Showing posts with label zumba for ladies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zumba for ladies. Show all posts

Sunday, April 29, 2012

12 weeks to weight loss- Week 2

Welcome to Week 2! This week, you'll be continuing with your program and doing at least 3 cardio workouts along with your strength training routine with an added challenge--one more set for each exercise. You'll have a new stretching workout to try and some recipe ideas for breakfast lunch and dinner. You'll also have some motivational tips to help keep you going. Remember--the workouts are just suggestions. Please modify them to fit your fitness level, schedule and goals.

12 Weeks to Weight Loss - Week 2


Week 2

Visit the link above to learn more about your assignments this week and to fill out your first checklist. This weekly check-in will help you keep track of what you did and what you didn't do. Take some time to go over anything you missed so you can work on that this week.

Day 8

Focus: Interval Training

Today, you'll choose a different interval workout than last week with an added challenge: try to add 3-5 minutes to your workout to make it longer. You'll also learn more about water and why you should be drinking it all day long (hope this isn't news to you!). Drink up and have fun!

 

Day 9

Focus: Strength

Today, you're back to strength training with the same total body workout you did last week. Your challenge is to add a set to each exercise. You should be doing at least 2 sets, although you should modify that according to your fitness level. You'll also be learning about healthy snack ideas.

Day 10

Focus: Endurance

Today is your endurance workout--you'll do the workout I've assigned or choose whatever you like. The idea is to do a steady workout at a medium pace to boost endurance. I've also spotlighted breakfast as the meal of the day--if you're not eating it, now is the time to work on that and make some strides towards a healthier day.

Day 11

Focus: Strength

Today your back to your strength training with the same workout you did on Day 9. Remember, you're building strong, lean muscle and that means you're getting stronger and slimmer. Muscle takes up less space than fat, so the more you have, the slimmer you are. You'll also work on your lunch today--as in, making it more healthy.

Day 12

Focus: Rest

You don't have any workouts today, but that doesn't mean you get to slack off. You still need to move around and I've made some suggestions for what you can do (yoga anyone?). I've also given you some ideas for what to make for dinner.

Day 13

Focus: Variety

Today is all about variety. I've given you a choice between a cardio workout and a strength/cardio circuit. You should also feel free to do what you enjoy. Just make it something fun. You also get a treat of your choice today. Choose something you love, have a reasonable portion and savor every bite.

 

Weekly Calendar

Here's your weekly calendar with your workouts listed so you can organize your week.
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Written by:
Exercise Guide

Saturday, April 28, 2012

12 Weeks to Weight Loss - Day 6

Focus on Core Strength


Cardio Focus: Active Rest
Your focus today is on being active and having fun. Don't worry about heart rate, intensity or any of that other stuff.
  • Take your dog for a long walk
  • Take the kids or your spouse out for a leisurely bike ride
  • If it's cold outside, stay indoors and put on your favorite CD or radio station. Do a little dance...no one's looking.
  • Wash the car...twice.
Strength and Flexibility Focus: Core Strength
First, get warmed up by taking a short walk or doing a few minutes of light cardio or marching in place. Then, choose one of the workouts below to strengthen your abs and back in challenging ways:
Option 1: Dynamic Abs
Option 2:Challenging Abs and Core
Option 3:Beginner Abs

Nutrition Focus: Clean Out Your Pantry
Using the list you made on Day 4, choose one unhealthy food in your pantry, refrigerator, cabinets, etc. and substitute it with something healthy and lower in calories or throw it away. For example, if you drink a Coke every morning, replacing that with water will save you 150 calories. Add that to the exercise you're doing this week, and you're on the road to weight loss.

Motivation
If you've managed to fit in all the workouts (or at least most of them), keep yourself going with a reward. It's important to acknowledge all your hard work, so why not get yourself a new pair of workout shoes or that song or album you've been wanting? Do something nice for yourself and get ready for next week.

Friday, April 27, 2012

12 Weeks to Weight Loss - Day 5

Focus on Variety



Cardio Focus: Variety

 
Choose One:
  • Option 1: Boredom Busters - Choose 1 of 3 different cardio workouts. These workouts involve varying the intensity in different ways and the inclines/speeds suggested are only guidelines. If you're a beginner, please modify the workout or choose one of these beginner workouts.
  • Option 2: 3-Machine Medley Workout
  • Option 3: Try one of our Walking Guide's walking workouts.

Strength and Flexibility Focus: Rest

Don't forget to stretch.
Nutrition Focus: How Much You're Eating
Look at your food diary from the past few days and calculate the average number of calories you eat each day. Compare that number to the Total Calories you calculated on Day 3. How many more calories are you eating than your body needs? Or are you not eating enough calories? If you fall below your BMR, that can actually stall weight loss so eating too little is just as harmful as eating too much. Tomorrow, we'll get started on reducing your food calories, so get ready.

Motivation

One great tool you can use to motivate yourself is a pedometer. Clip it on in the morning and see how many steps you can take all day. Your ultimate goal should be 10,000 steps, but just do what you can and try to do more each day.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

12 Weeks to Weight Loss - Day 4


More Strength Training


Cardio Focus: Active Rest

While today is a rest day from cardio, it doesn't mean you get to lay around and do nothing. Make an effort to inject extra movement all day long. Try some of these ideas:
  • Set an alarm to go off every hour. Walk or stretch for 5 minutes
  • When it's break time, take a 10 minute walk up and down the stairs or around the building.
  • Use 15 minutes of your lunch hour for a quick walk
  • When you get home from work, try a few yoga poses using an exercise ball
  • If you're watching TV, do crunches or pushups during commercials

Strength and Flexibility Focus: Total Body Strength


Today you'll be doing the same workout you did on Day 2. If you're sore from that workout (or any of the other workouts), you might take an extra rest day or lighten up on the reps and/or the weight. It's normal to feel sore for a couple of days after a new workout, but if you can't get out of bed, you know you've done too much.

Beginners: Option 1 - Total Body Beginner Workout, Beginner Abs
Option 2 - Total Body Beginner Strength, Level 2
Intermediate/Advanced:Total Body Home Workout and Dynamic Abs or visit my Workout Center for more ideas.

Nutrition Focus: Make A List

Go through your food diary and make a list of the unhealthy foods you eat on a regular basis and their calorie content. Add to the list over the coming days so that you get a sense of the foods most tempting to you. Do you tend to crave sugary snacks? Or are you tempted more by salty, fatty snacks? Try to be objective as you go through your list--you aren't doing this to kick yourself, but to learn more about the choices you make each day.

Motivation

A big part of motivation is discipline. If you schedule your workouts and plan for them, that helps get rid of some of the obstacles that stand in your way as your workout approaches. Take some time to figure out why you tend to skip your workouts and come up with a plan beforehand to deal with your excuses.

Paige Waehner

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

12 Weeks to Weight Loss Day 3

Cardio Focus: Endurance



Endurance workouts are different from the Interval Workout you did on Day 1. While the interval workout is designed to cycle between low and high intensity, endurance workouts are focused on keeping a steady pace for a longer period of time.

Option 1: Try this 35-Minute Endurance Workout - This can be done on any cardio machine or outside.
Option 2: Choose an activity and maintain a steady pace for 20-45 minutes. Be sure to warm up, cool down and stretch at the end of your wor
kout.

Strength and Flexibility Focus: Flexibility


After you cool down, try these stretches to work on lower body flexibility or try these Flexibility drills.

Nutrition Focus: Activity Calculator


Yesterday you calculated your BMR and today you'll find out how many calories you're burning each day with your new exercise program. You can use this Calorie Calculator to search for the activities you're doing each day and make a note of the calories burned for each one. For example, if you lifted weights for 45 minutes, you would burn about 150 calories if you weigh 145 pounds. Keep in mind that these are only estimates, so these numbers won't be exact. You can add the calories you burn with exercise to your BMR to get a general idea of how many calories you burn each day with daily functioning and exercise.

Motivation


It's tough to stay motivated all the time, but it's something you have to work at every day. Motivation isn't something that just happens, it's something you create for yourself. If you need a nudge in the right direction, write this quote on a post-it and stick it on your computer to remind you:
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." Zig Ziglar

Paige Waehner

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

12 weeks to Weight Loss -Day 2

On Day 1 of your 12 Week Program you started off the week with a little planning and some cardio exercise. Today you'll do your first strength training session, so get ready to build some muscle. Remember, muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more you have, the more calories you'll burn.
Cardio Focus: Active Rest
Active rest simply means moving around more than usual without doing a structured cardio workout. Whenever you get an opportunity to move, do it--take the stairs, go talk to someone rather than emailing, walk the dog, walk to the store, play with the kids, rake the yard, etc. If you sit all day, set an alarm to go off every hour and stand up and stretch.



Strength and Flexibility Focus: Full Body Strength
Today you'll work all the muscles in your body with a basic total body workout. For the suggested workout you'll need dumbbells and an exercise ball. If you don't have a ball, don't worry. Just do the exercises without it. I've also provided another option if you'd like something more challenging. For other ideas and you can visit my Workout Center for loads of other workouts.


Beginners: Option 1 - Total Body Beginner Workout, Beginner Abs

Option 2 - Total Body Beginner Strength, Level 2

Intermediate/Advanced:Intermediate Total Body Home Workout, Dynamic Abs or visit the Workout Center for more ideas.

Nutrition Focus: Calculate Your BMR

Today, you'll calculate your BMR--the number of calories you need to maintain normal functions like respiration, digestion, etc. This is the minimum number of calories you should eat each day. BMR Calculator. Remember, this is just an approximation--no calculator will be completely accurate.

Motivation
If you're new to lifting weights, you may feel a little intimidated, especially if you're working out at a gym. Remind yourself that lifting weights is essential for a complete program and it can help you change your body quickly, if you're consistent. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you're not sure how something works. Most gym-goers are happy to answer your questions and, if you don't want to make a fuss, take advantage of your gym's free orientation if you haven't already. A confident exerciser is more likely to be a successful exerciser. More exercise advice.


Paige Waehner

Monday, April 23, 2012

12 Weeks to Weight Loss Day 1

Get Started
In the introduction, you learned some of the basics for getting started. Now, it's time to get started, step by step.
Step one: If you haven't already done so, use the following forms to set your goals and get your vital statistics recorded so you can track your progress. You might want to use this 12-Week Exercise & Weight Loss Journal or your own journal to keep track of your workouts and eating.
Step two: Take a deep breath and get ready for your first cardio workout. Just think how good you'll feel when you're done!
Cardio Focus: Intensity
Today's cardio workout involves interval training. This method of training is a great way to burn calories in a short period of time. With interval training, you add short high energy 'spurts' where you raise the intensity and then fully recover, alternating work sets and rest sets for the length of the workout. Interval training helps quickly increase endurance which allows you to workout harder and longer. If you're a beginner, please modify according to your fitness level. If you can only go for 10 minutes then, by all means, go for it. It's all about where you are now, not where you want to be.
Choose one of the options below and get moving.
Beginners
  • Option 1:Beginners Interval Workout - This 21-minute treadmill workout involves slight increases of speed and/or incline during your work sets. This workout can also be done on any other machine (elliptical trainer, stationary bike, etc.).
  • Option 2: Elliptical Workout for Beginners - This 20-minute elliptical workout involves increasing your resistance/ramps slightly during your work sets.
  • Option 3: Beginner Stationary Bike Workout - This 20-minute workout involves increasing resistance slightly during your work sets.
  • Option 4: - You can find more options at Beginner Cardio Workouts.
Intermediate/Advanced
  • Option 1: Intermediate Interval Workout - This 30-minute workout involves working for 1 minute at a harder pace and recovering for 3 minutes. This can be done on any cardio machine.
  • Option 2: 45-Minute Boredom Buster Treadmill Workout - For 45 minutes, you'll change speed and incline for a challenging interval workout.
  • Option 3: Make Your Own Workout
    Make your own interval workout: Begin by choosing an activity--walking, running, swimming, cardio machines, etc. then doing the following:
    1. Warm up with about 5-10 minutes of light cardio
    2. Increase the intensity for 2-3 minutes so that you're working at a Perceived Exertion (RPE) at Level 5
    3. For 1 minute, increase intensity (speed walking, running, hill-walking, etc.) to a Level 7-8
    4. Recover at a lower intensity for 2-3 minutes
    5. Alternate high intensity with low intensity for 20 or more minutes if you're a beginner, more if you're intermediate/advanced.
Visit my Workout Center for more cardio workout ideas.
Strength and Flexibility Focus: Flexibility
Do this flexibility workout after you've cooled down from the cardio. Hold each stretch for at least 10-15 seconds (more if you have time). This part of your workout should feel good, so enjoy it.
Nutrition Focus: Food Diary
Starting today, keep track of everything you eat in a food diary. You can use something like DietMinder, print this free food diary or use an online diary. Don't change your habits just yet--eat normally and record what and how much you eat each day. Use a food database to find nutritional content of what you're eating. Record the number of calories you've eaten at the end of each day.

Paige Waehner

Friday, April 20, 2012

12 Weeks to Weight Loss - Week 1

Week 1


For those of you who are interested , I will be posting every Friday over the next 12 weeks  a 12 week weight loss and exercise plan that I discovered that is full of valuable information and resources. I wll also post the night before the day to day part of the plan along with any tips that I have discovered with my own weight loss journey along the way. I am doing it on Fridays so that it will give you time to tweek the program for yourself and have prep time if you plan to start the following week. I have also provided a link if you want to read and move ahead with the program. Please share you progress and feedback. I am with you on that road to making daily fitness and nutrition a part of your lifestyle.
Welcome to Week 1 of your 12 Week Program. This week, you'll get started with a basic cardio and strength training routine and get a few tips for changing to your diet. Each day will have a different exercise focus, such as cardio, strength training and/or flexibility, but please modify or change the workouts according to your fitness level and the equipment you have available. Don't forget to check out the daily motivational tips. If you're ready, Keep reading!

Getting Started

Your first step in getting started is to set your goals and get yourself ready for your new exercise program with the right shoes, clothes and equipment. You'll also want to get some basic measurements down (weight, measurements, etc.) so you can track your progress.
Cardio
This week, your assignment is to do three cardio workouts for as long as you can manage, whether that's 5 minutes, 10 minutes or more. Although I've posted specific workouts for both beginners and intermediate/advanced exercisers, these workouts are just suggestions. If you're already doing your own workouts, feel free to substitute those and add more days of cardio if you're advanced. If you are a beginner and the workout I've given is too difficult, please shorten the workout to fit your fitness level. Your focus is simply to show up for your workouts. It doesn't matter how fast or how long you go.
The workouts involve different levels of RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion. You'll use an RPE scale between 1 and 10 like this one to monitor your intensity. For most workouts you'll want to stay around 5-6 RPE, although some later workouts may take you up to 8-9 RPE. You can also use a heart rate monitor to monitor intensity.
Strength Training
Your assignment this week is to do two full body strength training workouts with at least one day of rest in between each workout.
Your focus is to become familiar with different strength training exercises and to work each muscle group. The beginner workouts include an exercise ball and various weighted dumbbells (from 3 lbs - 12 lbs, depending on your fitness level). Use a workout log to track exercises, reps, sets and the amount of weight you use so you can continue to progress.
Flexibility
Stretching should be part of every workout you do. This week, you'll be learning stretches that work each muscle you'll be working this week.
Nutrition
This week, you'll be learning some basics about figuring out how many calories you need each day to stay healthy, satisfied and lose weight. Our goal this week is to take an objective look at what you're eating by keeping a food diary and discovering how many calories you're really eating each day. Keeping a food diary forces you to be aware of what and how much you're eating. It also holds you accountable--knowing that you have to write something down makes you think twice about eating it.
The articles, calculators and resources each day will help you figure out where you are so you have a clearer picture of where you need to go. You can visit some of our other experts' sites for more ideas on nutrition and healthy recipes (see below).
If you're ready to get started, move on to your Day 1 assignments. For more, read on about some safety precautions you should take before you get started.
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Full Weekly Calendar |
Safety Precautions and Form Pointers
Keep in mind that the workouts offered are not one-size fits all programs.
  • See your doctor if you're a beginner or if you have any medical problems, old injuries, etc.
  • If you feel pain in your joints during any exercise, stop. Rest the area and if you still feel pain over the next several days, see your doctor
  • If you feel lightheaded, nauseous or dizzy at any time, slow down or stop. You may be working too hard.
  • You may experience soreness after doing new workouts and this is normal. If you can't get out of bed the next day, you did too much. Rest a few extra days and lighten up on the workouts
  • If any of the workouts feel too hard or too easy, feel free to substitute your own workouts, videos, exercises, etc.
  • During strength exercises, never swing the weights. Perform slow and controlled reps
  • Use good posture during exercises--keep the abs contracted to support your spine
  • During squats or lunges, keep the knees behind the toes
  • When picking up weights, bend the knees and squat to pick them up--don't bend at the waist as you might strain your back.
 
By , About.com Guide
Updated January 13, 2011
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Healthy Sweat and Unhealthy Sweat

 

by: Junji Takano


You may be wondering whether there are any good sweat and bad sweat. There are sweats that are unpleasant, and sweat which you do not feel anything unpleasant. How nice if you can stop your face from sweating, especially when you have an important meeting. Is this possible? The answer is probably, NO.
On the side note, did you know that the palms of your hands, soles of feet, and on the forehead have the highest number of sweat glands among your back, lower chest and armpit?
Did you know that the sweat glands of your legs are the first to get a symptom of senility or aging process?
Did you know that people who work in hot areas such as in front of direct fires or under direct heat of the sun easily get symptoms of leg cramps? Muscle cramp is thought to be caused by heatstroke.
In our experiments, we requested several people to enter a sauna for 20 minutes while measuring their sweat. Some of them easily sweated while others took time to have sweat.
We placed each sweat to each laboratory dish and waited to dry up. Some dried up easily while others remained wet and oily. What does it mean?
In medical analysis, the one who easily sweat by heat is because his or her physical mechanism knows how to regulate the body temperature.
The one who does not sweat easily by heat have his or her physical condition in danger, as the acid in the sweat will be sticky. It means that the body mechanism does not know how to control body temperature normally.
Unhealthy sweat contains more acid and fat.
More than a thousand people suffer and die of heatstroke in the world. If you stay at a hot area, it is natural to sweat. The role or function of sweat is to normalize the body temperature. This mechanism is controlled by our brain. The brain controls the opening of blood vessels to maintain the body temperature, especially the blood vessels near the surface of the skin to open and secrete sweat to cool the temperature. The person who does not sweat is considered unhealthy or has some problems in their body mechanism. If there's too much blood in the vicinity of the skin that does not sweat, dizziness or vertigo may occur due to lack of blood in the brain. If the blood accumulates in one place, and the sweat is unhealthy, then the blood becomes sticky. In this case, blood clot may occur.
Our bodies contain the same salty liquid as that of the sea, a fluid consisting of water and salt. This salt presence in the body or salinity is an important substance for the proper function of muscles and other organs. Muscle cramp may occur often if salinity in the body is insufficient. In fact, water contents in the blood are controlled by the quantity of salinity. Therefore, if the unhealthy sweat is in large quantities, you are losing both body water content as well as salinity content. This also means that even if you drink water to relieve thirst, it will not be consumed properly by the body but will be excreted as urine due to lack of salinity in the body.
When our body produces sweat to regulate the body temperature, the sweat glands try to take sodium (salt) from the capillaries. This sodium is taken mainly by using the principle of osmotic pressure, but at the same time, it sucks up the water from the blood.
When the body fluid accumulates, it will come out to the skin surface as a sweat. Actually, there is a mechanism to send the salt contents back to the blood in order to maintain salinity of the body, but in the case of a person who is having an unhealthy sweat, it is not so. Instead, various salt compounds and other minerals will come out to the surface of the skin.
Well, what is the solution with such person with malfunctioned sweat mechanism? We discovered that it is a matter of exercise to correct the sweat mechanism. Just 20 – 30 minutes of exercise, let's say "sweat exercise" daily for a week.
By doing exercise, you must sweat whether it's an unhealthy or healthy sweat. In a week time, you will notice that your sweat will be different. In the beginning, sweat was salty and oily, and gradually it was turning to a watery sweat, simply clean sweat. That's it.
As a result, if you try to sweat daily, the secretion of sweat will be faster and quantity of salty and oily sweat will be reduced. This means that salty fluids near the surface of the skin will return to the blood. Thus, your blood quantity as well as water contents in the body will increase dramatically. It means that you are gaining weight in a healthy way. It does not mean that you are getting fat.
Furthermore, good and healthy sweat does not reduce salinity in the body but make you healthier and this really means that you can prevent getting heatstroke, heart attack and other maladies. Oh, and it's good to add a gram of salt in a liter of water, too.
To have good and healthy sweat is to move and exercise daily. Healthy sweat means healthy body. Healthy sweat repels illnesses.
* In short the more you sweat the cleaner and less salty the sweat will be until you get to that point, It is super important to replace sodium loss during a sweat session.

Eating and exercise: 5 tips to maximize your workouts

Eating and exercise: 5 tips to maximize your workouts

Knowing when and what to eat can make a difference in how you feel during your workouts. Here are five tips on eating and exercise to guide you.


Eating and exercise go hand in hand. When and what you eat can be important to how you feel when you exercise, whether it's a casual workout or a serious athletic competition.
Here are five tips for eating and exercise to help maximize your exercise and athletic performance. Just keep in mind that the duration and intensity of your activity will dictate how often and what you should eat and drink. Running a marathon demands more energy in the way of food than does walking two miles — but whatever your exercise, you'll benefit from paying attention to your meals and snacks.

1. Eat a healthy breakfast

If you exercise in the morning, get up early enough to eat breakfast — that may mean one to two hours before your workout. Most of the energy you got from dinner the previous night is used up by morning, and your blood sugar may be low. If you don't eat, you may feel sluggish or lightheaded when you exercise. If you plan to exercise within an hour after breakfast, eat a lighter breakfast or drink something to raise your blood sugar, such as a sports drink. Emphasize carbohydrates for maximum energy.
Good breakfast options include:
  • Whole-grain cereals or bread
  • Low-fat milk
  • Juice
  • Bananas
If you're not a fan of eating in the morning before you work out, try a sports drink or have a bigger bedtime snack the night before. And remember, if you normally have coffee in the mornings, a cup or two before your workout is probably OK. Just don't try any foods or drinks for the first time before a workout, or you risk an upset stomach.

2. Size matters

Be careful not to overdo it when it comes to how much you eat before exercise. The general guideline:
  • Large meals. Eat these at least three to four hours before exercising.
  • Small meals. Eat these two to three hours before exercising.
  • Small snacks. Eat these an hour before exercising.
Eating too much before you exercise can leave you feeling sluggish, or worse, with a case of diarrhea or stomach cramps. Eating too little may not give you the energy to keep you feeling strong throughout your workout.

3. Snack well

Most people can eat small snacks right before and during exercise. The key is how you feel. Do what works best for you. Snacks eaten soon before exercise probably won't give you added energy, but they can help keep up your blood sugar and prevent distracting hunger pangs. Good snack options include:
  • Energy bars or drinks
  • Bananas or other fresh fruit
  • Yogurt
  • Fruit smoothies
  • Whole-grain bagel or crackers with peanut butter
  • Granola bars
A healthy snack is especially important if you plan a workout several hours after a meal.

4. Eat after you exercise

To help your muscles recover and to replace their glycogen stores, eat a meal that contains both protein and some carbohydrates within two hours of your exercise session if possible. If you aren't hungry after your workout, drink juice or a sports drink to provide replenishing carbohydrates.
Good post-workout food choices include:
  • Yogurt and fruit
  • Peanut butter or meat sandwich
  • String cheese and crackers
  • Nuts and dried fruit
  • A regular meal with meat, starch, and cooked vegetable or salad

5. Drink up

Don't forget to drink fluids to help optimize your exercise and workouts. You need adequate fluids before, during and after exercise to help prevent dehydration.
To stay well hydrated for exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you:
  • Drink roughly 2 to 3 cups (0.5 to 0.7 liters) of water during the two to three hours before your workout.
  • Drink about 1/2 to 1 cup (0.12 to 0.23 liters) of water every 15 to 20 minutes during your workout. You may need more the larger your body is or the warmer the weather is.
  • Drink roughly 2 to 3 cups (0.5 to 0.7 liters) of water after your workout for every pound (0.5 kilogram) of weight you lose during the workout.
Water is generally the best way to replace lost fluids. But if you're exercising for more than 60 minutes, use a sports drink. Sports drinks can help maintain your body's electrolyte balance and give you a bit more energy because they contain carbohydrates. Coconut water is a natural way to get electrolytes the taste does take getting used to for some.

Let experience be your guide

When it comes to eating and exercise, everyone is different. So pay attention to how you feel during your workout and your overall performance. Let your experience guide you on which pre- and post-exercise eating habits work best for you. Consider keeping a journal to monitor how your body reacts to meals and snacks so that you can tweak your diet for optimal performance. I personaly cannot eat even 1-2 hours before an intense workout. I rely on quick carbs like fruit juice or an apple beforehand and use a recovery protein shake right after my workout.


Here are links for great post and pre workout meals and snacks. Enjoy!~!
Foods for Fitness
Cardio Fitness Foods
Strength Training Foods
Fitness Snacks
Post Workout Meals