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Your Health & Fitness Website October 2008

Workouts PLUS
Cycling
Ironman Arizona 09
Sprint Tri
5K /10K & About
    

Welcome!

 

• Physical activities for all ages & all levels of fitness • Nutrition suggestions.


• Cycling workout plans. • Ironman training plans 


• 80 "Active Lifestyle Clubs" Around The World That You Can Visit. Tell us about your club.


• At Home Workout Plans. • 10 minute workouts. • Training plans, 5K to marathon.

• Short sprint Triathlon training plans. • Endurance sport plans.
• Healthy lifestyle ideas. • Exercise tips.

Always check with your doctor before starting any new exercise activity, or increasing you present activity.

“Try something new for your BODY as well as your MIND.  

This Month: Basic Aerobic Exercise for Everyone!

Try Aerobic exercise!!!!!: What 30 minutes a day can do

Need inspiration to start a fitness program? Explore the many benefits of aerobic exercise, from increased energy and improved stamina to disease prevention.

Investing 30 minutes a day in aerobic exercise — such as walking, bicycling or swimming — can help you live longer and healthier. In fact, aerobic exercise may be the magic bullet you've been looking for.

 

Take a look at the health benefits associated with aerobic exercise. See how aerobic exercise affects your heart, lungs and blood flow — and get motivated to reap the rewards!

 

How your body responds to aerobic exercise

During aerobic exercise, you repeatedly move large muscles in your arms, legs and hips. You'll notice your body's responses quickly.

 

You'll breathe faster and more deeply. This maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood. Your heart will beat faster, which increases blood flow to your muscles and back to your lungs. Your small blood vessels (capillaries) will widen to deliver more oxygen to your muscles and carry away waste products, such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Your body will even release endorphins, natural painkillers that promote an increased sense of well-being.

 

What aerobic exercise does for your health

Regardless of your age, weight or athletic ability, aerobic exercise is good for you. As your body adapts to regular aerobic exercise, you'll get stronger and more efficient. Consider some of the many ways that aerobic exercise can help you feel better and enjoy life to the fullest.

 

Regular aerobic exercise can:

Reduce health risks. Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of many conditions, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer. Weight-bearing aerobic exercises, such as walking, reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Help you manage chronic conditions. Aerobic exercise helps lower high blood pressure, control blood sugar and relieve chronic muscle pain. If you've had a heart attack, aerobic exercise can help prevent subsequent attacks.

Keep excess pounds at bay. Combined with a healthy diet, aerobic exercise can help you lose weight — and keep it off.

Ward off viral illnesses. Aerobic exercise activates your immune system. This leaves you less susceptible to minor viral illnesses, such as colds and flu.

Keep your arteries clear. Aerobic exercise increases the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol and decreases the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol in your blood. The potential result? Less buildup of plaques in your arteries.

Strengthen your heart. A stronger heart doesn't need to beat as fast. A stronger heart also pumps blood more efficiently, which improves blood flow to all parts of your body.

Boost your mood. Aerobic exercise can ease the gloominess of depression and reduce the tension associated with anxiety, as well as promote relaxation.

Increase your stamina. Aerobic exercise may make you tired in the short term. But over the long term, you'll enjoy increased stamina and reduced fatigue.

Stay active and independent as you get older. Aerobic exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older. Aerobic exercise also keeps your mind sharp. Researchers say that at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week can reduce cognitive decline in older adults.

Need more convincing? People who engage in regular aerobic exercise appear to live longer than those who don't.

 

Start slowly

Check with your doctor before you begin to exercise. Once you have your doctor's OK, start slowly. You might walk five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening. The next day, add a few minutes to each walking session. Pick up the pace a bit, too. Soon, you could be walking briskly for 30 minutes a day — and reaping all the benefits of regular aerobic exercise.

 

Other options might include cross-country skiing, aerobic dancing, swimming, stair climbing, bicycling, jogging, elliptical training or rowing. If you have a condition that limits your ability to exercise, ask your doctor about alternatives. If you have arthritis, for example, aquatic exercises may give you the benefits of aerobic exercise without stressing your joints.

 

Live longer and stay healthier with just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day!

Source: Mayo Clinic

 

Swim - Bike - Run COACH:

www.TriRenaissance.com

The Ten-Minute Home Workout

Ten minutes isn’t a long time.   It isn’t long enough to reap the long-term benefits of cardiovascular exercise or get in a solid muscle-building session. However, it is long enough to quickly tone your body and do just enough exercise to jump-start your metabolism. Here are some ten-minute workouts that can accomplish a mini fitness-goal: burn a few extra calories, strengthen your body or work on flexibility. The best part of all is that you can do any of these quick workouts right in your apartment. Use them as a compliment to your regular workout or when you can’t fit in a trip to the gym.
 
Quick Cardio Blast: Burn up to 150 calories
 
Minutes one to two: High-intensity cardio, jump rope or run up and down stairs.
Minutes three to four: Do as many push-ups as you can.
Minutes five and six: Jump rope or run stairs again.
Minutes seven and eight: Do squats by standing with your back against a wall and squatting as low as you can. Focus on form rather than speed.
Minutes nine and ten: Back to the high-intensity cardio, but this time give it your all. Try to get in ten more jumps or stairs in the same amount of time. 
 
Tone and Strengthen
Do each of these exercises for about one minute. The goal is to move continuously for the entire series.
 
Squats against a wall: Stand with your back against wall and squat down as far as you can.

Push-ups: Focus on form, not quantity. Knee push-ups are perfectly fine until you have the strength for military style.
Walking lunges with a front kick: Step forward with one leg and lunge until your knee is above your front foot. Stand and kick up, lower your leg and repeat with the other side.

Squats/Chest squeeze: Hold a weighted object and pull it in towards your chest as you lift up.

Dead lifts: Stand with a weighted object in your hands and bend forward until your back is parallel to the floor. Keep your back lifted the entire time. For an extra challenge, stand on one leg and alternate.
 
Shoulder raises: Keeping your arms straight, lift the weight to the front of your body and hold. Lower slowly and repeat.
Side raises: Stand with your upper torso parallel to the floor. Raise your arms to your sides with your thumbs pointing up. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold.
 
Triceps Dip: Support yourself on a couch or sturdy chair with both hands behind you, facing away from the chair. Bend your knees and lower yourself using only your arms. Lift and repeat.
Wide-leg squat: Stand with your legs spread open past your shoulders and squat as low as you can.

Crunch: Lie on the floor and do a set of traditional crunches, with your arms behind your head and your knees bent. Lift up your upper torso, squeeze in your abs, lower slowly and repeat. 
 
Stretch and Lengthen
These five stretches will target the major muscles in your body. Hold each stretch for one minute on each side.
 
Hamstrings: Sit with your legs in front of you and reach for your toes with your hands, keeping your back straight. Then alternate the same stretch on each leg, bending your other leg inwards.

Triceps: Hold one arm under your head, bend it and use your other arm to gently push it back, stretching the muscle on the front of your arm.

Shoulders: Stretch one arm across your chest and hold it in place with your other arm. Gently pull the straight arm towards your chest.

Quadriceps: Stand up and bend one leg back behind you. Pull the leg in with the same-side arm until you feel a stretch.

Spinal twist: Sit with one leg straight and the other bent. Twist your torso toward your bent leg, supporting yourself by resting the opposite elbow on your leg. Use your other arm to hold yourself up by resting it on the floor behind you.
Source: Apartment Living
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"Try old fashion calisthenics."
Calisthenics

There are numerous methods to beat the weight and stay fit, calisthenics workout being one of them. Bodyweight calisthenics exercises help in improving the overall fitness, physique and strength of a person. Calisthenics originated from the Greek words, ‘kalos’ meaning beauty and ‘thenos’ meaning strength. Check out the benefits of a calisthenics workout.

Every human body has its own innate activity pattern. Added physical activity in the daily routine helps in conditioning the body in a natural way. Calisthenics help in regaining the natural conditioning of the entire body. Methodical, regular exercises like push-ups and sit-ups are intrinsic to any calisthenics workout. They help in toning and strengthening the muscles and also help in improving the overall fitness of the body.
  
Squats: Stand with feet spread apart, squat as much as possible while keeping your arms parallel to the floor. Get back to the standing posture and repeat. Other types of squats include squatting by lifting one leg off the floor in front of you and positioning both the arms in front of you for balance (mainly for lower body).
 
Sit-ups/crunches: Lie down on your back, position your knees at right angle. Place your hands below your head and support your head while you lift up slowly using your abdomen muscles (mainly for abdomen).
 
Arm rotation: Stand straight and stretch out your arms horizontally. Move your hands in a circular motion both in forward and reverse directions.
 
Knee rotation: Place your feet together, keep your hands on your knees. Gradually rotate your knees clockwise and then in reverse direction for one minute each.
 
Hip rotation: Stand straight and keep your hands on your hips, gradually rotate your hips in the clockwise direction and reverse direction for one minute each.
 
Flutter kicks: Lie down on your back and place your hands below your buttocks. Raise one leg at a time for a minimum of 6 inches from the ground. Follow leg motion similar to motion of kicking legs while swimming.
 
Jumping jack: Start in a standing position with both legs close to each other; hop up while spreading your feet apart as you hop. Keep clapping your hands over your head and then get back to the initial standing position.
Start slowly, exercise according to your stamina levels. Slowly and steadily increase the exercise repetitions and period. Calisthenics require high energy levels.
 
Exercise according to the energy levels of your body for the day. You need do all the exercises everyday. You can skip a day of exercising when you feel low and embark again when you feel better.
 
Wear comfortable clothing that is stretchable. A padded floor mat will be immensely helpful for floor exercises.
 
Source: Targetwomen.com
These workouts will be posted here thru 2008, refer to them as often as your like.

At Home Strengthening Exercises

What You Need to Get Started:
1. Floor mat
2. Free weights (two hand-weights between 3 and 15 lbs. each, depending on your level)
3. Bench
4. Consult your physician to make sure these exercises are appropriate for you.
Doing these strengthening exercises should build up your muscle strength and bone density and increase your metabolism.
Always perform the exercises in the order given and do the entire routine twice a week (should take around 40 minutes each time.) If time is a problem, try splitting the routine in half and doing the exercises 4 days a week. For instance, do the first half of the exercises on Monday and Thursday and the second half on Wednesday and Saturday.
Perform each exercise in 2 sets of 12 repetitions with a short break in between, unless stated otherwise.

1. Chest Press
Using a bench and hand-weights, lie on your back with the
weights in your hand and upper arms in line with your shoulders. Using a slow, controlled movement, press your arms up to a fully extended position, then back down to the starting position.

2. Row
Start by placing your right hand and right knee on a bench with your left foot on the floor and left hand hanging down with a hand-weight. Your back should be flat and parallel to the ground. Slowly pull the weight up to your shoulder and squeeze your shoulder blades to finish. With control, return to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite side.

3. Abdominal Crunch
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Cross your arms across your chest with your hands on opposite shoulders. Look up at the ceiling to keep your neck relaxed. Slowly contract your abdominal muscles to lift your shoulders off the floor and hold the crunch for a 2-count. Then relax your shoulders back to the floor. Begin with 12 repetitions, but build up to 20.
**For additional resistance, move your hands up beside your ears with your elbows out to the sides. Place your feet up on a bench or sofa.

4. Side Crunch
Start as you did for the abdominal crunch, lying on the floor with your knees bent and arms across your chest with hands on opposite shoulders. Again look at the ceiling and keep your neck relaxed. Contract your abdominal muscles and lift your shoulders off the floor, but twist so your right elbow goes toward the left knee. Relax back down to the floor. Do 12 reps in each direction.
**For additional resistance, move your hands up beside your ears with your elbows out to the sides. Place your feet up on a bench or sofa.

5. Biceps Curl
Sit on a bench with your legs spread apart. Place your right elbow inside your right knee with the hand of that arm resting on the top of the opposite leg. Your left hand holds the weight and the arm starts straight (just inside the left knee). Slowly bend it up until the weight is up at the shoulder, then return to the starting position. Repeat the set on the other arm.

6. Overhead Press
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your knees slightly bent. Hold the hand-weights in your hands beside your shoulders (if you use a single bar, it should be resting across the top of your chest). Using slow control, extend your arms straight up overhead, without locking your elbows. Then bend your elbows and return to the starting position.

7. Tricep Dips
Sit on the edge of a bench with your hands on the edge next to your buttocks. Slide your butt forward off the edge of the bench, bend your arms and drop your body down until your elbows are almost at 90 degrees. Then lift your body back up (but don't return your bottom to the bench until you've completed all 12 repetitions). For an easier option, keep your feet on the ground with your legs bent. The intermediate option would have your legs straight out in front of you. The most challenging position is elevating your feet on another chair or bench.

8. Lunge
Start by standing with both feet together. While maintaining a tall posture, take a giant step forward while bending your forward knee (but don't push your knee beyond your foot). Then press forcefully off your forward leg to return to your starting stance. Alternate 10 reps on each leg.
**To increase resistance, hold light dumbbells.
Source: PBS. Exercise.
These exercises will be posted here thru 2008. Refer to them as often as needed.

 "Tell us about your club, or find a club here." 80 CLUBS AROUND THE WORLD

EIGHTY "ACTIVE LIFESTYLE" CLUBS AROUND THE WORLD. "Be Active."

For 80 Months, starting 01/07,
Irongeezer will publish one article per month about a club, written by a club member.
The month that the article is published, the club listing will be added to the "80 Clubs Around the World" list below.
All of these clubs welcome visitors!
And yes, at one club per month, the list will not be complete until mid 2013!
Submit your club information to: irongeezer@irongeezer.com

Hudson Valley Tri club

 

You are Always Welcome at the Hudson Valley Triathlon Club

These are exciting times for our sport and HVTC is here to see that you enjoy every moment. We'd like to invite you to swim with us at beautiful Wilson State Park, bike around the Ashokan Reservoir and run through the inspiring Catskill Mountains. We guarantee you'll be hooked and pleading for more. 

 

The Hudson Valley Triathlon Club is located 2 hours north of NYC and hosts a USAT Sanctioned 4-race Summer Tri-Series at beautiful Wilson State park in Mt. Tremper, NY for athletes' beginner to Pro. 

For more info: Mark@hvtc.net  www.hvtc.net

10/08 - Hudson Valley, NewYork. The Hudson Valley Tri Club in located in an inspiring mountain area. www.hvtc.net

09/08 - Greater Phoenix, Arizona. Focus east Valley Triathlon Club. A "Tri-Family" Club. info@eastvalleytri.com

08/08 - Greater Phoenix, Arizona. AZTECH Training not a formal "commercial training" group. http://eteamz.active.com/AZTECHTRAINING/

07/08 - Greater Phoenix, Arizona. The CoyotesCurling Club. They host many learn to CURL events throughout the year. www.coyotescurling.com

06/08 - Greater Phoenix, Arizona.  Arizona road Racers. The 2000+ member club welcomes visitors from all over the world on a regular basis. www.arizonaroadracers.com

05/08 - Scottsdale, Arizona. Tri-Scottsdale. A one of a kind, super triathlon club. Check them out: http://www.triscottsdale.org/ 
 
04/08 - Marietta, Georgia. The East Cobb Heat Track Club promotes healty lifestyle activities to kids! www.eastcobbheattrackclub.org
 
03/08 - Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo Triathlon Club. Last year they gave $5,000 to various charities, my kind of club. Check out the Website> http://buffalotriathlonclub.com
 
02/08 - Silver City, New Mexico. The 8 member Quicksilver Triathlon Club. Tim Matthes: writertim@comcast.nett or Cindy Neely: cindy@info.edu
 
01/08 - DeRidder, Iowa. The fabulous Granny Basketball league. Establish a Granny Basketball team in your area. www.grannybasketball.com
 
12/07 - Washington, DC. The Potomac Valley Track Club. It's the largest club in the area, and has something to offer to runners & walkers of all abilities. www.pvtc.org
 
11/07 - Entire U.S.A. The American Volkssport Association, an international organization offering self-paced physical activities. www.ava.org
 
10/07 - Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai Cycling Club. They promote, health, the envoronment, family values, and help the poor. www.thaicycling.com
 
09/07 - Santiago, Chile. The DAV Mountaineering Club was founded in 1909 by German descendants. The club has a great history of first ascents and welcomes visitors and inquires. www.dav.cl/Deutsch/Einleitung.htm
 
08/07 - Cambridge, UK. The Cambridge '99 Rowing Club. Founded in 1899 and still welcoming rowers of all levels. http://nines.rowing.org.uk
 
07/07 - Berkeley, California. "Club Chaos." The UC Berkeley Hiking & Outdoor Society. Everyone invited for a good time!
 
06/07 - Jacksonville, Florida. The HammerHead Triathlon Club is, as they say, northeast Florida's great triathlon club. Join in in helping them with charity work or a workout: www.hammerheadtriathlonclub.com
 
05/07 - Silicon Valley, California. The MIT Community Running Club is known as the world's friendliest and only ChiRun/ChiWalk club. Everyone is welcome to join them for a workout: www.MITcrc.org
 
04/07 - Tempe, Arizona. Arizona State University Cycling & Triathlon Club. ASU students, faculty, and alumni are welcome to become members. These collegiate champions are always "turning up the heat." www.asucycling.com
 
03/07 - West Indies. The Nevis Cycle & Triathlon Club.
Experience the wonders of the Caribbean. Nevis is a 36 square mile Island near St. Kitts. www.neviscycleclub.com
 
02/07 - Surprise, Arizona. The Saguaro Sun Striders Walking Club.
As part of the American Volkssport Association. They have a network of over 350 clubs, and host more than 3000 events a year. All events are open to the public.
For a Volkssport Club near you: http://ava.org
 
01/07 - Greater Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Triathlon Club. 
The PTC has it all: A free program for kids, education, group workouts, training, and they host a major duathlon every year in February. People of all abilities are always welcome to the workout sessions.
www.phoenixtriathlonclub.org

TELL IRONGEEZER.ORG & THE WORLD ABOUT YOUR CLUB!

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