last comment: 19/03/08

Good Use for CHOCOLATE

You might be wondering why I’m writing about chocolate in the training section.

Here it is!

I rather often have a dilemma that I like doing my sport, especially the cardio stuff, in the mornings, but that’s the time when I am at my hungriest. And I mean hungry, not peckish – that’s what happens in the evenings.

No, in the mornings at around 9 I am really horribly hungry and if I don’t get food I become shaky. But I can’t have a lot of stuff in my stomach either.

How am I supposed to work out then?

Well, if I’m walking or running in the fields behind our house I usually get up and half an hour later I’m out and about.

I may be half asleep, but the fresh air with birdies singing along creates a lovely background so that it is fun trotting my path.

Gym is different! Gym is not, or not entirely, about the fun of moving my body and feeling good about it. For cardio I go to the gym because I want to try something out, or I want to improve in a certain area what is best done in a controlled environment, especially when not really having a professional background on the matter.

So I firstly want to be awake and fit and secondly I don’t want to have food swashing around with every step. I once thought I had eaten and drunk early enough, but apparently I hadn’t – I felt like a cocktail shaker. Ooompf!

I have these protein bars which are not too bad, but they are high in fibre, same as the muesli bars and they need a lot of water to go with.

Just not working for me.

Today I had an additional hiccup. I needed to go shopping urgently. So I hit the food store early, no people around – great! Shopping quickly done, off I go to the gym which is around the corner. Bang! Hunger! Damned!

Well, I have to admit, I was a bit naughty. When I bought some chocolate for Detlef, I bought one bar for myself as well. Or at least I bought a dark bar with peppermint filling which I particularly like, but which Detlef luckily eats as well.

On arrival at the car I went down. Loading the shopping with one hand – see, it pays off to be strong – the other one was feeding chocolate into my trap. I had about a quarter of a bar and then managed to stop, telling myself: Give it 20 minutes and the blood sugar will be up, … give it 20 …gi…

And then I forgot about chocolate. Went to the gym, had a fantastic session, and on my way home I fell a bit into contemplation and decided to tell you the story.

The walking for The Experiment brought me 300 cal in 40 minutes and I did a bit of rowing and stretching as well - let’s say 400 cal altogether. The chocolate tasted great especially because I had it for hunger and not against boredom. It brought me well through the training and gave me a brilliant energy boost costing just 130 cal.

Ha, that’s the arithmetic I love! That makes a plus of 270 cal for the day, apart from the benefits of the sport itself and all that on top of the joy of a treat. I knew that one day I would find a good use for chocolates. It just couldn’t be true that something so nice should be entirely evil!

Articles on Training

Events
Norwich Half Marathon 08
Race for Life 2008
Rowing League 07/08
Imola: MH 10K, 07
Rika: Race for Life 07

General
Ballet for Oldies
Training Plan 2008
Boxing vs. Kickboxing
What Sport to Choose?
Tummy
An Experiment
Good Use for Chocolate

Being Strong
Women and Strength?
Why Muscles?
Lucky Number 12
Shoulders
Legs
Chest
Ladies are Stronger!

Being Fit
Rowing - Fantastic Sport


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Author: Rika