Category Archives: Fitness

The Get Fit For Summer Exercise Challenge

Source: http://zenhabits.net/exercise-challenge/

By Leo Babauta

I’m a big fan of exercise challenges.

I’ve used challenges to change my health and fitness habits, including:

Pushup challenges with my wife & kids
Burpee challenge with a friend
Online group exercise challenges
Workout and diet challenges with my wife (we got rewards if we stuck to the challenge)
Accountability challenges for eating

There have been many, actually, and they always get me motivated to get off my butt and get going. Sometimes that’s the push you need to get over the initial resistance.

So I’m issuing a challenge to all of you, to help you overcome your resistance.

Are you ready?

Here’s the challenge:

Commit to doing some kind of exercise for just 5-10 minutes a day (to start with), for 6 weeks. Make a big commitment in your mind.
Tell someone about it. Or many people.
Do it for 10 minutes a day, trying to be mindful during the exercise and focusing on enjoying it with gratitude.
Keep a simple log each day of the exercise you did.
At the end of each week, write a 5-10-sentence journal entry about how the week went, reviewing your successes and failures. Share it with someone (email, etc.).
If you were consistent the previous week, increase your exercise by 2 minutes for the next week, otherwise stay the same or shorten it.

So just make a commitment to yourself and others to stick to small daily exercise for six weeks, and keep a log. Will you be super fit after these 6 …

New food label! Congratulations Let’s Move! & FDA

Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/05/new-food-label-congratulations-lets-move-fda/

I kept hearing rumors this week that Michelle Obama would announce the revised Nutrition Facts panel at today’s summit meeting of the Partnership for a Healthier America, the public-private partnership organization that supports Let’s Move!

And here is the graphic from the White House press release:

Congratulations on the long-awaited changes:

Calories big and bold
Added sugars

Serving sizes updated
“Dual column” labels for “per serving” and “per package”
Daily Value footnote: “The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet.  2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.”
Nutrients: Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.  Voluntary: Vitamins A and C.

Expect to see this on food packages in two years (small food producers get an additional year to comply).

Here are the relevant FDA documents:

Federal Register notice on the food labels (943 pages)
Federal Register notice on serving sizes (170 pages)
Slide show
Commissioner’s statement (“Voice Blog”)
Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label
At a Glance …

5 Common Regrets and How to Avoid Them

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/QF7NYu0ORn8/

“I don’t regret the things I’ve done, I regret the things I didn’t do when I had the chance.” ~Unknown

If you had a second chance at life, what would you resolve to do differently? What would you regret from your past if you had the power to change it in your future?

In 2011, Bronnie Ware wrote a wonderful book called Top 5 Regrets Of The Dying.

As a palliative care nurse, Bronnie spent several years working with patients during their final weeks of life. She documented the dying epiphanies of her patients and began to notice some similarities—five in particular (hence, the title of her book).

It’s a beautiful reminder not to take life for granted and to live a life you would be proud of.

Regret Is a Terrible Thing to Witness

For many years I have witnessed the regret of the living—my fellow patients, in over five different hospitals, both interstate and internationally. I’ve been a patient in many ward types (intensive care, cardiac, vascular, orthopedic, infection control, plastics, emergency, and rehabilitation, just to name some). But palliative care has not been one of them.

I spent over a year in hospital. The first time, and the majority of that time, was in rehabilitation. Over the years I’ve returned for more surgery, and again …

Epic Yoga, Yafa, and a Dreary Track Workout

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/05/19/epic-yoga-yafa-dreary-track-workout/

Hey gang! It’s ANOTHER dreary day over here – not rainy, but cloudy. I’m so tired of all this gloom! Chillier than usual for this time of year, too, although at least that means that wearing pants and biking to the metro doesn’t leave me overheated. :)

My fitness routine this week has been yoga-heavy, which I love. Sleeping in a bit (aka  not getting up at 6 a.m. for a workout) and then going to lunchtime yoga downtown is my favorite. No shower required so it’s super easy – all I need is a change of clothes! And it’s the best way to slow down and de-stress in the middle of the busy workday.

epic yoga dc lunchtime yoga

I hit up lunchtime yoga on Monday and Wednesday at Epic Yoga via ClassPass (<—$20 off affiliate link) with a coworking space friend. On Monday, we treated ourselves to lunch bowls afterward at Yafa, one of my DC faves. I get a big bowl with brown rice, lettuce, a billion veggies, hummus, chicken, and yogurt dill sauce. Sooooo delicious and satisfying.

<img style="float: none;paddi…

Why You Need to Be Doing Hurricane Sprints

Source: http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/hurricane-sprints-fat-loss/

hurricaneYou have to do cardio — for stamina, for cardiovascular health, for fat loss — but you don’t have to like it. 

When I needed to slim down last summer, I sought out the most intense cardio workouts possible: something that would give me the maximum benefits with the shortest, most infrequent workouts possible. That’s how I turned to hurricane sprints. 

You see, most cardio workouts have one big weakness: they only use your legs.

The brainchild of MMA trainer Martin Rooney, hurricane sprints take the interval training workouts you know and love and fear, and make them even more grueling by adding in upper body and core exercises in place of rest periods.

The benefits are threefold: more fat burned, stimulated slow-twitch muscles fibers throughout your whole body, and an increase in the testosterone and growth hormone response.

Also, you might throw up.

It’s a tough workout, but it only takes fifteen minutes and you only have to do it once a week. Last summer, I lost five pounds of fat and gained eight pounds of muscle in three months, and I owe much of that fat loss to hurricane sprints. No other workout has ever made me feel more superhuman for having completed it.

Consider it an exercise in “embracing the s…

CrossFit Post-Workout Nutrition and Meal Ideas

Source: http://www.runningonrealfood.com/crossfit-post-workout-nutrition/

This post about CrossFit Post-Workout Nutrition is sponsored by Zevia. Zevia is an official sponsor for the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games and is proud to support a fitness regimen that takes a firm stance against “big soda” and actively fights the sugary beverage industry. Now that I’m about 2.5 years in to my CrossFit journey I think it’s…
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Stop Lying: How Painful Realizations Can Unlock a Healthier Life

Source: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2016/05/19/stop-lying-how-painful-realizations-can-unlock-a-healthier-life/

This is a post from NF Wordsmith Taylor.

Excuses are a tricky subject. Try to point out an excuse to a friend, and you’re sure to get blasted with his or her wrath, being called an insensitive jerk:

“Easy for you to say!”

“You have NO idea what it’s like.”

“You don’t have this shit to deal with!”

On the other hand, when we can really break through and talk honestly and with some vulnerability, excuses we’ve championed for years can be pierced instantly:

“Wow, maybe I do have time, but it’s just that I haven’t made it a priority.”

“I do have some medical issues, but I’ve been using that as an excuse to do nothing all these years.”

We all play this game of life on different difficulty levels. We begin in different starting areas, with different gear, and different advantages and disadvantages. That’s just how the game works. Our job is to make the most of the hand we’ve been dealt. And it’s only us that can change us.

Only me that can change me. Only you that can change you.

Just take a moment to consider the implications of that: It doesn’t matter how bad you’ve had it. It doesn’t matter how busy you are o…

Low Carb Vegan Chow Mein

Source: http://www.runningonrealfood.com/low-carb-vegan-chow-mein/

Low carb vegan chow mein? Wha? Yep…it’s happening! Thanks to oodles of zucchini noodles this quick and easy dish is low carb, low fat and packs plenty of plant-based nutrition in each and every bowl! Low Carb Vegan Chow Mein Made with zoodles – Buy a spiralizer if you don’t have one! Low in fat…
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