new years – finding your new viscious cycle

New Years is about resolutions, and everyone is talking about how fit they’re going to be in the new year.  I’m all for it.  Here’s some more food for thought.

In this Scientific American piece – Eat Exercise & Be Merry keeping a weekly journal of what you have to be grateful for, seemed to help folks in the study exercise more and keep a positive attitude.  I would agree that thinking positively leads you to be more optimistic, and try a little harder, and that leads you to push a little more in your workouts, which in turn will give you better results.

So putting yourself into a little positive feedback loop, a viscious cycle turned on end if you will, doesn’t sound like such a bad idea for the new year!

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December 28, 2009|Nutrition + Diet, fitness, health, life balance, motivation|Post Comment »

keep the body fit make the mind fit?

Found another great article on the link between physical fitness of the body, and brain or mental fitness.  One way to think of it is a lucky side affect of working out the body.  Another way to think of it is there is no real way to separate the two.  Overall body health and fitness go together.

Scientific American – Fit Body, Fit Mind?

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December 21, 2009|brain, fitness, health, motivation|Post Comment »

Fat and Fitness – either or?

An interesting article at Scientific American asks the question Can Fat Be Fit? Indeed fitness actively improves body composition, increasing muscle mass, while also increasing bone mass.  This increase in body density, if coupled with cardiovascular exercise compounds the improvements to increase overall metabolism.  All of this snowballs to cause weightloss.  Of course your weight is still day-to-day a factor of calories in versus calories out (burned).

I think this is an interesting discussion overall, and definitely worth a read.  Looking at different sports, you see a different pattern of fat distribution, some extremely skinny and wirey, while others are softer.  Sumo wrestlers might be an extreme example, as they are quite fit, yet continue to maintain significant bulk.

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December 14, 2009|About, Nutrition + Diet, fitness|Post Comment »