Drink Your Water

(Salt Lake Tribune)  That misty cloud you puff out during winter exercise is water your body needs in order to work well.

Multiple layers of clothing make you sweat, only without the cooling effect you get in warm weather when the air evaporates the sweat from your skin. So even though it’s cold, you need to pay attention to hydration, especially when Utah’s natural aridity is enhanced with dry furnace air.

According to experts with the American Council on Exercise and the National Academy of Sports Medicine:

• To stay hydrated in winter, take in more fluid than the standard eight 8-ounce glasses per day.

• A good way to calculate how much fluid to consume is to drink half your body weight in fluid ounces. So, if you weigh 180 pounds, you need 90 ounces.

• Water is the best fluid to consume, but noncaffeinated tea, juices and soup are other sources.

• Caffeine is dehydrating, so balance a 12-ounce cup of coffee with an equal amount of plain water.

• When it’s cold, our blood vessels shrink and our blood tends to stay close to the body’s core. This raises our blood pressure, so our kidneys compensate, which leads to increased urination even as we need to drink more water.

• When that water leaves your body, if it is dark, you are dehydrated. That is a better indication of when you need water than waiting until you feel thirsty. When fluids are properly balanced, urine is light-colored.

• Even if you feel your thirst has been quenched, you may still be dehydrated. The best tactic is to stay ahead of thirst by drinking water steadily throughout the day.

• Staying hydrated keeps your body better able to break down fat for energy and control your appetite. Dehydration hampers muscle performance.

• Tepid water is easier for your body to take in than cold water. So in the winter, carry water bottles, flasks or camels under your clothing.

• Drink 16 ounces of fluid two hours before exercising. Drinking half of that immediately upon getting up in the morning is a good general health practice.

• Sports drinks are sugary and generally should be saved for workouts longer than an hour. People trying to lose weight probably should stick to water, with other fluid coming from fresh fruit and vegetables.

• Even if you don’t feel thirsty after a workout, drink two to three 8-ounce glasses of water within 30 minutes of finishing.

• If you weigh yourself before and after exercise, drink 20 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during your session.

For the original article written by Patty Henetz, from the Salt Lake Tribune visit Utah winter workouts need water, too.

Turn an Ordinary Walk into an Adventure

(Utah Family Magazine) Looking for some family togetherness? Sure there are trips to amusement parks, the zoo, museums and county fairs, but being together can be as simple as walking out your front door and taking a walk around the neighborhood. If suggesting a walk to your kids makes them grimace like they just tasted sour milk, try adding a twist and turn the ordinary into an adventure.

The Flashlight Walk

The best time for flashlight walks, besides the obvious nighttime requirement, is right after dinner in the fall or winter. After restoring daylight savings to standard time it gets dark as early as 5:30 p.m., giving you plenty of time upon return for baths and a reasonable bedtime. If possible, go out on a new moon when the sky is particularly dark and venture down unlit pathways to get the greatest effect. Always keep safety in mind, but given that you are in your own neighborhood the routes should be secure and familiar. Give each person their own flashlight and set out rules in advance, such as staying with the group and not flashing people in the face.

The Photo Walk

Today’s digital cameras make it easier to allow kids to shoot away without concern over expensive development costs. Of course you may have other concerns, such as giving your small child free rein with your DSLR or even your point-and-shoot. If this is the case consider whether you have an older device the child could use -- perhaps a phone or first generation digital camera forgotten in a drawer. The camera walk is an exploration and can produce some wonderful images. One option is to allow children to share your camera, under supervision, although they are going to have more fun with one of their own. In any case, this is a slow walk with a lot of stops so if you are looking for exercise designate some no-stopping areas.

The Wagon Walk

When the kids are too tired or not excited about a walk, the wagon walk is a great alternative. Often times a little fresh air revives the reluctant participant, but if not there is no harm in putting a cozy blanket and small pillow in the wagon so the tired one can rest while the others explore. To avoid arguments over who rides and who pushes set the expectations before leaving the house. If your plan is to have everyone stay together then refrain from allowing other wheeled items along, such as scooters or inline skates.

I Spy a Snowman Walk

… or a red door, or a butterfly, or a prickly rose… or whatever you want to “spy” depending on the season. This one can get a bit competitive so one way to defuse the rivalry is to work as a team. Keep score as a team and on each new I Spy walk attempt to break the record from the previous walk. 

The Holiday Decoration Walk

This walk is a natural during the winter holidays and can be done repeatedly with surprisingly new results as households put up fresh decorations or add to the existing assortment. Try traveling in different directions each time you go out then start over to see what the neighbors have added. Of course, you can expect a good amount of decorating suggestions to come out of these excursions, so make clear in advance if you are done putting up  your own decorations for the season and keep a list of requests for next year.

The Destination Walk

Park to Park, follow the bus route or go to the grocery store, the destination walk is fun and can be a great learning experience. Bring along a map and challenge the kids to find landmarks while you watch them learn their way around town. Turn the walk into a productive outing by getting an errand done or drop in at the library for story time followed by a treat at a local yogurt shop or bakery for good behavior.

Add your own twist and transform the neighborhood walk into an expedition that your kids will remember fondly.

For the full article visit: 6 Ways to Turn an Ordinary Walk into an Adventure

Healthier Holiday Cooking

Some simple changes to your favorite recipes, can reduce the fat and calories without sacrificing flavor.

1. Use non-stick cookware and spray coating for butter, oil, or margarine.
2. Using a cooking bag to roast your turkey can help you make lower fat gravy.
3. Use water, defatted broth or wine for sauteing instead of oil or butter.
4. Keep several cans of chicken broth in the refrigerator. The fat will coagulate on the top for removal before serving.
5. Use cornstarch mixed with several tablespoons of cold water to thicken sauce and gravy.
6. Puree cooked vegetables and add to sauces and gravies to thicken them.
7. Remove all skin and fat from poultry and meat before cooking.
8. Substitute low or non-fat products in your favorite or new recipes.

          Here are some suggestions:

• Use evaporated skimmed milk or skim milk instead of whole or 2% milk, cream, or half and half. Try using it in mashed potatoes, cream soups, and casseroles for rich flavors.
• Use egg substitute or egg whites instead of eggs.
• Use fat free Parmesan cheese, fat free cream cheese, fat free mayonnaise, fat free sour cream, and fat free margarine or butter.
• Substitute clear broth sauces in recipes calling for cream sauces.
• Use low or non-fat whipped toppings, puddings, and canned milk.
• While baking, if a recipe calls for a small amount of oil or butter use unsweetened applesauce, mashed banana, pumpkin, peaches, or prunes as a substitute.

Fitness Tips to Keep in Mind for those Holiday Workouts

Routines become even harder to maintain during the holiday season. There are so many events and responsibilities that demand your time and energy. Exercising is a great way to deal with the added stress and keep off those extra cookies you had at the party last night. Going to the gym for an hour each day may not be the solution you are looking for, and you certainly have other options. Check out these tips from the pros to see what you can do to maximize your workout, or to add some exercise to your day.

(Chicago Tribune) North America's top fitness professionals don't necessarily train celebrities and professional athletes or badger overweight reality-TV contestants into shape.

Instead, they work with recreational runners who want to get faster, they inspire virtual clients online and they make fitness classes innovative and challenging.

These three fitness phenoms were all recently honored by their industry as the cream of the crop. They've shared a few of their most effective secrets to help you get motivated or refresh your workouts:

Jason Karp

Karp aspires to be "the Jillian Michaels of running," if only because the broad exposure would help him reach runners of all abilities. Karp is a big fan of the objectivity and the science of the sport: In races, there's a start line, a finish line and one winner. "I've always been interested in what makes someone faster than another person and how they got there," said Karp, the 2011 IDEA Health and Fitness Industry Personal Trainer of the Year who works in San Diego. "People think running is so simple," he added. "But a lot of people giving running advice have no idea what they're talking about."

Karp's top tips:

Polarize your training. Recovery is the secret behind improvement; it can mean taking a day off or working at a lower intensity. With runners, Karp stresses going all out on hard days and relaxing on easy days. "Most people — especially gymgoers — make their workouts all in the middle," he said. "It's the same thing every day. With really hard days, you force adaptations that cause stress; then you recover by working easy."

Ease into it. If you've been sedentary for 40 years, don't sign up to run a marathon in six months. The other thing that drives Karp crazy? Going out too fast during the first mile of a race. Run a pace you can maintain the entire time, Karp said.

Make interval workouts harder. Many runners try to do this by running the intervals at a faster pace. Instead, decrease your recovery time between intervals, make the interval period longer or increase repetitions. "Raise the peak of the pyramid from the bottom," Karp said. "You'll be producing more mitochondria to do the aerobic work. When you can do more and more work at the same intensity, you'll be getting faster."

Nicole Nichols

The 29-year-old Nichols, recognized as "America's Top Personal Trainer to Watch" by the American Council on Exercise and Life Fitness, has been on both sides of the fitness fence. As a teenager, she developed unhealthy exercise and eating habits — even though she thought she was working out correctly. In college, she struggled, bouncing from intense workouts to bagging exercise and gaining 40 pounds.

"I was miserable," Nichols, of the Cincinnati area, recalled. But as she learned more about personal training, she discovered "how to practice moderation, not just in food, but exercise," she said. "Fitness isn't about achieving a certain physique or going to extremes. It's about exercising in ways that are fun, fit into life easily and don't cause you to give up other things."

Nichols' top tips:

Morning exercise works. Get up 15 minutes earlier to squeeze in a short workout. "It's one of the best ways to make sure nothing gets in the way," she said. As a non-morning person, Nichols forces herself up and out of bed two to three days a week for a run, knowing that she'll feel far worse if she blows it off. Make it easier: Sleep in your workout clothes.

Don't work out on an empty stomach. "It's not going to result in greater fat burning," said Nichols. "What's most important for weight loss is burning total calories. If you are not eating in the morning or for a long time before you exercise, you won't be able to work out at an optimal level, and that's more detrimental," she said. About 30 minutes before a workout, try a small snack of 100 to 200 calories, which could include fruit juice, half a bagel or an energy bar with 3 to 5 grams of protein and at least 15 grams of carbs. If you have an hour or two, try whole grain crackers with nut butter, hard-boiled eggs, nuts or oatmeal.

Walk — even if you can run. Walking is an important part of an exercise plan, even for fit people. "Every bit of physical activity is beneficial," Nichols said. "It's wrong for people to think they have to work out intensely to benefit. In fact if your workouts are always intense, you might be setting yourself up for failure. If you're having trouble getting started, just do 10 minutes a day to start building a habit. "That's over an hour a week. Then work up to three 10-minute chunks in a day," she said.

Leigh Crews

Crews, IDEA's Fitness Instructor of the Year, has what her husband jokingly calls a "certification addiction." Over the last three decades, the 55-year-old dynamo from Alabama has taught everything from step aerobics and glide classes to her current favorites: TRX Suspension Training and Batuka, a new pre-choreographed dance fitness program.The challenge for fitness instructors is that "we need to have the depth of a personal trainer and, at the same time, we have to distill our instructions down to their very essence to serve a group situation," she said. Her passion now is training other fitness professionals, which she does through her fitness education company, Dynalife.

Crews' top tips:

Find what you like. Then do it. "Make that the cornerstone of your workout, because if you don't like it, you won't stick to it," she said. Round out that activity with something complementary. If you like to run, for example, then run. But balance it with some yoga or strength training.

Eat food as close to its natural state as possible. Eating the orange is always better for you than drinking the orange juice. Also stay away from refined or processed foods and limit the amount of high-fat protein such as meat that you eat each week. "Going all veggie is always an option," Crews said.

Don't hang out in the back row. Group fitness classes can improve your odds for success, as the class tends to become one big family, said Crews. But if you're uncertain about your abilities, "let the instructor know you are a newbie, and position yourself where you can see yourself in the mirror and see the instructor," said Crews. "It will be much easier to follow, learn and look like you already know what you're doing in there."

For the original article visit the Chicago Tribune: Fitness and exercise tips from top trainers