Comeback mom
I’m not a big sports fan, but I know when to root for an athlete. Professional tennis — cakewalk. Motherhood — takes lots of energy. That’s Kim Clijsters talking not me. Check it out.
Combat moms?
The Army’s new moves might look a lot like some you’ve seen in abs class. And maybe all you moms out there dashing after wayward grocery carts, carting around toddlers or lunging to pull your cell phone, car keys or the dog out of your baby’s hand can take some cues. Drop and give me 20 (sit ups, thanks.) Motherhood isn’t a battlefield but it may feel like that some times.
Check out the AP account. Here’s an excerpt:
Heeding the advice of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans, commanders are dropping five-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and exercises that hone core muscles. Battlefield sergeants say that’s the kind of fitness needed to dodge across alleys, walk patrol with heavy packs and body armor or haul a buddy out of a burning vehicle.
Trainers also want to toughen recruits who are often more familiar with Facebook than fistfights.
“Soldiers need to be able to move quickly under load, to be mobile under load, with your body armor, your weapons and your helmet, in a stressful situation,” said Frank Palkoska, head of the Army’s Fitness School at Fort Jackson, which has worked several years on overhauling the regime.
Tags: workout programs
Pinnacle weather
The Base Trail.
Starting to climb.
The final ascent.
For more wordless Wednesdays visit Arkie Mama.
Tags: trails
Green beer is so over
Having nostalgic longings for a time when St. Patty’s Day was for drinking green-beer not fending off green cupcakes? Get over it, alcohol can make you fat. (Well, not alcohol per se — see the last post — just the food you might eat to go with… call it the beer munchies. Don’t believe me? Obviously you’ve never overimbibed, good for you. Check out this article from ACE. Oh and for the record, unless you’re drinking a light beer, EWWW not a fan of any beer, you’re consuming 150 calories for every can. And since they serve pints at any respectable Irish joint….
Drink to your health
I tend to eat more when I drink more and eat less when I’m drinking less. That whole one glass of wine with dinner, often turns into two. Cutting alcohol, especially those fruit bombs is an easy way to cut calories. But there are so many benefits to red wine. So what’s a drinker to do… well relax. Drinkers actually weigh less than nondrinkers according to a new study. Click here. (Guess it’s all about moderation.)
Here’s an excerpt:
The link between consumption of red wine and less weight gain was particularly pronounced in the Archives study. Some studies have suggested that resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, appears to inhibit the development of fat cells and to have other antiobesity properties.
The findings don’t mean women should rush to drink alcohol to lose weight. Other research shows that once a person is already overweight, her alcohol metabolism is more efficient, and so an overweight woman may gain more weight from alcohol than a lean woman. The data do, however, suggest that for many women facing weight problems, the extra calories are probably not coming from alcoholic beverages.
One more reason to sweat at home
I wouldn’t go out in public in these pants:
Well maybe if my house caught on fire or my husband needed rescuing or there was a snowstorm coming and I really needed toilet paper.
You see they’re not capris. They just shrank. This can happen when you’re 5′8.” Things look good in the store and then one dryer run later…
Oh and there’s this little matter:
What?! Arkie Mama shows pictures of her bum all the time. And my husband didn’t mind getting the shot. Love is behind, I mean blind, blind.
And this shirt got me up Half Dome in, gulp, 2000. I was such a pup then. These days, it’s a little frazzled around the edges. Shoot, I think I am too.
My point. Yep, I’m a cheap slob. No really, it’s that one of the great advantages of working out at home is it doesn’t matter how ratty you look. Why throw out a perfectly OK pair of workout pants because they show my bum and are nearly calf high?
I reserve these babies for the gym and, hey we’ve all got egos ladies, for when I’m working out with a friend. Sometimes, I even bother to match.
Tags: sports apparel
Simple changes add up, or maybe not
I love the idea that small things add up. Jars of pennies that pay for anniversary trips, compound interest, cutting 100 calories a day. Little changes — taking the stairs, parking farther away, switching to low-fat — can make big differences we’re always told. I got this article from ACE the other day in my inbox. It had the usual, still good mind you, suggestions: more fruit, less soda, longer walks. But low and behold the New York Times just had to rain on my parade.
Here’s an excerpt on how the cookie crumbles:
As the JAMA article explains, a person who eats an extra cookie a day will gain some weight, but over time, an increasing proportion of the cookie’s calories also goes to taking care of the extra body weight. Eventually, the body adjusts and stops gaining weight, even if the person continues to eat the cookie.
Similar factors come into play when we skip the extra cookie. We may lose a little weight at first, but soon the body adjusts to the new weight and requires fewer calories.
Regrettably, however, the body is more resistant to weight loss than weight gain.
Ugh I’m so depressed, I think I need a cookie.
Get with the program
Spring is just around the corner and so are sleeveless shirts, bathing suits and shorts. Yikes. Still haven’t made any progress toward your New Year’s resolution? Check out this program from ACE. It’s been going since the first of the year, but there’s still time to start.
Tags: workout programs
Happy Hour
It looked cooler in the little picture at the store ($14.99 at TJ Maxx), but there is something appealing about having a martini to fortify my warrior poses. Hey if the kickballers can drink and play at least I can think about an icy treat. That’s actually the last thing I think of during or after yoga, but it’s fun to pretend anyway. And purple is all the rage now.
Tags: yoga
Hot Mama Take it easy
Turns out moms should listen to their own advice, at least the part about eating slower. Check it out.
Tags: food
Certified personal trainer Katherine Benenati offers guidance in working out, losing weight and eating healthy. She also discusses excerise wear and gear for moms.