Here’s a recap of the best health and fitness articles I’ve read over the past week.
How I got caught Red-Handed doing Squats in the Bathroom
This one made me laugh because I’ve done squats in the bathroom before too (that’s me in the photo to the left, wearing the Marvin the Martian t-shirt ;)) and I always worried what someone would think if they walked in and heard the noise. I did it in the stall, so it wouldn’t have been immediately clear what I was actually doing. Nobody has walked in on me yet though
Hardgainer Nutrition: How To Eat For Maximum Muscle Growth
If you want a real look at how a bodybuilder has to eat to get big and stay big, read through this. More than $500 a week in groceries!? That’s why I’m not a bodybuilder, not that I wouldn’t want to be though.
Never Buy A Rotten Avocado Again
This is a neat trick! This article explains how to find a good avocado by looking at it’s skin, but that’s not the end of the search. Once you have a good candidate, flick off the stem and look at the color to determine if it really is a good one.
Will Blue Light Affect Your Sleep?
I actually started removing blue light from nighttime routine a couple of years ago and I’ve seen great results. I try to stay away from the television and my phone at least an hour before bed and I get to sleep with no problems at all. And if I do end up checking my phone right before bed, I always notice that’s it’s much harder to get to sleep. I pay attention to this every night, so I’m very well aware of how blue light effects me.
I don’t eat paleo, so I could care less if anything listed here is “primal,” but the research done to figure out how healthy these items are, and what effect they have on the body is what I’m interested in. The sections on sunflower seed butter and maple syrup are interesting.
Can Athletes Perform Well on a Vegan Diet?
Basically, yes, athletes can perform well on a vegan diet, as long as they are eating a healthy diet. That’s not to say that a vegan diet is likely to result in better performance though.
Powerlifting Basics: How to Bench
So much good information on performing the bench press here, from someone who knows how to powerlift. They cover the lockout, the setup, back strength, and using leg drive.
I don’t think I’ve ever had Chai Tea, but everyone always talks about how good it is. It does sound really good. I need to find these spices to make it now. It doesn’t sound too difficult.
Kitchen 101: Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs
This infographic might look a little confusing at first, but it’s really handy. Find your favorite fruit or veggie and figure out what season it’s in and the months of the year it grows. If you buy the foods in season, you can save a lot of money.
Scientifically Test Water Quality Before You Dive In
I would never jump into a strange pond or lake, because you never know what kind of germs and bacteria that you’re going to expose to your body. You don’t have to carry around a water test kit everywhere you go though, because there are few easy-to-identify bugs that indicate healthy waters.
Quick Tip – How to quickly ripen bananas
This is the perfect trick to ripening bananas really quick. This is especially helpfful if you want to make something like banana pancakes or banana bread when you don’t have old bananas laying around.
Making an adjustable heavy-duty squat box
I wish I could afford a nice adjustable squat box, but I think building one will probably work just fine. This one has add-on’s to increase the height if needed. This would be much cheaper than buying a $200 box with an additional $60 in shipping.
Better Homemade Weightlifting Straps
I don’t use lifting straps because I want to build up my grip strength, but it might be different if I lifted much heavier weight. Not that I don’t lift heavy, in fact I continue to add 10-15 lbs to each of my lifts per week, but I’m definitely no powerlifter. Maybe when I get up into the 400 lb’s I’ll find more use for straps like these.
Really? The Claim: Eating Soy Increases the Risk of Breast Cancer
Soy is one of those foods that is constantly being attacked for being unhealthy while others work hard to claim otherwise. I admit that I am a bit cautious about soy. Based on everything I’ve read about it, I choose not to eat much soy but I’m not afraid to eat it occasionally.
Top 10 Blood Tests for Vegetarians and Vegans
I believe that I’m getting all the nutrients that I need in my diet and by supplementation, but it would be nice to know for sure. I wish I had better health insurance to get all of the tests mentioned here. I think I also need to find a better physician. I asked for a blood test about 6 months ago and they didn’t want to do it, so I left wondering if my levels are ok.