Beach Fitness

UFC Diets Part I

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:03:19 +0000

These beasts of men battle it out in the octagon, but what fuels these savage men? This is a series of articles inquiring into just that. What do UFC fighters diets consist of?

Houston Alexander

Houston Alexander has never been a fan of diets. As he says it, “I have a rule: I’m never going to diet.” However, despite this belief of his, he does support and has recently been involved with a nutritional company called 8-Ball Nutrition. 8-Ball Nutrition is a manufacturer of dietary supplements that is a subsidairy of FSI Nutrition based out of Omaha, NE. “There’s a nutrition company called 8-Ball Nutrition, a locally based nutrition company, but you can find their stuff worldwide. And with all the training that I do, you’ve got to put the nutrition back in your body. I just started using them back in April.”
Besides having no diet and these supplements, Alexander says that he eats a lot of chicken, a lot of pasta and as he puts it, “just eating right.”

Micheal Bisping

Micheal Bisping has recently changed his training and preparation from Team Quest in England to training in Hawaii. With this change in location came a change in his diet. “I eat a lot of suchi and fresh fish because that is the most available thing here.” Bisping says. Being on a tropical island abundant in fish has been a difference nutritionally for him. “Now that I eat properly I can really see and feel the difference. It’s harder to eat like crap out here and everything is so fresh and lean.”

Wanderlei Silva

“Yes, I pretty much eat what I like. I eat ice cream, chocolate, but not a lot. I eat mostly chicken, potatoes, beef. I’m careful about my diet”

Fedor Emlianenko

“I don’t have a diet. My only rule is that I try to eat less fatty food and avoid cakes and candy.”
Fedor doesn’t have a specific diet he follows are a personal chief. He tries to eat three meals a day and strives to eat healthily. At the same time he does not limit himself when doing so. Fedor’s diet mostly consists of meat, fish, vegetables and fuits. Also something important to Fedor’s diet that is often overlooked is liquid. Fedor tries to take in as much liquid as possible including fresh juices and herbal teas. He tries to avoid soda, French fries and candy, which are his favorite when not training. He also doesn’t drink alcohol when training.

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My P90X request

wetjck — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:28:48 +0000

I was asked by some friends to try out the P90X workout by Tony Horton. I love trying new things so I jumped at the chance. That was the last time I jumped, because after doing the leg workout and the plyometrics workout, my legs no longer functioned normally. I felt like I was back in college after 3 a day volleyball practices. I have now gone back to drinking my recovery drink after my workouts and it is amazing the difference how my muscles feel. I drink the Biggest Loser raspberry but you can get whatever you want)

P90X comes with 12 exercise DVDs and three 3-phased programs (Lean, Classic, Double) over 90 days. For each of the 3-phased programs, a different exercise is performed each day of the week, and the 7-day program changes slightly between each of the three phases. It includes some weight lifting, some yoga, some cardio, and some core exercises. The variety keeps things interesting and allows exposure to different types of exercises. Also, all exercises can be modified to fit any fitness level which is great for beginners who are just starting out, and they show advanced moves also for the more experienced.

Pros: Great strength training workout and your muscles are fatigued afterwards(see 1st paragraph). There is a countdown on the t.v. screen that lets you know how long you are doing each set, It allows you to think ” two more reps, 10 more seconds” and that is a great motivational tool!

Cons: Tony thinks he is hot stuff. There is a countdown so you know how long you are going to push yourself and sometimes I swear the timer does not move. There is not a lot of cardio on the days where you focus on arms, shoulders. I add running to my workout when I do those workouts. The workouts are each about 55 minutes, so you need to be able to dedicate about an hour to your workout.

So far, I think the workout has been great and I swear I can feel my muscles more taut and tight already, but I will continue to do the p90x because I feel it is a great workout. I also like to throw in some TaeBo, and Biggest Loser workouts so I don’t get bored doing the same thing over and over.

A very good motivational tool to use: a hubby who is doing the workouts also. Although we are on different programs (I’m on Lean and he’s on Classic), we usually do our workouts at the same time in different places in the house. It helps that you compare notes, and pains, and support with someone else.

Hope this post was informative. Let me know if there is other things out there you would like me to try.

Do you burn more calories running rather than walking?

jfalbelda — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:58:28 +0000

Believe it or not, in a perfect system (i.e. exercising in a vacuum) you would burn the same amount of calories if you ran a mile or walked a mile. Think back to your high school physics days when you learned the simple equations that supposedly governed our universe. For example, Work = Force x Distance. The number of calories burned depends primarily on your weight and the distance traveled. This means measuring the energy required to move a particular weight (you) a particular distance.
Of course running a mile is going to be more beneficial for your overall health than walking in other aspects. While jogging or running, you are positively stressing your cardiovascular system, bolstering its efficiency at delivering oxygen and nutrients to your working muscles. Running also elevates your metabolic rate dramatically. This raise in metabolic activity will last for hours and your body will continue to burn calories during this time until you eventually come back down to a basal level. Keep in mind though that if you can’t run because of knee or joint problems, you can still get just as lean by walking!!

Stick to your Goals! The Power of Re-grouping…

Troy Bennett — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:38:12 +0000

First off, I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day. I hope it was filled with great food, great drinks, and wonderful relaxation to be with family or friends. With summer of ’09 now behind us, we can look forward to really taking strides towards out fitness goals….right?

Of course you want to say, “YES! Let’s do it! I’ll put in a ton of time and effort and sacrifice so I can have the body I want RIGHT FLIPPIN’ NOW!” However, I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’re just like me. You’re probably not a bodybuilder or a fitness model. You’re a regular guy or gal, and you’re in a world full or regular guys and gals who want to get in a decent shape to look good, and live a happy, full, life. So, what are regular guys and gals truly thinking about this time of year?

“Wait! It’s fall and now I have to take care of the leaves in the yard, and make sure the kids are doing good in school, and Halloween’s coming up and I got to get candy and costumes, and after that is Thanksgiving with all the food I have to prepare, and then gorge myself with, and then we have the holiday season so I have to fight to get the gifts I want for my family, only leading up to New Years where they’re parties and drinks and…” we can go on and on, can’t we?

Now, I’m not saying DON’T do those activities. My point is that we all have things in our lives that will get in the way. All the things I mentioned are only things that I can predict happen to many American families. What if you’re a step beyond the norm? What if you’re an executive of a company, or a mother of 10 kids, or have a crazy hobby? Add THOSE things to the run-on paragraph of what’s to come and it can be overwhelming!

Just think about it for a second? Have you ever been so gung-ho about reaching a goal, any goal, only to find yourself derailed by “life”? Next thing you know, it’s been months since you thought about your set goal, and you look back disappointed that you lost all that time. The easiest example of this is the New Year’s Resolution. You have a goal that you start January 1^st, only to get derailed by everything that can happen over the course of 12 months!

So what can we do to prevent the same jinx year in and year out? Simply give yourself time to regroup.

Regrouping in life is incredibly powerful. It works just like a military or combat regroup. Imagine you’re a military general. Troops are scattered, everyone’s confused and things around you are too chaotic. Keep up this pattern and the enemy overwhelms you. So you, as the general, you order your troops to pull back and regroup, so you can better prepare yourself for the next battle. You’re stronger, more fortified, more organized, and can battle much more efficiently.

Back to real life, it works exactly the same way. You take some time out of your busy schedule, maybe an hour every month, and take a look at where you are with your fitness goals, and what the situation is around you. You make a plan that integrates into your life, and you take action. The important step here is taking a good look at what’s going on in your life right now, and what can you predict will happen in the next 3 months. That way, you can adapt to life, make key decisions, prepare for what’s to come, and maximize your time and efforts.

So, as an example, you have ‘ABC’ fitness goal, and you can look ahead in your calendar, and see that your next regroup is the middle of October. What’s going on right now? Well I have such and such project I’m doing at school or work. I have commitments here and there I have to adhere to. With those in mind, what can I do with the time that I have? Knowing how much time is available towards your fitness goals is essential, that way you can plan your workouts and eating habits accordingly (I’ll have more about goal setting and fitness planning in future blogs, so stay tuned). You may be asking yourself, “what if something unexpected comes around?” Well, because you better prepared for what you EXPECTED to come and have already adapted to those situations, the unexpected situations won’t have the power to throw off all your progress. They will be little bumps in the road you can get around. Next thing you know, you’re back on track.

That’s all there is to it. Commit to yourself one hour each month to see where you’re at, see where you want to be, and see what’s coming. Then make a plan, and take action. You can live your life one of two ways. You can either live in a ‘reactive’ mode, where you have to constantly be on the defensive and react to everything that comes your way, or you can live in a ‘proactive’ mode, where you can accept that life will happen, plan for it, and find a way to still succeed.

So you missed a workout….

jfalbelda — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:39:08 +0000

We have all been there before. Something comes up, you forgot your sneakers at home, your car doesn’t start…The first thing you can say to yourself is wow, I actually feel guilty about missing my workout. At least you have the determination and audacity to really want to improve your wellbeing. The second thing to do is tell yourself its ok. You missed a boot camp, a gym class, whatever. Sometimes an extra day off can be beneficial to recover completely before working out at a high intensity again. If the exercise bug won’t stop pestering you though, get outside and go for a jog. This will keep blood flowing to all your muscles and deliver nutrients for rebuilding as well as strengthening your cardio vascular system. Another way to burn extra calories while not going to the gym is just adding extra steps to your day. Park your car further away in the parking lot, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or just get up from your desk every 20-30 minutes and take a lap around the office.

New Challenge Record: 72 Push-ups in a row!

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:58:34 +0000

Eliot Waite breaks the current beach-fitness record for max rep push-ups with 72 push-ups in a row. If you missed it, Jonji Barber completed 50 push-ups after Bodhi Shaffer started the challenge with 42 push-ups.

Can you beat 72 push ups in a row? If you think you have what it takes then please upload a video to youtube.com and post the link in our comments section below any of the current challenges. If you break the record, we will post your video. Bring it!

Carbohydrate Intake and the Daily Value

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:33:45 +0000

The daily value for any given nutrient is one of many dietary guidelines put into place by the FDA to encourage healthy eating patterns for the general population. As defined by the FDA itself, the Daily Values are “not recommended intakes. They’re really just reference points to help people get some kind of perspective on what their overall dietary needs would be.” In other words, it is not intended to keep your personal nutrient intake above or below a certain level but rather to provide an example of a healthy diet so that comparisons can be made and significant issues in diet can be diagnosed. But in the case of carbohydrate, just how healthy is the Daily Value? As more and more evidence is revealing, carbohydrate’s Daily Value of 300 grams is certainly more than generous, if not glaringly exorbitant.

A convincing argument against this value is our ancestry. Consider a caveman in his life-long struggle of finding and securing food as a hunter-gatherer. Such an individual would have access to only the nutrients and resources in his immediate vicinity, and given the stark absence of refined carbohydrate in the Paleolithic period, these nutrients would have come in the forms of meats, seeds, fruits, and vegetables (Grains and legumes were not consumed in the Paleolithic period simply on account of their toxicity. Only when humans began to cook most of their food did they overcome the toxins present in raw grains and legumes). Out of these nutrients, fruits and vegetables are the only providers of carbohydrate, barring the negligible amount found in seeds. Knowing that, it would be safe to say that the average caveman?s intake of carbohydrate was minimal due to the scarcity of its presence in his everyday life. Even if they were so fortunate as to come across a carbohydrate dense food such as fruit and gorged, they would still come nowhere near the 300 grams that is suggested by the Daily Value. However, if a caveman miraculously obtained access to a naturally occurring Safeway-like variety of fruits and vegetables, this is what their diet might have looked like if it met the Daily Value for carbohydrate:

1 apple = 19 g
4 cups carrots = 24 g
2 cups grapes = 32 g
4 cups raspberries = 60 g
2 bananas = 70 g
15 cups asparagus = 45 g
10 cups broccoli = 50 g
Total (g) Carbohydrate = 300

That is an undeniable ass-ton of produce, far too much for an individual to comfortably consume in a day. Moreover, the likelihood of a caveman finding even one of the more carbohydrate dense items listed was fairly low. Finding all of them and in such lavish amounts would have been next to impossible. On this premise, any caveman who required around 300 grams of carbohydrate a day would have had a severe and lethal disadvantage to both his fellow humans as well as other species. Any genes that coded for such great need would have been quickly eradicated via natural selection.

This brings us to our current situation. These days, we actually have access to the previously listed volume and variety of fruits and vegetables. On top of that, we have countless other forms of dense carbohydrate that were unavailable to our ancestors. This makes carbohydrate’s Daily Value of 300 grams seem feasible, on the account of the ease with which it can now be met. But has our genetic makeup really changed all that much? The answer is no; our genes have more or less remained the same since some of our early ancestors, and thus our carbohydrate need has remained equally identical. Our bodies are not programmed to be able take in a surfeit of carbohydrate, and the excess that accumulates is stored invariably as fat. Long term over consumption of carbohydrate thus leads to obesity, and has also been linked to a host of other chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.

Just because we can consume vast amounts of carbohydrates doesn’t mean we should. It is time to reconsider the Daily Value for carbohydrates, just as it is time to reconsider the way our nation as a whole eats. Our health and our carbohydrate intake are inextricably linked, and each individual should know what that means to him or her. What’s your daily carbohydrate intake? How do you feel/perform when you vary this intake?

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Jonji Barber competes in the challenge: max rep push-ups!!

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:56:58 +0000

Jonji Barber breaks the current beach-fitness record for max rep push-ups with 50 push ups in a row. If you missed it, Bodhi Shaffer started the challenge: Bodhi Shaffer does First Beach Fit Challenge: Max Push Ups.

Can you beat 50 push ups in a row? If you think you have what it takes then please upload a video to youtube.com and post the link in our comments section below any of the current challenges. If you break the record, we will post your video. Bring it!

Bodhi Shaffer does First Beach Fitness Challenge: Max Pushups

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:54:50 +0000

The first ever beach-fitness challenge or BFC workout is: max repetition pushups

Push up Form Guidelines:
Pushups must be preformed with full range of motion; chest hitting the ground to arms fully locked out at the top. The shape of the body while performing the pushups must more or less look like a right triangle with the back straight and rigid. You may rest as long as you want in pushup position with a straight back. Straying from this position or dropping out of the position anytime during the workout, will deem the workout over.

Can you beat 42 push ups in a row? If you think you have what it takes then please upload a video to youtube.com and post the link in our comments section below any of the current challenges. If you break the record, we will post your video. Bring it!

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Zone Diets

Mike — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:44:33 +0000

The Zone diet is a diet popularized in books by biochemist Barry Sears. It advocates consuming calories from carbohydrates, protein and fat in a ratio of 40% / 30% / 30%.

The most important factor in Zone Diet is the hormonal balance you achieve while eating each prepared meal. With a food plan comprising an accurate balanced ratio of carbohydrates (40%), fat (30%) and proteins (30%); you actually get to eat foods, which control your body’s insulin production. This means that no meal or snack is forbidden in the Zone Diet and yet you can lose weight or fat while Zone dieting.

For those emphasizing weight loss, or for the matter, for those who want to stay away from cardiovascular sickness, diabetes and other chronic ailments, eating food that follow recommended recipes and staying in the Zone is a must.

Sears emphasizes a hormonal paradox contrary to the “low-fat” rationale, namely that low-fat diets increase the production of the hormone insulin, causing the body to store more fat. The example proposed by him is the cattle ranching practice of fattening livestock efficiently by feeding them lots of low-fat grain. He and others also point out the supposed irony that human diets in the West for the last twenty years have been full of low-fat carbohydrates, yet people are considered more obese now.

Additionally, Sears suggests fat consumption as essential for “burning” fat.

His rationale is: Monounsaturated fats in a meal contribute to a feeling of fullness and decrease the rate at which carbohydrates are absorbed into the bloodstream. Slower carbohydrate absorption means lower insulin levels which means less stored fat and a faster transition to fat burning. If the body needs energy and can’t burn fat because of high insulin levels, a person feels tired as their brain starves and metabolism slows to compensate. This occurs because the brain runs on glucose and high insulin levels deplete blood glucose levels. Such a condition, rebound hypoglycemia, causes sweet cravings (which just starts the high-insulin cycle all over again).

Sears describes a Zone meal as follows: “Eat as much protein as the palm of your hand, as much nonstarchy raw vegetables as you can stand for the vitamins, enough carbohydrates to maintain mental clarity because the brain runs on glucose, and enough monounsaturated oils to keep feelings of hunger away.”

Zone Books Include:

1. Sears, Barry (1995). The Zone: A Dietary Road Map. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0060987065. Sears’s initial book on the Zone diets.

2. Sears, Barry (1997). Mastering the Zone. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 006101124X. Sears urges substitution of raw vegetables for pastas, breads and refined sugars. More diagrams and flowcharts than in The Zone.

3. Sears, Barry (1999). The Anti-Aging Zone. Regan Books. ISBN 0060392436. Information on meditation, relaxation and exercise in addition to diet.

4. Sears, Barry; Kotz, Deborah (2000). A Week in the Zone: A Quick Course in the Healthiest Diet for You. Regan Books. ISBN 0060741902.

5. Sears, Barry (2000). The Soy Zone. Regan Books. ISBN 0060393106. Discusses Sears preference for soy protein as part of his balanced eating program. “The longest-living people in the world” living in Okinawa, Japan consume much greater amounts of soy protein and eat smaller meals than most other people.

6. Sears, Barry (2002). The Omega Rx Zone: The Miracle of the New High-Dose Fish Oil. Regan Books. ISBN 0060393130. Discusses “high-dose fish oil;” a newly-introduced invented pharmaceutical-grade fish oil that Sears touts as a medical miracle that will put the eicasonids in balance and reduce inflammation. Extra virgin olive oil is also promoted for its phytochemicals.

7. Sears, Barry (2005). The Anti-Inflammation Zone: Reversing the Silent Epidemic That’s Destroying Our Health. Regan Books. ISBN 0060834145.

Zone Diet Testimonials:

TJH says:

I?ve used this diet in the past and lost 70 lbs. My mother and father used it and both lost significant weight and my father was able to stop taking blood pressure medication. The only draw back is the requirement to measure foods. It’s not so much a diet as it is a way of changing how you eat. If you do work out, then make sure to eat enough food for the amount of exercise. I really recommend this diet to anybody who is serious about getting healthy.

Mike says:

I went on the Zone Diet a couple years back. I went from 240 pounds down to 205. I?m a big believer in the Zone Diet. Unfortunately, due to my own fault, I am back to the 225 pound range. It is kind of a complicated diet to follow, with all the math and trying to combine foods to get to the correct “block” levels. But well worth it.

RJL says:

I lost > 70 lbs of fat and 14 inches off my waist following the Zone diet. All you have to do is look at the CrossFit site to see that the Zone diet works, it is the recommended diet of CrossFit. I would recommend it to anyone, excellent plan for changing your eating habits.

Kristin says:

I tried this diet when it first came out. It was really confusing and I was hungry constantly. I just couldn’t get the ratios correct. It worked for some friends, but it just wasn’t for me.

iwanttheweightgone says:

i tryed this diet a couple of years ago and it really works i went from 200 to 150. i can say it is very confusing and at first i didn’t understand how to get the ratios but after i found out how to do it the weight just started coming off.

makar says:

Was once seduced by this diet, till I researched it properly. Problem 1: if you stick to the ratios he recommends, it’s almost impossible to get enough calories to survive. So it’s literally impossible. Turns out Sears himself doesn’t stick to it, and is often overweight. Problem 2: the science really doesn’t stack up – he is an amateur and doesn?t understand his material. Problem 3: sticking to the ratios turns you into an anti-social food fanatic. There would have to be much stronger proof than he can muster to make it worth adopting such a disruptive plan. Keep clear – there are much better alternatives.

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