Summer Eating

Summer is the perfect time to improve your diet by increasing the number of fruits and vegetables you eat. Vegetables straight from the garden are crisp and delicious. Try increasing your vegetable intake by snacking on fresh veggies with dip or fresh salsa with chips.

Salads are also a great way to increase your vegetable intake. Salads made with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and other veggies make a refreshing lunch or dinner, just remember to go easy on the dressing.

Fruit is delightful in the summer because it helps to quench your thirst on a hot day. Not only is fresh fruit wonderful, but you can also make smoothies, Popsicles, salads, desserts, parfaits, etc.

For quick, tasty, and healthy recipes to try this summer, visit http://www.bam.gov/sub_foodnutrition/cooltreats_alone.html

Snorkeling

This summer as things begin to heat up jump into a new water sport, snorkeling! All you need is basic swimming skills, a mask, a snorkel, and a pair of fins.

As you begin this new sport you may prefer to wear a life jacket. A swimming pool or shallow water is ideal for your first attempt at snorkeling as you practice two important skills. The first is learning to clear water out of your snorkel, and the second is how to put your mask back on while treading water.

As your experience increases, you will be able to venture out and explore the world below you. Coral reefs are excellent locations for snorkeling because they are home to thousands of fish, plants, and animals. Just be sure you don’t touch the coral reef. Have fun and don’t forget to bring a swim buddy with you!

Functional Strength Training

Functional strength training is training to perform daily activities more proficiently. Every day we require our bodies to move in a variety of ways: jogging, walking, lifting, pushing, pulling, twisting, standing, starting, stopping, bending, etc.

Therefore, rather than focusing on increasing the strength of an individual muscle, functional strength training focuses on the movement required to execute a task. For example, within a functional strength training program you may perform squats to improve your ability to rise from sitting on a sofa.

Machine-based exercises usually isolate an individual muscle in a controlled environment, and so are usually on the low-end of the functional strength training continuum. Whole body, multiple joint exercises that mimic the movements of daily activities are on the high-end of the functional strength training continuum.