One of my favorite competitions is cyclocross.  Unlike road biking, it's basically an anything-goes, full body workout that's great for burning fat and getting a cardio workout in.  If you've been working out and and are looking to trim fat weight, I highly recommend looking for local cyclocross races.
 
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A chin-up bar can offer a quick workout
Many people have jobs, families, or other commitments that keeps them from spending as much time as they should at the gym.  When there's just not enough time in a day to make a trip to the gym, bodyweight exercises can be a good stand-in workout.  Bodyweight exercises use only the weight of the body as resistance, and require little or no equipment to do.

See the full article for ideas.  Some basic bodyweight exercises include:
  • Push Ups
    Begin in push up position, on knees or toes. Perform 4 push ups, abs in and back straight. On the 5th push up, lower halfway down and hold for 4 counts. Push back up and repeat the series - 4 regular push ups and 1 halfway--5 or more times.
  • Pull Ups
    The pull up exercise does require some basic equipment, or some creativity (go to a playground or find a low hanging tree branch, for example), but it's a great, simple way to build upper body strength.
  • One-Leg Balance / Squat / Reach
    Stand on one leg and hold it as long as you can. If this is too easy, add a slight squat motion. Still too easy? Place an object on the floor, several feet in front of you (a book, perhaps), and slowly squat down, and reach out with one arm and touch the object and slowly return to an upright position. Stay on one leg at all times. Repeat on the other leg after a minute or so.
  • Tuck Jump
    The tuck jump exercise ranks near the top of the list for developing explosive power using only an athlete's body weight.
  • Chair Dips
    You’ll need two chairs, (or a bed and a chair or a counter, etc…) for this great tricep exercise. Place two chairs facing each other, about 3 feet apart. Sit on one chair with your hands palm down and gripping the edge of the chair. Place your heels on the edge of the other chair and hold yourself up using your triceps. Slide forward just far enough that your behind clears the edge of the chair and lower yourself so your elbows are at 90 degrees. Do as many repetitions as you can.
  • Wall Sit 
    With your back against a wall, and your feet about 2 feet away from the wall, slide down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Hold the position as long as you can. This is great for ski conditioning.

(source)

 
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Carbo loading is a pre-competition ritual shared by athletes in just about every sport.  There's more to it than just eating a ton of carbs; do it right and you can get a competitive edge and a delicious meal in the process.  Here's how:

A brief history
Gunvar Ahlborg was the Swedish physiologist that correlated glycogen (carbs in liver and muscle) levels with performance.  Ahlborg also discovered the phenomenon of 'supercompensation,' in which muscles try to store up high amounts of glycogen in response to extreme glycogen depletion.

The Ahlborg Method
By exploiting supercompenstation using the Ahlborg Method, an athlete can maximize his/her glycogen levels.  It's very simple:


1. Perform an exhaustive workout one week before a long race (90 minutes-plus).
2. Consume a very low-carb diet (10%) for the next 3-4 days while training lightly.
3. Consume a very high-carb diet (90%) the next 3-4 days while continuing to train lightly


That's all there is too it!  Glycogen metabolism needs to occur in the presence of oxygen to prevent lactic acid buildup.  Taking a nitric oxide supplement such as Force Factor will increase blood oxygen levels to complement increased glycogen levels from a carbo load.

Time it properly and you'll have plenty of glycogen to burn during an intense competition or workout. (source)

 
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If you're working out and eating properly, you're probably in good health.  There's always more you can do to keep your body in healthy shape though; Men's Health recently published an article titled "The 5 Supplements Your Heart Needs," by Amanda Junker, which covered nutritional supplements not usually associated with body building, but are key components to cardio health.  The important part of the article are posted below (source).  For those of you using or thinking of using Force Factor, they also make a multivitamin and omega-3 product along with their NO supplement.

full article:
http://www.menshealth.com/spotlight/heart/supplements.php

Aspirin Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory medicine that thins your blood, making it more difficult for your body to develop clots that can cause heart attacks. A Canadian study shows aspirin is especially effective in men. The reason why isn't confirmed, but researchers speculate it's because "blood clots tend to form in bigger blood vessels in men, and aspirin could have bigger efficacy in these larger cells more readily," says Don Sin, M.D., of University of British Columbia, one of the study's researchers.

Omega-3 This fatty acid is found in fish, and it can be helpful in balancing blood lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides. "Fish oil is helpful for people who have high triglycerides or who are at risk of heart disease," says Charles Campbell, M.D., clinical cardiologist and director of inpatient services at the University of Kentucky. Studies show Omega-3 can help prevent heart attack because it slows the build-up of plaque in the arteries. You can get pure fish oil in capsule form, but that can be expensive, and eating more fish will do more to improve your total health. "The best way to treat triglycerides is to treat metabolic syndrome with diet and exercise—prevention starts there," he says.

Vitamin D D can determine your risk of heart attack, according to a recent Framington Heart Study. "Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, above and beyond established cardiovascular risk factors," said Thomas J. Wang, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. The higher risk was particularly evident among individuals with high blood pressure.

Coenzyme Q 10 "CoQ10 has shown to increase heart contractility [the performance of cardiac muscles]," says Dr. Campbell. A bonus: It may improve muscle function throughout your whole body. Preliminary research suggests that CoQ10 causes small decreases in blood pressure (systolic and possibly diastolic), according to the Mayo Clinic. Low blood levels of CoQ10 have been found in people with hypertension, although it is not clear if CoQ10 "deficiency" is a cause of high blood pressure.

Niacin "More men die from low good cholesterol than high bad cholesterol—and niacin boosts that HDL ‘good cholesterol,'" says Dr. Berkowitz. "HDL is a clearing mechanism to get rid of LDL or bad cholesterol, it's like the garbage truck of the system," says Berkowitz. "Boosting HDL facilitates the transport of cholesterol and triglycerides so they can be extracted out of body." The downside: It must be taken at very high doses to be effective, so side effects like flushing and diarrhea are common. Use this like a drug with a doctor's recommendation.

 
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I will use this blog post interesting and useful workout and nutrition advice from friends, teammates, and other internet sources.

The goal is to promote working outeating right, and building muscle.

Today I found a great post over at Mens Health training forum titled Essential Reading, which has compiled great regimens and literature on weight training and nutrition for everyone from beginners to hardened experts.  There's easily a few hundred workout and eating articles that have already been screened by members.  Definitely a great place to start or augment your regimen!