Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I have found this website to be very helpful in finding exercises that I can do with free weights and my weight bench at home.

• Animated Exercise Examples – TheTrainingStationInc.com©- Exercises

I love how the exercises are organized by muscle groups and that they are animated to show good form. They are very simplistic, but they have enough information that I can understand how to perform the exercise.

I also like that they show several different ways to do the same exercise. For example, they have an animation for Leg Extension with a universal machine, a typical machine and with free weights on a bench.

They are all essentially the same workout, but they took the time to animate all three variations so you can understand how to do it on the equipment you have access to.

Give Training Station Inc. a look and create a workout for yourself.

The Veteran’s Administration is tackling obesity by offering a program called M.O.V.E! Here is a link to the handouts that they will provide the veterans on the program.

• Managing Overweight\Obesity for Veterans Everywhere!

It’s a down-to-earth program of move more, eat less that explains the calories in versus calories out dilemna. Since these handouts are available to everyone online, you can benefit from this program, even if you’re not a veteran.

Via: Happy News – New VA program targets obesity, diabetes – by Associated Press

The Olympics provided us with a lot of inspiration for physical activity, here is an inspirational story about a competitor who turned to skiing instead of other ways of dealing with hard times.

• Happy News – Skiing was getaway through tough childhood – by Bob Baum with Associated Press

United States Olympic skiier, Julia Mancuso, had a childhood that was difficult. Her father was accused of crimes and even spent time in jail. Skiing was Julia’s way of coping with it.

From 1989 until his guilty plea six years later, the family lived under a legal cloud. For Julia, who was on skis by age 2, the sport was her passion and perhaps an escape. She was racing by age 8.

”Looking back now, it’s just times when maybe skiing was the only thing for me to do,” she said. ”I just spent most of my time on the hill with my two sisters, chasing them around.”

Next time you’re tempted to turn to food when you’re having an emotional time, think about Julia Mancuso. Instead of turning to food, she relied on skiing to keep her healthy and help her beyond the stressful times in her life. Find something athletic that you can do to keep you healthy in times of stress.

Wil Wheaton, actor and writer, participated in this year’s Race For The Cure to benefit breast cancer research. He describes his race in this entry:

• WWdN: In Exile: race for the cure

It’s surprising to me to see a writer who I have been reading for years talk about running, muscle soreness and not being able to run the entire race, but still completing it. Our different professions mean nothing when we are out on the road running. We are no longer actors, writers or insurance adjusters. Suddenly, we are all athletes.

When I realized that we were going to have a home gym with free weights, I kind of panicked. If there was one thing that I learned in my weight training class, it was never lift weights without a spotter. That fear eventually was updated to never lift weights over your head without a spotter when I realized that some exercises are completely safe to do alone. Which are which, though?

I got The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Body Sculpting for just that reason. Each exercise has detailed lists for Preparation, Movement and Precautions. Here are the precautions from the Bench Press:

“Do not do this exercise without a spotter. It may seem funny on TV when someone gets stuck under a bar, but you definitely won’t be laughing if it happens to you.”

“Do not let the bar ‘bounce’ off your chest. Some competetive lifters do this to get the bar moving upward, but it is really dangerous. Your chest is not a trampoline.”

“Keep your back flat on the bench. Arching your back while pushing the bar up can strain your lower back muscles and cause injury.”

Fortunately, there are MANY exercises that don’t need a spotter, so if you are a lone weight trainer, you can tailor a workout for you that will make you strong and keep you safe.

It looks like adults are joining organized sports leagues and specialty classes in droves right now.

• Happy News – You’re never too old for dodgeball – by Robin Hindery with Associated Press

The idea of joining a gym in order to play dodgeball or kickball is outlandish to me. Those two games were the bane of my grade school existence. On the other hand, I had a truly enjoyable time with my softball experience last year.

I like the idea that adults are getting themselves off the sidelines. Instead of putting all their hopes on their children, they are playing for themselves. This is REALLY healthy, both physically and emotionally.

Over a month ago, I started going to the gym three times a week to do the Xpress Zone workout. Here’s what I have noticed:

• Weight training initially slows weight loss: Even though I have been eating very healthy the last month, I have only lost two pounds (as opposed to my usual pound a week when I’m eating healthy).

• I am toning up: Even though I’ve only lost two pounds, I am toning up. My clothing is fitting better, so I KNOW that I am losing fat. It’s just not showing up on the scale yet. This is hard for me to face when I have to weigh once a week, but it’s great when I pull on my jeans.

• Gyms are full of gross, sweaty people: 24 Hour Fitness has a rule that you’re supposed to carry around a towel and clean up after your own sweat, but it is NOT enforced at my gym. I end up using my towel to clean up the sweat of dripping wet, gross people.

• Gym ettiquette is non-existent: People crash down weights, grunt and scream and sit like zombies on the circuit (Xpress Zone) machines. I’ve even had the 24 Hour Fitness personal trainers sit their clients at the circuit machines and have them do their exercises, talking to them while they rest between sets.

What’s the verdict?

I love weight training, but I HATE the gym.

Tune in tomorrow to see what I decided to do to keep up with my weight training without having to wipe up the sweat of other people.

You need to go to the closest store right now and pick up the March issue of Self Magazine. Right at the top of the magazine, they have the story, “Wow! Shrink a Size Naturally” advertised. It’s on page 156 and I nearly missed it. Hidden after the makeup and the clothing, I almost ignored this article. My attention span for women’s magazines is less than a full magazine, so I am so glad I didn’t pass this one by.

Self Magazine convinced six women to give up their favorite over-the-counter diet pills and try exercise and healthy eating. The called their article, “Squeezing Out Diet Pills” and the results these women saw were phenomenal.

They threw away their Zantrex-3, Total Lean-Control, Trimspa, Suvaril, Metabolife, Metabolife Ultra Caffeine Free, and Cortislim in favor of eating and exercising according to the Self Challenge. One of the six women gained 1 pound of muscle, but the rest lost between 8 and 20 pounds where their diet pills had done nothing before.

Next time you think about throwing your money away on these diet pills, remember that simple eating and exercise can give you far better results.

When forty-six year old Yang Guangwen decided to ride his bicycle around the world all by himself, he was hoping to do it to promote the Olympics in 2008.

“I’ll travel and speak to people around globe, telling them how Chinese are in favor of the notion of Olympism – friendship, solidarity, and peace. I’ll record 2,008 wishes for the Beijing Games from 2,008 people during my trip and send them to the Games’ headquarter in Lausanne (Switzerland).”

He said nothing of the training that he has been doing so he can accomplish this feat, but China Daily was able to find out how hard he’s working out.

• China Daily – Chinese cyclist ready for solo global travel, for 2008 Games

Financially, he had sold off some of his business to amass the funds, while physically, he is keeping fit by cycling 30 kilometers and swimming 2,000 meters each day.

He has plans to visit the cities who have hosted the Olympics in honor of Being’s 2008 Olympic hosting. I have fantasies about traveling around Europe on a bike, but this takes bicycle touring to a new level. When I am riding on my bicycle, the whole world is smaller and I see things that I wouldn’t have seen rushing by in a car. That’s why travel like that is appealing to me.

That said, I have ridden in a car along I-80 and the strip from Wendover to Reno is an empty expanse of life-endangering heat in the summer and cold in the winter. I’m sure the rest of the world has its own expanses of desolation. It doesn’t say in the article whether he will come through Salt Lake City, but if he does, I’ll be there, cheering him on!

Good Luck, Yang!

Via: World Hum | Travel | Chinese Cyclist Aims to Ride Solo Ride Around the World

There is a foot of snow on the ground, but last week, baseball players reported for Spring Training.

• Happy News – Pitchers and catchers report to camp – by Ronald Blum with Associated Press

The World Series ended only 112 days ago and now the pitchers and catchers are back in training in Florida and Arizona. Baseball is a year-round sport for professional athletes.

What if we considered ourselves athletes? They are always in training or competition. They don’t take days off when it rains, they find some other way to keep in shape. Their career depends on keeping fit, so they take it seriously. What if we were to take our own physical fitness as seriously?

Next time you’re thinking of skipping a workout because it’s snowing or because you’re running a little late, remember those baseball players working all year long just to give you a good show when you pay for a ticket at the stadium. If they can throw a baseball all year long, then you can figure out a way to fit a workout into your day.

As of today, consider yourself a professional athlete and act like one.