Fitness Articles of the Week #53 – Dangers of Sedentary Jobs, Fixing Your Squat, and Popcorn!

Here’s a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week.


Exercise is not enough for sedentary workers

Another study showing the dangers of sedentary jobs. These studies worry me because I have a sedentary job. I sit at a computer for 8 hours a day. What am I supposed to do? I do have a fitness ball to sit on, but I haven’t heard any of these studies mention anything other than a standing desk, which isn’t really an option in my workplace. I hope the ball is doing the job.


How to Run Faster – Speed Training Drills to Improve Overall Speed, Sprinting Mechanics, and Form – YouTube

Here are some tips on using proper running form and some great speed training drills to help you become a faster runner. I definitely plan on using these drills in my own routine.


The Top 3 Reasons I Love My Pressure Cooker

I’ve heard about how fast a pressure cooker can cook foods, but I asked my grandma about it and she said that she was so afraid of her mother’s pressure cooker that she’d never own one. She scared me away from buying one, but after reading this post, I realize that they are probably much safer these days. I’m still not sure if I want to buy one, but at least it’s on my “maybe” list now.


Chipotle Guacamole Recipe

This is the actual Chipotle restaurant guacamole recipe provided by Libby Balsigier, Chipotle’s marketing strategist. If you’re a fan of their guac, print and save this one!


Q & A: Fixing the “Tuck Under” When Squatting – Part II

I’ve learned about the “butt wink” about a year ago when I watched a video on YouTube of a guy showing people how to properly squat. It was a train wreck and all of commenters let him know. I have to admit, that I’m not really certain if I make this mistake because of the couple times that I’ve recorded myself squatting, my biggest mistake is not going deep enough. It’s something I continue to work on though.


The Truth About Meal Frequency: Is Intermittent Fasting for You?

If you still don’t know what intermittent fasting is, it’s time to learn. This article talks about what intermittent fasting is, how it works and if it’s right for you.


Mile High Organics – Home Delivery Organics in Denver Metro, Boulder, Colorado, and Beyond…

This one is only for my Colorado readers, but I really wanted to have a record of this on my website so that I could refer back to it. They deliver fresh organic fruit and veggies right to your home or office door and for a good price. I really want to try this out. I mentioned this site on Facebook and a friend mentioned another similar site called Fooducopia.com. It’s great that more and more of these places are popping up.


Running Barefoot Probably Doesn’t Help Much in Races

I’ve been wearing barefoot shoes, and occasionally running in them, strictly for reasons of promoting better posture and reducing injury, but if you’re running barefoot or in barefoot shoes for efficiency, it turns out that you’re not really saving yourself any amount of time that will make a much of a difference.


Wooden Squat Rack

I posted a link to another DIY squat rack a few months ago, but this rack looks even more heavy duty. I think I would actually trust putting some heavy weight on this one.


Popcorn: The snack with even higher antioxidants levels than fruits and vegetables

Here’s a great reason to eat more popcorn. Of course, it doesn’t do you much good if you’re eating popcorn that’s slathered in unhealthy butter and salt.


PETA Prime: Fun, Easy, and Cheap Snack: Vegan Microwave Popcorn

While already on the subject of popcorn, me and my fiance were watching a movie last weekend and were talking about how much we miss popcorn, since most commercial popcorns contain butter or other animal byproducts, so I decided to look for vegan popcorn and I didn’t realize that making popcorn was as easy as popping plain kernels in a paper bag. This is awesome! No strange chemicals and completely vegan! I bought a bag of organic popcorn kernels from Natural Grocers for about $2.50 and I’ve been eating popcorn every night. No additives. Just straight popcorn. It’s delicious!


EatingWell: 10 Bad Cooking Habits You Should Break

It turns out that I make several of the cooking mistakes mentioned in this article. I make the first mistake all the time – letting oil get hot enough to smoke. I also put my nonstick pans on high heat. I didn’t realize how bad that mistake is. I’ve only made the “hot liquid in a blender” mistake once, and then never again, lol. And lastly, I have a bad habit of over-mixing, although I already knew that I shouldn’t.


Danger of grill brushes identified

This is something that probably almost nobody thinks about when they scrub down the grates on the grill. From now on, I’m gonna keep a rag in my grill’s storage area so that I can wipe it down after using the bristle brush.


Update on Vegetarian Chondroitin

I didn’t even realize that there were no vegetarian/vegan versions of chondroitin. I used to take chondroitin for knee pain a few years ago but stopped because I wasn’t sure it was helping and I didn’t want to pay for something if it wasn’t doing anything. I’m still not sure if it worked or not, but at least I know not to buy chondroitin anymore, at least not until a vegan formula comes out.


The Ultimate Hardgainer Workout

This looks like a really tough program. I’ve read lots of hardgainer articles and this one seems a little different than most. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes I worry that people give fitness advice based on what they think is right, but it’s not tested or based on real results. That’s sort of the feeling I get from this one, but I do think this is probably a really good workout. I say try it and see what results you get, if you’re a hardgainer and you’re looking for something new to do.


Foldable mountain bike doubles as rucksack for the uphill climb

This bike would be even cooler if it had pedals, but it’s still a cool idea. If you’re the type of person who likes to hike uphill, but hates the walk down, this might be the perfect product for you.


Common Runner Injuries [infographic]

This is a great infographic. I’m lucky to have never suffered any of these injuries, but maybe that just means that I don’t run enough. I especially like the section of this infographic focusing on how to avoid and treat injuries.


The Angry Coach: 5 Reasons Why Your Internet Fitness Guru is Full of Shit

There are a lot of great points here. Just like I mentioned in my comment beneath the hardgainer link I posted above – I’m not saying the writer of the hardgainer article doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but being a personal trainer isn’t proof enough for me. That’s why I questioned if his workout is really tested to work on hardgainers. Read the advice here and think hard about who you listen to for fitness advice.

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