People hate Cardio

HOW MUCH?

• There is no 'best' cardio exercise. Anything that gets your heart rate up fits the bill
  It's not what you do, but how hard you work. Any exercise can be challenging if you make it that way


• Do something you enjoy. If you hate gym workouts, don't force yourself onto a treadmill. If you like socializing, consider team sports or a walking club.


• Do something you can see yourself doing at least 3 days a week.
  Be flexible. You don't have to do the same thing all the time--it's boring and will lead to weight loss plateaus as well.

Don't worry about the science behind heart rate. To get started take note of your percieved exertion, keep your cardio just below the level of were you can't hold a converstation, maybe a 4-6, and you will be doing some good.

Don't Skip the CORE!

If you get knocked down or fall can you continue the fight?

If your on the ground what muscle group do you think is most important? The act of "getting up" takes almost every muscle in the body. The core ties these muscles together, the stronger the your core the more efficient you can react in a downed situation. Think about a side crunch and the movement the officer in the above photo is making. What if he had to maintain weapon position and stand, his core would be doing 90% of the work.

Bridges and bicycle crunches are 2 very effective ways to train your abs. Don't skip the core, it is important!

Heart Reat Monitor

I use a polar heart rate monitor that allows me to, not only monitor my heart rate during exercise, but I can download the data onto my computer for further analyses. This is great for serious athletes and novices like the rest of us. For me it helps motivate me and keep me interested. Polar makes lots of cool tech to help you reach your goals check them out here .

Here is a sample of my heart rate during a spin class at the gym.

The graph helps you see how hard you are working, the peaks in the red are around 85% of my max.

To get your heart rate estimates click here.

How bad was lunch?

SUBWAY:

6" meatball marinara on wheat with cheese has -560 calories and 24 grams of fat, 11grams saturated fat. That means if you have a foot long you will take in 1120 calories and 22 grams of saturated fat and 3180 mg of sodium. The worst sandwich on the menu is the chicken and bacon ranch, but just barely. The Tuna sandwich is the 3rd highest with 530 calories and 31 grams of fat for the 6".
click here for Subway's menu info

Chili's:

Hard to know where to begin here. Chili's has a horrible menu and if you eat there even once a month you should checkout there website for nutritional information.Take the chicken crispers for example-over 1800 calories and 124 grams of fat, 17 saturated, and 4790 mg of sodium. That is not the worst item on the menu. click here to see how bad it really is

click here for Sonic

Click here for McDonald's

The information is out there you should spend a few minutes and find out what you are really eating.

Fat Intake

Look for 30% or less total calories from fat!

That means, taking the label above, divide the number of calories from fat {110} by the total number of calories {250} to get the % of fat calories.

110/250=.44 or 44%

Sandwich is an easy FIX

A sandwich can be an easy fix, if you are looking for a "good for me" meal.

Just follow some common sense rules and you will be fine.

• Make it yourself so you know what is in it
• whole wheat bread
• no secret sauces or mayo-use mustard it's low in calorie and fat free
• Add spinach, sprouts, tomatoes, pickles and fancy lettuce for added vitamins
• Avoid the cheese or try fat free or at least lower fat, just realize that you could be adding 150 calories to your sandwich with a single slice
• Use lean meats like turkey, chicken or ham and watch for processed sandwich meats, look for natural striations in the meat if you don't see them it's likely that it is highly processed. The "turkey breast" may be pressed together from bits and pieces from who knows what. Terms like "all natural" and "low fat" have no true definition and are not regulated by the FDA.
• Skip the chips or at least look for "baked", and again, you are adding 200-250 calories to your meal with no nutritional value.

The "Murph"

Workouts come in all shapes and sizes. You don't have to go to the gym to get a good workout.

Here is a hardcore one I found on Crossfit:

"In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005".

For time:

1 mile Run

100 Pull-ups

200 Push-ups

300 Squats

1 mile Run

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it. Of course not everyone is can do 100 pull ups or 200 pushups, but you might be surprised what you can do if you really push yourself.

Second Hand Smoke

Smoking ban leads to major drop in heart attacks
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Wed Dec 31, 6:06 pm ET
ATLANTA – A smoking ban in one Colorado city led to a dramatic drop in heart attack hospitalizations within three years, a sign of just how serious a health threat secondhand smoke is, government researchers said Wednesday. The study, the longest-running of its kind, showed the rate of hospitalized cases dropped 41 percent in the three years after the ban of workplace smoking in Pueblo, Colo., took effect. There was no such drop in two neighboring areas, and researchers believe it's a clear sign the ban was responsible.
The study suggests that secondhand smoke may be a terrible and under-recognized cause of heart attack deaths in this country, said one of its authors, Terry Pechacek of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least eight earlier studies have linked smoking bans to decreased heart attacks, but none ran as long as three years. The new study looked at heart attack hospitalizations for three years following the July 1, 2003 enactment of Pueblo's ban, and found declines as great or greater than those in earlier research.
"This study is very dramatic," said Dr. Michael Thun, a researcher with the American Cancer Society.
"This is now the ninth study, so it is clear that smoke-free laws are one of the most effective and cost-effective to reduce heart attacks," said Thun, who was not involved in the CDC study released Thursday.
Smoking bans are designed not only to cut smoking rates but also to reduce secondhand tobacco smoke. It is a widely recognized cause of lung cancer, but its effect on heart disease can be more immediate. It not only damages the lining of blood vessels, but also increases the kind of blood clotting that leads to heart attacks. Reducing exposure to smoke can quickly cut the risk of clotting, some experts said.
"You remove the final one or two links in the chain" of events leading to a heart attack, Thun said.
Secondhand smoke causes an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths and about 3,000 lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers each year, according to statistics cited by the CDC.

Read more on this article here.click

The Police and Bad Diets

Don't wait for your new year's resolution to start eating right. DO IT NOW!

• Lay off the fast food-eat before you leave for work. Pack your lunch with lean meats, natrual complex carbs and fruits like apples, oranges and bananas. Skip the mayo and cheese on your sandwich. Skip the chips and fries.


• Wake up and burn some calories. Hit your workout first thing in the morning. Once it is done you don't have to worry about running out of time later in the day. If you don't schedule a workout, it doesn't exist-you have to make time.


• Don't wait-start now. Don't start Monday or next week start now. Follow an eating schedule.

example

6:30am breakfast

9:30am morning snack

12:30pm lunch

3:30pm afternoon snack

6:30pm dinner

10, 15, 20 INCREASING REP SETS

A different twist in how to structure you sets, the "increasing rep" method can help you breach a door or a plateau in your training. Here is how it works:

First, pick a weight that you can only lift 10 times with good form.

Then, go down in weight so that you can complete 15 good reps.

Your third set should have a weight that you can lift with 20 reps.

If you are in good shape and need a few extra sets then do each step twice (2 sets at 10 reps, 2 sets at 15 reps, etc.), you may not be able to complete the second set in the the group, but that's ok.

You have to change things up to make true progress.......CHALLENGE YOURSELF!!!

Help your PFT Sit-ups and Pull-ups

Timed workouts can help increase your numbers on PFTs and are great for increasing strength.

Timed Workout (no rest, or resting in the ready postion only)
Repeat twice:- 1 minute of push-ups- 1 minute of sit-ups

Repeat three times:- 30 seconds of push-ups- 30 seconds of sit-ups,

Repeat four times:- 15 seconds of push-ups- 15 seconds of sit-up

Once this becomes easy, increase the times X2.

If you are lifting or exercising regularly you can just add a timed workout like this in your program twice a week and you will see a difference in your scores. If you are not working out regular and are just interested in improving your numbers in these two areas, doing something like this 3 times a week can make you improve and get you use to performing under the clock.

Pull-up advice

A lot of officers ask me about how to improve their score on pull-up pfts. Although I have touched on it here before here are some actual exercises that can help.

The common denominators between men and women who can do pull-ups are that they practice them regularly and have lower bodyfat percentages. The best way to train to increase the number of pull-ups you can do is to do pull-ups until you are exhausted, every other day. Being able to do pull-ups effectively helps with lifts, negotiating obstacles, body drags, crawling and more.

NEGATIVE PULL-UPS

Negatives are great if you can only do a few actual pull-ups then burning yourself out with negatives can help get you to the next step. A negative is assisting yourself to the "up" position and allowing your body to slowly lower to the "down" position. The idea is to lower your body as slowly as possible fighting against gravity for at least a 5-8 count.

LAT PULLS

The next best thing to a pull-up is the lat pull machine. The problem I see with people doing lat pulls, pulling a ton of weight, is they are almost always doing it wrong. It is important to retract your shoulder blades, sticking out your chest continuously throughout the movement. For other words, before making that first movement retract your shoulder blades together, which causes your chest to stick out, a natural curve to the lower back is fine. Keeping these muscles retracted throughout the whole movement is key. It may feel like you are not getting a "full range of motion" keeping the rhomboids and traps contracted, but you are increasing the work required from your upper back. Chances are you will not be able to do the same heavy weight and you should not be pulling from your hips or lower back. Never pull the bar behind your head.

DURING THE WEEK

To start pick 2 days a week to hit the pull-ups hard. Work with negatives and lat pulls 4-5 sets of each. Each set should be until exhaustion or close to it. Rest about 2 minutes between sets. Don't forget to work your biceps once a week (much smaller muscle group), another important component of pull-ups. Pull-ups are rough, make sure to get enough rest between workouts.

Salad is always a good choice, right?

Chili’s Caesar Salad w/ Grilled Chicken & Caesar Dressing

1,010 calories

76 g fat (13 g saturated)

1,910 mg sodium

The top three words you never want to see sharing a space with “salad” on a menu: tuna, taco, and yes, the mighty Caesar. Consider that tangle of romaine a hapless vehicle for the troubling trinity of croutons, parmesan cheese, and viscous Caesar dressing. Chili’s version is the worst; the elephantine portion yields a salad with more fat than a dozen Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches from Breyers.

Quizno’s Chicken with Honey Mustard Flatbread Salad

1,110 calories

74 g fat (14.5 g saturated)

2030 mg sodium

Surprised to see a Quizno’s salad with nearly as many calories as five packages of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? Don’t be. Half the salads on the menu top 1,000 calories, and 330 of those calories come from the flatbread alone.

A better choice:

McDonald’s Premium Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken

300 calories

10 g fat (1 g saturated)

890 mg sodium

make sure to get a fat free dressing

Denny’s Grilled Chicken Salad

290 calories

10 g fat (5 g saturated)

770 mg sodium

One of the only things Denny's has going for it.

Fitness is Survival

Will you be able to do what is needed and still survive the fight?

Fitness is important

Supersets for Push-ups and Sit-ups
Repeat this cycle of exercises non-stop 5-10 times:
- Regular pushups - 10

- Regular situps - 10

- Wide pushups - 10

- Reverse Crunches - 10

- Close or Tricep pushups - 10

- Double crunches - 10

If you do this five times, you will have done 150 pushups and abdominal exercises in less than 15 minutes! Now that's a good foundation-building workout. You'll reach failure no matter who you are, only if you continue this workout for 10-15 times.

Push yourself without a gym!

The Spartan Run

A popular workout with special forces and military units overseas, The Spartan Run, represents a challenge that can be a fun and competitive way to workout.

The original:

• Run one mile


• 100 push-up, 100 sit-ups in as few sets as possible


• run one mile


• 75 push-ups, 75 sit-ups in as few sets as possible


• run one mile


• 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups in a few sets as possible

Completed for time (equals 3 mile run, 225 push-ups and sit-ups)

It can be modified in almost any way, here is one of mine:

• run 2 laps


• 75 push-ups, 75 sit-ups


• run 2 laps


• 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups


• run 2 laps


• 50 squats with olympic bar, 50 deadlifts with olympic bar

Completed for time (equals 1.5 mile run, 120 push-ups and sit-ups, 50 squats and deadlifts)

Have fun and push yourself.

More on Cardio

Cardio can turn back the clock

Research has shown that cardiovascular exercise not only can increase a person's longevity , but it can also reverse signs of aging. One study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that by maintaining aerobic fitness through middle age and beyond, a person can delay aging by up to 12 years. A person can also stay independent longer when they become older. The old saying "use it or lose it" is definitely true when it comes to cardiovascular exercise. By exercising, an older adult can maintain a better level of functioning and delay aging-related disabilities.

BAD GUYS CAN WORKOUT TOO!

Convicts spend hours working out in prison, they can even buy protein, creatine and other supplements on prison commissary. They teach each other how to defeat grappling holds and joint manipulation techniques that are taught in police academies.

THEY TRAIN- SO SHOULD YOU!

The guy in the pic above is Tookie Williams, co-founder of the Crips gang who was executed in December 2005 for the murder of 4 people.

The Deadly South

Obesity rates have soared across the nation, but nine of the 10 fattest states are in the South, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Diabetes was the nation's seventh-leading cause of death in 2006, according to the CDC. More than 23 million Americans have diabetes, and the number is rapidly growing. About 1.6 million new cases were diagnosed among adults last year

DID YOU EXERCISE TODAY?

The 1.5 mile run

What kind of standards are out there? You might be surprised.

• The U.S. military sets a "good minimum standard for the 1.5 mile run is 10:30 (or a 7:00/mile pace).


• Women at the US Naval Academy have to run under 12:30 for the 1.5 mile run or they fail the test - that is an 8:00 / mile pace.


• To pass the SEAL PST the 1.5 mile requirement is 9:00 minutes.


• To graduate the Air Force Academy it is 1.5 mile run in 11:57 (male) and 13:56 (females)


• Minimum for the New Jersey State Police is a 14:26 1.5 mile time.


• British Special Forces selection requires a 1.5 mile run in less that 10:00.

Watch your Weekend Calories!

WEEKENDS!
Do not think the weekends are free time to eat and act however you want. According to the Journal of Obesity Research, Americans consume an extra 115 calories per day on the weekends, this means that with 104 weekend days a year that the extra 115 calories will add up to an extra 3.5 lbs a year. Be smart and cheat smart, do not sabotage your weekday efforts with carefree weekends.