Announcing the Details for the
Spring Boot Camp
It’s time for the Spring Boot Camp, the most popular boot camp. It
will run for 6 weeks beginning Saturday, May 4, and running until
Saturday, June 8.
The Boot Camp will begin at 9 am every Saturday morning and last
about an hour.
Locations will vary, but they will all be outside locations in the
Columbia and Greater Columbia area, including Harbison Forest,
Saluda Shoals, and Finlay Park.
The boot camp is open to people of all different fitness levels. It’s
challenging but fun.
I’m doing some special pricing this time. The cost is $70 for a single
person, but bring a friend and it’s only $120 for both of you. For three
people, it’s $150, and for every additional person in your group, you
add $30.
All you’ll need to bring is a workout mat and your water. Sign up now
by calling 803-447-8557 or emailing me at tim@grahamfitness.com.
You don’t have to know how many will be in your group. You can
figure that out later. Payment is due by check or cash at the first boot
camp.
See you there.
Rep & Run Offers 20% Discount
Don’t forget, Jason Puckett, the owner of Rep & Run Fitness
Equipment is offering all newsletter subscribers a 20% discount on
practically everything they sell. If you need anything from treadmills
to ellipticals, or dumbbells to a workout bench, contact Jason for a
great deal. Call him at 803-550-1734 or check his website at
www.reprun.com.
Fitness News & Views
A Publication of Graham Fitness
March 15, 2013
1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
I ran across an interesting article recently written
by Emma Gray on a website called thatsfit.com. It was
titled “What Nutritionist Order When Eating Out.” I figured
since I am a Certified Nutrition Specialist that it might be
interesting to see how my out-of-home eating habits
compare to those of other experts.
When eating at a burger joint, one of the
nutritionists said she always gets a veggie burger without
mayonnaise. Another said she’ll get a regular burger, but
she avoids ketchup because it contains a lot of sugar, and
she never gets the fries.
By comparison, what I eat at a burger joint
depends on which joint it is. At Wendy’s, I’ll usually get
the chili. At Five Guys, I’ll order a burger and fries every
time. They have maybe the best fries in the world.
However, I rarely go to Five Guys. I might have gone
once in the last year.
Asked about what they eat at an ice cream parlor,
one of the nutritionists said, “I’ll usually just take a few
tastes with the tasting spoons that they usually have.” I
hope she doesn’t go to the same ice cream parlor very
often. They may have her picture on the back wall.
Ice cream is one of my favorite foods. I can eat a
half gallon of Breyer’s Vanilla Bean in two sittings. As a
result, it’s not allowed in the house. But on those rare
occasions when I go to an ice cream parlor, it’s Katie bar
the door. I’ll generally opt for a double scoop of pralines
and cream in a waffle cone.
There was more in the article, but it was at this
point that I stopped reading. It wasn’t that I was feeling
guilty or ashamed; I just had a sudden urge to run out to
Baskin-Robbins.
because I think they would be interesting and possibly a
little humorous to read again. It’s funny how our ideas
change with age and hopefully wisdom.
At 65 years old, I’m still running five days a week,
but at a pace that I would not have called running when I
was in my mid-30’s. Back then, I considered an 8-minute
per mile pace or less running, a pace between eight and
10 minutes per mile was jogging, and anything over that, I
figured you might as well just walk. These days I run
three miles in about 30 minutes. By my own youthful
definition, I might as well be walking.
Back then, I wouldn’t bother with races that were
less than a 10k (6.2 miles). Nowadays, I never run a race
that is more than a 5k. I could still run a 10k, but you’d
have to pay me a lot of money to do it. Hills were never a
deterrent in my younger days. These days I avoid hills
whenever possible. I’ll drive 15 or 20 minutes to run a flat
trail or high school track.
The last time I won a race in my age group was
about a dozen years ago. It was a 5k trail run at Sesqui
Park. I won for the 50 to 55 age group and I ran a 7:45
pace that day. There was a man in that race who was 90
years old. He finished 15 or 20 minutes behind me, but he
ran every step of the way. I didn’t think much of his
accomplishment then, but the older I get, the more I
realize how amazing that feat truly was.
I still think running is the greatest exercise there
is, and if I make it to 90, I hope I’ll still be running like that
man. My goal is to take off running one day 20 or 25
years from now and just keep on running right through the
Pearly Gates. I just hope I don’t have to run up a hill to get
to the gates.
Many many years ago, long before I became a
personal trainer and long before I had written my first
newsletter, I started writing a book on running. At the
time, I had been running for 5 or 6 years and I thought I
had lots of great ideas I could pass along to those who
might want to start running, but didn’t know as much as I
did. I was planning to call the book “Running for the
Average Guy.”
There were lots of books on running at the time,
but they were all written for competitive runners and most
of them were far more complicated than I thought they
needed to be, especially for the everyday, non-competitive
guy who just wanted to run to stay fit. I was going to write
the book for males, because I didn’t feel knowledgeable
enough to address the issues that were unique to women
runners.
I never finished the book, but I made copious
notes which I have since lost. I wish I had the notes now,
Almost everybody loves chocolate, and more and
more studies are showing that chocolate is one of the best
treats you can eat for good health. The Huffington Post
Healthy Living web page listst 10 health benefits provided
by chocolate:
1. Chocolate’s anti-inflammation properties help
reduce cardiovascular risk by lowering your bad
(LDL) cholesterol and your blood pressure.
2. Dark chocolate is rich in fiber, so a small amount
actually fills you up more than other snacks
meaning you’ll eat less in the long run.
3. According to a 2005 Italian study, chocolate
increases insulin sensitivity which reduces the risk
of diabetes.
4. Flavonoids, a type of antioxidant in dark
chocolate, offers protection against the sun’s
damaging UV rays.
5. Chocolate
can
help
to
quiet
coughs.
Theobromine, an ingredient in chocolate, seems
to reduce the activity of the vagus nerve, a part of
the brain that triggers some coughing.
6. By igniting dopamine sensors in the brain, eating
chocolate reduces feelings of stress.
7. Cocoa has anti-clotting and blood-thinning
properties that act like aspirin. The result is
improved blood flow and circulation.
8. This improved blood flow can help your eyesight,
by increasing blood to the retina.
9. The improved blood flow affects the brain as well,
improving learning skills. A small British study
showed that chocolate eaters performed better on
counting tasks.
10. Chocolate can reduce your risk of stroke. A 2011
Swedish study found that women who ate 45
grams or more of chocolate a week had a 20
percent lower risk of stroke than women who ate
less than 9 grams a week.
Even though chocolate offers all these health
benefits, it can also be high in calories, so moderation is
the key. I eat anywhere from 2 to 6 small Dove dark
chocolate pieces every day. The best way to eat them, I
think, is to let them dissolve in your mouth. That way you
can savor the flavor for a long time. It takes about five
minutes for two pieces to melt in your mouth. Each small
piece of chocolate is about 30 calories, so don’t go
overboard. I have found that a couple of Dove chocolates
work especially well as a quick energy boost before a run
or workout.
While we’re on the subject of chocolate, the best
post-workout energy drink is chocolate milk. An 8-ounce
glass of chocolate milk provides a perfect blend of
carbohydrates and protein after a long run or intense
workout.
Tests have shown that chocolate milk
replenishes sweat as well as water or Gatorade while
providing the other nutrients your body needs after
exercise. Opt for low-fat chocolate milk or better yet, mix
it yourself using low-fat milk and dark chocolate cocoa
powder.
Your blood is the key to life, so it’s important to
understand a little about it. Here’s an elementary primer.
The blood consists of red cells and white cells.
The red blood cells, called hemoglobin, carry oxygen to
every part of your body. Hemoglobin is measured in
grams per deciliter of blood. The normal range for adult
males is 14 to 18 gm/dl and for adult women 12 to 16.
The most obvious symptom of low hemoglobin is
lack of energy, and the primary cause is low iron levels.
The treatment is often as simple as an iron-rich diet or in
some cases, an iron supplement. You might remember
the old commercials for Geritol to treat “iron deficiency
anemia.” Basically Geritol was nothing more than an iron
supplement to treat low hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin levels that are too high can be
caused by living in high altitudes, smoking, and doping
which is what Lance Armstrong admitted to doing to
increase his oxygen levels for cycling. There are other
causes as well, which can indicate several diseases.
White blood cells are the disease fighters. The
normal range for white blood cells is between 4500 and
11000 cells per cubic milliliter of blood. If your body is
fighting an infection, your white blood count will go higher.
A low count puts you at an increased risk of diseases and
infections. Chemotherapy is a major cause of a low count.
It’s not a bad idea to get a blood test occasionally.
If you are under 50, once every two or three years is
usually sufficient. Over 50, a once-a-year blood test is
recommended.
I went skiing for a couple of days at Snowshoe
Mountain in West Virginia the first weekend of this month.
The weather was great – cold but not frigid and lots of
snow on the slopes. The snow fell the entire time we were
there, and it was postcard beautiful. I went with my two
kids, Darby and Tanner, and a good friend, Rick.
On the way up, my daughter who is also a
personal trainer asked how many calories are burned
downhill skiing in a typical day. I said I didn’t think it was
much since gravity does most of the work, but when I got
home I looked it up. The answer surprised me. In an
hour, a 150 pound person skiing at an easy pace will burn
about 340 calories. That’s about half as many as the
same person would use running an hour at a 6 mph pace.
We skied about 5 hours each day, but of course, much of
that time was spent on the lifts. We probably spent a little
over two hours each day actually skiing, meaning we
burned the equivalent number of calories as we would
have running for an hour. No wonder we were all tired at
the end of the day.
In the US Navy, all sailors must pass the Naval
Physical Requirements test (PRT) to the standards
associated with their age and gender. For example, a
male between 20 and 24 years old must perform at least
50 situps and 42 pushups and run 1.5 miles in 13:15 or
less. They must also be able to swim 500 yards in 13
minutes or less.
Somebody put a note on a hand blow dryer in the
men’s room at a Cracker Barrel recently that I thought was
pretty funny. It said: “Press the button for a brief message
from our president.”
Graham Fitness
Tim Graham
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Website: www.grahamfitness.com
Email: tim@grahamfitness.com
Phone: 803-447-8557
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Rep & Run Fitness Equipment
5432 August Road
Lexington, SC 29072
Phone: 356-6400
803-550-1734
Wolf’s is a total fitness facility offering
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Are you looking for fitness equipment? Call
Rep & Run. Rep & Run is your source for
whatever fitness equipment you need,
whether it’s cardio machines like treadmills
and ellipticals or resistance machines of any
type. Even free weights like barbells and
dumbbells. Jason Puckett will work with
you personally to get you exactly what you
want. As a newsletter subscriber, you
receive a 20% discount on most of the
equipment Jason offers. Call Jason at 803550-1734 or check the website at
www.reprun.com.