Keep Your Brain in Shape

An article on the Yoga Journal site regarding well-being caught my eye. Titled "Wise Up: 7 Ways to Keep Your Brain in Shape for a Lifetime," it can be found here. The seven tips as follows:

1. Salute the sun
2. Take a brain tonic
3. Make new friends
4. Think positive
5. Boost B12
6. Take your seat
7. Get a move on

I would argue that the last one is the most important. The benefits of exercise cannot be overstated, and the brain as benefactor is a new and growing body of research and understanding. The key is to exercise your body and then use your brain.

Vegan Protein Options

Eat vegan? Try these combinations to get protein:

Quinoa and vegetables tossed with olive oil and sea salt. Make it light and cool with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and fresh herbs. Go the warm route with roasted mushrooms, wilted spinach, and caramelized shallots. The combinations are endless.

Black beans and brown rice. Add cilantro, onions, green and red peppers, jalapeños, and season with a heavy hand of cumin, coriander, and chili powder.

Stir fry of vegetables tossed with brown rice and beans. Drizzle your favorite Asian sauce.

Lentils cooked down with olive oil, tossed with spinach (to wilt it), and topped with pepperoncinis. For a little color, add diced carrots and onions to the lentils as they cook.

Hummus and vegetables. Need I say more.

A Calorie Equals

A pound of body fat - yep, fat - equals approximately 3,500 calories. It's widely accepted, and it's a good measure to use when calculating 'calories out' in order to achieve weight loss goals. To lose one pound per week, a calorie deficit of 500 is needed. Meaning, consume 500 calories less - or looked at in a more positive light - burn 500 calories more than you eat. I prefer looking at it as having to burn more as it sets up a competition with myself to achieve this. Also, it takes the focus off of food and places it on exercise. One pound per week is good. Two is the maximum to lose in any healthy way.

So how much to lose and by when?

Running Music Mix

I found a site with songs at 180 bpm for running. It's runningmusicmix.com. Here's what I found for songs to run by -- although many are unfamiliar to me, I think I'll check 'em out and perhaps download for my iPod.

1. Bang Bang / K'naan & Adam Levine / 181 bpm
2. A Praise Chorus / Jimmy Eat World / 185 bpm
3. The Boys of Summer / Don Henley / 177 bpm
4. Lose Yourself / Eminem / 172 bpm
5. Written In the Stars / Tinie Tempah / 182 bpm
6. Bad Ass / Aphrodite & Mickey Finn / 178 bpm
7. Bang Bang Bang / Mark Ronson & The Business Intl / 185 bpm
8. Golden Phone / Micachu / 180 bpm
9. Gold Guns Girls/ Metric / 182 pm
10. Moments of Lust (Featuring Vikter Duplaix) / DJ Marky, Vikter Duplaix & XRS / 178
11. Wolf Like Me / TV On the Radio / 177 bpm
12. Some Weird Sin / Iggy Pop / 183 bpm
13. Alone Again Or / Love / 177 bpm
14. Let's Get Lost / Elliott Smith / 181 bpm
15. I'm Not Okay / My Chemical Romance / 180 bpm
16. I Only Want You / Eagles Of Death Metal / 174 bpm
17. Dark Entries / Bauhaus / 147 bpm
18. Living La Vida Loca / Ricky Martin / 178 bpm
19. Turning Japanese / The Vapors / 179 bpm
20. Dancing With Myself / Billy Idol / 177 bpm
21. Good Intentions Paving Co. / Joanna Newsom / 175 bpm
22. Come Undone / Duran Duran / 174 bpm
23. I. O. U. / The Replacements / 182 bpm
24. Everlasting Light / The Black Keys / 180 bpm
25. To My Enemies / Saint Motel / 185 bpm
26. Panic in Detroit / David Bowie / 186 bpm
27. Hang On to Yourself / David Bowie / 177 bpm
28. Monkey Wrench / Foo Fighters / 175 bpm
29. Standing Next to Me / The Last Shadow Puppets / 184 bpm
30. Go! / Tones on Tail / 177 bpm

Multiple Moves

I did not work out yesterday. Took the day off. Exercised other parts of me that needed to expend a bit of energy -- like diving into a good book, running my imagination through Costa Rican short stories, and lifting and lowering the Paris Review.

But anyway.

Today, back at it. I'm working my way through the P90X routines. Doing as much as I can to ease into them. I really like the stretching intro to the two routines I've tried to date.

• March in place
• Run in place
• Jumping Jacks
• Lunges with alternate arms
• Side to side head rolls
• Arm circles
• Shakers
• Huggers
• Swimmers
• Reachers

It feels great to start a workout with this set (there are some additional items not listed above). 

The routine today included bicep, shoulder, and tricep work. Multiple moves in one, alternating curls and presses, and dips. Biceps, shoulders, triceps. I typically do straight and side curls, but with this routine they are done together as one move. I also do shoulder presses, together not alternating. So while these moves aren't new per se, they are organized in a new way. I like it.

I won't say how far I made it into the routine, but I will admit I didn't get to the end. I will keep at it until I can move through the entire set. Once there, I'll begin to increase weight. But that's getting way ahead. More routines to conquer.

In addition, I did abs and then hopped on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Walked at an incline of 5 for most of the way.

Torched quite a few calories. A great workout day.

Arms and Shoulders

Does she have arms and shoulders, or what?!!!!

This is an ad in my fitness magazine. This lady has beautiful shoulders. I love her strength. Truly inspiring.

P90X

Okay, so I've joined the craze.

I downloaded an app of P90X -- the routine that has all of those tongues wagging about Paul Ryan and his fit body. He is really fit.

Well. Let's just say that workout one jolted me into action. And I'm sore today. Now, I'm pretty fit - not a perfect specimen, but I do get out there and do something each day.

But. It's a circuit. Going from move to move. Quick time on each exercise. One minute. Thirty seconds.  Stretch for 20 seconds. And so on.

The first day is the chest and ab ripper. Variations of push ups and pull ups. Stretching. More push ups and pull ups. More stretching. Abs. Abs. And more abs.

I'm sore today. Push ups haven't been in my routine for a while. I used to do them regularly and then got out of the habit. I had to use my knees. Sad isn't it?

My abs are also a bit sore. Yippee!

I'm not sure how I'm going to proceed with P90X. I may or may not follow it exactly. I do love certain parts of my routine(s) and will keep them up. For now, though, I'm in.

Tri, Tri, Tri, and Tri again

New tricep exercises today.

Single arm tricep extensions -- using the cable
Dips on the rack -- not real dips, just holding it and attempting to dip, a work in progress
Floor press - new to me to do tri work on the floor
Tate press - same as above with elbows out

Calf raises in between -- straight, out, in, repeat

That and 30 minutes on the treadmill made for a good mid-afternoon workout.

I'll tri again.

Run Until

Another hot day. The birds weren't even out. Just the sun.

I turned the fans on and made sure they were pointed towards the front of the treadmill. I warmed up for five minutes. Turned off the machine to reset it, and then started it back up.

Thirty minutes
5.5 miles per hour
299 calories
2.74 miles
Close to 10 minutes in VO2

I ran with Amy Macdonald, singing "But I will run until my feet no longer run no more. And I will kiss until my lips no longer feel no more. And I will love until my heart it breaks. And I will love until my heart it aches. And I will run until there is nothing more to live for."

I pressed on with one of my favorite running songs -- I Touch Roses by Book of Love. It bounces back and forth from my left ear to my right.

I ran to Madonna (of course).

I ran to the Streets of Fire soundtrack.

I ran and ran and ran.

And then I stopped.

Sunday Circuit

I didn't get out into the gym until late. Busy doing work at my desk but knew I would make it out before sundown.

It was bright. And hot. Two fans, a few wasps, and a bunch of lizards lounging and watching.

First up, biceps. Supersets. Three exercises: curls, db side raises, and hammer curls. Fifteen, 12, and 12 pounds, respectively. Three sets. Jumped rope to the count of 60 between each set. A good way to spike the heartbeat.

Next, triceps. Same routine with supersets and jump rope. Dips, cable pulldown, and overhead db. Body weight, four plates, and 15 pounds, respectively. Made it through two sets.

On to legs. Db squats with 15 pounds. Lunges the length of the garage and back, 12 up, 12 back. Then hit the floor to do work hams on the disk. Followed it up with 50 bicycles to zing the abs hard, about 30 crunches, and then slipped the disk under my back and burned about 20 more crunches out of my midsection.

303 calories. Felt like it should have been twice that. A great, great sweat. About 40 minutes total, including set up and tear down.

Favorites on the playlist All India Radio, Brandi Carlile, Alana Davis, Madonna (of course), Berlin, and The Cranberries.