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FITNESS SPECIFICS

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]]> Updates and General Topics http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=300 Sun, 7 Jan 2007 21:38:45 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=297 A. Helps maintain healthy bones
B. Helps maintain normal muscle tone and function
C. Can help prevent stress fractures
D. Plays a vital role in maintaining a normal heart rate
E. All the above

2. How much calcium do you need a day?
A. 1,000mg
B. 1,200mg
C. 1,300mg
D. It depends

3. What percentage of women and men do not consume the recommended daily intake for calcium?
A. 50% of women and 50% of men
B. 65% of women and 58% of men
C. 77% of women and 60% of men
D. 88% of women and 63% of men

4. The body does not absorb 100% of the calcium consumed. True or false?
A. True
B. False

5. The calcium in fortified foods is not absorbed as well as the calcium that is naturally found in foods. True or false?
A. True
B. False

6. You can't absorb calcium unless you take vitamin D at the same time. True or false?
A. True
B. False

7. Nutrition labels on food give calcium content as a percentage of your daily value. If the label says it has 25% calcium per serving, how many mg is that?
A. 200mg
B. 250mg
C. 300mg
D. 350mg

8. Which one of the following cheeses has the highest amount of calcium?
A. 1oz. Swiss cheese
B. 1 cup Cottage cheese
C. 1 oz. Cheddar cheese
D. 1 oz. American cheese

9. What is more important when it comes to maintaining healthy bones; calcium or weight bearing exercise?
A. Calcium
B. Weight bearing exercise
C. Both

10. Which of the following activities are considered to be weight bearing exercises?
A. Tennis
B. Weight lifting
C. Power yoga
D. Step aerobics
E. All of the above

Answers:

1. E. All of the above
Calcium serves a variety of important roles, particularly to help maintain healthy bones, normal muscle tone and function, and overall health.


2. D. It Depends
The recommended adequate intake depends on your age. Individuals 13-18 years of age need 1,300mg/day.
Individuals 19-50 years of age need 1,000mg/day.
Individuals 51 and older need 1,200mg/day.


3. D. 88% of women and 63% of men


4. A. True
Individual absorption rates can vary depending on age, pregnancy, menopause and other factors. Generally speaking, the body can absorb only around 500-600mg of calcium in one dose. That is why it is important to spread your calcium intake throughout the day, and not try to cram it in to one dose.


5. B. False
Eating calcium fortified foods is a great way to meet your recommended calcium needs.


6. B. False
While vitamin D plays a vital role in the absorption of calcium, you do not need to take vitamin D and calcium at the same time.


7. B. 250mg of calcium per serving
The daily value for calcium listed on a nutrition label is based on 1,000mg per day.


8. A. 1oz Swiss cheese
Swiss cheese is followed by cheddar, then american, and in last place cottage cheese, which loses some of its calcium during production.


9. C. They are both important
Weight bearing activity is just as important as getting in your recommended daily value for calcium.


10. E. All the above
A weight bearing activity is any exercise that requires your bones and muscles to work against gravity. Some examples are weight lifting, power yoga, jogging, stair climbing, and dancing.

]]> Updates and General Topics http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=297 Thu, 28 Dec 2006 23:47:52 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=283 The best tip I can give you is to drink water before, during, and after all meals. The water will help keep you feeling full so you won’t be inclined to take in extra helpings. Also, being only mildly dehydrated can cause your metabolism to drop by 3% or more, so keep those fluids flowing! Here are some other tips to keep from putting on the extra pounds:

1. Don’t use slipping up at any point in your day as an excuse to cheat the rest of the day. Just because you ate one food that wasn’t considered healthy, or not in your meal plan, doesn’t mean you should eat anything you want from that point on. Keep in mind, you have only made a small deviation from your diet plan at this point, you can still salvage it and make up for it by eating even MORE healthy throughout the rest of your day.
2. Cut yourself some slack. When you are tired or stressed out, you may not make the best of choices. Don’t linger on your shortcomings, real or imagined. Simply forgive yourself and keep going. Guilt and despair will only lead to more poor choices. Be proud of yourself for all of the good choices you have made.
3. Don’t discuss your dietary choices with people who don’t support you. Avoid those who act superior or tell you that they know what’s best for you. In the end, they could be trying to sabotage your good efforts because they feel guilty that they too are not making good choices.
4. Use a small plate. Studies show that by choosing a smaller plate, you will automatically eat less food because there is less space to fill. Just avoid going back for seconds.
5. Occupy your hands. People tend to eat out of boredom or to give themselves something to do at a party. It makes them feel like they don’t have to be as social. But instead of standing by the appetizer table and eating mindlessly, pour yourself a calorie free beverage such as coffee or diet soda. And keep that beverage in your hands at all times so that you are less likely to pick at the food.
6. Mingle. If you can, find the social butterfly inside of you and let them come out! By being social, you are more likely to boost your own self-confidence, and less likely to stuff your face. (No one wants to hold a conversation with you when you have cocktail sauce on your cheek!)
7. For those of you who have trouble on your own, find a buddy (preferably one who is supporting you in and your weight loss goals) and keep them nearby. Even if you are at home for the night, they can still keep you company and keep you from refilling your plate at dinner.
8. Drink alcohol with food, but limit yourself to one or two drinks. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, but provides no nutritional value. Even better, be the designated driver. That way you are safer and thinner!
9. Fill half your plate with vegetables. Vegetables are opposite of alcohol. They have very few calories and tons of nutritional value.
10. Maintain your assertiveness. If someone offers you food or drinks you don’t want, politely refuse, and stand your ground. Don’t let people guilt you into trying their special homemade cookies. You don’t HAVE to try anything!!!
11. Keep yourself occupied! If you are busy with a project or craft, you are much less likely to obsess over food.

So give yourself a fighting chance to keep off those holiday pounds. Who knows, you may just give yourself a head start on your New Year’s Resolution!
]]> Commitment and Motivational Articles http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=283 Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:14:07 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=277 Bench Press

Lay down on the bench and take a grip slightly wider than shoulder width. From here we want to make sure you are doing a few key things:

1. Pinch your shoulder back as hard as possible. This will allow you to properly stabalize your shoulders.

2. Set your feet as wide as possible on the floor. This will keep your hips from rising off of the bench.

3. Tighten your back and abs. This will gove you a strong base to push from.

At this point unrack the bar. When lowering the bar it is important to keep your elbows in. This decreases the rotation about the shoulder and keeps stress in the muscle where it should be.

Lower the bar down to the base of your sternum. This is actually the most efficiant and strongest place to push from. Again, this will keep shoulder rotation lower and keep the stress on the muscle.

When pressing the bar up push out on the bar with your hands. This will engage the strong triceps muscles.

There are a few common mistakes in the bench press:

1. Letting the elbows flair out. This happens because of lakking triceps and back muscles.

2. Bringing the bar too high on the chest. This will increase the stress on the shoulder joint and biceps tendon.

3. Not keepint the shoulders pinched back. This will also put more stress on the shoulder joint and is also a much weaker position to push from.]]> Exercsies http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=277 Tue, 5 Dec 2006 08:34:45 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=276
People always ask me if they should work out as hard as they can, as fast as they can, and for as long as you can. They assume that the harder they work, the more calories they will burn, which will in turn help them lose weight faster. In a sense, those individuals are correct. You will burn more calories at a higher heart rate, but, those calories will come from carbs and sugars, and not fat. Here's how this works:
-Oxygen must be present in order for your body to have the ability to burn fat.
-When you are working out too hard, your lungs fill with carbon dioxide, in turn making it harder for the body to take in oxygen.
-So when you are working at a very high heart rate, you become "anaerobic" or without oxygen.
-At this point, your energy source and where your calories come from, are carbohydrate and sugar stores, or glucose in the body. The problem with this is two-fold.
1. The body only has a limited amount of glucose stores that it can use before you get too tired and can't keep the same intensity level up, and
2. If you calorie source is coming from carbs and sugars, you are most likely burning off the meal you just ate or glucose you have stored in your muscles, and NOT the fat that you have stored on your body.
-So in order for the body to be able to burn a significant amount of calories that come from a fat source, you have to work out at a lower heart rate intensity.

This is not to say that you shouldn't feel like you are getting a good work out, or that you should work at a Very low intensity. Just make sure you are not huffing and puffing and unable to talk throughout your entire workout. And, you should cycle the intensity of your workouts, not only in each session, but throughout the week. So for instance, Monday, you may do a moderate intensity workout just below your anaerobic threshold. Then Wednesday, you could do high heart rate intervals, starting at your anaerobic threshold and going up from there. Remember, this workout would be shorter because you are working harder, and have a smaller fuel source to work from. Then Friday, you could do a recovery workout at a much lower heart rate zone....about 60-70% of your anaerobic threshold. This would be a very easy workout, and you should be able to hold a conversation throughout the entire session. But you could feel good knowing that the majority of the calories you are burning are coming from fat on your body and no where else.

So do you want to do? Workout extremely hard, to the point of fatigue, and spin your wheels because you are not losing weight or improving your cardiovascular condition? Or would you rather do some workouts at a lower intensity, burn fat, and give your body some recovery time? You choose!]]> Updates and General Topics http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=276 Tue, 5 Dec 2006 07:34:33 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=275 Quotes http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=275 Mon, 4 Dec 2006 23:14:17 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=274
Here are 8 basic rules for resistance training:
1. Train more back. If you think you are doing enough. Double it. The muscles in our back help to stabilize our neck, shoulders, spine, and hips during every single exercise that we do.

2. For every pushing exercise do a pulling exercise. This will make sure that imbalances are not created between the back and the front.

3. External rotations are extremely important. We sit all day long in a hunching over shoulder internally rotated position. We must always be strengthening the muscles that we are neglecting during our daily life.

4. Train abs. Make sure that you are doing quality abdominal exercises. If you find it east to do 50 reps of any exercise; you are doing it wrong. Which leads us to:

5. Make sure your technique is spot on. If you are unsure find a trainer or a professional to watch you. There is nothing worse than hindering our results because of bad technique.

6. Do back extensions. Every other day is best. This will make sure that you are getting work done with the muscles that are helping to stabilize your spine.

7. Train your hamstrings. Many knee injuries are due to weakness in the hamstring. The hamstring crosses the hip and knee joint so train it with leaning over exercises as well as curling exercises.

8. Train your glutes. This is one of the most neglected muscles in people training routines. Your glutes help stabilize your hips, spine, and knee. Again make sure that your technique is good. Many exercises that are supposed to train the glutes put more stress on the quads when the technique is not good.

If you have questions visit our forum. We have a public forum so you do not need to log in or register.]]> Resistance Training Articles http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=274 Mon, 4 Dec 2006 18:06:16 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=263
People exercise for different reasons. Some exercise to relieve stress and get in shape, while others exercise as a means of practice and to earn scholarships. But, no matter the reason, everyone has a similar reason to eat well. When doing so, questions may arise such as: How much water should I drink? How do I preserve energy for exercise sessions/practice, or recover afterwards? And, what about the day of the game/event? To answer these questions for this particular discussion, we’ll focus on the football athlete.

During hard exercise, and especially when done outdoors, your muscles can generate up to 20 times more heat than when at rest. Your body disperses this heat by sweating as means to cool the skin to then cool the blood. A body temperature higher than 106 degrees Fahrenheit damages the cells – once your body temperature reaches 107 degree Fahrenheit, your blood begins to coagulate and the cell dies. For this reason, it is imperative for the football athlete to remain well hydrated at all times. Even when not at practice, the exceptional athlete prepares for practice by hydrating themselves throughout the day. So, how much is enough? Technically, for every pound of sweat lost, 80 to 100% must be re-ingested. This can be difficult to measure, so to be safe, do not rely on thirst as a signal to drink – for athletes, this can be an unreliable source. By the time you’re thirsty, you may have already lost 1% of your bodyweight, not to mention increased your chances of cramping.

Of all the mistakes I’ve witnessed athletes make, skipping breakfast is quite possibly the biggest. I’ve heard time and time again, “I’m just not hungry in the morning!” But, how can the car run without gas in the tank? The result of skipping breakfast (especially for the student athlete, whose next scheduled meal isn’t until lunch) is low energy, cravings/binging, decreased reaction, inability to concentrate, and ultimately falling short at practice-time or worse yet, game-time. Breakfast doesn’t have to be a sit-down feast. A few suggested choices are eggs, oatmeal, English muffins, bagels, granola, peanut butter, fruit, milk and protein shakes.

Now that we’ve hydrated ourselves and have eaten a hearty breakfast, it’s almost time for practice! If you want to have a quality work-out, you need to take-in quality calories. But, you must also take into consideration the fact that you will more than likely be outside with an increased heart rate – so anything too heavy or high in protein will only hurt your performance. Instead go for the higher carbohydrate snacks such as whole wheat bagels and peanut butter, trail mix with dried fruit or granola and bananas. If you opt for a snack higher in protein, be sure to choose a whey protein shake (not a protein bar) so that it passes through your system more quickly.

Just as what you eat before practice affects your energy levels, what you do afterwards affects how quickly your body can recover for the next work-out. To optimize recovery, a carbohydrate-rich meal should be consumed within 15 minutes of the end of your work-out. Minimal proteins should also be consumed, as the combination assists the action of insulin, a hormone that transports glucose from the blood into the muscles.

Contrary to pre-practice nutrition, what and when an athlete should eat before a game is quite different. Taking heightened anticipation into consideration, ingesting a meal high in fat and protein or fibrous vegetables later than 3 hours prior to a game can cause upset stomachs, slowed reactions and cramping. Instead, opt for more frequent meals, higher in carbohydrates, lighter in calories and little to no carbonated drinks (particularly caffeine). What the athlete should attempt to do is to maintain high energy levels and reaction time throughout the game. This doesn’t occur naturally, so game-day nutrition should be chosen more meticulously than any other day of the week.

In conclusion, the athlete that wants to take their game to the next level will balance hard work on the field with a proper nutrition plan off the field. And, while these tips are just a few of the basics needed to optimize performance, the best advice is to seek professional help for a customized nutrition plan. For more information, contact Summer B. Ortegon at www.athletesarena.com.
]]> Nutrition Articles http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=263 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:02:04 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=262
Free Weights 101]]> Exercsies http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=262 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:16:18 -0500 http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=256
Here we will discuss the proper technuque for the squat.

Squating Form

Posture is of utmost importance in all exercises.

During the squat keep your head back, shoulders pinched back, low back arched and tight, and abs tight.

Space your feet at shoulder width or wider.

When starting the squat reach your hips back and then down. This will ensure that you are using the hamstrings and glutes. This will also keep stress off of the knee.

When squatting down push your knees out and keep them directly over the ankle. Again this will keep stress off of the knee. Your shin bone should be perpendicular to the floor.

Stop when the top of your thigh is about parallel with the floor.

When standing back up extend like there is a string pulling up from the top of your head. This will keep you from leaning too far forward.

When first learning to squat it is best to sit to a step, box, or chair. This will get you use to going down to the right height as well as keep you from falling when the technique is still unfamilier.

If you have questions about this exercise visit ou forum, comment, or contact us. We are always willing to help.]]> Exercsies http://www.fitspecs.com/Recipes2/index.php?itemid=256 Wed, 29 Nov 2006 10:40:35 -0500