What is detox – and why could it be important for you?
„Detox“ means doing something to get rid of the toxins in your body which have been stored in your organs and tissues.
Some toxins can be detected obviously, such as substances in colours, pesticides and cleansing substances and, of course, you would not consume it. Others are not that toxic as pesticides, but they can do harm in the long run when they are stored in the body, such as food additives. The more toxins are stored in your body, the more sluggish your metabolism gets, and basically you clean and activate your body and metabolism with „detox“ days. Just think about it: if you are more active and dynamic, this will make a big difference to your performance on the set!
Your daily exposure to toxins
Toxins enter the body through different kind of ways:
unhealthy or low quality food – high in fat, sugar or salt, such as fast food, cheap snacks and drinks. Also low quality fruits and vegetables contain lots of toxins, because the fruits are mostly contaminated with lots of pesticides and chemicals which have been used to remove insects
cigarette smoke – even if you are not an active smoker, your lungs inhale the smoke of the person beside you
heavy drinking – regular alcohol intake brings a lot of toxins into your body
coffee consumation – regular coffee intake in high amounts makes your own metabolism lazy because it is always kicked by caffeine. There are other convenience energy drinks which are mixed with lots of preservatives, colourings and flavorings which are no good for your body
stress – if you have lots of stress, your body produces more free radicals, which are toxic to your body
environment – you walk on the street, and inhalte the emissions of cars, you drink tap water and with it some unwanted ingredients
more
As you see, the daily exposure to different toxins is quiet high and various and it is worth to think about, how you can support your body to get rid of them from time to time. Actually it is recommended to do some detox days several times a year to make sure your body does not get overtoxicated.
What happens if your body gets overtoxicated?
If there are too many substances in your body which are toxic or unuseful for your body, this will affect your immune defence system, your metabolism, your shape, your concentration and your well-being. If you do not act, in the long run you may face a higher risk in heart and aterial disease, cancer, diabetes, premature ageing and more degenerative disorders.
How to start your detox days
The detox process is very individual because everyone has a different body, metabolism and habits. If you are considering to pursue a detox programm and you do not have experience with it, make sure you get a good book and/or consult your doctor. Guidance definitely helps if you are doing it the first time.
In general what you would do is reducing the intake of toxic substances for a certain time, this can be a weekend, a week or even a 3-week program. There are different ways to do it, and, again, it depends on your experience and your lifestyle how you would organize a detox programm. If you cut e.g. your coffee intake from one to the other day, it can get you a major headache, and obviously if you are used to smoke for years it will be hard to cut it down to zero in one day. The key with this kind of habits is that you would cut down gradually and preferably let you guide by a coach.
Cleaning up your food intake is one of the main tasks in a detox programm. Switching your food choices to organic food and following a food as well as, in best case, an exercise regimen. You will eat as natural as possible and support the cleaning process with different herbs. With great food choices you support your body in cleaning your liver, kidneys, skin, gut and lungs.
If you are not into sport you have to know that cleaning up your system also works with a focus on your food. Nevertheless, the detox program is always more effective in combination with sports, because your metabolism gets more active and you reduce stress much better.
Last but not least: the results of a well organized detox program
With detox you clean up your body and take care that you stay healthy
You get more active and conscious
You reduce weight
You increase your energy level
Now, it is your choice – with a more healthy lifestyle and a few detox days from time to time you will be much more effective on the film set. What are you waiting for?
The glycemic Index (glyx) of a food type shows the effect of food containing carbohydrates on the blood sugar level. A wide spread opinion still is that the glyx has an important role for reduction of body fat. Today, there a several researches which show that the blood sugar level is influenced by few factors, which can even vary from day to day and from person to person. For weight loss the „glycemic load“ of food is more important, because it also reflects, beside the type of carbohydrate, the amount of food consumed.
A daily negative caloric budget, meaning that you eat less than the amount of calories you actually need, still is considered the best choice to reduce body fat. No eveidence exists that a nutrition with low glycemic index has the best effect on human health, but it is assumed that a balanced nutrition with overall low glycemic index / glycemic load will serve you best in the long run.
Conclusion: A balanced nutrition combined with regular training still is the best perspective to reduce weight and keep / improve health.
Source: My Fitness Lifestyle Column
How to judge the quality of your food : easy calculation of the glycemic load
The glycemic load (GL) should be the factor which you are looking at when choosing your food.
Calculate the glycemic load easily like this:
(glycemic index / 100) x carbohydrate content (in gramms)
Often you will see an example with watermelon, because the fruit has a high glycemic index (72) and just judging by that number, you would not choose it to eat. But calculate the GL it with a serving of 100 grams, which contains about 8 grams of carbohydrates:
GL of watermelon = (72/100) x 8 = 5,8 = safe to eat
This shows: to make optimum food choices, lower the glycemic load of your food. Reduce food with high glycemic index as well as food with high carbohydrate content and eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grain with low GI and GL.
Please see the table below to get an idea of high, medium and low values of both, glycemic index and load:
Overview over food types with high (red), middle (yellow) and low glycemic load. Eat especially food with low to medium glycemic load, rarely food with high glycemic load. His will keep you healthy and in shape!
Please find here an overview over glycemic load of diverse food types, starting from high to low load. Please consider that these values may vary depending on origin and way of processing and cooking.
My Experiences with “Sound Mind Sound Body” by David Kirsch:
The Start: Sound Mind Sound Body Shopping List
Dear Friends,
in my shop you can buy the book if you want to try it by yourself – please share your experience with me! Find the start of the program and an initial shopping list below the shop!
For the upcoming day you will need a lot of good food:
fresh fruits lean meat (beef, turkey, chicken)
fresh fish
wholemeal pasta
olive oil
whey protein powder
whole-grain bread
eggs
yoghurt
untreated nuts
protein bars
you will need a notebook which you use to write down general/honest thoughts about you and your training in your past (and excuses not to do it), experiences, food choices, cooking receipts and thoughts about training etc. a goal in the future which you desire to reach with your training
Find here a choice of sport nutritional products for weight loss to order online:
throw away:
all white flour products, such as bread, pasta
all candys and sugar products and soda
heavily processed food such as potato chips, cracker or similar
all products with artificial sweetener, such as diet coke and diet deep fried food
One more thing: It is important that you feel well before you start to increase your training frequency and intensity. Just in case you doubt that your health is in optimum condition for the program, please consult your doctor.
Great! Does everyone have a book for exercising? Start your day with a sound breakfast and take care that you plan your training today. You will find exercise fotos for the first day on my blog www.jensbaltrusch.com shortly, just going to prepare the shooting now. In case you do not need the exercise fotos – please leave comments on my blog about the training to share your experience with the other participants!
Take care that you find your own way into the program – it will be grandiose to share this experience with you!
Sound Mind Sound Body: Fitness Equipment needed
For the upcoming weeks you will need few, but crucial tools for your training:
a gym ball suitable to your size
your height 14o-165 cm: medium ball 45 cm
your height 165-185 cm: large ball 55 cm
your height 185-195 cm: extra large ball, 65 cm
your height over 195 cm: extra, extra large ball, 75 cm
The gym ball is a valuable training tool because it challenges your normal range of motion and increase the propriorezeptive demand on your body. This way, the ball helps you to train your balance, coordination and especially the core and joint stability.
Further, you will need a pair of dumbbells. Choose it light and, in case you have to buy it, try boxing with it. Best choice most probably is 1-1,5 kg.
Weight wristbands (0.5 -1 kg)
Additionally you will need an exercising mat for exercises on the floor.
That`s all – 4 types of equipment and you are ready to go!
p.s. you can vary exercises if you get a medicine ball in addition, but it is not that crucial in the beginning!
Find here a choice of sporting goods which you can order online to start right now!
David Kirsch`s Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 1 Of Online Book & DVD Review
Dear friends,
Great that you have started together with us and follow the online book review of David Kirsch`s “Sound Mind Sound Body” book and DVD.
Make sure that you have an update of your health indicators every 7 – 14 days. Your health indicators are:
Heartrate
Blood pressure
Blood cholesterol level
Bodyweight, bodyfat
(Organical fat, bone weight, muscle weight (some modern scales can roughly measure this, sometimes you can test it in pharmacies))
Male participants should measure the circumference of waist/chest (goal quotient > 10), female participants the circumferences of waist/hip (quotient < 0.8); these quotients are together with your bodyweight and bodyfat a good indicator of positive effects of your training program
Your well being: do you feel good, relaxed, content, full of energy ; scale your feeling towards yourself and your body on a scale between 1-10 – regular exercise will increase your well being; later it is nice to see when your well being increased – this is one major reason to start a training program!
Set a major goal which you really want to reach with your training. Taking part in the upcoming 5 weeks program can be a part of this getting you closer to your goal. Be realistic with the goal for the next 5 weeks.
A reasonable weight-loss target is 0.5-1 pound per week (person <68 kg) respectively 1-2 pounds per week for heavier bodies. You definitely can reduce faster and more weight with special diets, but take care of the so called “yoyo”. Be prepared for everything you do – you can perform a harder workout program and diet like David Kirsch`s New York Body Plan, but you have to be able to manage the energy loss.
A reasonable muscle built-up goal would be around 0.5 pound per week, depending on intake of carbohydrates and protein. You can bulk your body up more, but then you have to follow a different diet as our program in the next week with David`s “Sound Mind Sound Body” – it is just another focus!
So take it more easy with Davids “Sound Mind Sound Body”, and focus in the next week also on the development of your mental strength. This is what keeps you going with your program and loosing weight in a healthy way with a long-term perspective.
As David says: your mind, your body and spirit are one and have to be balanced – that is the way with which you reach in the end all your training goals.
For choosing the proper training program for you it would be important that you have David`s book, because he varies the training program for each body type. On my blog you will find a choice of exercises, but the essence how to choose the right exercises for your individual body type is the following (and therefore best is getting the book and choosing day by day your individual workout):
Apple shape: abs, back and arms are strong and make up most of your body weight, your legs relatively thin – so your choice would be toning your core, but avoiding exercises which could increase the size of your back, abs or arms.
Pear shape: hip, buttock and thighs are making up most of your body weight, abs is relatively flat. Your preferable choice would be exercises which combine pushing your metabolism, strengthen your lower body without bulking it up and strengthen arms and shoulders.
Stick shape: A lot of men have this shape and they have problems to build muscle mass. Concentrate on compound exercises to built strength in areas of legs, chest and back.
Round body type: a little over weight, heavy and non defined. Start preferably with exercises for your metabolism (heart rate zone) and at the same time tone your muscles, low weights, high repetition.
Symmetric & fit: you are advanced fit, your body symmetrically. Your choice should be combined exercises which address several large muscle groups at the same time – you need variation.
Overview about progression of the workout during the next weeks:
If you are a beginner, start with on set per exercise for the first 1-2 weeks (depending on your body feeling). Then increase to 2-3 sets for each exercise – if you feel good, increase your work out load, otherwise decrease it. Take extra care of your body. Training days per week: 5 (if you are body type “stick” train only 3 times per week to avoid too high calorie consumption, if you are “round” body type, increase step by step the number of workout days to 6 with an additional cardio training day;
do cardio training at first 3 times per week 20-30 minutes with pace changes so that you feel well. Later you can increase your cardio training to 3-6 times per week and execute it for 30-45 minutes)
If you are advance, you should have a good feeling for your body and can start with 3-4 sets per exercise. Take care of your body and change also the work out load depending on your daily body condition.
Starting with week 3, when you are familiar with David`s exercises, you can increase the intensity with your individual body type specific program.
Between week 4-5 you should see and feel fist results – focus this, visualize what you can look like when you follow this program the upcoming weeks. Start with us and have fun!
One more recommendation: You should definitely have a look at the great DVD boot camp beach workout – it is motivating and showing a lot of David`s workout style. It gives you a vivid picture of the person behind the program. What I liked: The interview and brief description of his philosophy.
If you have problems at any time, please feel free to contact me and we will figure this out together! Get started, enjoy your workout today and start being picky with your food choices. It does not matter where your are (job, home on the road) – your choice makes the difference!
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 2
Wow, had two great active days.
Workout yesterday for my body type (symmetric fit):
30 Minute run on running track with 2 sets of lunges and frog jump (each 10 repetitions, explosive)
Push ups, reverse crunch, chest press on physioball, crunch on physioball, squat – sidekick, fly on physioball, biceps curls each 2 sets between 15 -20 repetitions
My food yesterday: nuts and tea for breakfast, low fat yoghurt and oats as a.m. snack, broccoli and fish for lunch, chicken and salad for dinner.
Today my food:
breakfast nuts and tea, a.m. snack an orange, a kiwi and a whole meal sandwich with quark, low fat cheese and ham, for lunch chicken curry, for dinner salad and lentil souo.
Workout today: 40 Minute run in the forrest with stationary training (push ups, dips, chin ups, rows, back extension, leg raises and lunges)
At home I did David`s workout with squats, crossover lunge, lunge backwards, squat thrust, abdominal biking.
I am working on the pictures from the foto shooting yesterday and will place them on an extra page of this blog tomorrow. This way you can always check which exercise I did – sometimes i go for exercise alternatives if I am bored I try to keep my workout exciting for myself and therefore vary the stability training a lot. This way, you know a lot of exercises after a while! Try it, and if you change exercises, always tell your self what the exercise is for and what the focus of the technique should be. This trains your knowledge and attention for the different exercises!
I hope you had also a great start into the “Sound Mind Sound Body” program of David Kirsch – leave comments about your training experience if you like.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 3
My Workout Today:
30 Minute run on my favourite running track, right beside a park. Nice place, I can really focus on my workout. This time in 5 km tempo. After this I had Day 3 exercises from Davids workout:
one-armed lat pulley with dumbbell standing, pullover with dumbbell on physioball, standing triceps press, leg circels, double crunch. I had a lot of energy, so I did push ups on physioball, pushups on dumbbels, backextension on physioball, lateral crunch on physioball and squat to shoulder press additionally. Each 20 repetitions, today one set because I did not have so much time.
Tomorrow I won`t go for a repetition goal anymore, I will execute the exercises untill failure with low weight (0 – 6 kg).
Food today:
Breakfast some nuts ( I really like nuts, have to take care that I do not eat to much ), a.m. snack I prepared an egg white-omelette with broccoli, tomatoe and paprika (even when I am on the road I eat this cold, not so bad), for lunch I had whole meal sandwich with ham, low fat curd cheese, tomatoe and mozarella (I do not eat too much of it because of the fat – but I love it) and an egg white. For dinner time I will be at work, so I took whole grain bread with low fat curd cheese, ham, paprika and two egg white.
Food is ok at the moment, but will push training and diet more next week – I want to make good body shots before christmas )
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 4
My training will today consist of standing shoulder press, standing lateral raise, dumbbell chest press on physioball, chest press on physioball, pec fly on physioball, decline push ups with physioball, shadow boxing, each to sets with low weight till failure.
my nutrition today: I am an early bird, even on Saturday (7 a.m. in Zurich/CH). I had nuts and herbal tea for breakfast, will have as a.m. snack an omelette with veggies. For lunch most probably whole meal bread, ham, apple, eggs, as p.m. snack a protein shake and for dinner a chicken salad.
Will push the diet next 14 days and drop more body fat – anybody wants to join?
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 5
I am an early bird today, getting up at 5.oo a.m., having 2 eggs on brown bread with low fat cheese and ham for breakfast. As a.m. snack I prepared brown bread with ham, curd cheese and cucumber. For lunch I will have broccoli, fish and a mixed salad, as p.m. snack I plan a thuna salad and for dinner a protein shake.
My workout in the afternoon will consist of a 45 minute run with stationary training in the forrest (running up and down the hills, changing speed, doing exercises at training stations for push ups, chin ups, dips, rows, leg raises, lunges, stretching) and David Kirschs program for day 5 (fit symmetric body type): bench step up with a kick (I will do this in the forrest already because I do not have a suitable bench at home), stiffed-leg deadlifts, jump-squat, David`s isometric abdominal exercise, sumo lunge, ninja glute blast. I will add two balance exercises to train my coordination and stimulate the nerval system: balancing my body on one leg (standing on a convoluted mat) and executing one leg half-squats (lowering thighs to 45 ° angle).
For tomorrow afternoon I plan to add Davids bootcamp from DVD to my workout. Looking forward to it
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 6
Had to get up early today for work (5 .a.m., hotels start early , so I prepared an apple and a pumpernickel bread with curd cheese, ham and cucumber for breakfast to take away. This time I skipped the a.m snack and therefore had a great lunch : veggie lasagne bolognese. It was prepared with spinache-wholemeal-lasagne- pasta with broccoli, tomatoe, paprika and tomatoe souce. Great, exactly what I needed to refill my energy depots! Later I will have a protein shake as p.m. snack and mixed salad (cucumbers, tomatoe, paprica, green salad) and steamed coalfish for dinner. I will push my diet and workout this week as announced. Starting with the dinner tonight I reduce my carbohydrate and fat intake. My goal for this week is to drop one more kilo of body fat till sunday.
My workout today consists of a 45 minute run though the forrest (which I will start at around 4 p.m. MEZ) and Davids “Beach Boot Camp DVD”. I will write a report about my experiences with the Boot Camp DVD later – for sure it will be fun ))
Stick with the program and keep focussed on good nutrition. Set a goal for yourself which you want to reach till sunday, e.g. drop a kilo bodyfat, focus on toning my butt . . . describe it clearly and reach it! Believe me, realistic goal setting makes your workout more enjoyable, focussed and most important: more passionate! Try it and tell me the results or your experiences – I like to hear from you!
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 7
Today I have a workout rest. David`s “beach boot camp” which I did yesterday plus running outside for 40 minutes was intensive.
You should try the beach boot camp: it is definitely motivating. Normally I also do my workout partially at home, but with David`s DVD it get`s a different quality. I pushed myself more and was inspired by the beach atmosphere in this video. And the high impact exercises which are coming up regularly in this workout (exercises with jumps, e.g. squat jumps) demand everything of your body. The choice of exercises is good and demanding and you definitely will push yourself to the limit with the DVD more likely than if you do it just on your own. It is more entertaining, you just have to follow it. After the boot camp (it was 5.30 p.m. in CH-Zurich and already dark, therefore I was equipped with a LED headlamp, and it worked well). I slipped into my running clothes and went out for a run – I could finish roughly 40 Minutes. I like to run when it is dark, because there are less things which distract your concentration. I felt good, but really tired – what a workout day!
Today my food:
In the morning I had about 1 litre of tea (I felt really dehydrated from yesterday) and some nuts and a vitamin pill (I only take them when I had a tough workout).
For lunch I prepared coalfish with broccoli.
For dinner I had prepared my most favourite dish, chilli con carne. it is so easy: corn, red beans, tomatoe sauce, onions, mincemeat, chilli, sambal olek, pepper and hot paprica paste. First fry the onions in vegetable oil, then add the mincemeat until it is cooked, add beans and corn and mix it with tomatoe sauce and spices! Low calory, hot and healthy !
I will enjoy my chilli now and am looking forward to my workout tomorrow!
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 8
I started my day active – I could, because today I have an easy schedule, just some writing work and a personal training session in the evening, so there is time to recover.
My program started with David`s Beach Boot Camp, and still at some parts I find it tough to hold the exercises till the end. Especially the part with frog jumps and later the push ups, holding till your last breath but great, every time I do it (during the program till x-mas I decided to do it every 2nd day) I find something new to focus on, to get better with. I am sure, the more often I do it the better I will look in the end of the program ( have to push myself for a body shooting).
I tried the program with heavier dumbbells as recommended (normally you should choose between 1-2 kg), but because right in the beginning David goes for high repetition sequences, I had to drop the weight from 3 kg to 1 kg. My goal is finishing the complete upper body program during the next weeks with 3 kg. But you have to know that the movement quality won`t be the same in the beginning as with lower weight. Give it a try and you will notice that you do not move that smooth like before. So I only recommend a little higher weight than 2 kg if you can control the movement quality, if not, start easy. It is more important to move harmonically and finish the program in a good manner !
After the beach boot camp I had a great run through Zurich city for about 50 Minutes.
My food today: For breakfast I had lean yoghurt with flax seeds, wheat bran, 2 table spoons of oats and 1 table spoon of hazelnut. Thanks good I had a good breakfast, so I could manage the intensive workout! I added one big cup of herbal tea (0.5 litre).
After Workout for a.m. snack I prepared an omelette with zucchini, lean curd cheese and ham. I had 1 glass of plain water and a big cup (0.5 litre) of herbal tea.
For lunch I plan a small portion of my self made chilli con carne from yesterday with a mixed salad.
In the afternoon, before my personal training session, I won`t go for too much food, maybe some nuts and a fruit (e.g.orange or kiwi).
For dinner I will have 2 egg whites, 2 slices of ham and half of a cucumber.
I take care that during the day I always drink enough plain water and tea (depending on level of activity between 1.5 – 3 litre) to avoid dehydration and keep the metabolism active.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 9
My workout today: 40 minute run through the forrest with stationary training (pushups, dips, chinups, rows, jumps, back rollup, lunges).
After this I did the workout from Davids book week 2, day 1 (but varied the chest exercises – i like to work out on physioball instead on bench, because it is more demanding for the intrinsic muscles):
chest workout (dumbbell press up on physioball, pull over on physioball, incline dumbbell press up on physioball, dumbbell fly on physioball plus dumbbell biceps curl and double/single crunch). Each exercise with 3 kg dumbbells and 30 repetitions. Combined with the stationary training in the forrest it was enough for today.
My food today:
For late breakfast I had a cup coffee and a handful of nuts (today I did not feel so hungry), skipped a.m. snack and for lunch (or brunch?:-)I had a wholemeal bread with curd cheese and turkey ham, 2 egg white, a kiwi, an orange and 0,5 liter of camomile tea.
I skipped p.m. snack and had for dinner a tomatoe soup, 2 egg white, 1 slice of wholemeal bread with curd cheese, 2 slices of ham, a little bit of cheese, tomatoe and cucumber. So basically I skipped the snacks and have choosen a little more food for the three main dishes today.
Calories all together are still ok. I measure the portions also with my own body feeling – I always try to stay a little hungry. If something is left on my plate and I am not that hungry anymore, I do not eat it and put it back into the fridge.
I prepared a list with nutrients of food I use regularly in the food section. It is a little more work in the beginning when you roughly count calories, but it is worth it – you will have a better overview over the total amount of calories you eat every day and in the end are able to control better the outcome of your fitness training!
Good morning! (For those who live in middle european time)
I will teach today one group class (fit & stretch) and 3 personal training sessions. This is why I will only go for David`s workout from the book additionally and skip the running today.
Besides, I noticed my knees did not handle my running schedule – i think because of my running shoes. I ran average 50 km per week during the last weeks, which is not that much. But the quality of your shoes should be alright, so I decided to get new running shoes and switch two pairs frequently. Informations about when to change your running shoes are varying. The most important indicator is your own body feeling, and from the technical side shoes keep quality between 700-1000 km. So it is time to do that!
David`s workout today from the book “Sound Mind Sound Body”: Legs and Abs (squats, squat jump, lunges with jump, step up with kick and extension, diagonal crunch, diagonal twist).
Food today: For breakfast I had an orange, an apple and a cup of coffee. As a.m. snack I will prepare 1 paprika, sliced, and one slice of wholemeal bread with curd cheese, ham and tomatoe (As you most probably noticed that is one of my favourite snacks. If I want to reduce my body fat more quickly, I would drop the wholemeal bread first). I will only have a light lunch because I can not carry too much stuff with me today, so I will take 2 tomatoes, half a cucumber and 2 slices of ham. as p.m. snack I plan an omelette and for dinner chicken and mixed vegetables (cabbage, paprika).
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 11 plus meditation, stretching, mobilisation, balance
I started my day with an early run for 60 minutes – it was great, I could watch the sunrise from a hill. The greater surrounding of Zurich has a marvellous landscape. Up the hill I did a light meditation, balance, stretching and mobilisation training, which I integrate regularly into my training. Meditation helps you to keep inner balance – mostly I do certain breathing techniques to calm down. At the same time I visualize my goals, the next steps to it or a certain situation in the future. This helps me to keep focussed.
Balance and mobilization exercises help you to stimulate the neural system and activate your intrinsic muscles. Stretching, together with strength training, aims to avoid muscular imbalances and keep a good posture.
I will prepare photos for this different topics and show possible routines later in the exercise section.
In the afternoon I will do workout as stated in David`s “Sound Mind Sound Body”: chin ups, knee lifts, triceps press, crunch, triceps kick backs.
Food today: Breakfast consisted of an apple, a yoghurt and a tea, as a.m. snack, after the run, I prepared scrambled egg white with paprika and tomato. For late lunch I prepare chicken and broccoli, dinner most probably low fat yoghurt and an orange.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 12
Easy Sunday. My workout today: light 15 minute run, jumping jacks with light dumbbells, shadow boxing with light dumbbells, dumbbell flys on physioball, crunches diagonal on physioball, pushups on physioball, jumping jacks, shadowboxing. In the afternoon I had a fit & stretch class and a personal training session. Active, but from the intensity easy to medium.
Food today: for breakfast I had an omlette with paprika, for lunch ham, tomato and 2 egg whites, for p.m. snack 2 egg whites and paprika and for dinner I will have a protein shake. All together, since the morning, i had about 1 liter of water and 1 liter of tea.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 13
For workout I will repeat today the beach boot camp and before go for a light 20 minute run. In the afternoon I teach 2 personal trainings and 1 group class. Will be an active day!
Food today: started with scrambled egg white, tomato, whole meal toast with curd cheese and half an apple, as a.m. snack after workout I cook chicken and broccoli and add an orange. For lunch and p.m. snack I prepare an egg white – thuna salad with paprika, tomato and cucumber. I will come back home late today, so in the evening I will have maximum a whey shake.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 14
In Zurich the first snow has fallen – so it is very clear to me what my workout will be like today: a first run though the fresh snow. I have to check if the shoe sole is still ok or if i will slip too much. So I am planning a 30 minute run through the forrest today at lunchtime. In the afternoon I will go for David`s workout day 5 of week 2 for “symmetric fit” body type: lunge de luxe, rope skipping, isometric ab exercise, lunge de luxe, squat jump, pliè squat with calf raise (i think I have never done so many pliè squats in my life before David Kirsch`s Sound Mind Sound Body – I like this exercise as balance and coordination exercise), rope skipping and finally the double crunch.
Food today: Had a wholemeal sandwich with curd cheese, low fat cheese, ham and salad for breakfast, go for 2 egg white, ham and tomato & cucumber salad as a.m. snack. For lunch I plan to have a mixed salad with thun or chicken (the tuna salad from yesterday was delicious – I will post the receipt later in the food section). As p.m. snack I cook cabbage & paprika and will try a new receipt to prepare coal fish (I post it later in the food section). For a decent dinner I plan a small (0,2 liter) protein shake.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 15
For my workout I plan only a light 30 Minute run today – and instead of a longer workout I will prepare the earlier promised foto & text material for meditation and further workout. Also I will check out today a software for podcasting to provide you with easy audio instrucions. Step by step you will find not only text posts for the book reviews, but also adiovisual backup!
My food today: Breakfast tea and wholemeal sandwich with curd cheese, ham and salad, as a.m. snack I plan egg white, an apple and a tea, for lunch most probably a mixed salad with chicken. As p.m. snack I took an orange and for dinner I plan a vegetable soup with fish.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 16 & 17
Yesterday I did my forrest workout for about 40 Minutes, after this on my sport shedule was David Kirsch`s workout from “Sound Mind Sound Body” – week 3 day 1.
Take into consideration that week 3 of “Sound Mind Sound Body” implicates more cardio training between the exercises and so called “drop sets”, meaning that you start the exercises with a higher weight and drop the load till end of the actual set. This way your workout gets more demanding for your cardio system and your muscles and energy depots get more challenged.
My exercises from yesterday rope skipping, double crunch, 50 m sprint (well i did it inside, so I executed sprinting on the spot for about 15 seconds), push up deluxe, 50 m sprint (as above), dumbbell press on physioball, rope skipping, standing biceps curls, 50 m sprint (as above), double crunch.
My food yesterday: low fat yoghurt, a handful of almonds and 0.5 apple for breakfast, tomato salad for lunch and my special chili con carne for dinner. So I skipped my snacks – I did not feel hungry at all even though a had a long workout session. My favourite drink is herbal or rooibosh tea, so I had about 1 liter of tea yesterday, and about 1 liter of plain water.
Today my workout will consist of light outdoor run for 30 minutes and David`s workout. running on the spot with high knees (pulling knees up to hip level), squat thrusts, running on the spot, squat thrusts, diagonal crunch, running on the spot with high knees), running on the spot, lunges with jump.
Food today: breakfast yoghurt, orange and some almonds, for lunch I will go for a vegetable soup, p.m. snack a protein shake and for dinner I will prepare chicken and vegetable.
Sound Mind Sound Body 18 & 19
Dear friends,
have a great St. Nicholas day! Today it might be even harder than usual to stick to your nutritional program and stay disciplined when there are all this sweet decorations on the table. Think about it, it is not that bad to go for a nice sweet – but keep in mind not to overdo it.
My suggestion would be that you should try to keep extra calories in a range which you can train down during 1-2 days. So, between 500 – 1000 cal extra should not be a problem, as long as you keep up your training schedule in the next day. Have fun and if it works keep this method in mind for X-mas!!! The only aspect you have to find out: how many calories and what ingredients did your grandma put into that cookies?
Meanwhile, I am used to ask my grandma for her cooking receipts, because this way she understands my interest as a compliment (which it is, and her food always tastes delicious). And additionally you have to find out a polite way to stop your grandma putting all that delicious food on your plate, even when you are full already!
My workout & food yesterday, Day 18 of David Kirsch`s Sound Mind Sound Body:
Workout day 3, week 3: I did my “Forrest Workout” so that I did already rows, chin ups and cardio training. Then at home I executed push ups with close grip, crunch with leg scissors, bent forward row with dumbbells, triceps kick backs with dumbbells, crunch on physioball, stretching & relaxing for finishing the workout.
Food yesterday: some almonds and a coffee for breakfast, for lunch I prepared a baked spicy chicken with vegetables (will prepare the receipt and post it in the food section), for dinner scrambled eggs with orange and kiwi. Well, after that, we had a DVD-evening, so I had beer and wholemeal crackers – it was fun
Food today: late breakfast almonds, low fat joghurt, orange and a coffee, for lunch I plan fish and vegetables, p.m. snack egg white, ham and fruits and for dinner I will only have a protein shake.
Workout today: Before lunch I will go for my “Forrest Workout” and combine it with interval sprinting (3×50 m sprint with 50 m pause, 3 times in a row) and do lunges with jump at two stations in the forrest. At home I will add David`s workout for day 4, week 3: I will skip the jumping jacks, do dumbbell flys on physioball, standing shoulder press with dumbbells, shadow boxing, skip again the jumping jacks, lateral raise with dumbbells, front raise with dumbbells, shadow boxing, upper body twist, David`s african dance step and finally stretch & relax. That will do it for me today.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 20
Workout today: light run 30 minutes. After that David Kirsch`s workout with sumo squat, rope skipping, crunch on a physioball, reverse crunch and hip extension de luxe. I think tomorrow I will have one more time the beach boot camp with DVD!
Food today: omelette with cucumber for breakfast, protein shake as a.m. snack, veggies and fish for lunch, p.m. snack protein shake and for dinner I had a vegetable soup.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 21 & 22
With week 4 of David Kirsch`s “Sound Mind Sound Body” Program you can focus a little more on your weak body parts which need more attention to be shaped. David suggests in his book that you train this parts 2 times per week in addition to your usual training routine and proposes different routines for the different bodyparts, e.g. for getting your glutes more toned, he suggests (workout # 1) 3 different kinds of squats as well as stiffed-leg deadlifts and standing back extensions in addition to your training, but also 2 more workouts (” # 2 hip extension de luxe”, lunges crossover, lateral lunge, kick-back lunge /# 3 lunges with jump. ) Basically, depending on your weak spot, you alternate 3 different routines for more focus on this spots. This strategy emphasises increasing the amount of exercises on weak spots and moving the target muscle from different angles.
My workout yesterday: 30 minutes easy run, then I did the beach boot camp and in addition I executed David`s workout # 1 to focus on my chest and arms (push up, dumbbell press on physioball, incline dumbbell press on physioball).
My food yesterday: Breakfast yogurt, spelt flakes, sunflower seeds and kiwi, a.m. snack paprika, lunch omelette, p.m. snack protein shake and evening fresh tomato soup.
Today I plan for workout again the beach boot camp and in addition workout # 2 for chest and arms (push up with feet on physioball, deumbbell press on physioball and dumbbell flys on physioball.
My food today: for breakfast I had some almonds, kiwi and a coffee, as a.m. snack I plan a protein shake and an apple, for lunch I will prepare a thuna-omelette with paprika, p.m. snack protein shake and an orange and for dinner I will try a new receipt to prepare fish and broccoli.
Change your workout routine -”periodization”- week 4 of Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 23
Dear friends,
welcome to week 4 of the online review of David Kirsch`s “Sound Mind Sound Body”. Starting with week 4 till the end of the program you should focus on your weak body parts and therefore alternate your routine for this part (see also post below from yesterday). Alternating your training routine is a very important part of planning your training (“periodization”). Depending on your training goal and focus, you should vary your routine every 3-6 weeks. Professional athletes do it like this, but also on hobby level it is important to offer your body different nerval and muscular inputs on a regular basis. This will improve your physical abilities and increase your energy depots.
In “Sound Mind Sound Body” the change of routine has been planned for the 4 th week – because it is a 6 week program. The change is, more or less, an increase in training volume and intensity for your weak body parts. The focus of periodization in this program is obviously provoking the maximum shape during this relatively short time period. Within another program (other focus, e.g. sport specific training), your would organize the periodization in a different way. But remember: David Kirsch is famous for training models like Heidi Klum and other celebreties, which focus is getting toned in a short period of time.
My training today: “The Forrest Workout”, and repetition of workout day 3, week 1: standing lat pulley with dumbbells, pull over with dumbbells on physioball, triceps press with dumbbell on physioball, close grip push up on physioball, leg circles and double crunch.
My food today: For breakfast I had an omelette with mushrooms, a.m. snack i plan a protein shake and an orange. for lunch fish and vegetables, as p.m. snack a salad and for dinner I go out, so I will see what choices the menu of the restaurant offers to follow my nutritional plan ))
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 24 – Tips for injury prevention & recovery
Today I kept workout easy, because I did yesterday a great 12k run through hills and forrest – i felt awesome and had a sound sleep later ) After the run I had an own workout with Thera tubes which I will post in exercise section. Basically it was a workout for the chest, back and shoulders with only light use of legs (legs lightly bended or static lunge position) – my legs where too tired for any more work. I did (standing) shoulder press, lateral raise, front raise, reverse fly variations, standing biceps curl and triceps overhead press, physioball pushup (each 2 sets with 20-30 reps, with 2 tubes or the single strongest tube it was a medium load) and finally 15 minutes stretch & relax (that felt great ).
Today I had a abdominal training class which included a light full body activiation with “Aerostep” and Flexibar and core workout on physioball and floor. That was perfect – my muscles felt so much better after this light workout. Today, it was the level of a regeneration training. I keep it always like this: I listen to my body and if some parts feel strained I take care of it. This is one of the most simple principles to prevent injuries: do not overdo it with your training and plan your rest with the same passion as you do plan your training. Alternatives or additional actions for reducing the training load on a recovery day and curing your body & mind are e.g.:
active rests in sauna,
steam bath or whirlpool,
massage,
swimming or aqua gymnastics,
stretching,
a light Yoga session or
a light walk.
You should organize, depending on the intensity of your weekly workout schedule, at least one recovery day per week with only light training and additional recovery actions. This will help to keep up your bodys energy level as well as your mental power – especially if you have a stressful job. Take your time to slow down (“slow down day” and you will win additional power!
My food today: For breakfast low fat yoghurt, almonds and an orange (in addition I had a vitamin drink because of the hard workout from yesterday), for lunch I prepared an omelette with turkey ham, curd cheese and tomato, as p.m. snack a protein shake and for dinner I will have just some fruits and tea.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 25
My workout today: repetition of week 3, day 3: back, abs and arms. Standing back roll up, bent forward lat pulley with tube, arm curls and shoulder press standing with tube, row standing with tube, core workout on physioball and stability training on the floor. For tomorrow morning I plan to repeat the 12k run like 2 days ago – I love this track. So tomorrow, besides the long run, I go for chest and shoulder workout ( week 3, day 4 with a little variation).
My food today: For breakfast I had coffee and scrambled eggs with ham, as a.m. snack a kiwi and some almonds and 0,5 litres of tea, for lunch time a mixed salad and for dinner I ate salad, meat red cabbage and potatoes . I could not resist the potatoes – normally I try to avoid food which contains starches, especially in the evening. But in combination with red cabbage and filet it was delicious! I will burn the additional calories tomorrow morning ))
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 26
My workout today: 12k run with tempo variations (“Fartlek”, I changed tempo between medium and slow for different distances (3 x 50 – 200 m, 3 times in a row, then easy tempo to decrease the heart beat). After that a short chest and shoulder workout ( week 3, day 4 with a little variation): dumbbell fly & push ups on physioball, shoulder press standing, lateral raise & front raise standing each 2 sets 20 – 30 repetitions)
My food today: for breakfast a protein shake, as lunch two fried eggs on wholemeal bread with ham and tomato, for dinner lamb filet with mixed salad and fried chinese vegetables. I had about 1,5 litres of plain water today, two cups of coffee and 1 liter of tea.
Sound Mind Sound Body – Day 27, 28 & 29
Dear friends,
the last two days have been really busy, I had a lot of appointments and foto shootings – at the same time I work on a fitness video. But, nevertheless, I followed my running program in the last two days and additionally did some exercises with tube, physioball and outdoors to keep the muscles fit
My food was a good mix of my favourites: for breakfast omelet, lunch veggies with lean meat, p.m. snack a protein shake and dinner a veggie soup. At the moment I calculate my daily calory budget with some extra points for x-mas chocolate – I have the feeling it cures my soul but I try not to overdo it, because I do not want to gain weight over x-mas and keep in shape for further foto shootings in January. So I try to keep extra calories under 250 calories, which I can compensate roughly with 1 hour of running. If I do some extra exercises within the workout, I am in the green zone lol ))
Today I plan a video shooting for the “Forrest Workout” – I have to improve my video moderation & demonstration skills. I think I can post the video today in the evening (MEZ) or tomorrow.
So my workout today will consist of a fit & stretch class (which I teach), the video shooting mentioned (ok, not so many calories burned ) and one time more David Kirsch`s “beach boot camp” with exercise variations.
My food today: I had a a coffee, sandwich with curd cheese, gouda and ham and an apple for breakfast, as a.m. snack I will have some almonds, a low fat yoghurt and a tea, for lunch I prepare fish and vegetables, p.m. snack a protein shake and I plan to prepare fresh homemade tomato soup for dinner – I will post the receipt later in the food section.
A lot of people go crazy on food and drinks if they go out. If it is not like that every weekend, your body should cope with it if you take care during the week.
Some tips for going out to take care of your health – and be fit to do sport on the next day:
try to avoid sugar loaded cocktails, prefer wine (max 2 glasses, if it gets more remember to drink plenty of water to give your body a chance to cope with the alcohol),
stick to your nutritional program and try not to eat to much of fat loaded carbs, prefer veggies, fish and low fat meat, any kind of delicious dish
Try to keep in mind that you should be able to train on the next morning and you will find suitable amounts and choices of food and drinks for going out
Try to relax and enjoy. Sometimes, if you want to drop weight, you can overstress yourself and lose all the fun with it. If you want to succeed, you need to create long-term strategies and adopt an overall healthy, but fun lifestyle. Only if you include going out and manage to stay healthy on parties, you will succeed in the long run. This is the hardest part, and definitely a mind-matter! Read this article to understand better, why losing weight is a matter of mind
I try to keep my workout exciting for myself and therefore vary the stability training a lot. This way, you know a lot of exercises after a while! Try it, and if you change exercises, always tell your self what the exercise is for and what the focus of the technique should be. This trains your knowledge and attention for the different exercises!
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