President's Council on Fitness

Every now and again, I hear a reference to the President's Council on Fitness. But in truth, I don't know too much about it. So, I checked it out. And you can too.

The website link is here.

Dominique Dawes and Drew Brees are co-chairs at this time, and Billie Jean King is a member of the council.

The organization is far more active than I imagined. The array of programs are impressive, and the resources informative. They have a foundation. They post to a blog and tweet away. Be sure to read the history page. It started with Eisenhower, and each subsequent administration has added to the structure, the programs, the interactions with the public, and so on. Really good stuff.

This is a valuable resource for the American public. Take a look, perhaps you'll find something new and interesting to inform your health and fitness. 

Eat Clean

Eating clean. It has slightly different meanings to people. For me, it means minimally processed / as close to the source as possible. A good slideshow on 10 ways to eat clean can be found here at Eating Well. And, another article from Live Strong can be found here.

Overall, eat fruits and vegetables.
Drink lots of water and enjoy tea, particularly green.
Eliminate or minimize alcohol.
Rid your diet of sugar.
Go easy on the salt.
Ban anything white -- flour, rice, pasta.
Use olive oil when you can to cut down on other fats.

I have been eating more quinoa and have discovered some gluten free options for pasta and crackers. I do love a good, salty cracker. Mary's Gone Crackers are some of my favorites.

If you're not ready to eat clean entirely, consider doing so as a detox -- a way to rebalance your system. You never know, you might just feel good enough to keep it up.

Axi, Ipsi & More

More interesting definitions from the fitness directory:

     Axilla: The armpit.

     Idiopathic: Cause of injury unknown.

     Iliac: Refers to the area of the hip bones on either side of the body.

     Ipsilateral: Situated on the same side.

     Voluntary muscle: Skeletal muscle; muscle under one's control.

Really, curious about that last one.

The Antagonist

I found a fitness dictionary online and began to explore it. You can find it here. Evidently there are agonists and antagonists. As follows:

     Agonist: A contracting muscle that is resisted or counteracted by another muscle, the antagonist.

     Antagonist: A muscle that produces an action that is exactly the opposite of the agonist.

And there you have it.

Going to the Max

The other day, I did my treadmill routine -- elevation steadily at 6 and then a pump up to 10 with a step down of elevation for each minute. Woohoo!

An added benefit to feeling great and sweating like crazy was my VO2max. That is maximum oxygen uptake, and I spent 4 minutes and 28 seconds in this zone. That's hard to do. And I was heaving. My heart rate monitor displayed my ticker chiming in the 160s and 170s -- 170s! That's high. And I was. I could feel this level of oxygen.

Spending time in this zone is critical. A weekly target is how I try to achieve it -- small amounts spread across the week of exercises. I don't always get it done, but it sure does feel great when I do.

I love going to the max.

Just the Flax -- Or Maybe Chia

Prevention has an interesting comparison of flax and chia seeds that you can find here. I have a stash of both. Actually my flax is in meal form, and I recently used it with water to substitute for the egg binding in a meatloaf recipe. The chia seeds are whole. I've had them now for well over a year. I discovered chia, ordered some, mixed a batch into a gel, and used it by the spoonful.

Essentially both seeds have similar properties and benefits.

But here are a few differences, considerations perhaps:
  - Chia have more fiber
  - Flax has double the B1
  - Chia has 11% RDA of selenium compared to 5% for flax
  - Flax has slightly more copper, folate, potassium, and magnesium
  - Chia offers more phosphorous

The bottom line is that both are good for you. The comparison lifted the glove for flax, but you can't go wrong with either and should consider variety.

Want to Be More Efficient?

It appears our body clocks are in the spotlight once again. An article at WSJ.com outlined research findings on the optimum times to do everything from think critically and creatively to exercise to Tweeting. A few interesting points:

• Best cognitive times are late morning
• Fatigue boosts creative powers
• 3 to 6 pm produces the least injury during exercise
• Eye-hand coordination is best in late afternoon

You can read the article in its entirety here and perhaps make adjustments or keep these points in mind.

Burpees Are Not For Babies

Here's a great conditioning exercise that you can perform anywhere, no equipment needed:

The Burpee

What is it? Begin in a squat position with your hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your feet back in one movement so that you end up in a pushup position. As quickly as you can, return your feet to squat position and jump up and land back down gently. Do over.

This exercise is great for flexibility, overall conditioning, and getting your heart rate up. You'll strengthen your upper body and lower.

Do as many as you can and make it part of your routine.

Anatomy Side View

I was looking for an anatomy diagram and came across this one, which is a side view and a different perspective than what is usual shown.

Image here

Discovered on nomanclaturo.com

Green Juice

Here's a green juice recipe to try:

• Handful of spinach
• Handful of parsley
• Bunch of watercress leaves
• Handful of arugula
• 3 kale leaves
• 3 celery stalks
• 1/2 cucumber (peeled)
• 2 pears or apples (seeds removed)
• thick slice of lemon

Juice all ingredients. Add ice if you would like to cool it down. Drink immediately.

Do the Dip

Triceps are the muscles I work least. I say that in terms of focus. I'd much rather work shoulders or biceps or chest. While I do work my triceps while rowing and doing other exercises, I'm lax at targeting them.

One of the best exercises for triceps is dips. I use a bench and try to do three sets of 12, keeping my body close the bench and arms in. I stretch my legs all the way out, and if I get in the groove for a while I may even use the stability ball.

This is a great exercise. And it's funny how little I target triceps because they are a good part of my upper arm. To 'see' a difference requires tricep exercises.

Do the dip.

Current Favorite Workouts

My fitness rotation lately looks like the following. I am seeing results and really enjoying it.

1. Row 5K meters
2. HIIT step routine on the 12 inch box
3. Row 10K meters
4. Walk one hour
5. Row 5K and walk 30 minutes

Or some variation of these. Having fun.

Hemp

News flash: Hemp is it!

I recently purchased hemp protein because I learned that it contains the essential amino acids and contains a high ratio of the omegas.

The protein I have started to use is by Living Harvest. I purchased it on Amazon and have begun to drink one 'shake' of it per day. I mix it with water only. My guess is that others mix it with juice and perhaps add fruit and other items. I drink mine straight up.

Additionally, I have been converting recipes to vegan options and needed a milk substitute. Living Harvest also offers hemp milk. I found it at my local grocery, and am going to venture into it for a bechamel sauce.

I think I'm slow to this hemp revolution, but I am so glad to have discovered it. Years ago, I went the soy route, and frankly it didn't work for me. So as time has passed, the options have multiplied -- almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, and so on. It's great to see so many options for so many tastes.

So if you are looking for an alternative or just want to give it a try, I recommend hemp.

Nike Training Club

This morning, I learned of a new app from a friend -- Nike Training Club. Very cool. Learn about it here. I love that it allows you to select goals that are titled 'get lean' - 'get toned' - 'get strong' - 'get focused' - and so on. It's for use on the iPhone - haven't looked into other devices - and it links into your music. Very cool.

If you Google it, you'll also find You Tube videos, clubs around the nation, and so on.

Very, very cool.

Healthy Dip

Here's a healthy and tasty dip from my latest Women's Health issue:

In a food processor, combine:
  2 cups chopped roasted beets
  4 garlic cloves, roasted and mashed
  3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  1 tablespoon olive oil
  1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  1/4 teaspoon pepper
  1/3 cup toasted walnuts

I used less garlic to suit my taste. Served it warm with chilled vegetable slices -- cucumber, green onion, carrots, celery, radishes -- and some crackers.

Time and Meters

I've been rowing again lately.

Sometimes my goal is time -- 30 minutes or one hour. Sometimes my goal is meters -- 5,000 or 10,000.

It's funny how targeting 5,000 meters is different than aiming for 30 minutes. They usually yield only slightly different results, but the pace, the focus, the exertion seem different. It's a nice way to change it up and surprise my body into something that isn't routine. And, it provides a new challenge. The other day, rowing toward a 10K meter target, I caught myself thinking of only having to make it to the target. Wrong. I realized I was going to beat that target in one hour and so I continued and pushed myself. Shaved time off of my average. It felt great.

So time or meters? Or time and meters? I've got my eyes on both.

Beat It

I beat my rowing target today.
One hour = 10,056 meters.
Torched over 550 calories.

Gently, I go down the stream.

Popeye

Today's tip: eat more spinach.

Benefits of Rowing

Yesterday I rowed. Over 5,000 meters. It was a great workout, and my legs were a bit shaky afterwards.

There are numerous benefits to rowing.

First, rowing uses a variety of muscles and thus is a total body workout -- upper, lower, core. Concept2 has a great visual here that shows the muscles used during each phase of the rowing movement. It torches lots of calories since so many are being used.

Second, rowing requires a wide range of motion. So your joints are used, and your muscles are pushing and pulling.

Third, rowing is cardio and muscle toning / building in one. Therefore, it is a good overall workout when you have limited time.

I'm trying to get back into the habit of rowing three times per week. I'll keep you posted.

P90X Video of Arm Exercises

This YouTube video demonstrates the moves for the shoulder and arm workout. I've learned some interesting new moves from this. Now out to the gym to do 'em again.