Don't Die: Drink Lots Of Clear and Clean Water

I am Re-Tweeting this message from WholeFoodsMarket.com.  But before I go any further a "tweet" is something you get from Twitter.  Twitter tweets are like mini-emails or status messages, with a max character allowance of 140, that you post to your profile or send to friends.  You can learn more here: www.twitter.com/bobgaron

There can be no life without water. I’ve heard this more than once from my scientist cousin. And of course, he’s right. Our bodies are about 60% water, more or less, and every day that we live, breathe and move, we lose the water we have. So, reasonable deduction tells us we have to replenish that which we are losing!

Our bodies use water to regulate our temperature, transport oxygen and nutrients to our cells, and assist in the process of digestion, metabolism and elimination. Without water, our bodies can’t flush out waste and toxins. Not getting enough leads to dehydration; and this leads to a number of health problems, one of which can be death. Are you with me so far?

Now here’s where it can get challenging for some folks. Your body needs water. Not sodas, not coffee, not alcohol, not black tea. Even though those are fluids, they may be dehydrating and make your body need more water. If you consistently deprive your body of water, you may suffer from chronic dehydration. This isn’t the same as collapsing in the desert heat while searching for an oasis, but it can definitely create some concerning health consequences including constipation, fatigue, digestive disorders, high and low blood pressure, respiratory problems, urinary infections and skin rashes.

So, we need to drink water. How much? For many years, we’ve been told that we need to be drinking an average of 8 glasses of water a day. That can seem a bit daunting! More recently we are hearing our need for water changes with the amount we exercise, the food we eat, the weather, and other factors. Maybe one of the best ways to determine if you are getting enough water is to check the color of your urine. Urine is naturally pale yellow. That’s the color you want it to be. If your urine is clear, then you can cut back on your water intake. If it is darker, then you need to drink more water. Keep in mind that riboflavin (vitamin B2), which is in most multivitamins, turns your urine fluorescent yellow so you’ll need to avoid that for a day or so to get a true reading of color.

It’s really not that hard to add more water to your day. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Keep a bottle or a glass of water on your desk while you work - having it handy makes it easier to drink.
• Avoid alcohol and coffee in excess, as well as soda and sugary drinks.
• Squeeze some fresh lime or lemon into your water for a flavor boost.
• Drink pure spring or filtered water in between meals. Too much water with food can dilute gastric acids making digestion weaker.
• Slowly sip a cup of hot herbal or green tea after a meal. This supports digestion and provides needed fluid.
• Make spritzers using natural sparkling mineral water, plain, or flavored, mixed with a little fruit juice.
• Eat whole juicy fruits and vegetables.
• Drink warm or room temperature water first thing in the morning to wake your system up and get things moving. Then spread your water intake out during the day to keep you better hydrated.
• If you have kidney problems or you take diuretics, talk to your health care professional about your individual water needs.

What are your tricks for drinking enough water? I’d love to hear!

Bone Stacking The Long Cycle

 

Thousands of Gireviks can't be wrong. If you have never performed Long Cycle or performed it with proper form or you would not think it would be the best overall full-body functional movement period.  Just by looking at it performed non-practitioners would probably think it is bad on the back.  In the rack position(bells held at shoulder level with the elbows on the hips) the weight load is not on the back really much at all.  It is, however, being "bone stacked" to support everything.  Bone Stacking means that the joints are locked in succession in order to allow the bones to take the load.  This is phenomenal for building bone density.  The muscles are, of course, still impacted; however not nearly as much since the bones are able to support incredible amounts of weight.

Additionally the glutes are activated and when that happens the lumbar spine turns off as much as possible.  The abs are definitely, definitely, definitely firing not only since the back is turned off, but because of the movement itself.  No matter how you move, with or without weight, the core muscles(all 26 of them) are the first to fire.

The movement of Long Cycle(kettlebell clean and jerk) is doing many things at once.  From the very first movement, the clean, you pull the bell(s) up to rack position using the posterior chain.  Next it is driven overhead in an explosive manner using many pressing muscles and pulling muscles on the ascend and descend of the bell(s).  Then conditioning is effected cardiovascularly as well.  So both anaerobic and aerobic thresholds are pushed in a the direction very few other movements, exercises, and lift can match.  A top strength and conditioning coach once was asked if there was one exercise that he would ever do and/or recommend doing for the rest of his life which would it be.  He said the single arm(dumbbell, kettlebell, etc.) clean and jerk.  That would be Long Cycle.

But don't take it from me.  View it with those who are much more experienced in GS than I am. 

Valery Fedorenko, who is an Honored Master of Sport(which basically means he's the Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan of Girevoy[Kettlebell] Sport), displays the absolute perfect form for the rack position in his various sets displayed in the following videos.  Featured in the last video is the current best in the world, Ivan Denisov, as well as Andrew Durniat, Ken Blackburn, Ginko Vasilis, and Roberts Innus.

1. Valery Fedorenko performs a 10 min. Jerks Set Using Two 70lb. Kettlebells and achieving 130 reps to earn Master of Sport:

2. Who is Valery Fedorenko:

3. Valery performs 3 minute Long Cycle with two 53lb. Kettlebells. He does this very fast, but you can still see his form:

4. A video analysis of GS champ Valery Fedorenko performing a GS Jerk with two 24 kg bells. The curves on the right are "force to the vertical direction" and "momentum of the weights". The maximum force applied is 1200 N.

5. World Kettlebell Lifting Championships - Kettlebells - Jerk:

Be sure to pay attention to minute 3:20 and their form there.

Commitment, Pace and Respectable Reps

“Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or
predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”

– William Faulkner, Author

I am seeing every day the lack of commitment that people actually have for themselves regarding their health.  Furthermore it is the lack of commitment and motivation to be everything they can be for not only themselves, BUT also for their loved ones.  When someone doesn't take care of themselves it is one thing to their own body, but ultimately they sacrifice longevity with friends and family.  They don't seem to realize this and regardless if they have a long-term gym contract or one that's month to month, which is so popular today only because of the commitment issues of the masses, it will always be a struggle- a sad struggle- for people to make their way down the road of a healthy lifestyle.  There are way too many distractions and excuses being made.  Over the years I have heard many, but in the end it always roots back to one single thing- fear of commitment.  It's not easy and no one ever said it was going to be.   

When training for strength and endurance in Kettlebell training time is more important than reps.  You want to first decide what pace you will go to make the time.  Before your sets decide that.  Then in the first minute you will know if you can maintain that or not.  If so continue on.  If not then readjust your pace so that each consecutive minute thereafter is an even number of reps determined by your pace.  Do not stop.  Do not rest.  Do not set the bells down.  The only "rest" you are allowed to have is as follows:

Snatches in the overhead lockout
Jerks in the rack
Long Cycle in the rack
Swings you are SOL just keep going!

Other than that if you cannot make the time then simply trim it down.  Work on the top of the minute for sets- no half minute sets.  Ex. 6 minutes is fine, but 4:30 min. is not. When you can perform 3 minutes of Jerks at a respectable time then increase another minute, but then you'll have to dial down the speed again(reps per minute) in order to last the time(which is the most important component).

Remember pace is everything to achieve the time.  Then once you get comfortable with the time increase it by moving toward the 10 minute mark.  Once you are at 10 min. then the reps per minute can increase.  Once you get respectable with the reps per minute then the weight moves up, but then you start again at shorter sets.  You might be at the same weight for months doing your best to get the long sets in and then working on increasing the reps each minute.  This is strength endurance work in its raw state.  It's good.

Beginner reps per minute:
Snatch- 6rpm
Jerk- 4-6rpm
Long Cycle- 4-5rpm

Intermediate reps per minute:
Snatch- 8-12rpm
Jerk- 8-10rpm
Long Cycle- 8-9rpm

Advanced reps per minute:
Snatch- 15-20rpm
Jerk- 15-20rpm
Long Cycle- 12-16rpm

Taste or No Taste? ...Is that really the question?

I agree that food should taste good.  We definitely should enjoy it.  Most people, however, eat to have taste of the given food and nothing more.  Much of the food they eat that may taste good can be and is usually garbage depending on their lifestyle. We all know saying:  garbage in, garbage out.  If you eat non-healthy food you will have an unhealthy body, but if you eat clean(anti-estrogenic, balanced, 85% raw, organic, all natural foods, etc) you will have a much longer, happier and healthier life. 

Also remember just because you eat “light” does not mean you are eating “right”!!!
 

This is one of the road blocks I face as a professional fitness coach in trying to get clients to make better food choices. They think they don't have time and that eating healthy must taste gross or is too expensive. Both statements are merely uneducated excuses and also completely untrue.  Everyone has time to eat healthier/cleaner and excuses are given to convince yourself you do not.  You provide me your schedule and budget and I will provide you a solution so that anyone and everyone can be and stay healthy.  All you will have to be concerned with then is committing to it- which is the most challenging aspect. After all if we are not prioritizing our health above everything else anyway, “the everything else” will suffer somewhere down the line due to some measure of poor or failing health.

We must continue to remember instead of reminding ourselves about the problems in our lives we must always believe there are only solutions.  We can do anything we want to with proper direction and motivation.

I will be writing more on organic eating in future articles so please say tuned and I hope you all enjoy what I say.  I appreciate feedback and comments- always. :) 

Green? Let's Go White!

 

According to many experts White Vinegar has 1001 uses.  It can be used in cooking and cleaning as well as gardening and home remedies.  Many companies are "going green" with their chemicals to help protect the environment; however in the midst of doing so their chemicals are still very harmful to us and our bodies.  White vinegar may just be our answer.  I, personally, have begun using it in my own home and it definitely makes a difference.  Tea Tree Oil also works very well alongside the vinegar.  Both these products are also very, very inexpensive and can be purchased at almost any grocery store/ farmer's marketplace.

"White distilled vinegar is a popular household cleanser, effective for killing most mold, bacteria, and germs, due to its level of  acidity. Cleaning with white distilled vinegar is a smart way to avoid using harsh chemicals. You’ll also be glad to know that it is environmentally friendly and very economical."  - VinegarTips.com

Here are some of the uses of White Vinegar:

Get rid of fruit flies by setting out a small dish of undiluted white distilled vinegar.                   

Clean the wheel of a can opener using white distilled vinegar and an old toothbrush.                   

Remove the smell of spoiled food from a refrigerator by first rinsing the area with soap and water. Spray surfaces with full-strength white distilled vinegar and wipe them down with a damp cloth or sponge. Fill some containers with baking soda and place inside. Close the door and leave for a few days.                   

Remove the wax residue left by commercial window cleaners with a solution of 2 cups water, 1 cup white distilled vinegar and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap or detergent.                   

To make cleaning the grill easier, spray a solution of half water and half white distilled vinegar on the cooking surface.                   

To remove a label, decal, or price tag, cover with a cloth soaked in white distilled vinegar. Leave the cloth on overnight and the label should slide off.                   

Renew sponges and dishrags by placing them in just enough water to cover them. Then add 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. Let them soak overnight.                   

Get rid of calcium deposits on faucets by soaking a cloth or paper towel in white distilled vinegar and wrapping the area tightly. Let this sit for a couple of hours or overnight.                   

Bring out the color in carpet by brushing it with a solution of 1 cup white distilled vinegar for every gallon of water. (Always test on an out-of-sight part of the carpet beforehand).

Clean woodwork and walls with a mixture of 1 cup white distilled vinegar, 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup ammonia and 1 gallon warm water. Wipe on with a sponge or damp—not wet—towel.

To read more about the many uses of White Vinegar click here: http://www.vinegartips.com/cleaning/

Have a great white cleaning day!

What Are Burpees?

In case you've been living under a fitness rock for the past many years and have ever wondered what a Burpee is or how to exactly perform one I came across a great video displaying the wonderful answer.

It's always a good day for Burpees! :)

Healthy Spanish Omelete For You To Enjoy!

With the Spanish Omelet you are basically making an egg pancake which is filled with all your desired ingredients.

Ingredients: (Of course this is just for this one, but you can toss in anything you want.)

5 - 10 organic eggs
1 half of a red and 1 half of a yellow bell pepper
1 white onion
2 - 4 cloves of garlic
Coconut Oil or Grapeseed Oil

Instructions:

1. Dice up the veggies
2. Saute' the vegetables in a pan for about 5-10 minute
3. Take out the sauteed veggies and put them in a bowl with a paper towel to dab off the excess oil.
4. Wait for the vegetables to cool down a bit( you will be adding them to the eggs and if they are too hot they will cook the egg), and while they are cooling down
5. Crack 5-10 eggs into a bowl
6. Mix the veggies in with the the eggs.

Next:
7. Heat up a pan with coconut oil(or grapeseed oil) to about med to med-high heat.
Note: The pan has to be just large enough so the mixture is about half an inch thick high after you put it in.
8. Pour in you veggie/egg mixture
9. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, pushing down the edges so they do not burn.

*** TRICKY PART ***
-Take a plate or something like that, that is larger than the skillet you are cooking the eggs in, and place it on top of the skillet upside down.
-Hold the plate down on the skillet, and flip the plate and skillet, so that the egg falls safely onto the plate onto its uncooked side.
-Then carefully slide the egg back in the skillet
-Cook this side for 2 to 3 minutes, pushing down the edges so they do not burn.

Then:
-Slide out of the skillet into a plate, and enjoy.


You should have a pancake like omelet, that has all your vegetables contained almost completely inside the egg.

Perfection

P.S. This one takes practice, that flipping thing can be kinda tricky.  Enjoy!