How to get your bonus ebook

Follow this link to the download page.

Once there, you'll need the password "newyear" minus the quotes to access the download page.

When you reach the download page, click on the link to open your ebook.

Adobe Acrobat Reader will open the file, if you have Acrobat Reader installed on your machine.

If you wish to save the file for later viewing, right click on the link, and select Save Target As... from the pop up menu. Navigate to a place on your hard drive, and save the file.

I hope you enjoy the ebook.

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Nutrition: When Bad Things Happen to Good Food

I saw this posted online this week and thought you might enjoy reading why these foods earned a place on the list. Notice a recurring pattern?

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/top_10_good_food_bad.html

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Q&A: What are the benefits of varying your workout routine?

A: Individuals should consider varying their exercise routines for two fundamental reasons: (1) to prevent boredom associated with doing the same things workout after workout and (2) to avoid or delay reaching a plateau in workout performance and, subsequently, training results. Research has shown that adding variety to an exercise program can improve adherence.

Exercise scientists at the University of Florida observed that individuals who modified their workouts every two weeks over aneight-week period appeared to enjoy their workouts more and were more inclined to stick with their exercise programs when compared to individuals who followed the same workout regimens week after week. Varying your exercise routine can also help you stay physically challenged. Many of the body's physiological systems (e.g., the muscular system) adapt to an exercise program within approximately six to eight weeks. If you do not modify your exercise routine, you reach a plateau because your body has adapted to the repetitive training stimulus.

There are several ways you can spice up your current workout routine, including boosting the intensity of your workouts. For instance, if you jog or run, try incorporating some intervals of sprinting (e.g., sprint to a given landmark, then jog to the next one) or adding more hill work to your run. You can also cross train and perform different activities to provide your body with a new challenge. A nice alternative for resistance-training exercises involves changing the sequence in which you perform the training exercises. By fatiguing the muscles in a new order or pattern, you are requiring them to adapt to a new training stimulus. Another option for adding variety to strength-training workouts is to replace some or all of the exercises in your workout routine (e.g., substitute a dumbbell pectoral fly exercise on a stability ball for your typical barbell bench press exercise).

Keep in mind that doing the exact same workout, day after day is not necessarily a bad thing. Some people enjoy a predictable, consistent routine. They don't mind the possibility of experiencing a training plateau and are content to maintain their health and fitness levels with a comfortable exercise habit. However, many individuals need to push themselves to new levels and try different activities to stay enthusiastic and excited about their workouts. By varying their exercise routines, individuals can not only stay physically challenged, but mentally stimulated as well.

Source: Bryant, Cedric X. ACE FitnessMatters, November/December 2004.

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Tailored Fitness Research:
Which Muscles Work Harder During a Stability Ball Bench Press?

Stability Balls are used for almost everything in gyms and at home these days. Do they always give us the result we are after?

This study investigated muscle activity using surface electromyography (EMG) of upper-body and abdominal muscles during the concentric (lifting) and eccentric (lowering) phases of the bench press on and off a stability ball. Volunteers for this study were 14 resistance-trained subjects who performed isolated concentric and eccentric bench press repetitions using the 2 test surfaces with a 2-second pace at 60% of their maximum effort.

The results of the study showed that deltoid and abdominal muscle activity was increased when repetitions were performed using the stability ball. Increased deltoid muscle activity supports previous findings for increased activity when greater instability is introduced to the bench press movement. Abdominal muscle activity increases were not hypothesized, but this finding provides scientific evidence for anecdotal reasoning behind stability ball use as a potential core stability training device.

This study demonstrates that the acute effect of utilizing the stability ball in the performance of bench press exercise is an increase in the muscle activity of stabilizing muscles associated with the task, the deltoid and abdominal muscles. The stability ball did not lead to increased activity for the prime movers of the exercise, the pectoralis and triceps.

This study does contribute to the body of evidence demonstrating increased abdominal muscle activity during exercise performed on the stability ball. If instability of the shoulder girdle is an issue for you then you may not want to attempt benching on a stability ball. However, if you are looking for some additional core work without having to flex the spine, and your shoulders can take it, then give this a shot.

Increased Deltoid and Abdominal Muscle Activity During Swiss Ball Bench Press. Paul W.M. Marshall and Bernadette A. Murphy The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 745–750.

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Tailored Fitness Recipe: Almond Quinoa Pilaf

This recipe serves: 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup roasted slivered almonds, coarsely chopped
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Cooking Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the quinoa and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the quinoa is tender. Strain and rinse well with cold water. Drain well.

2. Transfer the quinoa to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the olive oil, cranberries and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Garnish with chopped parsley

To roast whole, slivered, chopped or sliced almonds: Spread in an ungreased baking pan. Place in a 350?F oven and bake 10 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant; stir once or twice to ensure even browning. Note that almonds will continue to roast slightly after removing from oven.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 267
Total Fat 12 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Protein 8 g
Total Carbohydrate 33 g
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Sodium 104 mg
Percent Calories from Fat 39%
Percent Calories from Protein 12%
Percent Calories from Carbohydrate 49%

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