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April 13, 2010 Leave a Comment

100 Nutrition tips for a longer life!

We don’t believe in diets, especially fad diets, but January is certainly a convenient time to look at the way you eat and to make some decisions about how your eating affects your fitness (and longevity!)There’s a whole buncha tips here — categorized even.  We went through and picked some of the more interesting ones, but if you have a moment read all 100, it’s a good exercise:

  • try dark chocolate.  Not ideal, but has antioxidants and much better than milk
  • Fill up on the good foods first, when you are craving the junk
  • Eat Half (or even 3/4) when out at restaurants.  They usually serve too much.  It adds up!
  • Be careful on the beverages, lots have many calories
  • Whole grain foods keep you fuller longer
  • Eat foods with color in them in variety
  • Shop the perimeter of the store, avoid the packaged, canned and frozen stuff in the middle
  • Hair and skin look better when you eat protein

Full List of 100 Tips Click Here

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April 13, 2010 Leave a Comment

Sunny day, Happy songs, Bill's playlist

As noted in class this morning, it seemed when the sun burst through this weekend that we became flooded with gladness.  The songs were chosen to reflect his positive energy!  Honestly, don’t we appreciate sunshine more than the people who have it all the time?

Feelin’ all right – Joe Cocker, Born of Frustration – James, Jammin’ Bob – Marley, Good Lovin’ – The Rascals, Honey Baby (unknown artist), Good thing – Fine Young Cannibals, I’m Free – Soup Dragons, I’m so Glad – The Code Talkers, Did Ya Ever Look so Nice – The Samples, Shine Your Light – The Mavericks, Brown-eyed Girl – Steel Pulse, Slippery People - Talking Heads, What I Like About You – Romantics

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April 12, 2010 Leave a Comment

Riding inside, riding outside: different, both great

We ride outside, we ride inside…..we love both.

Yes, we run an indoor studio, but we love the idea of cycling of all kinds.  The benefits of indoor and outdoor riding are awesome in so many ways!
About 25% of Spynergy riders are also serious about their outdoor riding.  They do both inside and outside riding.  The vast majority of our spinners do NOT ride outside….ever.
Riding inside and outside are different………and the same.
The same because they are both rhythmic, low impact, cardio exercise.  While fundamentally solitary endeavours, indoor and outdoor cycling are often done in groups and can be social.  Both workouts can be intense….but both can be moderated.  Both are exercise that experts agree is ideal for a range of health and fitness related goals.
How do they differ?  Other than the obvious (you don’t need a helmet indoors, the sun shines outdoors), there are differences that make the workouts somewhat distinct.  One is time spent.  Spin classes are an “in and out” workout.  In less than an hour, you can burn huge energy.  With time pressures everywhere, the “exercise value per minute” is extremely high in a spin class.  With outdoor cycling, equipment and preparation and clean up issues add significantly to the average ride — but you get scenery!
Outdoor rides tend to be a more varied mix of endurance and interval training, indoor rides focus more on intervals.  Intervals (intermittent periods of high exertion) tend to be longer outside, leading to a very different feel and experience.
In either workout, you can work hard….or not. In both workouts the presence of other riders around you tends to motivate.  Indoors, the music keeps you alert, outdoors it’s the presence of cars.
Spinning is great aerobic training for outside riding.  Some outdoor cyclists complain that the cadence and saddle positions in spin class do not simulate outside riding —- but even the most ardent admit that there is tremendous heart rate work in a good spin class, not to mention the toning of key muscle groups.
Spinners who don’t ride outside usually cite traffic and safety concerns, or sometimes technophobia about all the “stuff”.  These are legitimate reasons not to ride —- but if you’re a spinner, you would actually be pretty good at it, and even periodic outside riding is great cross-training for your spinning!
What’s the bottom line?  Both are great exercise depending on your preference, your available time, and your mood!  If you’re an inside rider looking to explore outside (or vice versa) —- feel free to email us with any questions.  We love both.
Enjoy the ride!
Bill and Alex
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Filed Under: Outdoor cycling Tagged With: , ,
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