Namaste Everyone,
This week I’m coming at ya from Asia—Nepal to be exact. Looking forward to being home soon but couldn’t get this close to the Himalaya without at least having a peek. I’ve been blogging a bit about the experiences over here, especially in regards to exercise and obesity. There will be more coming in the next few weeks and you can find them here:
Blog address
Now let’s get to some of the questions I received over the holidays.
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Do you have ANY DVD workouts for female baby boomers? I’m past jumping up and down for my workouts. I just want to walk on my treadmill for cardio and some easy to follow rubber bands or free weight workouts. I don’t want to try and keep up with the 21 year old girls who are career body builders.
At our company Christmas party we were all trying to come up with one DVD workout that we liked and could follow so we could get going for the new year. No one had anything that was appropriate for 50+ year female.
HELP,
Laurel=============================
Laurel, you’re being too picky. Almost any workout program would be fine. 50+ isn’t really old. Most of our instructors are approaching 50, in fact. And one, Kathy Smith, is in her mid 50s. But while you can do almost anything, it’s best if you put a bit of thought into it.
Age doesn’t matter but state of fitness does. Assuming that you’re off-the-couch, you’ll want an entry level program. We have plenty of 50 plusers ripping it up with P90X but I would suggest you begin with ANY one of our entry programs, Power 90, Slim in 6, Yoga Booty Ballet, Hip Hop Abs, Turbo Jam or Project You. The latter is Kathy’s program and, since she’s a contemporary, perhaps it will fit your sensibilities best if you’re feeling intimidated.
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There has been a large influx of carbonated, flavored water recently. It's tasty, goes down like a soft drink, but does it have a hydrating effect on the body? I can personally say I don't feel hydrated after consuming a bottle. Science-wise, I think the carbonation may have just the opposite effect. Any thoughts on the subject?
Larry Schofield
Columbia, Md
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Carbonation does have some effect on the hydration effect but it’s not a huge issue unless it’s ALL you drink. These drinks run the gamut, from decent to just disguised soft drinks. So read the label. All of the nutrient information is on the back.
Do keep in mind that calories aren’t the only thing to be wary of. Avoid drinking too much of any drink with too many words you can’t pronounce on the ingredient list. A recent study (a few, actually) showed the diet soda drinkers had a 40% greater risk of obesity than those who didn’t drink them. There is more to what you consume than calories.
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Your article on going green in 2008 was excellent and not something I'd expect to find on a fitness-marketing Website. So far, I like everything I've experienced about Beachbody.com and MillionDollarBody.com, from P90X to the recovery drink and, now, to the articles on your site.
Keep up the great work!
Bob Carrera, PMP, ACB
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Thanks. While it’s true that we market fitness our newsletters and other information sources aren’t marketing tools; they’re for educational purposes. We want you to succeed on your goals. If you do, then we make money. That’s the marketing angle our newsletter takes.
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Oh stop it already.
The more I hear about this crap the more it wants me to kick someone in the rear with my big carbon footprint.
I grew up in the 60s and clearly remember the “crying Indian” commercials, the green “Ecology” flags and the corresponding stickers they passed out to us in grade school.
I remember having them plastered all over our folders.
Granted, in the 60s, the air and water in the U.S. was indeed in need of cleaning up, and we’ve taken care of that, but the brainwashing continues.
I can’t imagine being a child in the school systems nowadays, hearing all this crap, being told that their parents are evil if they don’t recycle, etc.
All of this is going to accomplish is that it will cost us all more in taxes and we will be forced to get rid of all of our “polluting/inefficient” items and having to buy what the all-knowing Big Brother wants us to have.
Also, rendering our factories and companies impotent through environmental legislation certainly won’t help the U.S. in our global economy.
Erik Baade
Indpls IN
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Dude, you really need to get out and see India or China and the insane way we’re polluting our planet at a very rapid rate. Unfortunately, we haven’t cleaned up our air and water. It’s getting worse everywhere, the USA included. But to really see the impact you should compare the differences in developing countries over the last few decades. It’s sickening.
Mainly this is due to population. India doesn’t have a large carbon footprint (I’ll admit to disliking such terms as well) per capita. It has 17% of the world’s population and emits only 4% of our carbon waste. But the country is a disaster. It’s polluted almost everywhere. It’s hard to find a water source that looks okay even to swim in. On cursory glance you can’t believe that people can even survive in such conditions.
The USA puts out more carbon, per capita, than any country in the world. In fact, we emit more carbon than any country period. And we don’t have a population problem, yet. But we’re working on that one, too. Ignoring our future just so that a few rich shareholders can buy another house on St. Barts seems like a pretty narrow-minded viewpoint to me.
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Hi! I just read your article on Omega 3 supplements and was wondering about a statement you made that was confusing to me...
"While you could just eat fish for your omega-3 needs, there is a downside—mercury contamination. Doctors now recommend limiting the number of servings of fish you have in a week. A good fish oil supplement puts you at no risk for mercury poisoning. For this reason, care should be taken when choosing a good fish oil supplement."
You say that the supplement puts you at no risk of mercury poisoning and then say that for this reason care should be taken in choosing a good supplement. If there is no risk then why do we need to be careful?
Thanks, Lisa E.=====================
Yes, exactly. All supplements are not created the same. Low grade supplements don’t take the same precautions and may use contaminated fish sources. We spent a long time finding a supplier that would ensure that ours would not. It’s a bit more expensive but we feel that having a safe and effective product far supersedes the cost.
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Hi my name is veronica and I have to admit I really see this product as a tool to success in losing weight and gaining muscle.., but there is a problem with me, it is hard to keep motivated, even though that I am sure that if I lose these layers of fat there is a nice body under here. I have four kids ages 19, 15, 11, and 8. Please tell me how can I keep myself motivated to see the results and success in me?
Thank you very much
Veronica
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People are motivated differently and by different things. One thing we’ve found that works better than anything else is accountability. Check out the Message Boards, join a group with similar goals, and everything will begin to fall into place.
Good luck!
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Quick question about abs-----work them daily or every other day---I have read 2 differing opinions---thanks for your help
- MK Hall
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We answer this question all the time in various ways. There is no clear answer because “working abs” is a broad question. You core muscles tend to have more red cell (slow twitch) muscle fiber than your other muscles. This means that you can work them more often. But they still tire and need to recover, just like other muscle groups. The more intense the workout, the more time you need to rest. “Standard” ab work should not be done every day but some easier movements can be. High intensity core work can take many days to recover from. So, like every body part you work, the amount of time you need to recover is directly proportional to how intense the exercise was.
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Until next time, train hard, train smart,
Steve
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