July 21, 2009

Eating Healthy and Refueling Your Body

You've just expelled a ton of energy on your latest run, what do you do to refuel? Most of us are famished after a laborious workout and tend to eat whatever's readily available. If you're training for a race, your post-work out snack should include 15-30 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein within the hour of cooling down. How do you get that combination? Self.com nutrition experts suggest pairing a ½ cup of nonfat cottage cheese with 2 whole-grain crackers, a medium orange and ¼ cup raw almonds, or a medium apple with 1 reduced fat cheese stick.

Looking for something quicker? Try a handful of trail mix, but make sure it contains dried fruit and mixed nuts, or grab a Luna or Pria bar. The combo of protein and carbs helps muscles recover and rebuild without undoing your work. Other ideas: a small bowl of edamame or soy crisps, which you can stash in your gym bag. Eating after a workout can even help you avoid muscle soreness.

Additional food for thought:

Drink milk. Exercisers who had 2 glasses of skim milk right after toning and another two an hour later lost 2 pounds of fat in 12 weeks, while those who gulped a sports drink lost only about 1 pound. To get even more specific, cow's milk drinkers dropped four times more fat than those who sipped soy.

Save your cereal for breakfast. Eating carbs before exercising may reduce the amount of fat you burn, researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, reveal. To fight fat, try a pre-workout, protein-packed snack like low-fat string cheese or peanut butter instead.

Self.com and Fitness Magazine always have great tips for healthy snacking AND some killer recipes. Personally, we're a fan of the curried sweet potato fries. What are some of your favorite post-workout snacks? We'd love to hear from you.

Posted by orbike at 12:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 13, 2009

Time to Get Your Groove On

Are you one of those runners who just has to jam out to some tunes during your workout? Finding your playlist selection a little stale, but have no idea what to add to your collection? Well, it's your lucky day. We're going to vamp up your play list to revitalize your routine. It's time to liven up your head phones to get the legs a movin' and the heart a racin'. Fitness Magazine recommends these songs to help keep your mind off the road:

"U + Ur Hand" - Pink
"Champion" (A-trak Remix) - Kanye West
"Big in Japan" (Workout Remix) - Tom Waits
"Oh Yeah" - Yello
"Superstar" - Lupe Fiasco
"This Is New York" - Sander Kleinenberg
"Get Ready for This" - Crazy Frog
"Since You've Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson**
"Firestarter" - Prodigy**
"Let it Rock" - Kevin Rudolf (Feat. Lil Wayne)**
"The Way You Move" - Outkast
"Pokerface" - Lady Gaga
"Fascination" - Alphabeat
"SOS" - Rhianna**

**Denotes some personal favs. These tunes definitely keep the beat going steady.

You can also check out this handy dandy lil site that will create a list for you, depending on your genre preference and the pace you want to keep (BPM). Are you curious about some celeb playlists? Check out who's listening to what here.

Let us know what gets your heart pumpin' while you're at it.

Posted by orbike at 11:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack