Archive for the ‘Kettlebell’ tag
That Post-Vacation Feeling, GMOs, and Ronda Rousey (Sunday Reads #17)
Welcome to Sunday Reads on Refocuser, a collection of weekly links from around the web to help you do incredible things. These links span topics like creativity, performance, focus, exercise, nutrition, and positivity.
Join thousands of other readers by subscribing to this blog and email newsletter or by following @Refocuser on Twitter. If you’re receiving this in your email inbox, spread the love and forward it to a friend.
Could our gut microbiome be affecting our mood? Making us happier? Possibly. And there may even be an evolutionary reason for it: “happy people tend to be more social. And the more social we are, the more chances the microbes have to exchange and spread.”
How do you hang onto that post-vacation feeling as long as possible? Plan, Reminisce, and Retreat according to an interesting New York Times Travel article.
I love this stretch. In less than five minutes, hit the hip flexor, shoulder, and back.
Top 6 Kettlebell Exercises for Building Mass. While I’m not as into “building mass” as I was in my 20s, I know these double kettlebell exercises will pack on muscle like no other.
How the “war against GMO” is mislead and full of lies. Warning: this is an epically long article.
I love what Juliet and Kelly Starrett are doing to bring standing desks into the classroom. I’m anxious for my kids’ school to take this approach as well to increase overall fitness and attention in the classroom.
Eating Organic, Deadlifting, and Smiling (Sunday Reads #8)
Welcome to Sunday Reads on Refocuser, a collection of weekly links from around the web to help you do incredible things. These links span topics like creativity, performance, focus, exercise, nutrition, and positivity.
Join thousands of other readers by subscribing to this blog and email newsletter or by following @Refocuser on Twitter. If you’re receiving this in your email inbox, spread the love and forward it to a friend.
On Fitness, Food, Sleep, and Smiling
Are organic fruits and vegetables actually healthier and more nutritious? The British Journal of Nutrition crunched data from 343 studies and found that organic fruits and vegetables deliver between 20-40% higher antioxidant activity and “lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues”.
“Researchers have found that a compound produced by the body when dieting or fasting can block a part of the immune system involved in several inflammatory disorders such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.”
Instead of a structured program focused on changing poor sleep habits and a nighttime routine, older adults improved sleep quality through mindfulness meditation.
Books, Kettlebell Swings, and the Goal-Gradient Effect (Sunday Reads #1)
Welcome to the first edition of Sunday Reads on Refocuser. In an effort to both engage with my readers and have a complete archive of awesome stuff I’ve been reading, I’m going to start filtering the web for things that are most applicable to Refocuser subscribers. This way you get the most out of subscribing to this blog and email newsletter.
These updates will consist mostly of links to other sites with minimal commentary, and will vary in length and depth. They should be easily consumable… and should be fun. Here we go.
Reading is Fundamental
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Founder of Facebook, believes in the power of reading books. He says, “I’ve found reading books very intellectually fulfilling. Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today. I’m looking forward to shifting more of my media diet towards reading books.” I agree 100% and have joined his book club to follow along.
More on reading books: Reading in the Age of Amazon is a great profile of the people I work with every single day at Amazon and our mission to empower the world to read more every day. In short, reading is good for you and, of course, Kindle is the best way to do it.
On Fitness, Nutrition, and Sleep
“Optimized meat products higher in omega-3″ reduce body fat more than “optimized” products lower in overall fat. This implies that if we’re going to be eating meat, we should seek out the grass-fed variety. (via Mark Sisson)
Building the Perfect Home Gym (Without Going Too Far)
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to workout alone. While my first “official” workouts didn’t start until my 18th birthday – not coincidentally about 6 weeks after arriving at Cornell as a freshman – I spent a lot of time in my teens messing around with weights in the basement of my childhood home. We had a beat-up old bench with rusty plates and a few bars to go along with it… and it was heaven. Some of my best workouts to-date were in that (usually flooded) basement, and they didn’t require a Power Rack, a treadmill, or Freemotion cables.
Here I am, many years later, still longing for the same. They say some things never change. Over the last few months (and the next few really) I’m piecing together the home gym setup I’ve been thinking about for almost two decades. Below is my list.
First, a word about the investment required. Depending on your bank account and your tolerance for spending, the list below may seem extravagant… or perfectly reasonable when compared to a pricey gym membership. No matter how you slice it, different people have different priorities and not everyone wants to spend money to improve their overall health, mood, or strength. You can tell where I fall on that spectrum.
The great thing about having the ability to workout at home is that you have no excuses. Not a one. You can get a great workout finished in less than 20 minutes and you don’t have to wait for your turn to use any equipment. You can listen to whatever you want, you can wear whatever you want, and you can be in the shower 10 seconds after your last rep. The convenience simply can’t be beaten.
