Water - the best beverage for health and fitness
Diet & Nutrition

Water – The Best Beverage

Here at FitAtMidlife.com one of our primary nutritional rules is : Thirsty? Drink water. Everybody knows that water is essential to life, and we drink when we are thirsty. But do you really need any beverage besides water? Ok, maybe coffee, and alcohol in reasonable proportions, if you partake in it. But I think you’ll understand the benefits of drinking water when you are thirsty: Water has 0 calories Water is plentiful Water is often free, and almost always the cheapest option Cold water can help you cool down Water is flavorless Water is what your body naturally craves when thirsty. Sodas, fruit juices, milk, and other beverages are loaded with calories. And it’s very easy to drink a lot [Read more …]

Body Fat
Diet & Nutrition

What You Need To Know About Body Fat

Here’s the most important points to understand about body fat Fat (variously known as body fat, adipose tissue, or just plain fat) is essential to life. It’s not possible to have “zero body fat”, nor would such a condition be desirable. Fat serves to store energy for later use by the body, it cushions the body and organs, and serves as insulation. But perhaps most importantly – body fat is part of the endocrine system – the body’s system of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, mood, and other things. This is a relatively recent finding – and it has important health considerations. Why Understanding Your Distribution of Body Fat is Important [Read more …]

Rucking - walking or hiking with a loaded backpack - it's simple and effective.
Rucking

What is Rucking?

Rucking is walking with a loaded backpack – and not just in the woods! “Ruck”, short for “rucksack”, is military slang for a backpack. This is a cheap, simple exercise that burns calories and builds aerobic endurance due to the added weight. Rucking Tips – The basics Grab a backpack. Load it with about 10% of your bodyweight (as a beginner). You can use bricks, dumbbells, weight plates, or anything else that will fit. Walk – the distance and pace is up to you. Also known as foot marching, ruck marching, but usually just plain “rucking” – it’s deceptively effective. It sounds simple, but it can burn up to two times the number of calories when compared to an unweighted [Read more …]

Sunset at Barbell Beach
Aging & Health

The Top 5 Reasons You Should Be Fit At Midlife

Are you Fit At Midlife? Here’s the top 5 reasons you should strive to be. Reason #1 – Diabetes is at an all time high A recent Gallup report shows that in the US diabetes is at an all time high. Despite the greatest awareness of Type 2 Diabetes in recent times, the rates are still rising? Why? Reason #2 – Being Fit At Midlife Seems To Reduce Cancer Risk Later A recent study shows that being fit at midlife reduces the risk of developing certain types of cancer. What’s more, it also appears to reduce the risk of dying from other types of cancer. Reason #3 – Fitness – The Fountain of Youth? According to this recent study High [Read more …]

One way to achieve muscular hypetrophy is to use Escalating Density Training, or EDT. The combination of high volume and moderate intensity is the perfect formula for big muscle size.
Exercise

EDT – Escalating Density Training

What is the EDT technique? EDT is Escalating Density Training. It’s a hypertrophy training technique (think big muscles). The goal is to perform as many reps as possible in a given timeframe, using antagonistic exercises, which work opposing muscle groups. Choose two antagonistic exercises – such as a pull and a press movement. Front squat and hamstring curl are one example, or bicep curls and tricep press. Choose a weight that is your 10RM (10 Rep Max) for the exercises. Start a stopwatch or timer for 15 minutes. Perform 5 reps of each movement, in an alternating fashion Rest as long as needed and repeat, letting the number of reps drop as you fatigue (sets of 4, then 3, etc.) [Read more …]

Battle ropes are a great thing to do in Tabata or HIIT style training
Exercise

How To Workout With Tabata Training

What is Tabata Training? Tabata is a high intensity training method for conditioning and fat-burning. Let’s find out how we can do a tabata workout, and what some great tabata exercises are. Tabata in a nutshell Start the clock or timer Perform the chosen exercise with as much intensity as possible, and as fast as good form permits for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat for 8 work and rest cycles (a total of 4 minutes.) Optional: Collapse on the floor at the conclusion of what is likely the 4 hardest minutes of your week! The most recent research in 2018 about Tabata concluded that: “…variations of the Tabata Protocol seem to be indicated to provide increases in aerobic [Read more …]

Alarm Clock - used for interval workouts
Exercise

EMOM Technique – Every Minute On the Minute

What is the EMOM technique? EMOM, or Every Minute On the Minute is an intensity technique for conditioning training. This is an interval workout method closely tied to CrossFit and other popular training methods. Start the clock or timer On the start of the minute, perform the chosen exercise for the specified number of reps Rest for the remainder of the minute Repeat for as many intervals as required A simple example: Perform 10 deadlifts with 225 lbs, every minute on the minute for 10 minutes total. What sort of exercise should I use with EMOM? What sort of exercises work best with EMOM? Honestly – anything! There are some caveats to using exercises which are too risky to perform [Read more …]