Muscle Pumping

Archive for September, 2012

“So I says to heur, ‘come on mooladdo, just da tip.’ She agreed, and dat is when I fell in love vit da moofies.”

If you missed any of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, they’re freakin’ great and you can catch up on Netflix Instant. Some of my favorites were The U on University of Miami football, The Best that Never Was on Marcus Dupree, and The Birth of Big Air on Mat Hoffman (check out One Night in Vegas if you want to see some unintentionally hilarious slam poetry or John Singleton’s Marion Jones movie if you want to see how not to make a documentary). Anyway, now they’re doing a series of short documentaries, and Grantland just premiered one from The Two Escobars directors Michael and Jeff Zimbalist. It’s called Arnold’s Blueprint, following the early years of my all-time favorite subject, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This 10-minute movie focuses on the years before Arnold Schwarzenegger was the “Universe’s Perfect Specimen,” when the young Austrian seized upon an opportunity to use the sport of bodybuilding to catapult himself to international stardom. Barrack escapes, tanks, and borrowed underwear all play key roles.

It focuses on Arnold’s lesser-discussed early years, having to desert his military responsibilities, and the societal forces that shaped him into the maid-impregnating mulatto ass lover we’ve come to know and love. He describes his borrowed posing trunks in his first competition as as “all ferschmutzed.” I don’t know what that means, but if it’s half as bad as it sounds, it’s pretty gross. Watch it below.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton lauded the Italian company Technogym for its cooperation with his foundation to promote health, diet and fitness programs in American schools.

Clinton gave the keynote speech Saturday at the inauguration of the Technogym Village in the northern Emilia-Romagna region, the company’s new headquarters.

The Clinton Foundation has targeted childhood obesity among its programs to improve personal health, and Clinton said Technogym “has been a great partnership … promoting health, diet and fitness programs for our kids, starting from the push to eliminate sugary drinks readily available in our schools to offering exercise programs.”

Technogym calls itself the world’s leader in the wellness and fitness sectors. It is has been an official Olympic supplier, and has supplied equipment to U.S. schools and colleges.

Walk your way to better health

Obesity is on the rise. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and certain types of cancers. It also affects people emotionally and psychologically and can lead to isolation and social stigmatization.

Although genetics and hormonal disorders can contribute to weight gain and obesity, most of the time obesity is caused by poor eating habits and lack of physical activity.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, less than half of all adults get the recommended amount of physical activity. Adults need at least two and a half hours of moderate physical activity a week. Children and adolescents should get at least 60 minutes per day. Physical activity can be anything from house and yard work to more strenuous activities like running.

Walking has gained a lot of popularity and is one of the easiest things you can do to become more physically active. It is easy, free and accessible to just about everybody. Walking can be done almost anywhere and anytime, like in the neighborhood, a park, trail, track or the mall.

What are the benefits of walking regularly?

n Brisk walking (one mile in 15 minutes) burns approximately the same number of calories as jogging.

n It helps people to lose or manage weight.

n It is low impact exercise that is easy on the body but still tones muscles and strengthens bones.

n It lowers the “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and raises the “good” cholesterol (HDL).

n It lowers blood pressure and your risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

n It Improves your mood and gives you more energy.

n It gives you an opportunity to socialize with family, friends and colleagues.

n Walking to your destination versus driving is better for the environment.

If you have been walking regularly, keep doing what you are doing. However, if you are just getting started, focus on the basics:

n Make sure you wear a comfortable pair of walking shoes and comfortable clothing.

n Choose a safe place to walk, and be aware of your surroundings.

n To avoid injury it is important to properly warm up your muscles and stretch before you exercise.

n Start slowly. For example, you might start out walking for five to 10 minutes, gradually increasing to 15 minutes two to three times per week.

n Learn what your target heart rate should be and monitor your pulse during exercise so that you can maximize the intensity of your workout without overdoing it.

n At the end of your walk, take time to cool down and stretch.

n Keep track of your progress, and gradually build up your endurance over several weeks until you are comfortably walking 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week.

Don’t let your weight bring you down. A healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise is a step in the right direction to improve your overall health and well-being. Get active and take a walk towards wellness.

(Sandy Tschosik is a registered nurse and has her bachelor’s of nursing from the University of Manitoba, Canada. She is the St. Alexius’ community health services coordinator.)

(TIME.com) — I’ve broken a sweat in a bunch of quirky ways over the last couple months in my role as exercise-trend guinea pig for Healthland readers.

Switching up my workout routine has not only kept exercising fun, but as many experts will tell you, the variety may also be improving my overall athletic performance: cross-training allows the body to work different muscles and gain strength, while letting you avoid boredom.

It’s especially key for people training for distance events like marathons and triathlons, since it also helps muscles recover and prevents injuries from overuse. It also ensures that you’re keeping your entire body in optimal shape — not just legs for runners or arms for heavy lifters.

TIME.com: Five alternative workouts for runners

Recently, I spoke with Patrick McCrann, a marathon and triathlon trainer, about the best cross-training workouts for runners. He mentioned rowing as a particularly good method — and a popular one — especially for runners who want a high-intensity replacement exercise.

I’ve often overlooked the rowing machine at the gym, but a recent spin on the apparatus as part of Equinox gym’s “Shockwave” class got me on board.

McCrann is right — in terms of building up your cardiovascular health, rowing is one of the best workouts you can do.

New York’s Equinox gym is one of many using the Indo-Row machine, which is supposed to mimic the feeling of actually rowing on water; it also tracks your time, distance, stroke rate, speed/intensity and total calories burned.

The Shockwave class I tried had a familiar circuit-training structure, but with cranked-up intensity. The class had six stations, with two separate rowing circuits. Once you complete the exercise at each station — typically some kind of weight lifting or core workout — you can move on to the next one, but here’s the twist: before anyone can move from one station to the next, every person on an Indo-Row machine has to complete his or her workout.

TIME.com: We tried fast and furious Tabata

“Since the rowers are in charge of the time spent in each station, it adds a unique competitive component to the class,” says instructor John Cianca, who says the competition is what keeps the class working hard. “It’s a good motivator. … If you’re not fully breathless on each rowing station, then you are not getting the full benefit of its high intensity.”

I wasn’t sure if my heart was beating so fast from the Indo-Row, or because I was nervous about keeping my fellow exercisers holding up a plank for too long.

Either way, after just a few minutes on the rowing machine, your heart rate shoots up and your muscles are feeling the heat.

“During the exercise you’re involving 60% legs, about 20% core and 20% arms,” says Cianca. “You’re using your whole body.”

TIME.com: We tried Barry’s Bootcamp

Learning the ins and outs of proper rowing form is tricky for first-timers, though, which is why Cianca has everyone complete a full practice run at the start of the class. For those unfamiliar with rowing, he recommends paying attention to three key factors — order, power distribution and timing:

Order

The correct order of each stroke should start with your legs, then engage your core, and finish with your arms. When the stroke is done, you reverse the order by reaching first with your arms, then shifting your body weight forward and then starting back at original position with your knees bent.

“I like to cue by saying ‘Legs, core, arms. Arms, core, legs,’” says Cianca.

Power distribution

Rowing engages your whole body, but it’s important to pay attention to which muscle groups are used the most and which are used the least. As Cianca mentioned, power should be distributed 60% legs, 20% core and 20% arms. This distribution leads to more efficient strokes and better form overall.

Timing

This last component makes sure strokes are consistent. The general rule is to power through for one count (legs, core, arms) then release for two counts (arms, core, legs).

“Another good cue I use for this is ‘Power, patience, patience. Power, patience, patience,’” says Cianca.

TIME.com: We tried Aerial Vinyasa (or upside-down) yoga

Definitely take your time learning how to use the machine right. In my over-eagerness I sped through my series, but my shoulders didn’t feel too great the next morning. The classes at Equinox range from 30 to 45 minutes, which is plenty of time to get a hang of the rower and power through safely.

This article originally published on TIME.com

We Tried This: ‘Shockwave’ Rowing Workout

copy 2012 TIME, Inc. TIME is a registered trademark of Time Inc. Used with permission.

MEERUT: Exercise equipment manufacturers and traders based in Meerut are gaining mass by supplying to different state governments and sports bodies. Traders so that the demand-supply equation is balanced at present, however, skewed taxation coupled with poor infrastructure and power crunch are a pain.

“We bid for tenders advertised by the state governments and our 80 per cent of the sale happens through these tenders,” said Sandeep Sharma, director of Meerut Gym and Gymnastic Work, which deals in exercising equipment and has a turnover of around `80 lakh.

He added that his clients are based out of Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh and he bids for government tenders in these states too.

Healthy sales

“The fitness equipment market covers 50 per cent of the total sale of sports goods,” said Puneet Mohan Sharma, president of All India Sports Goods Manufacturers Federation. He added that equipment manufacturing is as high as its sale.

“The city hosts a large number of players associated with the business of exercise implements,” said Mohd Afzal, director of Umar Industries, who has been into the business for more than 25 years. The annual turnover of his company is around `80 lakh.

He added that he has customers from neighbouring areas such as Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar and Delhi. “Besides selling products to neighbouring cities, we have clients from other parts of the country as well such as Nagpur, Mumbai, Bhopal, Allahabad and Kanpur.

He also said that the market of Meerut has reduced with the slump in demand of products within the city. “Earlier, the city used to be one of the biggest markets in itself as the consumption of these products was very high. But now the demand of these gym equipments has decreased in Meerut as the consumption of these devices has reached a saturation point,” he added

Muscle tear

Despite having a broad range of clients and a healthy sale figure, the players complain of infrastructure issues such as unreliable power supply and unavailability of land, which are a hurdle for the industry.

“The government had assured us that it would provide land for the industries to work together from the same place but to no vain,” said Sharma, president of the association. He added that the association has also taken up the issue before the Meerut Development Authority (MDA) and the commissioner as well, but got no response from them. PUNEET Mohan Sharma, president of All India Sports Goods Manufacturers Federation said that the need for land is indispensable for industry to work and grow. The allotment of land should have been done a decade ago, but it is still awaited.

Another problem, which is crippling the industry, is lack of electricity. “Disrupted power supply in Meerut is taking a toll on the growth of all the industries including us,” said Sharma. He added that the government has to work to provide these basic amenities to the people in the industry.

In Part 1 of this series on school lunch, I talked about the hidden dangers of pre-packaged lunches.

So as a parent, what can you do to escape the Lunchables? The obvious answer is to pack your kid’s lunch. But thankfully, you aren’t limited to carrot sticks and sliced bread. And best of all, supplying your child with healthy options for lunch is not hard or time-consuming.

Here are 3 simple steps to creating a healthy lunch box for your kids:

Step 1: Don’t Fear Fat
Fat is essential for a child’s brain development and neuronal health, and is also crucial for cell membrane formation, hormone development, appetite satiation and many other critical functions for a growing body (it’s one of the reasons why fat is a primary component of breastmilk). Choose any of the healthy fat sources below as the first ingredient in your child’s lunch box:

• Sliced avocados or guacamole
• Olives or olive tapenade
• Hummus (include lots of extra virgin olive oil)
• Nuts, seeds or nut butter (*Note: Many schools have restrictions on certain nuts in lunch boxes for fear of allergic reactions)
• Cold water fish, such as sliced wild salmon or sardines (my kids like these on rice crackers)
• Free range chicken (with skin is fine) or a fatty source of organic red meat.
• Butter, yogurt, ghee or coconut oil (any of these can be used generously to cook vegetables or as part of a spread in a wrap or a sandwich)
• Cheese sticks, cheese wedges, cheese circles or grated cheese as a condiment (just be careful, as some children are sensitive to dairy)

Step 2: Add a Growing Food
Amino acids are found in proteins and are used as building blocks for muscle repair and recovery, as well as support for a growing body. It doesn’t matter whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, or omnivorous — your child needs a source of amino acids in their lunch. Here are great amino acid options to get you started:

• Beans or lentils (you can make hummus out of soaked chickpeas or add mashed pinto or black beans to a wrap)
• Soaked and sprouted grain source, like Ezekiel 4:9 wraps, breads or buns (you may want to use Einkorn or Kamut sources of wheat if you want to avoid gluten)
• Cooked quinoa, amaranth, millet or other grain alternatives to rice and pasta with a high amino acid content
• Meat (choose any of the sources listed in Step #1 and don’t worry about how lean the meat is since your child’s brain needs healthy fat!)

If you want to completely avoid grains, just use kale, bok choy, butter lettuce or Swiss chard as a wrap and alternative to traditional bread sources.

Step 3: Make It Colorful
By adding color from fruits and vegetables, you’re not only going to satisfy much of your child’s vitamin, mineral and nutrient needs, you’re also going to keep the lunch looking fun and ensure that your child has a little carbohydrate to go along with that fat and protein. Here is a list of healthy, tasty, colorful foods you can add to your child’s lunch box:

• Baked or boiled sweet potatoes or yams (yellows and oranges)
• Sugar snap peas and kale chips (greens)
• Steamed green beans or asparagus (dark greens)
• Carrot sticks (great for oranges — try them boiled, buttered, and salted, or crispy and fresh)
• Corn (yellows)
• Sliced green or red apples and green or red grapes (put a little lemon juice on the apples to keep them from turning brown)
• Plums (purples)

The list of colors goes on and on. You can include pear, nectarine, kiwi, melon, berries, pineapple and tons of other healthy fruits. These foods should ideally take precedence over packaged and processed options.

And that’s it!

With these 3 easy steps you can give your child what he needs for a growing brain, a developing body and surging energy levels.

Try any of these 5 easy lunch box ideas:

• Wrap with sliced avocado, olives and hummus, with red grapes on the side.
• Quinoa, sliced chicken, pumpkin seeds and feta cheese dressed with extra virgin olive oil with sugar snap peas on the side.
• Almond butter sandwich with fresh berries and carrot sticks on the side.
• Chunks of cooked wild salmon with boiled or mashed sweet potatoes and fresh pineapple on the side.
• Thinly-sliced steak and olive tapenade wrapped in butter lettuce with nectarine slices on the side.

And there you have it — fat, protein and color. Now go make your child a guilt-free lunch.

Ben Greenfield is a fitness and triathlon expert and host of the Get-Fit Guy podcast on the Quick and Dirty Tips network. His latest book is “Get-Fit Guy’s Guide to Achieving Your Ideal Body: A Workout Plan for Your Unique Shape.”

Follow Ben Greenfield on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/GetFitGuy

Credit: Noah Neiman

Celebrity trainer and fitness instructor Noah Neiman of Barry’s Bootcamp offered these tips for improving your workout and day-to-day lifestyle. Follow him on Twitter @noahDneiman:

How to Spice Up Your Exercise Routine:

1. Do ‘High Intensity Interval Training’ (H.I.I.T.):

While there have always been disparaging views on the best forms of fitness throughout the years, there has been an unanimous and consistent consensus that this style of training is the most efficient way to shed pounds and develop functionally lean bodies. In short; training at a high intensity for bursts of time, instead of merely doing sets and repetitions of an exercise, will help your body develop faster.

You want your body to have a certain amount of time under tension in order for your muscles to develop rapidly. Forgo sets and reps for seconds and minutes.  For example, to train biceps, try 1 minute of dumbbell curls instead of a set of 10 repetitions or for anaerobic training think ten- 30 second sprints instead of 30 minutes of steady rate cardio on the treadmill. 

Stop-and-go traffic burns the most fuel in cars. Think about applying that methodolgy to your workouts to really see a next level body.  

2.  For Developing Lower Abs, Take an Unconventional Approach:

Try training legs by doing dead-lifts, reverse lunges and machine leg extensions in order to target the hard to reach areas of your abdominal wall.

Be sure not to neglect your back, especially the lower back, as you amp up your abdominal training. Doing so will help quell lower back pain, as well as draw the skin of your abdomen back as your back muscles develop.

3. Add Jump Rope to Your Routine:

Not only will jump rope keep your heart rate up, but it will also target hard to hit tiny muscle fibers while allowing your body to work symbiotically together in order to complete the exercise. I’ve also found that 10 minutes of jumping rope before a workout has maximized the caloric burn I get throughout my whole workout.

It has also been shown that the impact of the jumping up and down will help increase bone density and muscle mass around bones; A great way to help your body stave off osteoporosis. Just be aware that there is a good amount of impact on your knee joints, so those with knee injuries may want to just start downing heaps of Kale and chug some Organic full-fat whole milk. 

How to Get the Most Out of Your Workout:

1. Study Human Anatomy:

Do some research on the full breadth of muscles that should be trained and also look at how muscle groups function together. Every major muscle group has a supporting muscle group.

The problem with training yourself when you are not a fitness professional is that there are many muscle groups as well as many different ways to train them. Neglecting any body part makes you more prone to injury, and you will not develop that functional, sexy, symmetrical body you want.

2. Turn the Cell Phone Off, Put the Magazine Down, Turn the Music Up:

Distractions during what is arguably the most important part of your day is a big fitness no-no. If you are working out to better yourself and the functionality of your body, train like it. 

Don’t text your friends or read magazines while on your favorite piece of cardio equipment. If you can read a magazine while “working out,” chances are you are not working out.

Listening to your favorite music, preferably something with a high number of beats per minute (around 135 BPM), which will subliminally amp up your workout, allowing you to train like you mean it. Remember, actions directly correlate with the results. 

3. Fat Percentage Reduction Tip

The only time I really advocate long duration low intensity cardio, such as riding the bike for an hour at a steady rate, is to do so on an empty stomach in the morning.

For my celebrity clients who need to get camera ready and shed some quick pounds, I tell them to drink a glass of water after they wake up, sip some black coffee or green tea and keep your heart rate elevated at a moderate rate for 45-60 minutes. This will rev your metabolism up for the rest of the day and will help your body target fat stores for energy instead of any merely burning the food you may have consumed before working out. 

4.  Watch What You Eat:

Food directly contributes to how your body functions and looks so eat right: More produce, veggies, lean animal meats or plant based proteins.

Try foods with one ingredient in them, and preferably always be able to pronounce the ingredients on the ingredient list.