Want to boost your athletic performance? It’s got to be beetroot juice

BEETROOT juice can improve your puff, potentially benefiting swimmers, singers, and mountaineers, research has shown.

In tests, drinking a single shot of the red juice allowed trained divers to hold their breath 11pc longer.

Beetroot is known to boost levels of nitric oxide in the body, causing muscles to work more efficiently and demand less oxygen.

Previous research has shown that beetroot juice increases physical stamina.

Concentrated beetroot shots are already used by top-level British athletes, including marathon runner Helen Decker and butterfly swimming champion Ian Hulme.

The new research was conducted by Swedish scientists on 12 healthy volunteers who were trained in breath-hold diving.

In the tests, the nine men and three women were either given a 70 millilitre shot of beetroot juice or an inactive placebo drink.

They were then asked to hold their breath after having a clip placed on their nose.

After drinking the beetroot, the volunteers were able to hold their breath for an average four minutes and 38 seconds. They managed four minutes 10 seconds after drinking the placebo - a difference of more than 11pc.

The results appear in the journal Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

Dr Harald Engan, who led the experiment, said: "Apparently by enabling the body to reduce oxygen consumption, drinking concentrated beetroot juice has delivered significant extension of breath holding time.

"We are currently experimenting on if this may also be able to help climbers at high altitude and hope to report on the results soon."

Beetroot juice could also help opera singers and woodwind and brass instrument players, who often need to hold their breath for long periods, the researchers believe.

Source: http://www.independent.ie/health/diet-fitness/want-to-boost-your-athletic-performance-its-got-to-be-beetroot-juice-3118676.html

BOOTCAMP SCHEDULE - 28TH MAY to 4TH JUNE 2012

It's never too late to become what you might have been! 

Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues : 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Botanical Gardens ( Meet at the main gate)

Are you motivated to achieve what you really want in life?

Are you motivated to achieve what you really want in life? And how hard do you push yourself to get things done?

Wanting to do something and motivating yourself to actually do it are two different things. So, what's the difference between those who never reach their goals, year after year, and those who achieve one goal after another? Often, it's their self-motivation.

Self-motivation is the force that keeps pushing us to go on – it's our internal drive to achieve, produce, develop, and keep moving forward. When you think you're ready to quit something, or you just don't know how to start, your self-motivation is what pushes you to go on.

With self-motivation, you'll learn and grow – regardless of the specific situation. That's why it's such a fundamental tool for reaching your goals, achieving your dreams, and succeeding, in this journey we call life.

BOOTCAMP SCHEDULE 21ST - 27TH May 2012

Clear your mind of CAN'T 

Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues : 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Social Jetlag Contributes to Obesity

Social jetlag — a syndrome related to the mismatch between the body’s internal clock and the realities of our daily lives — is a contributing factor in the growing obesity epidemic, according to a new study.

“We have identified a syndrome in modern society that has not been recognized until recently,” said Till Roenneberg of the University of Munich. “It concerns an increasing discrepancy between the daily timing of the physiological clock and the social clock. As a result of this social jetlag, people are chronically sleep-deprived. They are also more likely to smoke and drink more alcohol and caffeine. Now, we show that social jetlag also contributes to obesity — the plot that social jetlag is really bad for our health is thickening.”

Each of us has a biological clock, he said, adding that those clocks are regulated by daylight and darkness to provide the optimal window for sleep and waking. In modern society, however, we listen to those clocks “less and less due to the increasing discrepancy between what the body clock tells us and what the boss tells us,” he said.

Roenneberg’s team is compiling a database on human sleeping and waking behavior, which they plan to eventually use to produce a world sleep map. Now 10 years into the effort, they have compiled lots of information, including participants’ height, weight, and sleep patterns.

Their analysis shows that people with more severe social jetlag are also more likely to be overweight.

The findings should factor into decisions about Daylight Saving Time, as well as work and school times, the researchers said. It would also help if people began spending more time outdoors in open daylight or at least sitting by a window, they add. As people fail to do this, their body clocks get set later and later, leaving them awake into the night and tired by day.

“Waking up with an alarm clock is a relatively new facet of our lives,” Roenneberg says. “It simply means that we haven’t slept enough and this is the reason why we are chronically tired. Good sleep and enough sleep is not a waste of time but a guarantee for better work performance and more fun with friends and family during off-work times.”

Source: NST 13th May 2012 

Study shows women are ditching gym for great outdoors , WHY ?

WOMEN are increasingly ditching the gym in favour of fresh air exercise, according to a survey.

They are taking to parks and playing fields to join group sessions like Bootcamp and Buggy Fit

According to a poll of 1,000 physically active women, commissioned by sports bra company Shock Absorber, the numbers opting for 'green' exercise has risen by half (52 per cent) in five years.

Dr Jo Barton, a lecturer in sports and exercise science at Essex University, said it was proven that exercising outdoors made people feel more positive than doing so inside.

She said: "Green exercise offers unique benefits compared to working out indoors.

"It significantly improves mood, self-esteem and restores mental fatigue.

"Added to this, people work harder when in a natural environment but perceive their workout to be easier.

"Training in the great outdoors also provides essential variety, especially with the changeable British weather – this maintains interest and reduces dropout whereas keeping fit indoors is more predictable."

She said greenery and the weather acted as a "natural distraction" that meant people didn't realise they were exercising so hard, and that group sessions tended to be more sociable outside too.

"There tends to be a lot more conversation going on with outdoor activities," she said.

In addition, she said people tended to go to group exercise sessions more regularly because if you missed one "you feel like you're letting everyone down".

Shock Absorber is launching a campaign, called Get Out There, to promote the benefits of outdoor exercise for women

Source: The daily Telegraph

BOOTCAMP SCHEDULE 14th -20th May 2012

FITNESS is not about HAVING time. But MAKING time !!

Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues : 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

A Runner's Story: Bringing fitness into your life has a rippling effect that has the ability to change the world.

The term fitness is often something we associate with the gym, sweat, workout clothing, dumbbells, barbells, and the like. You know the picture I’m painting. However, I am a firm believer that fitness is so much more than simply the time spent exercising—it is a springboard to empower you as a person, and transform your life.

Bringing fitness into your life has a rippling effect that has the ability to change the world. Now this statement may sound extreme, but I say this because I have seen firsthand the power of fitness to change lives, I have lived it.

You see, I started out a runner, I was raised in a very small and remote town in Northern Canada. But I had dreams to travel and running was my ticket to this new world. At 17, I won a full NCAA Division I scholarship to a top school and running became my livelihood, my passion, a part of me—I embodied that image of "fitness." But as life has its way, four years later an injury left me unable to ever run again. To say I was devastated was an understatement, a part of me had died. I was lost.  Slowly after time I decided I had to pick up the pieces of my life and get a "real job."

I shifted my attitude, if I couldn’t go to the pinnacle of the athletic world (the Olympics), I’d go to the pinnacle of the corporate world (New York City) and that’s exactly where I went! However within two years of all corporate life and no fitness outlet, I was miserable.  I was stressed out, irritable, frustrated and just not feeling confident and happy the way I always had. I knew something needed to change, I needed to get back to feeling good again, and I knew that meant getting back into a healthy fit lifestyle, despite the fact that I could no longer run.

With all my limitations (both physical and emotional) I really had to start from the ground up, I had lost every fit muscle in my body and I knew nothing about exercise besides running—but I started out little by little. I explored EVERY possible form of fitness from pool jogging to road cycling and dance. Through the journey I met incredible people, all with their own unique story, including some who have become my best friends. Above all, fitness allowed me to find my true self, to reinvent myself and to become a better version of myself.

I tell you this because I believe that simply preaching the benefits of fitness are simply words until one can see firsthand the power it has on life. No one said including fitness in your life is easy or always fun—it’s a challenge (isn’t everything worth achieving that way?). But there is no question the benefits far outweigh any obstacles. So if you haven’t yet, I encourage you to make the decision to get active, it could be as small as attempting to go for a 10-15 minute brisk walk once a day—half the battle is getting started! You will learn more about yourself than you could get from any book or lecture and I have a feeling you will find you are much stronger than you ever thought possible.

Source: http://amanda-russell.com/

Finally scientists figure out how to stop weight gain – sleep it off

A "SLEEP diet" may be the best way to slim for someone with an inherited tendency to put on weight, research suggests.

Sleeping more than nine hours a night appears to suppress genetic factors that lead to weight gain, a study has found.

In contrast, getting too little sleep seems to have the opposite effect.

Previous research has shown an association between poor sleep and obesity, but the new findings reveal a complex interaction between sleep and genetic factors linked to body weight.

Scientists made the discovery after studying 1,088 pairs of identical and non-identical twins.

Twin studies help researchers to unravel genetic and environmental influences. Only identical twins share exactly the same genes, and are therefore subject to the same genetic effects, so differences between them are likely to be due to environmental factors.

Non-identical twins do not share the same genes, and may exhibit genetic differences.

The new study found that heritability of body mass index (BMI) - a measurement relating weight and height - was twice as high for short than for long sleepers.

For twins sleeping less than seven hours a night, genetic factors accounted for 70pc of differences in BMI.

In the case of twins averaging more than nine hours of sleep, only 32pc of weight variations could be attributed to genes.

Dr Nathaniel Watson, from the University of Washington, who led the US study, said: "The results suggest that shorter sleep provides a more permissive environment for the expression of obesity related genes.

"Or it may be that extended sleep is protective by suppressing expression of obesity genes."

The findings were published today in the journal Sleep.

Participants in the study slept for 7.2 hours a night on average. They were mostly young, with an average age of 36.6, well educated, Caucasian and female.

Their average BMI was 25.3, which falls just inside the "overweight" category. Clinical obesity is defined by a BMI of 30 or above.

A total of 38pc were female-female identical twins, which made up the most common pairing.

In their paper, the scientists suggest that hectic modern western lifestyles may contribute to obesity.

"Modern society with its ubiquitous technology often can cause misalignment between sleep need and sleep actualisation," they wrote. "This frequently has adverse consequences for cognitive (mental) function and metabolic, cardiovascular, and immunologic health.

"Indeed, over the past century habitual sleep duration has dropped 1.5 hours per night and since 2001 the percentage of US adults getting at least eight hours of sleep per night on weeknights has fallen from 38pc to 27pc."

They added: "Evidence is mounting that chronically reduced sleep times are associated with obesity."

Sleep may influence weight by affecting hormones, glucose metabolism and inflammation, said the scientists.

Some studies have associated long sleep duration with heart disease, insulin resistence (a precursor to diabetes) and early death.

"We did not observe this in our sample, but our sample is much younger than those used in studies that established these adverse associations," the researchers wrote.

They said it was likely an individual benefited from more sleep "until sleep need and sleep actualisation are balanced".

Source : http://www.independent.ie/health/health-news/finally-scientists-figure-out-how-to-stop-weight-gain-sleep-it-off-3096227.html

Jogging Linked With Increased Life Expectancy, Study Shows

Going for regular jogs could help you to live longer, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Copenhagen City Heart Study found that regular jogging adds years onto the life expectancies of both men and women.

The optimal amount of jogging seems to be be one to two-and-a-half hours per week, spread out between two or three jogging sessions, the researchers found. The study was presented at the EuroPRevent2012 meeting in Ireland.

"The results of our research allow us to definitively answer the question of whether jogging is good for your health," Peter Schnohr, chief cardiologist of the Copenhagen City Heart Study, said at the event, according to a statement. "We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity. The good news is that you don't actually need to do that much to reap the benefits."

The study drew from data from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, which started in 1976 and includes data from 20,000 men and women ages 20 to 93. This particular study used data from 1,116 males and 762 females, all of whom were joggers. These joggers were compared with non-joggers for the study, and were asked about their jogging intensity/speed and the time they spent jogging each week.

Over a 35-year period, researchers found that 10,158 non-joggers and 122 joggers died. Jogging was linked with an added 6.2 years onto the life expectancies for men and 5.6 years onto the life expectancies for women, according to the study.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/03/jogging-life-expectancy-_n_1472318.html?ref=healthy-living

BOOTCAMP PG SCHEDULE : 7th - 13th May 2012

Resilience is about how we accept a new reality. We can fight it , complain about it OR accept it and make it work for US    

Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues : Fitness Test - Youth Park

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Sun 1700- 1830 hrs Beach Bootcamp (Behind Flamingo Hotel)

What is emotional resilience ?

Emotional resilience refers to one’s ability to adapt to stressful situations or crises. More resilient people are able to "roll with the punches" and adapt to adversity without lasting difficulties; less resilient people have a harder time with stress and life changes, both major and minor. It’s been found that those who deal with minor stresses more easily can also manage major crises with greater ease, so resilience has its benefits for daily life as well as for the rare major catastrophe.

Emotional resilience is partially inborn, but it can (and should) be learned and developed. If you’d like to be able to handle life’s challenges (both major and minor) with greater ease, to grow from adversity, and to turn potentially negative events into positive ones, the following steps can help you to become more resilient to stress.

How to develop emotional resilience

1. Develop The Right Attitude
   Resilient people tend to view life’s difficulties as challenges and respond accordingly with action, rather than with fear, self-pity, blame or a "victim mentality." While life can be very challenging, an important step in becoming more resilient is todevelop positive self-talk and to remind yourself that you are strong and can grow stronger and more wise as you handle life’s challenges.
2. Become Aware
   Part of resilience is emotional awareness; it’s important to understand what you’re feeling and why. Sometimes people feel overwhelmed with their emotions, and this frightens and immobilizes them. Knowing why you feel upset can provide valuable information about what needs to change in your life. It’s also important to do research on how to meet the challenges you face. Maintaining a journal can help you explore your inner world and come up with a plan of action.
3. Develop An Internal Locus of Control
   Resilient people believe that they’re in control of their lives, and it’s true: while we can’t control our circumstances, we can control how we respond to those circumstances, and that makes a big difference in our attitudes and in the course our lives take. Fortunately, you can develop an internal locus of control.
4. Cultivate Optimism
   Being an optimist is more than looking on the bright side (though that helps). It’s a way of viewing the world where you maximize your strengths and accomplishments, and minimize your weaknesses and setbacks. Developing a more optimistic world view can help you become more resilient.
   Become an Optimist
5. Rally Social Support
   While we ultimately face our own challenges, a supportive friend or group of friends can help lighten the load. Those with strong networks of social support tend to stay healthier and happier throughout life, and tend to cope well with stress. Conversely, those with little support may find themselves more vulnerable, and those with conflicted and unsupportive relationships tend to fare even worse.
   Developing a Supportive Network of Friends
6. Maintain Your Sense of Humor
   If you’re able to laugh at life’s frustrations, you can have increased immunity, if you will, to stress and adversity. Those with a sense of humor about life tend to experience life as less stressful, are able to bond with others during difficult times, and experience the numerous benefits of laughter. If you can take a step back from difficult situations long enough to maintain your sense of humor, you will be more resilient, too.
   Maintaining a Sense of Humor
7. Exercise
   Yes, you read right. Exercise has been correlated with stronger levels of resilience. This may be due to the effects of endorphins on one's mood, or the physical health benefits to those who exercise, or both. Regardless, adding a regular exercise habit to your lifestyle can benefit you in more ways than one.
   The Benefits of Exercise
8. Get In Touch With Your Spiritual Side
   Studies have shown that those who are more spiritual tend to be more resilient as well. This doesn't mean that you can't be resilient if you are atheist or agnostic. But if you are open to it, reconnecting or strengthening your connection to your spiritual side can provide you with strength.
   Spirituality and Stress Relief
9. Don’t Give Up
   While many people know of coping strategies that can help with stress, as with diets and exercise programs, the most successful individuals are those who maintain the effort for the long term. Don’t give up on your situation; don’t stop working toward getting through it. Trust the process.

Tips:

1. Be patient with yourself, and just do your best.

Source: http://stress.about.com/od/positiveattitude/ht/resilient.htm