Tag: article roundup

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.

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

---

Stock Up on Peanut Butter Now Before Prices Get Ridiculous

Is this for real? I eat tons of peanut butter. I wonder how long it will take for prices to drop again. Prices are expected to rise as much as 30-40%. That means a jar that once cost $3.50 will now cost $5.00. Peanut butter is major part of many of our diets, so this is terrible news.

---

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

A great one from Lifehacker. These are myths I hear friends and family repeat all the time. I should just direct them to this article from now on, because they never take my word for it.

---

CrossFit 515 – 501 Double Unders (Bobby)

I can’t do double-unders, but have you ever tried to jump rope for longer than 2 or more minutes non-stop? Not only is it hard just because the jump rope gets caught on your feet, but after about a minute, your arms hurt from swinging the rope and your legs burn from jumping. The guy in this video is awesome.

---

Veganism Debunked – infographic

Infographics are a great way to share facts in an a fun and easy-to-understand way. If you’re thinking about becoming vegan or already are and need some facts to explain to

---

Finish It Monday: You Can Reach Your Goals Faster With This Simple Dietary Twist

Read her tips on eating a clean diet. If you’re trying to live a healthier lifestyle, eating clean should be a goal.

---

Why are so many people eating vegan?

The three biggest reasons – ethics, environment, and health.

---

Got Health?

This article really digs into the argument of whether or not a vegan diet is healthier than an omnivores. No punches pulled here and many vegans are going to be upset by this one. The key takeaway from this article is that “promoting a “plant-based” diet for health reasons feeds our society’s focus on selfishness by implying that animal suffering is not worthy of people’s concern.” We should focus on the terrible treatment of animals instead.

---

CrossFit Gym Locator

Wow, I never realized how many CrossFit gyms there were. I drive right by one on my way home from work even. This is a fantastic resource.

---

The Lifehacker Workout: Exercise for Normal People

This workout takes some of the best ideas from the toughest workouts on the market, ie. Crossfit, P90X, Insanity and tailors it to be more manageable for beginners. Excellent idea.

---

84 Days In 48 Seconds: Body Transformation Time Lapse – YouTube

Wow, this guy made a ton of progress. I bet it was a lot of hard work.

---

10 Min Home Workout w/ 1 Dumbbell – YouTube

If you’ve only got 10 minutes and you’re looking to burn some calories fast and get a full-body workout, here’s a good one.

---

Recipe: No-Trick Granola Treats

This sounds delicious and easy, but probably a little messy. Looking at the ingredients, it’s probably pretty cheap too.

---

Women, Weightlifting and Irrational Fears

Here are some great videos showing extremely strong women who lift heavy weight and aren’t big and bulky like the bodybuilders in the magazines. My friends girlfriend has the same irrational fear of getting bulky and because of that fear, she continues to use ridiculous cardio routines from Shape magazine or spends time on the elliptical, which she always burns out on, then quits.

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

---

Lift weights, eat mustard, build muscles?

A recent study shows that a specific plant steroid, found in plants such as mustards, has a similar response to anabolic steroids and with minimal side effects. Interesting.

---

Medical Research and Treatment Information from Medify.com

Medify is an awesome resource, full of all sorts of medical studies and free abstracts. The search box says to enter a “condition or treatment,” but you can also type things such as “green tea” (I had to type “green-tea” with a dash for some reason) and find related studies. Good stuff.

---

Fuckarounditis

Another great one from Martin Berkhan. This seems like a rant at first, but it’s actually an extremely informative post about how to make fitness goals and how to design a routine that really works. It’s long, but if you’re doing routines out of a magazine, you should probably read it.

---

Will a Multivitamin Cover B12 Needs?

If you’re vegan, you need to make sure you’re getting the right amount of B12.

---

Why Can’t I Get Enough Sleep?

I learned a lot about sleep from this article. I sleep fairly well actually, but I wake up every night to urinate, which according to this article, shouldn’t happen. I’m definitely gonna do some more research.

---

The Forgotten 4 Hour Body workout revealed

If you need a new awesome routine to try out, this post has it. I’ve done this 4HB workout and I also saw some good results. I only did it for a month before I decide to do a weight loss contest, which had a provided workout that I told myself I would stick to no matter what. I saw great results from that one too. Maybe I should get back to the 4HB workouts now.

---

DIY Foam Roller Alternatives

Foam rollers aren’t very expensive to begin with, but hey, every penny counts. I’ve been planning on buying one, and probably still will, but I thought this was a cool idea.

---

The Skinny Vegan’s Guide to Gaining Muscle

Here’s more proof that mass can be gained using a minimalist workout routine and eating vegan. Awesome job. The “vegan fat shake” recipe is great too. I really want to try it. I’ve also been trying to put on weight, and since about May (5 months) I’ve put on about 27 lbs. It’s so hard!

---

Grocery List of a Pro Triathlete

It’s not all vegan, but if you look at a lot of their favorite foods, it’s almost all natural, whole foods. I don’t know why, but I’ve never used peanut butter as a veggie dip. My family is very vegan-unfriendly and never has dip for us, so I’m gonna take some peanut butter with me to the family get-together this weekend 😀

---

1200 Calorie Diet

I’ve heard that The Biggest Loser puts a lot of focus on 1200 calorie diets and I’ve always wondered what one looked like. Well, here’s an example. I would starve on that diet! My stomach hurts just thinking about how hungry I’d be.

---

Doctors are NOT Dietitians

I love the quote from Scott A. Cunneen, MD, FACS. It’s sad, but it’s true. If you need advice about your diet, ask a dietician, not your doctor.

---

King Creatine: Your Expert Guide To The Sovereign Muscle-Building Supplement

Anyone trying to put on muscle should understand what creatine does and how it can help. This article pretty much sums it up. I buy flavorless creatine and just mix it in to my daily protein shakes.

---

Watch the Food Matters Movie for Free

I hate linking to Dr. Mercola’s website, because I very much dislike the crazy advice he spreads, but this is an interesting movie that you might find interesting. It’s free to watch until tomorrow. Better get on it!

---

Do the Zombie Workout: It’ll Leave You Dead Tired

Very creative way to incorporate a workout routine with Halloween!

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

---

Frankenfood Fears

This is a must-read article for anyone who is concerned about genetically modified foods. The post points out that genetic modification has been around for thousands of years, but people are more worried now, even though science of today has made it much safer.

---

Five Best Fitness Tracking Web Sites and Services

I track everything I do when it comes to fitness. I track all of my weight-training on printed sheets and I track cardio, runs and cycling, using Runkeeper. I’ve used the tracking tools at Bodybuilding.com as well. Tracking is the only way you’ll ever truly be able to see your progress. It’s a must.

---

Mental Training for Runners: Boosting the Motivation and Running Performance

This article is short, but provides a great tip that I’ve heard in several places, but I’ve never tried – using a mantra. I’m more of a beginner runner, but I eventually want to run a marathon, so I should get used to using a mantra during hard runs.

---

Doctors Urge Plant-Based Diet

This article is just a quick mention about a new report from The World Preservation Foundation, titled “Plant-Based Diets: A Solution to Our Public Health Crisis” (Click to download the PDF report).

---

7 Foods That Give You Gas

Admittedly, I’ve always suffered from excessive gas, much to the dismay of my fiance, and here’s a great article explaining more about the types of foods that cause gas. I’ve noticed in the past couple of weeks after eating easily digestible foods from the Thrive fitness book from Brendan Brazier, that my gas has been reduced drastically.

---

Grunt & Shen’s Workshop: Homemade Exercise Equipment

This is awesome. If you can’t afford new workout equipment, build your own. The TRX-style stuff is great. I plan to build my own stuff soon.

---

5 Squat Tips from an All-Time World Record Holder

Squats are something I work on continuously, but I can tell you that reading articles like this have greatly helped me with better form, which in turn results in being able to lift heavier weight with less pain. One thing I would disagree with here though, is about looking up. Many articles I’ve read suggest that you should look ahead and maybe slightly downward, to prevent injury or strain, but not directly up or down.

---

Kickboxing Workout

I wish I had a heavy bag, because this workout looks like lots of fun. I should put a heavy bag on my Amazon wishlist.

---

Don’t Be That Awkward Runner – YouTube

This is a hilarious video. I sure hope I’m not an awkward runner.

---

Raising Calves: How To Maximize Their Growth Potential!

For most people, calves training sucks, and I’m in that same group. I can’t grow my calves to save my life. I’ve tried many routines just like this one, but who knows, maybe this one will work. I’ll give it a go 😀