A little more Carbs helps

I eat low carb, no wheat no grains. I eat moderate fats and protein as well as a lot of greens.
I sometimes find my energy for late afternoon workouts is waning. Because of my job I workout at 3:30 or 4 pm.

I recently added some beans to my diet in the mid-day. Just a cup or so of homemade black beans usually.
This seems to have solved my problem with lack of energy and my workouts have gotten better and stronger.

Legumes are used by the body differently than many carb rich food. The fiber has a  lot to do with that too.
Basically the enrgy boost is a storng one and the glucose rise is low or minimal. This should be your main concern.
You don't want your blood sugar rising much over the low 100's. So beans seem like a good answer for me. Hope they help you too.

Recipe for Black Beans:
I cook black beans in olive oil with garlic, onion and peppers. Saute a cut up onion, some fresh garlic and sweet or hot peppers in about two tbsp of oil, then add the black beans with the liquid (if canned).  A 1/2 cup of white wine is good to add too. Turn the heat down and let it simmer awhile. Then enjoy.

Get Outside

If you are not getting outside much, you may be working out but missing a lot of the benefits of fresh air and sunshine.
Vitamin D is super important to your health, and the best way to get sufficinet amounts is from sunshine.
Get out and walk, jog if you like, or simply do some stretching and movement while in the out of doors. Try this with bare feet to ground yourself to the earth.

Tai Chi is a wonderful way to loosen up and stay younger, best of all it can be done outside.
Maybe you can find a group to join.

I cant understand him ..but he is over 80!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykJA26CnCi8


80 year old. Training  and eating...he even eats white rice. Which is a surprise to me. Looks great though!

CHANGING IT UP for Success

I sometimes get frustrated at the slow progress I make. I find that at 64, the ability to put on muscle is a tough one to get a handle on. I ame able to maintain my body and keep it strong, but not as strong or muscular as I would like.
I think this is partly due to stagnation with my workouts.
So I am once again changing it up.
I am still goin to do the 30 minute 5 day a week program, split routine.
But I am adding reps and sets.

I did chest , shoulders, triceps routine yesterday with 2 sets of each exercise for as close to 15 reps as I could get. Used 80% of my max one rep weight, and more machines than free weights.
I did vertical chest press/ incline and decline chest press/ dumbell flyes/ free weight bench press.
Seated overhead press/ tricep press down, dips/ shoulder raise on machine.

Will do back and biceps today, same structure.

I do some ab work at every workout, and do the HiiT traiing warm up on elliptical.

Hopefully this will spark some more progress or at least add a bit more muscle to my still small frame.

 tricep press down attachment

New HiiT information

The evidence for short burst training and the benefits it can give is rolling in. Results of a 20 second high intensity burst followed by rest period and then 3 more fast/ slow sequences are really good. Blood tests reveal the lowering of blood sugars after pst- workout meals even days later.

My new warm up is a sequence of 5 by 30 seconds elliptical sets, with a 30 second slow down between. I use a 1 minute warm up at the slow speed, of 3.5 miles per hour. Then a 30 second burst at 10 MPH which is hard to maintain for long. I pump the machine with legs and arms.

My heart rate is in the 130-140 range.

I follow this up with my ab routine;

1 set of leg raises on a parallel bar set. Then a few "L" position holds.
Crunch machine with 50 pounds, followed by 70 lbs, then 80 lbs.
Flex ball set of 25 sit ups.
Side bends with 50 lb dumbells.

This is followed by whatever split I am doing that day, legs, back& biceps, or chest/shoulders/triceps.

This workouot is non stop and takes roughly 30 minutes to get through.

If I am having back pain or low level of energy I may use lighter weights or machines for each exercise. IN any event I do the routine and get it done. Slow reps, good breathing and I listen to motivational pod-casts like Fat Burning Man or Underground Wellness.

It works for me. It could work for you if you eat right ( low carb- no grains and high protein, good fats especially from coconut and some dairy) .

Get going now

Been relaxing too much? As weget older taking a rest seems to be more important in our lives. That is all fine if you will get out and get going soon afterwards. 

For example after work, you might relax and catch up on the news or whatever interests you, but after 30 to 60 minutes of being slowed down, you need to get up, get out and get moving. If you are stuck indoors, hit the floor for some push-ups, ab work, whatever will get the heart rate up.
I work out right after the workday ends, and then do some outdoor activity as well, weather permitting.  It is only afterwards that I will pick up a novel to read, grab the laptop or relax with some music. 

If you can; get outside, 
grab the mower ( not the riding kind). 
Pickup a basketball and shoot some hoops.


Go for a long brisk walk ( 30 minutes or more) with your partner or your dog or all alone. It's all good.
Jog or even better yet run some sprints.

Bike!!

Hike!!       

Kayak!!

............ whatever it takes to get going.

Those restful times stretch out and you may end up needing the more and more. Don't let that time of  rest lead to an early death!! 

Posture and Sitting

I have a job where I must sit at a computer a lot. Sitting is terrible for your body. In order to counter this, I frequently stretch. I will do a shoulder stretch by pulling shoulders slight forward then slightly up and then back a bit. This pulls then straighter. I lift my neck up and sometimes assist with my hands to do this ..gently.

I may also get on the floor and do a curve up ( sphinx) stretch. You may not be able to use the floor but you can place your hands on your hips  ..and curve your back a bit to relieve the tension there.

Also while sitting- be sure to sit tall, don't slump.

A good workout after work will help erase the problems sitting can cause. These also help!!