Lawmakers in Kentucky won an approval to pass a bill requiring public elementary and middle schools to make physical activity a part of children’s daily routines.

Under the bill, schools would have to include a half hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day, or 150 minutes a week, by the 2008-09 school year.

Personally, I think this a fantastic idea. According to an About.com article, experts estimate that 15% of kids are overweight and another 15% are at risk of becoming overweight. Anything that could potentially help get these numbers down should at least be experimented with. I don’t see how teaching children about daily exercise and proper nutrition could ever be a bad thing, especially with obesity being a major problem in U.S. adults too.

Not all are thrilled about the idea, however.

Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Crescent Springs, expressed some misgivings but voted to advance the bill.

“I’m nervous about the potential that this is going to take away some time from the classroom,” he said.

Sen. Westwood has a valid concern, but I doubt 30 minutes of daily exercise is really going to take away from a child’s normal studies. Plus, daily exercise is great for keeping the mind active and alert, which should only heighten a child’s learning capabilities.

It is 2007 right? I just can’t believe that I still see articles like the one in the March 2007 issue of Muscle & Body, “Gain 10lbs of Muscle in 10 Weeks.” Just the title alone should be enough to let people know how ridiculous the following information is.

The article starts off with a bang. “To add mass, you have to take in more calories than you need for body weight maintenance. It’s that simple.” The recommendation is to eat 1000 extra calories per day. That’s right it’s not a misprint, 1000 calories per day.

The author Steve Stiefel’s rational for prescribing such a drastic increase in calories is just as ridiculous. He writes, “In fact, if you’re training hard with weights, and you’re not adding as much muscle as you think you should, the most likely reason you’re not attaining your goal is that you’re undereating.” The author Steven Stiefel has his head up his ass.

The article goes on to give recommendations on the proper way to add 1000 calories:

Eat More Protein. This is the only recommendation I agree with. Most people who are looking to gain muscle don’t eat enough protein. Protein maintains and repairs everything in our bodies, if you don’t consume enough you be spinning your wheels.

Eat More Carbs – Increase carb consumption by 150 grams per day. The way in which people process carbohydrates varies greatly from person to person. This will do nothing but make the average person fat.

Eat More Fat. Do most people need to eat more fat? Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. However it’s the type of fat that’s recommended that I emphatically disagree with. Avocados, canola oil, nuts and seeds. If you’ve read my article, “Fats, Cholesterol and the Lipid Hypothesis”, you know where I stand with polyunsaturated fats. Not only do they wreak havoc on our bodies, they promote fat deposition. If you’re looking to increase your fat consumption use virgin coconut oil and omega-3. Both are extremely healthy and both promote a lean body.

The rest of the article is not worth commenting on. Just more worthless info. There really isn’t anything else to say. The only thing, however, I can say for sure this prescription for gaining 10lbs will do, is get you bigger. And as long as you don’t mind 10 lbs of more fat, you’re set.

Think about how many weight lifting exercises we do sitting or lying down. Just to name a few, there is the flat bench press, incline bench press, military press, lateral raises, bicep curls, triceps extensions and lat pull downs.

I’ve read several publications that recommend standing up for as many exercises as you can. The more we sit down, the more likely we are to weaken our backs and abs. Also, if we don’t develop the core strength, we’re more likely to suffer an injury too. I’ve read that this especially works for hardgainers, because it forces you to work more muscle groups at one time.

Now granted, there are some exercises – like the bench press for example – that standing up is just not an option. However, the more times we get up on our feet while working out, the more likely we are to build core strength and overall balance.

We all eat food for different reasons. Some of us eat certain food to lose weight or to build muscle, while some eat whatever the hell we want, when we want. Well, what about eating food to fight aging?

In a recent online article, Men’s Health highlighted five foods that will help battle the ravages of old age:

Sunflower seeds
These salty wonders have the highest natural vitamin E content of any food around. “Vitamin E is one of the most important nutrients around for looking younger,” says Barry Swanson, Ph.D., a professor of food science at Washington State University. “No antioxidant is more effective at fighting the aging effects of free radicals.”

Spinach and beans
Researchers in Australia, Indonesia, and Sweden studied the diets of 400 elderly men and women, and found that those who ate the most leafy green vegetables and beans had the fewest wrinkles. The reason? Spinach and beans are full of compounds that help pre-vent and repair wear and tear on your skin cells as you get older.

Grape juice
Besides providing protection from heart attack and stroke, grape juice can also help keep your middle-aged skin from sagging. “Grapes are filled with antioxidant polyphenols that help to keep your skin flexible and elastic,” says Swanson.

Sweet potatoes
Overexposure to the sun is one of the primary reasons men age prematurely. But sweet potatoes may help to fight sun damage. European researchers recently found that pigments from beta-carotene?rich foods — like sweet potatoes and carrots — can build up in your skin, helping to prevent damage from ultraviolet rays.

Cheese
No wonder rats always look so young. “Cheese is one of the best foods you can eat for your teeth,” says Matthew Messina, D.D.S., an American Dental Association spokesman. “It’s a good source of calcium, to keep your teeth strong. Plus, eating cheese can lower the levels of bacteria in your mouth and keep your teeth clean and cavity-free,” he says. Dr. Messina recommends eating at least two servings of block cheese every week.

Eventually, we all think about getting older. Since we’re already eating certain foods to gain or lose weight, why not add some that will help us look better for when we take advantage of that senior discount at the movies?

A correspondent from Men’s Journal recently experimented with a high-altitude simulator to gage its effectiveness. For those unaware, a high-altitude simulator is a tent that engulfs your bed to help increase red blood cell production while you sleep. Why the hell would you want to do that? Well, red blood cells fuel endurance for when we run, swim, bike or do any other fast-paced exercise. Athletes like cyclist Lance Armstrong use it while training for a race because it helps simulate the altitude at which your red blood cells need to increase. Coupled with regular training, it’s like gaining all the benefits from weekly cardio…but while you sleep.

The product is intriguing, because according to the Men’s Journal correspondent, the tent works:

After three weeks, I felt as if I had a third lung. I blazed through a three-mile time trial 5 percent faster than I ever had, and I finished top-15 in my category in a hill climb. During the race I quickly caught my breath on the flat spots, then felt ready to pound away again. The tent worked — but I still had to train hard.

Two questions:

1) Is it worth $1,000-plus and sleeping in a bubble nightly to improve endurance?

For millionaire athletes, a thousand dollars for one of these puppies seems like a bargain, but what about for the common triathlon athlete or endurance enthusiast? Before dismissing the theory, how much do you spend yearly on food, supplements and training equipment to enhance your physique?

2) Are athletes like Armstrong cheating?

We as a society hate the fact that Barry Bonds could break a home run record he unfairly achieved, but are we being hypocritical? If these tents do work, did Armstrong have an unfair advantage? Steroids help testosterone growth, which therefore aids strength and muscle development through exercise. These tents are designed to increase red blood cell production, which therefore aids in endurance through exercise. The connection between these simulators and steroids might be on a different level, but it does raise an interesting debate.

A recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune cited a publishing in the American Journal of Medicine that calculated more than 18 million American men over age 20 are affected by erectile dysfunction.

One common link to ED? Poor eating and not enough exercise:

Almost 90 percent of the studied men with dysfunction had at least one risk factor for heart disease, such as diabetes, hypertension, poor cholesterol levels or smoking. They also were less likely to have had strenuous exercise within the month prior to the study.

“This may be a powerful motivator for male patients who may be at risk for cardiovascular disease or who have diabetes,” said Elizabeth Selvin, lead author and a faculty member in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology. “It’s another reason to get off the couch and exercise and eat well.”

Within that same article, it notes how men tend to put things off. Maybe hearing about potential sexual issues will start waking some of us up to a healthier lifestyle. I don’t know about anybody else, but having sexual problems down the road is nothing I want to contend with. If eating right and weekly exercise will keep my heart ticking and sexual life active, I’m game.

Any bodybuilder or person that is looking to get?into shape and stay healthy knows that chicken is one of the leanest?foods on the market. Chicken should be a staple in anybody’s diet that is looking to pack on muscle and stay lean. Another great thing about chicken is that it’s cheaper than steak or pork – especially frozen and in bulk – so it’s usually the meal of choice come most dinner times.

The problem is that chicken can also be boring as hell, especially if you’re eating it two or three times throughout the day to feed your growing muscles. Without having to drop too much more coin at the grocery store, here is an article from Men’s Health.com that offers different ways to jazz up the protein-packed bird: 50 ways to Feed Your Muscles.

There was an interesting article published online at American Chronicle.com about whether or not bodybuilders should?skip supplements in 2007.

The basic idea behind the article was to dispel any rumors that bodybuilders absolutely need to take supplements. They don’t. Like the article details, you can still gain muscle with proper diet and exercise without ever touching a supplement. However, using supplements can in fact, do as they say, and “supplement” your diet.

The supplement quandary is along the same lines of when people try to go to the far ends of the earth to find the perfect workout?routine or diet. If you have the money, the basic supplements can offer a great boost to your overall workout gains. Just don’t get caught up in all the hype of having to have the “latest and greatest”.

The American Chronicle article highlights the five basic supplements that bodybuilders should consider if they want to maximize their workout gains:

1) Whey Protein?

2) Creatine?

3) Glutamine?

4) High-Potency Multivitamin?

5) Essential Fatty Acids?

To see the full article, click here.?

On a whole, we all have it within ourselves to want to be healthy, be fit and look our best. However, it’s easy to get sidetracked by bad advice or information overload. The most common problem some of us face is that we think we have to find a magical workout regime or a diet that’s tailor made for us.

The truth of the matter is that any workout that continuously challenges are body and mind will work. Don’t get hung up on what specific exercises will work best for you, because then it’s easier to lose focus. Just pick out a regime from a magazine or online article or talk to someone that you trust that has had success in the gym to build you a plan. Knowing the fundamentals in the gym, changing up your workout every four to six weeks and of course having a proper diet will get you on the right track. And keep you there.??

For more workout myths and facts, including whether or not muscle will turn into fat, sweating means you’re losing weight and if working out when you’re injured actually is beneficial, check out this article from msnbc.com.

MensHealth.com posted a recent article on the top 15 foods that can help you shred pounds. Some of the usual suspects that you would find on a list like this were chicken, turkey and lean meats. Salmon and tuna also make an appearance, which is expected given how omega-3 fatty acids should be a staple to any diet geared to lose weight.

Interestingly, jalapeno, habanero and cayenne peppers also made the list. Not only were they noted, but ranked second after milk, whole grains and oatmeal. According to the article, a ‘single spicy meal can boost your metabolism by up to 25 percent, with the spike in calorie burning lasting for up to three hours after you finish eating.’ The general idea behind eating spicy food for weight loss is to speed up your heart, which burns calories.

To read the entire MensHealth.com article, click here.