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Drinking Green!

2009-11-13T07:39:00.009-06:00

No, not St. Patrick's Day green beer, and not blended hemp and alfalfa drinks (though they are indeed quite nutritious). And certainly not your favorite mint martini.

Today, it's all about drinking green tea.

I 1st fell in love with green tea about 15 years ago on my 1st trip to China. While Starbucks and other coffee houses are common in most Chinese cities these days, back then it was actually quite difficult for a tourist to find any cup of coffee at all, much less one that didn't look and taste a lot like watered down brown tea.

So I drank a lot of green tea on that trip, and have been ever since! Fortunately, there are lots of great health benefits to drinking green tea, so my new found habit actually turned out to be a good one! The Chinese, of course, have been drinking green tea and using it medicinally to treat ailments from headaches to depression for 4000 years!

And just when you thought that Vitamin D was the miracle Nutrient, get this:

Japanese researchers have found that drinking green tea reduces the risk of blood and lymph system cancers by 40%.
Case Western University Researchers have concluded that drinking four or more cups of green tea per day could help prevent rheumatoid arthritis, or reduce symptoms in individuals already suffering from arthritis.
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute recently found Reduced Risk of Esophageal Cancer Associated With Green Tea Consumption.
And Scientists at The University of Wisconsin have seen positive benefits in prostate cancer prevention.

Furthermore, Green Tea consumption ...

Improves skin clarity;
Reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation; and
Aids in digestion

Wow. But if that weren't enough, it also assists in weight loss! Research by Japanese and other researchers suggest that five cups of green tea a day consumes an additional 70 to 80 extra calories through a process called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is, at the most basic level, the heat produced when energy sources are converted to energy. And while a good deal of green tea's thermogenetic effect can be attributed to it's caffeine content, researchers around the world have found that it's anti-oxidant content contributes more.

And that's what makes Green Tea So Special!

It is rich in catechin polyphenols, which are flavenoids. Flavenoids, of course, are well documented to be hightly effective anti-oxidants. Besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, antioxidants kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.

With regards to green tea, the specific catechin that makes it particularly beneficial is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

In addition to being a powerful anti-oxidant, EGCG also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, inhibits the abnormal formation of blood clots, and, most recently, has is under investigation in the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, and other immunity system diseases.

How much Green Tea should I drink?

Answers to this question will vary, but most scientists agree that 3 or more cups per day is the minimum you'll need to see benefit. On the upside, other than the normal side effects of too much caffeine, very little adverse effect to getting too much EGCG has been found.

EXCEPT FOR PREGNANT WOMEN, where intake should be restricted.

Another tip I learned from the Chinese nearly 20 years ago was that green tea can be infused many , many times. Add hot water to steep. Drink it down, then add more hot water to re-steep the same tea. Repeat as many times as you like. The flavor tapers off, of course, and each additional cup contains decreasing amounts of caffeine (and EGCG), but you can enjoy something hot to drink all day long without getting the jitters.

Looking for more useful tips on Eating Light, Eating Healthy, and Eating Often? Ask me about our New Nutrition Together program!

Shortened Days Require more Vitamin D in your Diet

2009-10-29T17:30:00.010-05:00

If you're looking for a simple, easy way to reduce your risk of catching the flu, you may need to look no further than your grocery store!

While it's still true that regular, moderate intensity exercise is helpful in fighting off infections, your next best bet could be as simple as getting enough Vitamin D. Especially in northern climates where exposure to the sun, our primary source of vitamin D, is limited during the Fall and Winter, increasing attention is now being given to vitamin D requirements. And vitamin D deficiencies.

In fact, some physicians contend that a major portion of winter ailments can be attributed to Vitamin D deficiencies, including heart disease, chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, hypertension, arthritis, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, PMS, Crohns Disease, cancer, MS and other autoimmune diseases. Wow!

A Highland Park client of ours has seen Vitamin D deficiencies in action 1st hand. Working through lower back pain for several months, she'd gone through physical therapy, chiropractic care, and had several MRIs and X Rays performed to help diagnose the source of her ailment. Nothing worked. Eventually, her physician suggested a diet loaded with Vitamin D, and her back pain went away!

The problem is, it's really, really hard to compensate for the lack of sun. Your body manufactures about 20,000 international units (IUs) of vitamin D with just 20 minutes of sun. To get that much vitamin D in your diet would require something like 40 glasses of milk per day! (3300 calories, even if it's skim milk). The good news is that Vitamin D is fat soluble, so your body is capable of storing some D in your body fat. You won't need to consume the entire amount that you would otherwise manufacture, but with close to NO sun exposure these days, some dietary intake becomes critical.

Your best bet is actually an occasional trip to a tanning bed! This, of course, carries the added risk of developing skin cancer, so many of us avoid those.

As a Result, Natural Foods, become your next best source of vitamin D, and here are some high quality choices:

Salmon, canned (3 ounces)	530 IU
Salmon, cooked (3.5 ounces)	240–360 IU
Tuna, canned (3 ounces)	200 IU
Soy milk, fortified (8 ounces)	100 IU
Orange juice, fortified (8 ounces)	100 IU
Milk, low-fat, fortified (8 ounces)	98 IU
Cereal, fortified (1 cup)	40–50 IU
Eggs (1 large)	20–26 IU
Swiss cheese (1 ounce)	12 IU

The problem is, even a diet with only these foods you could still be deficient in D! So we're not done yet. How much, exactly, you need daily is still under debate, but a daily intake of up to 2,000 IU is currently considered a safe upper limit. The medical community agrees that up to this much won't create other problems, even if they can't agree on what the required minimum should be.

So, even with a naturally rich vitamin D diet, some supplementation is recommended. The best way to take vitamin D supplements is with Calcium. The two nutrients work together to build strong bones and teeth.

Furthermore, it's been shown that taking vitamin D with Calcium can actually reduce your fatty food cravings and help you lose weight!

So, with the Sun getting further and further away for the next 60 days, please take note of your Vitamin D! If in doubt, have your doctor administer a 25-hydroxyvitamin test to determine if you have optimal levels of Vitamin D in your blood. The Vitamin D Council considers optimum levels to be approximately 50 nM/L.

Looking for even more useful nutrition tips? Ask me about our new Nutrition Together program!

Eating Too Little Contributes to Weight Gain

2009-10-15T11:48:00.011-05:00

That's right, eating too little at the wrong times can actually have a negative effect on your weight loss efforts. Don't get me wrong, at the end of the day weight loss is still a very basic calorie calculation: weight lost = calories out - calories in. Consume more than you burn and you gain weight. Burn more than you consume and you loose weight. Simple math.

However, eating too little at critical times of the day, like breakfast or prior to exercise can actually have a negative effect on your ability to loose fat.

Skipping breakfast, for instance can create a hormone imbalance that triggers the body to go into "starvation mode," and consequently triggers the body to store more fat than it otherwise would by reducing your metabolism. Not good.

Further, as the day progresses, this hormonal imbalance unnaturally increases appetite to the point where you're far more likely to overeat for your next couple of meals. That's even worse.

Eating too little prior to exercise is another frequently made mistake.

Whether you're heading to the club to loose body fat, add muscle tone, or just feel good about yourself, it is critical that you have a small pre-workout meal.

And here's why.

Energy for exercise always comes from a blend of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. But fat sources only work at very low intensity levels, and carbohydrates are quickly utilized and must be constantly replenished.

So, while you might hope that your body will always use fat as an energy source during exercise, stored fat is metabolized ONLY when you are either sedentary or exercising at a very, very low level of intensity. You will, indeed, burn more calories when you exercise at more rigorous levels, but you'll burn no more fat. Check out my Heart Rate Zone Training to Look and Feel Fantastic report for LOTS more detail on this.

Most exercise is aerobic in nature. The energy source that will help you work harder to burn more calories, and work more efficiently to recruit additional muscle fibers is carbohydrates. Unlike fat, which is stored as fat, carbohydrates are stored in the blood stream, muscle tissues, and organs as glycogen and glucose (and, technically ATP at the cellular level, but we'll ignore that for now).

These immediately available "sugars" are your primary energy source for exercise ... at least until they're gone, which can be in as little as 20 minutes, depending on your metabolism and the nature of your exercise. Once the supply is spent (metabolized to exercise), your body needs to replace those spent sources with new sources .. .your pre-workout meal.

So, when you're consuming your pre workout meal, you're really filling your gas tank for the second half of your workout.

If you get it right, you're in good shape for high energy levels and higher levels of intensity during the second half of your workout. If you get it wrong, you'll "hit a wall", struggle with even moderate intensities, and ask your body to metabolize less efficient sources for energy, like proteins. That's right, even if you've got 30 pounds of body fat to loose, if your body needs energy sources beyond the immediately available carbohydrate sources, it doesn't convert your stored fat, it converts proteins!

And it gets worse yet, for if those proteins aren't in your bloodstream (from a consumed meal), your body converts stored proteins ...your muscle tissue ... through a process called catabolism.

And if you are catabolising you will almost certainly gain fat because maintaining lean body mass is a key factor in loosing body fat!

So, (ahem), here's the skinny on your pre-workout meal. You don't need to have much, but be sure that you have a few hundred (200 to 400, depending on your body weight) balanced calories between 30 and 60 minutes prior to exercise. This window will vary from person to person (and your hydration levels and prior daily food intake), but 30 to 60 minutes ahead of your workout is a good place to start. A well balanced snack should consist of approximately 25% protein, 65% carbohydrate and 10% fat. One half of a peanut butter sandwich and half a banana handle this perfectly. Or a yogurt and a few crackers.

This pre-workout requirement is also well recognized, and aggressively marketed by the nutritional supplements industry (Cliff, Powerbar, Gatoraide, etc.). Products from these suppliers also nicely handles the requirement. However, just be sure that you consume the product far enough ahead of exercise for benefit: it takes most digestive systems 30 to 40 minutes to move food to the bloodstream. Consuming these products during exercise is almost always too late for any benefit for exercise shorter than 90 minutes.

Looking for more healthy tips on eating right and proper nutrition?

Ask me about our New Nutrition Together program!

The Silver Bullet for the Flu Season!

2009-10-08T13:13:00.002-05:00

Looking for an easy way to worry less about H1N1 and the Flu season?

Look no further. It's called regular, moderate intensity exercise!

While no one is completely immune, with the H1N1 virus circulating, it's a good time to point out that regular moderate exercise improves your body's ability to fight off disease and infection!

Even better, you don't need to train intensely for those benefits. Because while you do need to work a bit harder to improve strength, and you do need to work a bit longer to improve your endurance, and you do need to work a bit faster to improve your cardiovascular fitness levels, regular moderate exercise is all that's needed to improve your immune systems.

Why is that?

Well, a few theories exist.

First, the more rapid breathing associated with moderate exercise helps flush the lungs of airborne illnesses.
Second, increased sweat and urine production helps rid the body of carcinogens.
Third, an elevated heart rate more quickly circulates antibodies and white blood cells to fight off infections.
Fourth, increased body temperatures have been found to help prevent the growth of bacteria.
Lastly, and as we've mentioned for a few weeks in a row now (insulin and calories; insulin and sugar; insulin and sleep), hormones are related in no small way. But this time, it isn't insulin we're blaming, it's cortisol.

For while cortisol is required to handle stress and other stressful events, prolonged periods of elevated cortisol levels are quite detrimental to your health, and your immune system.

Moderate, regular exercise, however, helps inhibit the production of cortisol, thereby enabling the immune system to operate efficiently.

So, what's moderate? It all boils down your a Long Slow Cardio Event as was described back in February. I'll need to update that posting for today's frost less landscape, but that should get you started!

And what is regular? Well, that's most days of the week (4 or more with the new math). Sorry, there are no short cuts on frequency.

Need a bonus tip for fighting off the pig flu? Don't forget to get enough rest! For while adequate sleep will help with your job performance, it also improves your immune system!

Your Two Most Important Meals of the Day

2009-10-02T08:35:00.010-05:00

As it turns out, your mother was right all along: breakfast is in fact the most important meal of the day! However, not just any breakfast will do. The choices you make for breakfast can influence your job performance, your energy levels, and more!

Breakfast

One of my favorite websites, RealAge.com had a nice article recently on not just making breakfast an integral part of your day, but food choices that make it the right breakfast. Indeed,the food choices you make for breakfast can go a long way in how sharp you think throughout the day, how well your immune system fights off infection, and how the right choices can trigger your body to burn more fat.

As it turns out, there isn't much magic in it at all: whole grains; wholesome fruits; and low fat dairy are the key ingredients; but do check out their helpful article for specific menus to improve the value of your most important meal of the day!

Close behind, the second most important meal of the day is Your Post Exercise Nutrition, otherwise known as a recovery meal.

After exercise, your body is, at a minimum, in a state of depletion.

You might even be fatigued if your workout was an intense workout. Energy stores have been reduced, lactic acid has accumulated in muscle tissues, and you have an empty stomach. Blood pressure, heart rate, and metabolism, while somewhat reduced though a proper cool down, remain elevated for an hour or more.

In short, your body is starving for nutrients, and
how you respond effects how well you recover for your next workout!

As it turns out, there is a critical 30 - 60 minute window of opportunity following exercise within which the adsorption of nutrients is more efficient than at any other time. Your body is literally a sponge, so feed it well and help your body recover!

Exactly what you eat actually depends on the type of exercise you've just completed. You'll recover differently from a long, slow cardio event than you would from a resistance training event. And different recoveries beg for different recovery meals.

A meal high in carbohydrate content is appropriate for extended or high intensity cardio activities where larger amounts of carbohydrates are spent. A well well recognized formula for cardiovascular recovery is a meal rich in carbohydrates, but with some protein. Many experts recommend 200 to 400 calories, depending on your body weight, in a ratio of 4 parts carbohydrate to 1 part protein (4:1). A good, wholesome food that fits this almost perfectly is chocolate milk, and fruit based yogurts.
For most resistance training, however, including a typical Fitness Together session, a balanced meal a bit higher in protein is best. Muscle tissues have been broken down with resistance training, and the pace of our sessions makes them somewhat aerobic. If your training session is prior to 3:00PM, we would recommend a 400-500 calorie meal of 35% protein, 60% carbs, and 5%. If you're on the run and won't have a chance to eat a proper meal for an hour or more, a quality protein supplement may suffice. Otherwise, a small chicken breast sandwich with a small salad and yogurt is one way.

If you train later in the day, say after 6:00 pm, you'll want to reduce your starchy carbohydrate intake, replacing them with simple carbohydrates (primarily fruits & vegetables). A large vinaigrette & olive oil salad with nuts, a piece (or 2) of fish/chicken breast, and some fruit is perfect : 45% protein, 45% (non starchy) carbohydrates, and 10% fat.

And if this all sounds too confusing,
ask me about our new Nutrition Together program!

A Protein Supplement Primer

2009-09-24T09:31:00.013-05:00

Atkins, Zone, South Beach, Dean Ornish, Weight Watchers, Pick Your Diet-of-the-week and you'll inevitably be discussing Protein.

It's a Hot Topic!

But how much protein do you really need?
With what is it best consumed?
And, if in the form of a supplement, what's the difference between a good protein supplement and a waste of money?

Protein: The Building Block for Healthy Bodies

Proteins are the basic building block for lean body mass. Protein is the primary material making up all soft tissue in your body, and makes up your DNA, enzymes, and hormones. Proteins, quite simply are not only a hot topic for weight loss, but are a required nutrient for lean body mass development, and is an absolutely necessity to live!

But everyone's protein needs are different. Exercising adults have a higher protein requirement than sedentary adults. Even the kind of exercise you're performing matters: some runners actually need less protein than someone working on core strength and functional fitness.

The safest, most accurate way to ensure that your protein intake is appropriate is to work with a licensed nutritionist or fitness expert to better understand your individual needs. However, a practical guideline to follow is that if you are resistance training 3 or more days per week, you require between .75 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of desirable body weight each day. This translates into 125g for a 150# person.

And that can be a lot of protein for a lot of people! Put into perspective, a typical 8 oz chicken breast is approximately 30 grams. A cup of steel cut oats oatmeal 18 grams. A cup of cottage cheese 20g. If you simply had those 3 foods alone for dinner, breakfast, and lunch, you would have consumed 68 grams of protein ... just barely half of your protein needs for the day.

So the challenge becomes how to get sufficient protein into your diet without picking up a lot of extra calories that sometimes come from lower grade protein sources.

As a result, some form of protein supplementation will be appropriate for a lot of us.

To be clear, supplementation should be exactly that ... supplemental to your food intake, not a food staple. A perfect diet includes 3 meals and 2 snacks per day. When working with supplements, a good rule of thumb to follow is to consume no more than one supplement per day. If you're using supplements for more than one snack or meal per day, you're treating it as food, and that's not practical, healthy, or sustainable over the long term. It isn't necessarily that the protein is bad for you; it's those last few ingredients listed on the package you need to be concerned about.

But, for a lot of us on the move, a protein shake on a busy morning, or a protein bar between afternoon appointments can be a lot healthier than most alternatives AND still contributes to the daily protein target.

In looking at protein supplements, however, the options can be overwhelming and confusing. You will find products based on soy proteins, whey proteins, casein proteins, and "proprietary blends." So, a few notes are in order ...

Not all proteins are created equal

From a chemical perspective, proteins are combinations of 22 known amino acids ("aminos" for short). 9 of these Amino Acids are considered essential ... they are required to live, and can only be found within food sources; the other 13 are considered non-essential and can be manufactured by the body (from the essential aminos).

When looking for a supplemental protein, the two most significant things to consider are:

How many of the key aminos are present; and
How easily can the body adsorb them.

Amino Acids

Food source and food source alone drives amino acid content ... how many of the essential aminos your protein supplement contains depends entirely on where it came from!

Remember Little Miss Muffet? You know, the wench (hey, been renaissance fest lately?), who sat on her tuffet eating her curds & whey? Indeed, the curd (solids) and whey (liquids) derived from whole milk are the exact food products from which Casein (think 'curd') and Whey Proteins are derived. And they're boss.

From an amino acid content perspective, whey proteins have long been recognized as the king of proteins ... boasting not only a high quantity of amino acids, but the best collection as well.

Topping the list of essential amino acids found in whey proteins are branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, Arginine, Glutamine, and Proline. This chemical collection contributes to or regulates everything from muscle recovery to immune system performance to sex drive to anxiety control to skin appearance.

Are we there yet?

But don't throw out your casein or soy based products just yet! While whey proteins are top dog, even they don't contain ALL 9 essential amino acids. You'll need to get those from other sources like soy or casein. As a result, you will frequently see something like "proprietary protein blend" on many supplement labels. As long as whey protein is listed as either the 1st or 2nd ingredient in the blend, you can be sure that your money is being well spent. And if you see both whey and soy, you should have a complete set of aminos.

Biological Value

The other thing to consider when evaluating protein products is how effectively your body handles the protein ... something known as Biological Value (BV).

BV, as it turns out, is entirely dependent upon protein preparation techniques: when manufacturers take good care of the amino acid molecule during preparation you're body will adsorb the protein more quickly and more effectively. The most expensive and best quality proteins are derived from a process that produces Protein isolates: chemical ion exchange techniques preserve the structure of the protein best, ensuring high quality and efficient adsorption. Ultra filtered or micro filtered products are also high quality proteins (though 2nd tier), but protein concentrates and hydrolyzed proteins are cheaply produced and to be avoided.

Therefore, things like "whey protein isolate,", "casein isolate,", and "soy isolate" will be your highest quality protein sources, and the ingredients you should look for when selecting a protein supplement.

Lastly, don't forget that high protein intakes places additional demands on your digestive system, so be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day!

Fitness Reform - No Lie!

2009-09-10T17:48:00.004-05:00

While congress and the president figure out who's doing all the lying in Washington, here in Minneapolis, We've got a TRUE FITNESS REFORM program underway!

OK ... reform might be a bit of an embellishment. In all honesty, there really isn't anything new at all to announce or reform! Except more of the same: good old fashioned safe, effective, consistent exercise and lifestyle habits to look, feel, and move better! The American public will always seek and experiment with short cuts to exercise. We're simply wired that way. And many fitness "professionals" will mislead you with false promises and ridiculous expectations that can be nothing short of dangerous.

The truth of the matter is that "there are no short cuts to any place worth going" (Beverly Sills), and your health is the most precious journey and destination you have!

So, we're heading back to the most basic of basics this week ...

The Benefits of a Proper Warm-up and Cool down

We take warm-up and cool down quite seriously here at Fitness Together! There are many reasons for this, but the most important is that the quality of your warm-up frequently determines the quality of your session!

When sedentary or mostly inactive, blood flow to the stomach is largely unrestricted to assist with digestion. As you begin to begin to exercise, however, torso arteries actually contract to shunt blood flow away from the stomach. This increases blood pressure and flushes the limbs (arms & legs) with nutrient-rich blood.

Unfortunately, the whole process takes up to 15 minutes to complete and there are no short cuts - which is why we tend to be so adamant about arriving early enough for your session to complete a proper warm-up. Skip the whole process, or cut it short and we need to spend part of your personal training session completing warm-up process to avoid possible cramping, or injury to 'cold' muscle groups. To get the most out of your session, plan for starting your warm up no later than 10 minutes before your session appointment!

Once finished with your session, it's time to reverse the entire process! As you exercise, various energy sources are tapped to produce the energy required to shorten (contract) muscle fibers. Conversion of these energy sources produces lactic acid and lactate - both of which are responsible for that muscle 'burn' you feel when your trainer demands those last two reps to completely fatigue a muscle group. :-)

While your energy, circulatory, and cleansing systems will eventually rid the body of this lactate accumulation, a proper cool down accelerates the waste elimination process. Additionally, time to recovery (rebuilt muscle fiber and replenished energy sources) and muscle soreness are significantly reduced with a low intensity cardiovascular event immediately following your strength training session. Call it a cool down, a warm down, or a short cardio event, but it's at least as important as your workout itself! Exercise is performed ENTIRELY to force the body to adapt, to grow, to improve fitness levels. Your warm down is the 1st step in this adaptation process, so don't short change your workout by recovering poorly! And, it burns a few more calories!

Stretching has a similar benefit, but we've already taken care of that within your session. A proper cool down also assists with the gradual relaxation of constricted stomach arteries to prepare for your second most important meal of the day ... your post session recovery meal. More on that next week.

Add Energy to Your Day and Felxibility to your Frame with Time Sliced Stretching

2009-08-20T18:51:00.008-05:00

Clients frequently tell me that one of the best parts of their Fitness Together program is the 5 minutes of trainer assisted stretching at the end of their personal training session. While this short stretching event will indeed help improve flexibility and assists with recovery, it's also on the short end of what an adequate stretching program should include. Ideally, you'd like to stretch or perform yoga at least 20 minutes per day. However, for a lot of us (ahem) stretched on time, one unique way to get additional stretching into your day is with something we call time sliced stretching.

A terrific supplement to your active office, time sliced stretching simply includes short bouts of stretching performed in line with the rest of your busy day.

It works like this: if you're climbing a set of stairs, stretch a bit on the way up and then again at the top of the flight; if you're walking through a doorway, stretch a bit as you pass through.

Small amounts of time sliced stretching throughout your day can both improve your flexibility and give you a minor energy boost! On stairs, there are a number of things you can do to stretch. First, after taking a few single steps up, start taking 2 or 3 steps at a time. This motion roughly equates to a lunging exercise, so be sure to step slowly (your muscles will probably be cold) into your 1st double and triple steps. This primarily stretches the gluts, but also hits the hamstrings a bit as well. Near the middle of the flight take especially slow steps and really try to go low with with a few deep steps ... you'll feel the stretch in your gluts.

Once near the top of the flight, and now that the legs are warmed up a bit, it's time for some calf and hamstring stretches. Grab the hand rail and balance on your toes over the edge of a step. Switch your weight from leg to leg, alternatively stretching your calves by allowing your heels to drop below the step height. Then, come back down the stairs a couple of steps and extend a straightened leg up a couple of steps to stretch your hamstrings. Sloooowly bring your nose towards your knee until you feel the slight discomfort of the stretch and hold for 10 seconds. Stretching might feel somewhat uncomfortable, but never painful. If it hurts, you're stretching too far! This entire stair climbing stretch can be done in as little as 60 additional seconds and just plain feels good!

If (and only if!) your shoulders are stable and without range of motion limitations, you can quite easily stretch your chest with something I call door jam stretches. As you navigate your home or office throughout the day,you can easily your stretch chest and back in just a few minutes by using the door jam as a stationary object. To stretch your chest and shoulders, stand about 6 inches in front of an open door jam. Place your hands on the sides of door jam at shoulder height. With feet firmly planted, allow your body weight to "fall" through the doorway to where your chest is stretched and resists falling further forward . Hold the stretch 8 to 10 seconds and repeat up to 5 times. As with staircase stretches, start slowly and gently ... you'll be stretching COLD muscles, which is less than optimal.

While in the same doorway, you can handily stretch your back as well. With one arm, reach across your body to grab the inside of the door jam molding. Then, slowly rotate your body away from the hand holding the molding. You'll feel this stretch in your rear deltoids, trepezius, and latissimus dorsi (the largest back muscle). Hold for 10 seconds, and repeat up to 5 times on each arm.

If you're tall enough (most door jams are 7' and reachable if you're taller than 5'6"), reach overhead and place both hands on the top of the door jam. Grab hold of the molding around the door jam if possible. With a firm grip on the top of the door jam, perform a toe raiser to slightly thrust your torso through the doorway. As you do so, you'll be arching your spine and stretching your latissimus dorsi . Hold for 8 or 10 seconds and repeat up to 5 times. As with the chest stretch, you'll be performing this stretch without the benefit of a proper warm-up, so do be gentle at the start.

Superstar Secrets to Fitness Success

2009-08-14T12:19:00.013-05:00

Brett Favre earned himself one of the most dubious distinctions in professional football when he threw more interceptions (288) than any other player in NFL history during his 2007 season!

Fortunately for Brett, the Superbowl MVP also holds records for the most touchdowns ever thrown (464), the most total yards thrown (over 61,000), and the most total completions (5377). For Brett, the upside potential of completing a touchdown pass always exceeded the risk of throwing an interception: you couldn't score it if you didn't throw it.

Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player in history, is famously quoted as saying that "I missed every shot I didn't take." During his amazing 19 year career, Michael actually missed more shots than he made ... attempting 24,537 shots and making just 12,192 for a career average shooting percentage of just 49.7%. But in the process of actually sinking less than half of his shots, he set NBA all time records for the highest points scored average per game (30.4), the most 30+ pt. games (563), and many others. For Michael, you couldn't score if you didn't shoot, and when the game was on the line, he wanted the ball and the shot.
None of us have this kind of talent, nor will any of us come close to producing these numbers. But each of us can learn from these 2 superstars as we face choices each day that do effect our health and fitness. We may never take the last shot of the game, or toss up a game winning pass, but we do regularly face simple lifestyle choices that add up enormously in the short and long runs.

How often and when will I exercise this week? What will I eat for breakfast? Am I getting enough sleep? As a fitness professional, it's interesting, if not fascinating to talk about high intensity interval training, and adding lean body mass to reduce body fat, and the need for long, slow cardio activity in your week.

These things matter, and they matter enormously in designing effective exercise programs, but you know what?

They are equally unusable unless you actually show up!

August is traditionally one of the softest scheduling months of the year for us. And one of the quietest months in the gyms around town (I get around!). Late summer vacations, long weekends out of town, class reunions, family reunions, you name it ... there's always something going on in August! And they all seem to get priority over consistent exercise. But that doesn't mean you need to forfeit the progress you've made up to this point.

Michael and Brett will assure you: you can't score if you don't shoot! Making progress = making the effort. And, if my 4th grade teacher was right when she said that 80% of your grade in life is just showing up, then 90% of your grade in fitness is just showing up.

So then, here are my Top 5 Tips for Keeping on Track in August:

Plan an Active Vacation ... take your program on the road with you!
Plan for a net zero loss in August exercise volume. Skip your Friday workout if you're heading out of town for long weekend, but make up the missed workout by adding in a different day either the week before, or the week after to keep from loosing ground.
Schedule exercise into your calendar, and don’t move it unless there’s a death in the family. Make your exercise appointment the most immutable appointment of the day.
Be accountable to someone. It helps if you have a personal trainer waiting on (and charging) you for the appointment whether you show up or not, but it is also helpful to have a training buddy/partner. You’re much more likely to show up when you know someone is waiting for you.
Establish, write down, and publish a very specific health lifestyle goal for the next 3 months. These are things like: exercise for 90 minutes 3 times per week; or walk for 60 minutes 6 days per week; or make every scheduled exercise appointment. Lifestyle Changes. Then, take these goals and chunk them into 6 week cycle goals.

Fitness Together Approved Fantastic Fair Foods

2009-08-06T11:38:00.007-05:00

The great Minnesota Get Together starts in a few weeks. Feared and Dreaded by fitness experts across the state since the beginning of time, this single event can cause more damage to a client's otherwise predicable progress than Thanksgiving and Valentine's day COMBINED. 12 days of high fat content food. 12 days of grazing and lazing.

But it doesn't have to be so! We've done some research on the deep fried lard on a stick alternatives, and have found that a trip to the fair can be fun, friendly, and personal trainer approved.

But before I get into the food tips, let me give you two other pieces of advice for making the fair regret-free to your fitness goals.

First and Foremost, Get your workout in BEFORE you go to the fair. Most venues don't open until 8 or 9AM, so get up early, get that workout in, boost the metabolism going into the battle, and you'll have a few more caloric liberties while you're there.

Secondly, PLAN for riding your bike to the fair. Search for and plan to park by Como and you'll have less than a mile to ride to any of the FREE bike parking lots. You'll still want to bring a lock, but the fully attended corrals will check-in your bike to ensure that everyone leaves with what they brought in. Three Gates host bike corrals:

Como-Snelling Gate (#6)

Hoyt-Snelling Gate (#2)

Commonwealth-West Dan Patch (#15)

Bike Corral Hours: 6 a.m. to midnight daily.

Bicycle corrals are sponsored by Twin City Bike Club.

Visit them online at www.biketcbc.org

As far as food is concerned, my recommendation would be to have a healthy, hearty meal before you go. And then simply watch the events!

BUT, I know a lot of folks flock to the fair simply to enjoy the delicacies, so here are a list of the least damaging choices.

Category 1: Your Trainer will love you for eating these!

Category 2: Fair choices, better than most other options

Bayou Bob's Gator Shack (watch the sodium)
Beef Kabobs (kabobs OK, side dishes marginal)
Buffalo Burgers (burgers, kabobs OK, side dishes marginal)
Cafe Caribe
Corn Roast (skip the butter)
Demetri's Greek Foods (Salad OK)
Dino's Gyros (Salads OK)
Falafel King (stay away from the fried vegies)
Hawaiian Shaved Ice (go light on the cream & nut toppings)
Holy Land Deli (Kabobs OK, Salads OK, Gyro OK)
Jerky Shoppe, The (watch the sodium)
Mini-Kabob (watch the sodium)
Minnesota Buffalo Association, E-18 Judson Ave.
Porkchops and Turkey Legs (Turkey OK; Porkchops NOT OK)
Ragin Cajun (peel/eat shrimp or boiled crawfish only)
Smokin' Joe's Smokehouse
Turkey To Go (drumsticks OK)

And that's a LOT of Food! Much of it wouldn't fit into the optimal, heathly diet, but, again, is going to blow your diet LESS than almost anything else you'll find at the fair.

Breaking Down the Beast

2009-07-31T08:40:00.006-05:00

I have a friend doing a residency at a Chicago hospital. Seemingly more akin to a twisted form of professional hazing than actual education, the hours are brutal, the workload overwhelming, and the pressure intense.

As a small business owner it a troubled economy, I can definitely relate to this level of noise, but it reminded me of how intimidating fitness goals can be for a lot of folks.

And how ambiguous goals can be for regular exercisers.

The key, of course is to have a plan, prioritize well, and break the beast down into manageable chunks ... something ESPECIALLY true for health and fitness.

Whether you're new to exercise, or an seasoned gym rat veteran, the old adage "If you don't know where you're going any road will get you there" uniquely applies to health and fitness. 'Winging it' just isn't going to work if you need to loose 25, 35, or 55 pounds of body weight. The entire notion of getting from here to there can seem like an unmanageable beast. The mountain is just too big. It's insurmountable, intimidating, and beyond all hope.

But if broken down into smaller, more specific, stepwise goals, it suddenly becomes comprehensible and approachable.

So, if you've been procrastinating on starting a fitness program, or if you're currently exercising, but floundering a bit with your program, here are my Top 5 Tips for Getting Started and Staying Focused!

1. Define the ultimate goal of your fitness program. Recognize that once you get there you may find yet another height to reach, but think about what you want to ultimately look, feel, and move like in 5 years. Or 10 or 20. Dream big. Set the bar high. Write it down and share it with your best friend or closest family member. Having support from your fan club is a key element in reaching your ultimate health and fitness goals.

2. Define a 6 week goal every 6 weeks. This is what fitness professionals call a mesocycle: a shorter period of time where you focus on one or two very specific, yet smaller goals. For many people new to exercise (and new to our programs), some perfectly wonderful 6 week goals may seem entirely UNrelated to the ultimate goal. For example, if Mary wants to loose 50 pounds, good 6 week goals could include things like ...

Making schedule adjustments to exercise 5 days per week, no excuses, or
Completing 4 hours of cardiovascular exercise each week, or
Eating a high protein breakfast every day of the week, or
Doing as many pushups as she can 3 days per week, and getting to 10 nonstop pushups by the end of 6 weeks

.... lifestyle changes, diet modifications, and fitness related goals ... none of which measure body fat reduction, but all of which contribute to that. In fact, what we find with a lot of our clients is that lifestyle changes, a need for accountability, and highly tangible short term goals can be the most important part of reaching ultimate goals.

3. Establish a goal for each and every workout. If designed properly, an exercise program will include short workouts, long workouts, low intensity workouts, moderate intensity workouts, and high intensity workouts each and every week. There's a time to add resistance, a time for recovery, and a time to work on flexibility. A time to push and a time to stretch. Define a daily workout goal. Ask yourself where your each workout fits into the weekly plan. Does it contribute to the 6 week goal? For example, if you've reached the end of a good week of training, and felt especially good about your high end stuff, resist the temptation to attack another high end workout ... plan for and complete the long, slow, cardio event if that's what's still needed on the week.

4. Recognize your Ultimate Goal when planning each mesocycle. Ask yourself how your 6 week goal directly contributes to your ultimate goal. Does it contribute to, or distract from your ultimate goal? For instance, I like to race my bikes in the summer. It gets competitive, and as a type A person, it's easy to get caught up in the competitiveness of the cycling world. But it isn't really my goal to be a highly competitive cyclist. It's a great goal for some people, but not my goal. My goal is to look, feel, and move like I'm 26 instead of 46! Bike racing helps keep my cardio training at a high level, which in turn helps to reduce body fat. But drifting into a higher level of competitive racing would require avoiding upper body resistance training, something that would actually undermine my ultimate goal.

5. Don't be afraid to change your ultimate goals on an annual basis. As a fitness professional of 25+ years, the one thing that I can tell you with absolute certainty is that you feel and think differently as you reach certain goals and ripen with age and wisdom. Unlike a lot of objectives where the goal is cross a finish line, with Health and Fitness, there is no finish line ... no matter where you are with your current fitness level, there's always something new to work on. Something new to pursue. Indeed, it's all about the journey, and there is no end.

Healthy Hydration for this Summer's Heat

2009-07-24T13:52:00.011-05:00

Water, one of the basic 6 nutrients, is the medium within which all of our body's metabolic process occur! Body temperature regulation, neurological impulse transmission (including brain activity), and energy systems all rely on proper body hydration to function effectively! . Further, as the weather heats up, additional fluids are lost during basic daily activities, making proper fluid consumption (hydration) even more critical.

Exercise regularly, and the need for hydrating increases even more!

Water is also the body's primary means of cleansing itself by flushing toxins out the back (bottom) door. Further, proper hydration improves digestive efficiency, reduces blood pressure, and improves the appearance of skin, nails, and hair. Drinking plenty of water helps you digest food better, increases muscle and joint flexibility, and helps keep your breath fresh!

With all of these things dependent upon proper hydration levels, it's a wonder that any of us become dehydrated at all! But we do, and it seems to occur rather easily. A good rule of thumb for monitoring your hydration levels is the color of your urine. Unless you've just taken a loaded multivitamin, you should be generally passing clear fluid when you urinate. The darker it is, the more dehydrated you probably are!

Got a slight headache? Maybe you're dehydrated.

We've all heard the advise to drink 8 glasses of water each day. You know, that's a lot of water! And it actually takes conscious effort to consume that much water positioned butt down at your desk. The easiest way to encourage additional fluids intake is exercise! More on that below, but here are a few basic tips for proper daily hydration:

Develop the habit of carrying a water bottle with you where ever you go. Sip on it every 15 or 20 minutes.
Drink green iced tea if all that water is just too much water
Plan to consume at least 8 ounces of water before and with each meal
Make extra efforts for additional fluid intake with higher protein diets
Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which are are technically diuretics with dehydrating effects.
Exercise more!

The primary vessel we drive, our bodies, simply requires exercise induced thirst to get in enough fluids on a regular basis. A few hot cardio intervals, one of our FT HEAT programs, or a few FT Coley lunges, and you'll have 20 ounces through your body before you event think about food!

While hydration requirements for aerobic activities (cycling, running, nordic skiing) are slightly different than those required for resistance training, the basic requirements are the same, and fit into 3 basic categories: pre-exercise hydration, exercise hydration, and post-exercise hydration. Pre-exercise hydration should actually begin 2 to 3 hours before your workout with consumption of 500-600 ml (a bottle) of water, followed by an additional 100 to 200 ml of water (or sports drink) 20 minutes prior to your session.

Consumption during exercise should approximate sweat rate, though given that most people can only adsorb about a liter per hour (the rest is just passed through), extremely vigorous, extended exercise will almost always result in some dehydration.

Post exercise hydration is then simply a time to make up the difference in fluids lost during exercise ... preferably within 90 minutes, and at a rate of a liter an hour.

Fantastic Five Fitness Tips for Tired Summer Training

2009-07-16T18:36:00.008-05:00

Vacations. Guests. Long out of town weekends. Road Trips. And just plain lazy summer days all contribute to reduced summer exercise frequency. Oh, I know, many of you are doing extra cardio outside. But, I also know that a lot of you aren't!

Even in my studios where we rant and rave, and beg and plead with our clients to get attendance up to where it needs to be to make progress, attendance is down. Maybe it really is the economy. If that's the case now is in fact the BEST time to pick up your exercise volume ...to look and feel healthier, increase your productivity, reduce stress, sleep better, and on and on.

Here then, are my Favorite Five Fitness tips for Fixing Flat Summer Programs

1. Get a Grip!

Changing how you grasp a bar can dramatically alter the kinetics of a resistance exercise, and create exciting new interest in upper body pushing and pulling exercises. I also frequently find that people with joint ailments (the rotator cuff in the shoulder in particular) can avoid impingement and discomfort by experimenting with grip adjustments.
Alter the width of where you grasp a bar, the rotation of your wrists (palms up or down), or change the bar entirely. A Traditional grip is palms facing down when your hands are extended on a plane in front of your eyes. Change your routine by continuing to use a traditional bar grip, but vary the distance of where your hands grasp the bar to recruit additional or different muscle fiber groups. Two or three inches narrower or wider are usually sufficient. Try varied grip widths for chest, triceps, and shoulder presses to effectively train muscle groups on range of motion boundaries not normally recruited with a 'monotonous' grip position.

Try using a reverse grip for lat pull downs, seated pulley rows, supported T bar rows, and single arm movements of the same. Selecting a different bar or cable attachment can also introduce variety into an otherwise mundane program. Experiment with straight, cambered , EZ curl, V-shaped, and rope attachments for arm exercises. Choose between straight, cambered, wide grip lat, wide grip cambered, and bent lat bars for back & traps.

Use your modified grip (or bar choice) consistently for a minimum of 2 to 4 weeks, then try another one! But don't switch more frequently than that: the initial adoptions from a varied grip will be neurological; the muscle strength & fiber growth you're looking for occurs only after primary neurological adoptions are complete, so don't switch too often!

One Critical piece of advice here: if you are unsure of the proper movement, or the safety of the exercise, DO consult with a fitness expert before experimenting. Modifying grip and bar choice changes joint rotations that can be unsafe for the uneducated.

2. Be Promiscuous

Hey, it's OK ... it's just a workout! But you'd be surprised and amazed with how much fun, exciting, and refreshing training with a new partner or trainer can be! And effective! Here's bonus a tip for you: training with a partner or trainer is one of the true key elements to reaching heath and fitness goals you never before thought possible. Knowing that someone is expecting you to show up for a workout - someone who will hold you personally accountable for making it to that fitness appointment dramatically improves the likelihood that you will actually show up! Having someone help you with a few forced reps, and assist with some negative repetitions not only increases the safety of your workout, but it increases intensity as well.

If you've been with a partner or trainer for more than 6 months, try making a change for a while. If you like your partner current partner/trainer, try forming a small club of 'workout buddies'' and rotate through the group periodically. Not only will you make new friends, but you'll grow if only through a handful of favorite tips, tricks, and techniques we've all collected over time. More likely, however, is that you'll also change the tempo, repetition rate, sequence of exercises, and content of your split routines. All of this puts your body at a high state of 'nervousness' which encourages neurological adaptations required for increased muscle group recruitment. Especially with today's hectic schedules, you can never have too many workout buddies, and some of the best workouts I've ever had have been 'reunion' workouts with former partners from high school and college.

Finally, I strongly recommend AGAINST training with your significant other. Your workout needs to be free from the baggage and agenda from that relationship if you truly want results.

3. Know and Feel your Pain

Herb Brooks was right: "...you must grow through pain." Realize, first, however, that not all pain is good!

Being able to understand, recognized, and differentiate good pain from bad pain is a key element in making consistent progress towards your fitness goals. The burning sensation felt from fully exhausted muscle groups is due to the accumulation of a waste product known as lactic acid. Excessive lactic acid buildup is also responsible for muscle soreness after your workout. Generally speaking, it is a good pain giving you reassurance that you've recruited otherwise inactive muscle groups and have trained them to momentary exhaustion. Even so, training muscle groups to exhaustion with high intensity exercises should be moderated to avoid over training.

Plan to train to train each body part to complete exhaustion (and feel the burn that comes with it) no more than once per week, and less so after age 40. The burning feedback from lactic acid is much different from that which you feel when joints, tendons, and ligaments are strained. Especially as you hit the mid years of your life, not all pain is equal, so learn to differentiate the good from bad. Pursue active rest to reduce lactic acid buildup,but completely rest when you have an injury. If in doubt, check with a trusted personal trainer.

4. Have a Ball!

A medicine ball, that is. They're inexpensive (less than $20 each), and can introduce new fun into an otherwise tiring routine! Did you know that medicine balls have been used in in physical therapy since 1000 BC! Sizes and shapes vary from 1 Kg to 11KG, but all medicine balls will be soft enough to bounce on a firm surface (like a wall or floor). Indeed, it's ability to absorb impact is what makes a ball a medicine ball. Most balls with come with brief instruction guides for things to try. A few of my favorites are:

Walking diagonal lunges with a gentle hand to hand shot-put-like overhead toss (glutes deltoids, balance);
Explosive seated overhead throw and catch against a flat wall (lats, abs),
Sit-up and overhead throw to partner (abs, lats);
Explosive squat position basketball chest pass against a wall (gluts, delts, tris); and
Russian Twist - balance on your butt with feet lifted off the floor and rotate ball in a twisting motion (abs, obliques);

And if you think training with a medicine ball is for wusses, try a few single arm supported dumbbell rows: support yourself in a plank-like position atop of the ball with one fully extended arm while grasping a very light dumbbell in the other. Balance on the ball with the extended arm while knocking out a few single arm dumbbell rows. You'll train Tris, Delts, Pecs, Core, Traps, and Lumbar with just this one exercise.

5. Get Roped!

One of the most effective cable attachments ever invented is the rope attachment. Part of what makes it so effective is that the flexibility of the rope allows the exercise range of motion to follow a more natural joint motion than any fixed bar ever could. Use the rope attachment for:

Split triceps pushdowns from a pull down pulley
Single Arm triceps pushdowns ... try grabbing both rope ends, or just one;
Split biceps curls from a seated row pulley
Single Arm biceps curls
Seated Crunches from a pull down machine

Unfortunately, rope attachment 'evolutions' have actually reduced it's effectiveness in some ways. Back in the 70s we simply threaded heavyweight marine mooring through the eyelet of the cable buckle. While crude, it required that you both: 1) establish a firm grip on each end; AND 2) manage balance between the ends of the rope. Today's rope attachments normally have huge knots on each end and a fixed buckle in the middle. While still effective in providing quality and gentle joint kinetics, the grip and balance benefits of a free, unknotted rope have been forgotten. Not to worry though ... just thread a hand towel through the attachment buckle for a similar enough effect!

One thing to note with most ropes, however: unlike it's metallic cousins, ropes will absorb and hold moisture from your gym brethren, so be sure to wash your hands immediately after your workout to leave the fungus at the gym!

Cross Training Ideal Summer Diversion

2009-07-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

The dog days of summer are officially with us! Daylight that starts early and ends late. Clouds do their best to shelter us from the burning sun above, but are only marginally successful, because when the sun pokes through, it's hot, hot, hot!

For whatever reason, it's just really hard to get the body going in these conditions. Whether it's the heat and or the humidity, it's simply not inspiring weather to crank up the intensity ... or easily extend your workout.

So, now is a perfect time to introduce or better incorporate some cross training into your regular exercise patterns.

If you're like a lot of folks, you've got a good routine well established: strength train 3 or 4 days per week; 2 or 3 moderate cardio days; and a long slow cardio event on the weekend.

It's all good. Actually, that's terrific! Because if you've found a way to get that much exercise into your life you're well on your way to accomplishing anything you'd like to achieve with your fitness program. And your life. You're approaching Fitness Fung Shui!

But with the summer doldrums settling in, now's a good time to break out of this groove a bit. And some cross training is the perfect solution!

For starters, new exercises elevate the body's nervous state. A lot of energy is spent sending electrical impulses around your body. And when you perform a foreign exercise, your body is in a heightened state of alertness, generating even more electricity. As a result, you'll burn more calories simply by trying some new exercises.

Additionally, if you've been in the 'groove' for a while, you'll hit a wall after not too long. The body adapts to the exercises, becomes fit, and then finds the routine merely ... well, routine! You don't need (and shouldn't) go to extremes to alter your exercise program, but you should change it somewhat significantly at least every 6 weeks. Fitness professionals call this periodization. And without going into the science of adaption, just recognize that a bit of cross training can be tremendously helpful with your program.

Finally, no matter how gentle you are with your joints, and no matter how careful you are to hydrate and stretch, if you're into your middle aged years, overuse of specific body motions can introduce pains, strains, and injury. Repetitive stress can set in. Sometimes it's diagnosed as tendinitis.

Using new or foreign exercises allows highly used muscles and joints to recover a bit while others are utilized. And this is the greatest benefit to cross training.

Here, then, are some specific cross training ideas:

For cyclists, it means running a bit

Run Some Hills
Run some Sprints
Get in some Extra Resistance work

For runners it means ...

a bit of swimming
or some Extra Resistance work
Ride Your Bike

For folks on the FT program, where we completely handle your program periodization, it primarily means changing up your long, slow cardio event.
Other Fun Ways to add some cross training to your program:

Kayak for a morning, afternoon, or evening

Go for a day hike (run?) in the woods
Run on a sandy beach

Rollerblade out on of our great bike paths

Rollerski ... but get some instruction 1st ... some skills are needed
Swim, then swim harder or longer
Do some Rock Climbing
Join a league and play volleyball, soccer, hockey, or lacrosse once a week

Get Fit in Just 6 Minutes a Week!

2009-07-02T14:31:00.000-05:00

And get a PhD in just 2 weeks! Or getting filthy rich in 6 months with your part time, home based business! Is it human nature, or just American to be so drawn to the super shortcut?

To wit, new buzz around the 6 minute workout is with us again. Last month, The New York Times Health section published an article on getting fit with only a few, short, but very high intensity workouts per week. Studies in Japan on rats, and in Canada on humans have found that short, intense bouts of exercise not only achieved comparable fitness levels to subjects who completed much longer, but much less intense exercise. Also ... and here's the kicker ... they also achieved the same endurance benefits!

While encouraging indeed, as the old adage goes, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

For starters, the short duration, extremely intensity workout regimen isn't entirely new. Check out Crossfit.com for a peek at some of the zaniest things I've ever seen to create additional physical stress on the body. The principles applied are simple enough: shock and overload the body so that it must adapt. Trainers all over the country do the same thing with their clients, but they do so in a more controlled, safe and moderate way.

Perhaps a military, 20 something body can tolerate, even thrive, on short bouts of extreme overload and shock. However, people new to exercise, and those in their middle or golden years will simply break eventually with that kind of approach!

Don't get me wrong, intense exercise has it's time and place in an overall exercise program, but to use ONLY extremely intense exercise is complete nonsense!

Yes, it's true that when you exercise at extremely intense levels your calorie demands could be as much as 10 times that at a moderate level. And it's also true that that kind of exercise promotes fitness adaption that can only be achieved with those kinds of intensity levels.

But it fails to do many favors for your tendons, joints, and ligaments. Or your skeletal alignment. Tweek your back a bit sprinting up a hill with a 50 pound pack (crossfit.com) ,and you'll develop headaches, sleep poorly, and develop other aches and pains.

More importantly, however, this type of program irresponsibly ignores the numerous and various benefits of complementing that type of intensity with less intense work.

Lower intensity exercise has been proven to help boost the immune system and fight off infection. If you exercise intensely with a viral infection, you'll only prolong the infection, whereas moderate or low intensity exercise can actually help you fight off the bugs.

Additionally, regular, moderate intensity exercise has been shown to help prevent osteoporosis.

Not to mention that high intensity cardiovascular exercise does little to help develop joint strength and stability that can be only developed with sufficient and proper resistance work.

And if that's not enough, you'd also be missing out on the many and varied benefits of 'regular' exercise: Increased Energy Levels; Reduced Stress; Sleeping Better; Better Sex; Eating Healthy, Avoidance of Depression; Reduction in the Risk of Developing Heart Disease and many Cancers; and on and on and on.

Again, it belongs in an overall fitness program, but simply can't stand alone.

Top 10 Healthy Summer Vacation Tips

2009-06-25T12:40:00.000-05:00

Summer's here and it's easy to miss or avoid exercise while on 'vacation.'

Just remember though, that your metabolism NEVER quits, and all of those extra calories looking back at you will either be converted into heat through exercise, or land smack on your backside. If you have a lot of driving to do, your total calorie requirements for the day could go down by as much as 50%!

Here then are my top 10 tips for maintaining good health and fitness while planning and taking a vacation.

Plan Active Vacations that include hiking, cycling or backpacking. Instead of yet another year inside an air conditioned museum, hike the canyons, paddle the boundary waters, or backpack a national park.
Discuss Exercise with your traveling partner(s) before you hit the road. Which cities and parks will offer exercise opportunities. Plan for exercising at least half of the days you travel.
See sights in new cities by cycling. You'll avoid a lot of auto traffic and get healthier in the process. Bike shops everywhere will rent bikes, and have tips and maps for safe riding in urban areas. Better yet, get a bike rack and take your own bike with you! Stow it in your room at night if you don't have a great rack locking system. Trek, Lance, and I Believe in Bikes.
If you can't bike, then walk. And don't skip the stairs!
Pack active and exercise attire accordingly. At the very least, pack a pair of running shoes! But it's also pretty easy to pack a small gym bag. You're a lot less likely to exercise if you don't have proper attire!
Get a Healthy Breakfast Every day. Plan for a clean, high protein breakfast to start your day night. Hard boiled egg whites; skim milk; low/non-fat cottage cheese; yogurt. A good protein meal should carry you well into the afternoon.
Avoid deep fat fried foods. This tip goes for always, but especially if you're traveling, you may be spending half of the calories you would otherwise spend on a normal day, and can NOT afford the extra, heart clogging calories while sedentary.
Eat Clean while in the car. If you're on a road trip impose and enforce a Healthy Foods Only Rule: water, fruit, nuts, and jerky are reasonably healthy and relatively low calorie. My favorite convenience store on earth is Kwik Trip. They have cheap bananas, fresh fruit, sweet baby carrots, and great tasting skim milk.
Exercise First. If your day includes a planned exercise event, do it first thing in the morning so that all of the uncertainty of travel won't get in the way of your workout later in the day. Plus, touring can be draining and dehydrating; you'll feel less motivated later in the day.
Carry your bag or pull a cart if you golf. You'll spend almost 3 times as many calories as you would if you dump your butt into a rider.

Oh, and here's a bonus tip! (guess that's 11)

Stretch. And then stretch some more. I am always shocked at how out of place I look when stretching at highway waysides. EVERYONE should be stretching there. Warm up a bit first with a brisk 5 minute walk, then stretch every muscle group you can find ... then stretch it again!

Eight Simple Summer Fitness Tips

2009-06-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

I have to believe that world calamity and global economic stress have a lot to do with it, but there's been a distinct theme within a few of the commencement speeches I've tuned in to over the past few days: appreciate life; it's the only one (of this sort) you get! And so, with all of the elaboration around simplicity, it occurred to me that a few simple, basic fitness tips would be in order this week.

Indeed, every once in a while it makes good sense to simply remind ourselves of a few of the most basic things that you can do to enrich your life and enhance your lifestyle. So, here are my Eight Simple Summer Fitness Tips ...

1. Lift Weights two to four times per week. As described in detail a few weeks ago, increased lean body mass increases your metabolism which significantly increases your calorie burn. Load bearing exercise also helps prevent osteoporosis ... a threat to both men and women.

2. Move More. Use the spread office suggestions from my January blog. Cut your own grass. Walk your own dog. Walk down the hallway to check with a colleague instead of phoning her. Park in remote areas of every parking lot you park in. Use the stairs. All of these simple, additional body movements add up quickly in the long run.

3. Ride your bike to work at least once weekly. Check our May blog to begin your new commuting life style. You'll look better, feel better, be healthier, and reduce your cabon footprint all at once!

4. Eat Clean. The June issue of The American Journal of Medicine reports that Americans eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily has gone from 42% in 1988 to 26% in 2006. One thing is for sure: if you don't buy them, you won't eat them, so be sure to spend at least 25% of your total grocery shopping experience in the produce section!

5. Eat Smart. Smaller meals digest better than larger ones. And they help keep your stomach smaller. Don't eat big meals before bed time. Do eat breakfast every day. Don't get crazy on the carbohydrates, and limit or eliminate highly saturated fat content foods from your diet.

6. Get enough rest each day. Proper rest assists with recovery from exercise. It also effects your job performance, and is critical to regulating insulin. Researchers have also found that proper rest can reduce your risk of developing cancer.

7. Stretch Daily. Certainly, you can do yoga to improve your flexibility, but a simple home stretching regimen is plenty sufficient for most people. More important than anything else is that you build a mere 10 to 15 minutes of stretching into your day.

8. Hydrate. Develop the habit of carrying a water bottle with you where ever you go. Drinking plenty of water helps you digest food better, increases muscle and joint flexibility, and helps keep your breath fresh!

But if this all seems like a lot of simple tips, and therefore, no longer simple at all, here's a bonus tip ...

9. Make incremental adjustments. Changing habits takes time, effort, and determination. Rather than attempting to tackle all 8 of these tips tomorrow, pick and seriously focus on just one for each of the next 8 weeks.

10 Things you Need to Know Before Hiring a Personal Trainer

2009-06-05T08:51:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine from decades gone by shot me an email from California a few weeks ago. A mutual friend from the same era was about to turn 50, is desperately overweight, and a group of his friends are chipping in on a Personal Trainer for him. Any recommendations?

As it turns out, all of the folks in the industry I did once know in the Bay Area were either no longer in the industry, or had moved. So, I really didn't have a recommendation. But I had plenty of suggestions about how to get started, and quickly realized that finding the right trainer isn't entirely straightforward. In fact, it was downright complicated, confusing, and 'noisy.'

So, here then are my top 10 Tips for Finding the Right Personal Trainer.

1. There is no licensing requirement in most states. Unlike chiropractors, nutritional consultants, and massage therapists, Personal Training does not require licensing. It's been suggested that states require licensing for the entire 25 years I've been in the industry, but it never seems to find any traction. In fact, you don't need a degree, nor do you really even need a certification to operate as a Personal Trainer. You yourself, in fact, could call yourself a Personal Trainer and no one with any authority could force you to drop the declaration. While all of our trainers do have degrees from 4 year programs in exercise science related fields, and it does in fact make them better trainers, some trainers get along just fine with practical experience and energy. Simply recognize that without formal kinesiology and physiology training, you do assume higher risk of injury.

2. That said, most Personal Trainers will at the least boast certifications. And what a mess! You'll see ACE, AFPT, NSCA, ASCM, and UBYA along with dozens, perhaps hundreds, of others. It's a verifiable alphabet soup out there, and unless you're actually in the industry, you really wouldn't know the difference between a B6T from CYA and an Advanced Certification from NTSE. I've personally completed a few myself, see them daily on applications from trainers, and even I get confused! Some certifications, like NSCA an ASCM are very technical and difficult to obtain. Others are web based and can be completed with just a few hours on the internet! And even then, authenticating the certificate will be a challenge. So, you'll need to do some research and don't be shy about directly requesting a copy of your potential trainer's certification. If certifications are all your trainer carries for credentials (unlike an actual degree), be sure to go online and look at the curricula. Oh, and be sure to ask about the currency of their CPR certification.

3. Nutritional Education is normally not part of most programs. In fact, even the degreed programs our staff has completed are light on nutritional education. And trainers will be all over the map on nutritional advice. Be extremely cautious if your trainer-to-be spends a lot of time pitching supplements. First, many states, Minnesota included, prohibit the 'prescription' of diet unless you are a licensed nutritionist. But a lot of trainers make significantly more profit from pushing and selling supplements than they do from training. If you find your trainer recommending more than a single supplement per day, or a month's supply of pre and post workout supplementation, your best bet is to simply walk away.

4. Training women is much different than training men. I've run into a lot of male bodybuilders over the years who make Personal Training their profession. Highly accomplished themselves, a lot of these guys know a great deal about training young male athletes, and are quite good at it. But it takes an entirely different type of training, and an entirely different style of personal interaction to work with women, children, seniors, or special needs clients. Training an athletic, healthy 20 -something is much, much, much different than training a 50 something woman who hasn't done much exercise in the past 20 years! Make sure that the trainer you interview has experience and positive results with someone just like you!

5. Personal and Professional Boundaries vary significantly. Dating your personal trainer is completely unprofessional. We had a trainer on staff a few years ago who came in with a fresh haircut. He looked good with it, and I told him so! He responded that he "...had just learned that most personal training clients fantasize about their trainer, and that if our clients were going to fantasize about him he at least wanted to look good!" Honestly, I can't confirm the statistic. And I don't know why clients sometimes tell us the things they tell us ... we're really not psychologists! But with regular, close contact, and regular (sometimes overly) personal conversations, the illusion of a friendship sometimes surfaces. However, if your Personal Trainer is a true professional, dating ... and even casual fraternization ... is completely over the line. A true Personal Training Professional begins and ends his relationship with you with your training session. Directly ask your personal training candidate what her policy is on dating clients.

6. Scheduling issues are likely to exist. Anyone who's worth training with is going to be busy enough to be at least slightly unavailable to train you at your preferred time. At least initially. For FT MSP, we normally wedge the 1st few weeks of training into a mutually acceptable, but awkward schedule for new clients. Over time, things eventually converge to at least mostly acceptable for the client. As you might expect though, before and after work hot spots will always be on the schedule. Be sure to check your would be trainer's schedule for the next few weeks before writing your check.

7. Turnover is extremely high in this industry. Due primarily to the lack of parental guidance mentioned above, Personal Training is an extremely high turnover industry. One statistic recently showed an average trainer turnover of about 6 months. Because, like you, I need to get out of my office to exercise, I personally see this kind of turnover all the time at the big boxes where I exercise. Very few trainers work independently these days. Most are employed by and paid through their fitness facility. When they leave, any unused sessions they still owe you will likely get brokered to other trainers in the facility. This could be good (perhaps even great!), or bad, but you need to ask about turnover and session transferability should your training candidate move on. And what if the trainer you hire simply doesn't work for you? Personality friction sometimes exists. If a few sessions go poorly, can your unused sessions be trained by a colleague? Or sister facility across town?

8. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Anyone who promises you that you'll loose 25# in the next 25 days is selling snake oil. Oh, it can in fact be done, but it won't be safe, and it won't be permanent. If your ultimate objective is to incorporate safe, permanent, positive changes into your life, be sure that your trainer understands that. Be sure that you're clear about your goals, and don't let your don't let your trainer change them into dreams. In fact, one of the most unfortunate consequences of how most trainers are now employed is that those that do well in the big box gyms do so primarily because they can sell better than other trainers. And one of the reasons for why turnover is as high as it is is because thousands of highly skilled, enthusiastic, would-be exercise professionals are horrible at selling. It is truly tragic that schools are churning out skilled exercise professionals, and the 1st thing their employer asks them to do is become a salesperson! So, if it starts to feel like you're being 'sold' something from your potential trainer, chances are that she's better at selling than she might be at training. If you're not answering a lot of questions, but are instead listening to a lot of promises, you're talking to the wrong person.

9. Do the research. I like to compare hiring a trainer to hiring an orthodontist. If you don't have teenagers, this won't make complete sense, but a trainer, like an orthodontist is someone who ...

You will see very frequently and need to at least like a little bit;
Needs to have acceptable availability with your schedule;
Is reasonably easy to get to several times per week. You don't want to be stuck in traffic for 40 minutes just getting to your trainer. You'll be late frequently, and you'll also come to dread the event, which will eventually reduce your attendance, which makes reaching your goals nearly impossible; and, finally ...
Needs to have proven results for patients with your specific background and goals

So, be sure to ask for and call several references. Make sure that those references are like you. Ask them about scheduling, results, nutritional advice, and socialization policies. Ask, as well about basic things like personal hygiene. Are they always cleanly shaven, with fresh breath, and without body odor? This might seem like it's getting a bit too personal, but I can assure you, you don't want a trainer in your face with bad breath or body odor. And very, very few people will actually volunteer that her trainer has BO unless you specifically ask them.

10. Find out who the boss is. Who do you turn to if your trainer crosses that personal/professional boundary. To whom is your potential trainer eventually accountable? What is the background of the guy in charge? How long has she been in business? And what about their professional network: what professional and business associations do they belong to? What is their presence in the community like? What is their wellness sphere of influence like? Do they work with and have strong relationships with other wellness professionals in massage therapy, chiropractic care and nutrition. A quick google of the boss' name can give you a lot of information!

Preventing Osteoporosis with Your Long Slow Cardio Event

2009-05-28T13:01:00.000-05:00

Osteoporosis is a bone degenerating disease that leads to potentially dangerous (even deadly) bone fractures. Commonly discussed as a risk area for aging women, if you're thinking that this problem is just for the girls, think again! Recent research at the University of Wisconsin shows, that while "While a 50-year-old woman faces a lifetime risk of 50% for an osteoporotic fracture, anywhere from one in eight to one in four 50-year-old men face that risk."

Further, the complication and death rates for men are higher than for women.

But wouldn't you know it ... one of the best ways to avoid osteoporosis is to maintain a regular resistance program! If you're not regularly exercising, we can certainly help you with that. Additionally, now that we're basking in 15+ hours of daylight, your long slow cardio event can help there too!

Because if you're following our prescribed cardiovascular programming recommendations your weekly cardio efforts will include:

One short duration, high intensity event (SDHI)
Two moderate duration, moderate intensity events (MDMD)
One long duration, low intensity event (LDLI)

Sundays, early mornings, and late evenings are perfect times to get out and complete that Long Duration, Low Intensity (LDLI) event.

But just what, exactly, is Long Duration? And Low Intensity?

Generally, you'll want the long duration, low exercise event to be measured in hours, preferably closer to 2 or 3. But it shouldn't feel exhausting.

You'll want to pick up your heart rate just a bit, but not so much that you're really challenging your circulatory or respiratory systems. The increased blood flow provides much needed nutrient rich blood to your muscles, bones, and joints.

Under the stress of more intense exercise (resistance or cardio), muscle fibers, tendons, and ligaments all get damaged a bit. This is by design, as the rebuilding/recovery that follows makes them stronger, longer, or leaner. It also increases bone density, which is why it's particularly effective in avoiding osteoporosis.

Additionally, conversion of energy sources to energy produces a toxic waste product called lactic acid during exercise. The more intense you exercise, the more lactic acid you produce. This waste product is the primary reason why you may feel sore after resistance exercise: your body doesn't like the lactic acid hanging around muscle groups. Stretching can help help eliminate lactic acid buildup, but we mostly depend on the circulatory system to flush it out.

Your LDLI then, provides an important niche role in assisting with your recovery: upside nutrition for your recovering tissues, and increased blood flow to remove lactic acid waste product.

If you have a heart rate monitor we can tell you exactly what range to be in for this exercise.

Or ...

You can enroll in our Targeted Cardio Program and get one for free!;
You can use the perceived exertion scale;
You can use this handy minute rule tip from RealAge.com.

But before you start thinking "... hey, I'll just do that daily then ..." , do recognize that this only has practical value within a comprehensive program that includes prescribed resistance training as well as more intense bouts of cardio work. It's part of the puzzle, but a lost puzzle piece by itself.

Exactly what you do for your Weekly LDLI will depend enormously on your current fitness level, but here are a few suggestions.

Walk. The lakes, the rivers, and the bridges all have excellent separation from traffic. And the intensity of a brisk walk is exactly in the right range for LDLI exercise. Again, check this handy tip from RealAge to gauge intensity.

Nordic Walk. If you want to do even than better than just walking, start nordic walking. Long popular with the skiers for summertime training, nordic walking has a leg up on just plain walking in that with the use of hiking poles you:

Engage your entire body in the exercise
Improve Core Strength and Stability (lower back and abdominals)
Increase Shoulder and Arm muscular endurance
Improve the safety and stability of your walk, especially for geriatrics

... thereby burning an additional 45% more calories than with walking alone!!!

You can stick to the urban trails, or get onto the many city and county park hiking trails (Hennepin County Parks, Ramsey County Parks). You can get your hiking poles at REI, or one of the many area cross county shops: Finn Sisu in St. Paul, or Gear West in Long Lake.

Ride your Bike. Check out my May 7th blog entry on commuting by bike to work!

Drug Dealing at your Local Supplements Store

2009-05-21T13:40:00.001-05:00

In 1994 Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Unlike nearly everything else you put into your mouth, this legislation allowed supplements to be sold with no proof of effectiveness or safety, or approval from the FDA.

The burden of ensuring the safety of supplements, according to the DSHEA is not the Federal Government's responsibility. It is, instead, up to the manufacturer.

Supplements in this legislation were broadly defined as vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids and other products that don't contain approved pharmaceutical drugs and don't claim to treat disease.

So, it's really caveat emptor in this space.

And, how have the manufacturers done in ensuring the safety of their consumers? Well, while most manufacturers have done a fair job, a few of the more aggressive manufacturers, those primarily serving the more aggressive consumers, have done rather poorly, and in fact may have even killed a few people along the way!

Here are a few failures:

In 2002 Ephedra and Creatine were linked to several athlete deaths. Ephedra, and it's derivative, Ephedrine were then banned in 2004 following the 2003 death of Orioles pitcher Steve Belcher.
In 2005 there was a lot of noise about the effects of artificial sweetener (and FDA Approved) Aspartame's link to sudden cardiac arrest.
Then, just a few weeks ago, on May 1st, Hydroxycut products were pulled from the shelves following the death of a teenager and dozens of cases of liver damage.

Suffice it to say that just because it's on the grocery or supplement store shelves, that doesn't mean it's good for you! Even today, it is still quite common to find Yohimbe and various (sometimes extremely high concentrations of) Caffeine sources in most energy drinks and diet products.

Even more frightening is the fact that the manufacturing of supplements is completely unregulated. Check out this re posting of an article in this Month's Sports Illustrated Magazine. Are you buying supplements from or designed by a former auto body restorer with no expertise in nutrition, chemistry, or physiology?

What to do?

First, read the nutrition and ingredients label on the product before you put it into your body. Chances are that if you can't pronounce the ingredient you might not want it. Seek natural, if not organic nutrition bars, powders, and meal replacement products. Do some research on the active ingredients listed if you're unsure of it's effect. Do you really know what things like Garcinia cambogia and Gymnema sylvestre extracts are, and what they might do to you!?

Second, if you take supplements, use them in moderation. We like to suggest no more than one supplement per day. Supplements are not food.

Drink More Milk! If you've just completed a resistance training workout and are seeking a high quality, low carbohydrate protein food, look no further: a double serving of skim milk fits the bill with about 16 grams of protein.

Or, if you've just finished up on an aerobic workout, and in need of a few more carbohydrates, Chocolate Milk is one of your best options! Low in fat, and with an approximate 4:1 proportion of carbs:protein, chocolate milk has the exact proportions supplied by the most popular post endurance athlete products.

Increase Your Metabolism to Burn More Fat

2009-05-15T05:58:00.000-05:00

It's May 15th and it's bike to work day!

It's also bike to work week, and May is Bike to work Month.

Guess I'll have to ride at least 3 times today!

But because I bike to work at least twice a week anyway, the day isn't too unique on my commuting calendar. In fact, I actually drove my car to the auto shop for some repairs this morning with my bike on top of it! And then I biked to work from there! (or, more accurately, biked to workS from there, because I work in multiple locations).

But all of that got me thinking a bit about how the internal combustion engine in your car creates motion and heat analogous to the way your body creates motion and heat. Your car's engine combines fuel and oxygen to create thousands of tiny chemical reactions that run your car's engine. The faster these (extremely quick) reactions (called explosions) occur, the faster your engine runs. The primary fuel types are octane and, to a lesser degree, ethanol, both (carbon based) organic compounds. Byproducts of this chemical reaction are heat, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other carbon particles.

Your body similarly uses (carbon based) organic matter as fuel for motion. Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins ... all organic compounds... undergo chemical reactions with oxygen that contract muscle fibers. We even talk about it the same way: " ... doing some cardio to burn a few more calories." A Calorie, is in fact the amount of energy required to raise one gram of water 1 degree centigrade. So, 'burning calories' is technically, literally, and figuratively accurate. But we also call it metabolism. At the chemical level metabolism is merely the production of heat through the conversion of energy sources into body motion. Our bodies are, therefore, heat producing machines! The byproducts of metabolism is (like the internal combustion engine) heat, carbon dioxide, and other carbon particles.

How, and in what proportion these fuel sources are utilized is fully described in my Heart Rate Zone Training to Look and Feel Fantastic report. Or, check out my Fat Burning Myth blog from a few months ago for a quick tutorial. The philosophy is quite simple: the larger your metabolic engine, the more fuel you require. So, if you have more body fat fuel clinging to your bones than you'd like, making your metabolic engine a bit larger will help, quite literally, to burn off that fuel.

So, here are a few tips for boosting your metabolism, consuming more fat, and looking better than ever in your summer swim wear!

1. Increase your lean body mass. Lean body mass includes bone, blood, and muscle tissue. Increasing your lean body mass allows you to consume more energy when you exercise, but, and more importantly, increased lean mass allows you to consume more energy when you are at rest. And we are typically at rest as much as 95% of the day, so having a larger, idling engine burns more fat. Lean body mass is living, "breathing", calorie consuming tissue that continually requires fuel. And just as a large SUV V8 engine will consume a lot more fuel than a compact 4 cylinder engine, the larger your body's fuel consuming engine, the more fuel you'll consume.

2. Increase your exercise frequency. As mentioned back in December, Exercise Quickies will boost your daily metabolism: two smaller workouts per day will consume more energy on the whole than a single, longer workout. Additionally, the recovery period following those workouts also requires elevated metabolism. Maybe you really should start walking the dog each morning!

3. Just move more! Exercise yes, but also find ways to simply use your body more. While no longer available, the American Heart Association ran the Just Move campaign for years with this sole objective. Check out my Spread Office blog for ways to be more active in your sedentary office job. Bike to work instead of driving! Use the good old fashion hand masher tool to mash your potatoes instead of the mix master. Carry your groceries. Park in the most remote section of every parking lot you drive to. Etc. Here's a good collection of other ways to turn your daily chores into more active events.

4. Take advantage of our Promo! 10 sessions for a referral!? That's $800 in training! Or, try us out for a week of training for just 99 bucks!

May is Bike Month. Minneapolis St Paul Cycle Commuting Primer

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

May is National Bike Month. Bike to Work Week is May 11 - May 15. And Bike to Work Day Friday, May 15th!

And wow, cycling to the office gets a day, a week, and a month!

Biking to work will save you some gas money, reduce greenhouse gases, and help get you a bit more fit all at once! Plus, you can then handle that loaded Chipotle Burrito for lunch without even thinking twice about the 945 calories therein :-)

But there are a few tricks for making it enjoyable and easy. So, here are my 6 Secrets to Successful Cyclist Commuting on your bike here in the Twin Cities:

1. The right Gear. You don't need to spend thousands on a bike or clothing, but you do need to have a well maintained bike and layered clothing. Go to your local bike shop to get set up (NOT Walmart or Sams). If you end up riding a lot (3+ days per week), you would do well to get fit for your bike - bike shop specialists match the geometry of the bike to the dimensions of your torso, arms, and legs. The basic gear will get you started, but if you do spend extra, spend it on rain gear: you will get caught in the rain at some point in your commuter lifetime, and being prepared to ride in the rain will help keep you in the saddle.

Additionally, despite the highly enviable fashion appeal of bright, multi-colored jerseys, most cyclists really are not pretending to be from the Tour de France: they're simply trying to BE SEEN and remain upright on the roadways! And you should too. As it turns out, the best materials and workmanship normally do get tattooed with logos and sponsor graffiti (which helps pay for the more expensive materials), so they are indeed popular with experienced cyclists. What's important is that you own something very brightly colored to be seen on the road. Yellow, Orange, and Red are best.

2. The right route. Planning a route is essential. And rewarding. You will discover and appreciate roads and neighborhoods cycling to work that you would otherwise never see. However, some planning is required. Your local bike shop will have local maps for commuters. First look for routes that overpass freeways where auto traffic does not interchange with the freeway, and plan the rest of your commute around those: the most dangerous part of any commute is crossing a freeway where cars and trucks are accelerating into merge lanes to jump onto the on ramps. Mornings tend to be better than evenings, but you will want to avoid freeway interchanges. Bike pathways, bike lanes, and other wide avenues are normally well marked on local bike maps, but you will sometimes find local residential street routes just as bike friendly.

Plan on trying a few different options: you'll need to experiment a bit to discover the best places to cross arterial roads, avoid traffic, avoid traffic lights, and feel separated from or safe with auto and truck traffic.

3. The Right Backup Plan. Perhaps most important of all - have a Plan B. Identify service organizations (coffee shops, convenience stores, bike shops) along or near the route that might come in handy if you have a breakdown, get caught in a storm, or need to rehydrate. Carry a cell phone so that you can always call a cab for a ride, or call 911 if you're really in trouble. Beware, however, that if you do call a taxi you will need a physical street address for a pickup ... "The Park by the river bend" will not work.

4. The right light. Lengthy Minnesota days are a true delight for cyclists. Mid summer you can start as early as 5:45AM and finish as late as 9:00 PM without the need serious lighting. For these hours, you need just two things: $25 flashing headlight and a $25 flashing tail light. Buy and use these if you're riding before 8:00AM or after 7:00PM. While you may not notice any light from them, twilight hours, shadows, and sun glare make seeing cyclists difficult for motorists when the sun is low on the horizon. You'll need a more expensive halogen system if you ride earlier or later, and as daylight diminishes towards fall.

5. A change of clothes. Plan to sweat a bit, especially in humid summer conditions. You have two choices: you can either carry a pack, or bring a change of clothes to your office the day (or days) before your ride. Supply your office with soap and sundries if you are privileged enough to work for an employer who has a shower and locker room. If not, stock your change of clothes bag with a supply of pre-moistened handy wipes. HOT TIP! Baby butt wipes do a fabulous job of cleaning the crevices and deodorizing after a ride. You'll smell a bit like baby powder for a day, but do your co-workers a huge favor!

6. The right place for your Bike. Many offices and office building have bike racks for daytime storage. It's plenty safe to leave your bike there if it is a well lit area with plenty of foot traffic. If it's secluded, however, or in a bad neighborhood, or if you're in love with your bike (which isn't too crazy - heck, mine have names!), or if you simply want everyone in your office to know that you are riding your bike to work (it is contiguous!), you may prefer to stow it in your office or someplace nearby.

In 30 years of riding to work, I've never been denied access to my office with my bike. You may get some curious looks and a few raised eyebrows, but no one will tell you that you can't bring your bike in the building. It is sometimes more convenient and less conspicuous to take the freight elevator or service entrance to avoid other workers arriving before you clean up and change. Mingling with coworkers in biker shorts can be awkward.

So there you have it! Enough to get started! Do Post a comment if you have a tip I've missed!

Proven Swine Flu Protection!

2009-04-30T13:26:00.000-05:00

Looking for an easy way to worry less about the Swine Flu infection?

Look no further. It's called regular, moderate intensity exercise!

While no one is completely immune, with the H1N1 virus circulating, it's a good time to point out that regular moderate exercise improves your body's ability to fight off disease and infection!

Even better, you don't need to train intensely for those benefits. Because while you do need to work a bit harder to improve strength, and you do need to work a bit longer to improve your endurance, and you do need to work a bit faster to improve your cardiovascular fitness levels, regular moderate exercise is all that's needed to improve your immune systems.

Why is that?

Well, a few theories exist.

First, the more rapid breathing associated with moderate exercise helps flush the lungs of airborne illnesses.
Second, increased sweat and urine production helps rid the body of carcinogens.
Third, an elevated heart rate more quickly circulates antibodies and white blood cells to fight off infections.
Fourth, increased body temperatures have been found to help prevent the growth of bacteria.
Lastly, and as we've mentioned for a few weeks in a row now (insulin and calories; insulin and sugar; insulin and sleep), hormones are related in no small way. But this time, it isn't insulin we're blaming, it's cortisol.

For while cortisol is required to handle stress and other stressful events, prolonged periods of elevated cortisol levels are quite detrimental to your health, and your immune system.

Moderate, regular exercise, however, helps inhibit the production of cortisol, thereby enabling the immune system to operate efficiently.

Reduced Calorie Diets Make you Smarter

2009-04-23T10:24:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was Earth Day! And, in Crazy California style, The LA Times decides that that's a good time to correlate obesity with global warming. Wow. Talk about ridiculous. Now, I'm all in favor of blaming high fat content foods, or for blaming high sugar content drinks on how 65% of America has become overweight, but actually blaming fat people for a global problem is simply nonsense.

Plus, with so many positive things to emphasis about regular exercise and healthy eating, it's categorically absurd to write negatively about the lack of either.

Earth day or not, I did get out for a ride on Wednesday, and got a huge push, pull, and minor dose of suffering from a small handful of racers who adopted me on the way back home. Indeed, since most of your fitness grade is just showing up ... making the commitment to create time to exercise ... I was glad I did make time to mount the steed on Wednesday.

Because, it Apparently also Makes you Smarter!

A few years ago I blogged about how maintaining a healthy fitness regimen can help enhance your career. Last April, I wrote a few things about how organizations can boost morale and improve productivity with a corporate fitness culture.

But what the National Academy of Sciences published in January shows is that not only does being fit help you look more capable and smarter (Cialdini, Influence), but the reduced calories in an associated diet may actually help you be smarter.

Indeed, women aged 50 to 80 improved their memory scores by 20% when their calories were reduced by 30% according to this research. What's going on here? Well, what the German scholars found was that women with reduced calorie diets were linked to increase brain functionality. And, as the Journal of Medicine reported last week around sweetened beverages, the culprit turns out to be ... Insulin.

Allegedly, reduced calorie diets encourage a constant low level of stress within the body's cellular tissues that makes the body more sensitive to insulin.

Moderately reduced calorie stress, the researchers believe, encourages a positive insulin sensitivity similar to that of moderate exercise stress.

The exact opposite of insulin sensitivity, insulin resistance, is regularly blamed for diabetes and obesity. Additionally, experts contend that insulin resistance "... may help explain why obesity and type 2 diabetes have been linked to worse mental performance and a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease."

But if all this chemistry is creating confusion, just remember, as CNN reported " ... adults who cut down on the amount of calories they consume get a two-for-one special: weight loss and better memory."

Fat Tax Out; Sugar Tax In

2009-04-16T10:59:00.000-05:00

I overheard a conversation between two woman on the elliptical equipment @ the gym earlier this week about pizza. "I scrape most of the toppings off of my pizza to get rid of the excess fat. It's the fat in pizza that makes you fat, you know" said one woman.

The other woman responded "Are you crazy!? It's the carbs that make you fat! I eat ONLY the toppings and give the crust to my dog!"

So, is it the fats or is it the carbs that make you fat?

I wanted to jump in and explain that they're both right in a way - too much fat and too many carbohydrates can both be problems leading to weight gain. But ... they were also both wrong.

Because, at the end of the day, it's really all about total calories that matter:
Calories consumed = Calories spent + fat gained.

And because no good Minnesotan would explain the errors of their ways to strangers, I kept my mind-my-own-business mouth shut. But, I probably should have at least warned them about the latest conversations around sugar. In particular, Beverage Sugar.

For what The New England Journal Medicine published last week about sugared beverages' effect on obesity was nothing short of shocking. Because their report, published on April 8th, quite literally blamed obesity on Excess Beverage SUGAR.

Additionally, while I've been on the soap box in the past for advocating a Fat Tax (taxing highly saturated and trans fat foods), these guys took it one step further and are now suggesting a Sugared Beverages Tax.

And while there's plenty of room in Obama's budget for BOTH (fat and sugar) taxes, the sugared beverages tax makes good sense. Excess sugar intake from beverages is "... associated withincreased body weight, poor nutrition, and displacement of morehealthful beverages; increasing consumption (of sugared beverages) increases risk forobesity and diabetes ..." the Journal reports.

What to do? Withstanding the tax (which, in my opinion could take years to legislate), simply recognize that that Coke could be costing you a lot more than the 2 bucks you dropped into to the vending machine. It could be costing you your health.

One simple suggestion: simply reduce or replace that Pepsi with good old fashioned water, unsweetened green tea, or unsweetened, low sugar content juices like grapefruit, cranberry, or tomato. You won't get the unwanted excess sugar, and you will get healthy nutrients in your drink.

What to go one better yet?

Buy a juicer and start making your own juice! The Health benefits of juicing are innumerable. Fruits and vegetables are anti oxidant rich, and boost your immune system. Additionally, fruit and vegetable juices provide a wide array of phytonutrients ... non essential nutrients proven to improve health.

Here are a couple of great places to get started with juicing:

Drink up!