Before you decide exactly which foods to eat, review our guidelines for breakfast recommendations for long run days.

If you are reading this the day before your race, you should probably stick to what has worked for you in the past. Hopefully today isn’t the day before your race; you don’t want to try anything new on race day. That said I once ran a marathon in brand new shoes so if what you have now doesn’t work, try these suggestions.

But if this is the day before your race and you need a solid breakfast recomendation, you can still find good suggestions here.

Foods to eat before the race should be foods that can easily be found in a regular grocery store. You will want to give each of these a try during your marathon training to see which works best for you. Try a couple of these suggestions in case you get down to breakfast on race morning and they don’t have the fruit you want.

How much you eat depends on how early you get up. For every hour between now and the start of the race, you can take in 200-300 calories. So if you get up 2 hours before the race, eat 400 – 600 calories. Take in the higher amount of calories if you ate an early dinner.

Here are specific recommendations:

Fruit with eggs

Boiled eggs travel well and scrambled eggs are in hotel restaurants. Choose fruit that is low in fiber such as:

• bananas,

• peaches,

• cantaloupe,

• honeydew, and

• watermelon.

Fruits to avoid because they have a lot of fiber are:

• apples,

• berries,

• dates,

• figs,

• grapes,

• pears,

• mango,

• papaya and

• pineapple.

If you are travelling remember to pack utensils you will need.

Applesauce mixed with protein powder

Make sure you get unsweetened applesauce. Add 2-3 tablespoons of protein powder.You can carry the powder in a small baggie with you, no need to bring the whole container.

Baby Food is always a good choice

Baby food is easy to find in the grocery store and it is easily digestible. You can even eat the meats if you could tolerate the taste pre-race.

Liquid meals are my standby

Due to nerves I often find I can’t manage whole foods. I just can’t chew them. This is more true for an Ironman race than a marathon but I always have a liquid back-up just in case.

Make a smoothie from protein powder, fruit juice and 1-2 of the low-fiber fruit listed above. Sometimes I carry a Magic Bullet blender with me.

Ensure High Protein drink is one I have used successfully. Most grocery stores carry it in the baby food aisle. This is my pre-bike ride drink. Though Ensure is rather expensive, you can find it on sale if you watch for it.

Sports bar with protein

This doesn’t work well for me as I have trouble chewing them when nervous. I know many runners who swear by sports bars before a run. Drink lots of water with these. They are quite dry and can draw your fluids into the gut to help with digestion.

Drink plenty of fluid, including water

There is no reason not to have your morning coffee or tea just be SURE you have practiced this beforehand. Caffeine is known to cause upset stomach and nervousness as it speeds up your metabolism. This isn’t what you want before your marathon.

During the last hour before the race ONLY drink water. Drinking fluid with sugar, such as a sports drink, may cause low blood sugar leading to light-headedness. (Of course that could be your nerves)!

Often digesting carbohydrates lead to a spike in insulin which causes a drop in blood sugar.Sports drinks usually have high-glycemic carbs.

However, 10 minutes before the start is a good time to take in 100 – 200 calories from a sports drink or gel. By the time these carbs hit your blood stream you will be running and the exercise effort will blunt the insulin effect. Make sure to drink 6-8 ounces of water with this.

To make sure you get to race morning in optimal shape, read our guide to help you plan your menu during race week

After the marathon you will want to be able to celebrate your achievement. Follow our guidelines for the best foods for marathon recovery to ensure you have energy for the party that night.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

Worried about bonking in your marathon? Get the 6 best pre-marathon foods

There are no quick fixes, and it includes getting fit. Quit thinking that the answer to achieving your dream body is by loading up on those work out supplements. While they may be effective, they alone can not deliver results. That’s why they’re called supplements: to complement your work out.

If you only got a few minutes to spare for exercising, then it’s best to maximize it. Between routines, try to keep rest periods short. Maintaining an elevated heart rate throughout the exercise schedule will keep your metabolism fired up. It doesn’t matter whether you got short or long exercise periods. All that matters is you do it intensely.

To make sure you stick to the outline of your work out session, have a stopwatch with you. Better yet, purchase a digital sport watch with a stopwatch function. Keeping track of the allotted time for each routine helps keep you stick to your work out schedule. Such watch will come in handy if you do your work out early in the morning, and don’t want to be late for work. Example: jogging from 6-7 in the morning before getting a shower and arriving at the workplace at 8 am.

If in case you got time to visit the gym once in a while, never attempt to stay there for very long hours. Some people want to build muscle mass fast, so they think working out at the gym all day long will help. Muscle-building doesn’t work that way. Instead, stay at the gym for less than an hour each time. And divide the body parts to work out accordingly per session. For example, you can work out your lower body today, then your upper body the next.

Even if you exercise for only a few minutes regularly, sometimes you end up with muscular pains. This may be a setback, especially if you do your exercising before going to the workplace. You may take over-the-counter pain relievers to help you out. Some of the most commonly used medications are ibuprofen, paracetamol and the likes.

There are also gels and creams which you apply topically for muscular pains. You may also apply compress on the affected area to help hasten healing. Or using an electric massager on the affected muscles will also help provide relief. Before you do your next work out, it’s best if no pains are present. You will only fail to work out effectively, plus you’re at risk of injuring yourself.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

How To Have Regular Work Out With Little Free Schedule

But there are plenty of things you can do to help yourself feel more confident about yourself. If you are unfit and does not exercise, leading to wobbly bits of your body, then try a muscle workout routine to tone up the problem areas.

Exercising has the obvious benefit of tightening all the wobbly areas on your body and giving a sleek, toned, and tight appearance. As well as this, it will help you to lose weight generally all over and so the result will be dropping a dress size or two.

If you dream of fitting into a fantastic pair of skinny jeans for that big night out, then try combining a healthy low-fat diet along with a exercise routine for maximum benefits and then run off to get those jeans.

It is best not to suddenly start exercising like mad, especially if exercise was never high on your agenda before. If you overdo it in the first place and make yourself feel ill then you may put off doing it again. Similarly, if you have a health condition like obesity, go and consult a doctor to ensure you are able to exercise safely.

Do not follow crazy diets where all you exist on is cabbage soup all day. A low-fat diet high in fruit and vegetables is a nonsense-free approach to losing weight and eating well. If you eat good food, you will find you lose weight anyway as you are not eating fatty foods.

Ensure that whatever diet you are on, you eat a balanced range of fats, proteins, fruits, and vegetables, and have fatty food and alcohol in moderation. Moderation is the key to a healthy weight-loss regimen, but do not deprive yourself of food as it will make you feel unwell.

Using a massager is one way to get your skin glowing and the circulation running, which in turn will help reduce the appearance of cellulite, which in turn will boost your overall confidence along with your newly toned body.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

How To Look Fantastic In Whatever You Wear

Within Kung Fu, the’re several types and variances, although the most popular are those that have their roots in the famous Shaolin Temple. What most people aren’t mindful of even so, is the reason that Kung Fu was practiced in China years before the first Shaolin temple was even though of.

Learn Kungfu

A majority of martial arts enthusiasts consider self defense as being the eventual goal of any martial art, including Kung Fu. While self defense is concerned with Kung Fu, the martial is so more than just fighting and defense – it is a real art, one that develops the mind, body, and the soul.

Kung Fu doesn’t teach students to overcome others, as it teaches students to look within on their own and learn to have total and total control over their emotions. Kung Fu is an art of harmony, that teaches to students to remain at peace and avoid confrontations. If a state of affairs threatens bodily harm to the student, then he must rise to the occasion – becoming the warrior and defending himself.

Similar to other types of martial arts, Kung Fun teaches the balance that is crucial for executing techniques and the correct movement. The standard concept behind the balance is that same balance that the Chinese believe keeps the balance between heaven and earth. This reasoning behind balance can be accomplished by students if they completely focus their considerations and empty their minds clear of any kind of distractions.

Kung Fu is a martial art that can be learned by anyone. It does take a strong want, similar to any other martial art. It has a rich heritage, and a proud legacy. Kung Fu is indeed a deadly martial art, if used in the wrong ways. There are variations of Kung Fu as well, which include the infamous five animals – Tiger, Dragon, Eagle Claw, Crane, and the Snake.

Adapted by the animals in which they are named after, the five animals style is some of the most impressive in martial arts. Tiger Claw is by far the most toxic of the five animals, teaching students to strike identical to the dreaded tiger. This style teaches the student power in his hands, so that when he strikes, he tears the flesh. Tiger Claw is very life threatening, although it is very hard to find instructors that teach this style now days.

Unlike other martial arts, there really are no competitions for Kung Fu. Stylists can compete it other competitions, however, there really aren’t any that’re for only Kung Fu. It is an ancient martial art, that is to be used only in cases were there is no other alternative than to fight back. When provoked, the stylist should try everything he or she can to avoid confrontations.

Kung Fu aims to teach the lessons of respect, fairness to others, harmony of the spirit, and whole self discipline regardless of what. These traits, when paired together, allow students to accomplish success in a hard to address society. Kung Fu is concerning producing the student’s general health – and following the straight road to mental and physical toughness.

For more, please go through best ways to learn kungfu.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

How To Learn Kungfu

The strap of some men’s sport watch make use of leather. Leather watches are made from different kinds of animal skins. Others are synthetic. Leathers used in watch straps usually come the skin of crocodiles, ostriches and stingray.

The kind of leather materials made from crocodile skin differ from ostrich and stingray leathers. Each skin has certain characteristics that make them different from the leather of other animal skins.

Take for example crocodile skins. The skin from this animal produce striking features. Crocodile is as old as the dinosaurs who ruled the earth thousands of years ago. When other species had vanished or were wiped out, this animal managed to survive.

Crocodile skins are probably one of the longest lasting leather material there is out there. Their beautiful skins are perfect for leather watches. Crocodile leathers often symbolize sophistication and wealth. People who wear this type of leather are oftentimes powerful and ambitious.

Another good material for leather straps is the ostrich leather. The ostrich skin is very appropriate for the straps of watch. This leather is soft and pliant unlike crocodile leathers. The texture of their plumage provide an incomparable quality to their leathers. Ostrich leathers are known for their capacity to last long and the flexibility of the straps. Those who prefer ostrich leathers are commonly popular and important people in their chosen fields.

Stingray is another important source of leather material for watches. In some culture, stingray provides exotic nutrients and form part of the daily fare. The meat from this sea animal are ingested due to its multiple health benefits especially in the Far East like Japan and China.

During the ancient times, Japanese warriors and the Samurai use stingray to adorn their swords. The leather is said non-stick which allow the warriors to hold on to their swords. This is one of the reasons why stingray leather is greatly sought after. It is also non-combustible which makes it resistant to fire hazards.

Each stingray leather is unique from the other because each stingray has a distinctive diamond shaped symbol at the back that is totally different from other stingrays. No two are alike. You can be sure that the leather used in your watch strap is the only one in the world. And for this, leather from stingrays are more distinctive.

To make you look even more athletic, a leather brown boot would be a good enhancement to the total outfit. If you put all these gears together, you can be sure that you will make a good impression.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

Leather Can Enhance Your Outfit

Treatments for Snoring: Your family physician may be able to analyze the risk factors if any associated with snoring and recommend treatment if needed from one of the many sleep clinics. There are a number of treatments including.

Lifestyle changes to reduce or eliminate snoring: Personal physician might suggest the following lifestyle changes that help in combating snoring like:

Reduce Weight: Obesity is a risk factor for snoring. Your doctor might be able to suggest an efficient way to manage your weight. This means that if you want to stop snoring you should reduce your weight.

Exercise: Sound sleep is essential and physical activity can help you attain this by keeping you busy, healthy and manage your weight too. Exercise, particularlywalking, jogging, running and hiking improve sleep quality. Strenuous activities should not done for at least two hours before you hit the bed.

Quit smoking: Your symptoms are likely to increase with smoking because of throat irritation and coughing at night, leading to snoring.

Good Sleep Hygiene: To promote a sound and undisturbed sleep scheduling time for sleeping and waking up is ideal. Not only that, it also avoids exhaustion due to less sleep which promotes snoring.

Refrain from alcohol and sleeping pills: Alcohol and certain medications such as sleep aids and some pain medications, can make throat muscles relax more than usual leading to narrowing and obstructions. It might also make it tough to get up in the morning, resulting in longer ignored hours. They may also make it more difficult for your brain to wake you up when this happens, causing longer, more serious pauses in breathing.Overtime this can lead to serious damage to the body.
Sleep side-ways: Medical research shows that sleeping on your back allows gravity to further narrow your airways increasing the risk of snoring.

In most of the severe cases, sleep disorder clinics are suggested to assess and give their observations and test results, which they do at-home of the patient or at their clinic. There are breathing devices which can used in the treatment as well like CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) equipment. This device is a filter air blower that intakes regular room air and funnels it into a mask at a pressure determined by your doctor. This device is worn over the nose and the aligned pressure enables smooth airflow and reduces snoring.

Other treatments include a dental device that is worn while sleeping to dilate the airways, holding the lower jaw and tongue forward. Radio wave treatments are utilized to contract tissues in the throat or tongue and surgeries that reduce the tissues in the nose, uvula, and palate (roof of mouth) or the bony tissues in the back of the throat to decrease the risk of blockages.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

Learn How to Stop Snoring Naturally

Nutrition is often an overlooked element of marathon training. The right nutrition plan will make those long training runs seem much easier!

This article covers your day in and day out marathon training diet. More specific topics such as race week nutrition, what to eat on marathon race day , what to eat just prior to training, what to eat immediately after training and what to eat pre-race are covered in these planning your marathon diet strategies.

Your source of energy is the food you eat. All food is made up of carbohydrates, proteins, fat and fiber. Carbohydrates are tied to energy production, complete proteins are tied to tissue repair and building, fat provides body fuel and fiber is roughage. While most foods have trace amounts of all macronutrients, each food is typically rich in one macronutrient.You need ALL macro-nutrients in your diet.

Carbohydrates and Marathon Training

Your body burns carbohydrates more efficiently than fat or protein.An ideal runner’s diet would consist of 60-70% of your daily food intake as carbohydrates.

Runners benefit the most from the amount of carbohydrates stored in the body. That is because you get more energy – per unit of oxygen consumed – from carbohydrates than you do from fat. What this means is that you get more energy for running when your body burns carbohydrates than you do when your body burns fat or protein. Because oxygen often is the limiting factor in long duration events, your body will find it easier to use the energy source that requires the least amount of oxygen per kilocalorie of energy produced. (energy is measured in kilocalories)

To produce energy, your body converts carbohydrates into glucose. Carbohydrates provide 40 to 50 percent of your energy requirement when you are running at a moderate pace.Carbohydrates provide a larger percentage of your energy needs as you start working harder. It is difficult for your body to break down protein and fat into glucose to provide energy. Therefore your body first burns carbohydrates. When you are exercising hard, your body can’t devote much energy to breaking down protein and fat.During a marathon, you had much rather that energy be used for running faster.

Best Carbohydrate Foods for your Marathon Training

Carbohydrate needs are commonly based on the runner’s body size and activity level. Runners engaged in moderate-duration, low-intensity exercise require 5-7 g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. Runners engaged in long-duration and high-intensity exercise need 7-12 g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight.

All carbohydrates are not the same.

Best sources of carbohydrates in your diet

• Fruit,
• vegetables,
• brown rice,
• enriched whole-grain breads,
• whole grain cereals,
• rolled oats,
• beans,
• legumes, and
• sweet potatoes

(Note: Cheetos, cookies and tortilla chips are not on the list.)

Fat

Fat is the next macro-nutrient your body uses to fuel your running.

Contrary to popular opinion, fat is not your enemy.Fat that comes from eating too many cheetos is. (Remember that excess of any macro-nutrient – carbs, protein, fat – is turned into fat.) For moderate exercise, about half of the total energy expenditure is derived from free fatty acid metabolism. If the event lasts more than an hour, the body may use mostly fats for energy. Whether the runner’s body uses fat for fuel for not depends on the event’s duration and the runner’s condition. A trained athlete will begin using fat for energy quicker than an untrained athlete. (This is one of the adaption mechanisms of the long run in marathon training.)

Best sources of fat in your diet

• Nuts
• Seeds
• Nut butter
• Fatty fish
• Fish-oil supplements
• Flaxseed oil
• Safflower oil
• Canola oil
• Sunflower oil
• Corn oil
• Avocados
• Egg yolks

Protein For The Runner’s Diet

After carbohydrates and fats, protein provides energy for the body. You also need protein to repair muscle tissue that is damaged during exercise. Even though marathon training may increase your need for protein, most Americans already eat more than the recommended amounts of protein.

A good rule of thumb is to get 10-12 percent of your total calories from protein. A general rule for endurance athletes is to consume between 1.2-1.4 grams protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Remember, extra protein is stored as fat.

You probably don’t need extra protein, what you do need is to eat protein from quality sources.

Many runners (especially women) who are trying to lose weight cut calories by cutting out protein. However a better place to cut out calories is your daily bagel. Don’t get me started on my “bagels are empty calories” rant; for now, all I’ll say is protein-rich foods include lean pork and beef, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, tofu, and low-fat dairy products. Your marathon training diet should include lean sources of protein.

Best sources of protein in your diet

• Lean pork and beef
• Poultry
• Fish
• Eggs
• Low-fat dairy products
• Broccoli
• Beans
• Corn

Fiber

Fiber helps the body stay healthy and may prevent heart disease. Getting enough might be easier than you expect it would be.

Soluble fiber may help prevent heart disease by lowering LDL, or “bad” cholesterol levels. Good sources of soluble fiber are oats, barley, beans, apples, oranges and other fruits and vegetables. Your goal should be to eat 20 to 35 grams of fiber every day. The best way to do this is to consume a wide variety of whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, fruits and vegetables.

Fiber helps your digestive system keep your bowels “regular”. This is key to avoiding discomfort on your long training runs.

Best sources of fiber in your diet

Include more fiber in your eating plan by adding vegetables to stews and casseroles. Add oats to meatloaf, breads and cookies. Fruit is a great source of fiber. Have fruit as a snack, on cereal and in salads.

The above are guidelines for creating your marathon eating plan. You may want to read up on carbohydrate loading for your marathon race week.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

How To Quickly Determine Your Ideal Marathon Training Diet

MMA conditioning is much more than just strength, power, and speed. While these may be major qualities that a fighter needs to win a match, it is mental conditioning that distinguishes the champion from the contender.

Each person has the potential to develop incredible strength, power and speed. There are varying techniques used between fighters, each developed depending on the fighter.

Strength, for example, is merely physical energy that is needed to exert force. Between two fighters possessing equal or more or less equal strength, the one who believes that he is unbreakable is most likely going to end up showing greater prowess in the match. When training for strength, mental MMA conditioning is also important.

MMA conditioning necessarily includes developing mental characteristics, which when combined with physical strength, power and speed, produces a lean, mean killing machine.

Some of these mental qualities include the following:

* Refusal to Give In

Training for MMA is physically exhausting. You must have the mental staying power to survive training. As the training level turns up a notch, your body may begin to feel pain and exhaustion. An MMA fighter must be able to work through the pain barrier using the mind that never gives in. Fighters are taught that if your mind will not give in to the pain, then neither will your body.

* Winning Mindset

Having a winning mindset where losing is not an option, is a common characteristic that MMA champions share. To reach the top in MMA, you must have a genuine will and mental drive to achieve your goals. When your mind is focused on winning, your body will do whatever it takes to accomplish your aim.

* High Motivation Levels

Just like desire, motivation is a strong internal force that compels you to pursue your goals relentlessly. Your motivation, or lack thereof will affect the quality of your MMA training. To stay motivated, you must have definite goals and a clear reason for accomplishing these goals. Goal setting is therefore important in MMA conditioning.

* Persistence
Continued high level training, increasing in intensity with the days leading up to the competition will increase your chances of winning.

MMA conditioning involves other mental abilities which can turn a strong fighter into a winning champion. High concentration levels, persistence and inner strength are just some of them. These abilities are needed to obtain the attitude to sustain you for the tough and uncompromising sport that MMA is admired for.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

Winning Ways With MMA Conditioning

A personal trainer could greatly help you in these aspects. A fitness trainer will help you become less prone to obesity health risks and improve your health conditions. Health professionals are skillful in making programs that would address the specific needs of certain group of people such as the young, the older group and pregnant women.

A fitness professional can ensure that you get the proper training and exercise to make you lose weight and eat a balanced diet. They are capable of developing weight-management programs that combine the three vital factors that will shed off excess weight. These three key elements that require focus are: nutrition, exercise and lifestyle.

It is important to bear in mind though that losing weight does not come automatically. It takes continuous practice and a lot of patience. The best thing to keep in mind is once you keep the weight off, you should keep it off.

There is no sense losing weight for a few months then start gaining them again. This will put you back to square one, if you are not careful. That is why investing books on health, diets and exercise is a good idea. You can generate a lot of ideas from these books.

Another thing you should invest on is a good men’s sport watch. This will help you time your daily exercises. Look for a sports watch that will fit the kind of regimen you have in mind.

If you use your watch to time your running then you should look for a sweat-resistant watch with rubber cases and lap timers. Some watches can withstand water resistance which are good if your daily fitness regimen includes swimming. These watches have passed stringent tests to determine if they can withstand sweat, shock and other activities. These gadgets can definitely aid you when you are striving to lose weight.

Exercise should be included in your daily schedule. Good eating habits alone will not keep you healthy. Exercise can keep illnesses such as diabetes, heart ailment and other fatal diseases at bay. If you exercise constantly, you will find yourself becoming healthier and slimmer later.

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

Exercise For Fitness And Good Health

Guys, does this sound like you? You bought a ‘killer abs’ e-book and printed it out so you could have it by your side when you put it into practice. That was six months ago and the only real physical activity you’ve gotten out of it was when you pushed a staple through the pages. That was so exhausting that you had to take a break and sit down and read some erotic comics.

You girls are just as bad. You had an excuse not to work out while you waited for your aerobics DVD to come in the mail, but what about after that? You were pretty excited when it came, so you sat down with a box of chocolates and watched it from beginning to end. The next day, you watched it again while you worked on your Disney scrapbook. Now it’s been so long since you used it that you can’t find it.

Both you guys and you girls have probably been faithfully paying a gym membership as part of your exercise regime. You go in once a month, pay for the entire month and while you’re there, have a quick warm-up on the exercise bike. You’re not really in the mood for a workout, though, so you vow to come back the next day.

They must love you both at the gym. You make life so easy for them. You, along with so many others, pay them for something you don’t use. It costs them nothing to take your money and you give it to them so freely!

What you do with your body is nobody’s business but yours. Just keep it that way, okay? Stop whining about how nothing you’ve tried works. It doesn’t work if you don’t use it. You don’t lose weight by thinking about it and you don’t get strong by going to a personal massager. You do that after you’ve had a good weight training session and have earned a good massage. What ever made you think that having your flab massaged would make it go away?

Have you got the picture yet? Stop complaining and get to work or just stop whining and get back to your comics and scrapbooks. If you really want to get fit, you’ll do it!

Post from: Bruce Lee Workouts

If You Want To Get Fit, You Need To Workout