The Ten Best Exercises-#4

a story (or skip to the exercise)
during high school a friend and i suddenly became enamored with fencing. i don't remember what caused this interest, we weren't even athletic types but we found lessons at a near by high school. the teacher-fencing master to be correct- was about 6'6" and a former hungarian olympic team member. he showed us no mercy. after that first lesson we could barely walk for a week!
what caused this soreness was the lunge-the basic attack or offensive movement in fencing. the knee is bent with the other leg straight out behind you while you push your body forward towards your opponent and…strike.

the exercise
the lunge is #4 on my ten best list. the movement is different than in fencing but works the same major muscles-upper and lower legs and glutes. that's why we were so sore we could hardly walk-no strength in those very important muscles. there are -like the other exercises-many variations to the lunge-front, reverse, walking and side- and the workout may be increased by holding weights in your hands or over your head. i'm going to describe a reverse (back) lunge which some people find easier to start with.  keeping your feet hip width apart and arms hanging by your sides step back with your left foot. as the ball of your foot touches the floor your hip should be dropping down with your front knee bending until your right thigh is parallel to the floor. then using your right foot push yourself back up. repeat reversing legs. don't lean forward too much and keep your knee over your toes. if in doubt look in a mirror as you're doing it. pay attention to the leg in front-that is the one actually doing the work. in the front lunge you are doing the same motion just stepping forward instead of backwards. as always- head up, shoulders down and back, abs tight. if you are unsure of your balance do this exercise next to something stable.

now i'm not suggesting that you include the lunge in your workout in order to become a musketeer
but to strengthen those  major muscle groups that are so important in many of our daily activities.

Keep Your Eyes on the...

shuttlecock or shuttle for short-guess that was a wise decision. anyway i was going to continue with my best exercise list this week but, finally, after convincing a friend to play badminton with me i thought this sport deserved some attention.
and it is a sport, an olympic sport no less since 1992 even though i don't ever remember it being televised. maybe that has something to do with the chinese team being one of the best? the sport began during the 1800's in india where it was played by the british military. it is closely related to a japanese game called "hanetski" which is very similar although played without a net. returning back to england, soldiers brought the sport back with them. there is a "badminton house" in england but no one is sure as to the origin of the name.
for olympic level badminton-which is played indoors-players need speed, agility, aerobic conditioning and excellent motor coordination. and that's what makes it a great summer sport for the rest of us since we need to run, jump, reach and bend all the while keeping our eyes on the shuttle. the shuttle is cone shaped with feathers so it reacts very differently than a ball while in the air.
you do need a set up-net, rackets, shuttle and some open lawn but that's about it. you don't even have to follow the  rules. so its not as fashionable as tennis-just have fun and you will be surprised and no doubt pleased at how fast your game improves after all those early misses.

The End of a Ritual?

i'm a movie buff although like many people in this digital age i also watch movies at home. but at certain times like when the the humidity is 90% or for certain movies-"gravity" is a good example- where a big screen makes a visual difference i go to a theater. for me, like many others, part of the ritual of movie going is having popcorn. i love popcorn!
popcorn was profitable for theater owners from the start but it took them time to realize this as initially popcorn was sold by street vendors outside the theaters. beginning during the depression movies were becoming very popular and popcorn was an inexpensive treat at around ten cents a bag. by 1945 half of all the popcorn sold was in movie theaters.
ten cents? that has certainly changed but the other change that is of more interest to me is that what once was around 270 calories is now:

• 400-1200 calories
• up to 1500 mg. of sodium
• up to 60 grams of fat

and i won't even mention that squirt of "butter". so what to do? end the ritual or try and make it better.

i decided to make it better by using an air popper with organic, geo free popcorn for movie watching at home. two cups has only about 30 calories and no fat. even if i add a tablespoon of butter it would add only 100 more calories.  popcorn is not a big part of our diets but this is an easy way to make a snack healthier so why not. many movie theaters could also make a better popcorn and still make a profit. a few do but for now no more popcorn at the movie theater for me…

although i am looking forward to seeing "dawn of the planet of the apes" and may just bring a small bag of nuts to help with the transition as the aroma of popcorn fills the air.

Back to the Paleo Diet

recently i've noticed that the paleo diet has been making its way around the media again. two books on paleo* are in the top 20 advice books listed in the times and there are plenty others out there. i remember when i first heard about paleo in the media and it was in the form of caveman jokes. well times have changed!
so what's going on? i think it has something to do with the increasing popularity of cross fit as many cross fit trainers do paleo. cross fit focuses on strength, conditioning, creating a community and uses the "wod"-workout of the day. the workouts include timed activities such as tire flips (huge tires), kettle bell swings, pull ups, etc. it was started in 1995 by  former gymnast greg glassman and has been growing rapidly. in 1995 there were 18 affiliated gyms and by 2010 there were 1700.
my diet is quite paleo.  one recipe i make often is "paleo rice" and even if you don't do paleo this is a good way to get more vegetables into your diet instead of grains.

paleo rice

• take one cauliflower, wash, remove any leaves and cut out the hard stem
• break into florets
• grate florets with a cheese grater or pulse in a food processor -not too fine. this way  is much faster and easier on the hands
• you can either stir fry on top of the stove with a little oil**and your favorite spices or bake in a 375 degree oven on an oiled cookie sheet
• either way, stir occasionally until  the "rice" is soft and lightly browned

*if you want to know more about paleo i suggest "the paleo diet" by loren cordon
**coconut oil is often used in paleo cooking and another oil that seems to be getting more notice lately is ghee

2014 World Cup Soccer/Better Breakfast

will you be one of the projected 13-16 million people watching the world cup today when america plays belgium? i don't really follow many sports but it seems like world cup fever is all around us so it is hard to avoid the excitement. the players are, of course, very fit. during a typical match they can run 6-8 miles or more. what i am interested in is their nutrition and so are their coaches as they know that nutrition is very important in regards to their players recovery and performance. the american team has its own chef and sports performance dietician. the players eat every 3-4 hours and consume about 3000-4000 calories a day.
so what are they eating? besides staying hydrated with water, lots of fruits (bananas to replace potassium), vegetables, protein, carbs and spices such as garlic and ginger that are used in a variety of dishes. one of the players favorite breakfast meals is chicken enchiladas with plenty of protein from eggs, chicken, cheese and also vegetables and garlic in a corn tortilla. certainly qualifies as a "better breakfast" in my book.
one thing they don't eat, especially before bed time, is sugar. good advice for all of us!

Ten Best Exercises-#3

pushups. i don't like to do pushups. why? because they are hard for me to do ( i also have carpal tunnel issues) and until i really worked on having a stronger upper body i couldn't even do one! now that has changed. this is a classic ten because, as with the others, you don't really need any equipment, can do it anywhere and it really works. as i have mentioned before, women, especially as we get older lose upper body strength rapidly. don't let this happen! if you can only do one modified pushup that's OK. just start slowly and work your way up. to give you some averages:

• women between 50 and 60 who can do 6-14 pushups are considered to be in the average category, if you can do 15-29 that is good and above 29 is considered excellent
• if you are in your 40's then above 34 is excellent
• if you are over 60 then over 19 is excellent

again form counts. your head should remain in a neutral position, ie. inline with your spine. your feet should be about hip width apart. if you are just beginning and need more stability spread your feet further apart or do a modified pushup with your knees on the floor. hands are slightly outside of your shoulders with an open palm and spread fingers. keep your body straight with your abs pulled in while lowering yourself almost to the floor, pause and come back up.
there are many variations to this basic pushup such as doing it on an incline or decline. if  you are ready for a challenge place your hands on a stability ball while doing a pushup and that alone will make your arms work 30% harder than if you were doing it on the floor.
whether it is carrying groceries or water for the garden i notice the difference in my upper body strength and it feels good. think about the activities that you usually do and how many would be helped by being stronger. and by the way-happy summer!

Perform Better (Breakfast)

just returned from the 2014 perform better functional training conference which was sold out, very well done and inspiring. although there was only one presentation on nutrition  (by dr. christopher mohr) my thoughts on having a better breakfast were validated (see my post from 4/8). besides eating a healthy breakfast he also talked about getting more protein into that meal-ideally 1/3 of your daily protein requirement. it might just be that by making this one adjustment to your diet you will consume fewer calories during the day and that will, over time, result in -you guessed it -weight loss!

so consider making your better breakfast even better by including more protein. even if you are not concerned about weight loss having your protein balanced throughout the day is a better option than what most americans do which is to overload on protein at dinner with hardly any at breakfast and only slightly more at lunch. i realize that part of the reason for this is the rush to get going in the morning when it is easier to just eat on the run or do fast food. but even if your time is limited there are always healthier choices-shakes can be made the night before, low sugar protein bars, hard boiled eggs. even trader joe's has  frozen oatmeal with quinoa that just gets popped into the microwave. better choices create better health and more energy throughout the day. most people know this but why aren't they doing it? do you?