Exercise: Lat Pulldown

The Lat Pulldown will help you to develop you upper back muscles

• When you grab the bar, use an overhand grip, but keep your thumbs on the same side as your fingers.
• Use your upper back muscles to pull your shoulder blades together.
• Pause with the bar about an inch or two from your chest.
• Slowly raise the bar.
• Momentum will not help you. Keep the motion smooth.

Good Luck Marathoners

Tommorow is the Marine Corps Marathon. I just want to wish everybody luck. This was my first marathon.




Registration starts soon for next year. Even with a field of over 30,000 runners, it does not take long to fill. It is a very well supported event.

I Want Abs!!!

Hey, who does not! Abs are more easier for guys than gals, but more women are sporting them these days. A lot of us had them, or the body fat that would have allowd them when we were teenagers. Unfortuatly beer, pizza, and a natural drop in testoserone make a goal of abs very difficult. I can tell you this much, situps will not help. You must lower your body fat. How much? well here is some oneline research:

Men 8% - Women 14% - http://www.ironmagazine.com/article12.html

Men 10% - - http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/lemare8.htm

Men 10% - Woman 14-18% - http://www.takefit.com/212/how-low-does-my-body-fat-percentage-need-to-be-before-my-abs-will-become-visible/

Men 11% - Women 17% - http://www.chiquibrosas.com/blog/2009/what-body-fat-percentage-do-i-need-for-six-pack-abs/

Men 10-12% - - http://4pack.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/4-6-pack-abs-get-body-fat-down-to-10-12/

Ok, so what is the answer? No one really knows. Each body is differentl. The following charts are from AsktheTrainer.com

By these charts, the "average" american does not have the ability to show off abs. Duh! It also shows that not everyone with "ideal" body fat will display abs. If it was easy, we would all have them. If abs is what you desire, be responsible in how you get them. Stay away from the fad diets and consider consulting a personal trainer.

You can do all the sit ups and crunches that you want, but until you safely lower your body fat those abs will never show.

Eat This not That: Part III

More good ways to eat healthier

Use Enriched Skim Milk and not whole milk.

All the good stuff, non of the bad stuff.

Pick ground turkey over ground beef or ground chicken.

Beef is big in the US. It is also not good for you. Skinless chicken breast is very good for you. Ground chicken is the breast and the skin ground up. Ground turkey is very good for you. Some do not like the rubbery texture though. See the next substitute.

Pick Bison or Elk Over Beef.

OK, this might sound like the whole Ostrich meat thing all over again. Truth be told, both bison and elk are outstanding. The Louis and Clark expedition took advantage of this treasure of the great plains. In April of 1805, Lewis wrote that his men ate up to 9 to 10 pounds a day each. Bison and elk are low in fat an cholesterol. Something that beef cannot claim.

Make your own pizza.

Frozen pizza is high in fat and trans-fats. Make your own to make it healthy and better tasting.

Choose broccoli instead of celery.

Celery may make a quick snake, but it is lacking in nutritional value. Try raw broccoli instead. Another good use of broccoli is as the base for your salad instead of lettuce.

Exercise: Pullup

This is one of the basics for the military. When I first enlisted at my reserve center, I used a pullup bar outside the drill deck. I could not figure out why everyone looked at me funny. Apparently it is because that only the marines used it. Well, times have changed. I see many more pullup bars on bases and ships.

• Using an overhand grip at should width, pull yourself up and hold for 2 - 3 seconds.