Tomorrow is the start of week 4 for Boot Camp and I have to say week 3 was better, I felt stronger, less sore and less tired. They say if you can keep on doing something for 3 weeks straight it becomes a habit. Well I think this is a good habit to have. It has helped my feel stronger and have more endurance on the tennis courts. But I must say may knees still don’t like the running much.
We did some sprints last week which we all liked much better then the longer runs. It added some variety to our workout. But the guys who are leading our workouts, keep it varied with lots of different variations of exercises, & intensity.
I think we have even inspired a few of our friends to join the next session, since they seeing the results of efforts are paying off.
A few things the Boot Camp staff also suggests for faster weight loss are these:
- Eat immediately after the Boot Camp session, when your cells are most receptive to taking in fuel. Most of your meal will go to your muscles and not to your waist…
- If you drink caffeine, drink it before Boot Camp. Caffeine is a powerful ergogenic aid, which means it will help you burn more fat, work harder and have better performance overall.
- Eat nuts, in very small quantities before a meal to curb your appetite.
- Don’t drink empty calorie beverages. Get all your calories from good healthy food
- Avoid Alochol. It lowers your metabolism.
- Keep a daily food log to get the best results from your efforts. When you track what and when you are eating you get a more complete profile of how your training is effected by your food intake.
Tags: Boot Camp, burn more fat, Burn The Fat Inner Circle, caffeine, calories, curb your appetite, daily food log, ergogenic aid, Fitness Tips, good healthy food, health benefits, Healthy Foods, healthy lifestyle, metabolism, Metabolism boosting, Weight Loss
We do a bit of running on pavement in our Boot Camp class, about 15-20 minutes during our hour. It being LA, there’s not much else to run on besides pavement here. I’ve been running on trails in Northern California for the last 10 years though so my legs and knees aren’t too happy about the hard and unforgiving ground.
It doesn’t sound like much running but it has led to a classic case of “shin splints” in my left leg. Which is quite painful. Of course I could just stop running for a bit, which is option one.
This injury is called a medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS). Experts say that shin splints are the most common injury among athletes whose sports involve extensive amounts of running (e.g., runners, soccer players, rugby players and other participants in field sports).
Apparently, each shin absorbs a force equal to two to three times body weight with every footfall during running – about 700 times per shin per mile. So basicly, this is a repetitive stress injury on the muscles and connective tissues in the shin area.
It’s called an ‘overuse’ injury, although in my case we know that’s not true. The real problem, they say is a lack of preparation, which makes more sense to me. My body hasn’t been doing this much running lately and all of a sudden its given a task its not prepared to do. So, my shin splints have occurred because I’m heel to toe runner and I’m a “foot slapper”. Which means, I have weak ankle dorsiflexors. This rapid downward “slapping” movement of my foot tears at and overstresses my dorsiflexors, which causes this shin pain.
Apparently, if we’d have grown up like the Kenyan runners, who have tremendous dorsiflexor strength, because they spent the early years of their life running and walking endless miles while barefooted, instead of with their feet clamped into running shoes, like we do. They do not get shin splints.
Treatment for Shin Splints
The classical mode of treatment for shin splints – RECEIPT (rest, elevation, compression, easy stretching of the muscles, icing, and possibly taping) – works fairly well at relieving symptoms but does a very poor job of keeping the injury from recurring. Only by improving the functional strength of the dorsiflexors and the strength and coordination of the entire ankle area can one be confident that MTSS will be held at bay.
Shin Splint Exercises
1. Wall Shin Raises. Simply stand with your back to a wall, with your heels about the length of your feet away from the wall. Then, lean back until your buttocks and shoulders rest against the wall. Dorsiflex both ankles simultaneously, while your heels remain in contact with the ground. Bring your toes as far toward your shins as you can, and then lower your feet back toward the ground, but do not allow your forefeet to contact the ground before beginning the next repeat. Simply lower them until they are close to the ground, and then begin another repetition. Complete about 12 to 15 reps.
See lots more shin splint exercises at: Sports Injury Bulletin
Tags: ankle dorsiflexors, athletes, Boot Camp, field sports, Fitness Tips, injury prevention, medial tibial stress syndrome, muscles, RECEIPT, repetitive stress injury, rugby players, runners, running, shin splint exercises, shin splints, soccer players, Sports Fitness
Thank goodness its friday. Week 2 has been tough. Up at 5:15am everyday, feed the dogs & cats, drink some decaf coffee, I’m not much for breakfast, but I drink some water & Pomegranate juice mixture. Since Pomegranate juice provides about 16% of an adult’s daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and antioxidant polyphenols.
Then I head off to the park, for an hour of non stop workouts. We start with a warmup of jumping jacks, squats with 5 lb weights, side jumps, pushups, crunches, more jumping with bicep curls and on and on. Then we stretch for 5 min. Then we do more strength and agility training, the hardest part is sometimes, going down onto the mat and then getting back up about 20 times in a row, needless to say I’m sweating bullets before we even get to the run part.
So about 1/2 way through we go for a run, I just bought new running shoes, because I’m not used to running on pavement, its hard on the old knees, but I’ve been doing ok, just not fast…of course the youngsters in the class glide by with their ipods on…oh those were the days, but of course ipods hadn’t been invented when I was 20, we had walkmans but I don’t think we tried running with them…
Anyway, the run is tough for me, but it was better today, I’m hoping everyday to feel a bit better, and I think I am, in between feeling sore and tired I do feel stronger, my tennis serve has gotten better anyway. The new shoes make a difference.
So after the run we come back and do a running agility course or stairs with weights or side steps, backwards, constant movement til you think you can’t do more, then back to the mats for more up down, weights, jumping, pushups, situps…are you tired yet reading this, good well we’re almost done…then a warm down stretch and we are still breathing hard when we finally finish…
My friend Isabelle quit smoking right before she started Boot Camp, and I applaud her. Doing 2 tough things at once is pretty amazing. No alcohol this week for me, I need all the energy I can get in the morning and being dehydrated is not an option.
So only 4 more weeks to go…and I can’t wait til Monday morning…
Tags: Add new tag, agility course, antioxidant polyphenols, bicep curls, crunches, daily vitamin C, dehydrated, energy, ipods, jumping jacks, No alcohol, non stop workouts, old knees, pantothenic acid, Pomegranate juice, potassium, pushups, quit smoking, running shoes, squats, strength and agility training, stretch, sweating, tennis serve, vitamin B5, warmups, Weight Loss
Part of the Boot Camp regime is to write down what you eat & drink everyday. For Maximum Weight Loss, you should have No Carbohydrates after 3pm. Fat burning requires long periods of time with low blood sugar, so eating low-carb after 3pm gives your body this needed time and optimal body chemistry. So for Extreme Weight Loss, don’t eat these after 3pm….No bread, No rice, No potatoes, No beans, No corn, No pasta, No cereal, No bananas, No melons, No grapes or raisins, No pineapple and No sugar.
Just eat protein and veggies after 3pm.
Tags: burn fat, Extreme Weight Loss, Fat burning, Fat Loss, Fitness Tips, good diet, healthy lifestyle, low blood sugar, low carbs, low-carb, Maximum Weight Loss, Metabolism boosting, No Carbohydrates, stay healthy
I’m just starting week 2 of my Extreme Boot Camp here in LA. I’ve played sports all of my life, mostly team sports and boot camp reminds me of those days of training on the pitch with the rugby team or field hockey team. It’s non-stop running, plymetrics, obstacle course, and strength training that has really kicked my butt, and I love it…I really needed this to jump start my summer fitness program and to feel like I have control of my fitness level and my food intake and my weight. I’m planning to lose a few pounds as well feel better and have more endurance for running, biking and playing tennis. I was a bit sore and tired still today, but I’m looking forward to feeling better as the weeks go on.
Tags: Boot Camp, Boot Camp, burn fat, endurance, Extreme Bootcamp, field hockey, fitness level, Fitness Tips, good diet, healthy experiences, lose a few pounds, Metabolism boosting, play sports, plymetrics, rugby, running, summer fitness program, tennis, Weight Loss, weight workout
Pam Boteler is a top-ranked, world-class athlete, activist and raw vegan who has been making waves in her sport, Sprint Canoe, for the last eight years. Pam made USA Canoe/Kayak history at the 2000 National Championships when she became the first woman to compete in sprint canoe against men. Not only did she compete, she won the gold medal ! Up until the year 2000, women were prohibited from racing canoes at the US Nationals.
Several years ago Pam began a vegetarian diet, then transitioned in 2006, to veganism. Lately, with the guidance of renowned high-performance coach, rawfood sports nutritionist and Vibrance staff writer Dr. Douglas Graham, she has progressed onto Dr. Graham’s “80/10/10″ raw vegan diet plan.
At age 40, Pam is competing against women half her age. As well, she still occasionally competes against men and is the winner at least half the time! For the last eight years, Pam has been undefeated in the U.S in singles competition, until this past August when she finished second for the first time ever losing by a mere 0.2 seconds to a woman 20 years her junior.
Visit Pam’s Website:JustCanoeIt.com was created to be yet another avenue for promoting canoeing for ALL and bringing awareness to issues surrounding the inclusion of women in all Olympic disciplines. It also promotes and supports paddle sports of all kinds for competition, recreation, and as a way of life.
Visit the Vibrance website. Vibrance teaches and inspires health enthusiasts in how to succeed at eating our natural diet of vibrantly alive raw foods.
Tags: activist, athletes, dietary changes, healthy experiences, healthy lifestyle, natural diet, Olympics, over 40, paddle sports, raw vegan, rawfood, sports nutritionist, Sprint canoeing, Vegan, Vegetarian, women athletes
Adults can improve their cognitive abilities such as memory, processing speed, and reasoning with proper brain training. The brain is healthiest when it is active and regularly challenged. With frequent cognitive training, the brain performs optimally and maintains its abilities through the years.
Brain training participants also reported increased alertness and energy, improved ability to remember names and numbers, better concentration, and elevated mood.
You can get your daily brain workout in 10 minutes a day. The games consists of a series of engaging online games and exercises. The exercises in the Reclaim Your Brain: Improve Memory with Lumosity Brain Games.
are designed to stimulate the brain plasticity that leads to improved cognitive ability and a healthier brain.
The Lumosity program is accessible online. You can start with a Reclaim Your Brain: Improve Memory with No Risk Free Trial.
Check it out.
Tags: Add new tag, Brain Games, Brain training, daily brain workout, health benefits, healthy experiences, healthy lifestyle, Improve Memory
Michele Obama gave a White House Kitchen tour right before the Obamas’ first official dinner, in honor of the nation’s governors. A recurring theme of hers during the campaign and since she arrived in Washington has been a pitch for local and sustainable food and for healthy eating.
When food is grown locally, she said, “oftentimes it tastes really good, and when you’re dealing with kids, you want to get them to try that carrot.”
“If it tastes like a real carrot, and it’s really sweet, they’re going to think that it’s a piece of candy,” she continued. “So my kids are more inclined to try different vegetables if they are fresh and local and delicious.”
Tags: dietary changes, Fruits, good diet, Healthy eating, Healthy Foods, healthy lifestyle, local and sustainable food, Michele Obama, The First Lady, White House Kitchen, whole foods
Any Diet could work if people lower their calories. That is the conclusion of s study just published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. Over 800 overweight adults, were given diets that reduced calories through different combinations of fat, carbohydrates and protein. All the diets were similar to popular diets like Atkins,( low carbohydrates), Dean Ornish, ( low-fat,) or the Mediterranean diet, ( less animal protein ). Participants ate about 750 calories less than their normal diet, but no one ate less than 1,200 calories a day.
Regardless of what diet they were on, after two years, each person had lost – and regained – about the same amount of weight. They had an average weight loss of 13 pounds at six months. After two years, most had a 2-inch drop in waist size kept about 9 pounds of weight off.
The real question to be answered, say researchers is, “what are the biological, psychological or social factors that influence whether a person can stick to any diet?”
That is what we all want to know. Stickiness is what its all about….
Tags: Atkins, Dean Ornish, dietary changes, Diets, health benefits, healthy experiences, low calorie diet, low carbs, low fat diet, mediterranean diet, reduced calories
In Barbara Kingsolver’s Book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
And that ” We obligingly give 85 cents of every food dollar to – processors, marketers, and transporters.”
Sure makes you want to go to the local farmers market tomorrow and stock up, doesn’t it?
Tags: dietary changes, farmers markets, good diet, health benefits, Plant-Based Foods, Vegan, whole foods
