Positive Fitness

I am changing pace a bit with this post, I am reading a book about leadership right now and in there they were talking about the world record mile. It got me thinking, so I did a bit of research and found this page on great article on the World Record Progression for the Mile Run over at Wikipedia.

The world record hasn’t been broken since 1999, and is still held by Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco at 3:43.13 minutes.

Below is a link to a video of the record setting race, my favorite part is that he is contested by someone keeping pace with him on the final stretch. It is a good watch and well worth the 4 minutes.

Hicham El Guerrouj Sets a World Record in the Mile at YouTube.

Photo by: mikebaird.

Life Learning Today has a really neat article on:

Maximum Energy in 10 Simple Steps

I enjoyed reading this article on how to maintain and regain your energy in 10 easy steps. Agentsully over at Life Learning Today put it really nicely when he said:

“Everyone wants more energy. We chase it down with drugs and we rob ourselves of it with not enough rest. The answers to experiencing our ultimate energy levels come down to simple habits. Some of these may not sound new, but print this out and let it serve as a a lifestyle to aspire to. Oftentimes it is helpful to be reminded of the things we know so that we will actually take action on doing them.”

This is a great article to use to help yourself maintain and get the most energy possible. Without the use of caffeine and sugar. Great article guys!

Photo by: f10n4.

Who would have thought dark chocolate could be tasty and healthy? I personally have always loved dark chocolate, it isn’t as sweet as it’s white and milk chocolate brothers, but I prefer it most of the time.

I have done a bit of research online and found that dark chocolate is actually really good for you. I found a really great article on WebMD, “Dark Chocolate is Healthy Chocolate.” There are numerous potential health benefits to eating dark chocolate, including lowering high blood pressure and acting as an antioxidant

One of the benefits of eating dark chocolate is that it can help as an antioxidant. But don’t add milk!

“Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate … and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate.

It was also found that eating dark chocolate can reduce blood pressure.

 

… “Every day for two weeks, they ate a 100-gram candy bar and were asked to balance its 480 calories by not eating other foods similar in nutrients and calories. Half the patients got dark chocolate and half got white chocolate.
Those who ate dark chocolate had a significant drop in blood pressure (by an average of 5 points for systolic and an average of 2 points for diastolic blood pressure). Those who ate white chocolate did not.”

Cocoa phenols is the part of the dark chocolate that is supposed to help lower blood pressure. What is that? I don’t know but Wikipedia does.

Now don’t go out and eat a bunch of dark chocolate because it is “healthy,” the fact is that it is still a sweet and should be eaten along with a healthy diet and active lifestyle.

Photo by: karviainen.

I am sure some of you have heard people talk about eating several smaller meals per day instead of 3 large ones. Well there are some truths to that, MayoClinic has a great article on “Snacks: How they fit into a healthy diet.”

• “Binge control. If eating several low-fat whole-grain crackers, a few pretzels, a piece of fruit or some raw vegetables keeps you from taking second or third helpings at your next meal, you may actually consume fewer total calories for the day.
• Extra energy and nutrients. Traditional, made-at-home meals often lose out to busy schedules. A grab-and-go snack can be the difference between some nourishment and none at all.
• Satisfaction for small appetites. Young children’s tiny stomachs can hold only small portions of food at one time. Older adults who are less active and who burn fewer calories also may feel more comfortable eating smaller meals more frequently.” - MayoClinic

They have some great information (calories, snack ideas, and general information) also on that article on MayoClinic that I recommend checking out.

Snacks are a great way to regain energy during the work day, while traveling, or just when you need a boost. There are many healthy snacks that can provide you with what you need to keep going (without coffee or soda pop).

Try taking a snack to work next week with you, I recommend an apple for the morning break and maybe a couple handfuls of trail mix. Afternoon snack maybe some baby carrots or another favorite healthy fruit or vegetable.

See Also my posts on Healthy Snack Suggestions Part 1 and Healthy Snack Ideas Part 2 for great healthy and delicious snack ideas.

The Nintendo Wii has already revolutionized gaming, but now some people are pushing for the Wii to not only provide entertainment, but to provide people with a new way (and alternative) to work out and stay active.

WiiHealthy, is a site completely dedicated to getting in shape and being active on the Wii. They just posted a Wii Sports workout guide that is 30-45 minutes a day. They do a great job into breaking it down into sport by sport (boxing, tennis, etc) instructions on how to play “actively” as they call say, instead of taking your time watching replays, etc. Also provided is the estimated number of calories you will burn from actively playing these games.

“Boxing is the most active game on the Wii Sports disc. We strongly advise very heavy people not to go too wild in this one since your heart rate will go up a lot. This could be a problem for people who have been advised not to do big efforts. The fact is that this is the perfect game to lose weight. In a couple of minutes you can burn easily 121 calories in 15 minutes time. So this is a rather fast method and you can even speed it up by using a Mii version of a person that you don’t like as an opponent! Keep moving, move from the front to the back, from left to right. Try punching your enemy from different angles, different types of punches and you’ll be sweating that body fat away. Make sure to keep the wrist strap tight!” - WiiHealthy

I really like the concept of WiiHealthy, since I own a Wii, I know how much of a workout it can be if you really get into it. I personally love my Wii, although I am only good at Tennis.

Photo by: LollyKnit.

“I think I can break the odds.” - Jose Fernandez

Lance Armstrong’s Survivor Story. I have always been a huge supporter of Lance Armstrong and LiveSTRONG, but not everyone knows his story check it out, it is sure to be a great read and inspiration.

“The beginning is always today.” - Mary Wollstonecraft

A very true statement, I for one know I am guilty of putting off what I should start today until tomorrow, or even longer. A good quote to try and live by, starting today.

“Have a go, anybody can do it.” - Alan Parker

Why not, what’s your excuse?

These quotes are quoted from: Yamada, Kobi. Success. Lynnwood: Compendium Inc., 2002.

The movie “300″ has made just as many headlines about the workout the actors went through as the movie itself. Although I enjoyed the movie as well, the workout has also fascinated me just as much. I am part of the Gimme20 community and happened upon this in the forums yesterday. I found part of the workout routine on the forums located here:

The Movie “300″ Workout Routine

The above movie is a great visual example of the actual intensity of this workout. It is quite a workout as you can guess, I would love to try and complete it sometime and let everyone know how it goes. If you were wondering what they did for the movie “300″ to get in shape, here it is.

Technorati tags: 300, workout, fitness, routine, health, diet

Photo Credit: Kacey.

From the LiveStrong Newsletter:

Unite on LIVESTRONG Day, May 16

People across the country will unite on LIVESTRONG Day, Wednesday, May 16, to call for cancer to be made a national priority. Together, we can close the gap between what we know works in the fight against cancer and what we do.

On LIVESTRONG Day, 200 LIVESTRONG Army members will be in Washington, D.C., to demand that our nation’s leaders invest in resources, treatment and services for everyone battling cancer. In addition, more than 200 local events will be happening in cities across the country to raise awareness and show support for people affected by cancer.

Here are 5 ways to show your support on LIVESTRONG Day:

1. Participate in a LIVESTRONG Day event in your community.
2. Wear yellow and encourage your family and colleagues to do the same. Visit the LIVESTRONG Store.
3. Take the Challenge. Register for the LIVESTRONG Challenge.
4. Donate Now. Every dollar counts. Your gift helps us continue the fight against cancer.
5. Make sure your voice is heard on Capitol Hill. On May 15, you will have that chance. You will receive a LIVESTRONG Day action alert to amplify the voice of the LIVESTRONG Army on Capitol Hill.

I am a big supporter of the LiveStrong cause, I hope you take a few minutes to check it out as well.

Photo by: Pkeleher.

I just Stumbled Upon this great blog post on “What Happens if You Drink a Can of Coke Right Now” and I must say I was quite shocked. Now I know that Coke is not good for you by any stretch of the imagination, but I had no idea what it really contained. Luckily I do not drink pop, except on rare occasions.

In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.

That is just crazy. I can not believe how much sugar is in Coca-Cola. Read the full article to be slightly amazed, and hopefully never drink another coke again.

Dictionary.com defines Plyometrics as:

A type of exercise using explosive movements to develop muscular power, esp. bounding, hopping, and jumping.

Plyos (as they are called for short) are great ways to train your muscles for fast twitch movements and are an awesome way for athletes to develop stronger and faster bursts of speed in their movements. And every athlete knows that being faster and stronger are essential for success in almost any sport.

I really like Reference’s explanation of what muscular power is on the Plyometrics page:

Muscular power is determined by how long it takes for strength to be converted into speed. The ability to convert strength to speed in a very short time allows for athletic movements beyond what raw strength will allow..

This is such a great explanation of what muscular power is and how Plyometrics help in achieving things that your body would not be able to do solely using strength training. So with that we will get onto some basic Plyometrics movements to get you started in your Plyometrics training.

Power Skip For Height

Power skipping is an aerobic exercise that is great for your thighs and calves. It is basically a skip, where you alternate legs trying to achieve maximum height off of ever jump. Using this in combination with power skipping for distance is a great combo of Plyos.

Power Skip For Distance

This is just like power skipping for height except now instead of trying to gain maximum vertical height you will be trying to achieve maximum horizontal distance. So now you are jumping out instead of up (like you would for height).