And so the busy autumn comes

So before I delve into this entry, I'm going to give a sidenote. I love calling this season Autumn and not Fall. It's more specific and it looks and sounds prettier.

Anywho, sorry I've been away for such a long time. I've gotten lost in all my excitement.
1. New Job. Woooooo! I'm gonna get paid soooooooon!!!
2. I am gearing up for graduate school/programs for last year. On the list in the US are Stanford, UC-Davis, and UNC. For overseas, I'm looking at Uni Münster and Uni Marburg (through DAAD). I'm looking at CBYX, a language immersion class, uni semester, and internship program. AND I'VE DECIDED TO APPLY TO CAMBRIDGE. Like, the one in the UK. True story. So I've been incredibly busy finding recs, writing essays, and filling out apps and such. And training for my new job.
3. I need to exercise again. I'm tired a lot (from #1 and 2), but I need to get moving and de-stress that way. ugggggh.
4. I've been doing my own research on Food Culture. I've become best friends with the library; I attended a presentation and meeting at Chapel Hill, and I'm trying to meet people in CLT. Apparently UNC-Charlotte is developing a sustainability program? awesome!
5. I've ALSO been marathoning through Q.I. I think that's my favourite show.

I don't know what else to write except thanks all for reading! and i won't find out about these grad schools and such until (at the earliest) March. boo.

all about exercise

so this post is about exercise. i don't like exercise. specifically, i don't like cardio. cardio just... is annoying. i really need classes or accountability partners to do even 30 minutes of cardio. i do, however, love strength training. probably because it's easy for me to gain muscle (not easy for me to lose fat).

so, to force myself to do cardio, i've combined it with strength training. luck for me, the get-fit guy (love this guy!), talked about this in his podcast Which Workout Burns the Most Fat?

which workout burns the most fat?

A 2008 study at the University of California asked this very question, and had one group do cardio, another group do resistance training, and a final group do a concurrent training workout in which they ran for 30-60 seconds after completing each weight lifting set.

Even though each group did the same amount of work, the combination group experienced the following:

• a 35% greater improvement in lower body strength,

• a 53% greater improvement in lower body endurance,

• a 28% greater improvement in lower body flexibility,

• a 144 % greater improvement in upper body flexibility,

• an 82% greater improvement in muscle gains, and

• a 991 % greater loss in fat mass!

That means the combination group not only burned fat and built muscle at the same time, but the amount of fat they burned was a ten-fold increase over the amount burned by the groups that did cardio or resistance training only.

So without a doubt, combining cardio and resistance training will burn the fastest.

these are my go-tos:
kettlebell
boy do i hate kettlebell. this little device brings me misery. i end sore all over. i'm forced to do the hip swing, one armed swings, some kind of snatching maneuver, lunges, figure 8s. it's just a nightmare. but the workout is so efficient and people should mix up their workouts to confuse the body, that i force myself to do it once a week.

cardio strength
a butt kicker! seriously! we use stuff like bosus, balls, gliders, weights, kettlebells, mats, and everything in between. it doesn't require quite the endurance that kettlebell does, but it targets different things. the instructors have different approaches too. one instructor may switch between typical strength training and cardio. another may target multiple muscles at the same time as increasing the resistance, thereby making the heart go into a cardio zone.


but my favourite exercise of all time: PILATES.
although pilates was invented by German-born Joseph Pilates, he started developing the program in the UK and eventually came to the US, where it spread like wildfire. originally it was used as rehabilitation for wounded veterans. now, it's used to increase fitness. there are a few principles of pilates, which can be found here, but these are my highlights:
1. pilates stretches as it strengthens. the body is (mostly) the only tool used. the body controls what happens to the movements. it lengthens everything as it allows strengthening through controlled movement.
2. pilates focuses, especially on breath. the breath is nearly as important as the movement itself. everything is done with focus and intent.
3. pilates allows me to see new things my body can do. it's amazing how changing from a flexed foot to a pointed foot makes such a difference in its effect. it's remarkable, really.


that's all for now. i have some exciting news to share soon, but don't want to jinx too much. also read this blog. it's important.

Chafing

So one thing they tell you, but they never detail to you are the difficulties of exercise.

myth: 
exercise makes you happy

fact:
Okay, so technically endorphins are still released. The brain still makes you happy. But, really, when you don't exercise you forget that you may feel better, so you keep thinking that exercise is just a big pain.

The other big problem with exercise: it makes you chafe. BIG TIME. especially when you're so big that your skin constantly meets other skin. That does not make me happy. Feeling pain after I exercise (not even talking about the DOMS) does not make me feel happy!

myth:
kettlebell is fun
fact:
kettlebell is the devil, but sometimes the fire can make you work harder.

In other news, I need to read more, watch tv less, and talk to nutritionists and psychologists.