In the land of the BBQ, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms are King!

I nearly had a heart attack this afternoon when my husband announced that he wanted to bust out the grill and do the "manly" BBQ thing. At present, I am distancing myself from all things Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Ice Cream, Candy Bars, French Fries, etc.
What's a girl to do during "grilling season"?
Bust out the portobellos!
After a quick internet search I found a Grilled Portobello Mushroom recipe to die for. This statement was cemented after my husband, having just pulled my concoction off the grill for me to eat, sliced a piece off and fed it to... himself. The man nearly melted into the floor; the look on his face was pure bliss and I almost raced to get the camera.
For the record: He took two bites of his burger and then promptly polished off one of my mushrooms. Yes, you read right. This was that good.
So, without further ado: Grilled Portobello Mushrooms.
Note: I only used 1/2 tsp of salt (to reduce the sodium intake) and a scant 1/4 cup of olive oil. I added 1/3 cup of crumbled feta cheese (which slightly upped the sodium intake, oh well) and a teaspoon of oregano.
Given the above changes, here's how two portobello mushrooms stacked up nutritionally:

Nutrition Facts Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
2 Servings (Two mushroom caps per serving)
Amount Per Serving
Calories (Excellent!)		396.9
Total Fat		34.6 g
	Saturated Fat	7.8 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	3.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat (here's your good fat)	21.4 g
Cholesterol		22.0 mg
Sodium (not too shabby!)		873.6 mg
Potassium		1,228.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		18.8 g
	Dietary Fiber (pretty darn good!)	6.5 g
	Sugars	4.7 g
Protein		10.1 g

(That's awesome!!!!)

Get outside!

"It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got" Sheryl Crow, Soak Up The Sun

So you can't make it to the gym. Big deal. That's no excuse no to get some exercise on a gorgeous day.

Got kids?

Chase them around the grass in a game of freeze tag. Not only will you spend quality time with your kids but you'll get a great workout as well (can you say interval training?!).

Got a dog?

If your dog is like mine, they are nuts about chasing things. Harley likes to chase balls. Get a game of soccer going with your dog. Use forward, side and back kicks to work your legs.

Got a bike?

Take the family on a bike ride or head out yourself for some time to reflect. And sweat.

Got running shoes?

Hit the pavement. You don't need a treamill to run. Breathe in the fresh air.

Got a garden?

You'd be surprised at how many calories gardening burns.

Got a lawn?

Mow it. Try to stretch it for an hour.

Making time

"Something better than nothing" White Stripes, Blue Orchid

With the onset of school I have GOT to find a way to get a quality workout in during the week. The way I figuire it, the only way THAT'S gonig to happen is by exercising in the morning. Early in the morning, at that.

And while my dreams won't last as long, I can take comfort in the fact there there are many benefits of working out in the morning:

• Knocking out your workout early leaves you more flexible to the challenges life throws at you later in the day.
• You can take advantage of the early metabolism boost to sustain you throughout the day.
• Stay focused! Research has shown that you can have a sharper mind 4 to 10 hours after exercise.
• A structured a.m. routine can help keep your appetite in check.
• And damnit, you'll just feel GREAT when you're done.

I'm cool with that.

Om.... ahhh

I had high hopes this morning for getting out to the gym to make a 0930 Yoga class. But fate interceded and kept me home. What's a girl to do who needs to get her Yoga on? Rely on her own bits and pieces to get the job done, that's what!

Unfortunately for me, I haven't practiced Yoga in what seems like ages. So to ensure that I didn't overreach I decided to ease back into the practice gently. Even though my downward facing dogs weren't perfect (in truth I'm jealous of my own dog's perfect pose... but I think she's just showing off!) and my triangles a bit wobbly, I feel all the better for it. My muscles are excited, remembering the wonderful calm that Yoga brings to my mind and body.

Warrior, anyone?

In the news

This is a scary trend: young girls with diabetes purposely skipping out on their insulin in order to lose weight. Parents, keep an eye on your kids and COMMUNICATE healthy living!

Going to the dogs

"Those who run seem to have all the fun" Madonna, Hung Up

Thank goodness we have warmer weather on the way. And that means that it's an excellent time to get out and get in an early morning run with...your dog! Don't have a dog? Make a friend for life and BORROW ONE!

My boxer, Harley, is an animal. Ok, so yes, she's really an animal but I mean an animal, like wild and crazy. This dog wants nothing more than to play with you and run everywhere (she's even better at soccer than me!). Recently I've been taking her on morning runs and she's fallen in love and I'm getting time with my beautiful girl.

Some tips on running with your dog:

Be sure that your breed is a good runner. Labs, boxers...good. Dachsund, terriers...not so good.
Start out with a brisk walk to warm up.
Keep your runs relatively short unless there's plenty of water readily available--and then build up distances slowly.
Be sure to have a good leash and collar...there's nothing worse than seeing your dog slip out of it's collar and run away from you...toward traffic.
Speaking of traffic...if it can be helped, avoid busy roads. And you won't inhale all that exhaust.
Stay on a good surface. Avoid areas which may hurt your dog's paws...or that are littered with broken glass (big no no!). Keep an eye on them for injury.

Don't be surprised if YOU run and your dog walks briskly.
More tips can be found here, here and here.

Burn, Baby Burn

"Gonna hang around, wanna get a reaction" Jet, Cold Hard Bitch

One of the benefits of me getting smarter by going back to school is that I get to pass on what I've learned to you. Granted, I'm by no means an expert, but I've got my textbook with me so damnit, I've got some credibility.

If you want to burn fat through exercise then you will primarily do that aerobically. Your best bets are endurance exercises at low to moderate intensities. The reason for this is both simple and complex. Your body needs energy to do everything. Go ahead, blink you eyes. Bam! You just burned energy. But where that energy comes from is key.

When we perform endurance type exercises (long distance running, walking, swimming) our body taps fats, carbs and protein as energy sources to keep us moving. Initially, when we start exercising, our body taps our anaerobic system to rapidly produce energy for power (think weightlifting, sprinting, basketball). The drawback here is that our anaerobic system is designed to only hold out for very short periods of time (20-30 seconds to 2-3 minutes, tops).

Consider for a moment these two photographs:

The women on the top are distance runners. Marion Jones, Olympic Sprinter (let's ignore her recent steroid problem for a moment), is competing in the picture on the bottom. Notice the two very different body types of the runners. The distance runners have very lean bodies because they are burning energy from fat, proteins and carbs. Not so for the sprinters. They are pulling their energy anaerobically from ATP-PC (adenosine triphosphate-phosphocreatine...which is probably WAY more than you wanted to know) and glycogen.

So what does all this mean for you? If you want to get leaner, quicker, it's best to aim for endurance training. Get on the treadmill for 30 minutes to an hour, go take a walk around your neighborhood, or swim laps for 45 minutes. Keep that up and you'll be a fat burning machine. (Never forget the weights, though! Weight training is still very important.)

If you want to bulk up, warm up on the treadmill with a slow walk for 5 minutes and then jump off and then hit the weights. Or knock out some sprint training.

Of course, I would be doing you a huge disservice if I didn't mention that we are all fundamentally designed differently. There are certain people who, try as they might, will never be huge bodybuilders or super lean runners. But you can still get healthy with some dedication.

In the news

I love it when technology pairs itself up in such a manner that we find ourselves benefiting from it in spades. So imagine my reaction when I saw this story about Nike & Apple teaming up with gym equipment manufacturers to include that technology in their treadmills, ellipticals, etc.
Plug in, baby!

Should I workout when I'm sick?

Well, that all depends on how crappy you feel. If you are feeling like I do right now (nasty headache, sore throat from streptococcal bacteria) then probably not. It's best at that point to climb into bed and resurface only when you feel like you aren't going to die anymore.

But.

If you have a few sniffles, then you probably can continue with your workout if you are that die hard. For more information you can check out this article at WebMD.

Fake it till you make it

"You know it all by heart | Why are you standing in one place?" Gwen Stefani, What You Waiting For?

Sometimes it's impossible for me to wring out an ounce of motivation. Really impossible. Cause then I don't want to work out. If I'm at the gym I'll find myself doing things half-assed and that's not doing me any good--or the folks in the pool if I happen to be teaching a class.

So what do you do? Sometimes you just gotta fake it.

I know, I know. "Faking it" stirs up bad thoughts but stay with me. Have you heard that if you smile, even when you're not happy, that your mood can improve nonetheless? Same principle. You can fake enthusiasm and start to benefit from it.

Go from faking it to making it:
Listen to some kick butt music. Maybe all you need to do is hear a line from a song to go from zero to 65.
Change your scenery: Get outside and run if all you are doing is clocking miles on a treadmill. If you are already running, switch direction or change your route.
A little visualization goes a long way. Imagine yourself 5 pounds thinner or running that extra mile.
Get some rest! Maybe you are overtraining. If you have been working your butt off you may need some extra downtime to let your body catch up.

Are you feeling this yet?

Bone Up

"What comes around goes around" Britney Spears, Showdown

Guess who 80% of the suffers of osteoporosis are? Anyone, anyone? Unfortunately, if you guessed women, you're right. That number is staggering.

Guess what the Osteoporosis Foundation recommends as a preventative measure against osteoporsis? Anyone, anyone? If you guessed weight training, you're spot on! And that is fantastic.

Get a headstart on that condition though by starting to weight training early enough in life so you don't have to worry about osteoporosis. But if that's not an option (late bloomers, you know who you are!) you can still increase the strength of your bones by increasing bone density. All is not lost!

If you are a women concerned about otsteoporosis, pick up some weights. If you are a women concerned about her overall health, pick up some weights. If you are a women wanting to lose body fat....well, 'm sure you get the idea. Here's one you may not be expecting: If there's a woman in your life who's health you care about...encourage HER to pick up weights. (Ok, men...you can be included in this one, too)

Who have you encouraged today?

Women & Weight Training

What do you do when you are in a pinch for an entry? Borrow your own work, of course! Below is the research paper I drafted for my exercise physiology class. I feel weird about posting it here, but...what the hell. I need an entry and I've been pressed for time. So here you go. If you're at all interested... I got an A on this paper. ;) Oh, and I can't find my works cited, so ignore all the superscripts throughout...

Cheers!

There is a general perception that weight training is strictly for men. After all, women don’t need to be stronger, do they? And who wants big, rippling, bulky muscles? Weight rooms are testosterone infested territories that no right-minded woman would dare venture into. That’s just for guys, right? Wrong. Here’s a newsflash: It is critical that this common misconception be changed. The sooner more women begin to lift weights, the healthier these women will become overall. Weight training just may be the single best thing a woman can do to improve her health—for both now and later in life.

Women at any age can benefit from weight training. Younger women will enjoy the end results when their clothes fit more loosely (or better yet, when a new wardrobe is in order!) and their bodies are sleeker and tighter. Sexy muscles are in high demand thanks to well-toned celebrities. But while these stars can afford to effectively “buy” their bodies, the average woman can certainly get the same results from weight training at home or at a local gym with proper instruction. Starting a healthy trend that transcends into a lifestyle change can help women prevent the cold hard realities of aging: stiff joints, brittle bones and reduced mobility. Older women who are far less active now than they may have been thirty or forty years ago will benefit from weight training. While impaired muscle power is linked to disability and limited function in older people¹, it is never too late to slow down Father Time. Weight training can stave off the effects of osteoporosis, a degenerative disease that targets more women than men. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends “weight bearing and resistance training exercises” to help prevent osteoporosis² by increasing bone density. Improved functionality can be accomplished as simply as wearing a weighted vest. A study by the American Geriatric Society found that seniors with mobility problems gained strength in the lower body by wearing a weighted vest and stair climbing for up to a maximum of 45 minutes, three times a week for twelve weeks³. This improved mobility can only boost self esteem because the aging senior can rely on herself more than others.

The average woman is likely unaware of how important muscle strength is in her day to day life. But whether it’s lifting groceries, opening jars of pickles, or repeatedly picking up children all day long…muscle strength is required to do all this and more. A woman who doesn’t possess great muscle strength will tire easily and spend more time desperately trying to get rested. Building muscles strength will improve this day to day functionality. In a study completed by the University of Massachusetts and appearing in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, both men and women participated in a resistance training program to assess the variability in muscle size and strength changes. After twelve weeks of training, researchers found that women made more considerable gains in relative strength than men⁴. And if there ever were a group of women who should benefit from gains in strength it would have to be the elderly. Thankfully, they can and do. “I started working with a 92 year-old woman after she fell and broke her ankle,” says Miriam Nelson, an exercise physiologist at Tufts University and author of Strong Women Stay Young. “She now lifts 12 lbs with each leg, and 8 to 10 lbs with each hand. Her balance has improved significantly, and she’s bowling again.”⁵

The most amusing misconception that women have is that weight training will make them bulk up (fortunately most women don’t have the necessary testosterone in their body to attain such a feat). But in actuality, the reverse is far more likely; the average woman will lose fat as she builds muscle. Indeed, researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a two year study that found that women who strength trained one hour a day, twice a week lost almost 4% body fat while their non-exercising peers lost nothing⁶. And lifting weights can increase the body’s metabolism as much as 7%⁷. So while the typical woman rests comfortably on the couch enjoying the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy, her body will be hard at work repairing and building up the proteins in her muscles that she shredded when curling those fifteen pound dumbbells. What does that do in the long run? This results in a leaner, more sculpted body, that’s what! So if strength training is such a fabulous answer to a chiseled body, what is keeping women out of the weight room? Could it really be the fear of bulking up? “I’ve never had a female client who isn’t worried about that,” says Larry Krug, a personal trainer at Crunch Fitness in Los Angeles. “It’s the very first thing they’ll ask about.”⁸ And the idea of “de-feminization” of college athletes who strength train continues to be a major concern of coaches, athletes and parents.⁹ This antiquated perception of weight training for women is proven nonsense and especially disheartening considering that a weight training regimen can significantly improve the quality of life for women of all ages.

You can call it whatever you want: weight training, strength training or even resistance training. The important thing is to Do It. The many proven benefits of lifting weights will only improve the quality of life for our mothers, sisters, best friends and wives. Creating a support system for women is a necessity for those who aren’t initially comfortable entering the “male dominated” weight rooms. This could be as simple as getting friends together to lift, spot and gossip. Ultimately women will discover that the gender gap is closing quickly in the weight room as more females discover the benefits of weight training.

Deadlifts

"Don't try to push your luck, just get outta my way" AC/DC, Back in Black

I'm not sure why these are called deadlifts. The name doesn't quite inspire me to jump up and perform this exercise but I will tell you this: deadlifts deliver. This exercise is a personal favorite.

I've learned something very significant about deadlifts that I want to share. Most people do them wrong.
Important things to keep in mind when performing a deadlift:

1. Don't round out your back. It needs to stay fairly straight.

2. Bend from your hips, not your waist. Big difference.

3. Don't go too far deeply into the stretch...think about your hamstrings.

You can don't have to use a barbell with plates to perform this exercise . Dumbbells will work just dandy. Your payoff will be a nice, tight... set of hamstrings.

If you haven't already, click this link to see this exercise in action.

On the ball

Bouncy balls are no longer for kids.

Once you've done a set of crunches on one,it's easy to see why exercise balls are becoming quite popular. They give you an amazing area to work from, allowing for a greater range of motion. Your standard crunch has finally met it's match.

Try completing a set up crunches on an exercise ball. Seated comfortably, roll yourself down until your low back is resting on the ball. Your knees should be over your ankles.

Go ahead,now. Crunch. When you come back down, angle farther back than parallel. Here's where the ass kicking will commence.

After you've completed a set (12? 15? What are you comfortable with?) try the same thing working the obliques. Those "side" abs. Lead with your shoulder up and across toward your opposite hip. Switch sides.

You'll feel these babies burn pretty quickly.

Why stop at crunches? Grab those weights!

Sitting on an exercise ball while lifting will engage your core muscles to keep you balanced. Two for the price of one. Seat yourself in the middle of the ball, keeping your tailbone down and sitting tall. Don't slouch! If your feet are more widely spread apart it will be easier to maintain your balance. The more closely set together, the more difficult it is & the more your working to maintain your balance. Grab your weights and knock out some arms: bicep curls, butterflys, shoulder flys, overhead tricep press, lat pulls, the works. Tell me if you don't feel the difference in the next day!

What about pushups?

Of course you can do pushups with an exercise ball! Roll yourself out, arms comfortably spaced. You can make this exercise easier or harder by where you position yourself on the ball. Belly on the ball makes it fairly easy. Effective, but easy. Roll yourself so that your thighs are resting on top and it will be harder. More hardcore? Keep rolling the ball downward. Try your shins or your feet only resting on the ball. Then I'll bow to you.

There's tons more when it comes to exercises on a ball.

Try some of the links below for more ideas.

Bally Fitness

About.com

Rest

"Can you stand up or will you just fall down?" Hole, Celebrity Skin

Are you resting enough when you exercise? This question touches a couple of bases:

• When you're weight training you should rest your body between 30-60 seconds between sets. This gives your muscles a moment to recover some energy and you a chance to catch your breath. Don't keel over, now!
• Don't work the same muscle groups two days in a row. Try to work your upper and lower body on alternating days. This will give your muscles optimum time to rest and recover and--gasp!--build.

If you continually work the same muscles over and over without any rest your muscles won't have a chance to recover. And you may not see the type of gains you want if you don't give your body time to do that. Visualize this: When you weight train you are ripping to shreds tiny microscopic muscle fibers. When you rest your body repairs those tears. As you increase the amount of weight that you train with your body figures that you need more fibers to help lift the weight. And that, my friends, is how you build muscle. Bottom line, treat yourself to a break.

For more information on the importance of rest while strength training check out this article.