Chopping Broccoli

You never realize that when you travel you are going to miss some things. Little things. ¨Normal¨ things. Everyone alwasys wonders how much fun you are having, what new things you are doing, who you are meeting, etc. But sometimes I just want people to tell ME what THEY did today, who they hung out with and what they did. The normal things, the mundane, everyday, normal things have become more desirable to me. I want to go to dinner on Friday night with the normal work crowd. I want to have a beer at Vics while watching the koala fly back and forth. I want to play pool at Cooter Browns; I want to make pizza with Matt and Pam; I want to hike to Bucks creek with Dad and Shay. Okay, so I am not saying I am not having fun, quite the contrary, but it is funny how we always miss or want what we dont have.

The food here is good. A lot of it is fried, but there is also a lot of good local food, seafood and fruit...oh the fruit! It is delicious. Many papaya (mamãou), pineapple (abacaxi), passion fruit, watermelon and more! Every day for breakfast I eat about one ton of fruit. However, I had a dream the other day about broccoli, and now I want some broccoli SO bad! However, they dont have it here at all. Well, at least I have not seen it. And it is not a choice on the street or in the grocery store.

So, I have made a list. When I get home, I am going to eat good cheese and many soy products. I am going to play pool at Cooter Browns; I am going to go to the Mission for a burrito; I am going to have miso soup with K; I am going to have girls night on Thursday (where I eat good cheese and drink good wine) and last but not least, I am going to have tons and tons of Broccoli!

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The Bane of the Bag

Chris and I always say that our home is where we lay our backpack. However, it is more than that. Not only do we lay our backpack somewhere, but we also lug the damn thing around everywhere before finally laying it down in its temporary home. There are levels of difficulty when carrying a bag that you dont think about when you are traveling in the US with your car and your hotel room and your whatever else.

The worst so far is Brazil. All the local buses have turnstyles. You pay, then you go through the turnstyle. If you are overweight or you have a big packpack, there is NO WAY you are getting through the turnstyle. So, luckily I am not the former, but I am still the latter. So, here is how it usually goes...

I get on the bus, give the guy at the turnstyle one of those looks (you know, glance at the pack, shrug your shoulders, raise your eyebrows - what should you do now?), then he gives you one of those looks (you know - glances at the pack, raises his eyebrows, shrugs his shoulders - what can he do about it?) then you give him one of those guestures (point at the backdoor - can I get on that way instead?) and he gives you one of those guestures (finger goes in a circle - go around to the backdoor). Then you go around to the backdoor (and, by the way, the bus is ALWAYS packed with people when you have your pack on, never fails) and put your pack down OR bump EVERYONE on your way back up to the front to pay the guy. You finally pay the guy and then have to stand there with your pack on, or stand there next to your pack, always taking up way too much room in a crowded bus.

It is funny, kind of tiring, the bag is very heavy and it is sometimes hard to communicate...but most people are nice and they dont mind too much my standing in their way with my pack or my ignorance about how to board the bus with the huge thing.

Luckily one of the things I DO know how to say in Portuguese is EXCUSE ME.

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Tips On Fitting Exercise Schedule Into Your Trips

Are you a busy traveler? Here are some useful tips to help fitting your exercise schedule while travelling.

Hopping in and out of planes is exercise enough, you say. But that’s not the kind of exercise that will condition your heart, make your reflexes and joints more fluid, keep the sugar levels or keep you from swinging from one mood to another!

Nor is it the kind of exercise that will make you euphoric after a good cardiovascular session. You need to counteract the effects of jet lag, artificial air in pressurized aircraft cabins and sky fatigue.

Sometimes your travels help you recognize how humdrum your workout routine has become. At home, it’s easy to fall into a rut – to use the same weight machines in the same order, week after week, month after month, simply out of habit. But a trip may take the routine out of your routine. You may have no choice but to try new strength exercises or jog in the pool instead of swim laps. And you might find these new pursuits so enjoyable that you add them to your fitness repertoire at home.

Common Obstacles

What are some of the reasons why travelers do not incorporate exercise while they’re on the road?

• They’re stressed or too tired
• They don’t feel comfortable about working out in unfamiliar surroundings
• They don’t have access to a hotel gym

But if they made just a tiny effort to change this thinking, they’d be on the road to fitness sooner. Engaging in exercise allows you to get out of that bubble of meetings, seminars and tours.

Walk when on the Road

When traveling, have a pair of good walking shoes (trainers preferably) so that you won’t feel so daunted about getting from one side of the airport to another.

Having the right pair of walking shoes will encourage you to walk up the stairs instead of take the escalator, to walk instead of taking the conveyor belt, and to transfer from one concourse to another on foot instead of taking the shuttle service.

You may not know it, but walking these long distances with your luggage in tow serves as a combination/weight lifting exercise!

Fitness while Flying

Once settled comfortably on the plane, make sure you time your stretching and walking periods. If it’s just an hour’s flight, walk around the plane once and do your stretching at the back of the plane; if it’s a three hour to five hour flight (east to west in the North American continent), try to get up from your seat and walk around at least once every hour, doing leg extensions and trunk/neck movements.

If you’re crossing the Pacific or Atlantic oceans, those killer flights need not kill you. Increase the frequency of your stretches and walking.

Airlines such as Japan Air Lines show videos of how travelers can incorporate flexibility movements while seated or standing. Take full advantage of these videos. The exercises may help you ward off fatigue and jet lag.

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Oxford Students at the BSA Before Completing Studies

Oxford students were normally admitted to the BSA after completing their studies. However, like Cambridge, there were exceptions.

• Rupert Charles Clarke (1866-1912), Exeter College. Class. mod. 2nd (1886); admitted to BSA 1886/87 (under Francis C. Penrose); Lit. Hum. 2nd (1888).
  
• Oswald Hutton Parry (1868-1936), Magdalen College. Class. mod. 2nd (1889); admitted to BSA 1889/90 (under Ernest A. Gardner); Lit. Hum. 3rd (1891).
  
• John George Smith (J.G. Piddington) (b. 1869). Magdalen College. Class. mod. 2nd (1890); admitted to BSA 1891/92 (under Ernest A. Gardner); Lit. Hum. 3rd (1892).

Smith was re-admitted as assistant to the director, Cecil Harcourt-Smith, in 1895/96.

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Towards a Bibliography for the History of the British School at Athens

The Annual of the British School at Athens and the Journal of Hellenic Studies are important sources of information about the early history of the British School at Athens. But what studies have been published? What about the people? The excavations?

I have posted a (working) and preliminary list here. This will indicate the closest copy to your location (type in your postcode or zipcode). The list can also be downloaded.

Readers are welcome to leave suggestions (as a comment) or to send me an email. The list can then be updated.

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Exercise Cuts Women's Risk of Heart Disease

Increased levels of exercise can reduce but not eliminate the risk of heart disease in overweight and obese women, a U.S. study finds.

The researchers analyzed data from 38,987 women who took part in the recently completed Women's Health Study. At the start of the study in 1992, information was gathered about the women's height and weight, the average amount of time per week they were physically active, other health habits, and medical history. The women were then followed for an average of 10.9 years.

At the start of the study, 34 percent of the women were considered physically active, 31 percent were overweight, and 18 percent were obese.

During the follow-up, 948 of the women developed coronary artery disease. Both body-mass index (BMI) and physical activity levels were individually associated with the risk of heart disease. The risk was lowest for normal weight women who were active, slightly higher for inactive normal-weight women, higher still for active women who were overweight or obese, and highest for inactive overweight or obese women.

Dr. Amy R. Weinstein, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues noted that fat cells (adipocytes) release chemicals that may harm the heart by accelerating the hardening of the arteries and increasing inflammation, clotting and dysfunction of the blood vessels.

"We postulate that the beneficial effect of physical activity may directly reduce and combat the ill effect of the prothrombotic factors released by adipocytes," the researchers wrote.

But they noted that exercise didn't eliminate the effects of being overweight.

"Even high quantities of physical activity are unlikely to fully reverse the risk of coronary heart disease in overweight and obese women without concurrent weight loss," the study authors concluded. "Regardless of body weight, these data highlight the importance of counseling all women to participate in increasing amounts of regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight to reduce the risks of coronary heart disease."

The study was published in the April 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

More information

The U.S. National Women's Health Information Center has more about heart disease.
-- Robert Preidt.

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sol, araya, ondas!!!

That pretty much sums up our last few days. Sol = sun, Araya = sand and Ondas = waves. We are currently in a nice little town called Saquarema, where we are staying with a nice guy named Jose, who runs a small guesthouse only 100 M from the beach. Mira is with us now and has been for the last week and a half. She is leaving tomorrow, sadly. However, our trip with her has been very fun and we are going to be sad to see her go.

First we went to a town called, fittingly enough since Mira is here for her Spring Break, Paraty. It is a nice little colonial town which sits right on the ocean and is surrounded by, as the Lonely Planet states, some 300 beaches. We went to a nice one called Trinidad. Next we headed out to one of the islands, Ilha Grande, which boasts as having the most beautiful beach in Brazil. Ilha Grande is great; it doesn't have any cars and really only consists of one town and maybe a dozen beaches. We were there for a holiday, Tiradentes Day, so it was a little bit crowded, but not too much so. I think the normal population of the island is about 1200 people.

Next, we headed to Rio, which was very beautiful and a great time, but SOOO expensive, so we only stayed a few days there before heading here, to Saquarema, where we have been relaxing and soaking up the sun ever since.

Next stop, I dont know where....we leave tomorrow, but there are so many good places I have not yet been able to decide where I am going to go!

I am still slacking about putting photos on the internet, but Chris has been keeping up with it pretty well...You can see his photos here.

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Forget The Gym - Just Move More Often

When it comes to the time to burn off some calories, most people think of heading to the gym. But do you know that the so called "free" (meaning no need to pay for a fee) exercises such as doing houseworks can also help to burn off that FAT?

Many fitness experts now believe that the simplest and most sustainable way to keep fit is what known as an "integrative exercise" - it simply means just "move around more often". A Britain's chief medical officer advises that one should exercise to raise the heart rate for 30 minutes five times a week.

Here are three ways to achieve the necessary exercises without heading to the gym:

• Break it down. You don't have to do 30 minutes all in one go. Studies show that several five to ten minute bursts of activity throughout a day will improve your cardiovascular and respiratory health, lower the risk of diabetes and other diseases.
  
  
• Doing your houseworks more often. Vigorous housework or gardening or brisk walking all count when it comes to integrative exercise. Activity breeds activity, the more you move, the more you will want to move everyday. Make this a habit.
  
  
• Take your dog for a walk. As mentioned all activities such as housework, running for a bus, gardening can help raise your heart rate and improve health. But, overall the single most valuable free exercise you can do is "brisk walking with your dog". So go and get a dog :-)

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3 Amazing Flat Belly Exercises That Most People Don't Know About

If you want to discover 3 flat belly exercises which can shape your abdominal muscles and additional body regions simultaneously, then you've found the right article. Because among the most effective ways to form the abdominal muscles is to perform resistance training of separate body parts with workouts which work on the abdomen indirectly.

What do I mean by working the stomach indirectly? With each exercise, you have the primary muscles and you have supporting muscles. E.g., when you do press-ups, you are more often than not working your pectoral muscle, yet your shoulder muscles and triceps act as supporting muscles and also get pumped up. The stomach acts as a supporting muscle for numerous exercises. Doing these exercises means that you are flattening out your stomach simultaneously whilst you're working other body parts. And it is frequently more efficient than doing conventional stomach exercises.

Here are 3 workouts for a flat stomach which I recommend you start doing now:

1. Pull ups - the pull up is a solid exercise. It generally works the back muscles, except whenever possible get a friend to place his or her hand on your abdominals while you are doing it, they will tell you that it is solid as steel. That's because the abs are tensing like mad. Even doing 5 pull ups is more of an effective method than ,for example, a stomach exercise routine of 50 sit ups .

2. Push ups - whilst you're doing push ups you must make certain that your stomach is tucked in. That way, your abdominals are working hard every throughout the push ups. Regardless of the type of push up that you try: horizontal, elevated, or counter elevated, the abdomen is still shaping. Push ups work your total upper body and they are a major exercise to flatten out your stomach.

3. Pull down - this is executed by pulling down the pulley cable and is actually an easier variation of the pull up (yes I realize it sounds strange but they do similar things). Whilst you pull the cable down from above your head down to your waist, you upper body goes through a whole extension which means that your abdomen muscles are tensing. Once again, the abdomen acts as the supporting role, However it does not mean that it is not straining.

Practise these 3 flat belly exercises and you'll witness results throughout your upper body, not just your abs.

To read more about how to get flat abs, and the 5 facts you MUST understand if you're ever going to see yourself with a flat stomach and sexy six pack abs, check out my website, http://www.secretsixpackabs.com/truthaboutabs

Ultimately, and if you've read the facts over at my website, you'll understand that although these exercises might do some good for getting a flat stomach and possible six pack abs, there is no way that you'll get to that point with these exercises alone, and the good news is that it's not all about doing more exercises! It's ultimately about doing things smarter, not always harder...

You can shave years off your hard work by knowing the secrets to fast six pack abs. Because ab belts, ab-rockers, ab-loungers, and other infomercial ab-gimmicks... they're all a complete waste of your time and money. Visit Truth About Abs and you will discover that YOU CAN get your own sexy six pack abs , but only if you know our best kept secret...

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Good Instructions To Gaining Muscle Mass

Muscle mass building is a hard effort and and also a high challenge. Society usually think you by your appearance let it be beautiful or ugly. Of course good looking persons obviously have good advantages over certain things in the society. So if you started already going to the gym and you already have your diet, you are good to go. You should focus on compound exercises if you plan on gaining weight because they are the best muscle gaining exercises, because you don't only work with targeted the muscle mass, but also with all the small ones that aren’t developed yet and will grow fast.

Building muscle should be enjoyed. You can build up muscle mass if you use a set plan and follow the instructions with as much high attention to detail as you can. You must set your goals and focus to these goals. It is significant to achieve the goals. Without the goals, you will have big difficulties in building muscle mass. Setting your goals and keep your motivation on the schedule. Make sure to do not set unrealistic goals and follow them in your routine.

Here are a few tips you should keep in mind when starting your muscle gaining:

Start weight training

Of course you want to have a large variety of fitness machines, then joining a gym that have them. For anyone who cannot follow any extra efforts but still want to build the muscle mass, you may to try with push-ups, pull-ups and dips. You can get hundreds of fitness exercises information trough the internet accessing. What is really good about it is that you don not need to incur high cost for the building muscle mass. You will be surprised how cheap exercises are at your goals.

Take lots of protein

The main food for muscle mass building is high protein. Beef, turkey and chicken are the most choices for the muscle mass and with great reason, they are both high protein. Important factor to how much protein you should consume is the type of activity you participated in and how often you do the activity. Good sources of the high protein foods you can get for your fitness exercises such as beff, fish, turkey breast, eggs white, skim milk, low fast cottage cheese, and protein powders.

Get enough rest

You need the ideal hours amount of rest. This way is not only includes getting between six to eight hours of sleep in a night but also includes using the amount of hours in workouts for the same body part.

You may do exercises in 3 days per week to build the muscle mass, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Do an easy warm up step to get the blood flowing. Then take moderate exercises and do 2-3 sets of 20 reps for each one. You must remember that any muscles don not grow when you are lifting. They usually grow when you are resting. And avoiding aerobic exercises. This way is important if you want to build the muscle mass. Because the aerobics burn glycogen and will create slow down the process of building muscle mass.

For more information about food supplements that needed for muscle mass, please visit to Muscle Building Supplements and Building Muscle Mass. To get weight loss, please visit to Fast Weight Loss.

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