Plyometrics are exercises we do that involves jumping or leaping in any direction, whether up, out, back, forward. Adding even the littlest of plyometric work into your workout, whatever your age, will help build bone density which will help later on in life when you start to lose that bone mass.
Easy examples of plyometric work includes jumping rope, broad jumps (even the littlest jump), hopping of any kind (try doing 50 hops on one foot, promise you will feel it), and skaters.
Rule: We never jump from a higher surface to a lower surface, that is a good way to lose your knees.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
The basics, "What is..."
What is a calorie? What is a carbohydrate? What is fat? What is a protein?
We are a world obsessed with these things but I bet most of you can't tell me what exactly a calorie is. Don't feel bad, you're not alone, and I'm here to tell you what it is and a little more. Fact, the more educated we are on a particular topic, the easier we are able to find a solution. So let's dive right in.
What is a calorie?
Textbook definition: The amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius. One calorie equals 4.18400 joules.
A lot of people think calories are bad things in food that we don't need. Hence the term "burning calories". We aren't so much burning them as much as measuring by them. Our bodies function off heat energy. When we look on the back of a package of pizza and it says there are 500 calories per slice that is telling us it will take your body 500 calories to burn off that piece of pizza. That is excess energy your body is using just to burn off that food. Then it can get back to burning to producing energy to maintain your body's normal functions or (as most of us prefer) burning for weight loss. Calories are provided by fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
What is a carbohydrate?
Textbook definition: An organic compound that consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 2:1 ratio.
What does this mean to you? It is your body's most readily available and easy to use energy source. Carbohydrates are what fuels our body for work (glucose). Carbohydrates are also a synonym for saccharides (sugar). There are complex carbs and there are simple carbs. For the sake of keeping it simple today, we won't get into the differences (I'll post another blog later). Our body needs carbs or it has no energy to function. That is why the Atkins diet is such a poor diet, you can't go even a day without carbs or your body will start to shut down without the proper energy to fuel it. Where we run into problems with weight control is when we consume too much energy that our body doesn't need it so it stores it instead.
What is protein?
Textbook definition: Large molecules consisting of amino acids which our bodies and the cells in our bodies need to function properly.
Everything is protein. From our skin, our hair, our muscles, protein accounts for 20% of our total body weight. Protein itself is made of amino acids, or building blocks. Our bodies need protein to build new cells, new skin, new muscles. Plus, another great thing about protein is it only has 4 calories per gram (as apposed to fat that has a whopping 9 calories per gram). What does this mean to you? Protein is a bargain, you can eat less of it and feel full more quickly!
What is fat?
Textbook definition: Consists of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure and composition. Although the words "oils", "fats", and "lipids" are all used to refer to fats, "oils" is usually used to refer to fats that are liquids at normal room temperature, while "fats" is usually used to refer to fats that are solids at normal room temperature. (I took this from Wikipedia, lengthy but accurate)
There are all different kinds of fats. Again, for the sake of keeping it simple I will post a blog later. Fat is what actually helps communication in our bodies happen. It is great at sending hormonal signals throughout the body and tells us when we are low on energy. We have fat everywhere in our bodies. If you were to take an MRI you could see all of this fat as white areas. Of course, we know excess fat is bad for us but it is also important to know due to it's importance in relaying messages in our body and cushioning our vital organs we need fat! We just have to be careful where our sources of fat come from. An easy way to decide where our fats come from: If the fat is solid at room temperature (i.e. butter and lard) it doesn't have the nutrients we need. If it is liquid at room temperature (i.e olive oil) it has the healthy nutrients our body needs to maintain great communication and cushion our organs and joints.
We are a world obsessed with these things but I bet most of you can't tell me what exactly a calorie is. Don't feel bad, you're not alone, and I'm here to tell you what it is and a little more. Fact, the more educated we are on a particular topic, the easier we are able to find a solution. So let's dive right in.
What is a calorie?
Textbook definition: The amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius. One calorie equals 4.18400 joules.
A lot of people think calories are bad things in food that we don't need. Hence the term "burning calories". We aren't so much burning them as much as measuring by them. Our bodies function off heat energy. When we look on the back of a package of pizza and it says there are 500 calories per slice that is telling us it will take your body 500 calories to burn off that piece of pizza. That is excess energy your body is using just to burn off that food. Then it can get back to burning to producing energy to maintain your body's normal functions or (as most of us prefer) burning for weight loss. Calories are provided by fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
What is a carbohydrate?
Textbook definition: An organic compound that consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 2:1 ratio.
What does this mean to you? It is your body's most readily available and easy to use energy source. Carbohydrates are what fuels our body for work (glucose). Carbohydrates are also a synonym for saccharides (sugar). There are complex carbs and there are simple carbs. For the sake of keeping it simple today, we won't get into the differences (I'll post another blog later). Our body needs carbs or it has no energy to function. That is why the Atkins diet is such a poor diet, you can't go even a day without carbs or your body will start to shut down without the proper energy to fuel it. Where we run into problems with weight control is when we consume too much energy that our body doesn't need it so it stores it instead.
What is protein?
Textbook definition: Large molecules consisting of amino acids which our bodies and the cells in our bodies need to function properly.
Everything is protein. From our skin, our hair, our muscles, protein accounts for 20% of our total body weight. Protein itself is made of amino acids, or building blocks. Our bodies need protein to build new cells, new skin, new muscles. Plus, another great thing about protein is it only has 4 calories per gram (as apposed to fat that has a whopping 9 calories per gram). What does this mean to you? Protein is a bargain, you can eat less of it and feel full more quickly!
What is fat?
Textbook definition: Consists of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure and composition. Although the words "oils", "fats", and "lipids" are all used to refer to fats, "oils" is usually used to refer to fats that are liquids at normal room temperature, while "fats" is usually used to refer to fats that are solids at normal room temperature. (I took this from Wikipedia, lengthy but accurate)
There are all different kinds of fats. Again, for the sake of keeping it simple I will post a blog later. Fat is what actually helps communication in our bodies happen. It is great at sending hormonal signals throughout the body and tells us when we are low on energy. We have fat everywhere in our bodies. If you were to take an MRI you could see all of this fat as white areas. Of course, we know excess fat is bad for us but it is also important to know due to it's importance in relaying messages in our body and cushioning our vital organs we need fat! We just have to be careful where our sources of fat come from. An easy way to decide where our fats come from: If the fat is solid at room temperature (i.e. butter and lard) it doesn't have the nutrients we need. If it is liquid at room temperature (i.e olive oil) it has the healthy nutrients our body needs to maintain great communication and cushion our organs and joints.
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