MONDAY HEALTH & FITNESS: SWIMMING

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After 15 years of competitive swimming I usually find other ways to work out. Swimming makes me miss doing it competitively too much, and I get sad. But for most people it's an awesome workout. My advice for people who want to swim for a workout is to not think of it like going for a run. Think of it as more of a track workout, even if you are training for a triathlon or longer swim. Do a long swim to warm up then do sets depending on your goals. Try something like 10x100's (4 lengths) or 200's (8 lengths) on an interval you can hold but not by much, maybe 10 seconds. This type of training will keep your heart rate up and make you hold a certain level of intensity (or you'll miss the interval). When you just swim laps continuously you have no way to know if you're slowing down or slacking off. 

(photo from a friend)

MONDAY FITNESS: BIKRAM YOGA

My experience with bikram yoga (or hot yoga) has been one of extreme highs and lows. For those of you not familiar with bikram it is a type of yoga done in a heated room usually between 98 and 105 degrees. Each class you do the same 26 poses designed to strech your entire body and distribute fresh oxenegated blood to all your muscles, tendons, and organs. I did bikram pretty religously for over a year and I have to say it made me feel amazing...AFTER each class. During class I would experience a wide range of emotions from raging anger to extreme euphoria, but after class I felt refreshed and relaxed. It must have been something about the 100+ degree room that would bring to the surface all the emotions I had been trying to surpress during the day. Eventually I decieded to take a little break from bikram to try different types of yoga, my first "regular" yoga class in a "regular" air conditioned room felt like a trip to Disney World. But the truth is...I miss bikram. Well, maybe I don't miss bikram exactly, but the way it made me feel after I did it. I think I'll look into finding a hot yoga studio out here. If  your in the Miami area this studio is awesome. Below are the 26 poses of bikram:

Look easy? They aren't.

PS - 10 funny things they don't tell you about hot yoga. All SO true.

(photo from here)

GREEN TEA BREAKDOWN

One of my New Years Resolutions was to drink more water and green tea instead of coffee. The benefits of green tea seem to know no end, from preventing cancer and dementia to boosting metabolism (as long as you don't load it down with harmful sweetners and sugar!). And the best part of it all is it's super affordable and available at every grocery store. 

(photo from here)

HOW TO: KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL

Writing down what you eat and drink lets you take look at your eating habits and make healthy changes. Use the following guidelines to help you as you go:

• Get in the habit of recording everything immediately - right after you eat or drink.

• Write what you were doing (i.e driving, watching t.v. etc) and how you were feeling (i.e. rushed, depressed, excited) when you were eating

• BE HONEST! This isn't something other people are going to read it's only for you and your own good.

PS— a few ways to keep your journal: online/on your phone, in an actual journal, or print out some of these every week

(photo from here)