What to do when you can't afford a Personal Trainer

So what happens when you're on a tight budget and you can't afford a personal trainer?

Well, luckily humans have been exercising for millions of years before personal trainers appeared and there are quite a few frugal ways to get by without them. So certainly we can come up with lots of things you can do on a budget of $100 or less.

1. Don't buy anything that's going to gather dust.

It doesn't matter whether you have $100 to spend or a million. You should only buy what you know you will use. So don't blow your entire exercise budget on a gadget on late-night TV. Think smaller, think variety, think of getting 20 different things for $5. Everything from skip ropes, dumbbells, a climbing rope, a football, yoga mat and more.

2. Look at what you already have.

Before you even open your wallet, explore your home and look at what items you already have. Rope? Gardening tools? (Gardening is a great source of exercise.) Cans of food and jugs of laundry detergent can replace dumbbells. You can use chairs for exercises like push-ups and dips, and a towel for resistance training with a partner. A homemade jump-rope, crafted from rope or cord. You might even find things you forgot about that you wanted to use but never got around to it: Rollerblades, that old bicycle that just needs some oil and the brakes adjusted, or that hatchet you bought for axe throwing (a growing sport).

3. Embrace DIY.

What you don't have, make for cheap. You don't need a $50 chin-up bar when any old bar will do. Old paint cans and a metal bar can be used for weights. Tennis balls for self-massage. Even just lifting the old broken air conditioner and carrying it up and down stairs repeatedly will be exercise.

4. Buy the basics.

A lot of simple equipment can be found for not much money. Plain dumbbells typically go for about 50 cents to $1 per pound of weight. Men can start with a range between 12 and 25 pounds, while women can buy some in the 5-to-20-pound range. Inflatable stability balls and hard medicine balls cost less than $25, depending on the size and weight. Adjustable chin-up bars that fit in doorways can be more pricey, but if you look for sales you can get them for less.

5. Harness technology.

Amazon.com has a range of DVD bestsellers for exercise, but again only buy what you will use. If in doubt stick to YouTube videos as there are thousands of them offering a variety of workout videos. Don't forget interactive video games like Dance Dance Revolution or Wii Fit if you have those kicking around in your closet too.

6. Invest in some home improvement.

Go buy a large $20 mirror so you can look at your exercise form in your living room while exercising.

7. Don't forget your shoes.

Buy a pair of running shoes that fits you well and is appropriate to your activity, not the most expensive brand. Look for durability if you're planning to put these shoes through the mud and slush by jogging daily.

8. Scrap equipment entirely.

Go to a park and see your gym budget go to zero. Use the monkey bars and other things meant for kids to do your chin-ups. Stand on rocks to challenge your balance, and use other rocks as weights. Hang from a tree branch to do chin-ups. Sprint across the grass. People have been exercising for thousands of years without equipment. The great outdoors is the biggest gym in the world.

9. Browse Craigslist.

You can find lots of cheap (and barely used) exercise equipment on Craigslist.

Of course having the equipment won't really matter if a person lacks motivation to exercise. That is why personal trainers become so important.

Eating Healthy in a Hurry

Many people lead very hectic schedules and thus have a hard time matching their desire to eat healthy with their daily routine. If you find yourself in the same boat here are three easy meals that can be prepared in 10 minutes or less.

 

Behold, three recipes for Eating Healthy in a Hurry
 

1. Eggs and Veggies with Salsa on a Tortilla
 

Frozen vegetables are your friend! A mix of different vegetables should be added to a small pan until they are heated for 4-5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of eggs or egg whites (2 Tbsp) and cook an additional 2 minutes turning once. Cut a piece off the omelet and add it to a tortilla or whole grain toast. Add salsa, pepper or whatever seasoning you prefer, eat and enjoy! The extra omelet on the side makes it seem like you are eating more than you really are so you end up feeling satisfied.
 

2. Cottage Cheese Fruit Bowl

Frozen fruit is also your friend! This one requires a little more planning ahead. The night before put about 1/2 - 1 cup of frozen fruit or berries of your choice in a bowl and cover on the counter. In the morning add 1/2 - 1 cup of cottage cheese. Ground flax can also be added for more texture, healthy fat and fiber. Makes a surprisingly filling breakfast. Best of all it's high protein!

3. Veggie + Protein Stir Fry

Looking to reduce your carbs intake? It's not a bad idea to have a low carb meal every once in a while. Add a generous amount of veggies to the pan and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Add your protein of choice (leftover chicken, tofu or even roasted ham works really well) and a tsp of soy sauce, or a preferred cooking liquid (I like Worcestershire sauce), and cook until done.

All of these quick and easy meals are under 300 calories. They are low in fat and high in protein. Huzzah!

The Importance of Positive Attitude when Exercising

Have you ever been in a fight?

Like a real fight. The kind where someone gets a black eye or a split lip.

Maybe.

Now imagine getting into a fight and thinking you are going to lose. Once you get into that mentality that you're going to lose, it becomes pretty much guaranteed that you're going to lose.

The same idea applies to all exercises. Losing weight or gaining muscle is a bit like being in a fight, metaphorically speaking. If you think you are going to lose the battle and fail, you will fail.

Therefore if you're going to embark on an exercising regimen you need to first foster a positive attitude. Its a must-have.

For me, my source of positivity is zen philosophy. Books like "The Unfettered Mind" and "Zen Bow, Zen Arrow".

But for those you without such handy books, you can also look for inspirational quotes online. Like the following:

"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it's successful outcome." -William James

"To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you?re not, pretend you are." -Muhammad Ali

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances." -Martha Washington

"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind." -Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Organic food doesn't make any difference, says scientists

Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for your health?

Well, yes and no.

The theory goes that eating organic foods will contain less or no pesticides. However organic foods are often genetically modified to create their own pesticides, thus killing any insects or pests that normally bother them. So instead of pesticides on the skin of the fruit or vegetable (which are usually washed off before selling), the pesticides will be INSIDE the plant itself. Which means you can't wash it off and you are eating it.

So determine which was really more healthy Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out — and concluded there’s little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few minor differences involving pesticides and antibiotics.

Eating organic fruits and vegetables can lower exposure to pesticides, including for children, but it still has pesticides in it. The difference between organic and non-organic was negligible. The amount of pesticides measured from conventionally grown produce is within safety limits, the researchers reported in August 2012.

The organic food didn't prove to be any more nutritious either.

“I was absolutely surprised,” says Dr. Dena Bravata, a senior research affiliate at Stanford and long-time researcher of organic foods who began the analysis because so many of her patients asked if they should switch to organic food.

“There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over conventional foods,” she explained, citing everything from environmental concerns to taste preferences, Bravata stressed. But when it comes to actual health reasons, “there isn’t much difference.”

So really the end result is that organic food isn't healthier.

And the environmental concerns is really about whether the pesticides are killing insects. Which if the organic food has been genetically modified, then yes, its still killing insects. And since 90% of organic foods are GM and there is no labels identifying which are GM, chances are likely that if you bought organic food that it contains GM pesticides.

So the last thing then is taste... In which case, if both organic and non-organic foods have pesticides either on the skin or inside the plant, isn't taste really just inside our head? Like a placebo telling us "This tastes better because its a Brand Name".

Well, there is one notable difference.

Bravata's team of researchers discovered a difference with respect to antibiotic-resistant germs, which are a public health concern because they are harder to treat and cause food poisoning. According to the research there was no difference in plant contamination, both organic and non-organic has the same contamination levels.

The difference was solely in non-organic chicken and pork which had a 33% higher rate of having bacteria which is resistant to multiple antibiotics, the researchers reported in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

The finding comes amid debate over feeding animals antibiotics, not because they’re sick but to fatten them up. Farmers say it’s necessary to meet demand. Public health advocates say it’s one contributor to the nation’s growing problem with increasingly hard-to-treat germs (which in turn is why we are getting increased problems with influenza epidemics in recent years). According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest there has been 24 outbreaks linked to multi-drug-resistant germs in food between 2000 and 2010.

The American government has begun steps to curb the nonmedical use of antibiotics on farms, but it is difficult to track whether farmers are complying.

Genetically modified organic foods account for 4.2% of retail food sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It certifies products as organic if they meet certain requirements including being produced without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, or routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones.

Consumers also pay a lot more for organic products and demand keeps rising: Organic foods accounted for $31.4 billion sales in 2011. Up dramatically from $3.6 billion in 1997.

Canada has also seen a similar surge in organic food sales. The value of organic food products sold in Canada was estimated at $2 billion in 2008, up 66% in just two years, according to Agriculture Canada. Organic food sales represented 2.5% of total food sales at the retail level in 2008. (More recent data isn't yet available in Canada.)

The Stanford team analyzed data on 237 of the most rigorously compared organic and conventional foods. The results from organic produce ultimately had 30% less pesticides. The difference between organic and non-organic is negligible.

Part of the problem may be more complicated than we think. According to one study of peaches in Chile some fruits and vegetables can end up getting pesticide residue on them from the spraying of nearby fields. So even though the fruit you buy might be labelled organic, it still may have pesticide residue on their surface too, in addition to GM pesticides inside the plant.

Whether this varies from country to country is debatable. Some people would argue that buying organic produce from the USA or Canada is safer, but that isn't a guarantee either because American/Canadian farmers often can afford higher grade (more deadly) pesticides and just because its grown in North America doesn't mean that there isn't another farm next door that is spraying pesticides willy-nilly.

Some farms that aren’t certified organic have also begun selling antibiotic-free meat or hormone-free milk, to address specific consumer demands, notes Bravata. She even cites her own preference is to buy from local farmers in hopes of getting the ripest produce with the least handling.

Conclusions

So is it worth it to spend twice the money on organic food just because it has 30% less pesticides?

Well, let me put it another way. How far was that food shipped? Do you know what it was shipped in? If it is fresh produce from Africa or South America it was sent here by a cargo plane, which means it is using jetfuel (which contributes to global warming) just to get here. The jetfuel comes from petroleum, which means a lot of it comes from the Middle East. War torn countries like Iraq. What was that about not wanting to hurt the environment or living creatures?

If people are serious about buying fresh produce that won't hurt their "karma" they need to be thinking LOCAL. It will still have pesticides in it, as we've already determined, but at least then the only environmental damage is a trip in a truck to the local market.

Triathlons: Why or Why Not Train for Them?

Signing up for a Triathlon is not for everyone. After all, if it was easy then everyone would do it.

The Triathlon isn't just for people looking lose weight or tone up, or just to maintain your current fitness level. Training for a triathlon is definitely designed towards the more athletic people out there, but for those with the speed and fortitude to train for it can provide multiple benefits.

#1. It’ll Give You Motivation to Work Out

The beauty of signing up for a triathlon is it will give you set goals in three areas of training. You’ll be motivated to master three types of fitness training, which gives you variety in your workouts and will give you set lengths of time and specific distances to cover.

#2. It’ll Force You to Cross Train

It’s easy to get into a fitness rut, which can wear out certain parts of your body. Some exercises (especially running) is especially hard on your joints, so it’s good to mix up your routine and get a balance of different exercises going on at once.

Training for a triathlon is perfect because:

Running is hard on your body, but is a fabulous calorie burner, tones your legs and core, and helps build bone density (which will prevent osteoporosis).

Swimming is easy on your joints, but is a good calorie burner and works your upper body, which is neglected by a lot of sports. You have to build up your upper body strength.

Biking is easy on your joints, but is a great cardio-vascular workout and tones your legs. The trick to cycling is developing a smooth circular rhythm with your legs.

#3. It’ll Deliver an Extraordinary Sense of Accomplishment

If you’ve never competed in a race before then you don’t know what an amazing experience it is to participate in a challenging sport with a large group of like-minded individuals. There is a huge sense of comraderie amongst athletes. You will find yourself propelled by the collective energy of the group, cheered on by strangers in the crowd, and inspired by the people of various ages and body shapes who are doing the same race you are. When you cross the finish line, you’ll celebrate the knowledge that you set a goal and met it.

Regardless of whether you won it or not.

Choosing a Triathlon You Can Handle

Before you get intimidated by my earlier comments, take a look at the many different levels of triathlons available. You’ll find just about every fitness level possible, from sprint triathlons to Ironmen. Triathlons aimed at novices usually feature a 250-meter swim, a 10-mile bike ride, and anywhere from a 2-mile to 5K run.

It is strongly recommended that you consult a physician before embarking on Triathlon training. You should also talk to a personal trainer to determine which length triathlon will work best for you. A personal training can also give you tips on how to best train for the big race.