The Little Things

As much as I think everyone should exercise for hours on end everyday that's really not practical for many of us.  Additionally, there really isn't any reason why most sane people should do that much exercise.  There are however, little things that go a long way in maintaining health and fitness in normal people.

Let’s talk about the difference between health and fitness.  "Health" implies your bodies systems functioning normally, while "fitness" implies the ability to perform certain tasks.  You can be "healthy" in general while not being "fit" for a given task and visa versa.  A professional boxer is certainly fit, but there is nothing healthy about getting hit in the head for a living. 

Fitness is more specific and dependent on activity.  The fitness needs of a 25 year old NFL linebacker are different from that of a 50 year old marathon runner, a 35 year old playing pick up basketball, a 27 year old mother of a new born, or a 70 year old who just wants to bring groceries up their stairs.

What We Eat

Thank you Visual Economics for the great graphic (click here for the full size version).

Simple Nutrition and Exercise

This post will be how about how to guide your eating habits as simply as possible.  You can bet there will be more detailed posts that thoroughly examine the science behind it, but right now I'm going to keep it simple.

Here are some good guidelines regardless of your goal:

• Eat as few processed foods as possible.  The world is polluted enough, try not to unnecessarily pollute your body with chemicals you can't pronounce.
• You need all the basic macro-nutrients (i.e. fats, proteins, and carbohydrates), so eat all of them. The key is quality and quantity.  Well, in theory you don't need carbs, but we're talking reality, not theory so eat them.
• Avoid added sugars.  Note, I said added sugars, not sugars in fruits.  Also note, I said fruits, not fruit juice.  Fruit juice is at best, equivalent to soda with vitamins in it.
• You don't need supplements, but sometimes they can help.
• Eat breakfast.  Try to get something with a good mix of protein and fat.  An egg sandwich (preferably not between syrup injected breads and sausage in the middle) or trail mix are some good quick examples.
• Chew your food.
• Eat as many different colors as you can.  This is a good guideline to get essential nutrients.
• If you're going to eat junk, it's best to eat it right after you work out.  After you workout, muscles are primed to absorb nutrients. So that Big Mac will hopefully be partially absorbed by your muscles and not your gut.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat your fiber.  It's important to shit normally.
• Eat foods you like.  If your diet calls for eating a bunch of shit you don't like, you won't stick to it very long.  If you can't stick to it, then it's not a good diet.
• There are no foods you should never eat, just foods you shouldn't eat a lot.
• Most people lack ideal amounts of zinc, magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids.  These supplements and maybe glucosomine (if you have joint trouble) are worth considering (talk to your doctor first).
• For three days to a week, record what you eat and drink in detail.  Also record what kind of activity you do.  This can give you a decent idea of what your body needs.  You can calculate your calorie requirements here or at Bodybuilding.com .  Both of these calculators have their weaknesses, but if you use the advanced versions you can get a decent idea of what you need.

Gravity is Your Friend

Simple training is often the best training and there is little simpler then running up a hill or a set of steps.  This kind of "upward"  training can build stamina, strength, improve running form, increase leg-drive, coordination, promote fat loss, and increase mental conditioning.  Running up hills or stairs also reduces impact and will increase lower body strength without having to load your back with heavy weight.

Hills and steps are similar but each method has it's own set of distinct benefits:

Hills:

• Allow for maximum effort.  You don't have to worry about tripping and knocking your teeth out on a step.
• Usually allow for  easier access to a variety of lengths and inclines.
• You can run up backwards to emphasize your quads and improve backwards running ability for sports.

Steps:

• Forces coordination to hit each step.
• Forces quick feet and knees up style running.
• Allows for plyometric (jumping) exercises and emphasizing the eccentric (negative) muscle contraction.

Now I'm going to outline some methods of training for specific goals.  Don't get caught up too much in the details.  The reality is that regardless of your goal, running hills or steps with a hard effort will increase stamina, aerobic and anaerobic capacity, strength, power, and coordination.

The Physiological Effects of Caffeine

The Physiological Effects of Caffeine

Introduction: 

Caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive compound in the world. It is present in many foods, beverages, medicines and supplements. Caffeine containing foods and beverages have been consumed for a perhaps as long as 700,000 years (Snyder 20). Caffeine is a highly effective stimulant that has been shown to enhance mood, cognitive capability, alertness, and enhance athletic performance. When ingested, caffeine produces a number of effects on the central nervous, muscular, digestive, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems of the body.

Metabolism of caffeine: 

Caffeine is a water soluble compound and therefore spreads through the body rapidly to anywhere there is water. Additionally, caffeine easily passes through cell membranes. These properties allow caffeine to rapidly enter the blood stream where it is then cycled through the liver (60 Snyder). In the liver the P45 enzyme system produces a number of metabolites (Ruxton 16). This process happens over and over until all the caffeine has been metabolized (60 Snyder). Less than six percent of caffeine is expelled in urine and most of the drug is removed from the body in about 12 hours following consumption (Ruxton, 15). The rate caffeine metabolism can be altered by a number of other factors including liver disease or use of other drugs (Snyder 61).