Working out is only half the battle!

What even is this?

Kristan Clever

Thats right! It's time to talk about nutrition, or as some would call it dieting. There are many diets out there that all can hold true. The food pyramid, created in 1992 for example is an example of a diet. Even though we are all familiar with it, it won't make you look like Christian Bale or Kristan Clever (Crossfit Champion). It also won't be a necessarily healthy diet, as it can include things such as high fructose corn syrup! Now, as much as I'd love to take everyone through a bunch of random diets, that all can have you looking like Arnold; let's just go for a proven one.
The Paleo or Paleolithic diet, is modeled after what a caveman would eat. Although the concepts was from thousands of years, it was popularized in the 1970's. Walter Voegtlin is the man that came up with the idea that evolution takes millions of years, and our bodies have not evolved into what our food has. Depending on what you want out of the diet, it adapts to your needs. With that being said, it would take 100 pages to describe this diet in its fullest.

What a Paleo meal, could look like! 

A short version is lean meats, and lots of vegetables. Fruit in moderation, healthy fats in, and certain carbohydrates. The Foodee Project is a site made by a fellow Paleo-er here in Arizona, that is only paleo meals. That is the perfect website to see what you would be getting into. As you might have guessed I am on of the people you chooses to do the paleo diet, or as we refer to it a lifestyle.

To much?

After going through all my old blogs, and thinking about my weekly work out routine; I began to wonder if there was such a thing as to much "Working Out". Is it possible my 10 work outs a week is excessive? Could they be causing me harm, or disrupting a balance in my life? 

Mens/Women's Health, Fitness Magazine, Reps, and, Health & Fitness Sports Magazine all tell me that my muscles are to small, that in order for that six pack to show I need to give it everything! Other Magazines; Yoga Journal, Whole living, Shape magazine allow for inner balance, and using fitness as their tool, but does not maintain the need to be a gym rat. There is a noticeable contraditicon with magazines about how much working out is needed, and it is even more apparent in the internet. 

The CDC recommends 150 minutes of aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening activities for adults between the age of 18-65. That is equivalent to roughly 30 minutes of working out a day. What is to much then? In an article published by the NY times they examined studies that showed long term conditions such as heart problems on athletes who trained excessively. The people in the studies were training for well over the recommended time, some up to 12 hours a day! 

Which is wrong? Shapes, fast and easy way to lose arm jiggle or Adam training 14 hours a day to complete his dream of finishing an Ironman? 

If you are following your dreams, and enjoying life; I don't believe there is ever such a thing as to much. If working out is your passion, then it should be done with a knowledge and an awareness that you have with your body. Although it may hurt sometimes, if you truly love it; you'll continue to do it. 

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/when-exercise-is-too-much-of-a-good-thing/#

Triathlon

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 run! Sound impossible? For a true triathlete, competing in an ironman race is the dream. Taking it away from the extreme, a triathlon is 3 different events that usually consist of swimming, biking, and running. They have a range of distance to encompass everyone, for example a short one might be a 400 meter swim, 15 km bike, and a 5k run. Even though that is not the shortest one, it is an easy one you see frequently. 

In the 1920's France began the yearly tradition, and combined these three activities to work out. With a slow growth from there triathlons didn't start to get more popular till 1977. This was the year Ironman was invented by a Navy team competing for bragging rights. Since then, the races have gotten even longer and more numerous however Ironman Hawaii still holds high prestige. 

Being able to conform to everyone, and being something that has held the test of time, allows triathlons to be considered a great workout.  

Zumba

What happens when you get someone who loves aerobic exercises, and dance? Zumba happens. In 1986 a man named Perez started Zumba as result of forgetting his normal work out music tapes to an aerobic class. After some improvisation, Zumba quickly spread into the United States in 2001. Zumba is not just dancing, it can incorporate squats, lunges, and even resistants training! It can be done to slow or fast songs, however it is usually a mixture of both. Zumba has found its place in several markets including studios, videos and now even video games! Its fan base has even grown to celebrities who regularly zumba including Madona and Jennifer Lopez. Since it is labeled as a fun, and great work out; Zumba has taken hold and growing fast in the fitness world. 

Circuit Training

Circuit Training is mixture of resistant and aerobic training, that is usually broken into timed intervals. An example of a work out might consist of 12 stations working out a specific area for 30 seconds, then resting in between each station for 12 seconds (Stations can consist of sprints, burpees, pull-ups, etc.). Did I mention that is only considered one round, and there can be anywhere from two-five! 

Circuit Training can be found in a variety of places, anywhere from Bootcamps, to customized gym, or even that TRX machine made ever so popular from its television ads. It was developed in England by Morgan and Anderson in 1952 as a time efficient way to become healthier and stronger. One of the downsides to circuit training, is it unrealistic to build muscle in bulk. That reason though is also why alot of people choose to circuit train, it allows them to lift without looking like the hulk. 

One of the most recognizable forms of circuit training is P90x. It's fast growing popularity led to hundreds of machines and videos that allowed individuals to bring circuit training into their homes. Ads proclaiming "In just 10 minutes a day, you can look like this!" Although some of the ads may have been misleading, it has been proven that a proper circuit training workout will deliver results. 

 Bobby a circuit trainer from Results Only announced to me "Don't worry, your allowed to curse in this gym and if you don't want to, your doing something wrong." Which follows suit with my description of circuit training, 30 seconds of hell that delivers an amazing work out.

Yoga

King Pigeon

Partner Yoga with lululemons!

Is it possible, an exercise that focuses on a inner discipline and self enlightenment able to be a work out? Yoga was started in India, and became a practice that quickly spread. Although when it originated is highly debated, it is very evident that it has increasingly gained in popularity during recent years. If you ask any “Yogi” (person who breathes yoga) they will say the main point of yoga is not about getting sweaty but inner self improvement. I would like to argue, that improving your exterior will inevitably benefit your overall wellness. The main focus will be on getting sweaty! There are several different types of yoga that enable us to call yoga a work out, Astanga, Bikram, Power, Resortative, Acro, Sumits, and Vinyasa are just a few. For those of you thinking that yoga is not a real workout, here is the challenge; complete one sumits class, or hold a handstand for one minute. Yoga classes are designed to push a persons limits. There is never perfection, and will always continue to challenge an individual. So why is it so popular? It is because the results are unparalleled. Jennifer Aniston, Robert Downey Jr., Russel Simmons, Lady Gaga, and even KeSha have all sworn to the benefits of yoga. The only way to truly find out how amazing yoga is, would be to join the on going trend and attend your first class!

A funny video on how to understand yogis!

Crossfit!

Nate from Core Crossfit

Grace, Helen, Nancy, Karen, Murph, Tabata, Amrap.

Only after a Crossfit class will you be able to understand the meaning of these names. 

WOD (Workout of the Day) is the description of the high-intensity work outs you can find in a Crossfit gym. Murph, for example, consists of running a mile, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 air squats followed by another mile for time. Sound crazy? It is! Luckily, for the majority of people, all WODS can be scaled down to fit anyone.

Recent Crossfit Exercises!

The first Crossfit gym was opened by Greg Glassman in 1995. With a slow start, it grew from 1 to 18 gyms by 2005. Then, just like in every crossfit workout, madness happened.  From 2005-2011 over 1,800 gyms opened. Magazines raved about the work outs and actors proclaimed that Crossfit is how they shape and maintain their bodies! 

Advocates for Crossfit explain that it will transform your body and allow for a healthier life style. The opposition says that Crossfit is not for everyone, that not all bodies can’t handle it, and that individuals can hurt themselves. 

Cerie from Core Crossfit

The only statement I have found to be untrue, is that "Crossfit is not for everyone". It is true, that not all bodies can handle an unmodified workout; however there are several beginning classes and adjustments making it accommodating for everyone. Crossfit trainers are given rigorous training and value form over strength, making sure individuals can’t hurt themselves. If what the opposition said was true, it would be impossible for crossfit to grow with such popularity. Crossfit has found its place in the ever expanding campaign to get healthier.