Saturday 31 August 2013

Sweating in the Summer Cardio Workout (Video)

Vacation is the time to rest and take off your mind all worries from your daily life that have been piling up throughout the whole year. It has proven that exercising is one of the best way to rest your mind so I hope you do not forget to workout during your holiday!



This workout is designed so that it effectively burns those calories you want to get rid of it, and it also shapes your body. It basically trains the whole body.

The Workout:

3 rounds
4 exercises + Cardio section in between
NO rest

35 x Jumping jacks
20 x Crunches
35 x Jumping jacks
20 x Triceps dips
35 x Jumping jacks
10 x Jump squats
35 x Jumping jacks
10 x Push ups




Saturday 24 August 2013

WOD: Run and Squat



Today I will show you a very good workout, designed to increase endurance and oxygen capacity of the athlete.
Down the list, workout looks very easy, but for many of you I'm sure will prove to be quite intense. The catch lies in the fact that after you ran 400 meters you need to do 50 squats, which will greatly inflate your thights. Then you have to do this round 3 more times. Do this workout for time.
However, once you feel confident of doing it you can put some weight when doing squats, increase the speed of running and\or do some extra rounds.

4 rounds for time
Run 400m 
50x Squats 


Keep it Strong!

Thursday 22 August 2013

WATER – No one can live without it!


Many people doesn't realise how important water is to us. That's why I decided to extract and sum up in this article the most important information that you have to know about water and it's qualities.



Water – General Information
About 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, and the same amount in our body. Water is required for each of the metabolic processes, including the synthesis of proteins. If you exercise intensely, the simplest thing you can do to help your body is to drink more water. According to the common understanding 6-8 glasses of water is enough for one day. But people who are exercising regularly need more. Aim to drink at least 2-4 liters of water depending on your size and needs.
Water flushes toxins and residues from our body. It is especially important in high-protein diet as it helps to remove excess nitrogen, urea (a toxic compound) and ketone bodies.If you take a lot of food to gain muscle mass, then you need even more water to help the kidneys. Without enough water, the kidneys can not function fully. When this happens, part of the "load" is transferred to the liver. It processes the accumulated fat in the body for energy. If the liver is doing some of the work of the kidneys, your body burns less fat, ie instead of burning, your liver is occupied with other activities and begin to accumulate extra pounds. Contrary to popular belief, drinking water can actually help clear excess fluid. When water is taken infrequently or in small quantities, the body begins to think that there is a shortage and begins to store it to have a reserve in case of need. It is stored in extra cellular spaces and makes your skin look soft and fluffy


Water and Exercising
By drinking an adequate amount of water each day, you can ensure that your body has all it needs to maintain good health
Starting out hydrated is a good choice for morning exercisers. Drink water before your workout; you lose water while you exercise even without heavy perspiration. Ingesting at least a glass of pure water shortly after rising is a good way to hydrate your system. Adding a small squeeze of lemon for taste also helps stimulate the bowels to evacuate soon thereafter, which will help you feel more comfortable during your workout routine. 
Hydration is particularly important for the morning workout enthusiast. Remember, you’ve just awakened from a 8-to 10-hour fast. Because proper hydration improves the quality of your workout, reduces fatigue, reduces recovery time, and increases your level of satisfaction, it is especially important for you to hydrate yourself before as well as after your workout session. Keep in mind that thirst is not the best scale by which to measure whether or not you are well hydrated. If your urine is the color of lemonade, you’re doing well; if by chance it is leaning toward the color of apple juice, you need to reach for another glass of fluid. Also, some symptoms of dehydration are headache, poor concentration, tiredness, and constipation.  

Hydration during exercising 
If your workout is particularly long or your environment is hot and/or humid, just drinking plain water during your exercise may not be the best option.
Two hours of vigorous exercise can deplete the fuel supply (called glycogen) that your muscle cells use during vigorous activity. Drinking water alone won’t replenish that fuel. Assuming you can’t take a meal break in the middle of your marathon race, you may need something to drink that also contains carbohydrate for energy and to sustain performance. Commercial sports drinks containing 6% to 8% carbohydrate from various sugar sources are recommended for exercise events lasting longer than 1 hour
Likewise, when you sweat heavily for an extended period, you’re not losing just plain water. You’re also losing a significant amount of sodium, which needs to be maintained within a certain range to avoid potentially serious problems like exercise-induced hyponatremia (a serum sodium concentration <130 mEq/L), which can also occur if you drink too much plain water, in a short time period
For particularly long endurance workouts OR exercise sessions in hot and humid weather, one may need more than the Tolerable Upper Intake Level for sodium (2,300 milligrams daily). That's why commercial sports drinks are often recommended for athletes taking part in such endurance events
Avoid taking huge gulps of water, though, and avoid taking in too much water during a single break. For instance, you may feel full and hurt your workout if you chug 30 ounces of water during a break. Instead, gradually take in cold water throughout your exercise routine, because cold water is absorbed more quickly into your system than warm water or room temperature water. This is the most effective way to drink water during exercise.

Hydration after exercising
Once you finish working out, your body still needs water to replenish the levels that you lost during your exercise. In order to help your body regroup, you need to drink plenty afterward as well. In addition to water, you should try to drink a beverage that contains electrolytes, as you lose many of these during exercise. Regardless, you need to get fluids into your system to make sure that you help the muscle healing process and stay hydrated later on. And again, make sure you're drinking cold water in order to help it get into your system quickly.

Drinking plenty of water is the best thing that you can do for your body if you plan on exercising regularly. By staying hydrated, you'll be protecting your internal organs and preventing your muscles from getting damaged by dehydration. So if you plan on exercising effectively in the future, make sure that you drink water before, during and after your exercise.



Sources:
http://www.acefitness.org/
bb-team.org




Sunday 18 August 2013

5 Easy Tips on How to Prevent Knee Injuries from Running

While I was at the physiotherapy session the other day, I have been wondering when the heck my knee will stop hurting and I will be able to jump and run again. The last two and a half months have been not a joke since I am not able to fully use my knee after my last run - I cannot jump and run and I surely cannot kneel down or bend it. 



It turns out that joint, and especially knee injuries, are pretty famous among runners - no matter if they are amateur or not. "The runner's knee", as they call it, appears as pain underneath the kneecap. It first occurs during the run, but later the pain starts to appear in different daily activities. This is why I decided to write these tips about prevention from such long-lasting injuries because they can cause significant discomfort in your life. 


Tip #1: Choose softer surfaces

When you go for a run/jog, look for a park in your area. Asphalt is okay but it is highly recommendable that you do not run on a concrete. A sandy track is probably the best option since it is not too soft or too hard.So have this in mind when you are choosing your route. The beach may also not be the best place since the sand is sometimes too soft and can result in ankle pain because of that.

Tip #2: Mind the preparation

Your preparation is very important. And I am not talking about only the stretching. I am also talking about the general, regular conditioning of your body. You might really like running and hate hitting the gym or doing other exercises, but their crucial for your joints to be able to keep it up and, for you, to become better and run faster and longer distances. To support your joints, you need to strengthen the muscles around them. In my case, since I had a knee injury (which is also the most common one), I had to work on my quadriceps, adductor, abductors and hamstrings. Exercises that help you strengthen those muscles are:

  • Squats
  • Hamstring stretch
  • Straight leg raise
  • Side leg raise
  • Stretching before and after the run
Include these exercises in your workout routines at least twice a week. While getting stronger, you should start including weights in the workout. Follow the routines that you can find on this blog to advance in your conditioning and achieve better results on the track. 

Tip #3: Keep the correct form

Make sure you keep the right form during the run. Your upper body should be leaning slightly forward, being above your front leg. If your torso is absolutely straight, your heels will be serving as breaks and your knees as shock absorbers and this will put a lot of pressure on the joints. When you are landing, your knees should be slightly bent and the landing should be soft. 

Tip #4: Listen to your body!!!

This is the mistake I made. In the second or third month after I started running, I was trying to run more than my body could take. Every time I wanted to run at least 0.1 km more than the last time. So, listen to your body instead of trying to prove yourself how good you are! It is okay if today you run 7 km and tomorrow you feel tired on the 4th. Maybe today your body is not well prepared for one reason or another - it can be the food that you (did not) ate before that, the intensity of the daily activities, etc. Better take a smaller step back today, then having to stop running for a long period like I am doing right now.  Push your limits, but listen to your body!

Tip #5: Choose the proper shoe

There are numerous types/models of running shoes on the market. There are models particularly designed for running. It does not need to be an expensive model, but you should definitely not go for the old worn out shoes you have in the closet. Worn out shoes will have an effect on the landing and will cause more stress for the joints. Choose those shoes that you feel suit your feet. Personally, I like like to have just half size bigger than the rest of my shoes. 


If you know some more useful tips on how to prevent such injuries, please, feel free to share them


Enjoy your run!



Sources:

http://www.posetech.com/training/archives/000574.html
http://beta.active.com/running/Articles/How-to-Prevent-Knee-Injury-and-Pain
http://running.about.com/od/injuryprevention/ht/preventinjury.htm

Wednesday 14 August 2013

15 Mins Intensive Workout

Hey guys,

Here's the workout for this week. It is designed to train almost every muscle in your body: abs, hips, gluteus, shoulders, triceps. Here's how it goes and check out the video below for more explanations




The Workout


3 rounds: 5 exercises x 1 min 
AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
Aim for no rest

Sequence of the exercises and muscles trained:

1. Eights - arms

2. Squats - legs, gluteus

3. Shoulder-touch plank - shoulders, abdominals

4. Triceps dips - triceps

5. Touch-toes - abdominals


Equipment needed:


A weight to hold with both hands
Exercise mat





Tuesday 13 August 2013

Tuesday Bonus: Bio Banana Ice-cream

Ice-cream is not one of the things people put in the list "healthy food". But this one is different ! It is fresh, it has proteins and it consist only of BANANA !


The only thing you need is Bananas (1 banana = 1 portion)

Preparation:

1. Cut the bananas in chunks
2. Put them in a freezer until they are deeply frozen
3. Put them in a blender
4. Blend until they the chunks turn into smooth ice-cream

It is recommendable to eat immediately !


Source: http://chocolatmt.blogspot.de


Enjoy and stay healthy !


Source: http://chocolatmt.blogspot.de

Friday 9 August 2013

Workout: "Drop for 20"

"Drop for 20" workout is an intensive workout which works on your cardio and muscle endurance.
It consists of 2 circles , 5 rounds each. Every round has 5 exercises. The pace have to be as high as possible but always keep the correct form of the exercise.

Here is the routine:

Every exercise is done for 20 seconds, without having rest between them. Take just 2 minutes rest between the circles. No equipment needed.

Circle 1:
1. Prisoners Squat
2. Burpees
3. Push-ups
4. Jumping Jacks
5. Crunches

Circle 2:
1. Prisoners Squat
2. Burpees
3. Push-ups
4. Seal Jacks
5. Bicycle crunches





I recommend everybody to try it!
Keep it strong!

Wednesday 7 August 2013

The 7 Wonders of Watermelon


At the very middle of this extremely hot summer season I have been eating quite a lot of watermelon since it feels like water with wonderful taste. So, I got interested - is the watermelon actually only water with a nice taste or does it have more benefits? Guess, what? It has a lot of benefits... read on..


  1. Anti-oxidant - 100 gr of watermelon contain 19% of the daily dose of Vitamin A. The vitamin is a great anti-oxidant that strengthens your immune system. It is also rich in other anti-oxidants
  2. Vitamin C - same as Vitamin A, it helps the immune system and it also gives you energy
  3. Good for the heart - as a source of potassium, watermelon helps blood pressure and improves heart rate - important while the summer heat is still on.
  4. Protein in the seeds - it is said that 24 seeds contain 1 gr of protein. So just keep in mind that you are intaking at least some of your daily dose while eating this fruit. The seeds also contain iron and zinc the levels of which build up over time. 
  5. Eat as much as you can !! - Watermelon is very low in calories and easily kills the hunger
  6. Summer thirst killer!! - The fruit is very high in water content
  7. Weight loss buddy - because of the last points, watermelon is also perfect if you are aiming to lose weight.

Did you know that the watermelon is a relative to plants such as squash and pumpkin?!


     Nutrition values per 100 gr:
     30 calories from which:
     26.7 carbs (from natural sugars and dietary fiber ), 2 protein, 1.3 polyunsaturated fat


     So, eat generously and enjoy! 


     Can you add something to the list?






Resources:
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/watermelon.html
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2072/2
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-watermelon-i9326

Saturday 3 August 2013

WOD: Chelsea

Hi All,

Recently I tried Chelsea workout. It's a type of CrossFit workout which is really basic and includes only pull-up bar as equipment.
However It might look really easy to do but it's not that easy as it looks...believe me. It's taking breath...
It will pump your body and you will feel your muscles burning.

On the minute for 30 minutes
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

Looks simple huh ? Let's sum up... you have to do 30 sets of the above excersies for 30 minutes.
That equals of total 150 pull-ups, 300 push-up, 450 squats....got it ? :)

Stay Strong!


Thursday 1 August 2013

Recipe# Veal with steamed vegetables


In this article I’m going to show you a main meal perfect for lunch or dinner. I personally enjoy it very much.
So here are the ingedients
1. Veal
2. Steamed vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower & carrots
3. Salad of carrots and fennel

*The Veal: There are a few ways to cook beef\veal, I’m not the perfect cook so I recommend to search in google on how to prepare a lean veal.
You can check this recipe which I found very delicious:
How to cook boneless veal
*The Garnish: the vegetables, cauliflower, carrots and are put for a short in boiling salted water, and then drained and steamed with a little butter.
*The Salad consists of grated\shredded carrots and a little fennel on top.

Nutrition facts (per 100gr) of all the ingredients.
Veal: 170 Calories, 22gr Protein, 0gr carbs, 6g fat
Good source of Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12

Broccoli: 35 Calories, 2gr Protein, 7gr Carbs, 0gr fat
low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and good source of Thiamin,  Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Cauliflower: 23 Calories, 2gr Protein, 4gr  Carbs, 0gr fat
again like broccoli low in fats and cholesterol . Good source of Thiamin,  Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and also of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Carrots: 35 Calories, 1gr Protein, 8gr Carbs, 0gr fat
Also are also a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Manganese.