Street racing Vancouver style

This is really more of a rave than a post. This Canada Day I spent my third year in a row at the Yaletown Grand Prix. It’s a criterium racing event that has teams of amazing cyclists using strategy and pure power ripping around an historic section of the downtown core. The event is primarily sponsored by Haywood Securities but there are beer gardens and Mini Coopers a plenty and the entire area around the track has a street party vibe to it.

I think this is the sort of event that Vancouver is going to become more and more famous for. It brings out our best collective behavior cheering on racers in a sport most of us don’t know nearly as much about as hockey, however, Vancouver breeds an incredibly diverse and skilled group of cyclists, not to mention a pretty wild unicyclist as well. The whole event also managed to raise a significant bit of coin for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Vancouver.

The Men’s race was dominated by team Symmetrics with Svein Tuft of Langley taking the first pass over the finish line. The Women’s cat 1/2/3 had a much wider spread among the teams, with Total Restoration Cycling’s Gillian Moody taking first place for the women. Now I’m not saying that we should all abandon the road hockey completely when we’re celebrating the birthday of our country in the sunshine, but I think the Yaletown Grandprix Canada bash is a pretty sweet option for us high density dwellers.

So if you didn't have a chance to make it this year, come and take a look for us next year and see how your body composition stacks up against some of Canada's finest.

Google Maps Pedometer lets you measure your walks runs and rollerblade sessions

I've been playing with the Google Maps Pedometer mash-up a fair bit lately. It allows you to use a google maps interface to track the distance of your walks and other urban treks to get an idea of how far that afternoon jaunt really was. It's also useful for runners in training trying to find new routes that allow them to cover a specific distance. You can find the page here:

www.gmap-pedometer.com

The page also lets you save your work and share the results with other people. You can take a look at my rollerblading route from my apartment downtown, down Georgia Street and into Stanley Park and then back up from English Bay for a sweaty spin up the Hornby Street hill.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1971257

Feel free to post your favourite Vancouver route in the comments.

TopTen Antioxidant Rich Foods

We hear of the many benefits of antioxidants, but which foods provide the best sources and how can we increase the use of them in our daily diet....

Top 10 Antioxidant Rich Foods :

10. Raspberries
9. Prunes
8. Blackberries
7. Artichokes (cooked)
6. Cranberries
5. Blueberries (cultivated)
4. Pinto beans
3. Red kidney beans
2. Blueberries (wild)
1. Small red beans (dried)

Small red beans! Who knew? The small red bean looks like a kidney bean - same colour and shape - except that it's (you guessed it) smaller. It's sometimes identified as a Mexican red bean, but it's grown in Washington, Idaho, and Alberta, Canada.

The list was determined by USDA nutritionists who published the study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. J. Agric. Food Chem., 52 (12), 4026 -4037, 2004.

Raw chocolate and goji berries are two foods that are extremely rich in antioxidants but were not evaluated for the study cited above.

Tip to increase the antioxidant levels in stir fries and soups: Make bean cubes. Process leftover beans with a little vegetable broth in a food processor until it forms a thin paste. Pour into ice cube trays, and then use the frozen cubes to thicken soups and sauces.

Tip to use Goji berries - add a small handful of dried goji berries to your bottled water. After a few minutes they will soften and can be chewed easily as you enjoy your aqua.

And remember berries, fresh or frozen, make excellent additions to smoothies - a favourite on the go, morning meal.

New friends, old friends

You can tell that spring has finally arrived in Vancouver. Those silly little dogs shed their blankets and the urban camping crowd switches to lighter weight sleeping bags. The runners stop looking like locomotives with steam surging from their lungs, and the rollerbladers are venturing out onto the recently dried pavement. Sweeeeeeet spring.

Bodycomp is getting out to some new locations but we're also looking forward to hanging out with some old friends. We just had a scan session for the John Braithwaite Centre in North Van. Thanks to Rob and Jen for getting us up there - we'll be happy to return in the future.

We're heading back to Body & Soul at Alma and 10th on Monday, May 28th - I'm sure we'll measure some impressive body composition results as a result of everyone having trained hard for the Sun run.

The following weekend we are heading back to North Van to the BFIT Personal Training studio on Fell Ave. - we've got some drop in spots available so give me a call if you are in the neighborhood and want to arrange for a scan. We'll be there from 9am-3pm on Sunday May 4th.

We're back to Vancouver the following weekend on Saturday May 10th working with the fun people at Enerchanges. Bookings are being handled through their front desk so give them a call if you want to book a scan or check out their cool facility.

I hope everyone is enjoying getting back outside and working hard in the sun. See you soon.

Body Composition: The most important measurement in your quest for a better body

Ruth and I feel very strongly that high precision body composition measurements, especially serial measurements, play an important role for trainers as they assist their clients in both athletic as well as weight reduction goals. We also appreciate hearing from others that are passionate about the roles of muscle and fat mass in sport, aging and health.

The following is an excerpt from a recent article written by one of our local partners, Craig Bymoen. Craig is the CEO and founder of Edu-Fit Personal Training and trains out of Vancouver, B.C. He can be reached at www.edu-fit.ca

This is because muscle is a metabolically active tissue that will aid us in our quest to rid ourselves of excess adipose (fat) tissue. Muscle burns calories to move your skeleton through space as well as maintain itself. Muscle mass is a contributing factor for the improvement of musculoskeletal health and the enhancement of
movement capabilities.(Murcell, 2003) So we must pay close attention to the amount of muscle that our bodies possess.
During our lifetime our bodies will accrue a specific amount of muscle related to the activities we partake in on a daily basis, the type of nutrition we consume and also genetics. We need this muscle in order to be able to carry out our day to day activities for the remainder of our natural born lives. And in fact, our bodies will already do us a big disservice by losing some of this muscle as we age if we don’t use it. The process has come to be known as sarcopenia or age related muscle loss. In John Berrardi’s book The Metabolism Advantage, he states that, “Researchers have determined that, starting between the ages of 25 and 30, most people will lose roughly 5-10 pounds of muscle with each decade of life.” A recent study in The International Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that, “This can mean a loss of 20% of your total muscle between the ages of only 40-60.” To further compound the situation Berrardi states, “The average person who becomes less active and consequently loses muscle will experience a 20-25% reduction in 24 hour metabolism (measured as the amount of energy your body burns in a 24 hour period) by age 65.” He then goes on to note that, “Scientists have estimated that the RMR (the part of your metabolism that accounts for 60-75 percent of all the calories you burn each day) is highly dependant on muscle mass. In fact, 75-80 percent of your RMR is determined by your muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the higher the RMR. The less muscle you have the lower the RMR.”

You can read the full text of the article at the following link.
Body Composition: The most important measurement in your quest for a better body
by Craig Bymoen of edu-fit.ca (PDF)

A is for Avocado...

I've always loved the creamy texture of avocados but I admit that I used to feel guilty when I enjoyed them... well guilt be gone, I will eat my avocado and enjoy every tasty bite guilt free.

Now I'm sure that some of you know why I felt guilty eating this common Californian fruit, but if you don't understand it's because of the ridiculously high fat content of this tasty treat. Actually avocado shares the dubious distinction of being the fruit with the second highest fat content; the highest being olives! Now most of us have come to accept that olives, or more specifically olive oil, is a healthy choice, but avocados have not grown to the same acceptance in some peoples minds.

Let's look at some fast fun facts about the appropriately nicknamed "butter pear".... avocados have about 10 grams of fat per 100 grams, and they also boast a very high amounts of beta-carotene, avocados are sodium and cholesterol free and on a per weight basis they have 60% more potassium than bananas! So there are a lot of positives about the avocados but some still wonder why they should choose an fruit with fat when nature has made most of the fruits fat free.

Like with olive oil and nuts, we are learning that there is a place in our diets for the right kinds of fats. Medical science has studied avocados because of their very high levels of MUFA's (mono-unsaturated fatty acids). One of these MUFA's, oleic acid has been shown in recent studies to decrease a woman's risk of breast cancer. And there are benefits for the guys too. "In a laboratory study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, an extract of avocado containing these carotenoids and tocopherols inhibited the growth of both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells."

In another recent study published in the March 2005 Journal of Nutrition, scientists looked at the absorption of carotenoids from vegetables when eaten with and without avocado. There are significant increases in the bodies ability to absorb the carotenes, luteins, and lycopenes present in other components of salads and salsa when avocados are present. Lycopene absorption was increased by 4.4 times and luteins absorption was 15 times higher when avocado was ingested as part of the study control meals. So eating a little avocado along with other vegetables and fruits is an excellent way to improve your body's ability to absorb carotenoids while also receiving other nutritional-and taste-benefits.

Now for those avocado virgins out there who want to give these fatty fruits a try here are a few suggestions for use... Add a few diced cubes of a creamy avocado added to your salad and reduce or eliminates the need for a salad dressing or try a little mashed avocado and diced tomatoes eaten with your scrambled eggs is a wonderful taste treat to start your day. So enjoy this creamy green fruit in moderation as a healthy addition to your diet.

Ahh, Avocados - they are a good thing, enjoy then guilt free!

Snack ideas for busy people

Ever have one of those days when you know your going to be busy all day (ever have a day when you don't??) Don't rely on grabbing snacks on the run, plan ahead and pack healthy treats to energize you through the day. Some of these snacks can be kept on hand just in case the day gets a little crazy - I like to keep some almonds in the glove box of my car along with a power bar or two so that if I get caught short and don't have time for a proper lunch I can refuel on something healthy. Here are ten ideas for healthy snacks...

1. Almonds (or any nuts)
2. Grapes and Cheese string or cubes
3. Apple slices with peanut butter
4. Hard Boiled Egg
5. Celery sticks with peanut butter
6. Dried fruit – raisins, apricots, figs, dates
7. Cucumber slices with cream cheese
8. Pumpkin seeds
9. Oranges, Bananas, Apples or any single serving fresh fruits.
10. Popcorn (air-popped)

I have often heard financial advisers (especially during RRSP season) say that if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail. Apply this knowledge to your snacks. Don't just rely on picking something up from the local convenience store. Even with the best of intentions - I will just run in and buy an apple and some peanuts - we are often sidelined by the smells and sights of the fast food world. Avoid temptation - plan ahead. Keep healthy snacks in the fridge at home and remember to stash a few non-perishable items in your desk at work or the glove box of your car. The next time your stuck in traffic, on the way to the grocery store and your stomachs a growling you'll be thankful for those pumpkin seed!

Got any healthy packable snack ideas to share. Respond with a comment....