Be Broncho Fit!

Author: Buddy Broncho – Page 9

Switch-It-Up Recipes

Tired of eating the same thing for lunch or dinner? Numerous people “meal prep” for their up-coming week, but often have the same chicken breast recipe for every meal. Here are a couple of different recipes to help you spice up those boring meals.

Chicken:

Tilapia:

Shrimp:

Christine Burns ~Blogistics!

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Buddy Broncho

Fight Food Cravings

Let’s face it, dieting can be hard work. Whether you’re fighting late night munchies or constantly getting tempted by that dreadful office vending machine, there are a couple steps you can take in order to fight those cravings.

1. Hydrate. A lot of times the body confuses the sensation of hunger and thirst. Try drinking a bottle of water before a meal or whenever that next craving attacks. This can usually curb the “I’m starving and could eat a whole elephant” feeling.

2. Find an alternative. This can be a bit more challenging because you know you are hungry, but you aren’t quite sure what you are hungry for. Often times people are craving sweets, chocolate, something salty, or just looking to satisfy that “give me something crunchy” feeling. Here are a couple alternatives when craving these items.

You’re Craving: Sweets/ Sugary Foods

What to eat instead:  Fresh fruit. Strawberries, grapes, ect.

You’re Craving:  Chocolate

What to eat instead:   Trail mix with dried fruit. Add pieces of dark chocolate if desired.

You’re Craving:  Something Salty

What to eat instead:   Almonds or cashews

You’re Craving:  Breads

What to eat instead:   Nuts or beans

You’re Craving:  Crunchy Foods (Chips)

What to eat instead:   Baby carrots, or broccoli 

3. Wait it out. Most of us eat way too fast no matter what meal it is. Before you go back for seconds or grab another snack, wait about 10-15 minutes and then decide if you’re still hungry.

4. Get fresh. Yes, this might sound silly, but chewing a piece of sugar free mint gum or brushing your teeth may also help you fight those cravings. Nobody likes drinking orange juice right after they brush their teeth in the mornings so don’t be afraid to use this trick throughout the day no matter where you are.

Christine Burns ~ Blogistics!

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Buddy Broncho

Weight Machines vs. Free Weights

There are so many different types of resistance training equipment that it can be hard to determine what’s best for you and your own personal fitness level. There are many different weight machines for all of the major muscle groups, resistance bands, and free weights, so how do you choose what’s right for you? Below is a list of some of the advantages for machine weights and for free weights to help you decide.

Machined Weights Advantages:

  • Better for beginners
    • Instructions on how to use them
    • Pictures for muscle education
  • Less risk of injury
    • No spotter needed
    • Guide you through the proper range of motion
  • Good for isolating muscles
    • If you are injured and want to avoid working a particular muscle group or specifically want to work a specific muscle group

Free Weights Advantages:

  • Functional
    • Many of the exercises that can be done with free weights are more realistic for everyday life, however using free weights also requires a more knowledgeable user who knows the proper techniques and forms to reduce the chance of injury
  • Larger range of motion
    • A greater range of motion may feel more comfortable or natural for your body
  • Balance, coordination, and bone loading
    • You have to work harder to maintain balance and coordination with free weights which is better for your body, and bone loading strengthens your bones
  • Recruit more muscle groups
    • Train more than one muscle group at a time

Casey Robertson ~Blogistics!

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Buddy Broncho

Are you getting too much of a good thing?

Up to 20% of athletes experience overtraining, which is also commonly referred to as “staleness”. If an individual is not getting the proper rest time after the overload of intense exercise, the body will have an increasingly harder time recovering from a workout. If inadequate rest periods are continued, performance will actually decline. It is important to note that overtraining is not just for athletes. Regular exercisers who do not get enough rest can experience it as well. Below are some common symptoms of staleness.

1. Fatigue which could also be accompanied by feeling of irritability, moodiness or depression

2. You just don’t feel like working out/ losing enthusiasm for your sport

3. Persistent poor performance accompanied with higher fatigue level

4. Sleep disturbances/ inability to focus

5. Restlessness/ hyperactivity/ increased resting heart rate

6. Continued feelings of soreness and stiffness in muscles and joints

7. Injuries

8. Weight loss accompanied by loss of lean muscle

Source:
Katch, F. I., Katch, V. L., McArdle, W. D., (2010). Training for anaerobic and aerobic power. In E. Lupash (Eds.), Exdercise physiology: Nutrition, energy, and human performance. (pp. 483-485).

Casey Robertson~Blogistics!

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Buddy Broncho

Strength Training and Weight Loss

Most people think that when trying to lose weight, cardio is the way to go. What most people don’t understand is that cardio is exactly what the word means—it’s for your heart. Although improving your heart health is great, cardio itself does not burn many calories. The best way to lose weight, burn fat, and build muscle is to incorporate strength training into your regular exercise regimen.

The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 2-3 days of strength training per week with about 48 hours of rest in between sessions. You should perform 2-4 sets of 8-10 reps each session. Sessions should include exercises that work major muscle groups. Compound exercises are a great way to add in strength training without having to put in extra time. An example of a compound movement would be a squat with an overhead press. Regardless of how you strength train, remember that it is an important component to your overall health, fitness, and body composition.

So, if you’re really looking to lose weight, incorporate strength training into your existing exercise regimen if you’re not already doing so. Be sure to give your muscles time to recover, and properly fuel your body to help muscles recover even faster. If you are just starting out, you can slowly progress as you become stronger and your muscles become better trained.

Hannah Miller-Blogistics!

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Buddy Broncho

The Importance of a Warm-Up

We all know that exercise is a great way to improve health and increase physical fitness. A very important component of a workout session is the warm-up. Do you perform a warm-up before exercising? If not, here are a few reasons to begin warming up before every workout.

Performing a warm-up before exercising provides many benefits, including:

-increased blood flow to working muscles

-prevention of injury due to increased elasticity of muscles

-joint lubrication and increased range of motion (ROM) of joints

-increased flexibility of tendons and ligaments, and

-a gradual increase in energy production which limits lactic acid buildup

A warm-up should last around 5-10 minutes. But this number may vary due to factors such as environment (cold weather, for example). One must determine for himself or herself how long his or her warm-up should be.

So, what should a warm-up consist of? A warm-up should include dynamic movement that focuses on major muscle groups. A good warm-up consists of movements that increase heart rate and range of motion in joints.  Here are some good warm-up movements to perform to prepare yourself for exercise:

-Body Weight Squat

Begin with feet forward, hip-width apart, standing tall, straight back, and neutral head. Lower into a squat position keeping hips and butt back. Make sure knees stay behind toes. Return to start. Repeat.

 

 

 

-Alternating Lunges

Begin with feet hip-width apart and feet forward. Step forward with the right foot and lower left knee as far as you can without touching the ground. Be sure to keep right knee behind toes. Push weight through front heel. Return to start and repeat with left leg.

 

 

 

-Jumping Jacks

Begin with feet forward and hip-width apart. Bring arms above head as you jump feet out more than shoulder-width apart. Return to start. Repeat.

 

 

 

 

-High Knees

This move is simply a jog in place, only you will bring your knees no higher than the hip. Activate arms as shown.

 

 

 

 

-Arm Swings

Begin with arms straight out from shoulders. Swing arms in as if to hug yourself. Keep elbows soft. Swing arms back out and repeat.

 

 

 

 

Remember: A warm-up is important when it comes to safety during exercise. You can be creative with your movements, just keep in mind that the warm-up will not be as intense as your actual workout. Try it, and see what a warm-up can do for your workout!

 

Pictures from: running.competitor.com

missfitnesslife.com

womenshealthmag.com

empowernetwork.com

activephysioclinic.com

 

By Hannah Miller ~Blogistics~

 

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Buddy Broncho

Why is water important?

Thinking of ways to change your water intake? Purchase a water jug and keep it with you throughout the day. Also, crystal light and flavored water help make it easier to drink as well. If you are anything like me, drinking water is a difficult task at times. But after realizing the benefits of drinking water, hopefully you will convert to a water drinking lifestyle because it is essential to our health. Here are a few reasons to drink water:

1.  Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 65-70% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.

2.  Water Can Help Control and burn Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn’t have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help.

3.  Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes weaken, which can result in muscle fatigue especially during exercising. When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well and performance can suffer.

The ACSM guidelines recommend that people drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.

4. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest.

When you’re getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.

5.  Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function. Plenty hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation

 

Ade Amuda

Blogistics

 

http://www.webmd.com/

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Buddy Broncho

Why do I have to stretch?

Flexibility is needed to perform everyday activities with relative ease. To get out of bed, bending in hard to reach areas, lift children, or sweep the floor. Flexibility tends to deteriorate with age, often due to a sedentary (inactive) lifestyle. This blog is to help motivate and educate you to stretch on a daily basis so that physical activities can become easier to perform on a daily basis.
There is scientific evidence that the incidence of injury decreases when people include flexibility training in their routines due to the enhanced ability to move unimpeded through a wider range of motion (ROM). The following are some of the major benefits of flexibility training:
• Reduces stress in the exercising muscles and releases tension developed during the workout.
• Assists with posture by balancing the tension placed across the joint by the muscles that cross it. Proper posture minimizes stress and maximizes the strength of all joint movements.
• Reduces the risk of injury during exercise and daily activities because muscles are more flexible.
• Improves performance of everyday activities as well as performance in exercise and sport.
As with all other components of the workout, flexibility training should be based on the FITT formula.

There are two types of stretching which are named static and dynamic. Here is a description and example of each:
Static: This method of flexibility training involves taking a specific joint or set of joints through a ROM to a comfortable end point (at least15- 20 seconds), resting for approximately 20 seconds, and then repeating the stretch two to three times.

 

Dynamic: This method of flexibility training uses increasingly active movements through the full ROM of a joint. The exercise begins at a slow pace and gradually increases in speed and intensity. This method of stretching is best performed before exercise or activity that is movement based, like tennis or hiking.

Source:  Human Kinetics

Ade Amuda

Blogistics

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Buddy Broncho
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