Healthy Path

The best inspiration comes from people that cultivates excellence

2011-09-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Michael Phelps swimming at 1min/100yd pace

Moments of sacrifice

2011-08-03T09:06:00.001-07:00

Why sacrifice has to be the biggest part of the accomplishment?

The more I age I realize that accepting and taking control goes like an endless wave that I have being learning how to ride harmoniously.

Some times we get caught up on the easiest tasks
moment of sacrifice

Then when it seems to be the most challenging...
PRESENCE, ENJOYMENT, POSTURE, FLEXIBILITY, BALANCE AND AGILITY.........
SURFS

OPEN TO DISCOVER

Posted by Ricardo Rodrigues

To master endurance and longevity, you have to...

2011-07-23T15:37:00.001-07:00

Identify the muscle(s) which are working more(muscle burn)then the rest of the whole body. Engage the whole body to assist the overworking muscle(s) while it rests.
This harmony on your mechanics will allow you to sustain your efforts for longer time without hurting individual muscle.

Independently of the sport or movements that you do, effortlessness is the way!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Trail running in Hawaii

2011-06-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Bottle Neck

2011-04-20T09:37:00.001-07:00

Have you ever face a bottle neck in your work, life, and body?
Of course you need to identify it and then know what to do.
The bottle neck is the most important part to improve a balanced and prosperous, work, life and body.
Tackle it face on!

Ricardo Rodrigues

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Quote

2011-03-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it."

~ Lou Holtz

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Roselle St,San Diego,United States

The spirit of competition.

2011-03-24T16:45:00.001-07:00

It is great when you feel healthy, loose, fast, attentive, calm, balance and ready for whatever it comes.
Preparation is in the past now, and all you have to do is unleash.
Rivals? Why? They are playing the same game you are. Use them as your pacing buddies.
Time? Time will just hold you back with frustration.
What is more important then:
The excitement of the start:
The body floating and and skimming the water side to side in synchronicity;
The feel of your body in aerodynamic position circling pass the air;
The feeling of freedom on every step lightly moving you forward;
The sense of accomplishment when you cross the finish line.

PLAY

Location:San Diego

Keeping it real

2011-03-22T14:53:00.001-07:00

The body is this genius machine that give us feedback at all times.
Is so common and also insane, that we get into a deep stage of denial and don't get the message.
Understand your own body
Or just give me a call and I'll enrich you 858- 229-7198

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:10671 Roselle St,San Diego,United States

Ricardo Lentils and Kale recipe

2011-03-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

The formula to a modern human fitness

2011-03-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

Your body can be as vulnerable as it can be prepared for any movement at any moment.
pay attention to your:

POSTURE
FLEXIBILITY
BALANCE
AGILITY
Everyday

Location:Caminito Gianna,,United States

Running is a learning skill

2011-03-16T14:09:00.001-07:00

Location:Caminito Gianna,,United States

RUNNING AND IT'S 4 ELEMENTS

2011-03-15T20:37:00.001-07:00

What?

Ricardo Rodrigues will present a seminar on how to utilize simple earthy elements to better your running and prevent injuries.

When? Tuesday March 29th 2011 6pm

Where? Beginner's Mind Studio 10671 Roselle st suite 102, San Diego, CA 92121

Why? Because running is a great type of exercise, when we were born to it. (that's right, we are all born to run.

Running Seminar

2011-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Would you like to learn from a runner/coach/triathlete ( I also call my self Tarzan)

WHAT?
The principals and the understanding of the basic elements of running.

WHEN?
Tuesday March 28 at 6pm

WHY?

Running is the easiest fitness toll to anybody that want to have a healthy lifestyle.
Or
You can run faster injury free.

Location:10671 Roselle St suite 102,San Diego,United States

Snack Tip

2010-10-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

SHUT UP AND EAT YOUR SARDINES

Are you looking for a tasty snack, rich in omega 3, protein, iron, calcium.
This sardines on olive oil from Trader Joe's will do the work.
Throw away the excess olive oil and eat by it self, or mix with cuscus, salad, steamed rice with steamed green beans or use your imagination.

What is more intelligent, the "Brain" or the "Mind" and why?

2010-08-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is a question that has recently being popping up,and this understanding helps our growth as humans.
Please give me your version, and I'll follow up with my answer.

Assessing Your Ironman Using the 4 Keys

2010-08-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Ironman can bring a human being to realize misteries of life.
This is a great article!
Enjoy the reading.
Ricardo

TeamEN at the Ironman USA finish line.
By Rich Strauss
Endurance Nation

We recently shared with you our Four Keys of Ironman Execution, four simple principles that have transformed the long course racing of thousands of athletes. We would like to now teach you how you can use these principles to assess your Ironman performance.

A Four Keys Review

First, let's review the Four Keys of Execution.

Race day is about execution, not fitness.
Nothing matters until the line, which is mile 18.
We get to the line and we set the conditions of success by racing inside a box. Everything that goes inside that box is what you can control. Everything outside of that box is what you can't control.
Your one thing. At the end of the day, when you hit the line, your body will begin to push back when it doesn't want to continue. This is when you pull out your one thing--the answer to the "why are you racing?" question. This is your mind's response to your body's demands to slow down or stop.
So, what does the above mean from a post-race perspective? When you are evaluating your race, the number one piece of data that you have on hand is your finishing time. It's very easy to know whether or not you achieved your goal time, but that information doesn't give any details about how your race day played out. After all, it only takes one mechanical to throw off your finish time, but you could have still had an excellent race. The true measure of your race is not the final time at the finish line, but how you got there.

Evaluating Your Race

Here's how you can use the Four Keys system to effectively review your race:

Step One: Did you race according to principles of execution or did your fitness dictate your day? This is a decision we all have to make at many points during the day when we have to decide if we want to accelerate away from someone on the swim, if we're going to be aggressive into a hill, or if we're going to run quickly for the first six miles.

Step Two: Where did you hit your line on race day? It's going to show up for all of us at some point in time. Perhaps it was at mile 18 or maybe it came earlier. Knowing where it happened gives you further insight as to how you paced your day: did it happen on he run, did it happen on a bike, was it late or early in the day? Where did you find yourself having the great mental versus physical debate that determines your finish?

Step Three: Did you race inside the box, focusing on what you could control? Or did your find yourself outside of the box focusing on external factors? There are countless times over the course of your Ironman day where you bump up against elements of friction in the competition that may or may not allow you to operate in a clean, efficient manner. Did you handle those moments well? Were you able to do what you needed to do to get passed it? What was it that forced you outside of your zone and how can you improve upon this next time?

Step Four: Your one thing. The line happens for all of us in an Ironman. When you hit it, you're going to need that one thing to be ready. How did your one thing work out? Was it powerful enough? Where you mentally strong enough? How effectively were you able to execute given your condition? All of those questions get at the meat of the issue: were you able to continue your race, and continue executing, when the chips were down?

Conclusion

The Four Keys is a great starting point for deeper introspection into your race, but it also allows for a very quick assessment of did I or did I not have a good day. Your ability to hit a specific time or a goal time in a day that is as long as an Ironman is pretty arbitrary. There are so many things that can go wrong, but you can quickly scan through your four keys list and decide whether or not you had a well-executed race despite the conditions.

Listen to Your Body to Avoid Injury: Part I

2010-06-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Listen to Your Body to Avoid Injury: Part I

By Wendy Benwell, PT, DPT, MS
Ability Rehabilitation Specialists

During the last few miles of the marathon at the 2010 Ironman New Zealand, I was experiencing several thoughts and emotions.

I was most enthusiastic about my body feeling strong, without muscle or joint pain. Seven months of training had finally paid off. My main goal for every Ironman triathlon has been to finish before the cut-off time feeling somewhat strong.

I am fortunate, being a doctor of physical therapy and certified as a USA Triathlon coach, that I am able to design a training program for myself which will help to prevent injuries, but also help me to finish a race feeling strong. I feel that my background has helped me avoid getting injured. We all need to learn how to listen to our bodies and understand what our body is telling us.

As a former collegiate volleyball player I had to deal with several injuries secondary to the increased demands of the sport, especially practice time. The most severe injury was a fractured lumbar spine. I endured years of physical therapy to overcome the pain and resumed playing volleyball at a high level.

It was very difficult to listen to my own body at that time. I was unaware of the consequences of playing through the pain and I felt I would be letting my team down if I could not play due to injury. I felt I owed it to my team, my school and my coach to play regardless of the pain level or the consequences to my body.

Throughout my educational training as a physical therapist I came to understand the importance of listening to one’s own symptoms during a sport. The effects of playing through pain can be detrimental. I know of many athletes who train endlessly for a marathon or a triathlon only to be sidelined by an injury.

If athletes listen to their own symptoms during their training, they will have a greater chance of recovering and rehabilitating before the race date.

Symptoms During Your Workout

Listening to your body is imperative when training for a running race or a triathlon. Symptoms that you might feel during training could either indicate joint stiffness, muscular tightness, muscle soreness or pain from a previous injury. Stiffness, soreness and tightness are normal symptoms encountered during training, especially in a warm-up.

These symptoms should subside after approximately 10 minutes of an easy warm-up. However, sharp pain or severe tightness that persists during the workout could indicate a serious injury.

If you experience severe tightness or pain which persists during the workout, decrease the intensity, decrease the distance and stretch mid-run. If your symptoms subside, return to your normal workout the next day and listen to your body during the warm-up and workout.

However, if the symptoms continue, rest from running for approximately 48 hours. Ice the area of concern for 15 minutes every two hours and assess the symptoms. If you feel symptoms at rest, the injured area is still inflamed and the athlete should continue to rest or perform pain-free cross training. If the symptoms persist at rest and last longer than two to four days, the athlete should seek professional advice from a qualified physician or physical therapist.

Listen or Else!

If the athlete continues with a high-intensity workout while experiencing severe symptoms, the injury can progress and become increasingly worse. For example, I had a patient who was a runner and was consistently increasing her mileage in preparation for a marathon. She experienced calf tightness during training which became worse as she continued to increase her mileage.

Instead of listening to her symptoms and decreasing her mileage, decreasing the intensity of her workout or resting, she continued to run. She continued to experience severe calf tightness, which slowly turned into pain and tightness at rest.

What could have been a mild to moderate calf strain turned into a massive Achilles tendon rupture during one of her training days. The rehabilitation lasted approximately six to eight months and included complete rest from running.

The Road to Recovery

When recovering from a mild to moderate injury, the athlete should be very cautious during their training. The focus should be pain-free training with a slow increase in mileage and intensity. If the athlete is a runner, pain-free cross training such as swimming or cycling will help to maintain endurance and strength without compromising the running injury.

If the athlete is a triathlete, continue to focus on pain-free training. If cycling was the cause of the injury, decrease the number of cycling days and add more running and/or swimming. This will help to maintain a high level of fitness without compromising their endurance.

During training days, focus on slower, longer distances rather than high-intensity training days such as intervals or hill repeats. If the athlete is pain-free with slower, longer distances, add in tempo work gradually. Tempo work will help to increase speed without a high demand on the healing tissues.

Once tempo work is pain-free, slowly add in interval work and easy hill repeats. Gradually return to your training program while listening to your body. Listening to your body during this time of rehabilitation is crucial for proper healing.

Learn more on this topic by reading Part II.

Wendy Benwell has her doctorate in physical therapy and a Master of Science degree in kinesiology. She is a level I USA Triathlon coach as well as a level III USA Cycling coach. She has been competing in marathons and triathlons for the past 10 years, ranging from Olympic-distance to Ironman triathlons. She continues to maintain a full-time career as an orthopedic physical therapist while training for Ironman competitions each year.

Random thought

2010-06-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Speed can only be attained and sustained without struggle.
Ricardo Rodrigues

What is Beginner's Mind?

2010-06-03T01:57:00.000-07:00

What is Beginner's Mind?

It Is our true nature, our young and hungry mind open to receive and analyze new information and experience the miracle of life.
A beginner mind, has little interference from unorganized thought patterns, so allowing the body to be more present, efficient and self-aware of it's balance in correlation with the environment at every moment.
Ricardo Rodrigues

Born to Run author Christopher McDougall

2010-05-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

Encinitas Triathlon

2010-05-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sponsor Osiris for the support.
1st 40 - 44 Encinitas Sprint Triathlon
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31139322&id=1487714442

Got inspiration?

2009-09-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

"Consistency is a mysterious pattern of behavior. It distinguishes excellence from mediocrity. Some label this principle as "paying your dues" and that's an accurate assessment. No one, no matter how gifted or talented, will achieve their potential without it.
Consistency means time is spent with a focus in mind. An achiever has something to show for his time while his counterpart doesn't. E. Stanley Jones said of this focus factor, that "some people go through life getting results; others get consequences." in other words, if you aren't focused, your energy is dissipated and your consequences occur by default.
Power is not too strong a word to describe the desired results of using consistency. Think of this form of power as being dynamic, unfolding, unseen, but real. Tap the principle, use it, and enjoy the benefits."
Copyright 2004 by Dr. William G. Covington, Jr.

Feel Stronger with This Mineral

2009-01-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

Been feeling like a wet dishrag lately? Could be you’re low on magnesium. Magnesium is a multitasking mineral, and one of its jobs is to power up our muscles. Unfortunately, many of us don’t get enough of it -- especially as we get older. Is Frailty Inevitable?To counter age-related muscle loss and bouts of feeling wimpy, you need to do two things:
Build up your muscles. Just starting out? Try this simple chair workout video. Got a bit more stamina? Try this more advanced resistance-band workout video.
Be sure you’re eating a balanced diet and getting your fair share of magnesium. Use this tool to look up magnesium-rich food sources. Start feeling strong this week! Make these bursting-with-magnesium recipes from EatingWell:
For breakfast: Tomato & Ham Breakfast Melt
For lunch: BBQ Baked Beans & Sausage
For dinner: One-Dish Chicken & Rice
For dessert: Chocolate & Nut Butter Bites Get fit in a flash! Check out the expert-guided RealAge fitness programs in the New Year, New You Center.
RealAge Benefit: Adequate magnesium intake (400 to 500 milligrams per day) can make your RealAge as much as 0.9 years younger.

More Amazing Olive Oil News

2008-11-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

Olive oil -- the unsaturated fat that’s great for your heart -- is making headlines again. But this time it’s for helping something a little lower down: your stomach. Research suggests that polyphenols in olive oil may inhibit the bacterium that causes most stomach ulcers. Heard of H. Pylori?Antibiotics are the treatment gold standard for Helicobacter (H.) pylori, the ulcer-causing bacterium that’s tough enough to survive the acidity of people’s stomachs. But resistant strains of H. pylori are now found worldwide. Fortunately, some researchers are seeking alternative therapies, and in recent studies, the polyphenols in olive oil showed tremendous potential. Not only could they withstand the harsh gastric juices of the stomach, but they also seemed to kill off H. pylori pretty handily -- even antibiotic-resistant strains. Find out how to tell the difference between the burn of a stomach ulcer and the heat of heartburn. Olive Oil Power BoostersTo protect the polyphenols in your olive oil and get the most out of the stuff, store it in a dark bottle away from sunlight, and don’t overheat it. (Check out how the YOU Docs suggest heating your olive oil.) Recipe CornerSqueeze more olive oil into your day with these simple-to-do EatingWell recipes:
Give sauteed veggies a lift with Herbed Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.
Kick up the flavor of salads with a quick homemade dressing. Try this easy Basic Vinaigrette.
Set out these 10-minute Garlic-Herb Marinated Olives at your next soiree.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet -- and eating healthful unsaturated fats when you do eat fat -- can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

Changing Speeds to Go the Distance

2008-06-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Published: April 17, 2008

SARA HALL experienced an instructive epiphany in 2006. In the fall, she’d won the national road-running championship for 5K (3.1 miles), a distance she specialized in at Stanford. At the time, she considered herself a 5K runner. So did everyone else.

Skip to next paragraph

Axel Koester for The New York Times

Sara Hall, an aspiring Olympian runner, trains at UC Riverside by running speed drills around the lap.

Multimedia

Graphic

This article is the second in a series that began with “A Swimmer’s Different Strokes for Success” (March 20).

Axel Koester for The New York Times

Hall takes an ice bath after her daily exercise regimen to help with muscle recovery between training sessions.

A few weeks later, everything changed when she won the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York, a glamour event in American road racing. “Afterward, I thought, ‘That’s my distance,’ ” she said. “It plays to my strengths. I loved the fast pace. I’m not a patient runner.”

Today, Hall, 25, is laser-focused on training for the 1,500 meters (0.93 mile) in hopes of making the United States Olympic team in middle distance running.

She and her coach, Terrence Mahon, who also coaches Hall’s husband, Ryan Hall, the winner of the United States Olympic team men’s marathon trial, have increased her speed work and reconfigured how much she’s running and her intensity.

“Her work capacity has gone through the roof,” Mahon said, and she can run greater distances faster than ever before. Which makes her current regimen a good model for how recreational runners — not just the elite — can get swifter and sharper, and perhaps even decide that they have been racing the wrong distance all along.

SPEED THRILLS

“I’m not running as far these days,” Hall said, compared with the distances she ran in high school and college. That might come as a surprise to anyone who learns that her average weekly mileage remains 85 to 90 (compared with her husband’s 140-plus). A typical training week includes easy running on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (usually twice a day). Hall, who can run almost a four-minute mile, lopes through these 30- or 50-minute workouts at a leisurely mile pace of 7 minutes. (To accurately figure her mile splits, she wears a watch equipped with G.P.S.) On Saturday, she takes a 14-mile run at a pace (5 minutes 45 seconds per mile) that is between what she runs in races and her easy days.

Then there are the fast, hard interval sessions at a track on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These hurt because they are supposed to. “You stress the body to get it to adapt” to the mechanical and physiological demands of speed, Mahon said. A typical Tuesday session includes two miles of warm-up, six miles of intervals and three miles of cool-down.

Anyone not aiming for an Olympic qualifying time should adjust speed-training mileage downward, Mahon said. “Go to a track and run a mile flat-out” and record your time, he said. Your ideal pace for a 5K race would be around 95 percent as fast per mile. Then implement what Mahon calls “over-speed and under-speed training.” In over-speed, you sprint through quarter-miles, 800 meters and other intervals at a speed faster than your 5K pace (close to your top mile time). Don’t run more than two fast miles.

For under-speed work, time your interval splits to be a little slower than your 5K pace, with shorter rest periods than those within the over-speed intervals. Total mileage can be four to six miles. Cool down with a gentle jog of about half your total interval distance.

Try sprinting one week, and running slower the next or, if you’re an experienced racer, both in separate sessions in a week. Don’t, despite its discomforts, worm out of speed work. “The most common mistake” that recreational runners make, Mahon said, “is running the same pace all the time.” Occasionally making yourself run fast, he said, “is the only way to make yourself a fast runner.”

STRIDE RIGHT

Hall kicks like a mule when she runs. She’s trying to stop. “This year, we’ve been totally focused on my form,” she said. “I tend to lean forward and I have a big back kick.” This slightly toppling stance lessens the power of her strides, and also has made her prone to being tripped up from behind during races.

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The Six Habits for a Six-Pack

2008-06-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Losing belly flab is a boring process. It requires time, hard work, and most important, dedication. Take the right steps every single day, and you'll ultimately carve out your six-pack. But if you stray from your plan even a few times a week — which most men do — you'll probably never see your abs.

1. Wake up to water

Imagine not drinking all day at work — no coffee, no water, no diet soda. At the end of an 8-hour shift, you'd be pretty parched. Which is precisely why you should start rehydrating immediately after a full night's slumber. From now on, drink at least 16 ounces of chilledH2Oas soon as you rise in the morning. German scientists recently found that doing this boosts metabolism by 24 percent for 90 minutes afterward. (A smaller amount of water had no effect.) What's more, a previous study determined that muscle cells grow faster when they're well hydrated. A general rule of thumb: Guzzle at least a gallon of water over the course of a day.

2. Eat breakfast every day

A University of Massachusetts study showed that men who skip their morning meal are 4 1/2 times more likely to have bulging bellies than those who don't. So within an hour of waking, have a meal or protein shake with at least 250 calories. British researchers found that breakfast size was inversely related to waist size. That is, the larger the morning meal, the leaner the midsection. But keep the meal's size within reason: A 1,480-calorie smoked-sausage scramble at Denny's is really two breakfasts, so cap your intake at 500 calories. For a quick way to fuel up first thing, I like this recipe: Prepare a package of instant oatmeal and mix in a scoop of whey protein powder and 1/2 cup of blueberries.

3. As you eat, review your goals...

Don't worry, I'm not going all Tony Robbins on you. (I don't have enough teeth.) But it's important that you stay aware of your mission. University of Iowa scientists found that people who monitored their diet and exercise goals most frequently were more likely to achieve them than were goal setters who rarely reviewed their objectives.

4. ...and then pack your lunch

My personal Igloo cooler just celebrated its 19th anniversary. I started carrying it with me every day back in college. Of course, it often housed a six-pack of beer — until I decided to compete in the Purdue bodybuilding championship. (Second place, by the way.) Once I knew I'd have to don a banana hammock in public (the world's best motivator), I began to take the contents of my cooler seriously. And so should you. In fact, this habit should be as much a part of your morning ritual as showering. Here's what I recommend packing into your cooler:

— An apple (to eat as a morning snack)

— Two slices of cheese (to eat with the apple)

— A 500- to 600-calorie portion of leftovers (for your lunch)

— A premixed protein shake or a pint of milk (for your afternoon snack)

By using this approach, you'll keep your body well fed and satisfied throughout the day without overeating. You'll also provide your body with the nutrients it needs for your workout, no matter what time you exercise. Just as important, you'll be much less likely to be tempted by the office candy bowl. In fact, my personal rule is simple: I don't eat anything that's not in the cooler.

5. Exercise the right way

Everyone has abs, even if people can't always see them because they're hidden under a layer of flab. That means you don't need to do endless crunches to carve out a six-pack. Instead, you should spend most of your gym time burning off blubber.

The most effective strategy is a one-two approach of weight-lifting and high-intensity interval training. According to a recent University of Southern Maine study, half an hour of pumping iron burns as many calories as running at a 6-minute-per-mile pace for the same duration. (And it has the added benefit of helping you build muscle.) What's more, unlike aerobic exercise, lifting has been shown to boost metabolism for as long as 39 hours after the last repetition. Similar findings have been noted for intervals, which are short, all-out sprints interspersed with periods of rest.

For the best results, do a total-body weight-training workout 3 days a week, resting at least a day between sessions. Then do an interval-training session on the days in between. To make it easy on you, I've created the ultimate fat-burning plan, which appears on this month's workout poster.

6. Skip the late shows

You need sleep to unveil your six-pack. That's because lack of shut-eye may disrupt the hormones that control your ability to burn fat. For instance, University of Chicago scientists recently found that just 3 nights of poor sleep may cause your muscle cells to become resistant to the hormone insulin. Over time, this leads to fat storage around your belly.

To achieve a better night's sleep, review your goals again 15 minutes before bedtime. And while you're at it, write down your plans for the next day's work schedule, as well as any personal chores you need to accomplish. This can help prevent you from lying awake worrying about tomorrow ("I have to remember to e-mail Johnson"), which can cut into quality snooze time.

By Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S., Men's Health

"Bringing sexy back"

2008-05-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

Running tips video by Ricardo Rodrigues

2008-05-06T06:26:00.000-07:00

http://interactives.signonsandiego.com/sandiegoalive/

4 Ways to Baby Your Liver

2008-04-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Your liver is as vital to your health as your heart and lungs are. But do you know how to keep it healthy?

It can be as simple as living clean, adding crunch, and eyeing your supplements. Here’s what we mean by that.

Vital Parts
Your liver isn't just a place to filter out tequila shots. All of the blood that has visited your small intestine flows through the liver, where it gets detoxified. A big job, but something has to do it. Michael Roizen, MD, and Mehmet Oz, MD, RealAge experts and authors of the best-selling, newly expanded YOU: The Owner's Manual, have four tips for helping your liver help you.

Live clean. Reduce your personal pollution so there's less to filter out. Drink filtered water, eat unprocessed foods, choose veggie protein over red meat, and practice safe sex. And yes, keep the mojitos to a minimum. (For a teetotaler drink that's just as festive and tasty, try this Green Tea and Mango Splash.)
Add crunchy veggies. Cruciferous produce (like broccoli and cabbage), B-rich foods (like whole grains), and high C items (like citrus fruit and leafy greens) assist the liver's detoxifying process. (Here's what else cruciferous veggies do for your health.)
Consider a supplement. Lecithin (egg yolks and soybeans are good sources) and zinc (look up food sources here) support liver function, and you may want to consider supplementing your diet with them if you don't get much naturally. Herbs like milk thistle and dandelion may help liver function, too, but consult your doctor before taking them.
Don't take too much vitamin A. If you do, you risk liver problems, including cirrhosis. (Learn more about the dangers of vitamin A overload.)

Energy Bars 101

2008-02-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

Energy bars, granola bars, snack bars, nutrition bars, diet bars, protein bars, meal-replacement bars . . . whatever you call them, the bar you want depends on what you want it to do for you. The ingredients, calorie counts, fat grams, and vitamin and mineral values are all over the map, so to get what you need, you have to know what to look for. Here's a cheat sheet.

Fuel a Long Workout: Energy bars were originally invented to deliver a massive concentration of carbs to fuel marathoners during a run or replenish them afterward. Yes, you could carry a potato in your pocket, but a bar that's high in complex carbs and fiber (at least 3 grams) will wreak less havoc with your blood sugar, and the benefits will last longer. Look for one like the Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Clif Bar, which has about 70% of its 240 calories coming from carbs. Plus, it has 8 grams of fiber.

Help Build Muscle: First, look for 15 to 35 grams of high-quality protein -- from whey, soy, casein, and/or egg whites -- to give your body the building material needed to repair muscle fibers. Skip bars containing "hydrolyzed proteins" made from mysterious animal parts. Next, check the fat, especially the saturated fat. You want the least sat fat possible, and definitely no more than 3 grams. One good choice: Trim Advantage Protein Bar -- Mixed Berry Smoothie, with 21 grams of protein but only 1 gram of saturated fat.

Replace a Meal: The built-in calorie and portion control of meal-replacement and diet bars can help you lose weight, say researchers . . . as long as you really do replace one meal with one bar. As for nutrients, most meal bars have plenty of carbs and are usually low in fat, but check their protein: You need 50 grams or more a day, depending on how active you are. Some low-cal meal bars don't have much protein. For instance, Slim-Fast Meal Options Breakfast & Lunch Bars (140 and 150 calories, depending on flavor) have only 5 or 6 grams of protein. For about 100 more calories, you can get three times the protein (15 grams) in a Trim Advantage Meal Replacement Bar.

Have a Healthy Snack: Think "small is beautiful." A snack bar should be smaller than a meal-replacement bar, and you need to watch the fat and sugar (stay below 18 grams). Steer clear of those made with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which brings with it all sorts of health and weight-gain issues. Some snack bars are as calorie-packed as a candy bar, so it's worth searching out a truly low-cal one like PowerBar Pria 110 Plus. The various flavors weigh in at only 110 calories.

•All About YOU: Brain Pills

2007-11-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

Aspirin, vitamin E, the B vitamins, ginkgo biloba, vinpocetine . . . which vitamins and supplements really do give you a mental lift when you need it?

RealAge experts Mehmet Oz, MD, and Michael Roizen, MD, give you the straight story on this and lots of other need-to-know aging issues in their new book, YOU: Staying Young. Here's their take on "brain pills."

RealAge Recommends
Do these pills, supplements, and vitamins give you a stronger memory? Here's the short answer from the RealAge docs:

Aspirin: Yes. Research shows a 40 percent decrease in arterial aging, a major cause of memory loss, for those who take 162 milligrams of aspirin a day. (Learn at what age daily aspirin makes the most sense.)
Vitamin E: Yes (from food). People who consume the highest amount of vitamin E are 43 percent less likely to get Alzheimer's. And you can get all the E you need by eating just 3 ounces of nuts or seeds a day. Look up other food sources with this online tool.
B vitamins: Yes. The RealAge docs recommend 400 micrograms of folic acid, 800 micrograms of B12, and 40 milligrams of B6 per day, because B vitamins help your neurotransmitters work efficiently.
Ginkgo biloba: If you want to. No large studies support its use, but it has promise. The docs recommend trying 120 milligrams daily, as long as you don't have a blood clotting disorder or aren't anticipating surgery. Discontinue if you don't notice any benefits.
Vinpocetine. No. There's not enough evidence that this supplement (from a periwinkle plant) helps. Plus, it could reduce blood pressure too much.

What are the 14 Major Agers? Order your copy of YOU: Staying Young and find out!

Tune Up Your Brain

2007-10-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

You know those seemingly endless hours your parents made you spend practicing the piano or learning to play the violin?

Time to say thank you, because all that practice did more than tune up your recital skills. It may have made the language areas of your brain more efficient, too. If you never took music lessons, here's why you should start.

Music and Lyrics
Researchers recently asked a group of musicians and nonmusicians to listen to -- and reproduce -- tone sequences. (Answer these seven questions to find out how reliable your hearing is.)

Your Brain on Music
Not surprisingly, the musicians performed better on the task. But this was a surprise: As the musicians reproduced the tones, scans of their brains showed major activity in areas linked to language, leading researchers to conclude that building music skills may bolster language areas of the brain as well. In other words, studying music is like doing push-ups for your brain! (Here's another way to give your brain a workout.)

Did You Know?
Just listening to music has health benefits, too. Here's an example.

RealAge Benefit: Learning a new skill that requires brainpower can make your RealAge 1.3 years younger.

Try It:
Always wanted to tickle the ivories or strum a hot guitar? Feed your inner rock star and tune up your brain at the same time with these step-by-step video lessons -- designed for total beginners: Easy Piano, Easy Bass, Easy Guitar Deluxe, and Easy Drums

Mind over Matter.

2007-09-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

What does that means?

Do not think too hard :-)

Well, if you think about things that you do, and how they become reality, you know that they are fruits of your thoughts.

Physical body example:

If you are running very fast, and think that is very hard. Automatically you are sending the message (hard) to your body and eventually you have to reduce your speed.

Running TIP:

Run 45 min on your aerobic zone and safe the last 15 min to challenge your self by increasing your speed to a race pace(5km, 10km...)and tell your self that you are willing and able to maintain the speed all the way through the 15 min.
Honnor your disconfort, and relax your breath.
Allow the speed to flow instead of pushing it.
SMILE!

Stay tall and focus on maintaining your core strong and engaged.

Cool down for more 10 min very easy.

You will break the pattern!

Book reading: Thinking body, dancing mind.

SEH 5km Congratulations

2007-08-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all participants at the SEH 5Km and 50m dash.

This year was my daughter 1st race ever.

of course I was a very proud dad.

RESULTS

Sofia Flor Rodrigues 18 month 35 sec and 98 c medal contender.

Keep posted for pictures and feel Free to post your results.

Ricardo Rodrigues
Wellness Specialist

•Not Your Average Nut

2007-07-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

For boosting heart health, this nut's got one up on olive oil.

That's right. Walnuts are better than olive oil at combating the harmful effects that saturated fats have on arteries, which may make walnuts the mightiest nuts of all. Here's what makes them special.

When you eat a meal high in saturated fats, it causes your arteries to narrow and stiffen. And although you may have the best intentions of shunning nacho cheese and bacon-wrapped hamburgers, everyone slips a little now and then.

So here are a few things you can do to minimize the impact of the nasty fats on your arteries.

Eat a handful of walnuts. In a study, arteries stayed more relaxed when walnuts were added to a high-fat meal. They did an even better job than olive oil of helping blood to flow unrestricted. Researchers credit the alpha-linolenic acid in the nuts with helping keep arteries flexible.
Take a 45-minute walk a couple of hours after you indulge. Physical activity partly offsets the blood vessel dysfunction caused by eating a high-fat meal. Read more about this research.
Top off your meal with a tiny piece of dark chocolate, some hot tea, or a bit of pomegranate juice. These items are rich in compounds that help your arteries relax. Read more about chocolate's effects on blood vessels and what makes a sensible serving size.

How much do you know about fats? Take this quiz to find out.

RealAge Benefit: Eating only healthful fat can make your RealAge 3.4 years younger.

RealAge Smart Search: Welcome walnuts into your life with these healthful recipes.

Exercise Has Profit Potential

2007-07-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Taking time away from work to squeeze in some exercise? Good for you -- and your company.

That's right. The less time you spend sitting on your bottom, the better your -- and your company's -- bottom line. Here's how and why. (see below ↓)

Fit and Confident
Researchers suspect that the boost in confidence and energy that people get from regular exercise may spill over into their careers, giving them an edge. So not only does exercising keep your weight in check, but it also may give you a better shot at reaching your personal and professional goals.

Run Up Your Sales
But it may require more than a 10-minute walk at lunchtime to be a real go-getter. In a study of entrepreneurs, the business owners that ran regularly were the ones who enjoyed personal and professional side benefits. Not the runner type? Strength training also was linked to better personal-goal progress (although pumping iron didn't affect company performance).

Introduce your body -- and bottom line -- to the quickest, easiest workout on the planet: The RealAge 20-Minute Workout.

How do your finances affect your health? Take this quiz and find out.

RealAge Benefit: Exercising regularly, expending at least 3,500 calories of energy a week, can make your RealAge 3.4 years younger.

USANA

2007-06-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Beginner's Mind is now distributing the highest quality supplements in the market, and you can buy it at wholesale price.

ORDER NOW

USANA Health Sciences produces the highest quality nutritional and personal care products available. Whether it's a complete, balanced spectrum of nutrients and antioxidants to protect our bodies from free radicals or science-based personal care products that replenish and rejuvenate skin and hair, USANA's premier products simply make you feel and look wonderful.

Obese Employees Cost Companies More

2007-05-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

By: Tamara Schweitzer

A new study suggests that investing in wellness programs may pay off on the bottom line.

Maintaining a normal body weight may no longer be just a matter of personal health. New research shows that it pays for companies to promote healthy lifestyle choices among its employees. According to a recent study out of Duke University Medical Center, obese employees cost companies more money than their fit counterparts—in lost workdays, higher medical costs, and more workers' compensation claims.

In conducting the study, researchers looked at the records of 11,728 employees of Duke University who received health risk appraisals between 1997 and 2004 to determine if there was a relationship between body mass index and the rate of workers' compensations claims (body mass index, or BMI, takes into account a person's height and weight and is considered the most accurate indicator of obesity). The researchers found that obese workers filed twice as many workers' compensations claims as workers who fell within the recommended BMI range.

Obese workers averaged 11.65 claims per 100 workers, compared to 5.8 claims per 100 for non-obese employees. As a result, obese employees had seven times higher medical costs, for an average of $51,019 per 100 employees. The most common causes of injury among obese workers were falls, slips, and attempts to lift something.

"We all know obesity is bad for the individual, but it isn't solely a personal medical problem--it spills over into the workplace and has concrete economic costs," Truls Ostbye, co-author of the study and professor of community and family medicine at Duke, said in a statement.

The study also found that obese employees lost 13 times more days of work, than their leaner counterparts, averaging 183.63 days lost per 100 employees. Ostbye says that the results of the study should be a wake-up call to employers.

"Given the strong link between obesity and workers' compensation costs, maintaining healthy weight is not only important to workers but should also be a high priority for employers," Ostbye said. "Work-based programs designed to target healthful eating and physical activity should be developed and then evaluated as part of a strategy to make all workplaces healthier and safer."

When considering the best options for fitness programs, small business specialist Barbara Weltman stresses the importance for companies to promote wellness programs among all employees, not just overweight ones. "Any program that you adopt can't be discriminatory," Weltman says. "You have to encourage all employees to take advantage of it."

While small businesses tend to be cost-conscious when it comes to paying for health coverage, Weltman says that the study suggests that investing in wellness programs could ultimately help companies save money. "The cost of wellness programs," she says, "may pay off for businesses in terms of reduced health care premiums."

Diabetes on Your Mind

2007-05-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

The health consequences of type 2 diabetes go straight to your head.

You're twice as likely to perform poorly on a reasoning test if you have diabetes than if you don't have the disease -- even if you're fairly young and rather newly diagnosed.

It's no news that diabetes affects cognition and memory in older people. But now we know the disease also affects reasoning skills in middle-aged people who've had the disease for only a few years. How's your memory? Test it with this online tool.

More than 6 million people in the U.S. have undiagnosed diabetes, and the havoc it wreaks on blood sugar levels can affect your kidneys, your heart, and a bunch of other major organs. So it's a good idea to visit your doctor regularly to be screened for diabetes, especially if you have risk factors. Do you know what those are? Take the RealAge Type 2 Diabetes Quiz to find out.

If you already have diabetes, keep a tight handle on it. Doing so can minimize the impact it has on all your body parts.

RealAge Benefit: People with diabetes who adopt an aggressive disease-management program can make their RealAge as much as 8 years younger.

RealAge Smart Search: Find more news about type 2 diabetes with RealAge Smart Search.

•Too Skinny to Be Fat?

2007-04-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

True or false: You can have a normal weight and BMI and still be "obese."

It's true. Even if you're no bigger than a minute, you could still be at risk for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome if your fat mass is greater than 30 percent of your body weight. It's called "normal-weight obese syndrome." Here's how it works.

Overall weight and BMI are a good start when estimating health risks, but they don't tell the whole story. What's more important is how much fat you have relative to your overall weight and where that fat is on your body.

The higher your percentage of fat mass -- and the more fat you have bunched around your middle -- the more proinflammatory cytokines you have racing around in your blood. What's so bad about that, you ask? These chemicals signal inflammation, and the more inflammation you have in your

What's metabolic syndrome? Here's a definition.

body, the greater your health risks. Cytokines also affect the way your body uses insulin and contribute to hardening of the arteries.

Once the inflammation ball gets rolling, your risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome go up. Which helps explain, in part, why skinny people can still get heart disease and may pack on pounds after a certain age.

To lower your percentage of body fat, use the triple threat: cardiovascular exercise, weight training, and a balanced diet. No time to exercise? Use these double-duty moves that blend exercise with everyday activities.

And don't throw out your scale or ignore your BMI altogether. They still provide important information about your overall health. Check your BMI and waist-to-height ratio with this online tool.

Get your waist back! Try YOU: On a Diet, a realistic waist-management plan from RealAge Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen.

When You Snooze You . . . Win!

2007-03-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Corporate culture has it wrong: When you snooze, you win!

A daytime doze is a stress buster and heart protector. Just 30 minutes midday, three times a week, is all you need. Middle-aged working men who did just that cut their risk of a fatal heart attack and other heart problems by a whopping 37 percent. How about women?

Although the study focused on working men, women would probably benefit as well. Naps are a great stress reducer.

You've heard how stress can damage your health, but how it causes heart disease remains unclear. Blame the stress hormones that course through

your veins when you are under pressure. Researchers think these hormones may damage organs, glands, and blood vessels. Or bad influence could be at fault, because stress can drive you to unhealthy behaviors like smoking, overeating, and skipping your workout. Learn more about preventing heart disease.

What is clear about stress: Pressure-cooker jobs increase your chances of accumulating risk factors for heart disease, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

So for sweet dreams and a more relaxed (and happier) you, do as the Spaniards do -- take a siesta! Can't nap on the job? Catch some midday ZZZs on the weekend. Just be sure to set an alarm clock -- sleep too long and you'll have trouble sticking to your regular bedtime.

Want better sleep? Here are four ways to boost shut-eye.

RealAge Benefit: Getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night can make your RealAge as much as 3 years younger.

RealAge Smart Search: Find more ways to reduce stress with RealAge Smart Search.

Personal Training/ Group Exercise teaching classes

2007-03-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Are you studying to become a Personal Trainer or a Group Exercise instructor?

Clients are more cautious of their health and are looking for trainers that can take them to the next level.

You are probably studying the theory but need the most up to date core and functional routines?

Beginner's Mind can show you in practice, a series of exercises that will take the guess work for what works and what is helpful for all levels of clients:

Weight loss specific practice

Increase of range of motion exercises

Athletic performance enhancement movements

Swim, Bike, Run group practices

Learn how to design a program

Receive exclusive pre-design programs

Assisted stretches techniques

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Affordable prices for a great value experience.

For individuos, semi-private or groups of 5

• Colds Hate Positive People

2007-02-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

Dread colds? Then be a Little Miss Sunshine.

That's the word from researchers who tested the emotional outlook and immune-system capabilities of a group of adults. Cold viruses had a harder time taking hold in the people who had mostly positive things to say. Not only that, but if they did get sick, they . . .

Apparently, emotions play a role in immunity. Positive thoughts not only help you steer clear of colds but also might make your colds milder if you do get sick. Good reasons to look on the bright side and to get help if you habitually feel negative, anxious, or depressed.

Of course, thinking warm, fuzzy thoughts doesn't replace good ol' cold-killing facts. So follow these sniffle-stopping tips as well:

•	Wash your hands frequently, especially if you spend time with someone who is sick. And keep hand towels separate to minimize the spread of germs.
•	Avoid spending time with people who are newly sick; they are most infectious during the first few days of illness.
•	Eat foods high in vitamin C -- oranges, strawberries, and red bell peppers are good choices. Better yet, get a big boost of vitamin C with a supplement.
•	Avoid touching your nose, mouth, or eyes.
•	Get plenty of rest.

Of course, you can help other people stay healthy, too, by washing your hands after you blow your nose and covering your mouth with a tissue or the inner crook of your elbow when you sneeze. Because let's face it, what goes around comes around -- sooner or later.

RealAge Benefit: Protecting your immune system can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

All About YOU: Stand Up Straight

2007-02-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

One of the easiest ways to strengthen your abdominal muscles -- and support your back -- is through good posture. You may feel like you're already standing straight, but in reality, most of us stand like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Practice good posture by bringing your head and neck back. The key element is breathing in to tighten your gut. That's the component that lifts your chest and will give you Marine-like posture. Here are the five points of perfect posture . . .

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Sometimes the smallest changes in your life can lead to the biggest results. Sucking in your gut while you do crunches, or even when you take the elevator, is a good example. It helps your body not only look younger -- by skimming a couple of inches off your middle and adding them to your lungs/chest -- but it also helps your body get stronger, because you're engaging your abdominal muscles. Here are the five steps to perfect posture:
1.
Pull your shoulder blades back slightly toward each other and down away from your ears.
2.
Lift your chest up and out.
3.
Pull your head back just enough to keep it in line with your spine.
4.
Position your pelvis or hips to create or maintain a natural arch in your lower back.
5.
Pull your belly button in toward your spine without changing or tilting your hips or losing the arch in your lower back.Is your back barking? Take this symptom checker for advice.
RealAge Benefit: Actively patrolling your health can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.

A New Way to Maintain Your Brain

2007-02-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

Want to keep your brain razor sharp for years to come? Just say no to middle-age spread.

When it comes to memory and concentration, it may pay to practice waist control. Packing on extra pounds can slow not only your time in the 50-yard dash but also your ability to remember things and stay focused. Need help shedding weight? Find a diet buddy.

Obesity and declines in both memory and attention span have long been linked in older people, but new research has found the same relationship in 30-somethings, too. And the slowdown only gets worse over time.

A large study tested 2,223 adults, ranging in age from 32 to 62, to see how their weight affected four different measures of cognitive function. Five years later, the researchers tested them again. Those who were seriously overweight -- meaning they had a body mass index (BMI) over 30 -- did poorly on the first round of testing. Worse, their mental abilities had declined even more at the 5-year mark.

Why? One theory faults leptin, a protein secreted by stored fat; high leptin levels may affect learning and memory. Another theory is that the brain is harmed by cardiovascular disease, which is commonly associated with high BMIs.

Although you don't need six-pack abs or a bikini-worthy waist to stay sharp and age healthfully, obesity is not a viable alternative. Join a health club, try the YOU: On a Diet plan, do whatever it takes. Do it not just for your body, but for your brain!

RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

CORE TRAINNING MODALITIES

2007-01-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

· Corrective Exercise Training - Building a strong core foundation is the essential first step of your new training program. This practice will work to correct any aches, pains, joint dysfunctions, muscular imbalances and postural-distortion patterns you may be experiencing, based on your initial diagnose Ricardo will determine the target areas for you to discover for your self how to recognize and understand the detailed messages your body is sending you, and how to respond and move in ways that keep your body healthy, fit and pain-free.

Call now for your 30 min or 1hour session (858)229-7198

Check all our practices @ www.beginnersmindmethod.com

Human running mechanics

2006-12-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

Running is a complex, coordinated process which involves the entire body. Every human being runs differently, but certain general features of running motion are common.

Lower body motion

Running is executed as a sequence of strides, which alternate between the two legs. Each leg's stride can be roughly divided into three phases: support, drive, and recovery. Support and drive occur when the foot is in contact with the ground. Recovery occurs when the foot is off the ground. Since only one foot is on the ground at a time in running, one leg is always in recovery, while the other goes through support and drive. Then, briefly, as the runner leaps through the air, both legs are in recovery. These phases are described in detail below.

Support

During the support phase, the foot is in contact with the ground and supports the body against gravity. The body's center of mass is typically somewhere in the lower abdominal area between the hips. The supporting foot touches ground slightly ahead of the point that lies directly below body's center of mass. The knee joint is at its greatest extension just prior to the support phase; when contact is made with the ground, the knee joint begins to flex. To what extent it flexes varies with the running style. There exist stiff-legged running styles which reduce knee flexion, and looser, or more dynamic running styles which increase it. As the supporting leg bends at the knee, the pelvis dips down on the opposite side. These motions absorb shock and are opposed by the coordinated action of several muscles. The pelvic dip is opposed by the ilio-tibial band of the supporting leg, the hip abductor, and the abdominals and lower back muscles. The knee flexion is opposed by the eccentric contraction of the quadriceps muscle. The supporting hip continues to extend and the body's center of mass passes over the supporting leg. The knee then begins to extend, and the opposite hip rises from its brief dip. The support phase begins to transition into drive.

Drive

The support phase quickly transitions into the drive phase. The drive leg extends at the knee joint, and at the hip, such that the toe maintains contact with the ground as that leg trails behind the body. The foot pushes backward and also down, creating a diagonal force vector, which, in an efficient running style, is aimed squarely at the runner's center of mass. Since the diagonal vector has a vertical component, the drive phase continues to provide some support against gravity and can be regarded as an extension of the support phase. During the drive, the foot may extend also, by a flexing of the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle in the calf. In some running styles, notably long-distance "shuffles" which keep the feet close to the ground, the ankle remains more or less rigid during drive. Because the knee joint straightens, though not completely, much of the power of the drive comes from the quadriceps muscle group, and in some running styles, additional power comes from the calves as they extend the foot for a longer drive. This motion is most exhibited in sprinting.

Recovery

When driving toe loses contact with the ground, the recovery phase begins. During recovery, the hip flexes, which rapidly drives the knee forward. Much of the motion of the lower leg is driven by the forces transferred from the upper leg rather than by the action of the muscles. As the knee kicks forward, it exerts torque against the lower leg through the knee joint, causing the leg to snap upward. The degree of leg lift can be consciously adjusted by the runner, with additional muscle power. During the last stage of recovery, the hip achieves maximal flexion, and, as the lower leg rapidly unfolds, which it does in a passive way, the knee joint also reaches its greatest, though not full, extension. During this extension of the leg and flexion of the hip, the hamstring and gluteal muscles are required to rapidly stretch. Muscles which are stretched respond by contracting by a reflex action. Recovery ends when the foot comes into contact with the ground, transitioning into the support phase.

Upper body motion

The motions of the upper body are essential in running, because they compensate for the motions of the lower body, keeping the body in rotational balance. A leg's recovery is matched by a downward drive of the opposite arm, and a leg's support and drive motions are balanced by raising of the opposite arm. The shoulders and torso are also involved. Because the leg drive is slower than the kick of recovery, the arm raising motion is slower also. The downward arm drive is more forceful and rapid.

The more inefficient the motions of the lower body, the more exaggerated do the upper body motions have to be to absorb the momentum.

Most of the energy expended in running goes to the compensating motions, and so considerable gains in running speed as well as economy can be made by eliminating wasteful or incorrect motions.

For instance, if the force vector in the drive phase is aimed too far away from the center of mass of the body, it will transfer an angular momentum to the body which has to be absorbed. If a free body in space is struck off-center by a projectile, it will rotate as well as recoil. If the projectile strikes the body's center of mass exactly, the object will recoil only, without rotating.

The faster the running, the more energy has to be dissipated through compensating motions throughout the entire body. This is why elite sprinters have powerful upper body physiques. As the competitive distance increases, there is a rapid drop in the upper body and overall muscle mass typically exhibited by the people who compete at a high level in each respective event.

Overrunning can cause broken bones, lack of calcium, spine aches, back aches, legs aches, and stomach pain.

Elements of good running technique

Upright posture and a slight forward lean

Leaning forward places a runner's center of mass on the front part of the foot, which avoids landing on the heel and facilitates the use of the spring mechanism of the foot. It also makes it easier for the runner to avoid landing the foot in front of the center of mass and the resultant braking effect.

Stride rate

Most elite runners in the world run at a stride rate of 180 strides per minute regardless of the running distance and the runner's physical build. It has been postulated that human physiology dictates that the 180 stride rate is the most efficent in terms of energy expenditure when running. Most beginning runners have a lower stride rate. This may cause most of the energy to be expended in vertical movement rather than in overcoming the friction of air. Also, low stride rate may also be indicative of overstriding.

Running injuries

There are many injuries associated with running (due to it being a high impact activity). Common injuries are "runner's knee" (pain in the knee), shin splints, pulled muscles (especially the hamstring), "jogger's nipple" (soreness of the nipple due to friction), twisted ankles, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, Plantar fasciitis, and achilles tendonitis. Stress fractures are also fairly common in runners training at a high volume or intensity. The most common running related injuries are due to over-use or, more often, bad running form. Repetitive stress on the same tissues without enough time for recovery or due to improper form or muscle imbalances, leads to many of the above. Generally these can be minimized by warming up beforehand, wearing proper running shoes, improving running form, performing strengthening exercises, and getting enough rest. There is a very strong consensus among the running and scientific community that all of those can be very effective in minimizing or recovering from running injuries.

Another injury prevention method that is very commonly recommended in the running community, but has recently become controversial, is stretching. While stretching is often recommended as a near requirement to avoid running injuries and is almost uniformly performed by competitive runners of any level, medical literature shows only mixed results, in particular for stretching prior to running.

A 2002 survey of 27 peer reviewed studies found that there was not sufficient evidence to support the claim that stretching prior to running was effective in injury prevention or soreness reduction.[2]

Nonetheless, other studies have shown that stretching after training consistently reduces injuries. [3]

Most members of the running community find that the inconsistent study methods and the failure to establish proper controls and find proper stretching methods is the reason behind the conflicting studies. They argue that, therefore, stretching is in fact helpful, or at least not harmful.

Competitive running

Perhaps the most basic of athletic contests, running races are simply contests to determine which of the competitors is able to run a certain distance fastest. Today, competitive running events make up the core of the sport of athletics.

Running competitions have probably existed for most of humanity's history, and were a key part of the ancient Greek Olympics, as well as the modern Olympic games.

Events are usually grouped into several classes, each requiring substantially different athletic strengths and involving different tactics, training methods, and types of competitors.

Running affects not only the body, but the mind as well. Runners who finish a great run are sometimes said to have a runner's high - which is more than a sensation of a strong feeling of accomplishment and pride. Some sources point to the origin of a runner's high being increased endorphin production as a result of exercise. However, many runners also do not experience this high.

Running in itself makes up its own competitive sport, but running is also a very important aspect of other sports, i.e. association football, rugby, basketball, lacrosse,etc. Usually the running aspect of these sports is very important to help move a ball to a goal. People of all running types are needed; i.e. with speed, endurance, or agility.

Types of running events

Classification of running by distance

Source: Wikipedia

SWIM WITH PERFECTION

2006-11-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

ChiRunning Rhythm for Triathletes

2006-11-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

Life loves rhythm. All living things thrive on regularity and patterns, whether they occur outside of us, such as the seasons, the lunar cycles, the rising and setting of the sun, or within us, such as our diurnal rhythms, our respiratory and heart rates, or the automatic tap of our toes when we hear a catchy beat. We are mostly uncomfortable with disorder, and when faced with chaos and irregularity, we tend to feel ill at ease until order has been restored. Rhythmic beat patterns and marching are sometimes used to help soothe and calm agitated or overactive children. Rhythm is life.

Our sport of triathlon is no different. Our year is divided into the base, build, peak, and recovery periods, and each phase anticipates the next. When we are in recovery, we are planning for the race season ahead, and during the intensity of the peak period, we know we will soon have the off-season to rejuvenate and heal the body and mind. We know we can't race all year long without some down time, and by the same token, if the entire year were nothing but off-season (not counting extended injury rehabilitation periods) -- well, then we probably wouldn't be triathletes in that case anyway, we would still be the couch potatoes we once were.

Similarly, within the larger phases of our training season are the periodized segments, the 3- or 4 week blocks where we gradually build in volume or intensity of training and then back off in the last week to rest and allow our bodies to absorb and realize the fitness gains from the harder weeks. These cycles of build and rest are necessary to keep the body fresh, to facilitate its adaptation to the training, and avoid the dreaded over-trained state.

The three disciplines of triathlon are steeped in rhythm: think of watching a well-trained swimmer, gliding smoothly and effortlessly down the lane, arms moving like clockwork, breathing every third stroke. Imagine trying to swim while changing your breathing patterns, now every 4 strokes, then every other stroke, then every three strokes. Your breathing would be out of rhythm and your muscles would be deprived of the regular and even oxygen supply necessary for aerobic energy production. If your masters swim coach sees a swimmer employing a choppy, uneven stroke, he or she will most likely stop the swimmer - at least we hope they would - and introduce drills and sets designed to help even out the stroke.

In cycling, coaches teach smooth, even, rhythmic pedaling and how to use the bike's gears to help achieve that smoothness. Many cycling coaches advise their athletes to use a cadence of 85-95 pedal strokes per minute, meaning the number of times per minute one pedal goes all the way around the circle from 3 o'clock to 3 o'clock. Even though most cycling programs also have some high cadence work to increase neuromuscular efficiency, and some slow 'big gear' workouts to develop cycling-specific strength, most of your weekly mileage should be spent somewhere in between 85-95 range. The reason is that thanks in part to the stunning success of Lance Armstrong and his well-studied ability to beat the best cyclists in the world by employing a much higher cadence than they do, even while climbing high mountains, we have seen that at 85-95 revolutions per minute, the body clears lactic acid from the leg muscles much more efficiently, allowing those muscles to perform work longer. Finally for the run segment, rhythm and tempo are crucial to help the legs get past the leaden, heavy feeling they will have coming off the bike.

Why is rhythm so very important in each of these three endurance sports? Because rhythm equals efficiency, and since the goal of most beginning triathletes is to train for and complete their event using primarily the body's aerobic energy systems, we want to conserve that energy and dole it out as efficiently as possible to achieve our goal of completing our event feeling strong and without the need for a long recovery period.

Since the run leg of triathlon is the most energy intensive, both by its own nature as a weight-bearing activity and because it comes last after the swim and bike when the body is already experiencing some fatigue, let's explore some of the benefits of running with rhythm and some tools to help us achieve that end.

When I was young I had one of those old mechanical metronomes with the upside don swinging pendulum that I used to practice for my piano lessons. This metronome was just slightly off, so that the beats were ever so slightly uneven (tick-tock, tick-tock). The odd rhythm made the metronome useless for practicing, so I had to tilt the instrument just so to even out the beats. Because of the (mostly) symmetrical state of the body, it is pretty difficult to run for very long with an uneven stride, just as it was nearly impossible to use my flaky metronome to practice Chopin etudes. Even discrepancies such as a minor leg length or foot size difference, and many of us have one or both of these, will be factored in by the body and it will try to achieve an even stride. The body wants to move rhythmically, so our challenge is to find ways to use that rhythm effectively.

Rhythm and its close cousin cadence are twin pillars in support of the goals of energy efficiency and injury prevention in running. Cadence is what enables rhythm to help us achieve both goals, because cadence provides benefits in reducing impact, avoiding heel strike, and minimizing the accumulation of metabolic waste products in the muscles that accelerate fatigue. Just as a cadence of 85-95 is recommended for cycling, most run coaches, including ChiRunning instructors, train their athletes to achieve a run cadence of 85-90 steps of the right foot (or left, but not both) per minute. This range of 85-90 steps or beats per minute (bpm) works for most runners (taller athletes will tend toward the lower end of the range) and is optimal for energy conservation because the rapid turnover of the legs helps the muscles to clear out lactic acid, a normal byproduct of burning oxygen and sugars to produce energy, but which when allowed to accumulate in the muscles causes that familiar burn that reduces the amount of time an athlete wants or is able to keep exercising. Continually removing lactic acid from the muscles by rapid, light contraction of those muscles, allows the aerobic energy system to keep working longer to produce the energy necessary to keep you running.

In addition to helping the leg muscles use available energy more efficiently, an even, relatively high cadence is useful in injury prevention. Quicker steps help to shorten the amount of time each foot spends on the ground, reducing the amount of impact sustained with each step. Take a look around you on the path or at the track. Notice the difference between the runner who uses a slow stride versus one whose foot turnover is much quicker. The slower stride may appear more plodding, and you may also see more up and down motion in that runner than in the one whose feet move very quickly. Any energy used in producing up and down motion while running is wasted, because it is not contributing to your forward progress.

Another drawback of long, slow strides is that they can result in the foot landing out in front of the body, on the heel, which is both inefficient and potentially injurious, as heel strike is often a root cause of many knee and hip injuries in runners. Quicker strides make it easier to keep the footfall under the body, landing midfoot and reducing the amount of heel-to-toe roll required to get to the next step, minimizing overpronation in some runners with very flexible arches, and in turn reducing the potential for some lower leg overuse injuries such as shin splints.

A common observation among runners who try to increase their cadence is that their perceived effort level (PEL) and/or heart rate increase too quickly, taking them out of their aerobic zone and resulting in fatigue. There are several ways to avoid this: one is to make sure that your stride is shortened incrementally as your cadence increases. If you try to increase your cadence by just pushing off harder with your toes, you will fatigue very quickly. Instead, relax your lower legs, keep your posture tall and lean forward to engage gravity, letting your heels float up behind you and landing midfoot just beneath your center of gravity. Resist the urge to push off, and your effort level won't zoom out of control. Secondly, don't try to increase too much too soon. Even though 85-90 steps per minute is ideal, you don't have to get there all in one training session, especially if your current cadence is well below that. Even one more step per minute has potential benefits in energy efficiency and injury prevention, so just increasing by one or two beats per minute per week or two will gradually open those benefits up to you. Your body will perceive this small change as exactly that - small- and will adapt to it quite readily.

So how do you get to your goal cadence? First, you need to find out what your current cadence is. There are small electronic metronomes available that make this task easy. Get a friend to help, since it is hard to run naturally while you are fiddling with the instrument. Stay close enough the person with the metronome so they can easily see your feet and match the sound to either your right or left foot, again not both. Once you have your current cadence, start from there and increase the count by one each week or so, until you reach your desired cadence of 85-90. Monitor your PEL and/or heart rate. If you feel you are working too hard, scan your body and see if you are pushing off or otherwise expending energy that is not resulting in forward motion, and make adjustments accordingly.

You might feel somewhat self-conscious about running with a beeping metronome. You don't have to leave it on all the time, especially once your body has begun to adapt to the change. You can turn it off and then check back again in a few minutes to see how close you are to your desired cadence. Or you may find that other people don't mind so much after all. Recently I was on a training run with some friends and was keeping myself a few feet away so my beeping wouldn't bother them. When I explained why I was staying apart, they said they actually liked the beep and found it gave them a focus for the run. It is hard to hear the beep and not try to match your step, so they were all feeling the benefits just as I was.

Finally, make sure to keep your cadence in the 85-90 range regardless of speed, even during warm up and cool down. If shorter, quicker strides have benefits at one speed, it follows that they would have the same benefits at all speeds. So resist the urge to fall back into a plodding stride when you are going slowly. Keep those feet moving, just shorten your stride more and lean less to decrease your pace.

Coming out of transition two from bike to run, a higher cadence will come in very handy for rejuvenating those leg muscles that are heavy from the bike. Resist the urge in your races and your brick workouts to allow yourself to 'run heavy' off the bike. Keep the step quick and light, and your legs will recover from the bike sooner, making the run segment more fun and more efficient.

Apply these principles to each of your runs and you will soon find your running more enjoyable and more in tune with your own natural rhythms.

ChiRunning

All About YOU: How to Eat More and Weigh Less

2006-10-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

Want to lose a few before the upcoming holidays? Fill up with fiber.

It's no news that boosting your fiber intake is good for your health. But boosting it at breakfast may be the key to staying lean, say RealAge doctors Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz. In their new-this-week book, YOU: On a Diet, they suggest putting fiber-rich foods like oatmeal, whole-grain toast, or a veggie-packed omelet on your morning menu to curb afternoon binging on Cheetos or cookies. That's because fiber acts like a speed bump in your gastrointestinal tract, slowing everything way down, so you stay fuller longer.

This is one way you can use your body chemistry, not willpower, to curb cravings and get to your ideal body size. Learn other science-based strategies like this from Roizen and Oz's YOU: On a Diet plan.

RealAge Benefit: Eating 25 grams (make that 38 grams if you're a man under 50) of fiber per day makes your RealAge 2.5 years younger than eating 12 grams of fiber per day.

RealAge Tip of the DAY for October 30, 2006

"GOOD FOR YOU" GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

2006-10-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

Alge Crumpler

Atlanta Falcons

Green Bean Cassarole is typically a holiday favorite, but Alge Crumpler, an
Atlanta Falcon tight tnd, considers it one of his all-time favorites. As Alge sets his mind on getting to the best performance weight he can achieve, he has started to rethink his nutrition and some of his all-time favorites. Have no fear, Alge, there can be a healthy alternative to almost anything. So, don't worry that it is not Thanksgiving, include this trimmed down version of a holiday favorite any day of the week.

SERVES

INGREDIENTS

One can (10-3/4 ounces) reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1-1/4 pounds green beans, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces, cooked until crisp-tender
1/2 cup canned French-fried onions

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix soup, sour cream, and milk in two-quart casserole; stir in beans.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees until mixture is bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Sprinkle onions on top during last five minutes of baking time.

NUTRITION FACTS

Calories: 81
Total fat: 2.9g
Carbohydrate: 11.6g
Protein: 3g

2006-09-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Quote of today.

2006-09-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

"What you think
and what you feel
and what manifests
is always a match"
Ester Hicks

every single time!
no exeption!

Marathon World Record

2006-09-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

Athletics

Eurosport - Pippa Davis - 21/09/2006 12:49

World marathon record holder Paul Tergat has admitted that he is close to retiring. Tergat has made no secret of the fact he wishes to help develop the sport in his native Kenya and said that he has only “a few years before I call it quits”.

"They say that life begins at 40, but in athletics, that is when life ends," Tergat said when addressing over 100 athletes attending an investment workshop in Eldoret on Wednesday.

"I am approaching there and may soon be out of action."

Tergat announced that he had already started an initiative to develop athletics in Kenya by organising the upcoming 'Paul Tergat 10 Race'.

The race - to be held in Nairobi next year - is a new 10km event that has been organised to attract more foreign runners.

"Being in a high altitude zone, Nairobi has not been an ideal destination for runners in the longer distances such as the marathon. The Paul Tergat 10 has come in as an alternative," he added.

"In coming up with this idea I sought to bring home a race that would be enjoyed by all ages and groups, whether individual or corporate."

Tergat also called on the Government to help with such events, stating that the allocation of national funding to sporting activities in the country "was still wanting."

"We need more support. Recent developments in various sporting activities where our sportsmen have done Kenya proud worldwide have shown that this is an area worth investing in," Tergat said.

His world record of 2 hours 4 minute 55 seconds that he set in Berlin in 2003.

Quote of today.

2006-09-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

"WHAT YOU RESIST...

PERSISTS"

The Secret

2006-09-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Secret is released to the world! This ground-breaking feature length movie presentation reveals The Great Secret of the universe. It has been passed throughout the ages, traveling through centuries... to reach you, mankind, and humankind. This is The Secret to everything - the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth: everything you have ever wanted. In this astonishing program are ALL the resources you will ever need to understand and live The Secret. For the first time in history, the world's leading scientists, authors, and philosophers will reveal The Secret that utterly transformed the lives of every person who ever knew it... Plato, Newton, Carnegie, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Einstein. Now YOU will know The Secret. And it could change your life forever. Presented in full screen, high quality, video with stereo sound requiring nothing more than a standard computer with a DSL/cable broadband connection. For most users, it is just like watching TV.

G LIVING LIVE, GREEN CHEFS

2006-08-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 27th, 2006 by GreenMonkey

On todays G Living Live, we have another episode of Green Chefs, DeliciouslyRaw with Leslie Bega. On this show Leslie whips up a fresh glass of Raw Chocolate Vegan Milk, using the left over mix from her Chocolate Pudding Recipe. You will need a few extra baby coconuts for this extended recipe.

This is a 2 part show really, you have to go back and watch the original chocolate mint pudding show to learn how to make the original mix. Don’t worry it’s worth it.

Check this out at :

http://gliving.tv/shows/g-living-live-show-0022-deliciouslyraw-raw-chocolate-vegan-milk/

This
Week
On LIVE

RELAX. RECOVER. RECALL. REPEAT.

2006-08-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

RELAX. RECOVER. RECALL. REPEAT.

That's your ritual.

By Gray Cook

Most great athletes have a ritual that helps them focus. An infielder may fiddle with a spot on his glove. An elite tennis player may adjust the racket strings after a hard shot even though the strings do not need, adjusting. A football kicker or punter may take a deep breath and shake his head right to left before the snap. A batter might swing a heavy bat. A golfer may do trunk twists while holding a club across her shoulders.

The push-up with a clap and the shoulder-tap push-up are two basic activities that are safe and require little time, space, and equipment. While doing these exercises, consider the fundamental essence of becoming quicker and developing speed, learning to relax in a situation that normally does not encourage relaxation. Body stress and tension only deplete energy and misdirect focus.

Between each set of jumping rope or push-ups, develop a relaxation ritual. It may be as simple as leaning left and right and stretching the back or leaning forward and backward and performing toe touches and backbends. It may mean pacing back and forth with eyes closed and focusing on the movements just performed. It does not matter what the ritual is; it matters what the ritual does. It should redirect focus and help the athlete relax. When developing a ritual to use between bouts of speed, quickness, and power, consider these four words: relax, recover, recall, and repeat.

Relax. Any ritual should promote relaxation. Control breathing. Increase the amount of air inhaled and exhaled, and reduce breathing speed. Clear the lungs completely instead of just huffing and puffing between sets. Close the eyes and imagine the movement just performed. Or pick an object or spot in space and focus on it. Initially, music may help promote relaxation. Many athletes train with music, but music cannot be reproduced in competition. This is one reason any ritual should come from inside the athlete, not from an outside source. Many athletes talk to themselves or chant. Some athletes hum or sing. It doesn't really matter as long as it creates relaxation.

Recover. Recovering from a bout of explosive activity is partly about relaxation and partly about focusing on a weak link. If that weak link is flexibility, for example, then it's best to pick a few stretches to do between sets, such as calf or quad stretches, upper-back stretches, or entire movement patterns, such as squatting or lunging. If the exercise itself causes anxiety or nervousness, it will develop tension in the muscles.

A good way to gauge tension is to stretch or explore movement patterns before the exercise and then repeat the stretch or movement after the exercise to see whether certain muscle groups became tense or tight. This may be part of the athlete's natural response, so recovery requires more than just breathing and lowering heart rate. It means making sure the musculoskeletal system feels loose, relaxed, and ready for another bout of exercise. Figure out what you need to do to lose the tension.

Someone with left-right differences may want to stretch only the stiff side. Those who are just generally stiff should pick the stiffest movement pattern and work on improving that movement pattern as part of recovery. Relax and continue breathing.

If flexibility is not a problem, stability may be. Those with stability problems tend to get sloppy in technique as fatigue sets in. The problem is not moving too little, it is moving too much. A great stabilizing activity is to stand on one foot and pull the opposite knee all the way to the chest. Most people will think that this stretches the hip and knee in the leg being pulled up, but actually it works the stabilizers in the standing leg. Standing on one leg brings in the trunk muscles. It reinforces proper posture as long as a tall, elongated spine and correct body alignment are maintained.

To achieve additional stability in the upper body, reach as high as possible with the arm on the same side as the standing leg. Do not reach back; raise it straight up. You should almost feel a stretch in the armpit. Note the stability on one leg compared to the other side. Work to make both sides equally stable. Remember to breathe arid relax. This does not require many muscles; it should feel natural. Stay tall, breathe deeply, don't round your back, and don't wobble.

Recall. So far, we have not asked much of the mind. Try to recall the activity just performed, not so much from a technical standpoint but rather from a perspective of feel. What were different body parts doing? Where was the main focus? What minor adjustments should be made now that you know what it felt like? Should you relax more? Should you keep the spine taller or more elongated? Should you move the rope faster or widen the hands in the push-up? Recall the activity. Consider the small changes that need to be made and run through them in your mind while going through your ritual.

Repeat. The final step is to repeat the activity in your mind and visualize how you would do it differently. If you would not do it differently, repeat the previous activity in your mind. If you plan to make a subtle change or adjustment, repeat the activity a few times in your mind before doing it.

That's your ritual. Although rituals may look different on the outside, most champions do the same four things automatically. Some focus more on relaxation or recovery. Some focus completely on the mental imagery of the activity just performed and the one they are going to do next. Most do all four steps; the ratio and the order don't matter much. By incorporating these concepts into your ritual, you will create a home base, a place you can go to recover, a place that you have been many times before in training, a place you can go to during competition.

Recognize that speed and quickness training occur just as powerfully when recovering and relaxing between bouts of exercise as they do when actually executing the moves. It can be helpful to pick other activities not related to your sport. Many athletes use table tennis and racquetball to maintain, quickness and alertness. One-on-one basketball is also an excellent way to learn to manage quickness and speed. These activities can be used to learn to relax under pressure, to be quick without being tense, and to remember to breathe and maintain good posture while performing an activity. A simple cross-training game like table tennis or racquetball can have positive effects when it comes to the way the brain and emotions deal with other situations that require speed and quickness. But don't just play. Use what you have learned and make it work.

The key is to eliminate over-analysis and force yourself to feel things you do not naturally feel. The body wants to relax and recover. The mind has no problem recalling a simple activity that it just did, which is why it is important to pick simple activities. If you cannot teach yourself to relax, recover, and repeat a jump rope or push-up activity how can you find success in a more complex movement?

Gray Cook is a practicing physical therapist. He has created the Functional Movement Screen, one of the pillars of the Reebok Core Training System, which he developed in 2000. He is author of the book titled Athletic Body in Balance, from which this article is adapted, and which includes training programs to address issues raised in this article. You can reach Cook through the web site

Wave Energy Coming ONLINE

2006-08-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 30th, 2006 in Renewable Energy by GreenMonkey
We have posted about wave energy a few times in the past, but it has always been on the drawing boards or concept models. Now we have the real thing, the Pelamis. The Pelamis is being deployed by Ocean Power Delivery LTD, and it works via hydraulics, to capture the energy of ocean waves. The first version was a test version in Scotland and now they have deployed them off the cost of Portugal.

The project in Portugal will be rated at 2.25 Mega Watts.

Will wave energy work / Here are some of the details behind the technology

Ocean waves represent a considerable renewable energy resource. Waves are generated by the wind as it blows across the ocean surface. They travel great distances without significant losses and so act as an efficient energy transport mechanism across thousands of kilometres. Waves generated by a storm in mid-Atlantic will travel all the way to the coast of Europe without significant loss of energy.

All of the energy is concentrated near the water surface with little wave action below 50 metres depth. This makes wave power a highly concentrated energy source with much smaller hourly and day-to-day variations than other renewable resources such as wind or solar. Conveniently, the seasonal variation of wave power closely follows the trend for electricity consumption in Western Europe.

The western seaboard of Europe offers an enormous number of potential sites. The most promising sites are off the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and Norway.

There is sufficient energy breaking on the UK shoreline to power the country three times over. However, it is not practical to recover all of this energy. The economically recoverable resource for the UK alone has been estimated to be 87TWh per year, or ~25% of current UK demand.

In the past five years there has been a resurgence of activity in wave energy, as the huge resource potential has been recognised. A number of developers in different countries have either installed or are about to install full-scale prototypes with funds in excess of 70 million euros have been committed to these installations.

There are many promising sites around the world; any site on the map shown with an average wave power level of over 15kW per metre has the potential to generate wave energy at competitive prices. Many countries recognise this potential and are seriously looking at how to exploit it.

The Future for the company: 13 million in new investment

It is anticipated that future `wave farm’ projects would consist of an arrangement of interlinked multi-machines connected to shore by a single subsea cable. A typical 30MW installation would occupy a square kilometre of ocean and provide sufficient electricity for 20,000 homes. Twenty of these farms could power a city such as Edinburgh.

Tips for the hopelessly inflexible

2006-08-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

By Brian Dorfman

For Active.com

May 26, 2006

When triathlon coach Paul Huddle and I got together in 1988 to produce the first flexibility material for triathletes, it was a meeting of two opposites: the hopelessly inflexible meets Gumby. Let's face it; the tri community is fun, but tight.

Where can the hopelessly inflexible start? First, it helps to understand that some stretching is necessary in order to prevent injury and perform at your best. To start, follow two easy steps: Bend the knees and go extra easy.

With the knees bent, forward stretches will feel better and be more effective at the hips, your prime area of mobility, and protect your hamstrings -- a vulnerable muscle.

Easy stretching can be difficult for some, so keep your breath even and smooth. Stretching should feel like you're lying around, chilling out, but you should also be aware of the muscles involved in the stretch. Athletes will often fight the stretch; instead adjust the stretches and enjoy.

I have included stretches that will help you work on your knee bend and your ability to relax. Good luck.

Standing forward bend

The standing forward bend does it all. It releases your mid back, relaxes your hips and harmonizes your nervous system. Those of you who are extra tight will love this stretch -- but remember to bend your knees. More specifically, bend them enough so that the top of the thigh touches the lower abdominal area at the end of the stretch.

Standing forward bend

Begin in a standing position, and take a deep breath in.
As you exhale, bend your knees, keep the chest lifted, and bend forward from the hips. When the lower abs touch the thighs, release the chest over the legs, drop your head and relax.
Take a few deep breaths, holding this position.
Inhale, lift and arch the chest two to four inches off the legs. Exhale, drop the torso again and fold over the legs. Repeat three times.
Relax over the legs for four breaths.

Twist

Athletes like to use the twist at the end of their stretch. It can be used to address tight hips, kidneys and abdominal muscles. In addition, the twist will balance the sacroiliac joint. If you have a disk injury, this stretch is not recommended.

In a twist, the less you push the movement, the better it will feel and work.You might feel like you should intensify the stretch by changing positions, but it's not necessary -- resist the urge to change position. This is a powerful stretch, so simply relaxing into it will provide the greatest benefits.

Lie on your back with knees bent in toward the chest and your arms out to the side.
As you exhale, drop your knees to one side, hold and inhale. Exhale as you drop your knees to the other side.
Alternate from side to side. Repeat six times.
Hold and relax on each side for eight breaths. Think about moving your ribs away from the hips.

Twist

Stretching is important because it will allow you to perform at your best. For the hopelessly inflexible, all the advantages of stretching are available. The key to stretching and training is to show up -- the rest is easy. When you stretch, remember to relax your knees and take it easy.

Race and train forever!

Brian Dorfman holds a BS in kinesiology from UCLA and has 25 years of experience helping world-class athletes and others reach their goals. His proven techniques keep athletes performing at their peak.

Bad Days Happen

2006-07-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

There's no worse sight in cycling than watching a group of riders leave you behind on a long climb. When it happens, either because you ran out of fuel or just couldn't hold the pace, there's nothing you can do about it. It's like a slow and painful death. You see and know exactly what's happening and what the end result is going to be, and all you really want is for it to be over. It's hard to stay focused on the competition; you just want to get to the finish line so you don't have to pedal anymore. But if you're racing the Tour de France you have to get up and do it all again tomorrow, and for Floyd Landis, that means putting today behind him and focusing on the opportunities ahead.If Landis needs an example of a rider who suffered through a bad day and then rebounded to have a pretty good race, he needs to look no further than Levi Leipheimer. The Gerolsteiner leader lost more than six minutes in the Stage 7 individual time trial, for no particular reason at all. He just had a bad day. When the race hit the mountains, however, there was Leipheimer in the front group on the climbs, even challenging for the stage win atop Pla-de-Beret in Stage 11. Today, in Stage 16, he made a bid to regain even more of the time he lost by launching a solo attack on the Col de la Croix de Fer. His chances for wearing the yellow jersey may have evaporated more than a week ago, but that doesn't mean you stop racing.Landis's body will recover from today, whether he ran out of energy or just had bad legs. It's his head that he needs to watch out for. On the climbs to Pla-de-Beret and Alp d'Huez, there was an unmistakable confidence in his riding. He wasn't too concerned that he was isolated from his teammates while T-Mobile, Rabobank, and others had more than one rider in the lead group. He calmly accelerated to close gaps while others were visibly struggling to do the same. He was in control. When you lose that control and that confidence, it can be difficult to get back.The key, for any rider who has an unexpected bad day in competition, is to remember that you're the same rider who performed so well so many times before. A bad day needs to be seen as an isolated incident. You need to examine it and try to figure out how and why it happened, learn from it, and then put it behind you. Elite athletes are able to do this, and it's part of what separates champions from pack fodder. Single bad events don't impact a champion's confidence in his ability to win or at least perform at the top of his game.Relieved of the pressure of carrying the yellow jersey, and perhaps even the expectation of being a podium contender, Floyd Landis might well be reborn tomorrow during Stage 17. He's still a strong rider who has shown himself capable of climbing away from everyone in this year's race. Given a night to eat, drink, rest, and reflect, he can recover from today's bad day and have a great ride to Morzine tomorrow.
"Chris Carmichael"

Eleven major marathon mistakes

2006-07-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

By Owen Anderson, Ph.D.

For Active.com

April 17, 2006

It's strange, isn't it? The marathon is clearly the least-forgiving of all popular race distances, and yet runners probably make more mistakes preparing for this event than they do for all other competitions combined.

The majority of runners can prepare for a 5K or 10K without major difficulty, but a variety of problems pop up almost as soon as they begin getting ready for a marathon. These troubles range from feeling tired and performing poorly to being truly overtrained, and they include the possible development of a painful, serious injury which thwarts training or even stops it completely.

Few competitors enter a marathon in optimal physical condition, and many never make it to the starting line because of fatigue, illness or physical breakdown. Those who do manage to hear the starting gun often sabotage their own efforts during the race by doing something really silly.

Marathon challenges

True, part of the problem is the race itself; the marathon presents some unique challenges. First, it's important to complete some very long runs as you prep for a marathon, a practice which isn't necessary for the 10K and 5K. Optimal carbo-loading is essential before a marathon, too, whereas fairly normal eating can get you through the 10K and 5K just fine.

In addition, your muscle-glycogen stores nearly vanish during a marathon, something which doesn't happen in the 10K and 5K (unless you are following a weird, low-carb diet).

You must guzzle sports drink during the marathon, also, but such imbibing is superfluous in the 10K and 5K. If you drink too much water while running a marathon, you might become hyponatremic. On the other hand, if you drink too little you may become dehydrated (the risk of hyponatremia in a 5K or 10K is non-existent, and the chances of dehydration are exceedingly low).

Finally, your efficiency of movement drops during the marathon, making your effort feel much harder; this usually doesn't take place over 5,000 or 10,000 meters. As you can see, the marathon presents a variety of unique obstacles which must be overcome if you want to run your best-possible race.

Avoid the top marathon mistakes

So, what should you do to move through your marathon training program without major mishap? How can you run a PR race on the anointed day? The key is to avoid the 11 most common marathon mistakes. These goof-ups represent the key reasons why marathoners often end up with disappointments rather than personal records.

Fortunately, you can avoid the mistakes rather readily, and doing so will improve your marathon performances dramatically.

Here are 11 mega-marathon mistakes:

1. Most marathoners don't have the right time goal. In August of last year, I was chatting with a very likable fellow who was training for the Chicago Marathon. When I asked about his goal time, he smiled confidently and said, "I'm shooting for seven minutes per mile." However, further discussion revealed that his current 5-K time was 24:48!

With just six weeks left before Chicago, it was very doubtful that he would be able to run a full marathon at a tempo one minute per mile faster than his best, current 5K!

While this example may seem slightly ridiculous, it's simply the outer edge of a very common phenomenon. Marathon entrants need to realize that if they train correctly their marathon pace will be about 48 seconds per mile slower than current 5-K capability, 32 seconds slower than 10-K pacing, and 16 seconds more lethargic per mile than half-marathon clocking. These shorter races can all be used to set a proper, realistic marathon goal speed.

2. Most marathon runners fail to fold goal-pace running into their long runs. As incredible as it seems, many marathoners perform their long runs at a specific, slower-than-goal pace and then expect to complete their marathons at a tempo which is about a minute per mile faster! This is a bit like preparing to build a 747 jetliner by fooling around with Lego^® blocks!

Endurance and running ability are always speed-specific; being able to run 26 miles in training at eight-minute pace doesn't increase the likelihood that you'll be able to run the marathon distance at seven-minute tempo -- or at any speed faster than eight minutes per mile.

Such non-specific exertion is "magical" training; an athlete is working hard and then hoping that the gods of running will sprinkle magic dust on him/her at the starting line of the race, allowing new talents to blossom.

Far better than a 20-mile run at slower-than-marathon intensity would be a 20-mile effort, with about 10 of those miles at goal pace. Such a training session would permit a marathon runner to see if goal pace was actually feasible, would improve efficiency at goal tempo, and would optimize endurance at hoped-for speed. Believe it or not, these are all good things -- and none of them are optimized by long runs at slower-than-goal tempo.

3. Too many marathon runners try to carry out a long run every weekend. After all, they rationalize, the marathon is a very long race, and so isn't it necessary to practice running long on a weekly basis? One problem with this is that most of the long runs are conducted at slower-than-goal pace, so they have little positive effect on marathon readiness (see mistake #2).

The key problem, though, is that long runs cast a shadow over subsequent training, making it difficult to carry out high-quality training on Monday through Saturday (the days in between the standard, Sunday, long run). With a long run every weekend, the leg muscles are always trying to recover from the impacts and abuses of Sunday's effort at the same time they're being asked to carry out Tuesday's high-speed interval workout and Thursday's red-hot hill session. That just doesn't work!

It's small wonder that weekly long runs increase the risk of injury for marathon trainees; the muscles are simply never given enough chance to recover from the prolonged exertions of the weekend. A far better strategy would be to carry out the long run every other weekend -- or even every three weeks. This would still allow a marathoner to learn how to run long, and it would permit much higher-quality training during the weeks that don't have a muscle-numbing long run on the prior Sunday.

4. Most marathoners fail to use sports drinks properly during the race. Consuming sports drinks shouldn't be "saved" for late stages of the race, when significant fatigue is beginning to set in. At that point, sports-drink consumption actually has little effect on performance, since the carbohydrate in the beverage must make its way past the stomach, into the small intestine, across the wall of the gastrointestinal tract, and through the blood to the muscles, all of which take a lot of time (in fact, so much time that the runner may be across the finish line before the first drops of carbs actually reach the sinews).

The most-important quaffing of sports drink actually takes place 10 minutes before the race begins, when eight to 10 ounces should be consumed. After that, five to six ounces should be imbibed every two miles or so during the race. Incidentally, one ounce is considered to be a normal, regular swallow of fluid. Don't forget to utilize this sports-drink-intake pattern during your long training runs, too.

5. Most marathon runners mix sports drinks with other things during the race. This is very bad. For example, if you consume a sports drink and water during a marathon, you'll end up with a very dilute solution in your gastrointestinal system; this will slow absorption of carbohydrate and leave you short of energy in the late stages of the race.

At the other extreme, if you consume a sports drink and gel during the race, you'll end up with a stomach full of molasses, which will empty into your small intestine slowly, retard absorption of carbohydrate, and increase your chances of ultimately developing a massive case of diarrhea. You should consume a sports drink -- and nothing else -- during the race.

It may be comforting to know that sports drinks can ward off dehydration just as effectively as water does, and that the sports drinks will leave you less likely to become hyponatremic.

6. Many marathoners fail to standardize their pre-race meal. On race day, you don't want anything exotic in your stomach. That means no Szechuan chicken, no sushi, no blackened salmon, and nothing that will create even the slightest cries of protest from your gut.

For your pre-marathon breakfast, you should choose only comfort foods -- eat foods that your system can digest easily. It doesn't matter what these foods are (of course, they shouldn't be laden with fat or grease); it just matters that they add to the carbohydrate stockpiles in your liver, blood and muscles, and that they furnish enough sustenance to fuel your prolonged effort.

Your pre-race meal should also be consumed before your long training runs -- with the same amount of "lead time" you will be using on marathon day.

For example, if your marathon starts at 10 a.m. and you plan to eat at 7 a.m. on race day, make sure you have the identical pre-race breakfast three hours before your long runs during training, too. That way, you'll be sure that you can run the marathon comfortably with the breakfast you've chosen; it will be neither too much nor too little, and it will be so comfortable that you can concentrate completely on the race itself, not on your belly.

7. Too many marathoners try something new on race weekend. Several years ago, a runner I was coaching bought a bottle of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) at a marathon expo the day before her race. The salesman told her that the MCTs would enhance endurance, and she reasoned that endurance was a good thing for the marathon and subsequently quaffed much of the bottle's contents during the hours leading up to the race.

As a result, even though she was mentally and physically ready to run a PR, her digestive system wouldn't let her. She felt sluggish, bloated, and unable to run at an intense pace -- except when a Port-a-Potty^® came into view. The lesson is that the weekend of the marathon isn't a time for experimentation. Meals should be the same, water consumption the same, shoes the same, etc. As mentioned, the marathon is intolerant of even very slight changes in procedure.

8. Marathon runners don't taper properly before the race. It takes about four weeks to recover from a long run of 18 to 20 miles or so. This means, obviously, that no runs of 18 miles or longer should be conducted during the month leading up to a marathon.

Unfortunately, many runners try to squeeze in one -- or even two -- long runs during the four weeks before the big race. The emphasis should actually be placed on recovery, not prolonged running, during the 28 days preceding a marathon. Recovery, of course, isn't consistent with high-volume training. Rather, it's fostered by a gradual reduction in training, i. e., a tapering period. Four-week tapers work well for the marathon, and weekly mileage during these four weeks can be 80 percent, 60 percent, 40 percent, and then 25 percent of usual levels.

9. Too many marathoners emphasize volume of training over quality. Come on, people -- when you get ready for a marathon, you're not training to run across the Sahara Desert. Seventy-mile-plus weeks might be great preparation for a multi-day race in which at least 10 miles must be traversed every day, but the idea in the marathon is to cover 26 miles, in a single dose of running, as quickly as possible.

For many runners, a 35-mile week can be far better preparation for the marathon than a 70-mile week, because the former can more effectively foster the completion of higher-quality training.

Contrary to popular belief, a 70-mile week isn't necessarily specific preparation for the marathon; after all, one could run seven miles 10 times during the week, and this would not imply better preparation than 35 miles of higher-quality effort.

Once again, it's what happens on the race course that matters, not the big numbers written in a log book. It's more effective to build up to a 20-mile long run, with about 10 miles at goal pace, than it is to accumulate tons of miles at slower-than-goal speed.

10. Too many marathoners forget that fitness is the ultimate predictor of marathon success. If your VO₂max, lactate threshold, economy, running strength, power and marathon-specific preparations are all in order, you'll have your best-possible race. If you don't work on each of these variables during training, you won't have a great race. Preparing for a marathon is all about optimizing these variables; it's not about pounding away with long runs and then hoping for the best.

11. Some marathoners actually think that walking during the race will improve their times. If we suggested to these same people that running more slowly during the event would upgrade their performances, they would laugh in our faces, but somehow they buy the walking concept lock, stock and barrel! No one needs to walk during the marathon; we can all learn to run the entire distance -- our times will not improve if we train to amble slowly during specific portions of the race.

Owen Anderson, Ph.D., is a coach and exercise scientist who edits Running Research News and is the author of three books on running: Great Workouts for Popular Races, Lactate Lift-Off, and Aurora. For more information about Owen's unique training techniques, visit http://www.runningresearchnews.com

Slow and Steady

2006-07-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Do you huff and puff your way through workouts -- and hate every gasp?

Then slow it down, especially if weight loss is one of your goals. New research shows that lower-intensity exercise may help you shed more pounds than a faster-paced activity -- as long as you burn enough calories from it. So get out of the high-speed lane. Walk, don't run. Jog, don't sprint. Skip the spinning class and pedal an exercise bike at a comfortable speed, all the while chanting: Do less, lose more.

RealAge Benefit: Exercising regularly can make your RealAge as much as 9 years younger.

The study compared two groups of women who did slower- or faster-paced sessions on the treadmill 4 days a week. During the sessions, each group exercised at their respective paces until the same number of calories was burned. After 3 months -- with absolutely no dieting -- the slower-goers had lost an average of more than 7 pounds each, while the quicker group had dropped only 4. Although the study was small, the numbers are compelling.

Not a treadmill type? No problem. Do whatever you like; just do something. The results are waiting!

Meat means misery for the world

2006-07-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

To have a vegan diet is not just a great for ones health, but it also could prevent people form starving.
Why are more than 840 million people going hungry?

Our meat-based diet is partly to blame as land, water, and other resources that could be used to grow food for human beings are being used to grow crops for farmed animals instead. According to a recent report by Compassion in World Framing, "crops that could be used to feed the hungry are instead being used to fatten animals raised for food." It takes up to 10 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of edible animal flesh.

The average adult human burns about 2,000 calories per day, just living his or her life. We use almost all the calories that we consume to move around, breathe, and do everyday tasks. The same is true of farmed animals. For every pound of food that they are fed, only a fraction of the calories are returned in the form of edible flesh. The rest of those calories are burned away raising the animal to slaughter weight or contributing to feathers, blood, and other parts of the animal that are not eaten by humans. This is why animals raised for food have to eat as many as 10 pounds of grain to create just 1 pound of edible flesh.

Because the industrial world is exporting grain to developing countries and importing the meat that is produced with it, farmers who are trying to feed themselves are being driven off their land. Their efficient, plant-based agricultural model is being replaced with intensive livestock rearing, which also pollutes the air and water and renders the once-fertile land dead and barren. If this trend continues, the developing world will never be able to produce enough food to feed itself, and global hunger will continue to plague hundreds of millions of people around the globe. The Guardian explains that there's only one solution: "It now seems plain that [a vegan diet] is the only ethical response to what is arguably the world's most urgent social justice issue."

Farmers in the developing world are abandoning their traditional crops in favor of raising animals to sell to meat-eaters in the first world. This means that, in some of the world's poorest nations, grain and land that could be used to feed the hungry are instead being fed to animals that end up on the dinner plates of the rich. Eighty percent of starving children live in countries that actually have food surpluses; the children remain hungry because farmers use the surplus grain to feed animals instead of people. Two-thirds of the grain that the U.S. exports to other countries is used to feed farmed animals instead of people.
For example, the hunger in Ethiopia did not occur because Ethiopian farmers could not produce food. On the contrary, during this crisis, which killed tens of thousands of people, European nations were actually importing grain from the impoverished country to feed European chickens, pigs, and cows. If the grain had been used to feed the Ethiopian people who grew it, the famine could have been averted.

According to Dr. Waldo Bello, executive director of the Institute for Food and Development Policy, "there is enough food in the world for everyone. But tragically, much of the world's food and land resources are tied up in producing beef and other livestock—food for the well off—while millions of children and adults suffer from malnutrition and starvation. In Central America, staple crop production has been replaced by cattle ranching, which now occupies two-thirds of the arable land."

American companies are moving into Latin American countries and buying up land and grain so that they can raise animals to sell to meat-eaters in the States. These companies use the resources that should be used to feed the local people, so millions of people in Latin America and around the world are going hungry while animals raised for food gobble up their grain and destroy the environment. In Guatemala, for instance, 75 percent of children under the age of 5 are malnourished, and yet the nation continues to produce and export 40 million pounds of meat to the U.S. every year. Instead of feeding the worlds hungry, we take their grain and land to feed our addiction to meat, eggs, and milk.

2006-07-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Diet & Fitness

2006-07-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Make the Outdoors Your Gym

You love your gym for a number of reasons: it's conveniently located; you always leave feeling refreshed after a long day; and, just admit it, you like being among the toned bodies. Ah, but here comes summer full of sunshine and warm breezes, beckoning you outside and away from the air-conditioned warehouse you call your second home.

Just because you're trading gym time for blue skies doesn't mean you have to give up trying to be a hard body. In fact, there are many outdoor activities that mimic gym workouts while yielding added benefits. Trees, mountains, rivers and lakes will revitalize you in ways that wall-to-wall mirrors can't.

Clyde Soles, author of the book Training for Peak Performance knows this all too well. "While elliptical machines, treadmills, and spinning bikes are OK if there are no alternatives, getting outside is always better," Soles says. As a prolific climber and expedition leader (as well as the founder of Trail Runner magazine), Soles has perfected the outdoor fitness regimen.

We asked Soles to name five favorite activities that would keep anyone in shape outside of a gym.

Power hiking

No tiptoe through the tulips here. Rather, "aggressive hiking with trekking poles to get the heart rate up for extended duration," he says. If you live near hills, all the better, though elevation gain is secondary to keeping up a brisk pace. Step it up a notch by donning a stuffed pack. It's also a good idea to wear solid and supportive hiking boots or shoes to avoid foot injuries, and bring lots of water.

Trail running

"Trails help improve balance and stamina better than roads and have better scenery," Soles says. Running on trails away from cars and bikes reduces the likelihood of nasty collisions, plus the solitude can be a refreshing change of pace. Most leading shoe companies now make models specifically for trail running; it's a good idea to invest in a pair.

Snowshoeing

OK, it's not a summer activity, but in many parts of the country, snowshoeing is possible in the buffer seasons of spring and fall. You may just need to drive to a mountain pass. In winter, if snow covers the earth where you live, you can showshoe right out your backdoor. The added weight and drag of the shoes makes for a hearty workout. Use trekking poles to add extra balance.

Road biking

"Low impact and great cardio rolled into one," Soles says. "Road biking is great for long, steady aerobic conditioning," Even better-you can ride your road bike to the gym if you want the sun and the mirrors. Be sure to wear a helmet and ride with traffic.

Rock climbing

Rock climbing isn't so much aerobic, but "long, moderate routes promote endurance and fine muscle balance-plus give a mental boost," Soles says. Few activities provide adrenaline rushes or natural highs like climbing. A good place to start is an indoor rock gym. Once you have the basics down (climbing technique, gear usage), take it outside-where it belongs.

The Power of Now

2006-06-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Power of Now has been widely recognized as one of the most influential spiritual books of our time. A #1 New York Times bestseller, it has been translated into over 30 languages. The book has helped countless people around the globe awaken to the spiritual dimension in their lives, find inner peace, increased joy and more harmonious relationships

To make the journey into The Power of Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. From the beginning of the first chapter we move rapidly into a significantly higher altitude where one breathes a lighter air, the air of the spiritual. Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart Tolle offers simple language and a question and answer format to guide us. The words themselves are the signposts.

For many of us there are new discoveries to be made along the way: we are not our mind; we can find our way out of psychological pain; authentic human power is found by surrendering to the Now. We also find out that the body is actually one of the keys to entry into a state of inner peace, as are the silence and space all around us. Indeed, access is everywhere available. These access points, or portals, can all be used to bring us into the Now, the present moment, where problems do not exist. It is here we find our joy and are able to embrace our true selves. It is here we discover that we are already complete and perfect.

Many of us will find that our biggest obstacle to this realization is our relationships, especially our intimate relationships. But again, we are in new territory and all is not what it had seemed before. We come to see that our relationships are yet another doorway into spiritual enlightenment if we use them wisely, meaning if we use them to become more conscious and therefore more loving human beings. The result? Real communion between self and others.

If we are able to be fully present and take each step in the Now; if we are able to feel the reality of such things as the inner-body, surrender, forgiveness, and the Unmanifested, we will be opening ourselves to the transforming experience of The Power of Now.

ROCK N' ROLL MARATHON

2006-06-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS!

Entrant		Jeff Collins

Event		Full Marathon

Date		Sunday June 4, 2006

Division / Race Number		M4549 / 10902

Gun Time / Chip Time		4h:43m:1s / 4h:37m:46s PR

Entrant		Renata Grandelle

Event		Full Marathon

Date		Sunday June 4, 2006

Division / Race Number		F3034 / 5962

Gun Time / Chip Time		4h:54m:47s / 4h:53m:18s

1st MARATHON

Ironman Brazil

2006-05-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Marcelo on the completion of his first Ironman!

Pos Num Name Country Cat Swim Bike Run Overall
757 971 MARCELO REALI NOGUEIRA BRA M3034 01:07:54 06:35:42 05:04:32 12:48:08

Background

2006-05-24T01:09:00.000-07:00

MyGen
Profile Generator

CADENCE

2006-05-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

by Coach Matt Giunta
At this point in the off-season, your motivation may be creeping back, and you might begin the process of setting some training and racing goals for 2006. Have you considered working towards improving your running cadence?
If your cadence is low, now is the perfect time to begin overriding the neurological pathways that connect the brain to the leg muscles. You may literally need to find a new internal beat for running, ideally in the range of 90-95 right foot strikes per minute. At first, shortening your stride and increasing turnover might have you feeling slower and less powerful as you sacrifice strength in certain muscles in order to build up others. Keep at it anyway! If you invest time during the Preparation and Base periods of your training to make some adjustments, the rewards will include faster run times, improved economy and endurance, and a much lower chance of injury.
Most of us will have to determine our run cadence manually by counting the number of right (or left) foot strikes per minute. As you get back on the roads, make the conscious decision to do a cadence check after every 10 minutes of running. Set an alarm on your watch if it helps. Count your steps for a full minute instead of using a smaller interval (sometimes rounding leads to errors).
Here are some skills and drills you can do to help improve your cadence:
Run on the front “ball” of your feet. No heel striking!
Keep your feet beneath you. Do not over-stride.
Hop on one foot, minimizing contact time for 10 reps. Switch legs and repeat. Build up to 3 sets of 30 reps.
Jumping rope can strengthen the muscles that stabilize the forefoot and can help teach rhythm.
Downhill strides of 100 meters broken up as: 30 meters build cadence, 40 meters high cadence (not a sprint), 30 meters decrease cadence.
Allow yourself four to six weeks of dedicated work to cement the changes of your new running style.

CONVERSIONS

2006-05-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Need to convert any kind of mesuraments?

Log in this site!

Running 101 Part 1(5)

2006-05-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the Momentum

Pacing in Running © by Ricardo Rodrigues

Running is one of the most demanding modalities in triathlon. It requires an athlete to maintain good posture, cope with the forces of gravity, and apply speed to ultimately, create a desirable pace.

Pacing can be very stressful to the nervous system. That is why we often see competitors on their competitor’s tail, and *rabbits on marathons. In addition, even if you have someone pacing you, you still need to have your own synchronization thorough upper and lower body to maintain a smooth momentum.
You don’t need to use the whole body to create pace, especially not the legs which already have a great deal of stress.
The secret are in your arms, they will dictate your speed. Arms are composed of small muscles which don’t require much O2 consumption; also, they are the link between your legs and your upper body through your core.

Here are some biomechanics pointers:

Let your arm hang. That will take the weight off your shoulders and neck muscles.
Use your elbows as the bottom of pendulum by bending the arm at 90 degrees
Close your hands, but keep them relaxed, as if you were holding a butterfly.
Alternate arms and legs. Right elbow goes back, right knee goes forward, left elbow goes forward, left knee goes back.
Swinging the arms towards the back, will increase the connection with your core (bringing arms too forward will increase the consumption of energy and complicate the synchronization).
Keep a smooth synchronization. Visualize the wheel mechanism of an analog watch, the small wheel (arms) engage and rotate the big wheel (legs).
Use a pacer to create muscle memory (90rpm).
RELAX!!

Drill: Running in place;

Initiate the movement slowly with your arms and let your legs follow it.
Within one minute interval, gradually increase the speed up to a full sprint and slowly back down alternating every 20’’. Take 30’’ rest.
Repeat the same routine several times until you are able to engage the whole movement through your arms.

Ricardo Rodrigues
Multisports Coach
www.BeginnersMindMethod.com

*In a Full Marathon, Rabbits are the fast runners that pace the top marathoners until half way of the course, after that they will stop and let them do the pace on their own.

Beginner's Mind Method

2006-05-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

Fitness 4 Fun

2006-05-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.taosports.com/index.html

2006-05-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: TaoSports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business, and Life.

I recomend this book whether you are an athlete, a business person or just appreciate a good reading.

"Dr. Jerry Lynch is an internationally recognized expert, author of 8 books and clinician in the field of Sports Psychology and peak performance for over 30 years, all sports, all ages, and all levels. Let Dr. Lynch coach you to realizing your full potential in athletics and life."

TAOSPORTS offers a more dynamic approach to excellence, success and improvement, helping you to redefine your athletic professional and personal capabilities and potential, whether you are a beginner or seasoned athlete.

TAOSPORTS will enable you to become mentally tough and begin to work or compete with heart; this means demonstrating attributes such as courage, commitment, compassion, patience, perseverance, desire, belief, fearlessness, tenacity, integrity, sacrifice and suffering to name a few. This inspirational approach presents building block attributes, "finger food" for the competition soul, helping you expand your lens of perception by focusing on possibilities, becoming not the best, but the best you can be. By doing so, you come alive and experience more joy, freedom and profundity in athletics, business and life. As a result, you begin to perform with greater magnitude and become more successful in all your endeavors, from the inside-out. In a word, you begin to compete with HEART.

This book represents all my visions and philosophies about my coaching, personal and athletic life.

" With self awareness of your body and mind, one can tap into different levels of energy zones, and transcend ourselves to achieve goal beyond our beliefs"

- Coach Ricardo Rodrigues

...................................................................................................

2006-05-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

Healthy Path

www.beginnersmindmethod.com

2006-05-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

Weaknesses can be overcome with a good dosage of physical and mental practices. Strengths are enhanced by refining the deepest foundation, but there is always a big wall, and to climb to the other side, physical and mental strengths are not enough. The integration of desire, relaxation, and patience, will bring awareness to levitate over this barrier, and so, experiencing a whole different world, a world with fluidity and connection, a place that is beyond physical pain and psychological misery.

Ricardo Rodrigues

2006-05-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

MAMMA MIA!!!

GREAT HEALTHY PRE-RACE DISHES PREPARED FAST AND EASY

People all over the world love pasta. You can enjoy it in its varied shapes, meatless meals with pasta as the entrée. Pasta, with its nonassertive flavor and complex carbohydrates, is a natural for pairing with a wide variety of ingredients perfect for the racing year.

Cooking pasta: Pasta fresh or dried should be cooked in an abundance of water at a full boil. When water is heating, bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan and then come to the surface. This is the water releasing dissolved air. If you can stir the water and stop the bubbling, then the water is not yet boiling. Adding pasta to water that is not rapidly boiling may make it mushy. Use at least 1quart of water for every 4 ounces of pasta. Add the pasta to the water in batches so the water temperature doesn’t drop too dramatically. Stir the pasta immediately with a long-handled spoon, being careful not to be burned by the steam. Stir frequently. If you use plenty of water, you will not need to add any oil, as oil is used primarily to keep the starch foam from boiling over onto the stovetop. The oil will also coat the pasta and cause the sauce to slide off then noodles.
Most fresh pastas take 2 to 3 minutes to cook. Boxes of dried pasta usually give cooking times, but these should be thought of as guidelines only. A good rule of thumb is to cook the pasta 3 minutes less than indicated in the directions. Before draining, break one piece of pasta in half. There should be a small line or dot of white in the middle. The pasta will be al dente, or “to the tooth”, at this point and perfect. If the pasta is to be baked in a casserole, consider cooking it a few minutes less.
Pasta being used for cold salads should be rinsed with cold water.

Basic Tomato Sauce
Sometimes deiced tomatoes give a better flavor to red sauce than crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. You may want to try them-if you don’t want a chunky sauce you can purée it.

1-tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2-tablespoon tomato paste
2 canes of diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook the garlic for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until the paste is heated through. Add the pureed tomatoes and salt, cover the pot and cook the sauce for about 40 minutes on a low heat.
Makes enough sauce for 8 ounces of pasta, or 4 servings.

My little suggestion: instead of using real cheese, which is high in cholesterol and sat. fats you can use Rice cheese, which by the way tastes like the real thing, my favorite brand is Galaxy Nutritional Foods, Rice Grated Topping, Parmesan Flavor and for the canned tomatoes look for the Italian imported San Marzzano tomatoes because they are really rich in flavor.

BUON APETITO A TUTTI!!!

2006-04-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Healthy Path

2006-04-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

Running Group Classes
Running practices are the best way to loose weight and get your life back in the healthy mode.
With a group,...

Free Classifieds

2006-04-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

Improve your posture.

Take the load off your back and regain the control of your body.

Ricardo has helped many people to loose weight, regain their balance, be more active and strong as well as athletes to achieve their unlimited capacity.
Classes are limited in space for a more personable aproach.The exercises are safe, fun and challenging.
ALL AGES... ALL LEVELS
For more in depth knowledge of this practice, go to www.3dhumanmotion.com
More About Ricardo's practices, go to www.beginnersmindmethod.com

Healthy Path

The best inspiration comes from people that cultivates excellence

Moments of sacrifice

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Trail running in Hawaii

Bottle Neck

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The spirit of competition.

Keeping it real

Ricardo Lentils and Kale recipe

The formula to a modern human fitness

Running is a learning skill

RUNNING AND IT'S 4 ELEMENTS

Running Seminar

Snack Tip

What is more intelligent, the "Brain" or the "Mind" and why?

Assessing Your Ironman Using the 4 Keys

Listen to Your Body to Avoid Injury: Part I

Random thought

What is Beginner's Mind?

Born to Run author Christopher McDougall

Encinitas Triathlon

Got inspiration?

Feel Stronger with This Mineral

More Amazing Olive Oil News

Changing Speeds to Go the Distance

Multimedia

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This article is the second in a series that began with “A Swimmer’s Different Strokes for Success” (March 20).

The Six Habits for a Six-Pack

"Bringing sexy back"

Running tips video by Ricardo Rodrigues

4 Ways to Baby Your Liver

Energy Bars 101

•All About YOU: Brain Pills

Tune Up Your Brain

Mind over Matter.

SEH 5km Congratulations

•Not Your Average Nut

Exercise Has Profit Potential

USANA

Obese Employees Cost Companies More

Diabetes on Your Mind

•Too Skinny to Be Fat?

When You Snooze You . . . Win!

Personal Training/ Group Exercise teaching classes

• Colds Hate Positive People

All About YOU: Stand Up Straight

A New Way to Maintain Your Brain

CORE TRAINNING MODALITIES

Human running mechanics

Lower body motion

Support

Drive

Recovery

Upper body motion

Elements of good running technique

Upright posture and a slight forward lean

Stride rate

Running injuries

Competitive running

Types of running events

Classification of running by distance

SWIM WITH PERFECTION

ChiRunning Rhythm for Triathletes

All About YOU: How to Eat More and Weigh Less

"GOOD FOR YOU" GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Quote of today.

Marathon World Record

Athletics

Quote of today.

The Secret

G LIVING LIVE, GREEN CHEFS

RELAX. RECOVER. RECALL. REPEAT.

Wave Energy Coming ONLINE

Tips for the hopelessly inflexible

Bad Days Happen

Eleven major marathon mistakes

Slow and Steady

Meat means misery for the world