off her post-baby body-fat.

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In Part 2 of this series, I described the 3 paths that Angela needs to walk down if she wants to achieve successful and permanent weight loss.

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Path # 1 Nutrition

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Path # 2 Exercise

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Path # 3 Mental / Emotional / Spiritual Strategies

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In today's post, we will be looking at Path # 2: Exercise.

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In particular, we will be looking at:

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The Most Effective Training Methods for Fat Loss

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Some methods of training are more effective than others.

1.  The Best Methods:

• Elevate your Metabolism - Long Term
• Elevate your Metabolism - Short Term
• Burn Calories

2.  Secondary Methods:

• Elevate your Metabolism - Short Term
• Burn Calories

3.  The Least Effective Methods:

• Burn Calories

So, what does all of that mean?

The following section gets pretty detailed. If that doesn't interest you, skip ahead to the section labeled Let’s Put This Plan Together

THE SCIENCE OF METABOLISM

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How To Elevate Metabolism - Long Term

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Your Resting or Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy (measured in calories) that you burn simply by living...i.e keeping your heart beating, brain thinking, kidneys filtering, etc...

The amount of calories that you burn outside of your BMR (i.e exercise or the Thermic Effect of Food) is insignificant when compared to your BMR.

So, how do we increase BMR?

• Increase muscle mass
• Move to the Arctic...BMR increases to "warm them bones"
• Get sick...a fever will increase your BMR
• Stress...stress hormones can increase BMR

And the winner is:

Increase Muscle Mass

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And before any of the women reading this article say "I don't want to get big muscles", look at these ladies:

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All of these women lift weights.

You WILL NOT turn into Ms. Olympia if you lift weights.

REPEAT AFTER ME

"I will not turn into Ms. Olympia if I lift weights".

Sheesh.

There are a lot of teenage boys that wish they had as much muscle as Ms. Olympia

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How To Elevate Metabolism - Short Term

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When it comes to increasing your metabolism in the short term, we are looking at EPOC.

EPOC or Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption  is essentially a measurement of how quickly or slowly your metabolism (BMR) returns back to normal after exercising.

When it comes to fat loss, we want to focus on exercises and workouts that give us a very high EPOC.

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Burn Calories

This is where most people make their mistake. They hop onto the treadmill, enter their weight into the computer and start running, keeping one eye on the amount of calories burned.

WRONG

Activities that burn calories, but do nothing to increase your metabolism are next to useless in your fat burning battle.

Don't get me wrong. There is a huge health benefit to putting in the miles on a cardio machine, but when it comes to fat loss, you don't get much bang for your buck.

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THE BEST FAT BURNING TRAINING METHODS

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1.   High Intensity Resistance Training

High intensity resistance workouts are the superstars of this entire program. When performed properly, they elevate your BMR, drastically increase your EPOC and burn a fair amount of calories per workout.

Various studies have shown these types of workouts to:

• Increase metabolism for up to 36 hours post-workout...36 hours
• Drastically outperform diet and aerobic exercise in fat loss studies
• Maintain muscle mass in subjects on a Very Low Calorie Diet

The Details

High Intensity Resistance Training works best when you focus on:

• Total Body workouts
• Pushing yourself until your muscles burn with lactic acid
• Perform supersets, tri-sets, giant sets, etc...
• Compound exercises - squats instead of leg extensions
• Big muscle groups - legs, back and chest instead of arms and shoulders
• Performing sets of 5 to 15 repetitions

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2.   High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training (HIIT)

High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training will increase your EPOC drastically and burn a whole bunch of calories. It is not as effective as High Intensity Resistance Training at increasing muscle mass and BMR.

The main technical differences between High Intensity Resistance Training and High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training are:

• Lighter weights are used with HIIT training
• Rest intervals are minimized (30 sec. MAX) with HIIT
• EDTs and Circuit training are used instead of supersets
• Reps can be higher - larger range - 8-30 reps

Basically, you will be substituting speed for strength.

And how effective is HIIT (anaerobic) training?

9x more effective at burning body-fat than aerobic endurance training.

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3.   High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training

High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training replaces resistance exercises with traditional cardio activities like:

• Running
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Stair Master
• Rowing

High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training will also increase your EPOC and burn a whole bunch of calories. It is even less effective than High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training at increasing muscle mass and BMR.

Think of sprinting hills.

More info on HIIT can be found here.

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4.   High Intensity Aerobic Training

High Intensity Aerobic Training is simply hard, sweaty, painful cardio.

Think about rowing for 60 minutes without a break. Your lungs burning and your muscles aching.

High Intensity Aerobic Training burns a ton of calories, but doesn't increase EPOC significantly and hardly does anything to increase your BMR.

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5.   Low Intensity Aerobic Training

Low Intensity Aerobic Training is going for a walk.

It doesn't do much of anything for fat loss, but it is good for your heart and every calorie counts in this battle of the bulge.

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OK, Let's Put This Plan Together

First off, I realize that in today's society, time is precious. There are only so many hours in the day.

Angela has set aside 6 hours a week for her Fat Loss training Program.

• 2 1/4 of those hours will be spent on High Intensity Resistance Training - 3 x 45 min.
• 3/4 of an hour will be spent on High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training - 3 x 15 min.
• 1 of those hours will be spent on High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training - 3 x 20 min.
• 2 of those hours will be spent on High Intensity Aerobic Training - 2 x 60 min.

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What About You?

Take a look at your schedule. Really look.

If you have less than 3 hours of available time to exercise:

• Focus on High Intensity Resistance Training

If you have between 3 and 5 hours, divide your time between:

• High Intensity Resistance Training, and
• High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training

If you have between 5 and 6 hours, work on:

• High Intensity Resistance Training,
• High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training, and
• High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training

If you have between 6 and 8 hours, work on:

• High Intensity Resistance Training,
• High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training,
• High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training, and
• High Intensity Aerobic Training

If you have more than 8 hours, add in some Low Intensity Aerobic Training.

Conclusion

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Before you start any training program, please make sure that you can handle the punishment that you are going to put your body through. Seeing you doctor is always a good idea.

I shipped Angela off to her MD with a request for a bunch of blood tests. (Thyroid problems run in her family and her basal temperature is a little low)

Also, keep in mind that she has me hovering over her making sure that are running smoothly.

Better safe than sorry.

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In my next post, I will break all of this theory down into actual workouts.

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So get ready people. It's time to melt some blubber.

Stay tuned.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.
Thanks.

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Related Posts

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 4
• HIRT Exercise Descriptions
• Part 5

]]> http://curingbreath.wordpress.com/?p=3 Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:21:28 +0000 improvecure http://curingbreath.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/suffering-from-adult-asthma-symptoms/ Are you suffering from adult asthma symptoms? Wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and other lesser-known symptoms can certainly take their toll and have significant effects on daily life. Do you think you have asthma? It’s important to learn the signs and symptoms of an asthma attack, and to get it evaluated and under control as quickly as possible with minimal medical intervention. Asthma symptoms can vary greatly in severity from an occasional mild episode of shortness of breath to wheezing that persists despite the use of prescribed medications. The classic symptoms of an asthma attack include rapid breathing, wheezing on exhalation, shortness of breath, coughing, and chest tightness or pain. It can be very scary for the person having the attack, because to them it feels like they’re drowning, unable to catch a deep breath because it won’t go in.

Adult asthma symptoms usually progress over a period of hours or days, and occasionally the airways become more seriously inflamed or obstructed. At this point, it’s wise to schedule a visit to the asthma specialist for lung function tests and prescribed antibiotics and corticosteroids to get the excessive mucous and inflammation under control. A common cold can become a full blown respiratory infection in an asthmatic, which is why it’s important to recognize symptoms early and get treatment started right away. Understanding the underlying causes of allergies and allergy-related asthma is another important intervention that has been proven to reduce the number and severity of asthma attacks in a significant number of patients. Allergies are a common underlying factor, and once the allergies are addressed, the frequency of asthma attacks decreases as well.

Long-term relief medications for adult asthma sufferers are widely available, and usually consist of an inhaled corticosteroid taken twice daily and a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. Lots of information for treatment of adult asthma symptoms is available from local medical professionals including asthma and immunology specialists, so don’t hesitate to seek a professional evaluation and consultation. Over-the-counter medications are not recommended for the long term treatment of chronic asthma, and can have dangerous consequences for someone in a life threatening situation. With proper treatment, asthmatics take brisk walks, and take up running and other vigorous aerobic activity without asthma symptoms. Do you homework and learn more about asthma symptoms, treatment and underlying causes online at a number of sites dedicated to keeping asthma under control and to you living a healthy symptom-free life.

 by Susan Patterson
Losing weight is not easy.  Read the success stories of any of the hundreds of people who have lost weight, and they will tell you just how hard it is.  If you are serious about losing weight, it is a full-time job, and working out on the weekends only won’t cut it.  While it can be difficult to find time during a hectic work week to exercise, it is crucial to any weight loss program that you work out more than twice a week.  Devoting two days a week to exercise makes it more likely you will hurt yourself because your body is not used to it.  So how does one find time to exercise?  Check out the following suggestions to squeeze a little movement into your day.

Making use of your lunch hour is a simple way to give you time to exercise without making any changes.  If you have a whole hour, bring your lunch instead of eating out and take a walk afterwards.  Carry your walking shoes with you during your morning commute to solidify your commitment.  Walking after eating is not only a good way to start getting in shape, but it also aids digestion and can help avoid that sleepy feeling you get after a big meal.

Skip the elevator to add a little bit of aerobic activity to your day.  If you normally take the elevator, take the stairs, even if you work on the seventh floor.  Stair climbing is a great way to get in shape, and although a couple of minutes isn’t enough for you to experience any kind of quick weight loss, you will find yourself feeling a little more energized each time you do.  Try it several times a day for maximum impact, and if you are somewhere with escalators, don’t just stand there waiting to get to the top.

Ask the boss to bring fruit or other healthy food on donut day.  Everyone loves free food, but eating fatty food in the morning takes its toll on your waistline and your energy for the day.  Instead of munching on donuts in the morning, ask management to bring alternatives for those of you who prefer to eat healthier, or bring your own.  Appetite is the enemy of your weight loss.  If office snacking is a problem for you, consider using a natural appetite supplement like hoodia.  This will keep you in line as you walk by the weekly spread.

THE FIRST ORGANISMS known from the fossil records are bacteria. Ubiquitous today, bacteria are single-celled organisms that possess a cell-membrane and deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA - the chemical carrier of genetic information but lack a cell nucleus - that part of a cell in more complex organisms that function's as the cell's brain. The first bacteria lived-off organic compounds in the ocean water, but in-time some had evolved that had the capacity for photosynthesis (the process by which food is produced from sunlight).

The earliest fossils include Stromatolites, mounds or domes left by blue-green bacteria, or cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae), as they formed in mats in shallow water, trapping sediment in layers and living by photosynthesis. These organisms were active by 3,500-million years ago and become more common after 2,500-million years ago.

Stromatolites, today, grew in intertidal zones, between the high and low tide marks. If the same had been true in those earlier times, Stromatolites would have encountered much more powerful tides. Since the Moon was closer to Earth, tides would have flooded coastal areas a long way inland. However, bacteria are adaptable; evolving rapidly in response to environmental pressures, and could, even, have survived considerable buffeting. Stromatolites may have formed as they did in response to the Sun's heavy ultraviolent radiation. Their layers of mats, sediment and slime in those shallow waters may have shielded the bacteria from those rays.  

OXYGEN ABOUNDING

Bacteria, though, were making changes in the atmosphere that would profoundly affect the history of life and climate.

Before life emerged, the atmosphere had little or no free oxygen and the first bacteria were anaerobic, i.e. they did not require to oxygen to live. But, photosynthesis gives off oxygen as a waste product. The photosynthetic bacteria, thriving along the shores and even across the ocean surfaces, released large quantities of oxygen, though this did not go into the atmosphere straight away. First, it oxidised or combined with substances that had an affinity for oxygen, especially iron. Iron was then widely dissolved in the sea; as it became oxidised (or rusted) it settled to the ocean floor. Following this period of rusting, there was no-where else for the oxygen to go, and it passed into the oceans and into the air. By about 2,000-million years ago, oxygen had begun to accumulate in the atmosphere.

The change was momentous. Today's proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere - 21% - is essential to our survival and that of countless other aerobic (oxygen-breathing) organisms. This production of oxygen derives from the photosynthesising work of bacteria that, ironically, did not need the oxygen and indeed found it poisonous. Some bacteria died off; others found shelter in anaerobic habitats such as deep mud or decaying vegetation. But others adapted evolving into organisms that could shield their cellular machinery from oxygen and used the gas to release energy from food. Such aerobic respiration is more efficient than the anaerobic variety; and it caught-on, leading to a proliferation of new forms of life.

The accumulation of atmospheric oxygen was important for another reason - it led to the formation of an ozone layer. The Sun's ultraviolet radiation reacted with free oxygen (O₂) high in the atmosphere, producing ozone (O₃). Ozone is an effective shield against the most harmful ultraviolet radiation. This protection permitted the evolution of new organisms more complex than bacteria.

... Bacteria were making changes in the atmosphere that would profoundly affect the history of life and climate (Dowe, September 2008)

© Mark Dowe 2008: all rights protected

- Copyright is the currency by which information may be exchanged in certain instances. If you are unsure of your rights relating to digital communications you should seek independent legal advice.

The writer campaigns on behalf of WWF (Scotland) and is a holder of an M.Sc in Geography

Dengan Misi "menyediakan wadah bagi setiap orang yang ingin hidup sehat dengan memberi semangat, mencari ide, berbagi ilmu, pengalaman, informasi terbaru dan terpadu yang dibutuhkan untuk menjalani hidup yang sehat, serta membantu meraih diri sendiri sebagai kepribadian yang menarik.."

Juga didukung oleh instruktur-instruktur yang terampil dan berpengalaman dengan latar belakang pendidikan yang relevan.

Había dicho en casa que aquel año, seguramente por la crisis u otras complicadas tesituras empresariales, no iba a tener más remedio que trabajar y dejar de ir a las maravillosas vacaciones familiares que su mujer llevaba meses preparando. A ella por supuesto no le quedó más remedio que aceptar la situación y el mismo uno de julio salió por la puerta con un niño en cada brazo y la abuela delante, cargada de mochilas y maletas.

Él se pasó la primera semana literalmente tumbado en el sofá, pidiendo pizza y comida china y emborrachándose hasta quedarse dormido allí mismo. Su mujer llamaba todas las noches, y él trataba de parecer ocupado, hasta arriba de papeleos e informes, haciendo que ponía empeño en el engaño, pero quitándosela de encima cuanto antes.

La segunda semana del mes siguió haciendo exactamente lo mismo, pero en las terrazas del barrio. Por la noche evitaba coger el teléfono, lo último que le apetecía era inventarse una nueva y temprana reunión al día siguiente o algún otro recorte de personal que afrontar en la oficina. Cada uno de estos siete días se lo pasó observando en silencio los movimientos suntuosos de la mujer que atendía la barra del bar de debajo de su casa. Ella sonreía picarona cada vez que él se levantaba las gafas de sol para pedir una caña bien fresca, o cuando le dejaba más del veinte por ciento de propina.

Alguien le había dicho alguna vez que dar clases de aeróbic, aunque sonase ridículo, era lo mejor que podía hacer para adquirir un tono sano y parecer rejuvenecido en pocas semanas. Seguro que aquello la impresionaría. Así que a eso fue a lo que se dedicó durante la última quincena del mes. Hasta que el 30 de julio apareció su suegra por la puerta, ésta vez con los niños en los brazos, y su mujer detrás, cargada de maletas pero llena de energía vacacional recién recargada. Se sorprendió al alegrarse de verla. Parecía estar más guapa que cuando se había ido un mes antes, y encima lo primero que hizo al entrar fue alabar, sin ni siquiera una puya, el buen aspecto que tenía después de aquel duro mes de ordenador y despachos. Pero más se sorprendió cuando se dio cuenta que su mujer le había hecho olvidar, en menos de un minuto, a la voluptuosa señorita del bar de abajo y, ni más ni menos, había conseguido hacerle recuperar el amor que le precipitó al matrimonio unos diez años antes.

Así que el mismo uno de septiembre, se acercó al gimnasio a borrarse de las clases que ya no necesitaba. Entró en el aula para despedirse de los profesores, y satisfecho, se dispuso a volver al dulce hogar. Quién le iba a decir que a la salida del gimnasio se encontraría a su mujer, que discutía con el de la recepción, intentando convencerle para ocupar la vacante que él mismo acababa de dejar libre en la clase de aeróbic de las siete y media.

Más Aeróbic aquí

Currently, I am training for the Portland marathon. The original man who ran from the town of Marathon to Athens did so to deliver a message from the battlefield, "Victory". Upon delivering the message, he promptly dropped dead. This story and what I have experienced in my own training have demonstrated there is a huge difference between health and fitness.

Fitness is the ability to achieve a task, in this case a physical task. Health is all systems of the body working optimally together. A person can be extremely fit and have extremely poor health at the same time. Just because a person works out or exercises, does not mean they are healthy. Most people exercise in a way that establishes fitness and sacrifices health. This is why many elite athletes tend to have considerably shorter life spans.

Exercise is a stress to the body, and like other stresses, too much will decrease health and increase dis-ease. Unfortunately, because the task becomes easier with increased fitness, people perceive this as improved health. Continuing to exercise anaerobically can lead to multiple hormone imbalances, weakening of the heart, fluctuating blood sugar levels, and joint instability and pain.

A common misconception prevalent in our society is that more is better. For instance, many believe the heavier they breathe during exercise, the more aerobic the activity. This is not the case.

At a certain point, the enzymes that provide us with aerobic energy cannot keep up, and we are forced to switch to enzymes that provide energy anaerobically, despite the increased breathing. Our heart goes from burning fatty acids to glucose, which is normally reserved for the brain. This switch to anaerobic dominance means we become less efficient with our energy, as fatty acids contain over 50 times the energy as glucose when glucose is used anaerobically. Large amounts of stress hormones are released to try to maintain adequate glucose for the heart, skeletal muscle, and brain. The body has to work extremely hard to provide the energy to maintain the activity and does so by breaking itself down.

So what can a person do to exercise towards health? True health has a balance between the activity of the aerobic and anaerobic pathways. Because most people have neglected the aerobic pathway, they should do only true aerobic activity for 6 months to a year.

How can someone know if they are exercising aerobically or anaerobically? To ensure an aerobic heart rate, people should wear a heart rate monitor while they exercise.

How can someone determine their aerobic heart rate range? To find your ideal aerobic heart rate subtract your age from 180. This will give you the upper limit of the range. Now subtract 10. This gives you the lower limit of your ideal aerobic range. A more individualized formula is (220-age-Resting Heart Rate) x 0.8 + Resting Heart Rate = upper limit and (220-age-Resting Heart Rate) x 0.6 + Resting Heart Rate = lower limit. This latter formula should be used with any risks for heart disease. If you have any of the risks for heart disease, consult a naturopathic physician before you begin an exercise regiment.

Going above the top limit means a switch to anaerobic dominance. Falling below the bottom limit means not receiving all the optimal benefits of exercise. The goal is to stay within your ideal range. In the beginning, it will seem like you are going very slow. Over time, your pace will increase while your heart rate stays the same.

After 6 months to a year of aerobic exercise, begin 2-3 nonconsecutive days a week of anaerobic exercise in addition to 2-3 days a week of aerobic training. This balance will support health.

In addition to heart rate, the type of exercise, the duration of the exercise, and time of day the exercise is done must also be evaluated and tailored to each person's specific needs to promote health.

I didn't realize that I would experience the heat so quickly (I just created the blog on 8/22/08 ) from the folks who believe that low fat - high carbohydrate is the ONLY healthy lifestyle choice or that calorie retriction is the only proven method for safely loosing weight and improving health.

Now, on to the subject of exercise and physical performance while on a low carb diet.

Many, if not all of us who have adopted a low carb lifestyle or who are considering doing so, have been warned that carbs are an absolute necessity for physical activity. While it is true that glucose in the form of glycogen stores is the primary fuel of muscles, consumption of carbs is not the only mechanism for acquiring glycogen that our evolution has provided us.

Our biology and physiology has evolved over a million years or so, not on the agriculture of the past 10,000 years, but on a hunter gatherer diet relatively absent of any carbs that weren't found along the way. In other words, carbohydrate consumption was purely "opportunistic". In the absence of dietary carbs, our bodies have several mechanisms ingeniously adapted to providing us all the glucose in the form of glycogen that our bodies need from proteins and yes even fats - especially fats.

Most detractors of low carb consumption and physical activity will point to "a long list of published studies performed over the last century that links muscle glycogen stores to the ability to perform high intensity exercise." This perception has also been reinforced by "the clinical experience of many physicians, whose patients following low carbohydrate formula or food diets frequently complain of lightheadedness, weakness, and ease of fatigue."

However, the review of the studies done by Stephen D Phinney published in Nutrition&Metabolism indicate that

"Although high-carbohydrate diets might be more effective in short-term tests of high-intensity exercise, there are multiple clues in the published literature that the debilitating effects of ketogenic diets are overstated. Not only is there the demographic evidence that whole populations of people lived for millennia as hunters, but there are many reports of Europeans crossing over to live within the cultures of these hunting societies without apparent impediment."

In two ketogenic diet performance studies (one in a group of trained endurance athletes, the other in a untrained group), detailed in the link at the end of the post, both groups did experience a 

"lag in performance across the first week or two of carbohydrate restriction, after which both peak aerobic power and sub-maximal (60–70% of VO2max) endurance performance were fully restored. In both studies, one with untrained subjects and the other with highly trained athletes who maintained their training throughout the study, there was no loss of VO2max despite the virtual absence of dietary carbohydrate for 4–6 weeks.This whole-body measure of oxidative metabolism could not be maintained unless there was excellent preservation of the full complement of functional tissues including skeletal muscle (and mitochondrial) mass, circulating red cell mass, and cardiopulmonary functions."

One of the key factors that is consistently overlooked in the high carb vs. low carb physical performance debate is ADAPTATION. That's why the induction phase of all controlled carb/ketogenic diets is so important - particularly if you want to include moderate to intense physical activity in your health program.

"Adaptation
The most obvious of these is the time allotted (or not) for keto-adaptation. In this context, the prescient observation of Schwatka (that adaptation to "a diet of reindeer meat" takes 2–3 weeks) says it all. None of the comparative low-carbohydrate versus high-carbohydrate studies done in support of the carbohydrate loading hypothesis sustained the low carbohydrate diet for more than 2 weeks [5], and most (including the classic report of Christensen and Hansen [2]) maintained their low-carbohydrate diets for 7 days or less.

There are to date no studies that carefully examine the optimum length of this keto-adapataion period, but it is clearly longer than one week and likely well advanced within 3–4 weeks. The process does not appear to happen any faster in highly trained athletes than in overweight or untrained individuals. This adaptation process also appears to require consistent adherence to carbohydrate restriction, as people who intermittently consume carbohydrates while attempting a ketogenic diet report subjectively reduced exercise tolerance."

The conclusions of the studies found that

"submaximal endurance performance can be sustained despite the virtual exclusion of carbohydrate from the human diet. Clearly this result does not automatically follow the casual implementation of dietary carbohydrate restriction, however, as careful attention to time for keto-adaptation, mineral nutriture, and constraint of the daily protein dose is required. Contradictory results in the scientific literature can be explained by the lack of attention to these lessons learned (and for the most part now forgotten) by the cultures that traditionally lived by hunting. Therapeutic use of ketogenic diets should not require constraint of most forms of physical labor or recreational activity, with the one caveat that anaerobic (ie, weight lifting or sprint) performance is limited by the low muscle glycogen levels induced by a ketogenic diet, and this would strongly discourage its use under most conditions of competitive athletics."

OK, so how many of us are in truly competitive weight lifting or sprinting? Don't let a low carb lifestyle keep you from being active or from adopting a low carb program if you are active!

Here's the link to the complete text:
Nutrition&Metabolism:Ketogenic diets and physical performance

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If you haven’t made your own compost, you are missing out on a great project for the whole family. It will save you money, help the environment, and make you feel good when you scoop out that “black gold” and add it to your garden. Contrary to what some folks think, a compost pile should not be smelly. It will generally not attract animals either if you follow these five steps:

STEP ONE - Choose a Container

Composting is easy when you have a convenient place to keep your debris. The type of container you choose will depend on the space you have available and how addicted you get to composting. Be careful, it may take over your life.

Small Spaces. Even a small condo balcony will accommodate a composter. You can purchase small compost bins or make your own.

Backyard. Make a receptacle for composting out of almost anything: chicken wire, wood pallets, fencing, etc. We made ours by stacking concrete blocks and brick.

Plastic tumblers have gotten high praise for cleanliness and ease of use. We recommend planning for two compost piles, if you have the space. Once your main compost pile has decomposed and has begun the cooling down process, you’ll need a place for your fresh kitchen scraps and yard waste.

Kitchen. Keep a compost bucket handy. You won’t want to hike out to the compost pile every time you peel a cucumber, so make it easy on yourself.

STEP TWO - Mix the colors (Green and Brown)

To keep the heat up in your compost pile, you’ll need to add a mixture of green and brown debris. When adding kitchen scraps, dig a little hole in the pile for the scraps and cover them up. This will reduce the chance of animal visitation. The Cornell University composting website recommends a Carbon-to-Nitrogen ratio of 30 to 1. Too much Nitrogen accelerates decomposition but depletes oxygen. This can result in a smelly anaerobic condition. Try different ratios to see what works for you and remember to aerate the pile regularly to infuse it with fresh oxygen. This will keep it smelling as fresh as…well…compost. It's not a bad idea to throw in a couple shovels of soil from your garden. The microbes in your soil will get right to work.

Greens. Nitrogen is required by the beneficial soil bacteria responsible for most of the decomposition and heat generation in compost. Bacteria are 50% protein. Nitrogen is a critical component of protein. The Greens include: grass clippings, fresh soft prunings, weeds, spent flowers, green leaves, seaweed, old veggies and peelings.

Browns. Carbon is a basic building block and a source of energy to microbes living in your compost pile. About 50% of microbial cells is carbon. The Browns include: dried leaves, newspaper (run it through a paper shredder), cotton clothing, sawdust, dried grass/weeds, straw, hay, paper grocery bags, cardboard, coffee grounds. Starbucks gives the grounds away. They are a great source of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper.

Don’t Add: Dog/cat/human feces (herbivore feces are ok), oil (lettuce with salad oil for example), fat, grease, bones, dairy products, and diseased plants. These items don’t break down well, may add disease, and attract animals. Eucalyptus leaves and invasive weeds can be a problem if your compost doesn’t get hot enough. Eucalyptus can inhibit microbial activity and takes a lot longer to break down. We usually rake up the ‘Euc leaves, toss them in the recycle garbage can, and keep them out of our compost bins. Bermuda grass is thick in our area and lives on in a compost pile that is not kept hot.

TIP: A leaf shredder will pulverize the material, increase the surface area, and speed decomposition. Most fit right over a standard garbage can.

STEP THREE - Just add Water

Water is needed by the microorganisms that are working away on your compost pile. The material should be kept damp, not soggy.

• At 30% moisture, decomposition stops.
• At 35% - 40% moisture, decomposition is slow.
• 55% - 60% moisture is the upper limit and is good to start with. The heat generated will dry out the pile as it decomposes.

Too much information? You don’t have the composting bug yet...

STEP FOUR - Mix it up

This is an aerobic process. In other words, it requires oxygen. The pile needs to be turned in order to get the oxygen down into the material. We mix ours every week or so. Frequent turning of material will increase the rate of decomposition. This will also keep the pile from smelling. Sour smells generally indicate too much water and too little oxygen. Turning the compost also allows you to monitor the moisture level.

Mixing Tools:

Aerator – The twisting motion is easier on your back.

Pitchfork – You can move a lot of material quickly.

Spading Fork – Heavier than a pitchfork but works in a pinch.

Flat shovel – Good for removing the finished product.

STEP FIVE - Keep it hot

If you get crazy into composting you may want to monitor the temperature and closely manage the rate of decomposition. Maintain the temperature between 105° -149° Fahrenheit until the material is homogeneous.

Did you know that there are three phases of compost decomposition? Read on if you are starting to get excited about composting.

The Mesophillic phase occurs in the beginning for a few days as the temperature rises to about 104° Fahrenheit.

The Thermophillic phase may last up to a few months, but is generally much shorter for backyard compost piles. Temperatures range from 105° to 149° Fahrenheit. Don’t let the temp rise above 149° as it will kill beneficial microbes and reduce the rate of decomposition.

During the Cooling and Maturation phase, the material will cool and decomposition will cease. This may last up to several months depending on how aggressively you manage the composting process.

Managing your Compost Pile

A compost thermometer is a great tool for gauging the activity, but if you don’t have one, use your nose…

Smells Fresh - Keep doing what you’re doing.

Rotten Eggs - The oxygen has been depleted and that sour smell indicates that you have an anaerobic situation on your hands. Add some dry material and turn everything well.

Ammonia – The Greens outnumber the Browns. Add dry brown material and some soil from your garden, mix well and add water, if needed.

No smell, no heat, no change to the material - If it seems like nothing is happening you probably need to add greens and water. Then check the temperature in a day or so to confirm that you are back on track.

Got Ants? This generally indicates that the pile is too dry and probably too cold. Add water so that the pile is damp. Add greens if you still require more decomposition.

Screening - When your compost is ready, you'll probably need to screen it to filter out rocks, sticks, corn cobs, etc. We made a simple screen out of hardware cloth and scrap wood. It fits over a garbage can.

So, that’s probably more information than you want to know about compost. If I missed anything, please post a comment. Got a compost tip? Please share it with us!

A todos vosotros, a través de vuestros hijos, se os ha hecho llegar una relación de estas actividades junto con el boletín de inscripción, que son:

Para alumnos

Clases de atención a dificultades de aprendizaje

Las asignaturas que se van a impartir, en la Academia Cemys, son Matemáticas, Física, Química, Francés e Inglés, para todos los cursos de Primaria y Secundaria

La inscripción ha de realizarse en la propia Academia Cemys, presentando el justificantes de pago de la cuota de la AMPA, antes del 1 de octubre

Ajedrez

Dos días de clase a la semana, impartidas en el Colegio por un monitor titulado, con posibilidad de participar en torneos

El precio al mes es de 16 €

Natación / Gimnasia rítmica-jazz / Aeróbic infantil

Actividad posible mediante un concierto firmado con el Gimnasio Grandmontagne, donde os informarán de los horarios y se realizará la inscripción

Presentando una copia del justificante del pago de la cuota de la AMPA se obtiene un descuento del 15%

Para padres

Colegym

Diversas modalidades deportivas realizadas en el Gimnasio Grandmontagne que te distribuyes en uno o varios días a la semana, según conveniencia

La inscripción se realiza en el mismo gimnasio, donde os informarán de los horarios

Pilates

En esta actividad se unen la gimnasia y la relajación. Si no lo has practicado nunca, te animamos a que lo pruebes

Se realiza en el Colegio un día a la semana, de 16 a 17 horas

Se matiene el precio del curso pasado, 18 € al mes