YOGA-- does your body (&mind!) GOOD!

Well here I am in the home stretch. One week of regular classes left, then finals and a nice break until Spring quarter starts. I've really enjoyed my classes this quarter, loved the conditioning principles and yoga every week. A good balance between strength & flexibility. I've definitely fallen in love with Yoga, and am planning on continuing practicing after the class ends next week. I was just writing up a paper that's due tomorrow for this class, and I thought hey, I oughta share this with my healthy is hott-ers ;) So, read on, learn, and try it out for yourself!

New research is emerging that documents the effectiveness of yoga therapy for the body. Few studies had been done in Western countries in the past, such as the United States, on yoga. In previous years, Indian yoga research was highly dismissed by scientists due to problems with the methods such as lack of control groups. However in recent years, the methodology has vastly improved and it could be argued that many Indian studies of yoga far surpass those done in the West.

Yoga has been documented to be effective for conditions such as back pain, multiple sclerosis, insomnia, heart disease, and even cancer. The benefits it can have include increased strength, flexibility, and balance, as well as enhanced immune system function, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and improved sense of psychological well-being. One of yoga's most famous effects is stress reduction, something almost anyone could use in their day to day lives. To understand the importance of stress reduction in relation to your health, first you need to understand how stress effects the body.

Stress can cause a wide range of adverse health conditions, such as migraines, ulcers, and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as big time killers like diabetes, heart attack, and osteoporosis. Stress effects the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls function of the liver, heart, intestines, and other internal organs. The ANS works in two branches that work together, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Generally when activity is high in one branch, it's low in the other.

The SNS works in conjunction with stress hormones (such as adrenaline and cortisol) starts a series of events within the body, including raising blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. This means more energy, blood, and oxygen flowing to the large muscles in the trunk of the body and in the arms and legs, allowing a person to run or fight ("fight or flight" response).

The PNS, in contrast, slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure, letting the body recover after stress. Blood flow returns to the intestines and reproductive organs, whose functions aren't important in crisis/stressful situation. PNS can be thought of as "rest and digest." Yoga practices increase activation of the PNS and leads to mental relaxation and stress reduction. Some practices of yoga, such as vigorous sun salutes, breath retentions, or kaphalabhati breathing actually activate the SNS. Research documented in research from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation has found that more active practices followed by relaxing ones lead to deeper relaxation than just relaxation practices done by themselves.

Some of yoga's most outstanding effects on health is connected to its ability to alter dysfunctional behavior, such as lack of exercise or poor diet choices. People also have unhealthy habits of thought (negativity, pessimism, holding grudges) that can undermine their health without them really realizing it. Sometimes we do realize it, but don't know how to change. It's not uncommon for people who start practicing yoga to start eatting better, stop smoking, cut back on alcohol or caffiene, spend more time doing things they truly enjoy, and eliminate stresses (such as too demanding jobs or too many time commitments) from their lives. Once you're aware of what makes your body feel good, you want to do things that make your body increasingly feel better.
 
I can attest to some of these claims.. I tend to stress out over school/work/relationships... it's hard not to. I also suffered from headaches, nearly every day for a long time. I tried medicine, prescription and over the counter, change in diet (which helped some but not entirely)... This quarter, while practicing yoga once a week for 90 min, and 10 or 20 minutes here and there throughout the week, my headaches have almost vanished. I feel more at ease with myself and life in general. It's a great feeling. I really recommend yoga to anyone who hasn't tried it. You'll walk out feeling relaxed and refreshed, and with a smile on your face. Give it a try, attend a class, or just try some moves on your own, and let me know how it goes!! :)
 
 

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

So I told you all that I was reading journalist Michael Pollan's book "Food Rules - An Eater's Manual" and was hoping to share some things I learned. Basically this little book has three sections.


Part I - What should I eat? (Eat Food)

Part II - What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly Plants)

Part III - How should I eat? (Not too much)



Pretty straight forward eh? Which is good in a world where fad diets and low fat, low carb, low gluten, no dairy, etc, etc, etc, etc, run rampant. It can be confusing to know where to even begin when you want to reasses what you're eating, what you should be eating, how much you should be eating. Who do you listen to? A good idea when you want to get facts is to visit a registered dietician. These people went to school to learn all about the body and food and the relationship between these two lovebirds. They're not trying to get you to buy their product. They're medical professionals and always a reliable source of good info.



However, there's nothing wrong with doing a little research on your own. I think a huge problem with people making poor diet choices is a lack of understanding what the food does in your body. For instance, a lot of people consider diet pop a good choice. No calories! But what about what the chemicals do once they're in your body? What about NutraSweet and Aspartame? Do you know? Well you should. Understanding is key to making good decisions. You must educate yourself. It's your body, therefore your responsibility.



Ok.. So there are 64 rules in this book.. I'll share a couple good ones with you and recommend you check out the book for yourself :) It retails for $11.00, not bad!





1. Eat FOOD. not foodlike substances. aka ultra processed substances with chemical additives. Pollan calls these 'edible foodlike substances'



5. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetner) listed among the top 3 ingredients. Labels list ingredients by weight, and any product with more sugar than all the rest of the ingredients has too much sugar. However sugar is a tricky little thing these days.. thanks for food science it goes by a million different names. For example: beet sugar, barley malt, brown rice syrup, corn sweetner,cane juice, dextrin, dextrose, sucrose, glucose.. ETC ETC ETC. familiarize yourself with sugar and all it's names. Sugar is sugar, no matter what it calls itself. And as for it's tricky cousin noncaloric sweetners (think aspartame or Splenda) research doesn't support that these artificial sweetners lead to weight lose. Instead they seem to stimulate a craving for more sweet.



10. Avoid food pretending to be something it's not. Think 'I can't believe it's not butter' Making nonfat cream cheese involves neither cream nor cheese, but rather a ton of processing and chemicals. STAY AWAY.



12. Shop the perimeter of supermarkets and avoid the middle aisles. Most markets are set up the same.. with fresh foods like produce meat fish dairy etc. on the perimeter and foodlike substances in the middle. Shopping the perimeter will leave you with more healthful things in your cart.



20. It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.



22. Be an omnivore, but eat mostly plants.



25. Eat your colors. The colors of many vegetables reflect the different antioxidant phytochemicals they contain. Many of these chems help protect against chronic diseases, but each in a different way so your best bet is to eat your colors.



27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.



34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself. Cereals to Soup food that has been prepared by a corporation contains way more salt and sugar than any human - even sugar crazy kids - would add themselves. By sweetening and salting yourself, you'll consume wayyy less sugar and salt that you would have otherwise.



36. Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk. Such items are highly processed and FULL of refined carbohydrates and chemical additives.



47. Eat when you're hungry, not when you're bored.



49. Eat slowly



52. Buy smaller plates and glasses.



Man, that was tough to only pick out a couple of rules to share. This little book really is a great resource and perfect for people who want to start learning about making healthier food choices. Check it out!




Works Cited :


Pollan, Michael. Food Rules An Eater’s Manual. New York City: Penguin Group, 2009.

BIG WEEKEND IN COLUMBUS OHIO!

With only two weeks of regular class left and spring break looming just over the horizon, you'd think I'd be counting down the days, but instead I'm counting down the days til this weekend!!

This weekend, Columbus, Ohio will proudly be hosting the Arnold Fitness Classic at 300 W. Broad Street, the Convention Center. There's a ton of events to go watch or participate in.. bikini contest, armwrestling, Art at the Arnold, powerlifiting, gymnastics, strongman, WEC weigh-ins, cheerleading and dance, fencing, boxing, MMA workshops.... you name it, they probably got it. For a full schedule of events click here. It's always a good time, the festival runs all weekend, starting Thursday and ending on Sunday. Lots to see and tons of free giveaways. I can't wait!!

In association with the Arnold this year, there will be an Amateur MMA Festival, Friday March 5th at the Lifestyles Community Pavilion (formerly Promo West)  20 fights - shaping up to be an awesome show, along with a who's who crowd with all the visitors the our capital city that weekend. For more info check out MidWest Combat, awesome MMA site based out of Columbus.

The WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) will also be coming to Columbus this weekend on Saturday, March 6th. The card is stacked, headlined by a bantamweight title fight between the current champ, Brian Bowles, and the number one contender Dominick Cruz. WEC's first trip to Columbus will also feature the return of former bantamweight champ Miguel Angel Torres, as well as the comeback of Jens Pulver, former UFC lightweight titleholder.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!! Definitely hitting the gym hard this week for cardio & strength training during the day, yoga & pilates in the afternoon. One thing I can say for sure is the bodies you will see this weekend at this smorgasbord of events will make you want to get in better shape. Without a doubt. So head out this weekend for fun, and maybe you'll find the motivation and information you need to push you toward your own fitness goals.

For a chance to win tickets to the Amateur MMA Fest, listen & win - QFM 96 - Ohio's Best Rock    or if you can't wait - tickets are on sale now @ Ticketmaster. Get them NOW. They're going quick & it's gonna be a great show.

Here's a couple pics from last years Arnold Fitness Classic & the UFC! Great weekend!

Me & Ash w/ WEC's Mike Brown!

Ash & UFC's Randy Couture!

Tyler & UFC's Bobby Lashley!

Me & MY FAVORITE FORREST GRIFFIN!

JD, Zach, & Tyler w/ Mike Brown!

Ash punching Tito Ortiz!

UFC

It won't be snowy forever...

The past few days in central Ohio have been a snowy mess. However, on the upside, school was cancelled today so I got to catch up on some homework and scholarship applications. :) Nothing better than a college snow day... all you high schoolers out there don't take your snow days for granted! In college they are few and far between! I also was organizing my desk and updating my calendar, which reminded me that spring is really just around the corner... Soon we'll be back in flip flops and swimsuits. That's right people. SWIMSUITS. Need I say more? Or are you already lacing up your sneakers for a workout? 

No need to panic yet though.. there's still plenty of time to get in shape. We have a good couple weeks before it's certifiable swimsuit time. So why not start shaping up now, instead of in the dressing room with pale, fleshy roles staring you in the face in a couple weeks? (graphic, but I'm just being real people!) There is nothing worse than bathing suit shopping after months of cold weather full of warm bulky clothes and comfort food. Cuz guess what? There it all is, exposed for the world to see, and if you haven't been taking care of business in the off season, it ain't pretty. 

So check your excuses at the door NOW. I don't care if you don't have time or it's too cold or you don't know where to start. MAKE TIME. PUT ON A HOODIE. FIND OUT. 

"Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness."Edward Stanley (1826-1893) from The Conduct of Life

Seriously. 

Need more motivation?

There you go. Now, go clean out your cupboards of foods that work against you instead of for you and get a good workout in. You'll be great. You'll look fabulous. You'll get compliments. And maybe a spray tan wouldn't be a bad idea.... That way you can nix the fleshy roles AND pale components of swimsuit shopping in a couple weeks ;)

Here's a couple workout plans aimed specifically at getting you bikini ready: 

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/lose-weight/bikini-season/cardio-sculpting-workout-routine/

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/lose-weight/bikini-season/bikini-body-workout-2009/

http://www.shape.com/fitness/bikini_body_countdown

And an awesome healthy eating resource of recipes:

http://www.shape.com/healthy_eating

Heart Zone Training

If you follow Healthy is Hot on facebook, perhaps you saw my post the other day about heart zone training with an interval program on the EFX machine. Here's a little more info on the subject...

I got all this information through my Conditioning Principles class @ OSU

Ok, first the zones: (I'll use my numbers as an example)

YOUR Max Heart rate = 220 - (your age)       for me this is 220 - 21 = 199

Then the ZONES, there are 5 of them, here's the break down:

Zone 1: "The Healthy Heart Zone" 50 - 60 % of your max heart rate: 99 -119 bpm (beats per minute)

This is the safest, most comfortable zone, that can be reached by walking briskly. In zone 1 you strengthen your heart and improve muscle mass while reducing body fat, cholesterol, blood pressure, and your risk for degenerative disease. You get healthier working in this zone, but not more fit (your endurance or strength won't be increased, but your overall health will be)

If you are out of shape and just starting out, start here. It's easy and comfortable to you and will help. Trying to do too much to fast can be dangerous to your health and also cause injury. Also, anyone with heart problems should work out in this zone. Zone 1 is also the zone for warm up and cool down so everyone should spend some time in zone 1 during every workout.

Zone 2: "The Temperate Zone" 60% - 70% of your max heart rate: 119 - 139 bpm

Zone 2 is easily reached with a slow jog. Even though this is still a relatively low level of effort, working in this zone starts to train your body to increase the rate of fat release from the cells to the muscles for fuel. This is why zone 2 is often referred to as "the fat burning zone", up to 85% of the total calories burned in this zone are fat calories. The way your body burns fat depends on your level of fitness. The more fit you are, the more efficiently your body will use fat to maintain a healthy weight. However, if you'be been exercising hard, but not achieving the weight loss you'd like to, try dropping back to zone 2 and exercising longer. This zone has a trade off.. more fat calories burned, but less claories burned than if you were working out at a higher level. So to achieve weight loss you need to spend more TIME (and therefore more calories) exercising in zone 2.

Zone 3: "The Aerobic Zone" 70% - 80% of your max heart rate: 139 - 159 bpm

In zone 3, you're running easily or doing equivalent work. Here you're improving your bodies functional capacity. The size and number of your blood vessels increase, you increase your lung capacity and respiratory rate, and your heart builds size and strength so you can work out longer before you become fatigued. Building up that endurance!! Your body is metabolizing fats and carbs at about a 50-50 rate which means you're burning both at the same ratio.

Zone 4: "The Anaerobic Threshold Zone" 80% - 90 % of your max heart rate: 159 - 179 bpm

Here is where you "feel the burn."
Zone 4 is reached by going faster and harder. Here you increase your speed and fitness, increasing your heart rate as you cross from aerobic to anaerobic training. At this level of work, your heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to supply the exercising muscles completely, so they respond by continuing to work and contract anaerobically (without oxygen). The muscle's waste product of this type of work is lactic acid, which is what makes your muscles sore, as compared to aerobic work in the presence of oxygen, the waste product is water. Time spent training in zone 4 is limited, usually not more than an hour because your muscles just can't sustain working anaerobically without becoming fatigued. This is the muscles way of protecting themselves from overwork.

Zone 5: "The Redline Zone" 90% - 100% of your max heart rate: 179 - 199 bpm

You're sprinting. You're going all out. Zone 5 is mostly used as part of "interval" training (exertion done only in short bursts.) Your heart is working at full capacity. Even world class athletes can only stay in this zone for minutes at a time.

Make yourself a chart:

Zone 1: 99 - 119
Zone 2: 119 - 139
Zone 3: 139 - 159
Zone 4: 159 - 179
Zone 5: 179 -199 (max.)

So the workout I did for interval training was this:

50 min on the EFX machine on an interval course  (looks like this: _-_-_-_) if you imagine the low lines being lower level of work and the high lines being higher level of work.
On the low levels I set the resistance to 8 (out of 20) and the incline to 8 (out of 20), aiming to keep my heart rate in zone 2, or the fat burning zone. Around 119 - 139 bpm
On the higher levels I set the resistance to 18 (out of 20) and the incline to 16 (out of 20), aiming to keep my heart rate in zone 5, or the redline zone. Around 179 - 199 bpm
I did alternating high and low levels, which lasted 2 minutes each, for a total of 50 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cool down at a comfortable pace.

This was HARD the first time I did it. I was amazed at how hard it was to control my heart rate and bring it back down after the hard work. It took me a couple times through to really get the hang of relaxing, taking deep breaths, and bringing my heart rate back down to zone 2 from zone 5. 2 minutes may sound like enough time to do that but it's difficult. When the workout was complete I had gone 5.34 miles and burned 637.1 calories. Not too shabby ;)
Give it a try yourself.. play with the resistance and incline until you feel comfortable.. not everyone starts in the same place and that's ok. It's all about YOU and YOUR BODY. Trying to do too much too fast and injuring yourself is ridiculous. Just believe in yourself and feel great knowing you are improving your body. :)  Feel free to leave comments on how it went!!

P.S.   I would suggest using a heart rate monitor rather than relying on the machine's grip bars to give you an accurate reading. If you move your hands off of them or don't grip with the right pressure the reading is inaccurate. Try a watch with built in heart rate monitor.





Happy Heart Zone Workout! :)

Motivator of the Month: Lindsay Vonn

With the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics about 5 days and 56 minutes away, we're all geared up for the games to begin. So when I was casting about trying to think of a new motivator to share with you, I didn't have to look much further than the kitchen table...

Twenty five year old Lindsay Vonn is an alpine ski racer on the United States Ski team. She is also gracing the cover of Sport's Illustrated this week. She has had remarkable success and lists of accomplishments at such a young age. Vonn is the first American woman to win back-to-back FSI Alpine Ski World Cup Championships, which she did in 2008 and 2009. Vonn also captured back-to-back World Cup Championships in downhill and Super G. She holds 31 World Cup wins in four disciplines - downhill, Super G, slalom, and super combined -, two World Championship gold medals, and two World Championship silver medals, she easily claims the title of most successful American woman skier in World Cup history. 

Vonn has been on skis since the tender age of 2, and at 14 was one of the best junior skiers in the world. By 16 she was part of the U.S. Ski Team. Her success only continued as she got older. 
Vonn spends countless hours on her fitness regime to ensure her position at the top. She spends at least 6 weeks of her summers in Salzburg, Austria at the Red Bull training center, working with Martin Hager to improve her endurance and strength. Sport's Illustrated quotes her: "Talent can only take you so far, I know what other skiers do in training. I KNOW I WORK HARDER." 

She is certainly a strong, inspirational, and amazing young woman. Her passion for the sport keeps her working hard and pushing herself to do better always. Keep your eye out for her 2-12-2010! Go for Gold Lindsay!!!

21 Ways to make Fitness Fun :)

Check out this article @ Women's Health Magazine website...