The World Cup Showcases Extraordinary Fitness

As an avid soccer fan, I love the World Cup. No other sporting event can compare to the passion, excitement, story lines, and FITNESS that surround the World Cup! Once every four years, the world nears a standstill as the world's most popular game is center stage. This also means that some of the world's best all around athletes are center stage as well. Unlike most sports, soccer games are 90 minutes of non-stop action. You don't have the opportunity to huddle up and call a play, converse in the dugout between innings, or call a seemingly endless number of timeouts as the end of the game approaches. In fact, you barely have time to catch your breath. Soccer is mentally and physically exhausting and it requires an extreme level of fitness. A level of fitness that, in my opinion, few athletes possess. I say this in an attempt to change the way you view the game of soccer. This is not a game of slow paced action and limited excitement. Rather, it is a game of delayed gratification, compelling match ups, and deliberate buildup. It is a game where individuals are forced to display "speed, strength, endurance, and agility." I encourage you to check out this link to a recent Men's Health article that elaborates on the individual abilities of "The Fittest Men of Earth." After reading this Men's Health article and watching several games during this World Cup, I think you will agree with me that soccer player's are a different breed of athletes and we should be looking to add many of their training techniques to our current workout routines in order to achieve a higher level of overall fitness. Enjoy the World Cup and good luck to the USA!!!


P.S. Please follow me on Twitter if you want to check out my latest World Cup commentary!!

Yard Work is Hard Work

Yard work is hard work.  There is no 100% accurate way to calculate how many calories you burn while working in the yard, but judging by my sweat drenched shirt this afternoon it must be a lot.  I had planned on running and performing a core workout today, but I decided to do some much needed yard work instead.  Though yard work is not officially considered a work out (per the dailymile workout options), it is a great way to get some fresh air, break a sweat, burn calories, and shorten your forever growing to-do list.  I say this in an attempt to emphasize that you don't have to go to the gym or neglect your to-do list in order to do something healthy.  Whenever your schedule gets hectic, remain optimistic and try to turn what may seem like a burden into a positive.  For me, this means turning chores into workouts, because every time my schedule starts to fill up it seems like my workouts are the first thing to get moved to the back burner.  Check out these totally unrelated yet hilarious pictures of Scout, my dog, helping my wife practice yoga last week.  Enjoy the journey!

Scout loves attention!!

Scout and Katie watching the yoga video!!