With an ever increasing population of running and cycling enthusiasts, good advice for swimmers is getting harder to come by. Luckily, the same carbo-loading scenarios that are appropriate for other distance sports are suitable for distance swimmers too. The Basics: Endurance athletes need to increase their access to available fuel. During event training the prevailing [...]
As you probably know by now the United States Department of Agriculture has retired the food pyramid and introduced MyPlate which has caused quite a stir in health and wellness circles. The outgoing food pyramid has been around for ages, but was deemed too complicated to understand (in the opinion of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack). So [...]
One of my favorite types of training is interval training. Interval training is when you mix high intensity work with low intensity work. This method is hardly a secret technique anymore but is often overlooked as another great tool for the toolbox. During high intensity effort, our bodies use energy stored in our muscles. During [...]
Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run gave his opinion about how people’s desire to run might have evolved at a recent TED conference. Although Christopher McDougall covered a variety of topics on running during his TED presentation (including a heartwarming story about the marathoner Derartu Tulu, who was ready to retire from professional running, [...]
Most of the popular diets today rely somewhat on portion control. However, one diet offers an alternative. The diet method is called Volumetrics and the premise is to encourage people to eat foods that are naturally low in calories due to high water content. Fresh produce, whole grains, good fats and low-fat dairy are all [...]
When should I replace my running shoes? Finding the right running shoe is an iterative process and there is no one perfect running shoe suitable for everyone. The perfect fit has to do with the shape of your foot, your running style and the terrain you run on. In fact, there are runners who don’t [...]
Margaret Moore (also known as Coach Meg) has established herself in the world of prevention, health and wellbeing by founding Wellcoaches Corporation. Wellcoaches is widely known for setting the gold standard for training and credentialing of professional wellness and health coaches, and trains more than 1000 coaches per year. Margaret is also the co-director of [...]
Digestion is the way us humans process food into energy. When our digestive system is functioning optimally, it is the biological fueling system that keeps us active and engaged. Probiotics (basically ingestible bacteria) are a well known element in helping most of us improve upon this system. When ingested in the proper proportion, probiotics can [...]
In the health and fitness world we are bombarded with the word weight. Popular diet schemes have “weigh-ins” and mainstream media dramatizes the importance of weight as a success measure far too often. For instance, the network show The Biggest Loser spectacularly showcases people getting on a giant scale to announce to the world how [...]
No matter what area of fitness you are involved in, practicing your breathing and maximizing your oxygen intake is essential. One of the biggest culprits of bad breathing techniques is novice weightlifters. Newbies to the weight room are often witnessed holding their breath while lifting heavy loads. It is true that anaerobic activity uses little [...]
