Archive for the 'Be Fit Now' Category
Professional Training At A UK Football Academy
Football Showcase is a specialist firm that offers an unparalleled service. Our objective is to give a platform to those players who feel that they haven’t yet had the opportunity to prove that they are good enough to become a professional footballer.
Football Showcase offers footballers a five day stay at their Academy, while undergoing its thorough coaching course. The course was inaugurated to allow prospective footballers to prepare themselves for what goes into playing football for a living. Our squad of highly capable UEFA Licensed coaches will highlight which areas of each player’s ability need to be improved, and will work hard to improve these skills over the duration of the Academy.
Each day at the UK football academy will consist of 2 intensive training sessions, designed to assess and improve your physical, technical and mental ability of each player. At the end of the week, players will be able to play in our ‘Showcase Event’, which will involve a 90 minute match that will be played in front of scouts and representatives from professional football clubs. The Lilleshall National Sports Centre is the place to find The Football Showcase Academy. These facilities are among the best in the UK and provide an ideal backdrop for footballers to demonstrate their skills and abilities.
The Lilleshall National Sports centre has an incredible sporting pedigree as, prior to being the site of the Football Showcase Academy; it was the nerve centre of The England FA School of Excellence. The organization has helped England to produce many quality international players, such as Michael Owen, Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe, Wes Brown and Scott Parker. The organization utilizes the services of licensed coaches and professional footballers. All of our team is fully FA and UEFA qualified.
Derek Fazackerly:
Derek Fazackerly used to play centre back for Blackburn Rovers. As a coach, Derek has worked at many of England’s top clubs including Manchester City and Newcastle United. Derek Fazackerly has also been employed, in the past, as an assistant to Kevin Keegan.
Steve Butler:
Steve played his football at Watford, Gillingham and Cambridge. He was previously worked as Assistant Manager for many top clubs, including Leicester City and Hull City.
Burn off Fat and Get Thinner - Use the Ab pro
Consider the following. Are you always seeking original methods, whether it’s weightloss pills or exercise gear to slim down speedily? And are you irritated by continual let downs from new products and proposals, seeing that you simply want to know one thing: how to slim down fast? Frequently you might believe you’ve found the solution at last - when actually it’s nothing but an utter failure. Well, most likely you haven’t given our novel product a chance yet! Find out how to get thin in a manner that’s easy and enjoyable with this stunning revolutionary machine! Tighten that tum, tail, hips and thighs by following our diet suggestions, as well as making use of the machine. There is also a DVD which comes with the Ab Pro, and there are other extras available to help you monitor your calory intake.
So chances are you’re wondering - is this really the truth? Honestly - it actually does work! It’s so effective, helping you to lose weight in hardly any time, particularly with those pesky squidgy body bits - with no risky fat burners involved. More often than not customers report that their abs get harder within as few as thirty days of their making use of the Ab Pro appliance. You could also develop the muscles in your back, shoulders and arms, simply because of the stances you adopt while using Ab Pro. Ab Pro is so simple to put together - just pay attention to the help on the DVD. You could have your own Ab Pro installed at home in an instant for a small cost, plus handling and shipping. Other users have said how easy it was to put together and store - it’s compact enough even for people with nary a space. Hence you really have no serious pretext for not ordering yourself one…
There are merely a couple of minor problems worth mentioning here - some of those who use the machine reported that their knee joints suffered as a result of using it, so make sure you use lots of cushioning to prevent this. Additionally, the rollers might squeak from time to time- but this can quickly be rectified with a just a a few drops of oil.
You may not look quite like the television advert models right away - but our product seriously has a significant impact, although if you want to know how to cut down your weight rapidly: make sure you expand your exercise routine further than only relying on Ab Circle Pro. Exercises using our product should be just one aspect of your daily exercise routine. Working out your muscles, building up your strength, enhancing your endurance and performing heart strengthening exercises are vital too. You should also make sure to eat properly.
Ab Circle Pro really can help you to look and feel so much better. At the end of the day - with a comprehensive guarantee - there’s nothing to lose!
Coming to Terms with the Kettlebell
Russian kettlebells aren’t new developments. The conjectures favored by sports scholars date the instrument as being developed approximately three centuries ago. With that said, are you surprised to hear that it is now among the most popular workouts on the planet? So let’s examine how that happened. The Russian kettlebell has just experienced an incredible jump in reputation. The less complicated exercises can be used by anybody, no matter their prior workout plan, and there’s no need to pay a great deal for the required gear. You can’t just go right to the more advanced routines. You should practise the first moves first, before mustering the really advanced ones. Whatever else you do, with these kettlebells as with all weight training, you need to ensure that you get yourself the ideal weight for your workout. Thankfully, employing kettlebell exercises, you need smaller weights than you’d expect. Typically for women, an 18lb Russian kettlebell can easily be more than required as you begin, however, men should choose the 35lb size. This is because the results of this style are linked much more closely to the motions practised than they are to the weights being employed. You’ll find that it’s worthwhile to get an educational book or DVD to guide you and make sure you carry out the routines as they should be. The starting technique to master when using the Russian kettlebell should be a two-handed swing. As the foundation stone of many later kettlebell routines, this ought to be dealt with in the early going — and there’s more to it than you think. The weight should ideally flow smoothly, with no harsh stops. You also want to check you’re not lifting the kettlebell with back and shoulders: lift with your hips. Following mastery of this maneuver, you can take a stab at the more complicated motions. Add increased reps into your preferred day’s exercises, and punch it all up by playing an assortment of different music to ensure it all stays fun. Perhaps another set can be used once you know what you’re doing, and to change your routine up fully you could perhaps even alter the weight of the kettlebells involved. When you do this you can dodge the plateau which makes regular exercise less powerful.
One thing we really must repeat is that kettlebells will not help you increase your strength or aid in bodybuilding. What these exercises are intended to do is help you shed weight, tone up, and improve fitness and stamina.
One last tip, integrate a Russian kettlebell routine to your broader keep fit program. Naturally, the degree to which you use the kettlebells is a matter of individual choice. Start off with a couple of times over the course of the week for general fat burning, or up the intensity and factor in these workouts once a weekday. You’ll burn your fat away faster than you’d imagine…
Kettlebells and Fitness
Scarcely a modern kind of weight is the pair of kettlebells. The conjectures supported by historians place the weight as originating early in the 1700s. However, is anyone surprised to hear that the kettlebell has become one of the trendiest workouts globally? So let’s examine how that happened. The kettlebell has enjoyed an amazing rise in fame. And who could deny it was well deserved? The less complicated exercise routines are accessible to all, even if they didn’t have a prior workout plan, and there shouldn’t be a need to order expensive apparatus. You can’t just go straight into the more complex exercise routines, though. Learn to walk before you run, as your father might say.
The optimum weight for your workout is something you definitely must work out before you start work with the kettlebells. And, when you use kettlebells in your exercises, you need smaller weights than you’d expect. Giving guidelines along gender lines, the eighteen lb weight is commonly best for women just beginning, and males beginning will probably get optimal results using a 35lb. The explanation lies in how the exercise benefits you. Using the Russian kettlebell it comes from motion rather than from the weight. You’ll find that it’s wise to purchase an instructional video or brochure to guide you and make certain you carry out the movements exactly right. The key routine to work on with the kettlebell should ideally be the two-handed swing. It appears more straightforward than it is, but it is the foundation of most more advanced exercises. You ought to sweep smoothly, avoiding hasty jerks or stops. You should make sure your lift doesn’t stem from your spine: lift with your hips instead. By the time you have this technique mastered, you can progress to a few of the more advanced kettlebell tricks. In order to keep your commitment, diversity is useful - you can always adjust your backing music, move techniques in and out of the fitness program, and so on. Over time, as your experience level improves, you could perhaps change the weights and maybe introduce a second pair. In this way, you can make sure your muscles will be toiling as hard as they were at the beginning and avoid levelling out. You shouldn’t nurture the wrong idea, though, that a better built body and stronger muscles are a realistic option if you only use kettlebells, mind you. What they’ll do is help you reduce weight, enhance tone, and enhance general fitness. One last tip: integrate a Russian kettlebell routine to your well rounded exercise program. The amount you perform the maneuvers is entirely up to you. Initially, practise once or twice over the course of the week for basic fat burning, or increase the pace and factor in these routines daily. You will slim down faster than you’d believe!
Why Your Cardiovascular Workouts Might Be A Big Waste Of Your Time
What if I were to tell you that most if not all of the cardiovascular exercise you do was worthless? Well, guess what… over 50% of the people who perform cardio in an attempt to burn fat are wasting their time… hours and hours of it! Are you one of them?
Before you call me crazy, let me explain. I’m not saying that cardiovascular exercise can’t or doesn’t burn fat; it’s just that most people are not performing the right type of cardio workouts. Before I get into the details, let me first cover some of the basics.
Just like anything in life, if you want to be successful you must do two things:
1. Know what you’re doing (or learn); be knowledgeable
2. Have a plan (detailed/well thought out)
How Cardio Exercise Affects Your Body
Well, I’m going to make sure that after reading this today you will be able to do both. So let’s start with your knowledge. It’s critical that you understand how your body works and what happens when you exercise.
The human body is constantly burning a mix of fuels or energy sources: fat and glycogen. Glycogen is energy stored in muscle cells that is primarily used during intense muscle contractions. Some examples of these intense muscle contractions would be strength training, running, hard physical work, etc. So basically, during low to moderate activity levels, your body first uses what’s in the blood stream and then uses primarily fat.
When you are highly active you use more glycogen and less fat. You are probably wondering what all this has to do with you and your cardio workouts… right? Well, it matters… a lot!
There are different benefits of different level of activity. Let me explain to you the system use, why I use it, and why it’s the most effective. I recommend three basic level of cardiovascular exercise:
Level 1: Long easy workout (ex. walking 60 minutes
Level 2: Moderate intensity / moderate time (ex. fast walk 45 minutes)
Level 3: Short, hard workout (ex. running 20 minutes)
NOTE: It doesn’t matter what activity or piece of equipment you choose. All that matters is that you get to the desired level.
Let’s talk about what happens at each of the three levels. When exercising at the Level 1 pace, your body burns more colonies from fat, HOWEVER the total number of calories is small. In order for you to burn a lot of body fat at the easy level you would need to do it for hours at a time! Not too practical is it? This is not to say there aren’t benefits because there are…it’s just not the best choice when it comes to fat loss. The primary benefit is increased blood flow and circulation, which means you’ll feel better, you’ll recover more quickly, and you’ll be healthier in general.
Ok, let’s talk about Level 2 now. At this level you burn more calories but less are from fat. Moderate work will result in a larger increase in metabolism than the easy Level 1 and will last 2-6 hours in most cases. You also get the benefits of increased blood flow but you also have to remember that it’s a bit more stressful than Level 1. The main benefit, or I should say possible benefit is increased endurance (cardio/respiratory) IF your workouts are progressive (challenge the body’s systems to work harder over time nearly each workout if possible).
Last but not least Level 3. At this level you burn the most calories per unit of time. You also burn less fat during the workout, but the plus side is you deplete muscle glycogen which means you’ll be les likely to store “new” fat because any excess calories will be stored in the muscles instead. This typed of workout also results in the largest increase in metabolism, which will generally last 4-24 hours or more.
The Level 3 workout is by far the most effective when it comes to fat loss for four reasons:
1. Burn more calories in less time
2. Largest increase in metabolism that lasts the longest
3. Helps to add and maintain muscle tissue
4. Depletes muscle glycogen which means you’re less likely to store new fat
So what’s your goal? As you can see there are benefits at each level and how often you perform each workout should be based on your goals. You can get the benefits of all three but you must be cautious in how you structure your program. Here are some general guidelines to follow:
If your primary goal is:
Fat loss
- 1-3 Level 3 (10-20 mins)
- 1-2 Level 2 (20-30 mins)
- 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins) - Optional
Endurance
- 1 Level 3 (10-20 mins)
- 2-3 Level 2 (20-40 mins)
- 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins)
General Fitness
- 1 Level 3 (10-20 mins)
- 1-2 Level 2 (20-30 mins)
- 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins)
So to recap, you really need to know what your goals are, and what levels you need to be at and how often. On the following page is a chart that gives you the heart rate zones for all 3 of the workouts based on your age.
NOTE: If you are on blood pressure regulating medication you should first consult with your doctor and reduce the numbers by 10 each. If you are not currently exercising or have not exercised at the different levels before I advise you build up your intensity slowly.
If you would like more information on cardiovascular exercise please give me a call. You reach me at 240-731-3724 or by emailing jesse@achieve-fitness.com
Heart Rate Based Cardiovascular Exercise Guidelines
Jesse Cannone is a certified personal trainer and author of the best-selling fitness ebook, Burn Fat FAST. Be sure to sign up for his free email course as it is full of powerful weight loss and fitness tips that are guaranteed to help you get the results you want. http://www.guaranteed-weightloss.com
info@guaranteed-weightloss.com
Bigger Body muscle bars…
Here is how to eat your way top massive gains
Commercial Calorie bars are not new and they are not cheap, a good bar will cost you $2-$3 dollars a bar and I personally don’t think they are worth the money… for that kind of investment I would purchase a good and proven weight gainer
But for those of us who want mass, and are always looking at the mirror to see gains I have a great solution…Make your own MUSCLE BARS.
Before I go on, I want to state some rather obvious facts: FACT NUMBER ONE - if you want to gain mass at an accelerated pace…EAT FAT! Yes don’t avoid fat, fat is essential in the mass gaining process, dietary fats play a essential role in muscle building hormone production which ARE the Keys to outstanding muscle growth.
I have never known any one to gain mass on a low fat diet, it just will
Not happen and let me tell you, if you are getting fat on a high calorie diet, I would not accuse your fat intake, no! Rather I would accuse the simple sugars in your diet. Also a low fat diet will lower your testosterone levels, something you want to avoid when you are trying to gain weight…
also you should Know that it is far easier to lose weight or fat if you first gain muscle mass(with some fat)first then try to lose the fat before trying to build muscle mass…this is true even if you are obese
my overweight clients, I first get the to build muscle before trying to lose fat…it way easier since muscle tends to increase your metabolism on a permanent basis, making you a fat burning machine. However not all fats are created equal, you want to avoid the saturated kind (as found in animals) and consume
The essential fatty acids…EFA’s fats are energy and your body will burn it if you train correctly as espoused in the fastmuscles growth system…http://www.fastmuscles.com
The recipe that follows is simple to make and it will provide you with several days’ worth of weight gain dense snacks…
The next time you are heading out to your workouts; consume one of these babies and watch the energy boost. And you will not have to resort to the use of candy bars or some unhealthy snack
1/2 cup butter
1 cup apple juice concentrates (the frozen kind)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 whole eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pecans
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped dates
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; blend the butter, eggs, apple juice
And vanilla together, sift together with flour, wheat germ, baking soda and baking powder then add them to mixture.
Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and press into an oblong glass pan than you have buttered and floured, now bake until the top is golden brown-about 30 minutes, refrigerate to keep fresh
You will get 12 bars out of these and each one gives you
561 calories 30 grams of fat, carbohydrates 51 grams, 12 grams of protein…
And cost you less than a dollar each….
If you want to increase the portion value, include two scoops of massive growth
Hope you enjoyed this article…
About the author:
rob maraby is the author of the fastmuscles program,, it is a new revolutionary program that targets the CNS, uses low frequency high intensity training to
tap the deepest muscle fibers of the human body and allow you to gain muscle mass at an accelerated pace
read more about it at www.how-to-gain-weight-fast.com/
Costa Mesa Personal Trainers Can Make You Feel Marvelous
Don’t believe that having a Costa Mesa personal trainer is a luxury reserved only for the rich and famous. There are plenty of trainers prepared to work within your budget. You may be asking yourself “Do I really need a Costa Mesa personal trainer? Why?”
1) One of the key reasons people benefit from a Costa Mesa personal trainer is that they lose motivation to stay with a consistent physical exercise program. Certified Costa Mesa personal trainers can provide structure and accountability, and help you develop a lifestyle that encourages wellness.
2) Number one reason why people employ Costa Mesa personal trainers is to lose weight and get into shape because it works. If you made a commitment to lose the fat and build muscle, a trainer can keep you on course and help you ahieve that goal.
3) If you have any chronic health conditions, injuries or training goals a trainer will work with you and your wellness care provider to plan a safe, efficient individualized plan that considers these needs and enable you to achieve your wellness goals.
4) If you play a particular sport, a performance enhancement specialist will help you improve your skill by showing you new training techniques specific to your sport. A Costa Mesa personal trainer will incorporate skills training into your plan so you improve not only your strength and endurance, but your agility and mental focus as well.
5) If you are an absolute beginner, a Costa Mesa personal trainer is the ultimate physical fitness coach. A good trainer will present you to a very easy effective routine and build efficiently so before you know it, you have the confidence and knowledge to decide what is right for you.
6) Ok, you are already in superb shape, but you’ve been there for years. If you are stuck in the same routine and want to break out of a pleateu, a Costa Mesa personal trainer is the perfect solution. A Costa Mesa personal trainer will jump start, not only your motivation, but your routine as well.
7) a Costa Mesa personal trainer watches your form, monitors your vitals and can provide objective feedback about your limitations and strengths. Most of us tend to neglect some of the subtle signals our body provides. We either drive through pain or give up too soon. Because a Costa Mesa personal trainer can watch what you are doing while you are doing it, they can help push you or slow you down as needed.
Many Costa Mesa personal trainers make house calls. If you don’t have the type or interest in going to a gym, but have a hard time knowing what to do on your own at home, a Costa Mesa personal trainer can bring physical fitness into your living room.
If you want to get the body of your dreams contact Costa Mesa personal trainers.
Choosing The Right Bodybuilding Supplement
Before wasting your money on a pile of bodybuilding supplements you really need to work out what you are hoping to achieve. Don’t lose sight of the fact that sound nutrition forms the basis of any muscle building program and no amount of supplementation with the latest and greatest products will make up for bad eating habits. The bottom line is, bodybuilding supplements should be used IN ADDITION to regular food, not INSTEAD OF it.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s go on to think about what supplements could be of use and this is something that can only be determined by your physical and performance goals. Don’t make the mistake of copying your training partners or believing all the garbage spouted in magazine ads. Decide first what you want to achieve and then choose the supplements that will help you reach your goals.
To help you make an informed choice, the most popular and useful bodybuilding supplements available today are listed below, broadly divided into two goal-related categories.
Determined to build muscle? This cannot be achieved without dedication, sheer hard work and sound nutrition. With a solid foundation in place you can help the process along with supplements like creatine, whey protein, prohormones, testosterone boosters and amino acids.
Need to lose fat? There is no point in building awesome muscles if they’re covered by layers of fat. Once again, the key to success is hard work but you can boost fat loss by using products from supplement categories that include fat burners, stimulant-free products, appetite suppressants and carb blockers.
Many more supplements are available to support your bodybuilding endeavors. These include energy boosters and products aimed at enhancing the condition of your mind and body. As we progress through this series of articles we’ll look at each of these in turn.
Rick Mitchell has written numerous articles aimed at helping athletes, from beginners to advanced, understand how to build muscle and increase strength. He has also developed several supporting web resources including Affordable Supplements Online
Endurance Training Philosophy
I’ve always been interested and fascinated with what works and what does not work when it comes to endurance training. I’ve seen and heard many different philosophies and methods as to what works and how an endurance athlete should train. Of course, many roads lead to Rome and there are without a doubt many different ways to succeed. I would certainly say that the training culture in northern Europe is a bit different maybe then what it is in Southern or Eastern Europe. I will try and sum up what I’ve learned, observed and heard with regards to the “Norwegian” method vs. Continental Europe. Endurance training methodology in Norway consists of some key items:
1. As much as possible of the training is done outside, year round. Irrespective of weather conditions. We compete outside, so we train outside. We have access to some of the best natural training terrain in the world and use it well. As a side-benefit, if you are used to training in bad weather, you compete better in bad weather. One of the reasons for this “obsession” with outdoor training activities is simply that most citizens from a very young age is taught the joy of being outside, enjoying nature.
2. Cross-training. It is generally more accepted that an endurance athlete can improve his performance by using cross-training. In other words, a cyclist can become better by running, hiking and cross country skiing. He does not necessarily only have to ride his bike. This belief also allows us to train outside year round in a country that might not have 100% optimal conditions for cycling in the winter. In southern Europe the general feeling is that a cyclist can only become better by riding his bike. Running or skiing is a waste of time.
3. Long rides at medium intensity vs. shorter rides at high intensity. Traditionally, endurance training at home has been overwhelmingly dominated by lots and lots of long, relatively easy sessions and very few hard, high intensity sessions. In a nut-shell this would make up the yearly training program for cross country skiers, long distance runners and cyclists. It has become very “hip” recently to discard these long, “easy” rides and label them as a waste of time. Some scientists have gone as far as to say that this type of training is entirely wrong. Instead, they suggest more hard, threshold sessions and intervals. This they say, regardless of the fact that most successful elite endurance athletes, regardless of sport, never trained this way.
I will defend the traditional method and here is why: For an endurance athlete, about 90-98% of the performance is aerobic. The remaining 2-10% are anaerobic. So, in a 4 hour competition, as much as 3.92 hours would be aerobic and 0.08 hours would be anaerobic. In other words, you can train to improve your performance in the 3.92 hours or you can train to improve your performance in the 0.08 hours. Obviously, the potential for improvement is much greater in the 3.92 hours that are performed aerobically. Not to mention that the 0.08 hours of anaerobic performance is not that “trainable / improvable”. So, in short - traditional endurance training with about 90% of the total training volume per year focused on aerobic capacity (long rides with low-medium intensity) and the remaining 10% invested in intervals and tempo rides is more beneficial. The long, easy-moderate intensity rides (called langkjring in Norwegian) improves certain key physical attributes: increase incellularr mitochondria, improvement of the capillary blood vessel network and an increase in aerobic enzymes. These long rides also improves the body’s ability to utilize fat as an energy, leaving the more fast-burning carbohydrate energy for the short bursts of power in a race.
Even with these facts, many modern coaches are not recommending young athletes to focus on these long rides. A simplified way to look at an effective endurance athlete’s weekly training program, following traditional endurance training is: Hard, easy, easy, Hard, easy, easy. On a weekly basis it would be Hard, Harder, Hardest, Easy, in regards to volume.
4. Athlete vs. coach / team. I think we have been successful in treating each athlete as an individual and listening to the athlete. Just because you have a team of top, elite performers, does not mean that each one will not have specific individual needs. And those needs may vary from week to week or month to month. One training program will only fit one athlete, you cannot design one program and suggest that everyone follows it. Individual variables such as illness, recovery rates etc will throw that whole system off. Eastern European nations on the other hand have notnecessarilyy believed in this. They have required all athletes on the national team to follow the same training program, regardless of individual variables. This has in effect, lead to eastern European countries falling 10-15 years behind the “curve”.
A great example is the old Soviet cross country ski team and their training program. Between May and September everyone on the team had to follow this plan: Monday - 35 km rollerski in the morning and 1.5 hour run in the terrain in the afternoon. Tuesday - 2.5 hour run, uphill in the morning and 1.6 hour rollerski in the afternoon. Wednesday - 2.5 hour rollerski in the morning and 1 hour easy run in the afternoon. Thursday -strengtht-training and easy recovery training. Friday - 2.5 hours hard run in the morning and 1.5 hours rollerski in the afternoon. Saturday - 3 hour run or rollerski Sunday - rest with lots of sleep. In addition, they were forced to sleep at certain times. In other words, no consideration for the individual athlete. This program lead to great success for the athletes that “fit” the program and no success for the individual that needed something different. Many talentedskierss never realized their potential because of this rigidness. I think we have been successful in Norway, due to the concern for the individual.
5. Use of pharmaceuticals. One of the greatstrengthss we have in sports at home is the attitude towards taking any type of drug, legal or not. The use of any drug, pill, drink etc that is not natural is very rare. From bottom to top, we utilize very, very little products that “aid” athletes. In short, top training consists of running, skiing or biking outside combined with an afternoon nap and a good night sleep for recovery. The diet is a simple, sound composition of wheat bread, dairy products, potatoes, fish, lean meat and lots of vegetables and fruit. This is VERY different on the continent where athletes take all sorts of “recovery enhancing” products etc. I’m glad I got that attitude with me now, it makes it easier to make the correct choices in modern cycling where team doctors etc are always trying to give you something to “speed up recovery” etc.
I’m a full-time endurance athlete (cycling), with the 2012 London Olympics as my main goal. I maintain a blog, where I write about my ups and downs in training / racing as I work towards year 2012. http://roadrace1.blogspot.com/