What Is Sports Nutrition?

Today is the day that you begin to enhance your game. As an athlete, you already know that you need to work hard at insuring that your skills on the court, field or track are the best they can be.

You want to insure that your body is doing everything in the correct manner from start to finish.

You may spend hours perfecting your movements. You may work to build your muscle to enhance how well you can throw that ball.

Or, you may spend countless hours pushing your body to just get past that race line by a fraction of a second better.

All of these things are essential parts to being a successful athlete. There is no doubt about that. But, that is not all that you need to handle either.

Off The Court Work Outs

Besides planning your next routine, your next set of reps and your next game, you should be concentrating on your nutrition. Think about it.

What your body eats is what makes it move.

What you put into your body is the fuel it will use to do the things that you want it to do.

What you do not put into your body can not help you to succeed either.

While it may sound hard to determine what the right products are, it does not have to be.

As an athlete, you need to focus your time on sports nutrition as much as you focus it on your workout.

You should take the time to learn about what your body needs, how it reacts to the foods you put into it and how well it will perform based on the fuels you provide it.

For more information, check out this best ebook on sports/fitness and nutrition.

How To Stay Motivated During Your Exercise Journey

I think we can all agree that the hard part with exercising is staying motivated. I totally understand and I go through this every so often. I try to remind myself by following a few simple rules that allow me to keep on track of my goals so I can continue to be encouraged with my exercising. Some of them start with short term goals or taking baby steps. As you begin to approach these smaller goals or accomplish them, you will build confidence. You will then become motivated since accomplishing anything is very rewarding. By knowing how much time and effort you've invested feels great when you begin to see results. So, let me discuss the rest of the points on how you can stay motivated.

1. Write down your short and long term goals. Next, acknowledge it by saying it to yourself or someone close to you such as a friend or spouse. By admitting it, you have taken action in implementing these goals. We tend to think about our goals in our mind but it was just a thought that passed by us so saying it aloud is a commitment we just made to ourselves.

2. Reflect back on previous attempts that have made you to stop exercising. Do you see the same pattern that you are heading or what are ways you can do things differently this time? Were you exercising too much the first few weeks and you decided it was just too much work? Start off with the basics and work out a schedule that you can handle and slowly progress from that stage. Lets face it, these days everyone has a busy lifestyle with their career, family and friends. Try to find a routine that is simple, quick, and consistent that works for you!

3. Be patient with your exercising. Most of us exercise so we can lose weight, tone up, stay healthy, etc. Seeing results isn't anything that is overnight or the first week. There are no short cuts in life and that goes for exercising as well. If you want to see results you have to be patient with yourself. If you are burning more calories than you eat, your body is continuing to change. Even if its slower than you expected, results are still present but at a slower process than you want. As they say good things come to those who wait!

4. Be around people who have similar interest as yourself. Get a training partner whether you are training at home, gym, etc. Having someone who can motivate you when you are down or tired helps a lot! I've gone through that road many times and having that training partner helped me immensely. Of course, some of us may not have a training partner and that is when your determination powers through to finish that work out. Also, talk to fitness professionals in the health industry and they can assist you or hire a qualified personal trainer.

5. Constantly monitoring your weight does not help at all. By getting on that dreaded scale, it can definitely discourage your progress if you haven't lost any weight. There are so many things that can play a factor such as attaining more lean muscle, water retention, etc. Muscle does weigh more than fat and I like to think things out from a logical point of view. If you feel and look better in your clothes then you are making great progress. Focus more attention about losing fat loss rather than weight loss.

6. Always educate yourself. Go to a book store, library, or surf the internet and read as much material on health and fitness. As they say knowledge is power!

7. Rewarding yourself is another bonus. Go to that much need massage after exercising hard since you've done a good job the past few weeks. Other ways to reward yourself can be going away for a day with a friend or spouse, check out a movie, buy yourself a small gift such as running shoes or workout clothes. We all need to feel self appreciated and this can definitely jump start yourself by knowing you deserve it!

8. Try to stay positive. I know each day is different and you may not feel the same way as you did the previous work out. Find ways to stay positive by remembering that you always feel great after exercising, finishing this workout will allow me to do my other things such as watching TV, you ate some junk food today so need this workout to balance the calories, etc. Sometimes being competitive can be good as well and the days you don't want to exercise, you can think to yourself that you don't want your training partner to being one step ahead of you!

9. Keep track of your progress. A simple way to keep motivated is to see how far you've come when you first started or what areas do you still need to improve. Keep a diary and log your exercise routine and training regimen. Set up your own progression chart on a set schedule by taking measurements of your body, weighing yourself, evaluating your body fat percentage. This can be done every 3-4 weeks to evaluate your progress.

10. Your determination and perseverance is the key to success. There are no gimmicks or tricks on this last point as success only come from within. It is up to you to succeed in life whatever your short or long term goals are.

So, here you have it and I just mentioned a few points on staying motivated. Really, there aren't any excuses for you to discontinue exercising besides it benefiting your overall health, reduced stress, and disease prevention to name a few!

Richard Chan is a Health and Fitness Life Coach, promoting good health internally and externally. For more information you can visit Richard Chan at http://www.flex-fitness.com regarding exercising, training or nutrition.

Physical Fitness Assessment Questionnaire

Brad King and Dr. Michael Schmidt in “Bio Age, Ten Steps to a Younger You” (Macmillan, Canada, 2001) have devised a questionnaire for assessing physical damage to a body as a result of no exercise. We will borrow some of their guidelines, which we will summarize here:

Start with the question, “How do I look?” Do any of these answers apply to you?

• Am I overweight, looking like an apple or pear?
• Do I have a spare tire around my waist?
• Has my skin become excessively dry, almost paper-thin?

Next, ask: “How do I feel?”

• Do my joints hurt before or after any physical exertion?
• Am I constantly worried and anxious?
• Do I feel tired and sluggish most of the time?

Do I suffer from mood swings?

• Last question, “How am I doing?”
• Are simple walking and climbing stairs difficult?
• Do I have problems concentrating?
• Is running impossible for me now?
• Am I unable to sit straight, preferring to slouch or stoop my shoulders?

You’ve completed your basic assessment. Note, however, that other exercise or fitness gurus will have their own parameters or indices for assessing your body’s overall state and one isn’t better than the other.

As long as they include all dimensions of the self – physical, psychological and mental – they are as valid as the next person’s assessment charts.

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Top Ways To Get In Shape

When it gets down to getting in shape there are paths to go down and paths to avoid...

If you need to lose weight fast and want to know the top ways to get in shape then you have hard work ahead. There is no easy path and no golden pill that magically loses you fat. EVERY SINGLE METHOD to lose weight will involve the evolution of your diet and the integration of workouts into your routine.

There are some things that you can do however that will make the process as speedy as possible.

1. Turbo charge Your Metabolism

The right type of high intensity exercise will do exactly this in 20 minutes per day. An ramped up metabolism means your body uses far more calories every minute than if you lead a non active life. This element is the most important in answering the question of how to get in shape.

2. Cleanse and detoxify your body of waste.

All people on western style diets who does not do this regularly are carrying around pounds and pounds of waste in their colons. A cleansing detoxification will purge this waste. There are techniques you can use to do this.

3. Nutrition

Learn what food makes your body perform and lose weight - therefore getting you in great shape. There are certain foods you can eat that will supercharge your metabolism and strip weight off you quickly.

4. Visualize

This sounds a little cheesy, but it really works and will help you stay on track with your goal. Mentally imagine yourself to be the size or shape that you want. If you are having a hard day, practice this exercise and it will help you maintain focus. If you have a bad day, don't beat yourself up over it! Start again fresh the next day and you'll be better prepared to deal with any cravings you may get again down the line.

Good luck to all!

If You Liked These Basic Tips Then You Can Find Out A Lot More Here.

The author is an ultra-trail runner and personal trainer in the central California area. He is the father of 2 boys and is training to run a 100 mile race during 2009. You can check out my blog here.

Regular Cardio Exercise Can Help Reduce Stress

In general, regular exercise such as cardio or resistance training can help ease your stress. However, further study need to be done to look at the intensity and duration needed for strength training to achieve the similar results as cardio.

Researchers in the University of Missouri-Columbia conducted a study by measuring the stress levels of a group of women who either didn't exercise or exercised at moderate or high-intensity levels for 33 minutes. The results shown that high-intensity aerobic exercise can significantly alleviate stress.

People can get addicted to cardio exercise more easily because it's a lot easier to get start with cardio. For example, people don't have to learn how to run. On the other hand, strength training needs supervision on how to get started.

Also, cardio exercise requires less focus and your mind can wander and unwind when you're running or jogging. But for weight training, you need to concentrate on the techniques.

Treadmill With TV - What To Know Before You Buy

Looking for a treadmill with TV? If you’ve been to a health club lately, you’ve probably seen the latest rage in treadmills - built-in TVs.

The demand for treadmills with TVs is skyrocketing and the good news is that you don’t have to pay a commercial treadmill price just to get a built in TV.

However, there are some things you should be aware of before you go looking for a treadmill with built in TV.

There are 2 main types of TV treadmills. The first has a television built directly into the console. The second has a TV attached separately to the console that sits above it (more in line with your eyes).

The first version of treadmills usually have smaller screens (around 7-12 inches) and are the more affordable options (these treadmills can range from $1000 - $1500).

The second version comes with larger screens (around 15 inches) and are similar to the design you see in health club treadmills. They are usually more expensive ($2500+) and harder to find in a home treadmill - but they’re still out there and will probably become more affordable in time.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

Built into the console TV treadmills are much more affordable. You can choose to watch your program and track your workout statistics (Time, MPH, Incline, etc.) at the same time, or you can just choose to watch TV. However the downside is that on some machines - if the TV breaks it can sometimes render the treadmill useless - not always, but sometimes. Another downside is that if you’re doing heavy running - especially on the cheaper units - the screens may shake or wobble a bit.

Separate TV treadmills are more expensive however the screens are larger and usually the TV can be removed easily for repair without disrupting the treadmills operation. Also, because of the subframe design, even if you’re doing heavy running, the screen will not shake or wobble.

Almost all TV treadmills come with some type of built in speaker system and many of them also allow you to listen to your iPod of mp3 player as well. They come cable and DVD ready. Regardless of which type of treadmill with TV you choose, one thing you do want to consider is the warranty coverage on the TV (i.e. the electronics warranty). Obviously the longer the better. If you’re concerned about it, you can also usually buy extra warranty coverage on checkout.

Also, a TV is a great feature to have - but it’s not essential. Make sure your treadmill has the essentials of a high quality machine first like a strong motor power, excellent cushioning, high stability, lengthy warranty, etc. Then the other features are icing on the cake. Another alternative to a TV treadmill is to just buy a well-built treadmill and then set it up in front of your TV - it may not look as cool but it’s what people have been doing for years.

So those are a few things to know before you buy a treadmill with TV. Hopefully it will save you some time and help you to find your best treadmill option.

Vienna Miller writes for Treadmill Comparison - offering easy treadmill comparison charts & treadmill reviews. For an easy way to compare TV treadmills visit the Treadmill with TV page.

Why Cardio Doesn't Work for Fat Loss

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

For some people, cardio doesn't work, and in fact can make them gain weight. Find out why here...

Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn't add up.

After all, some men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. On the other hand, it works just fine for others.

British researchers wanted to get more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren't previously exercising.

(Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks. That's a lot of exercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is great - I was positively surprised by the results.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out...

The best subject lost a staggering 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds.

The scientists think they know where things went sour. They classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the "Compensators" and the "Non-compensators".

The Compensators were hungrier, and as a result consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but wiping out their cardio efforts.

Therefore, the Compensators lost the least amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the huge "compensatory" increase in appetite experienced by this group.

Does your appetite increase when you do slow cardio? If it does, research shows it will ruin your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your appetite and calorie intake to see if you are "compensating" for your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research, interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. And increased catecholamines can reduce appetite, among other fat-burning benefits.

In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of cardio. Heck, few even achieve an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and consider giving high-intensity exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

Avoid Weight Training Injuries

Although there are many sites that claim that they will show you weight training exercises online, in reality this is not the way to go. If you want to start a weight training exercise program, you really need to be working with someone else. There are many options available. You can go to the gym, use free weights at home with a buddy, or get one of those machines, but if you do not do your weight training exercise with proper safety precautions, it is quite possible for you to get seriously injured.

I recommend doing your weight training exercise at the gym. There are several good reasons for this, and I will go ahead and tell you some of the very best ones. First of all, you can get a spot at the gym. Of all of the weight training exercise injuries, most of them could have been avoided with a proper spotter. This is especially true with free weights which can injure or even kill you if you are forced to drop them because of muscle fatigue. This is the most important reason to go to the gym, but it is really far from the only one.

The fact is that it is easier to psyche yourself up for your weight training exercise when you do go to the gym. With all of those people around you dedicating their time to getting in shape, there is just no way you will feel like slacking off in your weight training program while you are at the gym.

Many gyms even have personal trainers available, who will help you to meet your personal best, by working you harder than you will yourself, and helping to chart your goals. They can even suggest which weight training exercises you should use and how many, to strengthen the muscle groups which interest you.

Before you start doing weight training exercise, however, you should do some cardiovascular stuff. While you can get by quite well without weight training exercise, cardio is absolutely essential to your health. You will live longer, be healthier, and happier, and even have more energy if you do some aerobic activities every day to keep you active.

We do not stay young forever, but those of us who get adequate aerobic exercises do stay young for longer than those who do not. Once you start doing that, then you can add your weight training exercise program.

>>> Fit Over 40! A 43-Year-Old Dallas Man Uncovers A Step By Step System For Living Fit And Healthy At Any Age.

Fitness And Nutrition Tips

We’ve all heard it before...

In order to be healthy, we must eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and exercise regularly. It’s become the mantra of fitness buffs everywhere, and is touted so often that many of us have become deaf to the words. No matter how much you might have heard about the fitness/nutrition preach, it would be wise to heed the words and act on them.

Fitness and nutrition always go hand in hand when it comes to having a healthier lifestyle as well as a better quality of life. When we're still young, it may seem unnecessary to worry about poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyle, but by the time we hit middle age, we will begin to concern ourselves with things like cholesterol, high blood pressure and other health risk factors.

Get Moving...

The first part of the fitness/nutrition combination consists of daily physical movement. This can be in the form of walking, jogging, swimming or cycling. It can also mean using a piece of cardiovascular equipment at the local fitness center or indulging in a regular game of racquetball. Aerobic exercise like this should be done at least five times a week for 30 minutes at a time. This will ensure a healthy cardiovascular system and weight maintenance.

You can up the benefits of your cardio workout by adding strength training two or three times each week. This can be done with the use of a few free weights in your basement, or with the help of machines at the gym. It is best to begin with a personal trainer to ensure that your positioning is correct during your weight lifting exercises. This will help you avoid injury in the early phase of your program. Raise your weight amounts gradually, and never do strength training on back-to-back days.

Eat Healthy...

The second element of a fitness and nutrition program is eating smart. All the hard works in exercise won’t do you much good if you are still eating unhealthy. The United States Department of Agriculture has recently revised their food pyramid guide to help the general public make nutritious meal choices. The idea behind this updated food pyramid is so that you can make healthy food choices everyday from the major food groups. Combine your healthy food choices with regular exercise and you will be on your way to good health.

To find out more information about the USDA food pyramid, you can go to http://www.mypyramid.gov/. The most important factor to keep in mind when choosing a nutrition program is to allow the bulk of your diet to consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grain carbohydrates. Low-fat dairy, lean meats and poultry can round up much of your menu, with refined sugars and fats making up only a small portion of your daily food intake.

Fitness and nutrition are more than just a simple slogan – they are the best choices for a happy and healthy lifestyle.

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Fitness Exercise Without Equipment

Today there are so many impressive looking exercise machines advertised on television, it is as though they are telling us that in order to have a healthy and beautiful body, we need to buy the exercise machines.

But in reality, cultivating a healthy and beautiful body doesn't need you to have a machine. In fact, the foundation of any good exercise program need NOT be more complicated than taking a walk or jog for free.

Expensive exercise machines and health club memberships are fine if you want to have it and you've some extra money to spend, but they are not required for you to improve your health.

Walking and jogging can be the nicest exercise you can do. You will feel refreshed even after a brisk walk with your dog. You don't have to get all kinds of expensive equipments. You can do walking or jogging with a friend. You can do it alone. You can do it as fast or as slow as you want.

According to the studies at University of Richmond, it's found that fitness programs based on walking or jogging and exercises without equipment such as sit-ups, have the same beneficial health benefits as machine-based exercise regimens.

>>> Check out home-based Turbulence Training.

Understanding Metabolism and Weight Loss

Perhaps you already have a sense of how metabolism relates to weight loss (catabolic metabolism, or breaking cells down and transforming them into energy). To understand this process even more clearly, let's introduce a very important player in the weight loss game: the calorie.

Calories are simply units of measure. They aren’t actually things in and of themselves; they are labels for other things, just like how an inch really isn’t anything, but it measures the distance between two points.

So what do calories measure? Well, they measure energy.

The body itself, despite its vast intelligence (much of which medical science cannot yet understand, only appreciate in awe) does not really do a very intelligent job of distinguishing good energy from bad. Actually, to be blunt, the body doesn’t care about where the energy comes from. Let’s explore this a little more, because it’s very important to the overall understanding of how to boost your metabolism, particularly when we look at food choices.

In our choice-laden grocery stores, with dozens of varieties of foods – hundreds, perhaps – there seems to be a fairly clear awareness of what’s good food, and what’s bad or junk food.

For example, we don’t need a book to remind us that, all else being equal, a plum is a good food, whereas a tub of thick and creamy double-fudge ice cream is a bad food. Not bad tasting, of course; but, really, you won’t find many fit people eating a vat of ice cream a day, for obvious reasons. So what does this have to do with calories and energy?

It’s this: while you and I can evaluate our food choices and say that something (like a plum) is a healthy source of energy, and something else (like a tub of ice cream) is an unhealthy source of energy, the body doesn’t evaluate.

It sounds strange and amazing, but the body really doesn’t care. To the body, energy is energy. It takes whatever it gets, and doesn’t really know that some foods are healthier than others. It’s kind of like a garbage disposal: it takes what you put down it, whether it should go down or not.

So let’s apply this to the body, and to weight gain. When the body receives a calorie – which, as we know, is merely a label for energy – it must do something with that energy.

In other words, putting all other nutrients and minerals aside, if a plum delivers 100 calories to the body, it has to accept those 100 calories. The same goes for 500 calories from a (small) tub of ice cream: those 500 calories have to be dealt with.

Now, the body does two things to that energy: it either metabolizes it via anabolism, or it metabolizes it via catabolism. That is, it will either convert the energy (calories) into cells/tissue, or it will use that energy (calories) to break down cells.

Now the link between calories/energy, metabolism, and weight loss becomes rather clear and direct.

When there is an excess of energy, and the body can’t use this energy to deal with any needs at the time, it will be forced to create cells with that extra energy. It has to. It doesn’t necessarily want to, but after figuring out that the energy can’t be used to do anything (such as help you exercise or digest some food), it has to turn it into cells through anabolism.

And those extra cells? Yup, you guessed it: added weight!

In a nutshell, the whole calorie/metabolism/weight gain thing is really just about excess energy. When there are too many calories in the body – that is, when there’s too much energy from food – then the body transforms those calories into stuff.

And that stuff, most of the time, is fat. Sometimes, of course, those extra calories are transformed into muscle; and this is usually a good thing for those watching their weight or trying to maintain an optimal body fat ratio.

In fact, because muscles require calories to maintain, people with strong muscle tone burn calories without actually doing anything; their metabolism burns it for them.

This is the primary reason why exercising and building lean muscle is part of an overall program to boost your metabolism; because the more lean muscle you have, the more places excess calories can go before they’re turned into fat.

>>> Find out the real REASON why people are fat.

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