New Year, New You – 52 Week Guide For Achieving Greatness In 2009
Health and fitness
Nothing says “hello, new year” like a plan to get into shape. After all, few occupations require physical prowess like that of the professional warrior. (Journalism certainly doesn’t, pass the Cheetos )
If you really want to unleash your inner Arnold this year, try:
1. Mixing it up. Seriously, don’t you get tired of the same thing, the same thing, the same thing, the same thing?
“Change up your workout,” advised Army Staff Sgt. Gregg Ramsdell, 47, an avid powerlifter with a string of titles in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington who recently returned from his third war zone tour since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. “One week during the cycle, change things by doing one set of as many reps as possible on every machine in your gym.”
These full-body workouts could get you home from the gym fast, “not to mention pump a lot of blood to the affected body part,” Ramsdell said. A similar plan could incorporate free weight exercises, so long as you’re working both upper and lower body.
What’s the point? Putting the human body into a set routine is like rocking a just-fed baby, everything goes night-night. Pretty soon, you stop seeing results. So wake up your muscles with a taste of something different.
2. You are what you drink. Know why the Kool-Aid Man was so fat that he had to make his own door wherever he went? ’Cause he was full of syrupy, sugary sweet beverage. Ooooh yeah.
“Cut out all drinks with calories,” said Jennifer Hughes, wife of Cryptologic Technician 1st Class Nicholas Hughes. Currently stationed in Virginia Beach, Va., they are competitive amateur bodybuilders, with Jennifer serving as their dietician. “If you haven’t already done this, just doing this alone will create a huge calorie reduction, without much effort.”
That includes beer. A can of Budweiser has 145 calories — not so bad if you drink one, terrible if you drink, say, eleventeen.
