Health and Fitness Components

1) Strength Training 2) Cardiovascular Training 3) Diet 4) Rest 5*)Flexibility.

Those are the components for proper health and fitness. I put an asterisk next to Flexibility because I incorporate stretching as a part of my strength and cardiovascular training, but you can make it a separate component with yoga or pilates. This seems like a lot, and it can be, but you have to ask yourself, "Is my body worth the time?" Hopefully you said "yes".

1) Strength (or Weight) training is important to build muscle tissue, strengthen joints, and increase metabolism to help burn those calories. Regarding our muscles: if you don't use it, you'll lose it.

2) Cardiovascular training burns the most calories by using fat and carbohydrates for fuel. Most importantly, cardio training strengthens our heart and lungs, cleans our arteries, thus lowering bad cholesterol levels. Think of your cardiovascular system as the foundation of your house... you want a strong foundation, right?

3) Unfortunately I'm not a certified nutritionist, but regarding Diet it can be very simple, "burn more calories than you consume."

4) People tend to neglect Rest as a key component, but our muscles repair itself and grow while we sleep. Without adequate rest & recovery, our muscles can't fully develop and overtraining can lead to injury and burnout.

5*)Stretching can be boring for some (like me) so as stated earlier, I stretch for a few minutes after my Strength and Cardio workouts. For those who love it, there's plenty of yoga and pilates classes out there to help keep your muscles limber. But remember not to overstretch and injure yourself with a "pulled" a muscle.

"The Best Shape of Your Life"

That's the title from an article by Marc Bloom from "Runner's World" magazine (May 2002). He writes, "You don't have to do a triathlon, but you should consider training like a triathlete. Because it will make you fitter than you've ever been before." I definitely agree with him! I competed in mountain biking for five years and thought I was in the best shape of my life, then I started racing in triathlons and saw my weight drop 10lbs., lowered my body fat %, increased muscle tone, and expand my endurance capabilities (stronger heart and lungs). Triathlon is a total body workout split into three disciplines: Swim Bike Run. The nature of the sport keeps you from getting bored with your workouts as you're doing something different each day, and the key with any fitness program to see results is to stay motivated and consistent. Triathlons are also great to set as a goal to help you stay on track with your training. The most popular triathlon is the Ironman, which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, & 26.2 mile run, but triathlons come in many sizes. Sprint distances are 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, & 3.1 mile run. Olympic distances are 1.5k (.93 mile) swim, 40k (24.8 mile) bike, & 10k (6.2 mile) run. Half Ironman is 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, & 13.1 mile run. With the proper training and time, anyone can complete a triathlon and be in the best shape of your life!