Fitness Safari

I stumbled upon this first pic when clearing out my BlackBerry. It was taken almost exactly a month ago - March 19th. So, naturally, I had to take another to compare (see below). No major changes, but I think I am starting to look a bit more firm in my troublesome belly area. I have a long road ahead to uncover those amazing abs that I can FEEL but just can't see yet...Well, I think I'm making progress. March 19, 2011 April 16, 2011

Wine is making me fat. It's true and I couldn't be more hesitant to admit it. But the time has come for me to face the facts. There is nothing I love more than coming home from work on a cold, winter day and sipping a nice Pinot Noir while I make dinner. This in and of itself isn't necessarily bad. The problem lies somewhere between sipping a glass and downing the entire bottle - by myself. Turns out, a bottle of an average red has more than 550 calories! To make things worse, once you consume any kind of alcohol, your body stops doing anything but trying to get rid of it - that means no metabolization of protein, carbs and, yes, even fat! If you like to drink beer or wine while noshing on fatty snacks - even cheese and crackers - this is bad news. So for all of you drinkers out there trying, like I am, to find your abs, be wary of booze. Consume it at your own risk, preferably on an empty stomach while on the treadmill.

I finally put my finger on it. The type of phsyique I most admire is that of sprinters. What's not to love about a sprinter's physique? They're lean, compact, strong, muscular and, of course, FAST! Now, being that my track experience at this point in my life is limited to driving by one at the local high school, I decided to do some research to find out just how these men and women achieve these amazing bodies. In addition to literally running their asses off in sprint training, hill training, and the like, it turns out that sprinters do a lot of strength training. There is a lot of information out there on this topic, but it all pretty much points to one thing - compound lifting. Clean and Press, Clean and Jerk, Hang Press, Push Press...all of these exercises work your legs and core - giving you power, strength and stability. Sprinters have huge, muscular legs and a high power-to-bodyweight ratio and very low bodyfat. Sounds ideal, right? Just because the closest thing I...