One of the tricky things about maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to keep things exciting and staying motivated. Aside from my usual workout routine that includes swimming and weight training, I try to include different activities whenever possible. One of my best discoveries (if you can call it that) is pilates! I LOVE IT! Pilates gives you the right amount of exercise with the right amount of effort in the right amount of time. Nothing less, nothing more. It is focuses on creating strength and power that helps tone problem areas like your abs, gluts, arms and legs. Pretty much the entire body. The best part is that you will be able to see the results instantly as your abs and gluts will feel more toned even as you walk out of class. If you’re like me and don’t have a lot much of free time, try making it to a class at least once a week. You won’t regret it! So, what are you waiting for?
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Fitness
When preparing for your next big race, there are very important aspects to consider achieving a great race. Practice everyday in and out of the water, sometimes is just not enough. What we eat and drink can make the difference between winning or losing that race, regardless of how much or how long we have been training for it.
Preparing your body for exercise and competition can be a puzzle containing several pieces. Let’s break them out for you! First of, we need to consider hydration. Swimming, just like any other sport, results in sweat loss. There are several theories out there that suggest that hyperhydrating (increasing total body water above normal prior to exercise) may increase sweat rate and improve thermoregulation during exercise. The truth is that, hyperhydrating prior to exercise may be of benefit when fluid consumption during exercise is limited, but it might just not be crucial if enough fluids are ingested during exercise. The recommendation for athletes is to consume enough fluids days prior to competition and be sufficient to result in light-colored urine, or consume approximately 500 mL of fluids 2 hours before and from there, 150-200 mL every 15 min of exercise. This suggests that small volumes of fluids consumed frequently rather than large amount occasionally, is ultimately better. Electrolytes are also important. The replenishing of sodium, potassium and magnesium can be achieved with sports drinks during exercising lasting more than 60 minutes.
Second, glycogen is the main nutrient your body counts as a source of energy. Glycogen come mainly from carbohydrates, however, your body can also produce energy from protein and fats. It is very important that the endurance athlete aims to maximize glycogen stores prior to exercise and competition through appropriate carbohydrate replenishment strategies. A light meal containing 150-200 g of carbohydrate 4-5 hours prior to competition or training may ensure adequate carbohydrate availability during exercise. Also, the ingestion of carbohydrates during exercise prevents the decline in blood glucose and carbohydrate oxidation. Therefore, continuous supplementation during endurance exercise is important, ranging from 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour.
Lastly, recovery is the best way to get ready for your next event or training session. Several studies have shown that the combination of carbohydrates and protein post exercise in a ratio 3:1 within 30 minute of exercise is adequate for recovery. Therefore, not only protein is now considered the solely source of muscle recovery but also carbohydrates. This strategy will help replenish glycogen stores, as well as, promote muscle synthesis post exercise.
Taking in consideration these three important aspects can determine the difference between a great or a poor executed race. The choice is up to you!
I would like to introduce you to my best asset: my abs. Even though I was obviously born with abdomen muscles, they were never defined until three years ago when I started doing my 10-minute abs sessions at least three times a week.
Basically I split up ten minutes focusing on different parts of my core: normal sit-ups, horizontal sit-ups (crunching my obliques), bicycle sit-ups, and lower abdomen leg lifts. The key is to spend roughly the same amount of time on each muscle area.
I always like to finish off my 10-minute abs session with a 1-2 minute plank. This brings it all together by working your entire core. If you dedicate your work out this Wednesday to your abs I promise you will not be disappointed!
No, I am not embarrassed of my age nor I want to keep my age a secret. Most of you know by now how old I am. This past January I turned 30. I remember that during that week of my birthday all I wanted to do was to block that number out of my mind and continue living life as like my birthday wasn’t even happening that week. Since my 25th birthday, every year is a bittersweet time when my birthday is approaching. It’s like “Yay, it’s my special day of the year, and I am going to get presents!!!” but then it is like “I wish I didn’t have to turn a year older”. Oh, the problems of getting old…
Since I started my academic career in nutrition, I started discovering how everything we do will directly or indirectly affect our health. I recently discover how even a deep tissue massage (a.k.a. mashing) could even alter your liver enzyme levels (I had a blood work done the day after a mashing session). What I am trying to say is that every little thing we do to our bodies MATTERS. One thing that undeniably directly affects our body and health is food. We rely on food to satisfy a need. However, that need is often misbelieved to be a bothersome. How annoying is to get hungry 3+ times a day? We have to stop what we are doing to satisfy the need. We have to design our schedule around meal times. And more importantly, we have to find the food, either by cooking our meals or going out to buy something. Who has time for that? Who cares that we order take out or delivery for lunch every day because we don’t have time to cook? The important thing is that we are satisfying the need of eating, right? WRONG!
Food is your primary fuel to keep your heart beating, your muscles moving, your lungs breathing, and so on! You need to be concious of every SINGLE food item you consume. This is not about just satisfying a need but to also improving your overall health while doing it. What we eat will determine how strong our immune system is to fight infections, how strong we feel while we exercise, how much energy we have throughout the day, how well we sleep at night, how well we can perform at school and work and the list goes on and on. Food is everything!
People sometimes ask me, what kind of diet do you follow? The Paleo Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Eat According To Your Blood Type Diet? And my answer is always the same I follow the Arlene’s Balanced Diet. As a Registered Dietitian I am familiar with all those kind of diets, and while each one of them have strength, none of them will fit my lifestyle completely. I believe in eating all kinds of foods in moderation and according to my fitness/health needs. It is a lifestyle. By giving food the important place it deserve in our lives, we are also giving our health the proper importance that we should to prevent disease in the future. If you ask me, FOOD IS EVERYTHING AND MORE. I love food, and I enjoy eating. So, next time you are in a rush to get "something" to eat, stop for a minute and think if your choice of food is going to improve your health down the road. It is all about thinking and doing... never going through the motions. Let me know if you need my health... I am here for you :)