Awww...a Massage...

Recently I've been feeling tired, sore, and run down. It feels as though my body is letting me down and just 2 weeks shy of my Strongman competition. As a female competitor it is necessary that I am able to perform at peak conditions. I can leave nothing to chance or injury. So, I decided to get a massage to alleviate some pain I had been feeling in my left shoulder, right knee, and later I would find out my QL. I could only describe this pain to my massage therapist as an aching deep in my hip. She was able to find the exact location and work on it. Its located between my last vertebrae and rib and is known as the quadratus lumborum. After an hour of being worked on I left my massage session feeling completely revived and ready to train a few more times before the big day. Not only did I learn about this deep muscle that had been plaguing me, I also learned about all the other benefits of a massage. Now I've made the decision to get one atleast once a week; yes folks, they are that important and they feel so good!!!

TOP 10 REASONS TO GET A MASSAGE:

1. A massage brings great relaxation and leaves your mind and body at ease.

2. You will experience pain reduction in the lower back area, relief of migraine headaches, neck aches, shoulder pain, overused or sore muscles, arthritis, Fibromyalgia, and muscle injuries.

3. Massage provides enormous stress reduction, lessening your muscle tension and lowering your blood pressure, increasing your mental clarity, mental alertness and revitalizes your mind. A massage can also increase academic performance and ability to focus on calculations.

4. Massage therapy and bodywork improves immune system functioning while relieving muscle aches and stiffness. They enhance tissue elasticity and joint flexibility; improves blood and lymph circulation; and promotes healthy vibrant skin.

5. A massage is an alternative to dealing with depression. Massage therapy increases self-esteem, improves your mood, decreases depression, reduces anxiety, and quiets insomnia. Massage can also ease PMS symptoms.

6. Massage therapy speeds healing of muscles, tissues, and skin. They are great for post-workouts, post-surgery, and muscle soreness in general.

7. Massage therapy is perfect for everyone...those physically fit, those who are athletes, elderly, pre/post-surgery. Its wonderful for improving motor skills and helps to maintain posture in the skeletal system, and increased flexibility.

8. Massages flush away waste products from your muscle, tissues, and skin more easily. This helps digestive disorders.

9. Massage therapy stimulates skin gland production, leaving clear, healthy skin. This will help to reduce superficial scar tissue, improving skin conditions.

10. Better overall health investment, maintenance of optimal health.

We've Got This One

The other day I was at the gym training for my strongman competition. I was in the middle of my deadlift sets when a guy approached the squat rack next to me and proceeded to load his weight. Once he completed his stack, he began to do shoulder shrugs, a wasted exercise in my opinion. Sure, it looks good to stack a bunch of weight on the barbell, but its really not all the impressive of an exercise. I was preparing for my next set of 10 reps with 225 lbs, when he decided to casually stroll by and offer his tips and advice. He first asked if I was doing this for fun or preparing for a competition. I told him I do it for both reasons. Then he told me something about being explosive and what I should do right before I start my set. Seriously dude, I'm 5'3'' and lifting 1 and 1/2 times my body weight, easily, do you really think I'm going to benefit from your 2 cents. Guys are underestimating us ladies. We know what we're doing in the gym, and if a male wants to offer suggestions, they better be damn good ones, sufficient enough to warrant interrupting my workout. Guys, the gym in not a meat market, don't try to pick up girls during our workouts, its annoying. Again, unless you truly having some meaningful input to offer, just let us finish our workouts. Come on guys, we've got this one!

Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup - wikiHow

Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup - wikiHow

How to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

High fructose corn syrup is commonly used in place of sugar in processed foods in the USA. In fact, the average American eats an astounding 41.5 lbs of high fructose corn syrup per year.[1] American subsidies and tariffs have resulted in corn being a much more economical sweetener than sugar--a trend that is not seen in other parts of the world. Now that high fructose corn syrup is being added to an increasing variety of foods (breads, cereals, soft drinks, and condiments) some people are looking for ways to avoid this artificial sweetener.

Steps

1. Be clear about your reasons for avoiding high fructose corn syrup. There's significant controversy surround the safety of consuming high fructose corn syrup, but there is, as of yet, no conclusive evidence that's it's more detrimental to one's health than table sugar. Despite its name ("high fructose"), it contains about the same amount of fructose as table sugar.[2] Nevertheless, many are concerned and suspicious for various reasons:
   
   • Beverages containing high fructose corn syrup have higher levels of reactive compounds (carbonyls) which are linked with cell and tissue damage that leads to diabetes.[3]
     
   • Many nutritionists believe that the human body can better handle foods that exist naturally rather than novel foods and additives created or modified on a molecular level in a lab.[2] Unlike high fructose corn syrup, sugar undergoes no chemical processes or molecular changes.
     
   • The corn from which high fructose corn syrup is derived may be genetically modified.[4][5]
     
   • There are increasing concerns about the politics surrounding the economics of corn production (subsidies, tariffs, and regulations) as well as the effects of intensive corn agriculture on the environment.[6]
     
   • Some argue that sugar simply tastes better than high fructose corn syrup.[7]
     
   
   
2. Read food labels. This is the easiest and most sure-fire way to know if there is high fructose corn syrup in your food. If there's an ingredients list, look for high fructose corn syrup.
   
3. Ignore the word "natural" on labels. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't regulate the use of the word "natural". Foods and beverages can be labeled as "natural" even though they contain high fructose corn syrup. Many companies justify the labeling under the premise that high fructose corn syrup is derived from a natural substance--corn (although the corn may be genetically modified).[2]Organic food, on the other hand, is more likely to be made, not just with sugar, but with pressed cane juice - a form of sugar that hasn't been processed.
   
4. Be especially picky about beverages. Soft drinks, sports drinks, lemonade, iced tea, and almost every sweet drink you can think of contains high fructose corn syrup.
   
   • If you can't see the ingredients list, such as when you go out to eat, choose water (if it's flavored, make sure it's no-calorie) or diet drinks. Beverages with fewer calories typically avoid high fructose corn syrup, which is a high calorie additive.
     
   • Buy from small bottlers who use sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Some smaller brands, such as Jones Soda and Dublin Dr. Pepper, have switched to pure cane sugar in the interest of both health and taste.[8]
     
   • Buy soft drinks from across the border. If you must have your fix of certain soda brands and you happen to live near Canada or Mexico, look into buying in bulk from those countries, which use sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.[7]
     
   • Check the Passover section of your supermarket. Some soda companies produce a sugar/sucrose-based version of their products around Passover for Jews who are restricted by custom from eating corn during this time. Coca-Cola produces a version of Coke without corn syrup[9] that can be identified by a yellow cap and is considered by some to taste better than Coke Zero, which is also free of corn syrup but contains artificial sweeteners, not sugar.[10]
     
   • Consider 100% fruit juices as an alternative to sodas. Beware of juice "cocktails," which may only contain a small percentage of actual juice and almost certainly will have added corn syrup. Welches and Northern have both kinds. All Libby's products are 100% juice and, while many Simply Orange products are sweetened (simply Lemonade, Simply Limeade, etc...) Not all of them are and the ones that are use sugar.
     
   
   
5. Lower your sweetener consumption altogether. It's been largely shown that the supposed link between high fructose corn syrup and obesity is not due to the high fructose corn syrup itself, but to the increasing consumption of sweeteners in general, especially soft drinks.[2][11][12] The USDA recommends that a person with a 2000 calorie, balanced diet should consume no more than 32 g (8 tsp) of added sugar per day.[13] Here are some sweet foods and the percentage of the daily recommended amount of sweeteners they provide:[11]
   
   • typical cup of fruit yogurt - 70%
     
   • cup of regular ice cream - 60%
     
   • 12-ounce Pepsi - 103%
     
   • Hostess Lemon Fruit Pie - 115%
     
   • serving of Kellogg's Marshmallow Blasted Froot Loops - 40%
     
   • quarter-cup of pancake syrup - 103%
     
   • Cinnabon - 123%
     
   • large McDonald's Shake - 120%
     
   • large Mr. Misty Slush at Dairy Queen - 280%
     
   • Burger King's Cini-minis with icing - 95%
     
   
   

Tips

• Some grocery stores have gone as far as to ban all products which contain high fructose corn syrup[14] which makes avoiding it much easier, if you can find such a store.
  
• Adding more fruit to your diet can help you avoid high fructose corn syrup as well as satisfy your sweet tooth and get the vitamins you need.
  

Warnings

• Replacing all the calories consumed in high fructose corn syrup with sugar will not have any noticeable impact on weight because they both contain the same amounts of fructose and calories. The switch may beneficially impact your health, although there's no scientific proof that it will. Only reducing your sweetener intake overall is guaranteed to lessen caloric intake and improve health.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Stop Sweet Cravings
  
• How to Follow a Low Sodium Diet
  
• How to Read Nutrition Facts on Food Labels
  
• How to Add Fruit to Your Diet
  

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.hfcsfacts.com/PerCapitaConsumption.html


2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/business/yourmoney/02syrup.html


3. ↑ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070823094819.htm


4. ↑ http://discovermagazine.com/2001/mar/cover


5. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenic_maize


6. ↑ Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma. ISBN 0143038583


7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041109/news_1b9mexcoke.html


8. ↑ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/293972_jonessoda29.html


9. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods#Kosher_for_Passover


10. ↑ http://benfrantzdale.livejournal.com/214482.html


11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 http://www.cspinet.org/new/sugar.html


12. ↑ http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/86/6/1577


13. ↑ http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/AppendixA.htm#appA2


14. ↑ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/341888_fructose01web.html

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

"K.I.S.S"

I first heard this term about 5 years ago living in New Jersey. An aerobics instructor was explaining to me a situation in her life where she had to make a decision, and in her explanation she said "K.I.S" right?! I looked at her with a wrinkled brow. She said, "Keep it simple". Recently, I learned that you can include that last "S", and change this catchy phrase to "keep it simple stupid".
This is a complicated world we live in and its the human population that complicates it. But it doesn't have to be this way. We can learn to keep things simple simply by not over-thinking. Right before I took position to lift 260 lbs. off the ground in a farmers deadlift, I wasn't thinking about how I was going to do it all I knew was that I had to do it. When I was finished, I had completed 30 reps. Don't think, just do! Some of you may be over-thinking this right now as you're reading this. I know life can be difficult at times, but keep in mind that Jesus did not die for you and me that we might be miserable. He died to deliver us from every kind of oppression and misery. If you're suffering or frustrated right now believe that God can help. In believing this, we will have joy; and where there is joy, there will also be enjoyment. God's will for us is that we might have and enjoy life. So whether you're lifting heavy weights or struggling with an important decision in your life, remember "K.I.S", let go and let God.

Upcoming Event

"To keep the body in good health is a duty....otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear"--Buddha

With my first strongman competition behind me, I now look forward to my next event April 5, in Fort Myers, Florida. The events will consist of deadlifts, duck walk, standing truck pull, clean and press, and farmer walk. My conditioning will be the same and I intend to train with the implements that will be in the contest. My goal is to take first place for this Strongman Competition. Currently, I don't know how many other female competitors there will be, but that doesn't matter. My program consists of training 3 times a week, performing 5 sets, at 5-8 repetitions using 2 implements per session. I supplement with a creatine, glutamine, and taurine mix, along with protein and a balanced diet. Every morning I wake up I start with a tall glass of water and quiet time. I allow this time for mediation and prayer. No matter what is going on in my life, I must have time with God. This combination makes for a peaceful and productive day. Take care of your body, mind, and spirit.

Strongman Competition-February 23, 2008

About 3 months ago Elliott Hulse, my strength coach and cousin, told me about a specific type of training he does at his facility in St. Petersburg during the week. He also told me that he does this same training every Saturday at a gentleman's house in Clearwater, using equipment in his front yard. This training is called strongman. Initially, I was concerned about being the only female participating amongst a bunch of guys, but my fears were put to rest when I met all of the men training and they took me in as one of their own. So commenced my strongman training, or rather strongwomen training. After that first saturday training, Tom Mitchell invited me back to train with him on Monday's and Wednesday, to which I was very grateful. You see, Tom Mitchell is a Nationally ranked strongman competitor (visit www.nastrongmaninc.com to learn more about him). Elliott has also placed first twice within the last year as a middle heavy weight. ( visit www.strengthcamp.com) So I was in good hands as I began my journey as a strongwomen competitor. For 3 months I trained 3 times a week, getting stronger and perfecting my technique with very heavy tractor tires and kegs. All the hard work paid off on February 23, 2008 when I took second place in my first strongman competition. I received a 2008 NAS Florida Strongman Championships plaque, but more importantly, my confidence has greatly increased along with my self-esteem. As you will see, I developed a small fan base as I pushed through events at my strongman competition.

Strongwoman refers to either a woman performing feats of strength in a show or a woman who competes in strength athletics.
1st EVENT
Watch as I flip a 360 lbs tire 11 times in 60 seconds......


In the 19th Century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength who displayed feats of strength such as bent press, not to be confused with bench press, supporting large amounts of weight held overhead at arm's length. Large amounts of wrist, hand, and tendon strength were required for these feats, as well as oblique strength.
2nd EVENT
115 lbs log press, only 4 reps in 60 seconds....not good. But I will improve for the next time......


In the 20th Century the term strongman changed to describe one who competes in strength athletics, in which competitors lift rocks, pull trains or refrigerators, walk while towing an 18 wheel truck. In recent years, sports-specific facilities have incorporated movements and objects associated with strongman competitions into their general training; tire flips, sled drag, object loading or carrying, log pressing, farmer's walk and so on.
3rd EVENT
150 lbs keg load, 5 lifts...not to shabby given I am lifting my own weight......


Training for strongman involves building overall strength in the gym, and training with competition implements to gain familiarity. You must train the entire body for strength, especially incorporating squats, deadlifts, and overhead press. Explosive power and cardiovascular conditioning are imperative. Grip strength must also be developed.
4th EVENT
The highlight of my competition...260lbs farmer deadlifts, 130lbs in each hand.....


Like any sport, it is necessary to train using the equipment one will use in the event. In the case of strongman, these include logs, tires, yokes, farmer walk implements, etc. Building strength in the gym is insufficient without experience with implements.
5th EVENT
I have struggled with this event, but I managed to pull to the finish line in 60 seconds.....


To all women: Do not underestimate yourselves. You can do this too!!! All you need is the right attitude, discipline, and a couple of good training coaches like I have. Good Luck!