It’s not easy to eat right, especially when summer holidays are set to derail your diet — vacations, barbecues, picnics, pool parties. In fact, every weekend now may seem to blow you off-course from your nutritional goals. However, if you keep a few guidelines in mind, you might be able to prevent a summer slip-up from making you feel as bad (or as bloated!), and help you eat “perfectly” every day (or nearly so):

RULE #1: HAVE A SHAKE BEFORE BREAKFAST

By the time you wake up, your body is already in a catabolic state from not eating for the past six to eight hours, which causes it to break down lean muscle tissue as a source of fuel. Unless you’re happy with letting your body whittle away all your hard-earned work, it’s a process you need to put a stop to.

The moment you wake up (and before breakfast), mix 20 grams of whey protein and ½ cup of a fruit (banana, strawberries, blueberries, etc.) with water. Why this combo, you ask? Whey protein is digested faster than any other type of protein (so your muscles are instantly spared any more damage) while the fruit will help quickly restore your body’s glycogen stores, so your body will have the energy it needs to start the day without stealing it from your muscles.

RULE #2: EAT THE “RIGHT” NUMBER OF CALORIES

The math is simple. Your body needs a certain amount of calories each day to maintain your current body weight. Eat that amount and, unless you’re burning calories from exercise or extra activity, you’ll stay relatively right where you’re at, weight-wise. Eat less or eat more and, well, you get the picture. That said, a perfect day of eating means consuming the exact amount of calories you should be eating—no more and no less.

There are more complicated ways to determine that magical number. One way, such as the Harris-Benedict formula, which involve calculating a series of factors, including your age, weight, height, and how active you are that day (from sedentary up to extra-active). You’re welcome to look that method up and break out your calculator, but if all you’re concerned about is calculating a single day, there’s a much easier way.

Instead, figure out how much you want to weigh, then take that number and multiply it by 12, and then by 15. (If you’re happy with your current weight, then take that number instead.) The two numbers you’re left with is the range of calories you should eat for the day. For example, if you’re 185 pounds, but really should be 165 pounds, then you would multiply 165 x 12 (1,980) and 165 x 15 (2,475). That means the total amount of calories you should eat for the perfect day is 1,980 to 2,475 calories.

RULE #3: DIVIDE THAT NUMBER BY SIX

To maximize how efficiently your body burns fat all day long, you need to give your body a reason to keep your metabolism revved at an elevated pace throughout the day. On the other hand, to minimize the volume of insulin your body releases (so you don’t store as many excess calories as fat), you need to keep your blood sugar at a consistently low level.

You can accomplish both of these tasks at by simply breaking up your calories up into smaller, more frequent portions that are about the same size throughout the day.

That’s why you’ll need to divide your daily caloric into six smaller meals — breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with three snacks in between meals (and yes, that pre-breakfast shake counts as one of them.)

RULE #4: MAKE EVERY MEAL A MIX

For maximum energy throughout the day, every meal and snack should be a combination of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. That’s because your body burns complex carbohydrates as energy faster than it does proteins and fats. When you eat a meal that combines all three, it can give your body a sustained level of energy all day long. The more all-day energy you have, the less likely you’ll be to reach for extra calories from other foods to provide energy later.  

Some examples of a few of the meals you can try throughout the day include:

• A raisin bagel with low-fat cream cheese and fruit jam
• Instant oatmeal with fat-free milk and raisins
• An English muffin with lean ham on top
• Chicken breast or grilled fish (six ounces) with two cups of mixed greens and 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Canned tuna fish (three ounces) mixed with a half-cup low-fat cottage cheese, as well as diced carrots, onions and peppers
• Two slices low-fat Swiss cheese, 3-4 slices low-fat deli ham or turkey breast, one ounce of almonds and a teaspoon of peanut butter (to dip them in)
  

RULE #5: DRINK ALL DAY LONG

Pour at least 12 glasses of water into a pitcher (about 96 ounces of water), place it in the fridge, and be ready to drink all of it throughout the day. Sipping water all day long—especially before, during, and after every meal—can leave you feeling fuller, plus it reduces your appetite during that meal and throughout the rest of the day. That’s because what you may not realize is that oftentimes when you’re hungry, you may actually be thirsty instead, since your body draws a large percentage of its water from the foods you eat.

To stay satiated, experts agree that drinking a minimum of 8 to 10 glasses of water daily (whether or not you feel thirsty) is the standard. But going with an amount that’s slightly higher than that is always wiser, especially if you’re active. Waiting until you’re thirsty means your body has already lost about 4 to 5 percent of its total water. Losing a mere 1 percent of your body weight in water (roughly 32 to 64 ounces) can decrease your overall energy input by as much as 25 to 30 percent.

RULE #6: SATISFY YOUR STOMACH BEFORE YOU SLEEP

Remember what we said about your body sliding into a catabolic state when you sleep from not eating. There’s a way to minimize that from happening by eating right before you go to bed. Casein protein—the type of protein you find in dairy products—takes the longest to digest (between six to eight hours). To give your muscles a break, eat a low-fat mozzarella cheese stick, or a half-cup of cottage cheese right before bedtime. Each is only 80 calories, and, is slowly digested throughout the night, preventing your body from turning to your muscles as it looks for energy while you sleep.

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Reporter

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006) and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide (Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

It’s the final 400 meters in the biggest race of the year. You can see the finish line ahead and the clock counting away the seconds. Your personal best time is within reach, but you’ll need to dig deep, ignore the searing pain in your quadriceps, and commit to one last surge. Your arms feel numb and heavy as you gulp for air in rapid breaths. The clock will not slow down. Will you? 

At first glance, you might think you need superhuman courage to mount a strong finishing kick when faced with these painful barriers. But how a runner reacts in moments like these has more to do with experience than with courage.

The more familiar you become with the sensations of extreme exertion that come in the final parts of a race, the less scary they become. You must practice this feeling well before race day if you are going to perform at your highest level when it matters most. 

Here are three tips to help you develop a winning kick:

1.  Select a specific distance: The type of exertion it takes to run the last 200 meters of an 800-meter race is very different than the last mile of a marathon. Select a specific race and the length of the kick you are trying to develop. 

2.  Simulate the finish: You do not need to run the entire race distance to simulate what it will feel like during the finishing kick. Run a shorter distance at a faster pace to simulate the fatigue you will have when it is time to kick. Then, focus on running hard to the end.  For an 800-meter race, this might mean running an all-out 400 meters and then pushing through the last 200. To practice the last mile of a 10K, run 3 miles at 20 seconds per mile faster than your 10K pace, followed by a hard mile.

3.  Reflect and repeat: While the memory of the workout is fresh, reflect on your finishing effort. What did it feel like? How long did it take to recover? What did you learn about yourself and what you can handle? Could you go even harder next time? If time allows before your big race, schedule two or three of these sessions to really improve your performance.

Here is a real example of the above tips:

Olympian Kara Goucher’s coach wanted her to practice the pace and exertion it will take to contend over the last four miles in the Olympic Marathon next month in London. Last week, at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Duluth, Minnesota, Kara ran the first 9 miles at a quick pace but waited until the 9-mile mark to really push hard. Her 2 miles, from 9 to 11, averaged 5:15 per mile and she ran her last 2 miles with an average 5:08. Her simulated finish gave her confidence in her ability to compete in the last stages of the race. Her reflection? She can go even harder!

Consider this new scenario, once you’ve practiced your finishing kick:

There are 200 meters to go now as the relentless clock continues to count down the time between you and that new PR. But you are equally relentless; you have been here before. You have practiced for this moment. You are not afraid. You burst across the line and stumble around on wobbly legs. The new PR feels great but knowing you had the courage and strength to finish that fast feels even better.  

What innovations and improvements to your training have helped you reach a new PR?

—Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano, Running Reporters

Running the Edge co-authors Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano became instant friends while running together at the University of Colorado. After college, Adam went on to have a very successful professional career that garnered eight national championships and an Olympic berth; Tim became a psychology teacher and high school coach in three different countries. They write about their passion for running on their blog, Run The Edge and on Facebook.

According to ESPN.com, elite athletes, including Roger Federer, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, LeBron James, Usain Bolt and Steve Nash have said they get between 10 and 12 hours of sleep every day.  Compare that to what the average person gets (around seven hours) and it looks like the world’s most physically gifted athletes are also the sleepiest!

If hearing that your favorite athlete snoozes more than usual seems perfectly logical to you, then we don’t blame you. After all, the physical demands pro athletes ask of their bodies on a regular basis must obviously take their toll. But the truth is, all that extra slumber may be the reason they’re at the top of their game in the first place.

What the pros know is that it’s only during sleep that your immune system really gets enough of a break to heal itself. In fact, studies have suggested that sleep deprivation can affect every aspect of how the body functions, from memorization and logical reasoning to neuron repair and muscular development.

Being sleep-deprived also raises adrenaline levels, which increases your tendency to store excess body fat, while simultaneously placing your body in a higher catabolic state. It’s that state that causes your body to feast on more muscle for energy instead of body fat, which can make you lose muscle and overall strength. That means that no matter what your sport or favorite activity, lack of sleep is sure to minimize your results.

Nowadays, there are many different ways to gauge how much sleep you need, from simply paying attention to how you feel and perform during the day, to shelling out a few bucks for some of the innovative gadgets out there that can monitor your ZZZ’s for you.

If you’re on a budget, then listening to your body’s warning signs is one way to measure your sleep needs. For example, if you yawn frequently, have a tendency to be unreasonably irritable with people, or seem to have difficulty concentrating or remembering information, these can all be signs that you’re sleep-deprived and need more shut-eye.

Those serious about their sleep sometimes invest in monitoring systems that track the quality and amount of sleep. Two of the most popular are the Zeo Personal Sleep Manager (which records information from a band worn around your head) and the SleepTracker Pro Sleep Monitoring Watch (which monitors your movements through a wristband).

If sleeping with things attached to your body isn’t your thing, the most recent innovation to hit the market is Gear4’s Renew SleepClock (pictured below).

Instead of wearing something to bed, the device sits by your bedside and uses a sensor to monitor micro movements, including changes in your breathing, to accurately record your sleep behavior. It even lets you play music to help fall asleep, then senses when you drift off, then automatically lowers the music slowly so you don’t wake up.

No matter how you determine whether you could use more high-quality shut-eye, there are a few tactics that can help you fall asleep faster and experience a higher quality of sleep, such as:

• Avoid caffeinated substances (coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, teas, diet drugs and certain pain relievers that contain caffeine, such as Excedrin or Motrin) for at least six hours before bedtime.
• Stay away from alcohol and nicotine for at least two hours before bedtime. Drinking may make you sleepier, but alcohol actually prevents REM sleep, making whatever shut-eye you do get far less effective to your body.
• Exercise for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day to promote sleep, but avoid it for at least 4 to 6 hours before bedtime. Elevating your heart rate may keep you too alert to pass out when you need to.
• Sleep only when sleepy. If you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, get up and do something dull until you feel sleepy but avoid the TV, computer, tablet, or your smart phone. Exposing yourself to bright light will only tell your brain to stay awake.

So we’re dying to know where you fall in: Are you a seven-hour sleeper, or, do you fall into the same half-day, 12-hour snooze cycle that some pro athletes adhere to? And do you feel a major difference when you train if you sleep less than usual?

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Reporter

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006) and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide(Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

There’s a really good reason why coaches, trainers, and exercise physiologists all stress doing any exercise or activity with perfect form: Keeping your body in the right alignment allows it to work at its greatest potential by utilizing your muscles in the most efficient manner.

For athletes, it’s maintaining perfect form that many times offers them an edge over their competitors, helping to add an inch or two per stride or stroke, so they’re able to run, cycle, or swim further or faster putting in the same amount of effort. It’s also the best way to minimize wear and tear on your joints and tendons, as well as reduce your risk of injury.

What sounds like a win-win isn’t always easy to do, though, especially if you’re not always sure what’s considered perfect form, or, you can’t see yourself from every angle as you exercise. But hiring a personal trainer to tell you the right way to work out may become a thing of the past, thanks to the ingenuity of several engineering students at Cornell University. According to the university, two students, Michael Lyons and Greg Meess, have invented what they’re calling the “haptic exercise coach,” a simple electronic device that straps to an arm like a blood pressure cuff and guides the wearer on performing a proper bicep curl.

How does it work? The device’s two accelerometers attach to the upper arm and the wrist, keeping track of every single movement the wearer makes as they raise and lower the weight. If the wearer’s form veers in any way, the device vibrates to let the user know to adjust their form.

With a provisional patent application for the device already underway, it’s anyone’s guess where this new technology might show up, although co-creator Meess, according to the university, does “envision the same idea being applied to sensors for the legs, arms and torso—and [is] excited by the device’s potential in physical therapy applications.”

“The potential to provide instant feedback and ensure proper form is valuable, but also the ability to collect data for detailed updates on improvements could provide a useful motivational tool, as well as giving a physical therapist a quantitative way to remotely check up on their patient’s progress,” Meess said.

So, would you wear a device that meticulously tells you how to exercise? Or, do you think that being that strict with form may take some of the fun out of working out?

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Blogger

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006) and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide (Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

Photo courtesy of Robert Barker/University Photography

Would you ever consider putting an end to your exercise regimen and eating nothing but junk food for six months—on purpose? 

That’s what personal trainer Drew Manning decided to do in order to connect more with his clients. Manning’s year-long journey of putting on a startling 75 pounds in six months, then taking it all off and getting back into enviable shape is chronicled in his debut book, Fit2Fat2Fit: The Unexpected Lessons from Gaining and Losing 75 lbs on Purpose. To find out more, we sat down with Manning to ask him what he learned from the experience—and what you can learn too.

Myatt Murphy for Innovation for Endurance: Let’s start with the obvious: What motivates a fit guy to pack on 75 pounds in the first place?

Manning: At the start of it, I felt like I needed to do this to have a better understanding of my clients and what it was like to be overweight. Growing up fit, I never had any struggles with food addiction, or finding the motivation to go to the gym, so I figured that this experience would give me that understanding so I could help them.

MM: I know you stopped doing exercise and any calorie-burning activities, but what were you eating that raised your weight so quickly?

Manning: Before I started the journey, I would eat around 3,000 calories per day, which is a lot for most people, but in order for me to maintain the amount of muscle that I have, it’s the right amount. But while I was putting on the extra weight, I raised that amount to about 4,000 to 6,000 calories each day, with most of those calories coming from processed foods. None of the foods I ate were nutrient-dense, and most never let you feel full for very long. So each time I would eat, say, a massive bowl of a sugary cereal, an hour later, I’d be starving again.

MM: What was one of the most surprising things that happened to you while putting on the weight?

Manning: There were so many throughout the entire six months. From a physical standpoint, on the very first week, I gained 12 pounds. But it wasn’t just from the amount of calories I was eating—it was because of the types of calories I was eating. I immediately started retaining a lot more water during my fit-to-fat stage because of the highly processed foods I was consuming, such as sugary cereals, white bread, white pasta, sodas, those type of foods.

MM: When did you begin to actually feel the effects of what you were doing to yourself?

Manning: It’s interesting how quickly the visceral fat had an effect on my body. My cardio was quickly one of the first things to go. But what was unexpected was how it affected everything in my life. It made it that much more difficult to do everything, from just bending over and tying my shoes to walking up the stairs and playing with my kids. The more weight I put on, the more lethargic and lazy I became all the time because of living that sedentary lifestyle.

MM: Were you nervous about what you were doing to your body on the inside?

Manning: Certainly. On top of doing personal training, I also have a full-time job in the medical field, so I work around a lot of doctors and nurses. Even as I could see what was changing on the outside, it was what was happening on the inside that worried me the most because I knew what I was doing to my body wasn’t healthy from a medical standpoint.

MM: For example?

Manning: Well, I had doctors monitor me throughout my journey and my blood pressure got up to 167/113, which for me was very high. Also, my kidneys became like those of an alcoholic because of all the sugar that I was drinking, and I don’t drink alcohol, so who knows how many more pounds I would’ve gained if I did or how much extra stress I would’ve placed on my kidneys. So it was scary knowing what I was doing to the inside of my body from a medical and health perspective. Because looking at myself from the outside, all I could see was a change in body fat, love handles, and my belly. And being honest, that’s what most people focus on—and yet, there is so much more going on the inside that’s so much worse.

MM: What are a few of the tried-and-true innovative lessons that anyone—beginner to elite athlete—needs to remember about losing weight?

Manning: I think a lot of times we believe, in our minds, that we are in better shape than we really are. A lot of people try to rush into getting back into shape because they’re impatient or want instant results. But the truth is, it’s always better to ease your way into your exercise routine and stay patient. And don’t focus on your scale weight as a form of measurement of success.

MM: How did you avoid making that mistake when you began to exercise once again?

Manning: When I first went back to the gym, it was a very humbling experience to try to do push-ups again and have to do them on my knees. So what I did for the first month was focus on nothing but stretching and some core exercises, such as planks and side planks—and no other form of exercise. It was more important to get my eating down first because nutrition was the most important step.

MM: And after that?

Manning: After that, I had lost some weight, so that exercising wouldn’t be as stressful on my joints. When I finally went back to the gym, I never tried to do the same types of routines that I did when I was fit, which is another mistake most people make. Instead, I stuck with mostly body weight exercises, then slowly implemented lightweight exercises, and then worked my way up from there in terms of the amount of weight I was lifting.

MM: What’s the most valuable lesson you might impart to someone looking to lose weight, based on your experience?

Manning: Probably that it’s not just about the physical. It’s not just about your meal plans or how you exercise or the types of routines that you use to get in shape. All of those things are important to take the weight off, but unless you have the mental and emotional aspect down first, then no matter what you try, it will end up being just as unsuccessful as any other diet you ever tried before.

MM: So what should they do?

Manning: You need to know what challenges await you and how to overcome them when you experience them. You have to know how to overcome the emotional challenges that come with losing weight, such as plateaus and feeling judged and how to handle food addiction—those type of things. I you know how to overcome these type of mental and emotional challenges, that’s really the key to making staying fit a lifestyle.

MM: Finally, what I enjoy most about your six-month long journey of putting 75 pounds on and your six-month journey taking 75 pounds off is that it demonstrates that healthy weight loss isn’t possible within a matter of weeks, as many diet books love to claim. Was that message of “slow but steady weight loss wins the race” your biggest goal for this book? 

Manning: Absolutely. That’s where I think I differentiate from a lot of other experts and philosophies out there because I really wanted to try to get people away from that “Biggest Loser” mentality, where people are obsessed with dropping unrealistic amounts of weight in short periods of time. Most weight-loss programs are about how much weight you can lose as fast as possible.

What I really hope I’ve shown through all of this is how important it is to focus on becoming medically healthy first. The weight loss and the six-pack abs and all the other perks that people strive for—all of those things are possible—but they are really just byproducts of living that kind of healthy lifestyle. Staying healthy should always be your goal—with looking and feeling great being the icing on the cake.

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Reporter

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006) and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide (Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

Photos courtesy of Harper Collins 

But even more interesting were some of the other stats that they revealed, including which supplements were the most popular. Multivitamins ranked number one (a whopping 72 percent of those polled said they took one regularly), with Vitamin D (51%) and Vitamin C (49%) coming in second and third. After the big three, the following other supplements ranked as follows:

•     Calcium (43%)
•     B vitamins (42%)
•     Fish Oil (40%)
•     Iron (27%)
•     CoQ10 (11%)

To be honest, some of the data revealed seemed like common sense to us. For example, multivitamins typically rank high for most people because they tend to consider the all-purpose supplement to be a kind of “catch-all” for any nutritional holes they may have from eating a not-so-perfect diet.

Vitamin D’s popularity seemed obvious as well. Although Vitamin D is the only vitamin your body can produce on its own with just 15 minutes of sunlight exposure, 70 percent of Americans are estimated to be deficient in it—not good when you realize it’s essential for everything from calcium absorption and regulating immunity to fighting depression and lowering your risk of diabetes and certain forms of cancer (including breast, colorectal, and ovarian).

But the most fascinating fact brought to light by this study was how taking a vitamin or supplement seemed to make people actually feel fitter. An overwhelming 93% agreed that they felt more confident about their overall health when taking vitamins and/or supplements.

You might think that effect may be more common among top athletes who may be so keenly in tune with their bodies that they’re able to notice even the slightest improvement from a supplement. You might even assume that the “feel fitter” phenomenon could be more popular with beginners who just feel better knowing they’re popping a pill. But no—it seems that effect is felt across the board, no matter what type of exercise you’re into, or what level of fitness you may be presently at.

Of those surveyed, 81% considered themselves to be “active” when asked to define themselves. An even closer look revealed that:

• 22% described themselves as athletes
• 21% felt they were a “weekend warrior”
• 17% coined themselves a cardio cruncher
• 16% defined themselves a runner
• 14% labeled themselves a health nut
• 9% considered themselves a gym rat
• 14% said they couldn’t describe themselves in any category

Among those who considered themselves “super-active,” vitamins and supplements even scored higher when it came to things they felt to be necessary for achieving their fitness and health goals, ranking higher than caffeine, electrolyte-enhanced water (or drinks), vitamin-enhanced water, meal replacement bars, and even energy drinks.

So what do you think? Are there certain supplements that you simply can’t live without, and do you feel a noticeable difference when taking them? Do you feel “fitter” because you invest in some form of supplement and take it regularly?

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Reporter

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006), and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide (Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

Can you hear that? It’s the sound of millions of people in a mad dash to grab everything from their misplaced running shoes, bike, and pool pass to their dust-covered dumbbells and yoga mat, all in a desperate attempt to lose whatever extra weight winter may have left behind.

A few top trainers that I’ve worked with over the years call it the “six-week scramble,”, which starts the moment they see new clients storm into their gym after realizing they only have six weeks to get into what they expect to be the best shape of their lives before a big event or vacation. Seasoned athletes already know how unrealistic that is, especially when it takes, for example, advanced runners an average of 16 weeks to prepare for a marathon.

But what makes most trainers nervous about the six-week scramble isn’t just that many people set unrealistic weight-loss goals for themselves. It’s that they tend to push their bodies too hard to defy the odds, making them more likely to overdo things and injure themselves.

Even if that’s not you, trainers still agree that intermediate and advanced athletes are equally susceptible to letting little mistakes creep into their routine — mistakes that can undermine their workouts.

MISTAKE #1: BAD FORM

Any time you’re eager to achieve faster results, you’re more likely to cheat — whether you’re conscious of it or not. If you strength train, that might mean using more weight than you’re ready to handle, or, altering your posture to make a move easier to perform (so you can do it for a longer period of time and feel you’re reaping more rewards). That same mistake can apply to anything — from yoga and Spin class to jumping rope and even running on a treadmill.

The problem: Not using proper form diminishes your results by cheating certain muscles out of a great workout while placing unnecessary stress on other parts of your body — setting you up to get hurt.

SOLUTION: DO A 360 SURVEY

Even if you can exercise in front of a mirror, you’re only seeing one angle of yourself, which means your arms, knees, feet, lower back, and shoulders may each be out of alignment. Instead of trusting what you see, record yourself from a different angle each set — front, side, back, and even down when possible — to reveal where you may be sacrificing your form. Pay attention to the very last reps of each set or the very end of your run, ride, etc. — that’s where you’ll be most likely to break form and cause your body undue stress.

TIP: Many of the hardcore athletes I interview love the Joby GorillaMobile tripod because it winds around poles, a weight rack, and, on top of gym equipment like a spider (so you can take clips of yourself from practically any angle.) Plus, it’s one of the few tripods out there that let you clip a cellphone to it, which makes it more convenient than lugging around your digital camera.

MISTAKE #2: ALWAYS EXPECTING IMPROVEMENT

The math seems simple enough. The more you exercise, the fitter you’ll be. But that doesn’t mean that every day you’ll eke out a little more results from your workout than the day before. Expecting that kind of improvement each and every day may cause you to push yourself harder on days when your body needs a break.

SOLUTION: WATCH FOR OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE

As you track your workout progress, make a point to also track any dietary changes, irregular sleeping patterns, and any other day-to-day issues that may play a part in affecting your exercise performance. Monitoring all of these things may explain why some of your workouts are better than others, so you don’t push yourself harder than necessary. Keeping track doesn’t have to be overwhelming — just use this easy checklist at the end of the day.

•  Has your day been relatively stress-free?
•  Did you get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep?
•  Did you drink at least 64 ounces of water?
•  Did you spend any time relaxing or having fun?
•  Did you eat at least 5 servings of fruits or vegetables?
•  Did you eat at least 8 ounces of protein (fish, chicken or lean meat)?
•  Did you abstain from drinking alcohol?
•  Was the weather nice outside?

Give yourself one point for every “yes”, then write the total (a maximum of 8) alongside your workout results for the day. You’ll eventually start to see a pattern between how your 30- to 60-minute workout may be affected by how you’re spending the rest of your day. That know-how can help you figure out which days you may want to give yourself more slack — and which days you may want to really challenge yourself. 

MISTAKE #3: TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

Many people that desperately jump back into exercise tend to race towards the exercises their body responds to the best for fast results, instead of creating a balanced workout that works their muscles evenly. For men, that usually means overworking their chest and biceps, while women tend to overdo squats and lunges. This can cause certain muscles to overdevelop, tighten, and eventually pull your body — especially your shoulders, spine, and knees — out of alignment. Low back pain, runners’ knee, and Achilles tendinitis are just three of the most common injuries caused by muscle imbalance that can stop you in your tracks before reaching your goals.

SOLUTION: USE THE ‘ONE-FOR-ONE’ RULE

The hard-and-fast way to determine your odds of injuring yourself (although it’s not an exact science) is simply to write out each exercise in your routine on a sheet of paper. Next, draw a line from each exercise you like to do to another exercise that works the muscles behind (or in front) of it. For example:

•    For every chest exercise, there should be an upper back move
•      For every ab exercise, there should be a lower back move
•      For every biceps exercise, there should be a triceps move
•      For every quadriceps exercise, there should be a hamstrings move

If you find yourself with a sheet of paper with a lot of connecting loops, you’re probably doing just fine. But if you have three or more moves that you can’t seem to connect with any other exercise, you’ll probably pushing those muscles too hard, or, need to add a few exercises to strengthen the muscles directly behind them.

What’s your summer fitness goal? Have you ever overdone your workouts - if so, what happened?

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Blogger

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006) and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide (Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

Some 128 riders will toe the startline when the seventh running of the Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race starts this Sunday in Santa Rosa. Each will have their own objectives for the ensuing eight days of racing that will cover 733.5 miles on a southerly trip through the Golden State. But within this international peloton that includes riders from 21 countries and five continents, there are a few who deserve a little extra attention. Here’s your cheat sheet on the top riders to watch and why.

Chris Horner – RadioShack-Nissan-Trek: The Golden State native and reigning Tour of California champion is on the short list of favorites for this year’s race. But to pull off the repeat, Horner will likely have to come from behind during the event’s toughest day. Expect the 40-year-old RadioShack-Nissan-Trek rider to lose time to his key rivals in the stage 5 time trial, meaning he’ll have to be at his best during the race-deciding 78.3-mile stage from Ontario to the summit of precipitously steep Mt. Baldy.

Tejay Van Garderen – BMC Racing Team: Among a highly promising group of young American pros, it would surprise no one if the 23-year-old Van Garderen had a breakout ride and won the race. The native of Montana came close to that Eureka moment last year, finishing third in Colorado’s USA Pro Cycling Challenge and fifth at the Tour of California. Like Horner, Van Garderen is both a capable time trialist and exceptional climber. The BMC rider, who was fifth earlier this season in the prestigious Paris-Nice stage race in France, will also benefit from the expert support of veteran teammate and fellow American George Hincapie.

Tom Danielson – Garmin-Barracuda: One of the world’s best pure climbers as witnessed by his ninth place finish in last year’s Tour de France, the 34-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, is a threat in any race with big mountain climbs. But after a breakout victory at the 2005 Tour de Georgia earned him the moniker of “next great American cyclist,” Danielson has struggled to live up to the hype and actually win big races. He’ll have to buck that trend if he wants to exceed his third place finish at last year’s Tour of California.  

Andrew Talansky – Garmin-Barracuda: Another member of American cycling’s Generation Next, the 23-year-old from Banner Elk, North Carolina, had the breakout ride of his career earlier in the season, placing second at the testing Tour of Romandie. In California, Talansky will share team leadership roles with Danielson, giving the Garmin squad a lethal one-two punch that could be a difference maker.

Levi Leipheimer – Omega Pharma-QuickStep: After being struck by a car during a training ride earlier in the season, there’s still some doubt whether the three-time Tour of California champion will even start this year’s race. But the guess here is that despite suffering a broken leg in the accident, there’s no way he’ll sit out an event that kicks off in his hometown of Santa Rosa. As for his chances at overall title No. 4, it’s unlikely the former Innovation for Endurance contributor will have regained enough form to compete at the highest level.

Rory Sutherland – UnitedHealthcare: The Tour of California includes six teams that race primarily in North America, cycling’s equivalent of triple A baseball. Expectedly few of those team’s riders hold out much hope of competing for the overall crown against the major leaguers from the European peloton. The lone exception could be UnitedHealthcare’s Sutherland, who was seventh overall in 2011, and has been training hard in California during the lead-up to the race.

Tom Boonen – Omega Pharma-QuickStep: Imagine Kobe Bryant or LeBron James showing up for a hoops tournament in Belgium, and you get some idea of how big a deal it is for Tom Boonen (above) to be racing bikes in California. “Tornado Tom” is by far the biggest sports star in his native Belgium, a stature further bolstered this spring with his conquest of both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the world’s two toughest one-day races. There are too many big climbs in California for big Tom to win the overall, but the former Tour de France green jersey winner will be in the hunt for victory in any stage that ends in a sprint — and will be a crowd favorite wherever he goes.

Peter Sagan – Liquigas-Cannondale: Like Boonen, Sagan is not built to win overall stage races. But the 22-year-old Slovakian sprinter nicknamed “Terminator” is one of the sport’s rising stars, already owning three Tour of California stage wins. Expect Sagan to add to that tally this year.  

And the winner is… Following a spring campaign where he served primarily in a support role, Chris Horner is coming off a solid at-home training block, and now gets to ride for himself as RadioShack-Nissan-Trek’s team leader. We’re obviously big fans of Horner here at Innovation for Endurance, but the cagey veteran is also one of the sport’s smartest riders, and that’s why he’ll win his second straight Tour of California title. Look for Horner to hold his ground in the stage 5 time trial, then take time on his rivals during the ensuing pair of big climbing stages. And with the overall win, Horner will make a strong case for a place on this summer’s U.S. Olympic team, an honor he’s long overdue.

—Jason Sumner, Bicycling Reporter

Photos by Getty Images

I have a confession to make. Even though I’ve written about exercise for nearly 20 years and valiantly practiced what I’ve preached, I’m really no different than you are.

I have a love-hate relationship with exercise—meaning, I love the results when I do it regularly, but I often hate having to exercise to achieve those results. It’s a situation that only gets worse as the warmer weather creates a thousand new distractions bent on pushing me off-course. If that’s you as well, then know this: You can easily avoid every possible fitness pitfall this summer by having a few innovative ideas in your arsenal.

For example, one of the most common excuses I hear is, “I don’t have enough time.” Can’t do your usual 30 minutes of cardio? Then just break it up into two smaller sessions of 15 minutes—or even three, 10-minute sessions—and do them whenever it’s convenient. You’ll still burn the same number of total calories, but better yet, you’ll elevate your metabolism two or three times instead of once. Since your body burns calories at a faster rate for an additional hour after intense exercise, you’ll get that extra calorie after-burn several times instead of once.

If weight training’s more your thing, then just do one set of each exercise in your routine instead of the typical two or three sets—research has shown that one set is actually 90% as effective at building muscle as three sets. Then, reduce the time you wait between sets to one minute or less. Unless your goal is strictly to build strength, the fuel muscles use for anaerobic activity—called creatine phosphate—returns within 30 to 60 seconds after you lift. Applying both of these techniques can turn a 30-minute weight training routine into an equally effective one you can do in less than 10 minutes.

Here’s another classic summer stumbling block: “I don’t have easy access to exercise equipment or a gym.” Even if you’re away on vacation in the most remote locale, you always have the tools to pull off four of the top 10 most effective exercises for building muscle and burning calories: squats and lunges for your lower body, push-ups for your upper body and skipping rope, which burns over 800 calories an hour! Not coordinated enough to skip? Then just mimic the movements minus the rope—you’ll still burn roughly the same amount of calories.

Here’s my biggest excuse: “I want to have fun outside, not exercise.” That’s when I remind myself that there are countless ways to turn leisure time into exercise. Everything from chasing your kids around to playing with your dog can be a workout, so long as you perform the activity at a pace that’s challenging to your current fitness level. Best rule of thumb: If you can talk while doing it, but you wouldn’t be able to sing, your pulse is most likely right between 60 and 80% of your maximum heart rate (MHR)—the ideal spot for burning fat.

If you have a favorite innovation that helps you stay on top of exercise, then I’d love to hear about it, so do us a favor and post it here. Who knows? You may find out that you’re not alone dealing with a certain problem, but more important, you may give someone else the solution they’ve been desperately looking for to stay in shape.

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Blogger

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006) and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide (Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

“Rocky” inspired countless guys to start hitting the heavy bag, drinking raw eggs, and training like a boxer. After seeing the biking scenes in “Breaking Away,” thousands slipped into spandex and began cycling around the neighborhood like the Cutters. Now, with the recent release of the film version of “The Hunger Games,” a new fitness craze has begun yet again.

Based on the best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy, by Suzanne Collins, “The Hunger Games” refers to an annual fight-to-the-death that’s broadcast on live TV. Based in the future, each of the twelve “districts” must send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight in the event. Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is one who must fight in the death match, and one of her primary survival skills is the bow-and-arrow. The film’s insane popularity (BoxOfficeMojo.com calculated total box office revenue since the movie’s opening at nearly $337 million as of the weekend of April 13-15) has spawned “Hunger Games”-inspired survival workouts along with a newfound interest in the age-old art of archery.

“’The Hunger Games’ movie and books have sparked a new interest in archery, especially among teenage girls and their mothers. In our public instruction program, we have seen an increase in the number of people seeking beginning archery instruction since the movie’s opening,” says Van Webster, director of instruction at the Pasadena Roving Archers (PRA), in California. “We are expecting additional interest when the Pixar film ‘Brave’ comes out, as well as from the attention given to archery in the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games in London.” Clearly, it’s a good year for archery.

Gary Spiers, president of the PRA states: “According to our Facebook page statistics, the number of people we reach has doubled since the release of the movie and the largest demographic is now women ages 25 to 34, which has seen almost a doubling since the movie was released.”

New York Sports Club, in New York City, has a new “Train like a Tribute” class, a circuit-style workout routine with moves inspired by the tree-climbing, rock- jumping and archery moves necessary to survive in the Capitol arena. (Think jumping jacks, dumbbell shoulder presses and sprints. Nothing particularly new; just a boot camp by another name.)

I think the newfound interest in archery is a great thing, especially amongst young women. (Remember when actress Geena Davis almost made it to the Olympics for archery in 2000?) Having worked in gyms for decades and seeing many workout fads come and go, however, I’m pretty sure that these classes will be gone long before the movie comes out on DVD.

Would you try a “Hunger Games”-inspired workout? What about archery?

— Tom Holland, Men’s Health Reporter

Photo Credit: Murray Close