Hi All,
The winter is almost here and I know people tend to get a little comfortable during the winter months. The holidays come and the diets and exercise are thrown out the window. The slim fitting clothes from the summer are packed away and the heavy sweaters, sweatshirts, jeans, and sweat pants come out. I'm going to stop right there because i'm sure you've all heard or experienced this before. We'll this is the year to put a stop to it. Being healthy doesn't mean you can do it for 8 months of the year and than take the next 4 off. It really is a lifestyle change. Don't let all the hard work you put in to get where you are go to waste, just to enjoy a second helping of stuffing and mashed potatoes. If you've noticed, they don't stop selling lean meats and vegetables at the grocery store during the winter, so you shouldn't stop eating them. Stick with your routine and make sure to stay active. Don't let the cold and snow stop you. If your a runner here is a link with some great information on proper gear for running in the cold.
http://running.about.com/od/coldweatherrunning/a/wintergear.htm. If you don't want to run outside, get to a gym and watch your favorite tv program while on the treadmill, elliptical, or bike. If you finding it hard to motivate yourself, find a friend to workout with. Make appointments to meet with them each week and stick to it.
Another way to beat the winter is to accept the snow for what it is and use it to your advantage. Shoveling is a great way to burn some calories. An hour of shoveling can burn up to 400 calories. You may also want to take up a winter sport such as skiing, or snow shoeing. So don't let the winter be your excuse to pack on the unwanted pounds. Stay active and stay healthy!
Russ
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Motivation
Hi All,
I wanted to chime in on my activities over the past couple of weeks. I competed in a Duathalon and a 5 mile race over the last two weekends. This is a little out of the ordinary for me as the only other road race i've ever run was the Falmouth a couple of summers ago. As you can see I've never been much of a cardio person, but it's something i've always wanted to consistently add to my routine. To make this happen I decided to sign up for a couple of races and have something to train for. I was given a bike as a birthday gift a month back so I thought a duathalon would be a good place to start. I looked for a short one and found one in the Lynn Woods called the down and dirty duathalon. It consisted of a 2.5 mile run 5.9 mile bike and another 2.5 mile run. So I trained for the race by biking and running a couple of times a week leading up to it. The farthest I ran was 6.5 miles and the longest bike was 16. So in my mind I was ready for the race. We'll race day came and the conditions were less than stellar. It poored before, during, and after the race. It was a woods course so the terrain was full of large puddles and soft ground. Lets just say my finish time was not what I had hopef for. I had my girlfriend with me and she was terrified of the conditions. There were steep up hills and down hills that kept the both of us from pushing the pace. It was more about survival than trying to set a personal best. I was just happy that we finished the race, even though it was 4th to last out of a 40-50 person field with a time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.
We'll the next weekend(this past weekend) I was signed up for a 5 mile race in Quincy that I was pumped up for. I was determined to put up a good time in the race and I couldn't blame it on the conditions this time as it was a beautiful October day. I went strong for the first 3.5 miles, but than began to tire. I struggled though the last 1.5 miles and was able to finish in a little over 37 minutes, which was good enough for 16th place out of 115. This time was a little suprising to me. I would have been happy with something around 40 minutes. It goes to show you what you can do when your motivated. If your looking to jump start a cardio routine, find a local road race to sign up for. It gives you something to look forward to and than when you finish, it motivates you to sign up for the next one to improve your time. I'm also looking for some other road races/duathalons, so if anyone out there knows of anything local coming up let me know. I also plan on running with a South Boston running club on Wednesday evenings to help stay in shape. This is another great way to stay motivated. Having other people to run with always helps the cause. We'll that's my advice for the day. So try these out and let me know how it goes!
Russ
I wanted to chime in on my activities over the past couple of weeks. I competed in a Duathalon and a 5 mile race over the last two weekends. This is a little out of the ordinary for me as the only other road race i've ever run was the Falmouth a couple of summers ago. As you can see I've never been much of a cardio person, but it's something i've always wanted to consistently add to my routine. To make this happen I decided to sign up for a couple of races and have something to train for. I was given a bike as a birthday gift a month back so I thought a duathalon would be a good place to start. I looked for a short one and found one in the Lynn Woods called the down and dirty duathalon. It consisted of a 2.5 mile run 5.9 mile bike and another 2.5 mile run. So I trained for the race by biking and running a couple of times a week leading up to it. The farthest I ran was 6.5 miles and the longest bike was 16. So in my mind I was ready for the race. We'll race day came and the conditions were less than stellar. It poored before, during, and after the race. It was a woods course so the terrain was full of large puddles and soft ground. Lets just say my finish time was not what I had hopef for. I had my girlfriend with me and she was terrified of the conditions. There were steep up hills and down hills that kept the both of us from pushing the pace. It was more about survival than trying to set a personal best. I was just happy that we finished the race, even though it was 4th to last out of a 40-50 person field with a time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.
We'll the next weekend(this past weekend) I was signed up for a 5 mile race in Quincy that I was pumped up for. I was determined to put up a good time in the race and I couldn't blame it on the conditions this time as it was a beautiful October day. I went strong for the first 3.5 miles, but than began to tire. I struggled though the last 1.5 miles and was able to finish in a little over 37 minutes, which was good enough for 16th place out of 115. This time was a little suprising to me. I would have been happy with something around 40 minutes. It goes to show you what you can do when your motivated. If your looking to jump start a cardio routine, find a local road race to sign up for. It gives you something to look forward to and than when you finish, it motivates you to sign up for the next one to improve your time. I'm also looking for some other road races/duathalons, so if anyone out there knows of anything local coming up let me know. I also plan on running with a South Boston running club on Wednesday evenings to help stay in shape. This is another great way to stay motivated. Having other people to run with always helps the cause. We'll that's my advice for the day. So try these out and let me know how it goes!
Russ
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Meal Replacement's
Hello Again,
I'm sure everyone who has read about dieting knows that they should be eating 6 small meals a day rather than 3 large portions. When I stress this to people, the most common thing I hear is that they don't have time to cook or eat six meals everyday. We'll there is a pretty simple solutions to this. They're called meal replacements. You can find them at most any supplement or vitamin store. The one i'm currently taking is produced by MET-Rx Engineered Nutrion. I like this particular one because it gives me just the right amount of everything that my body needs.
Calories-240
Fat-2.5g
Carbs-17g
Protein-38g
The shake also tastes great(i go with chocolate) and is very low in sugar(only 2 grams), which is something I always look for. You can mix them with milk or water, but remember, your adding additional calories if you go with milk. If you go with the Met-Rx shake you really don't need it. It's so thick , you need to mix in atleast 20oz of water to get it to the right consistency. There are many other options out there, you just need to find the one that's right for you. It depends on what your trying to accomplish. If your trying to put on size and muscle mass, you may want something with more calories. If you trying to lose weight and tone up, something with less calories and carbs will do the trick. The important thing is that your getting some nutrients into your body in between your regular meals. If your training hard this is critical. If you deprive your body it will start to eat away at the muscle that you have worked so hard to create.
So if you don't have the time to eat, work a meal replacement into your diet once or twice a day to help provide a bridge to your next meal. Your hunger will be decreased at meal time and than you can make the smart choices on what to eat.
Regards,
Russ
I'm sure everyone who has read about dieting knows that they should be eating 6 small meals a day rather than 3 large portions. When I stress this to people, the most common thing I hear is that they don't have time to cook or eat six meals everyday. We'll there is a pretty simple solutions to this. They're called meal replacements. You can find them at most any supplement or vitamin store. The one i'm currently taking is produced by MET-Rx Engineered Nutrion. I like this particular one because it gives me just the right amount of everything that my body needs.
Calories-240
Fat-2.5g
Carbs-17g
Protein-38g
The shake also tastes great(i go with chocolate) and is very low in sugar(only 2 grams), which is something I always look for. You can mix them with milk or water, but remember, your adding additional calories if you go with milk. If you go with the Met-Rx shake you really don't need it. It's so thick , you need to mix in atleast 20oz of water to get it to the right consistency. There are many other options out there, you just need to find the one that's right for you. It depends on what your trying to accomplish. If your trying to put on size and muscle mass, you may want something with more calories. If you trying to lose weight and tone up, something with less calories and carbs will do the trick. The important thing is that your getting some nutrients into your body in between your regular meals. If your training hard this is critical. If you deprive your body it will start to eat away at the muscle that you have worked so hard to create.
So if you don't have the time to eat, work a meal replacement into your diet once or twice a day to help provide a bridge to your next meal. Your hunger will be decreased at meal time and than you can make the smart choices on what to eat.
Regards,
Russ
Thursday, September 24, 2009
early morning workouts
Hi All,
I never thought I would say this as i'm not much of a morning person, but I have come to enjoy an early morning workout. Recently I have been running a bootcamp in Canton from 5:30am to 6:30am 3 days a week. Since I live in South Boston, this requires me to wakeup at 4:30am. Until last week I had only administered the bootcamp, but had not taken part in the workout myself. We'll it's save to say that I have become addicted to it. Once the sleep deprevation wares off I really begin to enjoy the workout. I have so much more energy by the end of it, that I almost dont' even need that daily cup of coffee. Almost is the key word there.
The moral of the story is that if your looking for a boost of energy before you head to work, try getting up earlier and getting in a workout. Any type of cardio or weight training will do the trick. The key is to exert yourself a little bit and get your heart rate up. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel.
I never thought I would say this as i'm not much of a morning person, but I have come to enjoy an early morning workout. Recently I have been running a bootcamp in Canton from 5:30am to 6:30am 3 days a week. Since I live in South Boston, this requires me to wakeup at 4:30am. Until last week I had only administered the bootcamp, but had not taken part in the workout myself. We'll it's save to say that I have become addicted to it. Once the sleep deprevation wares off I really begin to enjoy the workout. I have so much more energy by the end of it, that I almost dont' even need that daily cup of coffee. Almost is the key word there.
The moral of the story is that if your looking for a boost of energy before you head to work, try getting up earlier and getting in a workout. Any type of cardio or weight training will do the trick. The key is to exert yourself a little bit and get your heart rate up. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel.
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