Sleep your way to lower weight…..
Oct0
Now here’s a study that will make a lot of people happy – it has been clinically proven that if you sleep well, you can lose more weight then if you don’t! Or reversely – if you do not sleep well – you will gain weight, but let’s focus on the positive!
It’s all to do with a couple of hormones, one that helps you feel full and one that makes you feel hungry. The akward thing is that as you get more sleep deprived, the one that makes you feel ... Read More
The 9 Edges Endurance Run
Sep0
Having reported a few weeks ago on the great challenge my friend Roddy and his two mates were undertaking for Charity – I just have to share with you how they fared.. Although I wasn’t there myself – it is the kind of gruelling run that you can feel in every fibre of your body just looking at the pictures – and since a picture tells more then a thousand words - ... Read More
Do you know your body type?
Sep0
I usually don’t pay too much attention to body types, because at the end of the day – you will simply have to work with the one you got! No use crying that you want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger if you really are more like Danny de Vito after all.
I was in conversation yesterday though with Nando, Personal Trainer (www.1-2-1-trainers.com) and he pointed out that it does make a difference what material you work with and that it helps understanding your body type in ... Read More
How to avoid Calories in food….
Sep1
Women all know this particular bit of wisdom and use it to their greatest advantage….
Ever noticed we women love to eat of your plate? When it is time to order, we tell you to go ahead and have those chips, or that dessert whilst we order the mixed salad or maybe some fruit for afters, feeling very good about ourselves. But when those wicked chips come out, ofcourse we have to have one, oh go on, maybe even two or ten or half your portion.. and the icecream obviously is meant for ... Read More
Keep that Fuel Tank topped up!
Sep0
By Guest Blogger Coen van Schijndel, Topvorm - www.topvorm.com
Keep your Energy Tank fuelled!!!
An important concern of cyclists, as well as marathon runners or triatletes and all those that go for the longer nuance races is their energy supply. The energy sources which you have available to support your effort, are your body fat store and the storage of glycogen (carbohydrates) in your liver and muscles together with whatever you manage to consume and add during the actual ... Read More
It’s a crazy world
Sep0
Maybe this has nothing to do with exercise…then again, maybe it does. It does have to do with feeling good so I figured I might as well add it.
Sometimes you have to do things you enjoy, just for the sake of the enjoyment itself. I recently have been thinking about all those things you love doing, which really you don’t do often enough, maybe because it scares you a little, because your ego gets in the way, because you are supposed to be all grown up etc. I have written ... Read More
Exercising for a good cause….
Sep0
In this case, YOU are not the good cause I am referring to in the title, even though that may be equally true of course. I rather meant that from time to time it is a superb motivator to support a charity with your exercising.
I used to pick one event every year for which I would go out and get sponsorship from friends, colleagues and family. Once a year not because I wouldn’t love to do it more often, but simply because you don’t want people to get fed up with you asking ... Read More
Grief and fitness
Aug1
Where do you start when discussing how sudden loss impacts your fitness and training? There are so many aspects, I have noticed.
Whereas you may think that an event like a death in your family mostly has a mental and emotional impact, it actually goes way beyond that and has an immediate impact on your physical being. For me, against anything I had anticipated, I didn’t lose my appetite but am ravenous half the time and mostly for sweets. Despite that I lose weight – ... Read More
Life is unpredictable…
Aug0
The realisation that life is the most unpredictable thing ever has just hit me with the utmost force. My beloved brother-in-law, Edmond Spanjersberg, a fit and healthy man – passed away earlier this week, suddenly and without any warning.
This sad event obviously means I will not be writing this blog for the next few days… but I have found several great guest writers that will post their thoughts on training over the coming week.
Life is too short – enjoy it ... Read More
Max Training
Aug0
Having written about testing your maximum heart rate a little while ago, it occurred to me that it had actually been a long time since I did check it myself. In fact, I soon enough discovered it was 6 years ago! I have always trained and roughly know my limits but still – it’s good to test your max more regularly then every 6 years since your age changes (arrggh) and your circumstances change too. So to keep your training at the most effective levels, do a check once every 2 years ... Read More
Summer sweetness
Aug0
It’s summer fruit time! I love it – lots of sugar and sweetness and you can always pretend you are eating your five portions of vegetables and fruit in one sitting because it is GOOD for you 
So two great sorbets* I like to make because they are totally refreshing and ofcourse wickedly sweet…
Pomegranate Sorbet
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup ... Read More
Jetlag
Aug0
Everyone has their favorite ways of dealing with jetlag – most people just succumb to it actually, you see them walking round like zombies for days. And sometimes that was after a mere 1 hour flight But seriously, jetlag can be really awful and if you fly longer distances it’s a good idea to try and not get into a battle with it. You’ll lose.
There’s ... Read More
Livestrong – a great site!
Jul0
Being a fan of any rider in the Tour de France but definitely one that admires the amazing performance Lance Armstrong has just shown – I obviously had to check into his Livestrong project.
To my surprise, it’s not just about a way to gain funds for his project, but the site is really good. If you are looking for all sorts of good calculators or tools, even a way to track your progress – then have a look at http://www.livestrong.com/tools. You can register and keep a ... Read More
From the downtown bike shop
Jul1
I caught this on Twitter – thank you for that! – and just have to share with you. Don’t worry – I will mention the source ofcourse which is Craig’s list or @downtownRob. It just fits everything else I write about and creates some light humour after a long week!!
A few things from the bike shop.
Date: 2009-05-27, 4:05PM PDT
Whoo-hoo Seattle, the sun is out! Let’s discuss a few things before you fumble with swapping the unused ... Read More
A spring in your step
Jul0
It’s a known fact – your body ages as you get older. It’s one thing knowing this, but I have sad news – it’s even worse experiencing it!!
Of course I am not THAT old – but I definitely notice that I am less flexible then I used to be. Because your cells don’t renew as eagerly as they used to, both your muscles and joints tend to become stiffer. But seriously – you don’t have to take that! You can actually do something about ... Read More
Measuring up…
Jul0
As I see yet another magazine proclaiming to get you that hot “beach body” within a week, I thought I might do a little overview of how best to measure whether you are getting anywhere near that ideal.. Mind you, never understood the overkill on getting to that Beach Body. To me a beautiful body is anyone who is looking healthy, with a zest for life and confidence in themselves!
However, even for health it is good to know where you are at, and benchmarking against ... Read More
Energy – part 2.
Jul2
I talked a lot about what types of energy your body uses as you breathe, walk around and work out. You basically use the three types : carbohydrates, fat and protein in that order of preference.
I got quite a few questions about that from you all. The generic question I hear is “If I work out at a fast pace, do I burn more calories and get faster?”
Well – the wonderful answer to this question is “it depends!”. So you know nothing more then you did ... Read More
Treat time…
Jul0
If you read my blog over the weekend, you can imagine that when I opened the washing machine today and took out my stuff, I found myself spraying sand all over the place. After my great, fun, brilliant bike ride on Saturday I added a beautiful run through a quiet Sunday morning wood – catching deer at their breakfast. And a hike today to kick off the day… what a way to start the week.
In any case, after all that, I figure it’s treat time!!
Here’s two ... Read More
Sun, Sand and Simple fun
Jul0
Yesterday, I simply had a lot of fun…or even a lot of simple fun.
The weather was a little grey and not actually that great, so I decided a bike ride would definitely cheer me up. As I rode with two of my cycling buddies, the weather cleared up and it actually became a nice summer day. We often ride in the area, without having any fixed idea of where we want to go, but this time we had decided to find a new path that we knew had to be there specifically for hikers and bikers ... Read More
Fysio/Physical Therapy – it’s part of the game
Jul0
One of the less ideal sides of training and getting fit is that you may get injured in the process… or even if you are not injured, you may know yourself well enough after a while to know when it’s time to be “Reset” – bit like an apple iPhone that needs restoring now and again to iron out all the quirks that seem to build up in the software!!
So my “apple support centre” consists of a range of great physical therapists/fysio’s around the ... Read More
