Thursday, December 15, 2011

Let's Dance

Fitness and exercise should include components we enjoy for other reasons, in addition to health benefits. Having fun makes it easier to continue exercising. I like dancing, so I dug out some videos from back in the day when only Europe listened to electronic music.

Christopher Walken's dancing lessons have finally been put to use! And David Guetta's mix of breakdancing, ballet, parkour, gymnastics, and modern dance. Moving muscles through their full range of motion has never been better.

Fatboy Slim's documentary on evolution. What does the last 10 seconds mean? Is this where humans are currently. We've been swimming, crawling, climbing, swinging, running, walking since life began. Now, we're chillin' on a bench, and "#1 So why try Harder?"
The answer is "No, see first two links."

Cartoons, Fitness, and Philosophy

Some friends referred me to these thought provoking cartoon videos...which I thought were written by the same person. However, apparently narrating while sketching is a "thing" these days.

23 and 1/2 hours Reiterates the benefits of exercise, and how lifelong exercise has the greatest impact on health, quality of life, death etc.

The High Price of Materialism I found this to be really thought provoking and it has inspired me to think about what motivates me intrinsically. I've found that by thinking about what my actions mean in relation to my personal values has made me happier, just over the past week :) I do think that "materialism" may be better (although long-winded) restated as "putting more importance on impressing others, rather than focusing on what's important to you." This frequently tends to mean material possessions, but it can mean a number of other things. It can mean trying to be the best parent on your block, rather than the best parent you can be; The fastest runner on your team, rather than the fastest runner you can be.
Life is a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Other people's opinions will always have some influence over us, we are social creatures. It seems that we can all be happier by focusing more of our intentions and actions on our intrinsic values.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Run Don't Jog

As a lifelong runner, I take it personally anytime anyone starts talking about jogging. Jogging is to running as shuffling is to walking. We may jog during a warm-up or cool-down, just as we may shuffle when drunk. But this does not make us joggers and our sport of choice is not jogging, it is running.

Unfortunately, some people are jogging far more than they should. 430,000 Americans ran a marathon in 2005 and the average finish time was a shuffling 4:45. In 1976, 25,000 Americans ran and the average men's finish time was a brisk 3:32. No wonder runners are constantly injured; most of them today are hardly running.

I encourage anyone who wants to take up a new sport, be it running or rockclimbing, to compete at your level. Race your race, don't just try to finish. If you can only push yourself for 3 miles, enter a 5k race, don't aim for a near death experience in a marathon. There is far more satisfaction to be gained from being a competitor rather than just a participant.

I'll be delivering a webinar on Tuesday on Injury Prevention Strategies for Runners (Live Webinar) , and ran across this rant that I wanted to share with all of you.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Quinoa!

I've had quinoa on the brain for the past few weeks and thought I'd share its history! Below is Karen Railey's history of quinoa and why it's not only the best thing since sliced bread, but way better!

While the recipes below the articles can make for amazing meals, you can also simply prepare quinoa similarly as you would rice. Rinse, then boil cup quinoa to 2 cups water until fluffy and delicious.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Alcohol

The consumption of alcohol, while enjoyable in moderation, has detrimental effects on your health goals. These next two articles go over the caloric and metabolic cost of alcohol, demonstrating that alcohol is not only empty calories, and can affect fat storage and muscle maintenance. We should make a strong effort to decrease alcohol use as much as possible for best health.


Caloric cost of alcohol

Alcohol and Metabolism

Monitoring exercise intensity

This next article discusses different ways of monitoring cardiovascular exercise intensity in order to make training most effective.

Heart rate and exercise intensity

Why do muscles tighten up?

I recently wrote this post for the American Council on Exercise discussing muscle tightness, whether it be due to limited range of motion, cramping muscles, or muscle soreness. It's my first publishing with ACE, so I am ecstatic.

Why do muscles tighten up?