Plyometrics (also known as “plyos”) is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports.

Recently I have been keeping tabs on all the people I know of who are in either great shape or are superb athletes. They all have one thing in common -- The consistent use of Plyometrics when working out. They may not do regular heavy weight lifting or work out like crazy everyday but they all throw in some sorts of plyometrics into their workout routines…..

Think about the athletes with the most impressive bodies -- Sprinters, Gymnasts, Rugby Players, Swimmers they are all doing sports that not only naturally integrate some sort of plyometric movement but they also train using explosive, powerful exercises.

When it comes to the core plymoetrics they really consist of “Jumping Movements” and were first used in the eastern block to train athletes. The interesting thing is many of these movements were copied from children who were seen playing and jumping around.

If you want to see the real kings of plyometric training, go to any playground and watch children play.

The best thing about plyometrics is not the balance and power that are achieved but how fun they are. I use a few plyometrics with my clients on a regular basis and although they are hard people seem to enjoy them, It probably comes down to how natural and exhilarating the movements feel….

For and exercise to qualify as a real plyometric it needs to be something explosive and “jumping” done several times in a row while maintaining a stretch reflex. When you see people do box jumps and stop for a break between reps this is not a plyometric but rather a power exercise, These are great but not the same. It is kind of hard to explain so I have stuck in a few videos below for you to get the idea….

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN85qVxlnvQ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=90xhaI8TNgA

Try Plyometrics Once a Week - At first try plyometrics once a week, either in place of one of your workouts or as an additional workout.

Start Slow and Warmup -- Don’t forget plyometrics are very strenuous and should not be used before a through warmup, this is because by their nature plyometrics recruit more muscle fibres than standard exercises. So make sure you warmup well and start slowly.

Use with Caution -- Explosive movements make for a hard workout not only for your muscles but for your nervous system in general. You will probably find that after 3 sets of a few different plyometric exercises your muscles will be toasted and you may feel a bit shaky. So be sure to rest up and recover with lots of deep sleep and good eating.

Aim to Improve -- Little improvements will make a huge difference when it comes to your performance at sport and your body composition. Adding a few more plyometric reps or jumping a little higher each week or month is a good way to improve and progress with your routine.

Perfect with Sport -- Even if you are not a gym type of person, a solid workout of plyometrics once a week coupled with your normal activity of sports, walking, biking etc can have an amazing effect. I have a friend who is a swimmer and only does plyometrics in terms of resistance training, he has a great physique with good athletic muscle tone. This showed me that we don’t always need to be lifting weights to achieve a muscular and athletic body.

Do a Maximum - Of 3 sets of 4 exercises in anyone workout. This is even for the most advanced people, if you are  a beginner scale that down to about 2 sets of 2 exercises using a rep range of 10-15 repetitions. This will save you from sacrificing form and stop you getting injured.

If you enjoyed this article, please checkout my book A Simple Guide to Eating Well and you also can follow me on Twitter.

We often hear about the power and strength of anti-oxidants and their ability to stave off cancer and help us recover from things like muscle soreness and illness. So what is the real story? are these anti-oxidants really as magical and effective as we are led to believe? well firstly we need to differentiate between anti-oxidants that are:

1. Man made


2. Occur naturally in the food we eat

So firstly there are man made anti-oxidants like the ones we see added to foods or in Vitamin pills, take for instance Vitamin C which can easily be found in doses of up to 1000mg. This is a huge amount when you consider an Orange contains around 60mg of Vitamin C and a Bell Pepper contains around 120mg of Vitamin C, these are two of the foods highest in Vitamin C. What this indicates to me at least is that maybe we are not supposed to be ingesting such high quantities of anti-oxidants like the doses that are contained in modern day supplements.

This is something I have always had suspicions about but was compounded recently after reading some interesting research. Which basically tested the effects of supplementing Resveratrol in an attempt to kill off cancer cells and what the study showed is that:

At first, the tumor cells in the resveratrol-fed lab animals grew slower. But as the animals continued to consume resveratrol, there was an increase in blood vessels developing around the tumors of the resveratrol-fed animals, effectively setting up a system of feeding the tumors.

Unfortunately the good results do not always seem to continue and eventually do a 180 and end up feeding the cancer cells. Now this was an experiment done using resveratrol which was fed in huge doses and not from the doses you would normally find by drinking a few glasses of red wine a week or eating some red grapes.

I think we can liken anti-oxidants to Vitamin D which is the vitamin our skin synthesises when in the sun. It is well known that we can overdose on Vitamin D if we take it orally via supplements, this can have many negative effects- one of which is hypercalcemia which can be pretty dangerous. On the other hand when we synthesise Vitamin D naturally from the sun our bodies have a natural mechanism which means once we hit saturation there is a natural halt on absorption stopping any ill consequences, putting a Vitamin D overdose out of the question.

In the age of pill popping and the huge supplement market, we are constantly sold the benefits of this or that anti-oxidant cocktail or super cancer fighting supplement that we should all be taking. When really the truth could be that we are actually causing more harm than good by taking supplements especially those in a high dose and over a long period. Recently I have been reading some of Dr. Ray Peat’s work and came across his perspective on supplements.

Because the quality of commercial nutritional supplements is dangerously low, the only supplement I generally advocate is vitamin E, and that should be used sparingly. Occasionally, I will suggest limited use of other supplements, but it is far safer in general to use real foods, and to exclude foods which are poor in nutrients – Dr. Ray Peat

This seems to be a pretty safe way to approach supplements and a way that will allow us to get maximum benefit without causing harm. As the study showed, supplements have a strong initial benefit but that soon tapers off and turns against our bodies.

• Get your Anti-Oxidants from real food


• Vary your diet (strive for colour and flavour)


• Avoid processed and nutritionally devoid food


• High dose anti-oxidants and vitamins may have benefits when used short term


• Use high quality supplements

If your diet is high in naturally occurring vitamins and minerals from things like fruits, vegetables and many other unrefined carbohydrates I feel there is no need to supplement. It maybe of benefit to take high doses of anti-oxidants a few times a year or maybe when you are ill (colds and allergy season) or have been exercising extra hard, but the evidence points against consistent and long term use…..

If you enjoyed this article, please checkout my book A Simple Guide to Eating Well and you also can follow me on Twitter.

I want to grow old gracefully, I want to have good posture, I want to be healthy….

A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind. -Morihei Ueshiba

I believe that posture plays an all important role in your mental as well as physical well-being. How many times have you heard from people that the reason for your back ache is your posture? But somehow everyone equates that issue only to the habit of slouching. Of course that's something that needs to be paid attention to. But there are so many other aspects that go unnoticed.

If you look at yourself in the mirror with keen attention, you will begin to notice those small hardly noticeable posture imbalances.

Do you stand with your weight on the ball of your foot majority of the time? Are your heels under more stress than the rest of your foot?

Do you tend to lean towards one side only weighing on one of your feet? Is one of your shoulders constantly lower than the other?

All these and many other such habits over a long period can cause muscle weakness and shortening. Imagine the amount of stress you're placing on your body by being in an unnatural asymmetric posture for long periods!

I was deliberating more on the effects it can have on your mental health though. I have been noticing great leaders, visionaries, or selfless workers and most of them have a dignity and charisma about their personality. None of them have a poor posture! I believe your body expresses your mental state. Confusion, low self esteem and lack of self awareness will show on your body just like determination, clarity of thought and calmness do. Of course stress causes you to breathe shallow which in turn causes poor posture and sometimes the link is different. But they're all inter-related.

I have been practicing yoga and it has helped me immensely to improve my posture and there's a difference, both inside and out! I not only feel so much better about myself, my heels hurt lesser and my back feels stronger.

So today, walk with your feet firm on the ground in each step, a straightened elongated spine, head held high, open chest and feel strong in your core. Ahh…feels great to be the owner of this body..doesn't it?

This was short guest post from Megha at Just the Basics. I have also included a segment on lymphatic drainage I wrote on her site a while ago and thought would benefit the readers who haven’t seen it:

I want to share a great basic tip I learnt from a Naturopath. It is a method of flushing or draining the lymphatic system which is hugely important to improving immune function and allowing us to absorb fat and protein from our diets. The lymphatic system runs right through your body with nodes everywhere, they are especially concentrated around the chest.

The lymphatic system and the lymph capillaries helps in getting oxygen and nutrients to the cells by removing dead cells, poisons, toxins, and excess water from the tissue spaces around the cells. All of our body tissue cells are bathed in this fluid or water derived from our bloodstream. Blood is about 92 percent water. In 24 hours 42 pints of the fluid passes from the bloodstream through the capillaries into the body tissues.

This is pretty amazing and shows just how important the Lymphatic System really is. Sure we can get it going through movement like running and lifting weights but sometimes we need to give it some kind of a kickstart.

• Rinse yourself under the shower for 30 seconds with water as hot as you can tolerate.


• Immiedietly rinse yourself with water as cold as you can tolerate for 10 seconds.


• Repeat Three times ending on a cold rinse.


• The three to one ratio is very important for this to work effectively and the water must hit the whole body.

This causes the lymphatic system to contract and gives its pumps a boost that will help it do what it does best. The flush is especially good for older people who cannot move as much as they would like or those recovering from illness. Try it for yourself, give your lymphatic system a boost you will feel a great rush of vitality….

If you enjoyed this article, please checkout my book A Simple Guide to Eating Well and you also can follow me on Twitter.

At one point I am sure we have all heard about “foods that fill us up” or tricks to not eat as much in one sitting. This seems to be becoming more and more important in the quest for health as foods or tricks that satisfy us earlier are usually the foods that have been used for thousands of years and by our ancestors in order to regulate appetite and trigger the “full” switch in our brains.

Can it really have a significant effect though? can the way we approach food psychologically as well as what we eat have an effect on how much food we end up eating in one sitting. I myself was once sceptical but now believe there is a definite connection.

What got me thinking about this topic was a recent study which I read suggesting that if people think they are eating a big portion or a poriton that is “the right size” they are more likely to be satisfied and reach fullness quickly.

“The extent to which a food that can alleviate hunger is not determined solely by its physical size, energy content, and so on. Instead, it is influenced by prior experience with a food, which affects our beliefs and expectations about satiation. This has an immediate effect on the portion sizes that we select and an effect on the hunger that we experience after eating,”

“Labels on ‘light’ and ‘diet’ foods might lead us to think we will not be satisfied by such foods, possibly leading us to eat more afterwards,” added Dr. Brunstrom. “One way to militate against this, and indeed accentuate potential satiety effects, might be to emphasize the satiating properties of a food using labels such as ‘satisfying’ or ‘hunger relieving’.”

So it looks like our perceptions of what we are eating as well as the word associations we combine with a food can dictate how satisfied a meal will make us feel. Take for instance fiber rich foods like:

• Fruits


• Vegetables


• Nuts & Seeds


• Grains, Legumes and Tubers

All examples of natural foods which we usually associate with being healthy or at least “filling” and the truth is when we eat these foods in abundance fullness seems to kick in and stay in place for far longer than for instance having a cookie or a piece of cake which has more calories but is devoid of nutrients and fibre, plus we know it is not a filling food…..

This is why I find it is important to read up on all foods and know what their medicinal properties are and what unique benefit they all give. It is fascinating how many whole foods have unique benefits that if we know about not only makes them more satisfying to eat but gives us more pleasure as we learn why these foods are good for us.

Take for example an apple which amongst its thousands of phytochemical’s and vitamins contains a unique fibre called pectin which has benefits over other sources of fibre. Apple Pectin creates a gel like substance in the gut protecting and soothing the stomach, it also contains certain properties which short-circuit the development of colon cancer and gall stones.

By having knowledge about what we are eating in this way allows us to understand why apple’s are filling and satisfying in a way few other fruits or vegetables are. It is thanks to their unique fibre which expands and lines the stomach making for a perfect snack in between meals. So what other ways can we cause satiation?

Smaller Plates- When I first read about this I was sceptical. How could using a smaller plate trick me into eating less, I would surely just fill it up again once the food was gone. Little did I know how dissatisfying it can be to eat food from a plate which is half empty. Recently I have been using smaller plates and bowls but filling them to the brim, as oppose to using bigger bowls/plates and having them half filled. It is weird but this has a definite effect on giving more satisfaction when eating.

You have probably noticed that the asians always seem to eat from smaller bowls but they are filled right up. There is something nice about eating from a full bowl or plate. Give it a try I am sure you will find it beneficial in regulating your eating habits.

Slowing Down- This is something I have spoken about before but feel is worth mentioning in this post. Satiety from food takes a certain time to kick in – Our hormone Ghrelin which is released in the stomach to signal to our brains that we need to eat, is counterbalanced by Leptin which rises as we eat and sends a signal of fullness. In order for these hormones to balance out it takes time, slowing down to eat your food will allow these hormones to kick in and for you to realise that you are actually full and don’t want any more food.

Eat slowly and chew your food properly and you will give your body a chance to detect the rising Leptin levels which give you a feeling of fullness. This is also why I suggest layering meals starting with raw vegetables and salad before moving onto the main course.

Avoid Light and Diet- This is for two reasons, firstly light and diet products are normally sugar laden and “fake” foods filled with chemicals or artificial ingredients. The second reason is that when we see the word “light” or “diet” we automatically think that we can eat more of these foods without consequence and this usually leads to overeating, or eating a bigger portion that we would normally. Many of the best foods to eat are naturally light or “low fat” anyway and don’t need fancy advertising or packaging to get the message across.

Satisfaction seems to come down to a few key factors that we can all attempt to implement into our day to eating habits:

• Eat High Fiber foods


• Learn why certain foods are more filling than others


• Use smaller plates or bowls, which you fill up


• Slow down eating speed and chew well


• Avoid foods marketed as “light or low fat”

Pretty simple really. It would be great to hear any tips from readers for getting more satisfaction from the food we eat, these are things we sometimes learn ourselves as time passes and we experiment with different foods or eating stlyles…..

If you enjoyed this article, please checkout my book A Simple Guide to Eating Well and you also can follow me on Twitter.

I really don’t like treadmills, I get so bored and it all feels very labored. It simply feels forced and harder than normal running, which should be free and at your own pace with a playful aspect to it.

From time to time I will use 5-10 minutes of running time on a treadmill at the gym to add an edge to my warmup, apart from that though I never run while in the gym. Running outdoors is a different story altogether and was how I first got into fitness in my early teens – Running gives a sense of freedom. Freedom to take the route you want, freedom to stop and admire the views and freedom to go at your own pace. That is what running is all about- The freedom and fresh air, plus it does the body good…..

Start and End runs with Yoga or Stretching - Starting a run with a comprehensive set of yoga stances is a great way to add a bit more to the workout. Set aside 5-10 minutes either side of the run to practice some Yoga poses will help you warm up (and cool down) plus it provides a great dynamic warmup.

Also adding 5 minutes of Deep Breathing at the end of a run is a great way to calm the nervous system and calm the body down after a strenuous workout. Simply breath in for 4 seconds through the nose and into the belly, hold for 4 seconds and breath out for 4-6 seconds, continue until you feel the nervous system calming down.

Pick a nice route – If you live in a city like me it can be difficult to find a nice scenic route while running. With a bit of searching though, you can find some pretty beautiful places to run wherever you are – look for parks, or nice parts of the city with the least traffic in the surrounding area. This not only makes the run far more pleasurable but also makes the run far healthier as you won’t be inhaling all kinds of fumes and chemicals.

Go at your own Pace – Many people push themselves too hard when they start running. I find the optimal length for a run to be 30-40 minutes. Any longer and I get bored, any shorter and I don’t get a flow. Find a time that suits you and take it at your own pace. If you are starting out feel free to mix running with walking until you can work up to a consistent run. Also consider throwing in a few sprints, or body weight exercises throughout the run for a more complete workout.

Shoes - Back in the days I used conventional running shoes I would get terrible shin splints and pain around my knees, this was all a result of the stiff and stubborn running shoes. It made me stop running for ages as I was in too much pain, even walking became excruciating and I needed constant downtime and stretching to recover. This was as result of a few short runs a week! Since changing to a more minimalist choice of footwear my problems are non-existent and running is fun again…..

‘And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.' ~Kahlil Gibran

Have a read of this article over at Zen Habits which is a pretty comprehensive guide to running barefoot or using simpler footwear. I love my Nike Free 5.0′s but have heard great things about Vibram Five Fingers, some more free running shoes are piece of kit that you should definitely consider investing in if you are planning to take up some sort of running. Running with lighter footwear or barefoot gives a real sense of lightness and freedom plus they will allow you to build up all the supporting muscles in your feet and ankles making injuries less likely….

Keep Clothing Basic - You don’t need fancy running gear, in fact the more natural thee clothing you wear the better. Things like cotton breath far better than modern plasticky running gear making for a more comfortable run. Your running Kit should be as simple as:

• A T-shirt (and hoody for winter)


• Some Shorts


• Shoes and Socks

Nothing more is needed, keep it simple and use stuff that you feel comfortable in that allows your skin the breathe….

As Christopher McDougall puts it -

Everything I'd been taught about running was wrong. We treat running in the modern world the same way we treat childbirth-it's going to hurt, and requires special exercises and equipment, and the best you can hope for is to get it over with quickly with minimal damage.

If you haven’t read it yet his book ‘Born to Run’ it is great, and shows just what running should be and the freedom it should give us. Besides what better time to start running a few times a week than now……

Freedom – Running should be fun and free, not like the photo above which is orderly and regimented with set distances and goals. While these things are fun, it is best to start out with running in a uncontrolled manner just hitting the road and running for fun. It would be great to hear any tips from readers about how they started running or how they motivate themselves to run, also any conventional running shoes to barefoot transition stories would be cool…….

If you enjoyed this article, please checkout my book A Simple Guide to Eating Well and you also can follow me on Twitter.

“Think simple” as my old master used to say -- meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles." Frank Lloyd

After my original post on this topic I felt it was time to expand, not because we need more core work but more because everyone seems to keen on getting abs and working on the midsection. In this article I aim to discuss some of the why reasons core strength is so essential and not only for show plus why it is worth training your core directly and indirectly regardless of your goals……

Visible abs are not always something we can all achieve year round, unless we are genetically gifted or there is extreme dieting or training involved. This is not to say we should neglect our core muscles just because they are not on full view all the time,the midsection holds the key to several key functions in the body and provide a host of benefits -

• They provide protection from injury of the lower back and groin


• Functional ability providing power and speed in sports


• The core supports good posture with a strong lower back and abs holding the body upright


• Improves power and strength in general

Think of your core like a stack of 6 upright cans, if you want to keep them working better and together under a stressful load then it is best they are tied tightly together. If you neglect abdominal training they become loose, weak and susceptible to injury. Now imagine core training is like tying tape around the cans and building them up making them tighter and more functional. This all leads to great protection and support for the spine.

In order for Rock Star Abs we should be looking towards achieving flat, muscular and strong abs with the muscles being strong all the way through the core.

So How Do We Train Them?

I mentioned some of my favorite ways in the original article which were some less conventional methods like:

• Negative Chin ups


• Stomach Vacuums


• Throwing Heavy Stuff

Here are a few more methods I think are great and should be thrown into regular lower back and abdominal training.

Overhead Squats - These are definitely one of the best total body workouts available, sometime I go to the gym and pretty much base my workout around a few sets of these. The other benefit is that you don’t need any heavy weights as for most people a pretty light weight or standard size kettlebell will work fine to provide good resistance.

The beauty of the overhead squat is that it makes the core stabilize like nothing else and works on the hip flexors which stabilize the lower body and provide functional strength.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WpP9zIXGBo

Make sure you keep your core braced and upright, plus do not go too heavy as this exercise puts a load of weight on the core and this is not a good time to use a heavy weight. Aim for a few sets of 15-25 reps keeping your core braced.

Static Holds- Here I am talking about things like Planks and Tensing the Core. These do an amazing job at activating the entire core including the abdominals and lower back. If you can get your time up when holding planks to over the 2 minute mark you will have a pretty sturdy midsection that will help you in everything from sports to everyday tasks.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1nbZaIeLR0

Another way you can practice this is by simply bracing your core and sitting upright, this can be done throughout the day. Just squeeze the core for 30-60 seconds and hold towards a burn, you will surprised at what a good ab workout this gives -- Sort of like if you have ever head a real bad cough and you eventually get sore from tensing so much with each cough, it is the same principle working to tighten and strengthen your lower back and abs.

Ab Rollout -- This exercise requires a either an ab wheel (which you can get pretty cheap) or a Swiss Ball. The ab roll-out in my opinion is probably one of the most neglected and overlooked tools to strengthen your core.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLKFOKQPZII

Roll outs work the entire midsection including the obliques and the other supporting muscles that run through and beside your abs. I guarantee after a few sets of these you will be feeling a very specific soreness the next day, one that makes your stomach muscles feel deeply worked.

Other Factors

So those are 3 of my favorite exercises to build functional, flat and strong abdominals. This is not to say that building a strong core is easy, it takes hard work and a lot of concentration on the exercises mentioned above. The process can be Simple -- by just doing a circuit of these exercises each week, making sure you keep good form and aim for a burn in the muscle you can achieve great results and coupled with a healthy diet and the right kind of exercise which will lead to low body fat levels a good looking set of “Rock Star” abs could be in sight….

Saying this my philosophy with training towards abs is to get healthy first then pursue fat loss if need be. There is no point trying to get lean and losing weight if you are run down, stressed and tired (it will only compound the problem).

What most people will find is that once they are feeling good and well rested the natural “Want” to exercise kicks in and they will start to lean out. So regardless of your body fat levels keep training your abs it is well worth the time taking into account the general protective and functional benefits.

Chris is the author of A Simple Guide to Eating Well and writes about staying fit while living life. You also can follow me on Twitter.

It seems that people are needing glasses at younger and younger ages these days to be able to read or see properly. This is unfortunate as our eyesight should be robust and carry us into old age without the need for some sort of magnification to see what is going on or to read…..

Eyeglasses or contacts can be a nuisance, complicating your life and while for some they are necessary for others they can be avoided. If you have been using them for a while this article could have a few tips that can help you improve your eyesight naturally and if you don’t wear glasses yet the information could help save your vision for some time to come.

Take for example my mother – who wore glasses for reading from her mid 40′s onwards. At the time her diet was pretty poor with lots of processed carbohydrates and processed foods in general, her eyesight continued to deteriorate and she needed more and more powerful glasses as the years progressed. Not too long ago she embarked on a healthy eating plan, cutting out sugar and most othe rprocessed foods and started eating – More real food……

The result? She can now read most things without the need for eyeglasses, plus what surprised me is her eyes become noticeably more radiant and bright, looking far more alive than before. This was pretty amazing as she did not start eating better in order to improve her eyesight but rather to feel better and look better – The eye’s improvement was just a pleasant side effect of good eating…..

I wanted to write this article after I came across some research which directly correlates the link between sugar and eyesight.

Regular consuming a combination of protective nutrients and a low-glycemic-index, or “slow carb,” diet provided an AMD (Age Related Muscular Degeneration) protective effect.

So it seems to be a diet that contains the “Right” carbs that can help, plus a few Anti-oxidants and Vitamins….

The nutrients that were found to be most protective in combination with the low-glycemic-index diet were vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and the omega-3 fatty acids known as DHA and EPA.

So in my experience there are a few things that make sense and we can all do to improve our eyesight significantly, and also prolong our youthful vision……

1- Cut the Sugar

It is a simple one but so many people still have a regular consumption of insulin raising sugar in their diet. It is fine to have the occasional treat but the majority of the time it is best to cut out things like:

• Soft Drinks


• Processed Foods (most of which contain added sugar)


• Anything with HFCS


• Excessive Fruit Juice consumption


• Sweets and Desserts

Those are the main sources of sugary foods in todays diet. Sugar not only increases the likelihood of fat storage but it also increases inflammation in the body which is a likely cause of eye sight deterioration…..

2- Reduce Inflammation

You probably noticed that in the list of supplements above Omega 3 is mentioned. This is not because they have any magical effect on improving eyesight directly but rather that they decrease levels of inflammation in the body which work in turn to improve your eyesight. On top of taking fish oil there are several other things you can do to reduce inflammation in the body:

• Avoid Vegetable Oils (which contain too much Omega 6)


• Eat more fish


• Use Stress Management techniques


• Gentle Daily Exercise

All these things reduce inflammation in the body and can therefore slow the deterioration of your eyesight.

3- Diet Improvements

There are a few simple improvements in your diet worth trying if your eyesight is failing, basically by increasing your consumption of certain Anti-oxidants and Vitamins on a regular basis you can improve your eyesight. Some of the key things to introduce is Vitamin C and Lutein which is a another natural anti-oxidant. Vitamin C is found in pretty much all fruit and vegetables with he best sources being Green Bell Peppers and Broccoli, in terms of fruit your best bets are strawberries and oranges which contain a significant amount….

Lutein is a very interesting anti-oxidant and has been shown to have a protective effect on the eye’s and positive action in terms of slowing ageing in general.

Research has suggested a minimum of 6-10 mg per day of lutein is necessary to realize lutein's health benefits.  One such benefit is lutein's role in eye health, specifically its role in reducing the risk of Age Related Macular Degeneration

So how can you get hold of your 6-10mg of Lutein per day? The best sources seem to be green leafy vegetables – Things like Kale, Spinach, Broccoli and Turnip Greens, A single cup of Spinach or Kale can get you over 20mg of Lutein. So by simply eating a daily dose of spinach could be the trick to great eyesight into old age…….

You could also try a few supplements and it seems that a high quality anti-oxidant supplement may be able to help in terms of improving eyesight. Things like Vitamin E, Zinc and other Polyphenols are likely to have a protective effect on eyesight.

All in all though I feel we can get the anti-oxidant benefits through natural, food sources by including a wide variety of fruit and vegetables in our diet……

To Sum Up

It seems that if we take care of our bodies from the inside, our eyesight will hold up longer. By simply -

1. Cutting Out Sugar


2. Reducing Inflmmation


3. Eating only unprocessed processed carbohydrates


4. Eating a diet rich in Vitamins and Anti-Oxidants

We can have a profound influence on the state of our eyesight at any age. Give these changes a try and see if your eyesight improves, and for the younger readers these changes are worth taking on board if you want better and more robust vision for years to come…..

Warming up is essential before doing any kind of activity, we often forget to warmup and pay the price the next day feeling overly stiff or in the worse case causing an injury that could have been prevented……

To me it is important to find a warmup that works for you, and you will perform consistently. The problem with most conventional warmups is that they are slow, drawn out and generally boring. The key is making them faster paced while getting a good flow of blood to all your major muscles and tendons while getting your nervous system ready, making your body supple and ready for the workout at hand. As well as this Warming Up holds many other benefits:

• You will be mentally prepared for the task at hand


• Body temperature is increased improving performance


• As blood vessels dilate the pressure on the heart during the workout is reduced


• Reduced likely hood of injury

I myself like to do a quick warmup before doing any workout, whether strenous or light my warmup stays the same. It is a routine devised over the years and is something I have found to work very effectivly to get blood flowing and prepare me for the workout. Here are the main Exercises:

Jumping Jacks

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmYwZH_BNd0

Body Weight Squats

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOdwETDQXCw

Pushups

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A_zvnm8C04

Dynamic Stretching

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkCZym9CT54

As you can probably see I omit any of the conventional slow and boring stretching or running. What is great about a warmup using more dynamic exercises is that it feels like you are straight into the workout, rather than wasting time warming up, plus it makes for a far more efficient warmup as you get the heart pumping effectively. Plus this warmup can be done anywhere.

The Warmup

1. 30 reps of Jumping Jacks


2. 20 Reps of Bodyweight Squats


3. 10 Reps of Pushups (use the variation that allows you to complete them fairly easily)


4. REPEAT Circuit above 1 more time


5. 2-3 Minutes of Dynamic Stretching (I use a selection from the video above)

As you can see this warmup will definitely get the blood pumping and will do a great job of warming up all the major muscle groups. If you have not heard of Dynamic Stretching then you definitely need to try it out. It is a method that prepares your muscles for sport in the way they are really going to be used during exercises. This makes them not only more time efficient but makes injury less likely, plus they are fun!

To learn more about Dynamic Stretching checkout these guys Anatomy in Motion and if you are the UK and interested I highly recommend attending one of their workshops.

You can use this warmup whether you are about to play sports, go to the gym or go for a run. It doesn’t matter, it is equally effective regardless and should take around 5 minutes max.

So give it a try -- Next time you workout give yourself a thorough but simple warmup. Also feel free to adjust the warmup to work for you. The best warmup is the warmup you will do consistently.

Also If you guys missed them here I some posts I have written at various sites in the past weeks:

Simple Eating -- B-Vitamins

Going Back to Basics

Editors Note: This is a guest post from Srinivas Rao of The Skool of Life...

A little over a year ago, I started a spiritual and emotional journey that I now realize will last a lifetime. For many this journey is one that will forever change who they are and the journey isn't something they do, it's who they are. The first wave is a rite of passage for every surfer who commits to the journey and in that moment we're often hooked for life.

To say that my life has changed, since I started this journey would be an understatement. The health and mental benefits of surfing are so vast that the pursuit of waves can do wonders for the quality of your life. Today I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life and I can honestly attribute the largest part of that to riding waves.

Health Benefits

Cardio: Surfing is a phenomenal cardiovascular workout. Water sports in general tend to be. You are continually paddling to catch waves and even after riding a wave you are paddling back out to what is known as the take off point. Unlike most cardiovascular workouts however, you will not feel winded because of the opportunity to rest between waves. Despite that, at the end of the work out you will be extremely hungry and sleep like a baby.

Weight Loss: I've never been overweight, so I may not be the authority on this. But, I have shed over 15 lbs in the course of a summer because of the amount of time I've spent surfing. I've known other surfers to shed much more significant amounts of weight.

Muscle Tone: I hate going to the gym and I hate lifting weights. For some reason I just never could get myself to do it. Amazingly, the same benefits I would get from those types of workouts I get from surfing. For me it is the right activity. If you look at any surf magazine, you'll notice surfers tend to have really great bodies. Since it's a low resistance work out, it's phenomenal. Even when you fall you're falling in water.

Mental Benefits

What might seem bizarre to many of you is that the mental benefits of surfing outweigh many of the physical benefits. I consider it one of the greatest forms of self help in my life. In fact my mood is significantly impacted by surf conditions.

Peace: The pursuit of waves is just a small part of the surfing. What most surfers are after is the what they feel like afterwards, known in our world as being "stoked." Time in the ocean puts you in an unbelievably peaceful state of mind. I've found myself stuck in the worst imaginable traffic after a few hours in the water and I don't have a care or a worry in the world and the traffic doesn't phase me one bit. I live in Los Angeles, so that should give you some perspective in terms how much peace this brings to my life.

Presence: Eckhart Tolle said "make the now the primary focus of your life and will be completely free of pain and suffering." In the moment of riding a wave you are more present than you are at any other moment in your life. There's absolutely no way your mind can be anywhere else because it would be extremely dangerous for you and everybody around you. To top it off you are in such a state of bliss that there really is no place that you'd rather be.

Meditation: Surfers are often stereo-typed as potheads and stoners, but that's not always accurate. Surfing is an incredible form of meditation because it frees you from ego and thought. You really can not think about another thing when you are in the water, which might explain why you feel the way you do when you get out of the water.

Confidence: This might be a stretch for some, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it also can do wonders for your self-confidence. You are more or less taming and riding a wild horse, and often you have no idea what the ocean will throw at you. You are in an environment that is terrifying to the average person. So you learn to keep cool and calm no matter what it throws at you. That ends up translating into other areas of your life and as a result you become more confident.



Happiness: As I mentioned above, I can't recall a time in my life when I've been as happy as I have since I started this journey. In a year, I hope to travel the world and spend a full year exploring the planet in pursuit of waves.

If you live near a coastline, want to get in shape, and find pure bliss all at the same time, I encourage you to take a surf lesson. It won’t be easy at first, and you might even hate it. Go at least 10 times before you give up and it's likely you'll be hooked for life.

Thanks

To Srinivas for this awesome post, It really is bang in line withe Zen to Fitness philosophy and shows the power of finding a sport or activity you love…..

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air" – Ralph Waldo Emerson

As the sun comes out and we are spending more and more time outdoors there is a need for some sort of protection from the sun. I have tried to stop using sunscreen for a while now due to its supposed negative effects. Sunscreen has been linked with the following:

• Not being as effective as advertised (not living up to its SPF rating)


• Accelerated development of skin tumors and lesions


• Blocking Vitamin D


• Vitamin A which is a common ingredient in sunscreen is shown to cause cancer


• Disruption of the bodies hormonal system

Now this also goes back to the post I wrote about the dangers of conventional body products, as sunscreen is full of PABA, Oxybenzone as well as a host of other chemicals. The main reason I stopped using sunscreen is that we need Vitamin D and most of us are deficient so the very fact that sunscreen totally blocks off our absorption of Vitamin D is a pretty killer deal. This is not to mention its cancer causing potential and false claims most sunscreens carry.

Do not forget the sunscreen industry is huge and they will go to huge measures to pump fear into the public about skin cancer and the dangers of spending time in the sun. Funnily enough Vitamin D deficiency is a leading cause for skin cancer…..

To me it is a case of being sensible with the sun, as they say “The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is The Dose” which couldn’t be more true when it comes to the sun. So what are our alternatives when it comes to maximising the benefits, while negating the risks?

Get your dose - Don’t forget that getting 10,000-20,000IU of Vitamin D only requires about 20 minutes of midday sun on an exposed body, And even less time than that for the very lightly skinned. I think this is something we can all manage a few times in the summer without getting burnt.

Natural Mechanisms - Our body has a natural mechanism to get us out of the sun when we have had too much. Ever notice how the sun feels great at first but after 20 or 30 minutes it becomes uncomfortable and too hot. This is our body telling us enough is enough and that it is time to go seek some shade. Listen to your body when in the sun, this by itself will help you avoid the overdoing it.

Coconut Oil - I have been experimenting with this myself, now that the sun is out regularly I try to spend some time in the sun daily and have been testing out Coconut Oil as sunscreen. I would suggest reading this article about using coconut oil as sunscreen.

I spent many days hiking and FULL days at the beach swimming and NO BURNS. Now, yes, I got pink, but no  painful burns and the best part is that they all mellowed the next day into the slightest brown. For a white girl, that was just unbelievable!!!!!

Pretty impressive stuff and it is similar to what I have found. A few weeks back I was out in the park with friends wearing nothing but shorts and spent a few hours in the sun, now my skin burnt slightly and I was a bit sore and red the next day. This was totally my own fault though as I didn’t seek shade or wear any protection.

Since reading the article above I have been trying out coconut oil as sunscreen, I will basically coat my body in a thin layer and go get some sun. I can confirm that after spending prolonged periods of time in midday sun with coconut oil on I experienced no burns of redness what so ever and I seem to develop a much nicer light brown tan, so I am a believer….

Diet - Our skin seems to have a direct correlation with the types of fat we eat. As anyone who has eaten a low fat diet will know skin becomes pretty dry…. The opposite seems to happen when we eat heat resistant fats and reduce our consumption of less heat resistant Polyunsaturated fats our skin becomes softer and tougher.

Most people find that when they reduce their consumption of PUFA’s (Peanut butter, Veggie oils, Cooking with olive oil) and replace these fats with more saturated and heat resistant fats like Coconut and Dairy fat their skin becomes much more resistant to the sun and burns far less easily. It is interesting that mother nature provides these fats as the main source of energy to tribes who live in the hotter parts of the world like the Masai (who drink plenty of milk and have a diet with virtually no PUFA’s) and the Kitavans who love their coconut and sweet potato (and again eat practically no PUFA’s) this seems to give them a natural sun coping mechanism.

This seems to be especially important in summer. We can all learn from these guys by replacing the majority of Polyunsaturated fats and using things like coconut, and macadamia nuts while cooking with heat resistant fats like butter, ghee, coconut and palm oil.

Go Natural - There seems to be a growing range of natural sunscreens on the market today which claim to protect from the sun without any of the negative effects of conventional sunscreen. They work by acting like a mirror and reflecting off the sun instead of absorbing the UV rays like normal sunscreens. The link below reviews some of the most common brands…

Should You Switch To Natural Sunscreen?

Most contain Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide (both ‘natural‘ sunscreens) as well as things like Shea Butter and Sesame/Macadamia oil (which is known for its sun blocking effects). These seem pretty effective to me and when I go on holiday this summer I plan to pickup a few bottles and give them a try……

So as you can see there seem to be some pretty easy changes you make if you want to try going SPF free this summer, please comment if you have any experience making the most of the sun without having to resort to sunscreen……

Movement is key to health and vitality, we all need to move or at least do something active consistently throughout our lives. Sure the activities will change with time but it is important we find out what we love to do in terms of movement.

A workout can be anything you want it to be from cleaning up the garage and gardening to a good old run or weights session in the gym. They all vary in intensity and provide different health benefits, but most importantly we all have our preferences…..

Your idea of a fun workout or activity may be different to mine, For instance, I grew up playing a lot of sports - Soccer, Tennis, Cycling and was generally an active kid and loved to be outside playing. As I grew older my love for sports remained but I stopped playing them as often and started spending more time lifting weights at the gym, going for runs, and sprints plus more general fitness training. The important thing I realised was that at one point I stopped working out and being active because it was something I really enjoyed but rather as it made me feel good and it was something I felt had to be done. Big mistake…….

It was only recently that it hit home that exercise and workouts had become somewhat of a chore, I was in a routine and not doing things I loved to do to keep active. I think this happens to a lot of us as we grow older, the things we originally did to keep active go out of the window and we workout to keep fit by doing standard workouts……

1. Think of the Ideal Active Lifestyle

Take a moment to sit down and write out a week of your ideal activities if time was no option, for me this would be:

• 2 hour long tennis sessions a week


• 1-2 Weights Circiuts in the gym


• 1 Barefoot Run


• Some Light Stretching and Yoga


• Lots of Walks

Now compare your ideal week of activity to what you are doing presently, I bet it is pretty different….. It is not to say you should aim to emulate the exact ideal scenario but rather to be used as a tool to see what you would really like to be doing. This exercise will allow you to get in touch with what you really want to be doing….

2. Which Activities Do You Enjoy Best

Take a journey back in time and remember back to what you enjoyed doing as a child and even your teenage years, think of all the sports you did and which ones you liked the best. Things like:

• Running/Playing with freinds


• Skateboarding


• Swimming


• Cycling


• Sports (Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Football etc)


• Sufing

Think back to more general activities you enjoyed before you started working out or stopped working out. This should give you a pretty good idea of what you would enjoy doing and can give a template for some activities you can pickup to re-discover your passion for something….

3. Stay Active For the Right Reasons

The healthiest people are active because they want to be and enjoy what they are doing, not because they strive to be fitter or have a leaner body. This is a very important lesson we can all learn from and once you start to re-discover your passion for activities long forgotten good things start to happen – You will use your free time doing things you want to do and you will really enjoy staying active plus you will probably find that the stuff you enjoy doing is out in the open and not in a stuffy gym…

The best six doctors anywhere

And no one can deny it

Are sunshine, water, rest, and air

Exercise and diet.

These six will gladly you attend

If only you are willing

Your mind they’ll ease

Your will they’ll mend

And charge you not a shilling. - Wayne Fields

The only way to stay active and healthy throughout our lives is to find a set of activities we really enjoy and practice them regularly, they need not be strenuous all the time and so long as they get us moving on a regular basis that is fine. You will probably find that happiness increases immensely once you re-disover the activities or sports you enjoy and start practicing them regularly.

What activities do you really enjoy?

Testosterone is a hugely important hormone for not only men but women also. We all need it to survive and it is especially important as we age when our levels start to steadily decline if we do not look after ourselves. Besides being a potent aphrodisiac testosterone provides us with a stable emotional state, controlling our mood and allowing us to avoid becoming a “grumpy old man” with age. For Women testosterone helps with decision making and providing general enjoyment of life. Along with this Testosterone holds several other benefits for both men and women:

• Keeps bones solid and dense


• Allows you to maintain a good level of muscle mass


• Fends off excess fat gain


• Keep disease at bay


• Provide vigour and mental sharpness

So basically it is pretty good stuff and something we want to keep at a solid level throughout our lives. And while testosterone declines naturally with age there are a few things that can be taken into account……

Avoid Plastic

There is no need to become militant about getting plastic out of your life but every little helps. Studies are showing that the oestrogenic compounds leached by fluids and food from plastic packaging can have a pretty detrimental affect on human health.

"We must have identified just the tip of the iceberg in that plastic packaging may be a major source of xenohormone* contamination of many other edibles. Our findings provide an insight into the potential exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals due to unexpected sources of contamination."

Now Oestrogen itself is not bad and it is needed to compliment testosterone. The problem comes with the man made Xenohormones which have a testosterone lowering and oestrogen triggering effect. This is bad news for both men and women…. Try avoiding some of the following common sources of Xenohormones:

• Microwaving or cooking food in plastic containers


• Drinking water from plastic


• Plastic cups and plates at home


• Plastic spoons for cooking food

Remember every little helps in this department so the more you can do to remove plastic from your life the better.

Processed Soy

The oestrogenic effects of processed Soy and well documented, mice have shown to have significantly lower testosterone levels when eating soy products.

These results suggest that in adult males, genistein induces the typical estrogenic effects in doses comparable to those present in soy-based diets.

Sadly processed soy products are documented as a health food, which they certainly are not. Avoid things like Soy Milk, Tofu and pretty much any food with Soy in the ingredients (it seems to be sneaking it into health/protein bars very often now). This point is especially applicable to female readers who are more to likely to be using some sort of Soy products as they are more promoted and aimed toward the female market. Soy is fine used in its traditional context, so things like tempeh, edamame, miso and other natural soy products. These may even hold benefits……

Drink

I am not talking about drinking water but rather alcohol, especially binge drinking. We can get away with this to some extent when younger but with age alcohols detrimental effects when over consumed catch up with the human body. Drinking large amounts also has a detrimental affect on the immune system and can de-regulate our sleep cycles and ability to manage body composition (causing stored fat and muscle loss). Studies show that exercising before drinking alcoholic beverages has one of the biggest testosterone blunting effects:

“Physical stress immediately before alcohol administration prolonged the depressant effect of alcohol on testosterone secretion.”

Take into account these subjects drank quite a bit of alcohol. So do not worry about having a glass of wine or a beer with your post dinner run or gym session…… Also let’s not forget that some alcohol has been shown to have an anti-oestrogenic effect to some extent, this is thanks to the polyphenol resveratrol found mainly in red wine. So again this one comes down to a fine balance in that drinking moderatly probably will not effect testosterone and it is binge drinking that we should worry about…..

Over Exercising and Stress

Overexercising is a real deal breaker in terms of hormones. Running your body down in any sense is likely to have a detrimental effect on not only testosterone but your bodies immune function and mood. Essentially exercise is stress on the body, it is something we do to break ourselves down to get stronger and fitter. We need to rest after bouts of exercise especially “High Intensity” stuff which is everywhere now. As the old adage goes “Muscles are made in the kitchen, not the gym” so make sure you get plenty of rest between exercise sessions. If you are exhibiting any signs of overtraining:

• Feeling “Blah” or down


• Persistent muscle soreness, taking longer to recover


• Irritability


• Reduced heart rate upon waking


• Constant infections, reduced immunity

Then it is probably a good idea to back off training of any kind for a week. Maybe limiting things to some Long Walks, Yard Work, Stretching and maybe Light Cycling. Once you start to feel better and vigour returns, your body is ready to go again. Remember to eat well during times of stress as calorie restriction (which often happens without noticing when stressed) acts as another stressor on your body.

Everything in Moderation including Moderation itself….

These 4 points should serves as an indication of things that have a detrimental effect on not only testosterone but probably our general endocrine system having a knock on effect on many hormones. Like everything do not get too caught up. Use this post as a guide as to what to avoid to maintain a healthy hormonal system. Unfortunately many of these things are hard to avoid in todays world especially plastics. So just keep things in mind and do the best you can…..

A Simple Guide to Eating Well

Years ago I embarked on a journey to health and fitness, It all started with an obsession with getting a perfect body. Ultimately though it left me in search of Health and Happiness, and something I want to share…….

I wanted to look like what we see on the covers of Men’s Health. Little did I know I was in search of something elusive or temporary at best. I did achieve a “cover model” body at one point but only at the expense of my health and sanity, making me obsessive with food and trying to hyper vigilant and careful with my lifestyle to maintain this state that my body simply did not want to be at.

With time my perspective changed and I become more focused on health and well-being rather than being “ripped” or really really lean, I have found out it is only a few of us who can maintain this type of shape year around without negative health consequence. I myself have experimented with many diets most at the expense of my health:

• Eat Less, Move More


• Low Carb


• Calorie Restriction


• Paleo Diets


• Low Carb


• Bodybuilder style high protein diets


• Eating at regular intervals


• Intermittent Fasting


• Fruitarian


• Gluten and Dairy Free

This has been coupled with extensive reading on the subject of health and fitness in my own time, it is something I love to do and I often spend my free time in book shops browsing the health section. My main findings and realising how important what you eat can be, was when I started working full time and continued a regime of strict dieting and high intensity exercise all the time. This ultimately lead to severe burnout and several health problems which were contributed to by my diet at the time. This period showed me that “We cannot take more than we give” with anything in life especially our bodies.

I wrote “A simple guide to eating well” as I noticed there is so much information on the internet and in books. This can cause a real information overload, further confusing us on the topic of Health and Fitness. Ultimately we all want to be healthy, it is hard wired within us as an inherent desire. Sadly too many people get caught up with getting healthy and they forget to live or their new healthy lifestyle gets in the way of them living life. This e-book is a guide to becoming healthy and at peace with food, rather than a quick fix to weight loss. It is a simple and natural guide that can help you and people you chose to share it with finally find health.

This book is for all the people who have struggled with their relationship with food, struggled with their weight, burnt themselves out with dieting or are just plain confused by nutritional advice these days. I believe that I have taken the best of what current information has to offer simplifying things and singling out the factors that are causing obesity and weight gain in society.

It is a guide to a path that seems to work. It has led me to living a much healthier happier life while allowing me to be full of energy and maintain a healthy lean body. Not to mention working wonders for people I have worked with. All this coming from a Personal Trainer who is currently training to become a Naturopath.

You Will Learn:

• To Live Without Dieting


• The Problem With Our Approach to Food


• Distinguish between the food groups


• Layout a perfect meal


• About the two Health Killers


• Tips on Healthy Eating Out


• What to Drink


• Tips on Snacking


• Getting over negative relationships with food


• Which supplement are worth your while


• Organic Buying tips


• How to Individualise your diet


• Much much more…..

The Book contains over 40 pages and is nearly 15,000 words plus two Mindmaps. I tried to keep the layout relatively simple and in a format that you can print and pass on to friends and family. Click here to preview the opening 3 page.

How to Purchase?

I have started selling “A Simple Guide to Eating Well” at $10 with the price to rise after the first 100 purchases I feel this allows my loyal readers to get it at a cheaper price and is a price which is fair considering the time and effort that has gone into this e-book.

Buy Now

Eating chicken has become synonymous with eating healthy, and it's a common assumption that chicken and fish make up the gamut of healthy protein.  But there are several alternatives to chicken that offer flavors all their own.  If you don't have a local hunter buddy, these foods may take some work to locate, but they're worth checking out if you want to expand your menu into other healthy protein sources.

Rabbit

Because of its extremely low saturated fat content, rabbit is one of the foods of choice for heart disease patients and the elderly.  The meat is 100% white meat, and you can expect rabbit to have a very mild flavor, with very little "gamey" taste.  Recipes for rabbit commonly call for extended cooking times, and the FDA suggests cooking rabbit in the oven for not less than one hour, and making certain the meat achieves a temperature of at least 160-degrees Fahrenheit.  Owing to its exceptionally low fat content, may recipes for rabbit recommend stewing.

A single 3-ounce serving of rabbit contributes just 3-grams of fat, and so contains just 147 calories.  However, at 28-grams of protein, that 3-ounce serving is a muscle building powerhouse.  Rabbit is also a great source of iron, with a single serving contributing about 23% of your recommended daily allowance of iron.

Venison

Derived from another North American game animal, venison is the meat harvested from deer, and was a favorite of Native American Indian tribes.  A 3-ounce serving of venison contains even less fat than rabbit, contributing just 2-grams of fat to your diet.  Like rabbit, the low fat content demands careful attention in the kitchen.  Recipes commonly include slow cooking methods to tenderize the meat, with the crockpot being a favored kitchen tool.  Slow grilling can provide very tasty meals if careful attention is given by the chef.  Venison goes well with red wine, making for an antioxidant laden meal.

Owing to the extremely low fat content, a 3-ounce serving of venison has even fewer calories than a serving of rabbit, coming in at a mere 128-calories, less than 2-grams of saturated fat, and 26-grams of protein.

Bison

Estimates suggest that at one time, there were as many as 30 million prairie bison in the United States.  Commercial hunting pressure in the early 1900's, encouraged by the U.S. government, decimated those numbers, but restoration efforts over the last 30-years have allowed these massive creatures to return to their home range.  Interest in bison for commercial purposes has increased again, and from a nutritional standpoint, it's understandable.  A 3-ounce serving of bison contains about 5-grams of fat, and has just 145-calories.

Although bison has a low fat content, it's slightly higher in fat than venison or rabbit, which makes cooking bison slightly more forgiving to the chef.  Still, most recipes call for slow cooking, and careful attention is required on the grill.  Recipes for bison burgers often recommend mixing bison with fats to keep them juicy, but this should be avoided when possible, as it adds unnecessary calories.  When cooking steaks, most experts recommend the use of tongs, rather than a fork, for turning bison on the grill.  Using tongs avoids puncturing the steak, which would release the all-important tenderizing juices.

Quail

Once favored by kings, quail are the closest cousins to chicken on this list, and one of the easiest to locate.  Quail are very small birds, so a single quail breast is typically between 3-5 ounces in size, making it the perfect serving size.  It's not uncommon to see quail, usually in 2-breast packages, in the frozen meat section at your local grocer.

In sharp contrast to the recommended slow cooking methods for the other protein sources on this list, most experts recommend cooking quail on intermediate heat for no more than 10-minutes.  The short cooking time will seal in flavors and keep the meat from drying out.  If you want to try your hand at roasting, try sealing the meat first by searing quickly over high heat and then popping them in the roaster.

Expect your efforts to reward you with a meat that is slightly more gamey than you'll expect from chicken, but also sweeter, and in contrast to chicken, well complimented by red wine.  Nutritionally, quail is lower in fat than chicken, with a single serving providing just 2-grams, and no saturated fat.  Although lower than the other foods on this list, quail still has more protein than a single serving of chicken (13-grams), and the low fat content means a single serving of quail has a mere 69-calories.

As you can see from this short list, the options for someone who wants to eat healthy, yet still enjoys steaks and burgers, extends well beyond chicken or fish.  Cooking these foods requires some adjustment on the part of the chef, as the low fat content makes it very easy to overcook these foods.  But with a little effort, there are many options that can provide meat lovers with alternatives that even exceed the health benefits of chicken.

We usually associate lighter weights for high reps with improved muscle tone, that is what conventional knowledge tells us anyway – Is it possible that we are mistaken?

I recently came across a study showing that heavier weights are actually what triggers muscle growth and muscle tone, having a significantly more toning effect than lifting lighter weights for higher reps…..

when women performed various resistance exercises at different weights and repetitions (85 percent of their maximum ability for 8 reps, versus 45 percent for 15). Subjects lifting more weight fewer times burned more energy and had a greater metabolic boost after exercise.

So 70-80% of your maximum weight for 8 reps is the ideal weight for toning muscle. This changes the game when it comes to lifting and has tied together a lot of things I have thought myself for years but always brushed aside in favour of conventional wisdom when it comes to weight lifting. This probably comes down to a better stimulation of the muscle in terms of growth, this also holds benefits in terms of things like glucose metabolism making sure the food you eat is funneled into making muscle explaining the Metabolic Boost.

One thing I have noticed when weight lifting is that I always get my best results sticking in the 6-10 rep range, this is in terms of muscle growth and general body composition improvements. I have tried doing high reps before and even made them a staple of my fitness program but they have never produced nearly as good results. With little result in terms of muscle and I could feel little metabolic shift when doing workouts of high reps as my appetite would remain low although muscle soreness would be pretty severe.

The other advantage of lifting heavy is the lack of wear and tear it puts of the joints and tendons in comparison to using lighter weights. Although you are handling a heavier load there is not the same repetitive wear and tear that say doing 20 reps would produce. This reduces the chances of Repetitive Strain Injuries.

It is becoming more and more clear that everyone should be doing some sort of relatively heavy strength training – Gone are the days of lifting light weights for high reps in search of toned muscles. If you are a guy lifting heavy from time to time should be a staple, and for women it should be too. Studies like these and evidence from people I have worked with show that whether male of female the people with the best looking bodies  lift heavy once or twice a week and couple that with a active lifestyle. This not only “tones” muscle but will lead to increased bone density and less chance of things like osteoporosis in later life.

Here is A great plan for some heavy intense lifting for men or women. Take 60 seconds rest between sets and lift for 6-10 reps per set (so you want to be going for a weight that makes you fail around the 10 rep mark):

• Front Squat or Goblet Squat


• Bench Press


• Pullups or Lat Pulldown

Simple as that - Do 2-3 sets of each exercise and repeat the program 1-3 times per week trying to improve your weights slowly with time. This will help you get that elusive tone and lose some fat while you are at it…..