Rest assured… you need more sleep!

Need a reason to log more Z’s? Sleep is as vital for survival as food, says the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Under the cover of night, sleep floods your veins with age-defying human growth hormone, sends armies of T-cells into battle against colds and infections, and resets the appetite controls that tell you to not hit the turn signal when you pass a McDonald’s. Just as important, it stabilizes your waking brain, helping you process information faster and feel more alert.

You won’t get all of that from drinking a Red Bull, and that’s bad news for the 30 percent of men ages 30 to 44 who log fewer than 6 hours of sleep a night. Don’t be another tired statistic, and don’t rely on sleeping pills to repay your sleep debt. Instead, arm yourself with the more shuteye. It’s time to shed some light on the dark territory of sleep. Face your fears of missing that favorite T.V. show or not finishing that final chapter.

Where You’re Most Likely to Grow Muscle First on a Woman?

 It’s all in the width of your shoulders. Our Cohasset personal training team know there’s generally not a lot of fat around a woman’s deltoids, so muscle growth there is more defined under your skin.

Postive Effect: Wider shoulders make your

How many muscles do you have?

How many muscle fibers you have was determined by the time you hit 11-15. The number may increase early in life, but it becomes set at puberty.

What you can control: how big the fibers get, which determines how tight and strong you look.

To nourish the body, the digestive system breaks down food into nutrient molecules, absorbs them into the blood stream, and eliminates food by-products.

Food moves from the mouth, passes through the esophagus, and arrives in the stomach. Here, enzymes and hydrochloric acid mix with the chewed food churning it into a thick liquid.

The liquid then enters the small intestine. Here, nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and some fats, are reduced to tiny molecules.

Along with vitamins and minerals, they leave the intestine through tiny projections called villi and cross capillary beds into the bloodstream. Undigested food moves into the large intestine and then leaves the body.

THE HOOK:

Shift your weight toward the rear leg as you rotate forcefully to that side and pivot inward on the ball of your front foot. At the same time, whip the lead arm toward the target in an L shape (the elbow should be bent about 90 degrees). Turn your hips into the punch. You can angle your hand one of two ways: vertically, so your palm faces you on impact, or horizontally, so the palm faces the floor.

http://www.veterantraining.org/boxing.htm

The Wide-Leg Squat:

Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend the knees and slowly lower your butt until your thighs are nearly horizontal to floor (don’t let your knees move forward beyond your toes). Slowly press back up to a standing position. Start with one set of 6 to 8 repetitions and slowly work up to three sets of 10 to 15. Note: This will also strengthen your quadriceps muscles and glutes.

 

Overview

Whether you are running your first 5K, doing your first triathlon or are trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, it seems everyone eventually wants to know from our Triathlon Running Coaches how to run faster. Some runners swear by running track sprints, while others argue for running more miles. There seem to be as many methods as there are runners, but very few Champion level coaches… that’s where Veteran Training fits in. However, most effective speed improvement programs have four basic components: speed work, tempo runs, leg-strength exercises and rest days. Incorporating these into your weekly runs should help you improve your speed.

Step 1

Incorporate speed work. Running faster for short periods of time will strengthen your heart, lungs and skeleton. After warming up, complete intervals, or repetitions, of 200 to 800 meters, jogging slowly after each so your body can recover. Aim for four sets of intervals once a week to start with.

Step 2

Add a weekly tempo run. Tempo running is running for a sustained period of time at a faster-than-normal pace. Tempo runs should feel between somewhat hard and hard on the rate of perceived exhaustion (RPE) scale. This equals between 70 to 80 percent of your maximum effort. Once a week, warm up for 10 or 15 minutes at an easy pace, then run between 20 and 40 minutes, or about 3 to 6 miles–depending on fitness and goals–at tempo pace. Cool down with another 10- to 15-minute jog.

Step 3

Improve your leg muscle strength through weight-bearing and plyometric–jumping–exercises. Good exercises engage the hip, knee and ankle, and include squats, dead lifts, lunges and power step-ups. Improve your explosive leg force and your speed by doing 30 to 50 vertical jumps for beginners, or 100–or more–if you’re an advanced athlete.

Step 4

Get adequate rest. Without adequate rest, your body can’t rebuild from all your hard work. On your rest days, either cross-train by doing non-running activities, such as biking, swimming or walking, or do nothing at all. Aim for one rest day per week.

Veteran Training provides the Best Triathlon Coaching, Personal Training & Boot Camp Services in Pembroke, Hanover, Hingham, Duxbury, Kingston, Plymouth, Scituate, Cohasset & Marshfield Massachusetts.

This is a great brunch or lunch meal. Look for a brand of canned, low-fat and low-sodium all-natural refried beans. (Or, make your own.) Most of the fat in this dish is “good fat” from the avocado; if you’re trying to lose weight, you might skip the avocado or substitute apple or pear.