Dara Torres, 41 year-old with two kids, will be heading to Beijing for her fifth Olympic appearance. Knowing that she’d be competing with younger athletes, she has dedicated herself to training smart and eating healthy by hiring coaches and a nutritionist; Dara knows her “aging” body recovers slower than younger swimmers from training and competitions.

Dara’s training regimen is different from the conventional method, spending majority of the time swimming. Dara has implemented a diverse strength training program that helps her gain balance, muscular endurance, and strength.

Training with a stability ball, BOSU, stretch cord, or a medicine ball will increase one’s overall athleticism, which Dara has tried to improve since her last international race appearance. I recommend challenging yourself by doing chess press, shoulder press, push-ups, and abdominal exercies on an unstabilized surface to maximize stabilization and strength training.

Warm-up

• 400 meters freestyle
• 300 meters flutter kick
• 3 x ( 3 x 50 meters pull buoy, breathe every 3, 5, and 7 strokes in 3 consecutive sets)

Pre-sets

•  3 x ( 3 x 50 meters pull buoy, breathe every 3, 5, and 7 strokes in 3 consecutive sets) w/ hand paddles

Main-sets:

• 5 x 50 sprint in 1:20
• 5 x 100 sprint in 2:20
• 3 x 200; alt. between freestyle and breast stroke every 50 meters

Warm-down

• 100 meters slow pull buoy, focus on form and breathing rhythm

Total distance:  3050 meters

Here comes the raspberry!

I had my burger, hot dog, and beer; it was a wonderful July 4th weekend.

Starting my second half of the year with a nice 6 mile run!

What do you do to start your 2nd half of the year?

The Sweaty Guinea Pig will be taking a week off due to his busy schedule.

Local supermarket manager teaches you how to shop in his store. Food cost has soared since the gas price has been constantly increasing in the last several months. Time to shop smart!

Every weekend, I will be visiting the green market and buying fresh groceries. I will share my shopping list and the cost with my readers. I hope to promote eating locally and bring back the enthusiasm of hands-on cooking.

Vegetables:

• Green beans: $3.00

Fruits:

• Blueberry: $3.00
• Peach: $4.00
• Cherry: $3.00

Meats:

• 1 free range chicken: 10.00
• 1 lb. shaved bison: $8.50

Miscellaneous:

• 1 dozen eggs: $3.50

Total: $34.75

I had a great experience making risotto last time (my new passion - slow cooking). Therefore, I decided to try another dish with arborio rice. Instead of making an entrée, I made a dessert - risotto rice pudding.

Rice pudding with Jersey blueberry and cherry.

Dessert for two? Nah…I ate it all by myself.

You can make the rice pudding healthier by reducing the amount of sugar. I reduce 1 tablespoon of sugar and the pudding still came out creamy and delicious!

Total distance: 5.6 miles
Time: 45 minutes

I took a fitness class yesterday called Total Body Training. The class focused on balance, coordination, strength, and cardiovascular fitness. While keeping the weight lifted light, I had a great workout by doing every repetition in perfect form and posture. Taking a fitness class was an excellent way to evaluate my fitness level and learn new techniques.

Total Body Training Workout:

Set 1

• Dumbbell sumo squat
• 1-leg squat with 1 foot on a BOSU
• curls

Set 2

• 1-arm bend over rows
• Chest press with body-bar on BOSU
• Triceps extension with body bar on BOSU

Set 3

• Lunges
• Push-ups
• Backward dips on BOSU

Set 4

• Front raises
• Lateral raises
• Shoulder press

Set 5*

• Push-ups
• Backward dips on BOSU

Set 6**

• Regular BOSU Crunches
• Bicycles
• Diagonal crunches with legs perpendicular to the ground
• Alternate leg drops

Each set were performed 3 rounds of 15 repetitions in each exercise with 15 seconds of break after each round.

*Set 5 was only 1 round.

** Each abdominal exercise in set 6 was performed 30 to 40 seconds for 1 round.