Pesky Plateaus

So, despite your best efforts to diet, train, and supplement correctly you have finally hit the bane of every fitness minded person, the dreaded plateau (cue dramatic music). But never fear, just as plateaus have plagued millions before, those same millions have overcome this obstacle. And lucky for you all those years and people have turned up plenty of tips for you to high step this hurdle.

The most important tip I can give is to keep the right mindset through this; your most powerful weapon in fitness, believe it or not, is your mind. Staying positive in your attitude will work wonders for you in not only fitness but also in life. Now that you’ve steadied your mind and focused on staying positive you can now actively work towards breaking your plateau.

Many experts all say the same, REST!! Literally, rest, rest, rest. Make sure you're getting the maximum amount of possible to let your body recover from training. It is recommended that you get at least 6-8 hours of sleep every night as the most important phases of muscle recovery happen when you sleep. Basically, your brain releases Human Growth Hormone at regular hours while you sleep, typically every 2 hours during sleep which is critical for muscle development.

Another recommended step you can take, and one that I can personally attest to, is to switch up your workouts. Ever notice how sore you were after you start a new workout, or even after you first started working out? It's called muscle confusion and it works by, well, confusing your muscles and forcing them to adapt. Not only will this help your muscles adapt and grow, but it will also keep your workout routines seem less routine and make things interesting. You may soon find yourself sore in places you never knew existed.


Now given this knowledge you can excel in your fitness life. We are humans, we adapt, we overcome, and most importantly we grow. Don’t let plateaus tell you any differently.

I like to ride my BICYCLE!!!!

Hey there followers! Again I am here to present to you another healthy alternative to hitting the gym. This alternative is one that is near and dear to my heart. I personally love riding my bike. Solo or with friends, it doesn't matter.

My favorite ride is down the Santa Ana river bed all the way to the beach. This is obviously a wonderful alternative to hitting the gym but it is a time consuming work out. I usually like to make it an all day event. From my house in The City of Orange the beach is about 15 miles down the river bed. The way to the beach is against the wind so it is best to begin the journey before 9:00a.m. Anytime after 9 and the wind picks up really strong and makes the ride really tiring and difficult. I like to leave my house at 7:30 a.m. The ride takes about 2 hours. It is beautiful the whole way. There is all kind of wildlife to look at. The running water of the river is peaceful and relaxing. When I finally make it to the beach I like to have lunch and chill out by the water for a while before heading back home. The ride home is literally a breeze (the wind is on your back pushing you home). It is a faster ride. This workout will make you really sore especially on your butt! I recommend working up to the ride by riding a few miles at a time a few times a week for at least 2 weeks or even 3. I also enjoy riding my bike around town to get dinner with friends. It makes going to dinner more of an adventure instead of just getting in the car and driving to wherever you want to go.

For more information on the Santa Ana River Trail click here: http://santaanarivertrail.org/home.html

Riding bikes is so fun. I would pick it instead of going to the gym any day. So if your getting burnt out on your routine, give biking a try. You will not be sorry.

Tone It Up, for the Ladies

Tone It Up is a company founded by the fitness team of Karena and Katrina. The Tone It Up girls bring fitness and dieting tips to females to help them achieve their goals. They have built their brand around social media using outlets such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Videos displayed on their YouTube channel bring exercises, diet tips, and other fitness information. One such video that I have included discusses how to cleanse our body of a bad food choices. Their Twitter and Facebook pages help to provide answers to questions their followers may have or just to keep their community updated. I first heard about them on another YouTuber's page as they mentioned how they were adhering to this 7 Day Slim Down Diet which is a byproduct of the fitness duo. The diet helps women lose weigh in as low as 7 days and has been proven to give results. Their website goes through all the details on how to purchase the diet plan that fit your lifestyle; whether you want the original plan, vegetarian, want to go gluten free, vegetarian gluten free, or pescatarian. Many testimonials liter YouTube on how women everywhere are achieving the results that they want with the help of the Tone It Up team. On their way to become the new "It" girls many company's have given their help to promote what these girls stand for such as Women's Health Magazine, InStyle, Vogue, Oakley, and Target among others. So if you are a girl looking to get fit or just looking to learn more about living the healthy lifestyle you should check out any of the links I have included.

Supplements, do a Body Good

So you're eating right, working out regularly, and staying on top of everything, but you want to take that next step to get to the next level of fitness. Supplements can help you achieve this new found desire, but which ones do you need? Which ones are safe? and Where do you go to get them?

Supplements, like anything else, can be bought in a store, or even online; however, this can be a very overwhelming process. With the magnitude of products available, it's up to you to figure out which ones will be best for you. Doing your homework and research on products is the single most important thing you can do. Nutrition stores such as Nutrition Zone, GNC, or Vitamin Shoppe can be great research tools as well, but take the information they give you with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, they are trying to make a buck. You have to filter through all the information available and figure out what you need, and if it's safe to put into your body. Online reviews of products are a strong tool for figuring out what you need, and there are many forums in which you can find product reviews. Finding out what you want and need is the priority and finding the products that can help you reach that will make the entire process better and faster. Outside of the flashy labels, price points, serving size, and potency; you want to make sure the supplements you choose does your body good, rather than harm. So make sure you know what you put into your body, because the last thing you want is to regress with your fitness.

What Motivates You?

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and let’s not forget the dreaded finals week. With all the studying and festivities sometimes it’s hard to remember to hit the gym let alone exercise and eat healthy altogether.  Do we wait till it’s all over with and then decide to get back into the game? Well what keeps someone from not including that Christmas is right around the corner as well? Motivation, it’s what drives us to do what we desire all the while dealing with the unsavory process of reaching that goal. This leads me to ask what motivates you. Some people just have the will of a lion and can enter a state of Zen as they follow their lifestyle plan to a tee. Others it may take an entire support group but do not fret nowadays there is many options to help. Recently I began using Fleetly, a service that turns exercising into a social experience.  “Our goal is to make fitness more fun by making it social and friendly-competitive,” reads the website which also totes an iPhone app to bring the social fitness on the go. Another more exclusive option is using Fitocracy, a service which follows the same premise as Fleetly but focuses more on turning it into a role-playing game. Fitocracy is the game you play to improve your fitness. With the myriad of options available to get us started in our weight loss endeavors there is no excuse for just sitting around contemplating on when you should start studying, fill the void with fitness.

Another Healthy Alternative!!

That's right people, it's time for me to introduce to you another healthy alternative to hitting the gym day in and day out. Kudos to those people more disciplined than myself who can set up a gym regimen and actually stick with it. But like I said, that is just not my style.

I have always wanted to learn proper swimming techniques and this semester I am taking a beginning swim class that has taught me 3 different swim styles. In the class we have learned freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Freestyle is my favorite and that is the style I am going to discuss today. Let me begin by saying that not everyone has access to a pool on a daily basis. I am fortunate enough to have daily pool access and I encourage anyone who does have access to a pool to take advantage of utilizing the pool as a way to get some daily exercise. Freestyle is basically done by kicking your legs in a fluttering motion, rotating the midsection of your body from side to side, and stroking your arms one at a time through the water. Breathing is done by tilting your head to the side instead of actually lifting it out of the water. The best way to breath is bilaterally(from both sides of your face) because it helps your body stay balanced in the water with an even rotation of your torso. To view a detailed explanation of freestyle technique, go here:http://swimsmooth.com/beginnertips.php

When I incorporate swimming, running, and hiking into my workout routine, I find myself really only needing to go to the gym once or twice a week. I feel great and stress free. No guilt for skipping the gym because I know that my fitness needs are still being fulfilled.

Party Hopping and Body Rocking: The College Workout

The college years are said to be the best years of one’s life, but it can take a serious toll on one’s body. The college lifestyle typically consists of late nights, parties, and many empty Top Raman Noodle cups making a recipe for disaster to a growing body. Fear not, though, for there is a way to balance making college memories and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

For instance, regularly going to the gym may be difficult at first as you will have to manage your time with studying, working, and keeping up a social life, but by setting a few goals for yourself will help give you the motivation you need to work out. The most obvious and true goal you should have is to look good and be healthy for yourself, to be able to look at your reflection in the mirror and be proud of what you see. This alone is enough to give me the drive to hit the gym and has worked for the past 6 years. If looking good for yourself isn't enough to motivate you then go to the gym to look good for others as well. This may sound conceited , but let’s be honest here we all like to show off in some way or another and having a nice, tone figure is hard to miss, especially when those spring semester pool parties roll around.

Partying in college is nearly impossible to avoid, and even if you are responsible your body will still take a toll. Those late nights will tax your body and keep it from recovering the way it needs to, especially your brain which you use for the gratuitous amounts of studying you do, right? And those who like to party hardy will tax their bodies even worse. Rusty Moore has a few great tips in his article about this which you can view here. He advises eating sufficiently less during the day before a party so that the alcohol hits you faster which means, hopefully, less drinking and less carbs/calories as well as switching from alcohol to water 2 hours before going to bed which will kill the possibility of a hangover the next day which means you will have the energy and drive to hit the gym the following day.

The Slow Carb Diet

There is no such thing as a magic bullet that will quickly help us lose weight. Though through healthy eating and moderate exercise we can strive for the goals we set.  Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Body, insists on a collection of “tested” methods to help one lose weight through crazy rituals. I mean one part of the book states that we can thrive on 2 hours sleep, to me that seems dangerous and unhealthy since our bodies need rest to rebuild. After delving deeper in the madness that is the mind of Tim Ferris I came across a very interesting diet plan. The Slow Carb Diet sounded doable and harmless on paper, so I gave it a try. This diet plan continues to be the foundation of my eating habits whenever I decide to get back on the horse so to speak because I have lost upwards of 50 pounds on it. In a week if followed closely you will feel immediately different. I did a bit of research of my own of course before even deciding to follow through with it since you want to take anything dealing with your body with a grain of salt. The different steps indicated in the diet plan have been carefully laid out by Gizmodo if you’d like to give it a try. If you stick it out on the plan I assure you in a month or so your body will look and feel different. Though as a disclaimer I have to say I’m not a Dietitian and everyone’s bodies are different so always go about it on your own risk.

Hiking: A Healthy Alernative

While going to the gym is a great form of exercise, some people like myself grow tired of the same fitness routine week in and week out. I am constantly trying to find ways to exercise and have fun at the same way. That way my fitness efforts feel more like playing rather than a chore. Hiking has been a fitness outlet that I have found to be extremely satisfying.

I prefer to go in the morning but some of my other hiking friends go all hours of the day. I like to hike in the canyons near my house. They are close, convenient, and gorgeous! The park is Santiago Oaks Regional Park. Parking is $3.00 Monday-Friday and $5.00 on the weekends. I never mind paying the fees because the money helps maintain the park. There are so many trails to explore it could take all day. I usually hike for about 2 hours. The distance I cover ranges from 4 to 6 miles. Those 2 hours fly by in comparison to spending 2 hours in the gym.

While my hiking friends and I are on the trails, we like to stop in a shady spot along the water of the lake and snack on some healthy food. Naturally, trail mix is a big contender when it comes to selecting a snack. I like to take it one step further and make my own trail mix. That way I know exactly what is in it. I can avoid added oils, preservatives and sugars. I buy all the ingredients in bulk from a health food store. I just choose whichever items sound good to me that day. Here is the recipe for the latest batch I made up:

Emily's Trail Mix

• 1 cup Raw Almonds


• 
  
  1 cup Raw Hazelnuts (filberts)


• 
  
  1 cup Raw Cashews


• 
  
  1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut


• 
  
  1/4 cup Raisins


• 
  
  1/4 cup Dried Cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, and coconut in an even layer on a sheet tray that is lined with parchment paper. Roast for 8-12 minutes until the nuts and coconut are light golden brown. Let cool on rack and then toss together with the raisins and cranberries. Add salt according to your preference.

And that is it! Sometimes if I want it a little sweeter I will add some semi-sweet chocolate chips but the raisins really make it sweet enough generally.

So while I am enjoying the beautiful trails, getting my exercise, and snacking on my homemade healthy trail mix I can honestly say that I do not miss the gym for 1 second.

Hi Ho Hi Ho, It’s off to the Gym I Go

The gym, refuge for some, hated by others, is an essential part of becoming truly healthy. Being healthy is more than eating right; it involves being physically fit as well, and the gym can help with that aspect of your health.

Some of you hate going to the gym and don’t see the “point” but the truth is that there are many beneficial reasons on why one should go to the gym. Here are some reasons why you should go and some personal tips.

1. The gym makes you feel better! Going to the gym has been proven to release endorphins. Endorphins are natural chemicals that are produced in your body to make you feel happy. These endorphins are released during and after your workout and make you feel better about your self, surroundings, and life in general.
2. The gym improves your physical shape. It’s no secret, we all want a certain physical physique, and through the gym, we can achieve the one we desire. Have it be slim and slender, or huge and ripped, you can reach your goal by going to the gym and working out.
3. Getting sick often? The gym can help with that. Going to the gym regularly can help improve your immune system. A well nourished and physically fit body has a higher chance of fending off cold and flue viruses and other illnesses.
4. The gym helps with your energy levels. If you say to yourself that you don’t have enough energy to go to the gym, you probably should go. The gym raises your daily energy and makes you more upbeat than lazy and sluggish.

Now, some of you go to the gym and thought, “now some of those points aren’t true!” Well, here are some of my personal tips to have you reach your fullest at the gym.

1. Quality not quantity. It doesn’t matter if you go 7 times a week for 2 hours a day if you aren’t having quality workouts. This means you aren’t chit chatin’ next to the machines, not developing a sweat as you workout, and not pushing yourself to your limits. A more intense and focused workout will always trump one that is half done and unmotivated.

2. Don’t do more than you are capable of doing. The last thing you want to get out of your session is an injury, so pace yourself, one day you will be able to reach your goal.

3. Know what you are putting in your body. Along with a balanced diet, some may use supplements. Supplements are fine; in fact I use a few, but make sure you know what you are putting in your body. Again, the last thing you want out of your workouts is to get an injury.

4. What works for one person, may not work for another. This means exactly what it says. Everyone is built differently, and everyone reacts differently to different things. This means that one exercise may work really well for one person, but may not have the same effect on another. That is why going to the gym is a process of trial and error, and eventually everyone finds out what works for them.

You are now ready to go tackle the gym and improve your physical fitness to become truly healthy.

Prepping Your Body for a Healthy Life.

As many active and healthy people know, becoming healthy and remaining that way requires a strong nutritional foundation. When one works out they breakdown their muscles so that the muscle can grow back stronger than before, hence the term "working out", but in order for those muscles to grow properly they will need the proper nutrients.

As children we learned about the food pyramid and how we should eat, but our society rarely follows suit. Generally speaking, a healthy lifestyle begins with healthy food choices. The food pyramid suggests that adults should consume at least 6 oz of grain, 2.5 cups of vegetables, 3 cups of fruits, 3 cups of dairy and 5.5 oz of meat. Now this may seem overwhelming at first, but it is actually quite reachable. All these foods come in different forms; for example the grain requirement can be reached with a bowl of whole grain wheat cereal such as Kellogg’s "Total", and a few varied fruits and vegetables taken as snacks in between meals will easily fulfill the fruit and vegetable requirement. Dairy can come in the form of low fat to fat free milk as well as various cheeses. The meat requirement is pretty self explanatory, but one should stay away from consuming too much red meat such as beef and pork as these can cause heart and digestive problems. Alternatively, one can eat poultry and fish for their many health and digestive properties.

As far as sweets, fats, and oils are concerned they should be kept at a minimum but fats and oils do have their benefits and are also found in many different foods. Fish contains Omega-3 fatty acids and oils that can be extremely beneficial for the heart, skin, and other organs. Although it may seem contradictory, it is also recommended that one breaks the eventual monotony of healthy eating with small amounts of junk foods. Kept in check and at a minimum these foods will make it easier to maintain healthy eating habits.

Maintaining a fit and active living style may seem challenging, and in some ways it is, but who said anything beneficial would be easy? Eating right is the first step to being healthy as the right foods will provide the building blocks for a strong and healthy body.

Intro.

Vigor Volumes is a blog about health, nutrition and everything in-between. It was created by CSUF students to inform and provide our insightful opinion on health enthusiasm. We may not be expert Dietitians, but we are regular individuals with knowledge and experiences. We shall be posting weekly on health news/opinions that are insightful so we hope you keep checking back and subscribe.