Category: news

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Yay! I just want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and I hope you have a great holiday. Spend lots of time with the family, eat lots of food and be happy. And if you eat too much food, like most of us do every year, put aside some time to do a few workouts. I plan on doing a heavy workout tomorrow morning as a preemptive strike 😀

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. These are my favorites.

---

Ten Great Books to Expand Your Horizons

If Martin Berkhan has reading suggestions, you can bet they’re worth checking out. I just got a Kindle for Christmas and I can’t wait to read these books on these on it.

---

Smash Your Bench PR by the End of the Year

I caught this one a little late, so you probably won’t smash your PR before the end of the year, but you can start this now and do it shortly after the new year!

---

Do Vitamins Actually Work?

Basically, if you don’t have a healthy and highly nutritious diet, taking a vitamin wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’ve never noticed a benefit from taking vitamins, but I take them to prevent any sorts of deficiencies I might have.

---

The Best Damn Bench Press Article Period

If you’ve got some spare time and you want to learn just about everything there is to know about the bench press, this article has you covered.

---

Caffeine study shows sport performance increase

Caffeine and carbs are a good mix for endurance, performance and skills. I’m not sure I’ve ever consumed a caffeine/carbohydrate drink before. I wonder what the options are.

---

StrongLifts 5×5 Workout Tracker for iPod/iPhone

You’ve probably heard me mention it before, but I’m currently doing the Stronglifts 5×5 program and I’m seeing huge success. I’ve never come close to the amount of weight I’m lifting today. Apple just approved the app yesterday so go download it for free!

---

Update: Men’s Health Stopped Writing New Cover Lines Years Ago

Wow, isn’t this terrible? That means that most of the stuff you see on the cover of this magazine isn’t even in the issue. I wonder how many other magazines do this.

---

What Is Braggs Liquid Aminos

It’s not the article that’s interesting here, but check out the comments. What an interesting conversation! Some people say Braggs Liquid Aminos is a healthy alternative to regular soy sauce and others say it’ll kill you, lol. I just bought some and personally, I’m not afraid to use it.

---

How to foam roll – YouTube

I’m not well-educated on foam rolling, so this video was very helpful. He shows quite a few different ways to use a roller. It seems like it would feel pretty good.

---

Let’s Go Eat! – Michael Collins at City O’ City in Denver, CO

City O’ City is an awesome restaurant in downtown Denver. We eat there all the time. The seitan buffalo wings are awesome and I haven’t tried one dessert that wasn’t super-delicious. Check out their sister restaurant, Watercourse, too.

---

How to Put on a Bench Shirt (video)

Jeez, it takes a lot of work to put on a bench shirt. This is probably only useful for competitive lifters, but I thought it was still pretty interesting. I wonder if it’s possible to put on a bench shirt by yourself? Probably not.

---

Remove Excess Fat from Soups and Casseroles with an Ice Cube

This is a really cool trick. I wonder how much fat and calories can realistically be removed using this method. I can’t wait to try it and see what it looks like.

---

Ben Green Podcast: Eating for a Long Workout

I’ve read quite a few articles from Ben Green in the past, all of them very good, but I’ve never listened to one of his podcasts. After checking this one out, I’m definitely gonna start catching them from now on. There was so much information in here and not just about eating for a long workout, as the title suggests. He covered so much stuff. Damn! 😀

---

23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?

This is a fantastic video explaining the benefits of walking and how walking regularly can dramatically increase your mortality rate. The presentation is amazing and will keep you entertained the entire time.

---

The Bottom-Up Squat

A bottom-up squat is a squat starting from the bottom position of the exercise. I actually did these involuntarily at my old gym because their power rack didn’t have j-hooks to hold the weight at shoulder level. Perhaps I should do them on purpose now.

---

Low Back Stretches for Snow Shovelers

This one couldn’t have come at a better time. I just shoveled more than a foot of snow from my sidewalk and driveway yesterday and boy, was my back hurting.

---

Tacos With Mushrooms and Chipotle Ranchera Salsa

Mmmm, these look tasty. I’m not sure about the cabbage, but I’m willing to give these tacos a try. Looks really easy to make too.

---

Starting Strength Routine Generator Spreadsheet

If you want to build strength and you need a place to start, download this spreadsheet. It’s got the big lifts you should be doing. If you enter your starting weight in the fields, it’ll automatically update the routine to the amount of weight you should be lifting for each set.

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

Alternate Sleep Cycles: You Don’t Really Need 6-8 Hours!

I’ve always wanted to try something like this. The Uberman and Dymaxion cycles sound awesome, but I don’t have the lifestyle that would allow me to attempt it. It would be great for a work-at-home person though. I would probably have to go with the Everyman cycle. Could you imagine how productive you could be by switching from a monophasic to polyphasic sleep cycle? I wonder how it would affect the ability for muscles to recover after a workout though.

---

How To Overcome a Bad Night’s Sleep

I’ve been writing about sleep a lot lately, huh? I love sleep so much! :D. I wish there was a place for me to take a quick 20 minute nap at work. That would be awesome.

---

Vanilla Coconut Protein Pancake Recipe

I’d have to remove the eggs and substitute the yogurt and whey protein powder for this one, but I think I can do it. It sounds delicious.

---

Popular Programs – German Volume Training

I wasn’t familiar with German volume training, but I am now. This article provides a pretty good overview. I can’t wait for the next in the series where the writer examines Stronglifts, which is a program I’ve had lots of succes with.

---

How to Snatch, Part 1: Catch it and Ride it Down – YouTube

This is a three-part series on learning on how to snatch. The videos are long, but for good reason. This is real instruction. Here are parts two and three.

---

How To Rapidly Improve at Chin Ups – YouTube

This is a really cool idea, and it’s so simple. I’ll be incorporating this into my workout immediately.

---

Ideas on what to do with old whey containers?

Here’s an interesting post from Reddit. If you can get past the typical Reddit silliness, there are some great ideas here. You can turn old protein containers into a survival kit, vegetable planter, use it as food storage (sugar/flour/beans/rice/oatmeal, etc), oil catch cans, or a tip jar. You can also store things like dog food, spare change, toys, nails or fertilizer.

---

Homemade Wooden Power Rack

This thing looks awesome. Personally, I wouldn’t trust it, but I’m not a woodworker and I have no idea how strong the wood might really be. Luckily, I found a great deal on a steel power rack.

---

Not quite a hamburger, Qrunch is quite a success

This is awesome! A vegan, gluten-free quinoa burger entirely free of allergens. This should appeal to lots of people. I’m gonna go go to King Soopers this weekend to see if I can find some.

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

Alcohol: Not a Friend to Sleep

I always try to tell people about this when they say they’ve been having problems sleeping and then someone suggests they drink a glass of wine or have a couple beers before bed. Such destructive advice!

---

Say No to Coffee!

You won’t find much research online with claims that coffee is bad for you, because there are just so many benefits, but Jim Stoppani, PhD is suggesting that you get your caffeine through supplements instead. He says that coffee can increase cortisol levels, which is not a good thing for people trying to build or maintain muscle mass.

---

Remove the Tube and Pull Up: Your Toilet Paper Roll Is Now a Box of Tissues

I considered this a fitness related tip because I always blow my nose before every workout so that I can breathe clearly and without distraction. This is such a cool idea that I actually tried it right after reading about it. I had to tear up the inside a little bit to get the cardboard out, but it wasn’t difficult at all. I need to get one of those roll covers to make it look nice now.

---

How muscle fatigue originates in the head

Anyone who who has ever done an extremely strenuous workout probably already had some idea that muscle fatigue was somewhat triggered in the mind and not entirely from the muscle itself. According to this new study, the brain reduces muscle performance to prevent physiological limits from being exceeded. So next time you’re feeling a little tired, push yourself a little harder to see how much further you can really go.

---

Fitness May Lower Death Risk Even Without Weight Loss

A new study shows that your body doesn’t have to look good for you to live longer. As long as you continue to maintain or improve your fitness levels, you’re more likely to increase your lifespan. If you’re overweight and you aren’t seeing physical changes from working out, don’t give up, because you’re still doing yourself a lot of good.

---

The Ultimate Squat-Free Lower-Body Training Program

This is a great guide for those of you who hate squats. I used to hate squats too, but after reading continuously about how important they are, I kept doing them. I’ve seen so much progress in just the past 6 months that I actually don’t mind them much anymore.

---

FoodTrackerPro Keeps Track of Your Diet Without Forcing You to Count Calories

This app looks really cool. It actually reminds me a lot of the food tracking app that comes with the BodyBugg, which helped me easily track my calories and lose weight earlier this year. I haven’t tried it, but I think this app is probably worth the $1.99 price.

---

How to Train for a Marathon

Wow, this is an incredibly in-depth post on how to train for a marathon. I personally don’t have any plans to run a marathon soon, but I have nothing against doing one. It’ll be good to be able to come back to this post when that time comes.

---

CrossFit – How to Build a Garage Gym Rogue Style – YouTube

Wouldn’t it be awesome to have your own personal cross-fit gym?

---

How to Ditch Your Junk Food-Filled Pantry and Reboot Your Diet

If you’re new to eating healthy or you just can’t stop cheating on your diet, you should probably read this. You’ll never get in shape if you keep junk food around the house.

---

Why Sugar Makes Us Sleepy (And Protein Wakes Us Up)

According to the studies mentioned in this article, consuming even a little bit of protein can cancel out the inhibitory effects of sugar and it’s even better if the protein is consumed after the sugar. I guess this means we should start eating dessert before dinner 😉

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

Hey Kids, Eat Yourselves Smart!

Another great post on why Omega-3 and DHA is important to have in our diets. It helps us think! I have a friend that was telling me about how when he started eating fish again, after being vegan for several years, there was a noticeable change in how well he could concentrate. There are better ways of getting DHA though, also pointed out in this article. Get it from the source – algae and seaweed. I use supplements derived from those sources.

---

Body Transformation: Anna Cut 140 Pounds From Her Life

It’s amazing how getting in shape can completely change how you look and feel. She looks great!

---

How Wheat Makes You Fat!

I haven’t done in-depth research into how wheat and gluten affects the body, but I’ve been hearing this argument a lot lately and I’m leaning towards it being correct. My diet is already quite limited as a vegan, so it would take a lot of planning for me to also remove wheat products.

---

Scientifically-Credible Information on Vegan and Vegetarian Diets

This site looks terrible and is in dire need of an update, but the information here is top quality. Lawrence Forti holds a Masters degree in chemical engineering and provides only scientifically-credible info about veg diets – no ethical or cultural issues are discussed here. Straight to the point and useful.

---

19 one arm pull ups. (10 right arm, 9 left arm) – YouTube

Holy crap, this guy is nuts. I can’t even do one 1-arm pull-up. One day though… One day. 😀

---

Becoming a Vegan R.D.

This article provides some great tips on becoming a vegan registered dietician from one of the best in the industry. Jack Norris also wrote about becoming a registered dietician. I was actually considering going back to school and becoming a registered dietician. I talked to the director of the dietetics program at Metro State College of Denver and I was told that they do try to hit on the subject of vegan diets. To become a registered dietician takes 5-6 years and another 1-2 years of interning, so while I would like to be a dietician I decided that I would rather go into journalism.

---

My New Roots – How to Make Nut Milk on Vimeo

I’ve posted some links on making almond milk and soy milk before, but this video really shows how easy it is to make nut milk. All I need is a cheesecloth, which I saw at Sunflower Market just the other day.

---

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Can Cause Symptoms That Mimic Aging

I was just researching B12, because it’s just about the only nutrient a vegan can’t get from natural foods. It’s a very important vitamin as you’ll find out if you read this article. I take a multivitamin that provides B12, but I’m also going to try to find fortified foods to help me get more of it throughout the day.

---

DIY Candied Ginger Is Easy to Make and Relieves Stomach Discomfort and Nausea

I don’t think I’ve ever tasted ginger candy before. It sounds good though and it never hurts to have a natural stomach sickness recipe on hand.

---

Bodypart Frequency and Soreness

Lyle McDonald is a smart guy but it’s been so long since he’s posted helpful advice. This one is about working out when your body is suffering soreness.

---

Best 20-Minute Home Circuit Workout for Ultimate Fitness

There’s nothing new here, but I admit that this is probably a killer workout if you stick to the timing and rest periods. I agree that working out at home is much better than the gym, but I also own a lot of heavy equipment and an awesome power rack that allows me to do pretty much anything I want.

---

13 Tips for Choosing a CrossFit Gym

I’ve never been to a Crossfit gym before but I’ve always wanted to try out a membership. I don’t have any immediate plans to go to one, but this will come in handy when I do.

---

Enough with the Foam Rolling, Already

I don’t think I’ve ever read an article against foam rolling, and I’ve never tried it, but I’ve noticed how big of a fad it has become over the last couple of years and I’ve always wondered if it works. This article explains that it doesn’t but I’d certainly like to read other articles on the subject first before making that decision.

---

Preventing Winter Weight Gain

I psychological look at why we crave unhealthy foods during the winter and how eating steel cut oats can help put a stop to daylong cravings.

---

How to Stay Safe When Exercising Outdoors in Cold Weather

This article provides some nice easy tips on how to dress, knowing the warning the signs of hypothermia and useful technology to help you stay safe when working out in the cold. I think it’s cold enough working out in my basement, so good luck trying to get me to workout outside during the winter.

First of all, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I sure did. We made a complete vegan meal; mashed potatoes, biscuits, tofurky roast, potato soup, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie. LOTS OF FOOD! Good times. I’ll put a post up soon with the recipes.

Anyway, here are the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week.

---

UP by Jawbone

I saw this on the Random Show with Kevin Rose and Tim Ferris and just had to mention it. The “UP” wristband will track your steps, distance, GPS routes, active & inactive times, calories burned, pace, intensity level and sleeping patterns. You can plug it into your iPhone and get immediate results too. This thing is crazy and definitely sounds worth the $100 price tag.

---

Why Is It So Hard to Believe In A Behavioral Addiction?

With all of the cheating celebrities claiming to have sex addictions, many people find it hard to believe in behavioral addictions such as that, but the brain works in mysterious ways. We shouldn’t write things off without educating ourselves first.

---

Fish Oil Benefits: Tip The Scales In Your Favor With Our Expert Guide

Here’s a great primer on why Omega-3 supplementation is beneficial. I don’t recommend fish oil, not only because I’m vegan, but because fish get their omega-3 from algae. Skip the fish and get it from the source. I would recommend something like Opti3, which contains both EPA and DHA.

---

Pizza Is Still Not a Vegetable – Congress Gives Tomato Sauce A Bonus

I don’t know if you’ve heard about this yet, but congress has officially declared pizza to be a vegetable, basically so that they can continue to serve it in schools. This has to be the most ridiculous and ass-backward thinking ever.

---

Seitan Roast Stuffed With Shiitakes And Leeks

I sure wish Isa would’ve posted this recipe a couple weeks ago before I bought my Tofurky roast, but that’s ok. I can make it next year, or maybe for Christmas this year. Looks delicious!

---

John Berardi’s Great Fasting Experiment

It really bothers me when people make stupid, uneducated comments about veganism being a bad thing, but this is still a good article about intermittent fasting.

---

Bodyweight Exercise Program Spreadsheet

You’ve heard of the “100 Pushups” program before right? Well there’s also a “200 Squats,” “200 Sit-ups,” and “150 Dips” program and this spreadsheet has all of these programs in one place for you track your progress. Cool!

---

BodyMetrix Personal

If you’ve been looking for an accurate way to measure your body fat, fat loss, and muscle gain, there’s finally a device you can use in the comfort of your home. It’s a bit expensive at $495, but considering that other pro options cost upwards of $1,000, this is a pretty good deal.

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

Getting Fit The Skyrim Way

This is such a great idea. I especially love this because I’m also a huge video game nerd and I actually bought Skyrim on release day last week. The idea here is to do 10 pushups for every hour you play and Skyrim isn’t a short game. It’s estimated to take upwards of 200 hours. That’s a lot of pushups over time!

---

Tony Horton explains the difference between P90X and P90X2 – YouTube

P90X2 looks like a fun program, but some of the moves shown in the video seem a little gimmicky. I’m also not too keen on the “post-activation potentiation” phrase. I’d still very much like to try the program though 😉

---

10 Incredible Mountain Bike Trips

I haven’t done any mountain bike riding at all, ever, in my entire life. I’ve ridden a mountain bike, sure, but in the city and on trails where they’re not meant to be ridden. I have a friend who has recently become obsessed with riding single track trails throughout Colorado who invited me to ride with earlier this year, but I never got the chance. I really hope I can make time next summer, because it looks awesome.

---

How to Make Fresh Silken Tofu from Soy Milk

I never knew how it easy it is to make silken tofu. It sounds like making firm tofu is quite a bit more difficult though.

---

Myths and Facts of Joint Pain

Did you know that popping your knuckles doesn’t cause arthritis? There are lots of other interesting tidbits about joint pain here too.

---

New mouthwash targeting harmful bacteria may render tooth decay a thing of the past

This is amazing! Our teeth are pretty important in keeping us healthy, so we need to do whatever we can to make sure they last as long as possible. I can’t wait until this mouthwash becomes available to the public.

---

Bodybuilding Macros

I’ve never felt like breaking down my meal plans based on macros, but maybe I should. This guide is pretty understandable. I think I’ll give it a shot.

---

Recipe: Cookie Dough Ice Cream (gluten and dairy free)

I’m going to make these with a few modifications. I think I’ll use a little hemp protein and then some cocoa powder for flavor. I’ll also switch the honey out with agave syrup and add some brown suger. Mmmm.

---

Moving to Morning Training – Q&A

I’ve only ever worked out in the morning. In the last 5+ years, I’ve probably done a lunch or after-work workout no more than 10-15 times. I just don’t like working out later in the day. I used to drink a protein shake before working out, but now I prefer to just workout on an empty stomach.

---

Health Benefits of Muesli

I’ve never had muesli, but I keep hearing about it. It seems really healthy. Maybe I’ll finally try it out.

---

Prepare Your Bicycle and Your Body for Winter Riding

Good stuff if you plan on riding this winter. I keep telling myself I’m going to try it, but then I wake up and it’s so cold and I can’t bring myself to do it.

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

Cheat Meals vs. Cheat Days

Here’s a little theory behind how cheat days work. If you want a better explanation, read The Four Hour Body from Tim Ferris. Great book. Then get some fried pickles, like the ones in the picture above. Mmmmm 😉

---

An Essential Resource for Pregnant Vegans

Veganism and pregnancy is one of the hottest topics in the arguments against veganism. Many health professionals simply don’t understand vegan nutrition, but this book seems to cover everything.

---

Mobile App Checks Ingredients

By scanning barcodes, Inrfood will check ingredients to determine if they are suitable for vegans, diabetics, people with allergies and more. How awesome is that?! It’s supposed to launch by the end of this month.

---

Subway’s New Vegan Patty

You might already know about the veggie patty at Subway, but that has eggs in it. Thanks to customer request, Subway is testing an all-vegetable patty in Canada. I can’t wait til it hits the states. I miss eating Subway.

---

Animal Rights and Vegan Ethics: List of Questions

I’m regularly bombarded with questions about veganism from people who try to find a flaw in my beliefs. People don’t want to hear that what they are doing is wrong, so they do everything they can to avoid the issue. Well now I have a go-to guide to refer to when I get stupid questions like “but you’re killing plants.” Sigh… I hate that one.

---

How To Make Soy Milk [Video!]

I never realized how easy it is to make soy milk. I consume a lot of soy milk in my protein shakes, so making my own would probably save me lots of money. I just need to find a pressing cloth and I’ll be set. Low cost and no processing!

---

10 More Stubborn Food Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science

I love these types of articles, especially when they come from reputable and entertaining sites like Lifehacker. There’s lots to learn here.

---

Kombucha

I’m usually not too afraid to try strange foods/drinks, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to taste kombucha. I want to, since it’s supposed to be so healthy, but everyone tells me that it doesn’t taste all that great. I think I”m going to break down and buy a bottle from the store and if it’s not too bad, I’m gonna try making my own.

---

Beachbody INSANITY Results – YouTube

You can see this guy’s body change almost immediately. I would guess it’s because he likely didn’t have the best diet before starting the program and then made drastic changes. He took it seriously and planned appropriately. Awesome job.

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

“And one more thing” about Steve Jobs’ battle with cancer

A look at the conventional and alternative medicine methods Steve Jobs used to try to treat his cancer. Basically, it’s hard to say if any of the methods he used or didn’t use, could have, or if they did help him.

---

5 Ingenious Injury Recovery Strategies

I injured my shoulder a few months ago and I decided to do absolutely nothing for an entire month, because it wasn’t getting better. Finally, I decided that I needed to do some rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the area. I felt the progress within only a couple of days.

---

Intermittent Fasting Calculator

I’ve never tried intermittent fasting (IF), but I’ve always been interested. With this new IF calculator, you’ll be able to figure out exactly how many calories you should be consuming during this dietary program.

---

The 8 Habits of Healthy Living

I agree completely with this list. I’ve lived by all of these rules for years. I quit smoking a little over a year ago and became vegan 4 months ago. I’ve never felt healthier.

---

Sports Are 80 Percent Mental: Apolo Ohno Trains His Legs And His Mind For The NYC Marathon

It’s interesting how a top-level athlete in one sport can find another sport to be so difficult. This reminds me when I went snow-shoeing a couple years ago and how difficult it was for me, and I as I stood there gasping for air, a skier walks straight up the mountain like it was nothing. WTH?!

---

Squatmeggedon – All Things Squatting

There’s a lot to learn about squats here. Read this and make sure you’re doing squats properly. I actually learned some things myself.

---

Why I Hate the Deadlift

This is a long article about why this guy hates doing the deadlift, which is a fun read and all, but there are tons of great tips right after the rant. There are tips on both Sumo and Conventional deadlifts from 25 people.

---

The Blueprint To Getting Big

Provided by Muscle & Fitness, this protocol has supposedly been used successfully with thousands of clients. I’m not much of a fan of routines like this anymore because I feel like it’s a bit of overkill for most people, but it looks fun.

---

Coconut Whipped Cream

Mmmm, this sounds tasty. It’s hard to find vegan whipped cream, but now I can simply make it myself. It only takes coconut milk, a little powdered sugar and vanilla.

---

A New Form Is All You Need To Avoid Running Injuries

Here’s an interesting method designed to correct your running form.

---

The Orange Man

This is a scary look at people who have paid the price for seeking alternative medicine rather than working with conventional doctors in treating their tumors.

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

Yoga and stretching exercises beneficial for chronic low back pain, study finds

I can attest to the benefits of stretching and yoga for back pain, because I suffer from back pain myself. On days that my back pain really starts to hurt, I always plan on doing yoga the next morning, and it always helps. It’s a fun and challenging remedy.

---

Biggest ever study shows no link between mobile phone use and tumors

Here’s something we’ve all wondered about since cell phones have existed. Well, now we know that using our cell phones is safe!

---

Make and Use a Bulgarian Training Bag

I’ve never heard of a bulgarian training bag before, but it looks like quite the versatile workout training tool. It’s kinda weird, but it’s cool. I want one 😀

---

More Breast Cancer Awareness Month pseudoscience from (who else?) Joe Mercola

Read this article to learn why I don’t trust the advice of Dr. Mercola. This is a great example of why we need to be careful about believing what we read. For us normal people, Dr. Mercola sure does sound convincing.

---

What’s Wrong with the Supplement Industry

Another great article from ‘Science-Based Medicine. I always learn something new from this website, for example “Supplements treat deficiencies – but there is no reason to think that taking additional nutrients beyond the minimum necessary will have functional benefits.” And the supplement industries will lead you to believe that taking more is beneficial. Hmm.

---

Ten More things That Piss Me Off About Commercial Gyms, Part 1

I thought this one was funny, and I feel the same way on most of these points, especially the one about people searching for parking spots in the front. I disagree with the last one though. I bring my phone with me not only to listen to music (which I think is a great reason to bring a phone to the gym), but also so that I can read industry news during my rest periods.

---

24 Minutes of Kettlebell Fun – Kettlebell Workout Routine

Another Tabata-style workout, this time using a kettlebell. I really need to get some kettlebells. I feel like I’m behind the times.

---

A Back Stretch You Can Do While Sitting

This is really cool. It’s called the piriformis stretch and is super simple to do. I’m going to try to do this stretch every day at work. This video has also inspired me to visit his website at GetToYourCore.com and subscribe to the website feed.

---

Ozzy Osbourne Goes Vegan

The man who bit the head off a dove and later a live bat, has surprisingly gone vegan after watching Forks Over Knives. That’s awesome.

---

Eat Right For Your Type Diet Debunked

I’ve only heard about diets designed around blood types a couple of times in probably the last 5-10 years. It intrigued me, but I never looked into it further, until I came across this article. I learned a lot from this, and not just about blood type diet myths. This is a must-read and definitely one of the best articles I’ve read in a long time.

Every weekend I publish a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week. Here are my favorites.

---

Q&A With a Female Vegan Bodybuilder

Amanda Riester has been a vegetarian since kindergarten and cut dairy out of her diet two years ago. She’s in awesome shape, and considering that she works out 6 days a week with 45 minutes of cardio and 90 minutes of weight training per day, it’s no wonder. You can also check out her bio at VeganBodyBuilding.com

---

What To Do Before Ironman

Excellent tips on nutrition and training before an Ironman, or any type of race for that matter. Basically, don’t change your diet and risk digestion problems and don’t train heavy for several days before the race.

---

What People Think Vegans Eat Infographic

I have to admit that I sure do love the taste of grass, but I also love pizza, french fries, bagels, tacos and everything else everyone eats.

---

Barefoot Shoes More Effective When Running Style Is Correct

Interesting study. I’ve read lots of personal stories from people who claim that their Vibrams have fixed their form, but I wonder if it really has.

---

B12 Deficiency in Near-Vegan Dog

While both me and my fiance are vegan, our dogs are not. We had them on a vegan diet for a couple months, but we decided to put them back on their old diet, just to be safe. If you decide to put your pets on a vegan diet, make sure they get enough B12.

---

Spinach Raspberry Flaxseed Oil Shake

She says you can’t even taste the spinach, so I’d really like to try this shake. I need to get more veggies into my system too.

---

101 Cycling Workouts: Improve Your Cycling Ability While Adding Variety to Your Training Program

This is just a link to a book I came across on Amazon that I now want. I really want to pick up a bicycle trainer to train during the winter months and I was really worried about getting bored. This sounds like a good answer to that problem.

---

Relieve Headaches with Hot Peppers

Not just any pepper will do the job. Search for peppers with higher capsaicin content, such as the Habanero or Tabasco Chili.

---

Gamers Make Great Bodybuilders

Interesting! If more gamers would give bodybuilding a try, maybe they’d find that they would really enjoy it. I’m an avid gamer and I agree that a lot of the psychological aspects mentioned in this article apply to me.

---

How Much To Eat To Gain Muscle Without Gaining Fat? Lean = Good & Chubby = Bad

Interesting take on the issue of bulking up. Makes sense though.