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The weekend was packed with adventure as I went Winter Camping …For My Life™.

My wife, Jen and I went out on Saturday afternoon as part of a last minute “date night”. This wasn’t exactly the traditional date night of dinner and a movie, it was more of an adventure night of cold and wind.

We headed up to the little town of Eldora Colorado and put on Snowshoes, large backpacks and  warm clothes. We treked up 5 miles in about 2 hours to a campsite at the end of the 4th of July Road and winter camped …For Our Lives™. It was a slight uphill the whole way and at 10,000 feet above sea level Jen and I both realized that trying to find warm air was as challenging as finding our breath. We were happy to make it to camp before night fell.

The night fell upon us around 5:35 PM. We used an Eastern Mountain Sports tent, which wasn’t easy to put together, and our MSR stove and snowshoes, which were awesome! The down sleeping bags, sleeping pads from REI and positive love from within were also an added bonus to the adventure. With all the right gear and some humor, we really enjoyed braving the wind through the night.

The wind only woke us up a few times. It had to be gusting at about 40 MPH. Despite the wind- we had our food hung, the stove, packs, boots, and snow pants safely tucked away in our vestibule and we were snuggled in our sleeping bags. Time to sleep. It was an amazing quiet morning as we awoke to birds chirping and the slow sunrise over the trail we came up on. The views of Mt. Arapahoe were great from our campsite at the Buckingham Campground.

In the morning we had  5 miles back down to the “man van”, taking our time and

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After some quick research and a little coffee I headed out yesterday on a ski tour in the Indian Peaks wilderness of Colorado. Thanks to a website – Pmags @ http://www.pmags.com/colorado-ski-tours-mags-favorites I was able to get some good ideas and some good information. Thanks for sharing Pmags. The weather was great and the access is easy from the Peaceful Valley Trail head. The best part about backcountry skiing and snowshoeing is that it is free once you make the initial investment for equipment. These are views you get while everyone else is sleeping in on a Sunday. Aside from the views it’s a great way to stay active …For Your Life™

One of the most interesting piece of the hike was this picture below- I can;t seem to figure out what it is from- there were some rabbit tracks near it and some other tracks that looked like a four legged creature. Maybe a Cat or a Coyote or a Fox… If you know the answer please comment on this post-

Know Your Animal Tracks …For Your Life™

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I found this really great information on an active cyclist article online. I think it can be beneficial to those of you who made ride your bike inside through the winter.

In Health and Riding …For Your Life™ – Gary G

The following are the potential benefits that can be achieved through proper training indoors in cycling classes. You simply have to train these elements of your cycling fitness the same way you would train them outdoors or on your trainer: intelligently, with the right gear (resistance) and realistic cadences. In general, cadence ranges of 55-85 would indicate a hill, and 75-110 rpm would indicate a flat road. (Note that the cadence suggestions and durations below are approximate ranges for the general population—there are always exceptions based on ability).

• Aerobic endurance: Best enhanced with sessions longer than one hour
• Tempo workouts: Moderate 90-100 rpm in Zone 3 — the zen of indoor cycling!
• Muscular endurance: Climbs focusing on repeatedly contracting against a resistance gradually maintaining the climb for longer and longer periods, 65-85 rpm.
• Force development: Higher resistance climbs of 55-65 rpm (50 rpm advisable only for cyclists who have already established excellent strength)
• Lactate threshold improvement: Probably one of the best ways to utilize your indoor cycling classes is to train your lactate threshold through longer Zone 4 intervals. Sparingly, that is.
• Anaerobic endurance: High intensity interval training of 1-3 minutes.
• Aerobic capacity/VO2 max: ”Sufferfest” anaerobic Zone 5 intervals of 3-8 minutes
• Anaerobic Capacity: Very high intensity Zone 5 intervals of about 15-60 seconds.
• Neuromuscular/Leg Speed: While the neuromuscular adaptations are limited due to the fact that most bikes have a heavy flywheel pulling the pedals around, you can still train your leg speed if you make sure to stay ahead of the flywheel and to have sufficient resistance. Cap your leg speed drills indoors on a bike with a flywheel at 110 rpm, perhaps up to 120 rpm for skilled cyclists. Work on spin-ups and accelerations against a resistance.
• Explosive Power (Sprinting): Be very careful with these. Most instructors and students do not know a true sprint. Duration is less than 30 seconds and resistance is high. Do not do these except in the spring as you approach your cycling season.
• Technique: Classes are a fantastic place to work on pedal stroke drills, keeping the knees in, and upper body relaxation while riding.
• Mind-Body Focus: Visualize your favorite rides outside. Establish your mental strength and tenacity indoors, so you can transfer it to your rides outdoors. Indoors is a wonderful venue to work on your mind-body focus, and is facilitated with the right (usually instrumental) music that can transform you to another place.
• Recovery Rides: An indoor cycling class is a great place to spin your legs easily the day after a hard workout. Keep the intensity low

This information was taken from Active Cyclist

Another great resource for ideas to keep your training entertaining through a winter workout can be found here:

8 Options for the Indoor Trainer

 By Jennifer Sage • 

Indoor Cycling Association

Continue reading »]]> This Recipe was amazing. Kale is great for you and high in Iron. It’s simple and healthy and it can serve as a great alternative to other snacks when you are watching TV. My lovely wife surprised me with these ans baked beet chips. This is an excellent way to

Eat Well …For Your Life™      Thanks for making these Jen.  

INGREDIENTS:“These are a low calorie nutritious snack. Like potato chips, you cannot stop at just eating one. They are great for parties and a good conversation topic.”

DIRECTIONS:

Continue reading »]]> And on a winter day, protein can help with recovery from a snowy resistance training run. I took some whey protein and added it to my applesauce for a recovery meal after a 6 mile run in the snow today. Why? Well, the research shows that whey protein has beneficial effects on muscle growth after resistance exercise in young men. I like to think I am still a young man. This can also be applied to women as well, I am assuming, since they too have muscle.  http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/H07-076- This article abstract will show some science behind this claim. The key to getting ready for an endurance run the next day is to get active and smarter in your recovery process.

The run today was awesome but there was definitely record snow today. The snow running made for a great resistance training day while I keep my training up for some races in the weeks to come. I am looking forward to a 50K race this spring and some other races that will help round out the calendar into the summer.

Finally, as a side note- There was a great recipe online today, maybe not the healthiest, but still a great choice. It is for Diet Dr. Pepper Brownies: http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2012/01/afternoon-snack-diet-dr-pepper.html I stopped at the store on the way home tonight and got some all natural gluten free chocolate brownie mix to corrupt with some fresh Diet Dr. Pepper. This might be a great complement to the rest of our Superbowl snacks for tomorrow.

Here’s to recovery and brownies …For Your Life™

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Who says you need to eat wings and drink beer during the Superbowl- your friends? Well, ‘fahhgett bout it. Eat well …For Your Life™ 

You Have other options, especially if you are hosting the Superbowl Party. Check out these healthy options for the big game. Also, don;t forget to get moving tomorrow to put some time in “the bank” at the gym so it makes up for your partying later.

And hey, while your eating well and watching the game. Go Patriots!

Three Easy and Healthy Superbowl Snacks for the Whole Family | Fooducate. From the Fooducate Blog at www.blog.fooducate.com

In Health -

Gary

Continue reading »]]> What are “physibles”? An article today talked about a concept of using 3 dimensional printers in middle schools. Kids are getting more technological knowledge but are the going to get less activity? Will this make our world more inactive?

Read more here:

Youll Download Physical Objects Sooner Than You Think, Thanks to Kids Like These | Digg Mynews.

These 3D printers are pretty cool. However, I wonder where workout technology will be in the future. These types of products may prevent us from ever having to leave our house. This is another reason why we need to put planned exercise in our lives.

What’s really cool about this article is that it says you will be able to download sneakers within 20 years. Will you be able to download fitness equipment?

(“In its blog post announcing “Physibles,” The Pirate Bay claimed that “You will download your sneakers within 20 years.”)

I hope you can download some fitness in 20 years too.

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Broccoli, Cabbage and Kohlrabi Coleslaw With Quinoa

Click on the image above:

This link will take you to some healthy recipes from the New York Times Health Section. This was my favorite recipe- High in protein and good in phytochemicals. It was easy to make as well.

Broccoli, Cabbage and Kohlrabi Coleslaw With Quinoa

3 1/2 cups mixed shredded broccoli stems, green cabbage and kohlrabi  (peel broccoli stems and kohlrabi before shredding) (about 3/4 pound)

Salt to taste

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1/2 teaspoons nigella seeds (optional)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (optional)

1. Toss the shredded vegetables with salt to taste and place in a strainer set over a bowl. Refrigerate and let sit for 45 minutes to an hour. Discard the water that accumulates in the bowl and squeeze the shredded vegetables to extract more water. (Note: If you are on a no-sodium diet, omit this step). Transfer to a bowl and toss with the quinoa, dill and nigella seeds.

2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the lemon juice, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, oil and yogurt. Toss with the shredded vegetables. Add the cottage cheese to the salad and toss, or serve with the cottage cheese spooned on top. Refrigerate in a bowl or in containers until ready to take to work.

Yield: 3 generous servings.

Advance preparation: This will keep for 4 days in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving: 246 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 milligram  cholesterol; 29 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 181 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 8 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”