Friday, May 31, 2013

Why training outdoors is better for you than hanging out in the gym

Yes, I already trained in the outdoors this morning, when it was windy and cold, as well as yesterday in the pouring rain. The day before that (yes, I’ve lost track of where in the week we are, too) .

But I was outdoors. And while I’m not what I’d consider a complete outdoorsy type — I surpassed my camping quota and comfort level years ago — I would much rather exercise outdoors than in. 

Turns out there are actual, true-blue, scientific, bona fide answers why I prefer exercising outdoors, and why it’s healthier — mentally and physically — than doing so indoors. OK, blizzards, typhoons, tornadoes, hurricanes and the aforementioned lightning notwithstanding.

In several studies, the New York Times Well Blog reports, volunteers were asked to go on two walks for the same distance or time. One was outdoors; the other, indoors, usually on a treadmill or around a track.

The subjects reported enjoying the outdoor exercise more (not surprising) and — on subsequent psychological tests (also not surprising, I’d say) — “scored significantly higher on measures of vitality, enthusiasm, pleasure and self-esteem and lower on tension, depression and fatigue after they walked outside.”

In studies of older adults during which participants wore gadgets measuring their fitness levels, those who exercised outdoors added 30 more minutes to their weekly workouts than the indoor types.

Source: The Dallas Morning news 

Monday, May 27, 2013

Smoking Will Kill 1 Billion People


One billion people will die from tobacco-related causes by the end of the century if current consumption trends continue, according to a global report released Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
At a press conference held in midtown Manhattan, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose charitable organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, contributed $2 million to conduct the study, joined top WHO officials to present the findings. Among the litany of sobering statistics: 5.4 million people die each year — one every six seconds — from lung cancer, heart disease or other illness directly linked to tobacco use. Smoking killed 100 million people in the 20th century, and the yearly death toll could pass 8 million as soon as 2030 — 80% of those deaths will be in the developing world, where tobacco use is growing most rapidly. "We're on a collision course," said Dr. Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative.
If the unveiling of the report felt more like an assault, it was meant to. Built into the report's six primary policy goals was a directive to countries to warn people about the many dangers of tobacco. Another of the study's main objectives was to get countries to assess their tobacco consumption. "If you can't measure a problem, you obviously can't manage it," said Mayor Bloomberg, who banned smoking in New York City's restaurants and bars in 2003.
The 369-page WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008, bound like a high school yearbook and bundled with a "cigarette pack" of colored markers, called on governments to adhere to six tobacco control policies it calls MPOWER: monitor tobacco use; protect people from secondhand smoke; offer help to people who want to quit; warn about the risks of smoking; enforce bans on cigarette advertising; and raise tobacco taxes. The report also breaks down tobacco consumption and prevention efforts country by country. To date, it is the most comprehensive study of its kind at a global level, said WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan.
The collected data should equip countries around the world to begin implementing anti-tobacco policies, Chan says, including smoking bans, aggressive anti-tobacco campaigns and massive tobacco tax hikes. According to the report, nearly two thirds of the world's smokers live in 10 countries — China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Russia, and Turkey. China alone accounts for nearly 30% of all smokers worldwide. Currently, only 5% of the world's population lives in countries — predominately in Western Europe — that have any antismoking policies in place. "These are straightforward and common sense measures within the reach of every country, regardless of income level," said Chan.
According to the study, the most effective tactic globally has been simply to raise prices. "Increasing taxes is the best way to decrease consumption," Bettcher said, pointing to the direct relationship between a rise in excise tax rates and a fall in cigarette purchases in South Africa between 1990 and 2006. Making tobacco prohibitively expensive, said Bettcher, will decrease consumption, especially among those who can least afford to smoke. Lower income people smoke significantly more than the wealthy, and spend a much higher proportion of their income on tobacco — 20% of the most impoverished households in Mexico spend as much as 11% of their household income on tobacco — mostly due to the tobacco industry's objective to get people addicted to nicotine, according to the study.
Another vulnerable group: women. Though women still smoke at just one quarter the rate of men, tobacco advertisers are increasingly targeting this largely untapped market. Though parts of Europe have enacted some of the most aggressive anti-tobacco policies in the world, in recent decades the rates of smoking between men and women have begun evening out — even as rates decrease among European men, they are increasing among women. Among adolescents in European Union member nations, girls may now be even more likely to smoke than boys. Globally, Chan said, "the rise of tobacco use among girls and young women is among the most ominous trends."
As with virtually all public-health problems, a major hurdle to reducing smoking, the study said, is lack of public education. People are not fully aware of the hazards of smoking, and it's a weakness that the tobacco industry is quick to exploit, Bettcher said. A recent Chinese study found that "only 25% of the Chinese population knew tobacco was bad for their health," he explained. Warnings should be bolder and scarier, said Bloomberg. Other countries put skull and crossbones symbols or photographs of blackened lungs on their cigarette packs, he said, and the U.S should follow suit: "The U.S. government isn't doing enough."
Asked whether he would back a federal ban on smoking in the workplace or public spaces, Bloomberg said he would, but added, "I don't think the federal government should prohibit the manufacture or sale of cigarettes," but that combatting tobacco should mean diminishing the demand.
Once a smoker himself, Bloomberg said he was able to quit only when he truly understood the consequences. "As I became more mature and started thinking, 'Do I want to live or not?' it was an easy decision." For those who want to smoke, however, he feels it should be their right, so long as they aren't harming others. "I happen to agree with those who think you have a right to kill yourself," he said.

Srouce : http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711154,00.html#ixzz2UTPpcPch

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Low-fat foods just giving us a 'licence to overeat'


Lead researcher Professor Barbara Livingstone, of the University of Ulster, said consumers were being influenced by the "health halo" of some products.

For example, with a lower fat coleslaw they'll eat as much as 126g of it compared with just 74g of a luxury brand. The same applied to breakfast cereal – with women choosing larger portions of Special K than Frosties, researchers found. This means buying "healthier" products could actually lead to weight gain over time she said 

"They see them as representing the less guilty option and so eat more. Further education on what is a healthy portion size is warranted to overcome these misconceptions," she said.

The research, which was carried out among 180 adults and published in the 'International Journal of Obesity', found that people selected portion sizes that were between 28pc and 71pc larger than what was recommended in five out of six cases.

Dr Foley-Nolan said there had been a huge increase in the number of foods with nutrition and health claims over the past 20 years but the population was still getting fatter.

"The research shows that these foods are viewed by some consumers as a licence to overeat," Dr Foley-Nolan added.

"However, in the case of many products, the fat that is removed in the 'healthier' product is replaced by other ingredients, such as sugar, and the calorie savings are small."

Irish Independent

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Real Results 38 to 34


Congratulations to fellow Warrior Pascal who has dropped from a 38 to a 34 inch waist.

4 inches lost over 4 months as a result of Warrior training and healthy eating habits




Please read more testimonials here.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Working out in the rain




The weather has been pretty unpredictable as of late, alternating between really hot, sometimes unbearable sunny days and heavy downpour out of the sudden. We don't deny it's a challenge when it comes to training outdoors in extreme weathers; especially in rainy conditions where we noticed a shortage of people out training in parks during these times. We actually had the park to ourselves :)



Not many people are intrigued with the idea of getting wet in the first place when they can choose to stay dry, but for those who don't mind the rain factor, they actually find it refreshing and less tiring as compared to training with heat and humidity. It actually offers some sort of ....relief. 

We at Warrior Bootcamp are skeptics when it comes to the myth that rain can make one sick, for we have conducted quite a number of training sessions in the rain with a high percentage of recruits NOT falling sick after training. However, we do advise that you keep a change of dry clothing in the car to change into after your training to decrease the risk.

If you've never considered exercising in the rain, it's time to give it a try. For those who are more health conscious and like to be wary, you might want to consider the few tips below:

1) Check the weather map. A little drizzle is much easier to run in than a full on downpour. Be patient and wait for a bad storm to pass before heading outside. However, if the weather condition is too risky to train, we will update the class cancellation on our Facebook page so make sure you join up with us to get the latest information.

2) Just because it's raining, doesn't mean you need to get wet. Wear a water and windproof lightweight raincoat made of breathable material that will keep you dry on the outside and cool on the inside.

3) Get a pair of shorts or pants made of waterproof material that will repel droplets from the sky and splashes from puddles.

4) Invest in some waterproof footwear to keep you dry, and wear wicking socks with them. Wet feet are more prone to blisters, though it rarely happens in the 1 hour training session unless we're out for LSD runs :)

5) Wear a hat to prevent water from dripping all over your face (a basic baseball hat will do), and/or wear sunglasses to prevent water droplets from spraying in your eyes.

6) Make sure your clothes are brightly colored so cars can see you. The red warrior t shirt comes with reflectors attached on the front and back for safety purposes.

7) If you like to listen to music while exercising, make sure your iPod or other device is in a waterproof case.

8) As soon as you hear thunder or see lightening, head inside immediately. Getting struck by lightening may be rare, but it does happen. If it's too dangerous to be out, we advise you to do something in the house, some of the exercises we gave can be performed indoors but of course there's nothing like having an instructor shouting and motivating you while having fun pushing the limits and braving the elements with the rest of the warriors.


As the saying goes, if you wait for the right weather, you'll never get anything done.

Rain or shine, see you at training :)