Lately I've seen a lot on print and TV about muscle confusion. I decided to give it a try, my way. On a magazine that I saw last week, they suggested a new twist on muscle confussion. Take a very small weight and do a ridiculous amount of repetitions. I decided to do 100 bycep curls with a two pound weight. Sounds easy enough. I was going really fast for the first 50. And then my arm started to show signs of fatigue. I was able to make it, after many stops and starts. Then I had to repeat in the other arm! But you know what? I do this every four days. I have done it three times already (started last week), and the first day after, my arms hurt. Now they don't hurt. But I am still not capable of doing the full 100 without stopping. I figured after I can dominate this, I can go for three-pound weights, and I will let you know how it goes.
Oh, and by the way, this is on top of our regular routines, that is where the muscle confussion is. This is an unexpected add on. Keep trying!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Nutrition: The importance of water
This is my version of what works for me. Don't expect me to recite what everybody knows about how many glasses a day, or ounces. Let's face it, even something as simple as water makes these so called experts give you a different version. When I was growing up it was 8 glasses of 8 ounces. Now it's 10 glasses of 8 ounces. If you go to other sources it is one ounce per pound, on others one ounce per two pounds. No one seems to know how much is enough.
I think that drinking 8 or 10 glasses a day sounds like one size fits all and that would be impossible. And although the ounces per pound idea sounds more tailor made, I was 210 pounds once, and counld not drink 210 ounces of water, as much as I wanted to. There's also the little matter of how much water is in the fruits and vegetables you eat which is supposed to be added to the water intake.
So what am I doing about this? I drink water when I am thirsty. I drink if I sweat a lot or if I feel hot. And if it is not meal time and I feel hungry, I drink water to make sure that I am not mistaken between hunger and thirst. That is what works for me. To give you an example: I just walked to the local pharmacy and back home. It was hot, so when I got home, I took my water bottle and drank some. How much? I have no idea. I try to drink as much as I feel like as many times as I feel like. I decided this obsession with numbers has to stop, so I don't count ounces anymore. And you know what? I feel great. (Keep in mind, I bought a big water bottle that I refill twice a day, so I know for a fact I am drinking way more than ten glasses a day, but the exact number does not interest me).
Keep trying.
I think that drinking 8 or 10 glasses a day sounds like one size fits all and that would be impossible. And although the ounces per pound idea sounds more tailor made, I was 210 pounds once, and counld not drink 210 ounces of water, as much as I wanted to. There's also the little matter of how much water is in the fruits and vegetables you eat which is supposed to be added to the water intake.
So what am I doing about this? I drink water when I am thirsty. I drink if I sweat a lot or if I feel hot. And if it is not meal time and I feel hungry, I drink water to make sure that I am not mistaken between hunger and thirst. That is what works for me. To give you an example: I just walked to the local pharmacy and back home. It was hot, so when I got home, I took my water bottle and drank some. How much? I have no idea. I try to drink as much as I feel like as many times as I feel like. I decided this obsession with numbers has to stop, so I don't count ounces anymore. And you know what? I feel great. (Keep in mind, I bought a big water bottle that I refill twice a day, so I know for a fact I am drinking way more than ten glasses a day, but the exact number does not interest me).
Keep trying.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The hardest part of this whole thing is
no matter how much you try and how much you exercise, if you want good results that will last a lifetime, you cannot take a shortcut. Some times, waiting for that one pound to come off makes it hard for you to be motivated. But you have to keep trying. After several months of walking and exercising every day, I had to take a break, concentrate on listening to my body. And you know what? I actually lost one pound. No exercise, but now I know that if I watch what I eat and something happens to side track me, I can still make progress. But tomorrow, the three mile walk is on! Keep trying!
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