Power food, Outside the Gym

Well it is great to be back and spread the mature fitness word to all my faithful readers. I have received a note or two asking why I don't post more often, and all I can say is that once a month is about all the time I can muster up. With my travel and other interests, to include my blog site http://www.fasttwitchmind.com/, plus the research I like to do before posting, time just runs out. But, with all of the previous posts concerning mature fitness there should be lots of ideas and challenges when it comes to fitness. The subjects today are going to be very good ones and can be put to use immediately. My concern is that everyone should find the time to exercise in some way and eat right along with it. You don't have to become a marathoner or ironman triathlete, but just good old common sense exercise by getting that heart rate up and sustaining it for 20-30 minutes, 3-4 times per week. The eating guide lines given in the past should be followed along with this exercise, i.e. eat moderately, with a 40% carbohydrates, 30% fat, and 30% protein. Always leave your plate with something left on it, NEVER clean your plate even though you mother probably told you to do so when you were younger. Never eat the same thing every day, and while you are not encouraged by me to count calories the normal calorie intake for an adult is around 2,000 per day. I have given guides lines in past posts about reading the labels on the purchase food stuff and if you can figure it all out, good luck. Another reminder is that most of the bad food stuff is actually white in color, i.e. flour, salt, sugar, etc. Again just general guide lines and with the advent of the the Internet just a simple google on a subject will tell you a lot. But, in the mean time you can come to maturefitness and get the skinnies according to Mike Greer and pass it along to your friends.

Every time I flip on my e-mail I have a bunch of messages from only God knows who, that proclaim the latest and most potent power food. Now the power food is the acai berry and it is being presented as the power food of all power foods and will cure and prevent most anything that is out there to get you. The claims of healing and prevention of this berry are beyond reproach and in one product, Mona*Vie, they are including another 18 fruits to go with it, then they package it in a wine looking bottle and ask you to drink 4-8 oz. per day, in the morning and evening. As I have mentioned in the past I drink the stuff every day and have seen some difference in my hands and arms, plus more energy in my daily activities and in triathlon competition. As far as the long term affects I won't know until the long term, so the jury is out on that. Besides, I know from experience that there will be other power foods to come in the future so I will sit by patiently and see what that happens to be. The other thing that happens is what I call the resurrection of old power foods that have been here since Adam partook in the garden and never go away, but just become a little forgotten while we mess with the new berries like the cute little acai. This week I noticed where you can get more muscle from eating the banana, of all things. I can just see Adam plucking this dude off of the tree, peeling it and watching his muscles grow. It has always been the belief that muscle building came from protein but now studies show that older Americans(I hate that term) should be eating more potassium-packed fruits and vegetables. Typically, muscle mass declines after age 50. But seniors who ate lots of high-potassium foods were apt to have 3.6 more pounds of lean tissue mass than those who had half as much potassium. Good sources of potassium are: bananas(you will always see bananas at endurance athletic events unless the race director is brain dead), dried apricots, cantaloupe, potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, pumpkin(lots of these are available this time of year), legumes, avocado, orange juice and tomato(good for the prostate also) products. Another separate report gives prunes a very high mark in helping to build stronger bones. Researchers suggest that eating prunes could benefit people at risk of osteoporosis. Prunes also have more protective antioxidants than any other fruit, plus they are loaded with fiber(we all know what the results are from the fiber action within our body). By adding lots of fruit to our diet we are less likely to have the dreaded wrinkles that come with aging, plus this is better than cosmetic surgery.

The one thing you will find on maturefitness is that I encourage variety in exercising so there is never an excuse that, "I don't like running so I will not exercise!" Well running isn't the only exercise in life, there are many other things you can do to get that heart rate up. The other thought that you have to go to a work out gym to have a decent workout is just not the case. You can be innovative in your choices of where to work out and how to get that heart rate up. In the book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss suggest trying out-of-gym" exercises, like sprints on the beach or squats at home." Be on the look out for bike shops, health food stores, or any other type locations that might give you ideas of how to exercise outside the gym "box". What I do encourage is doing something that actually "works." When I see a person who is 100 pounds over weight(this actually happened this week) and they say they are walking for their exercise, I am thinking "this is not working for them and they should consider something other kind of exercise." But, of course I don't say it, I just think it. Kind of like when I see very obese people drinking "diet" coke and I never seem slim people drinking them. Oh well, to each his own; however, lack of exercise and improper eating are the villians in the obesity problem.

Okay, the end of the year is fast approaching and we will all be a year older, no matter our birthday. So, let's start thinking of what we will do for the new year and how we will dedicate ourselves to "getting that heart rate up, and eating the proper foods to guarantee a healthy life."

Mike Greer