Thank god for camel packs! A ten mile run without water are you kidding me!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Supplements: An Array of Choices. Which One is For You?
I have experimented with an assortment of supplements from creatine to branch chain amino acids. The idea behind taking such supplements are to find that competitive advantage and improve recovery time. To date I will expand in detail upon what supplements I have tried and which supplements I now use. Accordingly, each one of us is different, but I can tell you from experience (in my opinion) what supplements are a waste of time and money as apposed to seeing actual results.
(to compare ingredients, click on images to enlarge)
HYDROXYCUT:
This dietary supplement is rough on my body, especially the kidneys. After three cycles of this product (approximately 4 months, not taking the recommended 3x three times daily) dose my body begin to express signs of (abnormal) dehydration. Take a look at the ingredients and you can see that its more or less a caffeine pill on steroids. An interesting ingredient called White Willow extract is basically a natural form of aspirin. This strikes me as unusual and dangerous. Might explain why my kidneys were hurting. Another side effect is elevated heart rate due to the product design which lead to feeling paranoid and not my usual self. After not seeing results and the ill side effects I decided to stop using this product. I do not recommend this supplement as a means to weight loss.
CATALYST:
The idea behind this product is to shred body fat while preserving muscle during high intensity work outs. After taking this product I defiantly saw results without any negative side effects loosing around 15 lbs. Eventually I decided to research the ingredients as a means to finding a cheaper and perhaps better preforming supplement.
Genf20:
In search of different supplements I ran into a road block. I was turned on to the idea that certain supplements can possibly help your body increase the levels of HGH that are naturally secreted. Honestly, I didn't see any positive or negative impact on my body. This supplement seemed to work just like the Catalyst did at 2x the price.
Below are the supplements I take before workouts and on a daily basis.
Amino 1500:
This is the product that I have been searching for. If you notice the ingredients include branch chain amino acids and most if not all the ingredients of both the Catalyst and the Genf20 at a fraction of the cost. ($18.00 at Vitamin World)
One-a-day multivitamin/multimineral:
Also try Centrum Performance, it includes B Vitamins to increase energy.
Omega-3
There is a laundry list of benefits published about this supplement. Fatty acids aid in cardiovascular regulation, memory recall and so on. I recommend this supplement to any one.
Every body builder knows that taking creatine and whey protein are sure fire ways to bulk up and preform better, however; my goal is not to bulk up, but to better my overall performance, stay lean, and recover quicker. The last three supplements defiantly aid me in my goal.
(to compare ingredients, click on images to enlarge)
HYDROXYCUT:
This dietary supplement is rough on my body, especially the kidneys. After three cycles of this product (approximately 4 months, not taking the recommended 3x three times daily) dose my body begin to express signs of (abnormal) dehydration. Take a look at the ingredients and you can see that its more or less a caffeine pill on steroids. An interesting ingredient called White Willow extract is basically a natural form of aspirin. This strikes me as unusual and dangerous. Might explain why my kidneys were hurting. Another side effect is elevated heart rate due to the product design which lead to feeling paranoid and not my usual self. After not seeing results and the ill side effects I decided to stop using this product. I do not recommend this supplement as a means to weight loss.
CATALYST:
The idea behind this product is to shred body fat while preserving muscle during high intensity work outs. After taking this product I defiantly saw results without any negative side effects loosing around 15 lbs. Eventually I decided to research the ingredients as a means to finding a cheaper and perhaps better preforming supplement.
Genf20:
In search of different supplements I ran into a road block. I was turned on to the idea that certain supplements can possibly help your body increase the levels of HGH that are naturally secreted. Honestly, I didn't see any positive or negative impact on my body. This supplement seemed to work just like the Catalyst did at 2x the price.
Below are the supplements I take before workouts and on a daily basis.
Amino 1500:
This is the product that I have been searching for. If you notice the ingredients include branch chain amino acids and most if not all the ingredients of both the Catalyst and the Genf20 at a fraction of the cost. ($18.00 at Vitamin World)
One-a-day multivitamin/multimineral:
Also try Centrum Performance, it includes B Vitamins to increase energy.
Omega-3
There is a laundry list of benefits published about this supplement. Fatty acids aid in cardiovascular regulation, memory recall and so on. I recommend this supplement to any one.
Every body builder knows that taking creatine and whey protein are sure fire ways to bulk up and preform better, however; my goal is not to bulk up, but to better my overall performance, stay lean, and recover quicker. The last three supplements defiantly aid me in my goal.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Cardio Trainer
Today I discovered a free app called Cardio Trainer for the Droid. Above are my results, below are shared (via Facebook) results. This app tracks your pace, mileage, time elapsed, and approximate calories burned based on your height and weight. Certain stats such as distance and pace are determined via GPS which leads me to one of my favorite aspects of this app, the ability to track yourself on google maps in real time. When my workout is complete I save the results and share them like mentioned before and/or race myself next time out. Really motivates me to see exactly how far I have ran, especially motivating sense I plan on mapping out a couple more routes. Elevation calculations (graph located at bottom of image) are handy during hill runs, which will happen this Thursday. Today my aggregate elevation change was 156.7 meters or 171 yards. Last, but not least; saved results can be compared to a world wide high score database so I can see where I stand!
A little inside information to my training schedule. The idea behind my training schedule is one day in the gym hitting weights and the next day is dedicated to cardio. Rotating through out the week starting with weights on Monday and ending with weights on Friday. Rest on the weekends if you want to call it rest sense I am involved in Indoor Soccer on Saturdays and Mondays, not to mention outdoor soccer on Sundays! Stay active my friends!
Route details: San Dieguito River Trail following the shore of Lake Hodges from parking to the dock and back.
ran 6.86 mi on Aug. 10, 04:44 pm (Time: 00:49:06)
Leading an Active Lifestyle
Leading an active lifestyle is rewarding and fun, but getting started is the hardest part. I would like to attempt to share my progress, latest activities, and diet options that work with out starving yourself. Hopefully this informational and opinion based blog will inspire a few people to start reaping the benefits and rewards of living an active life.
A rough outline of topics that may be covered in the future include: anything... at this point I'm not going to limit myself to a set topic(s) instead, toy with this new hobby that is Blogging. However, I will try and keep topics relevant to fitness and being active.
A rough outline of topics that may be covered in the future include: anything... at this point I'm not going to limit myself to a set topic(s) instead, toy with this new hobby that is Blogging. However, I will try and keep topics relevant to fitness and being active.
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