Ultimate Cycle Challenge - RESULTS

It's been awhile since the event, but I figured I'd do a quick post on the UCC last month. What a cool event! The number of people involved was inspiring and hearing stories, watching videos, rockin' to DJs and live bands and just enjoying the company of others helped keep those pedals moving for 24 hours straight. The result? 40 teams, hundreds of people and over $44,800 raised for the Lance Armstrong (LiveStrong) Foundation!!!

Because of all you riders and all of you who generously and lovingly donated, there are even more funds for CANCER RESEARCH and PATIENT CARE. Seeing all the names of those affected by cancer on the yellow linked-chain was moving and many people wore signs on their back saying 'Riding in Honor of', 'Riding in Memory of' or 'Riding in Celebration of (name of a survivor)' - very powerful!

We ended the 24-hrs with a teary-eyed, yet joyful picture-video and presentation by the Bocks family, whose son, Duncan, was diagnosed with cancer when he was a baby. He is now a happy, healthy 14-yr old - thanks to events like this that raise $$ for hospitals and research! Duncan even rode the last hour of the event and was cheered on by everyone in the room!! :)

Thank you so much for your support, in so many ways.

Team Valeo-24
Jessica Oosting
Mike Luepke
Tarra Miedema
Kevin Carlson
Emily Nicholson
Shawn Luepke
Tiffany Andre
Anne Veltema
Bill Bredemier
Karin Ashcroft
Bret Vandenbil
Leslie Brown
Carmen Hannah
Duncan Bocks
David Dupato

Team Valeo-12
Jessica Oosting
Mike Luepke
Ronda Dryfhout
Hannah Dryfhout
Jeremy Brieve
Tricia Schaap
Matt Metzger
Lee Tanis
Jeff Tanis
Chelsea Brown
Ashley Huntey
Kelly Slagh
Barb Ellis
Sarah Ellis

Riding in honor and support of our dear pastor's wife and friend, Christina!

"BYE-BYE" LONG, SLOW CARDIO!

The 'Fat-Burning Zone': A Fitness Myth Debunked

An article from http://www.health.usnews.com/, written by "On Fitness" author Katherine Hobson; information from ACE fitness.

There's a lot of misinformation out there about exercise and nutrition. As an ongoing feature, I'll ask experts in those fields about their pet fitness peeves—commonly believed myths that are just plain wrong. This week, I asked Cedric Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, for the facts about the so-called fat-burning zone.

Myth: I will lose body fat more efficiently by working out in the fat-burning zone—doing my aerobic workouts at a low, rather than high, intensity.

Explanation: Many aerobic exercise programs and videos feature low-intensity workouts purporting to maximize fat burning. The argument is that low-intensity aerobic training will allow your body to use more fat as an energy source, thereby accelerating the loss of body fat. While it is true that a higher proportion of calories burned during low-intensity exercise come from fat (about 60 percent as opposed to approximately 35 percent from high-intensity programs), high-intensity exercise still burns more calories from fat in the final analysis.

For example, if you perform 30 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise (i.e., at a level of 50 percent of maximal exercise capacity), you'll burn approximately 200 calories. About 120 of those, or 60 percent, come from fat. However, exercising for the same amount of time at a high intensity (i.e., 75 percent of your maximal exercise capacity) will burn approximately 400 calories, and 35 percent of them, or 140 calories, will come from stored fat. So by sticking to the fat-burning zone for their workouts, many individuals are wasting valuable time.

Keep in mind that you lose weight and body fat when you expend more calories than you consume, not because you burn fat (or anything else) when you exercise.

Of course, the less intense form of exercise has its benefits as well. For example, because many overweight people tend to find that lower-intensity exercise is more comfortable, they may, therefore, be willing to engage in such workouts. The point to remember is that low-intensity workouts do, in fact, promote weight and fat loss. You just have to do them for a longer period of time.

THE FACTS ON FASTING

This Q & A comes from http://www.sparkpeople.com/ and is written by Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian. It's a great article on something many of you have asked me about! *Note - this article is not referring to fasting for spiritual reasons...something I DO support!

Q. Will fasting jumpstart my weight loss efforts and boost my health?

A. Fasting is the deliberate abstinence from food. Fasting has long been touted as a healthy process with many benefits such as cleaning the system, ridding the body of so-called toxins, benefiting the intestinal track, boosting metabolism, and jumpstarting weight loss. However none of these notions are true, nor are they backed up by medical research. While a short-term fast probably won’t harm most people, it could be quite dangerous for others, depending on their medical conditions, health histories, and medication use. I strongly urge you to talk to your physician before ever starting a fast.

During normal metabolic conditions (non-fasting), the body gets its energy primarily from glucose and fat (in the blood), which are supplied by the carbohydrates and fats that you eat. Both the brain and nervous systems use blood glucose for energy and proper functioning. Your body also stores energy in both the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen.

Within only hours after starting a fast, when dietary glucose is used up, the body draws on its glycogen stores, but these don’t last very long. When these stores are exhausted, your body enters an altered metabolic state. It turns to its own protein (and a portion of its fat) to make more glucose for the brain and nervous system. This results in a considerable breakdown of both lean muscle tissue and fat tissue, and a production of ketones. This is not considered a healthy or desirable state. As a result, you might lose weight, but it is due to water loss, dehydration, and muscle tissue wasting, and is usually accompanied with symptoms such as fatigue and dizziness.

Therefore, you can reason that after years of abusing the body with a poor diet and excessive fat and calories, a fasting state is not the answer to better health. Your body is truly craving proper nutrition, including whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, healthy fats, and lean meats, fish, beans, and other protein sources. Then and only then, can the body systems work together effectively and efficiently. This healthy diet will results in improved energy and overall health.

NOTE: Certain medical procedures and tests require patients to fast for a designated time period. Always follow the advice of your primary health care provider in these situations.

WEBSITE UP AND WORKING AGAIN!

After some downtime (for unknown reasons), my website is up and working again. Check it out and pass it along! :)

www.valeotraining.com

Thanks to Chuck Cusack for his work on this!