Keep it Positive.

Tracking progress is always important.  It’s good to know where you are compared to where you've been. It lets you know if what you are doing is working and can be an amazing feeling to see how you have progressed.  But the opposite can also be true.  If you haven’t been working out for a while you might not want to see the decline.

This is where apps like RunKeeper come in handy.  Most people have heard of RunKeeper for tracking runs, hikes, walks, and so on.  However they have also come out with some additional useful features. The good folks at RunKeeper recognized that it is important to always focus on the positive.  To this ed they were able to write there algorithms to congratulate you for any number of achievements.  This includes things like best time, most elevation change, and farthest distance.  These cover multiple time frames such as best this month, week, and so on.  This way you always get positive encouragement.  This is exactly what I needed on my most recent run.







I have not been training for a long time now.  I finally had some time to go for a respectable run the other day and I wasn't very impressed with myself.  That easy stride I used to have was completely gone.  By the end of the run I felt pretty crappy.  Thankfully RunKeeper pointed out that I was 9 seconds away from my best 5k time. (I race faster than I train) The point is that a positive attitude is key for improvement.  If your tough on yourself like many people are it's nice to have positive reminders.  There are many apps available that have similar notifications and tracking
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The Community That is Always There For You

For every major undertaking in life it is important to have a support system.  Some people can accomplish things all by themselves but the odds of success rise dramatically when you have friends there to help you along. If you need evidence of this try to think of some of the great accomplishments in human history.  There might have been one leader but there was always a team of people behind that leader supporting them in a tactile or moral way. Taking it down a level there is plenty of literature on why you should get a gym buddy.  This has been highlighted by the growing popularity of Obstacle Course Races (OCR) that require team assistance.  I recently just completed a Tough Mudder and I can comfortably say that I would not have been able to accomplish a number of obstacles without help from teammates and strangers alike.

But for many of us, there are a number of responsibilities that come before your next workout.  Work, school, parenthood, and more are things that demand your attention when you know that the gym will still be waiting for you when your done.  This is exactly what happened to me.  I just completed my masters degree, I am a new father, my employer has given me additional responsibilities, and I just completed major renovations on my home.  But just like the gym there were people who were just as excited to have me back in fitness.  They happen to be people that I have never met.  That's right I am talking about Fitocracy again.  I had to start slow but they don't judge.  The same people who are benching more than their body weight are giving me props for taking a 15 minute walk.  That has been one of the biggest things that has helped me jump back in with both feet.  I've been out of the game for longer than I would like to admit and they know it but they don't care.  They are just happy I'm back. FYI none of the people that are congratulating me work for Fitocracy and if I haven't mentioned it before I don't work for them either.  I am officially back to working out and making fitness a priority again.  I'm hoping that I will be back here soon as well.  If you want to here from me on a more regular basis feel free to follow me on Tumblr or (you guessed it) join me on Fitocracy.  See you there.  We'll be waiting no matter when you decide to join us

He's going to pump..... You up!

My favorite fitness social media site, Fitocracy.com has teamed up with biggest fitness icon of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Together they have created something called the 1% Challenge.  Together they have created 5 workout routines (so far) that take about 15 minutes each.  There are strength and cardio as well as equipment and body weight routines. Where does the 1% come in?  15 minutes is roughly only 1% of your 24 hr day.

I've talked about Fitocracy before but adding in these routines takes it up a notch.  Your not just blindly trying out exercises to see what works, though that's not always a bad way to begin.  All of these routines have video tutorials which is great for beginners who aren't sure of correct form.  In preparation for writing this post I watched a couple and I would even recommend them to people who know the exercises.  There are some good tips on how to keep your form all the way through the routine.

My favorite Routine is B or the Body Weight Circuit.  These means you can do all the exercises without buying any equipment going to the gym or even being at home.  If you live out of a suitcase you still don't have an excuse for not doing these.  Once again this is a great routine for beginners because it's much harder to injure yourself with no heavy objects around.  If this gets too easy you can always up your repetitions or jump over to the intermediate body weight routine D.

To ease myself back into working out and make sure I don't injure myself like I did last time this is how I'm starting off.  Personally I have added in some crunches and side planks but as with any exercise routine only do what feels comfortable to you.

//Actuator//

The truth about High Fructose Corn Syrup

There is a lot of confusing information out there about high fructose corn syrup.  First were the claims that it was linked to obesity because more and more things were made from it. Unfortunately there was no proof provided to back that up.  The corn refiners took advantage of that and started advertising campaigns like this commercial.

So does that mean that it is the same as cane sugar?  Not quite.

What is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? It is made from corn. The corn is ground down into corn starch, the starch is refined into a glucose syrup and then enzymes are added to turn the glucose into fructose.  When all is said and done the mixture is about 55% fructose.  Both glucose and fructose are naturally occurring substances while not normally in the quantities we consume them. So we have established that  HFCS is made from corn and that it is refined into a naturally occurring substance in foods like apples.  So far the commercial is right on.  It also says that it is fine in moderation.  Also true.  If you are able to control your consumption of HFCS it does not have any severe side effects.

How does HFCS interact with the body? Recent studies are finding that your body's need to eat is heavily influenced by 2 hormones leptin and ghrelin. These 2 hormones are always in balance. Leptin checks to see if you have enough energy stores.  If you are eating regularly then your leptin level rises and tells the brain that it can burn as many calories as it likes because you have the reserves.  If you do not have the available energy then your ghrelin level rises and tells the brain that we need to conserve energy.  This will cause you to stop burning fat and become hungry.

When that check is made to see how much fuel you have available the body does not recognize fructose and a real energy source.  This means that you will not burn calories as fast and it will take more time to burn the calories you took in. You can read more about leptin and ghrelin here.

So what do we do? High fructose corn syrup is in much of what we eat.  You don't have to avoid it all together just be aware of how much you are consuming.  There are alternative to the more popular products that contain HFCS.  Pepsi has made strides to put original cane sugar back in it's drinks with it's "throwback" line.

Main point: Don't just listen to the talking heads.  These days no one is going to find out the entire story for you least of all the popular media.  Be aware of what you put in your body and how it effects you.  Here is a challenge for you: The next thing you eat that has nutritional facts on it, pick a ingredient you don't recognize and look it up.  Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's good for you and just because it's artificial doesn't mean it's bad.  As George Carlin said "crap is all natural, that doesn't mean I want to eat it."

Happy living
/Actuator/