The Best Tip for Athletes this Year. The Cheapest sport supplement in the world.

It is time to attack the cupboards,  go to the grocery store or walk to the nearest nutrition center.

Scientists at the National university in Taiwan ,have found that sodium bicarbonate or baking powder has the fantastic property of increasing the strength and the endurance of any athlete.

Simply dissolve a tablespoon of this powder in a glass of water before any exercise, and watch how it increases your performance without attacking your wallet.

At 10% cost compared to any  sport supplement, this information comes as a relief for all athletes.

With research being conducted every day that verifies this information, and publications that prove its veracity, perhaps it time to implement this tip every day before our routine.

The Pineapple Express diet and its benefits.

The Other day I was re-watching the movie “Tropic Thunder”, about a 3erd way into the film there is a verbal exchange between Ben Stillers Character and Robert Downey Jr… In it, action man Ben Stiller, talks about the secret to his lean Physic and Muscles tone… PINEAPPLES.

As such, knowing fullwell that it might have been an exaggeration, I began doing a bit of research (Google it) as to whether or not there was some validity to his claim, amazingly there was.

The pineapple is not a fruit, first real shocker I discovered… It is a Plant from the Bromeliad family that is native to South America only. It contains a large amount of Vitamin C and E, magnesium, potassium, copper, and different types of acids that give it a large nutritional value.

But what really sets this plant apart from all others is an enzyme called Bromelian.  A substance that has a few startling properties: it alleviates arthritis pains, infections, fight of viral attacks, helps in healing wounds, is a great anti-inflammatory and has great digestive properties.

But the real payload comes from the fact that it metabolizes fat in abundances.  It not only helps in keeping you fit, but its unique structure actually contributes to reducing fat and toning up your body… giving you the lean, ripped and hard look most of use search for our entire life.

Plus, as an added flavor to the mix, its anti- inflammatory powers help in reducing pains in muscles and joints after any work out.

A fresh pineapple has about 100% of these qualities, while a canned pineapple has 200%...

So much so that a diet Fad, that started in the United States, proves that a rich diet in pineapples can help a person loose at least 2 pounds (1kg) a week… and a diet based primarily on pineapples and nothing more can actually reduce a pound per day (that’s about 0,5kg), although the latter is in dispute and most medical personal balk at the fact that a MONODIET (a diet based on only one type of foot) can be hazardous in the long run.

As such, for any athlete or persona who wishes to loose a few pounds before summer, or simply wants to look great for winter… here is a nice tip that can help you accomplish your task.

Neat science experiment to determine your foot type.

The evening before last I posted an article on different shoe types and how to select them, well frankly in retrospect, I committed a blunder.

As I was re reading it, I stumbled onto the fact, that in all likelihood, I might have pulled the trigger on it to early... and should have released this little essay first. One of the main problems, I discuses within said article, is the fact that each foot has a type. Each time you plant your self on the ground, your weight and height is distributed differently, as such sport companies have come up with different apparels that helps us with this situation.

Pronation, Overpronation, Supination… truthfully if you haven’t the foggiest clue as to what they are, I might as well be speaking in tongues… When you hear them for the first time, it sounds almost, as if I’m shouting the name’s of different Transformer types.

In reality this are the 3 classifications in which science and medicine has determined are foot strike fits. Depending on which category you fit in, you might be prone to injury during your training sessions.

There are a great deal of methods to find out were you fit in all this Mombo Jumbo… An orthopedic doctor can easily determine your foot type and prescribe different soles to help you on you’re way. A sport doctor can also do the former and go one more step, and give you advice on which shoe to buy… or you might like the more futuristic choice and have a machine, especially design for this purpose, figure it out (Most can be found in special sport stores).

Now if you are like me and simple do not have the time, nor inclination to go through al does ordeals. There is: THE WET TEST.

It simple really, wet your feet in a tub, or a retainer of some sort (bucket, pan, pond, etc)… and take a simple step on a thick blank piece of paper. Wait a second, and quickly step off and look down.

Now take a gander at this little chart I have constructed (if you want to pick a shoe, find yourself on this other chart… simple right:

Conventional and unconventional methods to burn calories.

HOW MANY CALORIES DO WE ACTUALLY BURN WITH A GIVEN EXERCISE?

It is universally known that exercise, in many cases is the key element that helps us achieve that golden number on the balance ... but in reality killing ourselves on the stairmaster for 30 minutes and later on eating a pizza is sort fatal to our schemes.

To get a general idea, training at a constant pace, medium intensity and for about 30 minutes can help us lose between 100 to 300 calories. We must also take into account that our weight matters ... as you can imagine the higher our overall weight, the greater amount of calories we will ultimately burn…

So below I have drawn up a table with conventional examples of exercises and how many calories we manage to destroy in an hour.

Activity	45 kg (100lbs)	150kg (69lbs)	90kg (200lbs)
Bicycle 6miles (9,6 km)	160	240	312
Bicycle 12miles (19,2 km)	270	410	534
Jogging 6 miles (9.6 km)	610	920	1230
Jumping rope	500	750	1000
Running 5.5 miles (9 km)	440	660	962
Running 10 miles (16 km)	850	1280	1664
Swimming 22mts x minute	185	275	358
Swimming 44mts x minute	325	500	650
Tennis	265	400	535
Walking 2 miles (3,2km)	160	240	312
Walking 3 miles (4,8 km)	210	320	416
Walking 4.5 miles (7,2 km)	295	440	575

And I am glad to present some UNCONVENTIONAL examples to burn between 300 to 400 calories. Some are fun and good for the heart!

- Apply Lipbalm to your lips about 740 times.

- Try out 16 bikinis in less than an hour.

- Act like Keith Richards, and jam out with an air guitar for over 15 minutes.

- Chew gum for 16 hours.

- Go to the market, carry purchases (more than 5 bags) to your house (at least walk 2 blocks), store food and disposing of the bags.

- Push a supermarket cart for 45 minutes.

- Lift a baby of 5kilos for 25 minutes.

- Walk with "stiletto heels" for ½ hour.

- Fly a kite for 15 minutes.

- Carry a cooler with water 4lts of water for 20 minutes.

- Lose the remote control for 40 minutes and discover that there is nothing on TV ... have to constantly get off the coach to change channel.

- Watch the Simpsons on repeat 16 times (laughter burns a huge amount of calories.)

- Sing like Lady Gaga for an 1hr ... perform your favorite rendition POKER FACE.

- Write a good article on your computer for about 35 minutes.

- Roll a pencil incessantly on the surface of your desk for 45 minutes while you’re at work.

AND FINALLY THOSE THAT ARE QUITE FUN. (If there are children in the room ... please vacate them from the perimeter).

- "RIDE HIM" like a lawless cowgirl for 25 minutes ... not just burn 300calorias, also work helps work the leg and thigh muscles

- Have a 45minute session of foreplay and roll in the hay (in different positions) for 25 minutes ... 500 calories burned and according to your level of expertise, you might also workup different muscles.

- Burn 520 calories practicing the missionary position for 1hr and 7 minutes and 690 calories doing "Reverse monkey staring out window."

Hopefully these tips can help, not only in providing information on how to burn an extra amount of calories … but also to enjoy your self in the process.

"If you do things with a smile and a positive outlook, they will not only be done better, but we might have a bit of fun in the meantime."

15 foods that help you lose weight

I have taken up several days discussing meals for runners and athletes ... individuals who normally burn an extraordinary amount of calories a day ... not just because of their sport, but also in many cases, their metabolism has been accelerated do to their training.

But the question you are probably asking yourself is:

I’m not a sport aficionado, I rarely exercise ... How can I lose weight?

Everybody is different and every body is unique, but an essential tool in the fight against fat is: NOT TO STARVE TO DEATH ... not just because we start to crave, calorie packed snacks and slowly let down our guard... but in a more counterproductive way its, its almost a Mortal sin for any diet... WHY?

As we deprive our body and fight our needs (and we hunger) something peculiar happens ... your organism adapts to its new settings. How does it do this? First it created fat reserves to consume at a time when it feels it’s lacking energy (this is one of reasons why many people despite being thin, can not eliminate areas of fat from their frame) and secondly and more importantly, it weakens our metabolism; it is made slower, therefore more effort is needed to destroy and properly process the calories ... And the day we leave, whether for a second, our super strict regimen, lets say for a small cookie BOOM ... a simple snack has suddenly transformed into a nuclear disaster for our waist line.

Therefore it is wise to change our eating habits in a way that suits our unique needs, not just choose “the fad diet” of the week ... we are not Madonna, nor PENELOPE CRUZ, nor any of those celebrities. In theory, we have neither the time, nor the staff, nor the initiative (5 million dollars paid to use, for our slim derrière) to live and die on the treadmill.

As such it seemed smart to develop a list of materials (food) that can give us a hand in our fight against fat.

1. Almonds: A number of studies have proven that, do to being rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), they accelerate metabolism and program it to attack fatty deposits in our body ...

2. Citrus fruit: These help to burn 30% fat in your body, particularly because they contain carnitine and vitamin C, both tools that help us process the fat faster and turn it into energy ... (so buy some berries, oranges, grapefruit, lemon, etc next time you’re in the market).

3. Fish: you’re most likely bit bored by now on this subject, but the truth is that they are fundamental, they have a lot of Omega 3. They also help build muscle and reduce the waist. They are the best allies in a diet. Examples: tuna, salmon, chicken, sea, etc

4. Tomatoes: contain not only lots of vitamin C, but also have a substance called oligofructos, a fiber that maintains the levels of Cholecystokinin in your stomach, which not only helps you feel full, but also to fights fat.

5. Cinnamon: One teaspoon of cinnamon a day helps metabolize sugar up to 20 times faster ...

6. Lentils: They have high levels of protein and fiber, two substances that help regulate not only the level of sugar in our body, but also give us a hand in creating muscles in our abdomen ... the Roman Gladiators had a steady diet of lentils, as they not only gave them strength, but also created muscles around your vital organs (a fact that protected them from fatal wounds.)

7. Nonfat yogurt: Studies have found that yogurt eaters burn more calories (22% +), (61% +) fat deposits in their stomach and (81% +) of those found around the body ... because it is a substance rich in calcium

8. Mustard: the spice that gives mustard its yellow color, turmeric reduces the creation of fatty tissue in our body.

9. Hot Sauces: Help in speeding up our metabolism.

10. Turkey: as a deli items, or as a complete bird, it has been found that, do to its acid-containing leucine , helps maintain muscles throughout a diet ... and as if that weren’t enough it has a low amount of calories ... in 2004 the franchise Subway became popular thanks to Jared, a man who had reduced is weight in one year t (more than 30 kg) thanks to eating turkey sandwiches.

11. Eggs: They contain only 85 calories and in turn are rich in protein ... and if you fear for their cholesterol levels (despite studies showing that the yolk does not affect them in any way), use only the egg whites.

12. Soy: it blocks absorption of fat deposits.

13. Apples: Will help satisfy you, and also they are one of the few foods that contain pectin (the substance that helps metabolize food).

14. Garlic: contains allicin, which fights bacteria and fat.

15. Spinach: Promotes, thanks to being rich in iron to the building of muscle and accelerating our metabolism.

These are 15 of the many foods that can become key allies in the fight against obesity and especially to lose a few more pounds ...

Of course, preparation of dishes is essential, if you fry, You can BET THAT THEY WILL NOT HELP YOU IN ANYWAY... Also keep a close eye on the portions we serve ... but once again, joining these meals with those LIGHT products found on market shelves, one can develop a quick, delicious and above all healthy menu for any cousine..

Water: an Athletes guide. When to drink and when to stay away

“We are mostly water… as such we should act accordingly”

Today is the international day of Water… as such I thought it fitting that, to honor this precious liquid, I would write an article about the athlete’s ultimate helper.

As everybody knows water is a compound composed of two molecules Hydrogen and oxygen (H2O)… what few people do not know is that a person may starve for up to 2 weeks and not perish, but will only last a little under 20hrs without any sort of liquids in his system…

For a Runner or any sort of athlete water is essential, you live and you die by the bottle.

But what most athletes do not know is that hydrating yourself is a tricky business… it’s no longer a case of whether or not you are drinking enough water, but whether or not you have had enough.

You see, in the body’s battle to hydrate itself, there are two extreme situations that may accord

In one corner we may dehydrate and in the other, the less known, but equally dangerous we may suffer from hyponatremia (over hydration and a diluting of blood-sodium levels), such is the case in many Marathons (were water is in abundance). In 2002 a young woman was struck down and died of this condition… suddenly runners did not know what to do or how to act.

Truthfully there isn’t a guideline on this subject… some say drink when thirsty, while others argue that it is normal for an athlete to finish any competition with at least 2% dehydration (signaling that Marathon winners usually never reach for any sort of liquid during a race).

"There is no evidence that you have to replace 100 percent of lost fluid during a race."

Lewis Maharam, M.D., medical director of the ING New York City Marathon and chairman of the board of governors for the IMMDA.

And this is normally true for person who is highly trained and weights only between 45-60kg after all 2% dehydration is at the most about 2000cc, but for a normal person lest say someone with an estimated weight of 75kg, this translates to 3100cc… and that is not taking into account weather conditions, humidity and level of endurance. As such this is a tricky subject.

Then there is the other advice:

“Drink an hydrate yourself before a run”

Once again there is debate in the medical community as to the veracity of this. After all there is no clear evidence that this is will help.

"Your body's thirst mechanism is giving you real-time feedback on your internal fluid balance."

But here is the problem… your body is also tricky in its ways, sometimes it translates other elements and emotions as thirst (Heat stroke, nerves, hunger, pain)… a list of conditions that is ever present in any sporting event.

As such the best advice you can come across is the following: “think before you drink” and do not over compensate… little by little you will get the hang of it, you will train your body to know when it thirsty and when it has had enough.

But for all those who are not so fluent in this language and wish to have some sort of tip or idea as to when to have a sip of water… well there are some basic guidelines to measure how much liquid you loss during a run.

First of all your gender matters… the ladies sweat much less than the guys, so take that into account.

Second and most important measure your sweat levels, that way you will know how much liquid you will need to consume after a race... this will also help you in finding the right degree of water that you will spend during a race, and as such may compensate.

1. Take of all your clothes and see how much you weigh.

2. Run at a normal pace for a sustained period of time.

3. Arrive home, imminently after your run, strip down and towel your self off.

4. Weigh yourself once again…

5. Subtract how much weight you have loss during your run and covert it into ounces or liters… (1kg= 35ounce or 1lt).

6. Do this with different paces, times and temperatures… that way you will have a clear understanding how much water you loss in winter, spring, summer and fall.

As a conclusion it important to hydrate yourself, but also to be wary of over compensating because, down that route there is also disaster. Be cautious of different advices and know that on this subject every person is different (don’t simply pick up a magazine and do as it says… do a little homework, and find out for yourself How much is enough)… perhaps for your neighbor drinking a liter of water during a race will help him… but you are not your neighbor, you do not have the same physical dimensions, nor the same genetic makeup… each runner or athlete is a unique individual as such the main rule is to know your body and its needs.

“Control the situation, do not let it control you”

13 essential foods for a good Runner

The boy’s scouts have a saying:

“He who does not prepare, ultimately prepares for failure”

It is a wise proverb and completely true in the case of a runner. Like every sport, running, is both a physical challenge as well as a psychological trial. A true competitor lives and breath for his passion, as such he prepares, heavily at times, for his training… he not only stakes his trails, chooses his gear and little by little begins to get an almost scientific knowledge of climate changes, but like a true chemist he starts to see the food aisle in his supermarket, as his own private laboratory.

With that in mind here is a nice list of fundamental Foods for al tipes of runners.

- Almonds or nuts: They are excellent anti-oxidants… an ideal source of Vitamin E and help fight against cancer, high cholesterol and Heart Disease. A good runner should incorporate them into his or hers diet at least 5 times per week. Sneak them into your pasta, casseroles, salads, cereal. In a dry place they will keep for up to 2 months.

- Eggs: One egg fulfills about 10% of your daily protein needs, and 30% of the recommended dose of vitamin K (Vital for healthy bones). They contain omega 3, amino acids (crucial for muscle recovery). Finally the also house Choline (a brain nutrient, great for memory). New studies have shown that they actually lower the risk for heart disease.

- Sweet Potatoes: They have a surprising amount of vitamin C and A, once again a great source of anti-oxidants. More importantly for muscle recovery and function they have a great deal of cooper, iron and manganese.

- Cereals: They are great for energy and just one cup of cereal can add between 5 to 10 grams of fiber and protein to your diet.

- Oranges: This wonderfull fruits not only supply you with the required 100% daily dose of vitamin C, but the also help with muscle sourness… specially for downhill workouts. Their skin has heperidins that helps lower blood pressure.

- Black beans: Once again the help you with your daily intake of vitamin B, protein and fiber, but above all they pack carbohydrates, substance that are store into your muscle and later (during your run) are release little by little, into your blood stream giving you an extra boom in your energy levels.

- Mixed green salads: rather them simply adding one type of lettuce to your shopping cart, mix it up a little and toss in various greens in there. They are great for warding off muscle damage, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer.

- Salmon: Not only do they have high quality protein, but hey are also a great source for Omega 3.

- Whole-Grain Bread: a good runner needs about 6 servings of this fiber packing miracle a day not only does it help fight belly fat and cholesterol, but it also give you an added edge performance wise.

- Whole-grain Pasta: They pack a great deal of glycogen (energy), are great digestitible carbs, are a perfect source for vitamin B and have a disease fighting compound called lignans. They also help with muscle recovery and repair… al in all they are the runners best friend.

- Chicken: A runner needs more protein than a nonrunner, a small serving of chicken can help with this predicament. This poultry also has Selenium,that helps protect muscles and niacin (a vitamin B) that regulates fats.

- Berries: which ultimately assist with Alzheimer disease, cancer and muscle recovery.

- Dark Chocolate: A runner indulgance, the darker (with more cacoa than milk and cream) the better, they are a great source of energy and antioxidants.

- Yogurt: they have anti-inflamatory functions as well as provide a great deal of calcium and protein.

According to runners world and various sport nutrition experts, this are the 13 foods that a runner must not pass up when ever they are in a super market. So before you go out and spend a surprising amount of money of “junk”, take a look at this list and shop smart… shop for success.