Recently, high vitamin D dosages of +3,000 IU have been linked to kidney stones and nausea. So by taking too much of it out of the bottle might eventually be counter-productive and even harmfull! The findings are yet to be proven, which won’t happen till the mids of 2010, but you’re better off using your common sense and keeping your “the more the better” philosophy in check. It doesn’t matter whom to blame: the general public ignorance or industry’s abusive disinformation campaigns. You are resonsible for yourself. No one else.

And while the world is getting more and more complicated everyday and you seem to lose track of what is truth and what is a lie, you need just a few simple rules that will always keep you on the safe side. Rule #1:  too much of anything is never good.

This is an absolute rule that applies to anything. Vitamin D is not an exception. Just take a 20 minutes walk in the sun, which will give you some 1,500-2,000 IU of Vitamin D. This way you’ll avoid the bottled supplements and do something for your fitness in the process.

Keep it safe bodytweakers!

Knee problems have always been an issue for me. I suppose, it lies in my family’s genes since my mother and his father had the same problem as me. It started as I was about 14 years old It didn’t hurt at all and I didn’t feel anything disturbing. Just this strange cracking sound. So I though “whatever… I can live with it!”. Unfortunately, it changed during the following years.

The cracking sound got louder and I felt a small pain in my knees. I mean, I still could live with this problem, but I was worried if it could get worse at the age of 30, 40 or 50? So I went for an specialist’s advise and was told that there was nothing wrong with my knees and that the sound would go away with the age. I was also advised that I should start running and train my quads as it usually helps in this kind of problem.

However, running didn’t change much. I think, it even got a bit worse since I was running on concrete back in Madrid and this impact is not very healthy for the knee joints. (Follow my advice and go run on a beach if you have one nearby! You will avoid the trouble in the long run! )

Fortunately enough a friend of mine suggested to try cycling. It doesn’t have much impact on your knees, trains your whole legs and is fun as hell! So I started with simple spinning classes half a year ago. Very soon I was doing 2 classes in a row, 3 to 4 times a week. Apart of dramatically improving my endurance and cutting all that fat I have saved up during my time off running, I have noticed an incredible improvement in my knee joints! There’s no pain anymore and the sound is almost nonexisten. Hooooray!!

Two months ago I have bought a mountain bike (which was my biggest fitness investment ever) and have started to train going up and down the hills in my area. Sometimes aroung 100 miles in one go! This is really fun and gets very addicting! Leg strength, endurance and overall health keeps improving. I am even considering to participate in a few mountain bike marathons this fall!!

Summing up, cycling is probably the best choice if you have knee problems (better than running or leg training at the gym). Good road or mountain bikes can get somehow expensive, but they are worth every penny! I consider my bike as my best investment since the benefits you get are worth much much more. Cut the costs on other crap. Get rid of junkfood and stop bying stuff you do not need. Save money for things that DO matter!

Unnecessary thoughts are your enemies. If you know how to control them, thoughts are powerful tools in art, science, studies, etc. But most of us don’t even know that there is something inside our heads completely on the loose. Like a hurricane thoughts disturb our inner life and peace. As a result you get depressed, you are more sensetive to stress, you get insomnia, you get anxious, etc. Basically you just can’t enjoy your life. Days seem to pass quickly. You don’t get the time to do all you want to do. Years fly by and time feels waisted. Your self-esteem is damaged, you can’t face challenges, you can’t keep promises, you get weak and ill.

And the cause is the thought-beast that rages in your inner self. Think of it as a nuclear reaction. In a controled state it is the most important and powerful energy source, in a not controled state it’s the most disastrous catastophe you could ever face.

Among other things random thoughts are our main enemies when it comes to achieving our goals. Basically most of us give up long before we reach our physical limits and long before we did everything we could have done to achieve a specific goal. Thoughts in the form of doubts put an invisible wall on our way.

I’ll take my jogging experience as an example. After a year of “rest” I’ve finally decided to start jogging again since I felt a decline in my physical endurance. For the first time I’ve chosen a pretty long track and I had serious doubts that I could run it without stopping. Nevertheless I wanted to try.

After half the way my legs started aching pretty bad. I thought my lungs would explode, I’ve been breathing fast and deep, my throat was burning, but still could get enough oxygen. My inner voice literally screamed “Stop”. I noticed myself thiking “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to start jogging” “It’s too much for the first time” “Maybe I should stop and walk the rest of the way home”, etc. You get the idea. As I was thinking my state got worse and I was an inch away from giving up.

It was then that I became aware of my thoughts. What the heck was I doing? Why was I spending my time in those thougths? My pain was completely normal considering that the last time I jogged was so long ago. So I decided to stop thinking completely and just concentrate on the run.

I just focused my whole awareness and my whole self on the sole objective to get further. I lost the sense of my body and it’s pains. I was free of thoughts, I was a pure action. My self was unstoppable. I felt like the wind. No emotions, no thoughts, just doing it (I always liked the Nike slogan hehe).

Surprisingly I finished the second half of the track much faster, although my condition was worse. The only difference in the second half was my mental state. Since I didn’t “collapse” nor “die”, like my thoughts suggested, it was obvious that my physical condition actually allowed me to finish that track. On the other hand, if I had allowed my thoughts to take over, I would have stoped because of the “mental wall” they would have put in front of my progress.

So here is my advice. If you want to achieve your goals outside in your life, learn to control your inner state first. Show who the master is in your inner world. Control over your thoughts will give you intergrity and solidness to face different situations in your life. You will notice that you are more calm, strong, wise and productive, and others will feel it, too.

Aigüestortes offers hundreds of lakes, many waterfalls, forests, mountains and breathtaking views. The park lies approx. 6500 feet (2000 meters) over the sea level.

Perhaps the most interesting way to get to know the park are the walking routes, of which the “Carros de Foc” route, which goes through 9 different refuges, happens to be the biggest one: 137 miles (220km). “Carros de Foc” means “cars of fire” and maybe for a good reason.
Carros de Foc is also the center of a spectacular challenge the park’s administration runs in the summer months. The challenge is to complete the 137 miles route in less than 24 hours.

Impossible? Think again! Thousands of people try it each year and dozens of them succeed. Enric Lukas did it in only 10 hours five years ago.

It takes a lot of courage, since we’re talking about walking for over 20 hours at a pretty good speed. By the way, I’m not sure that you can call it “walking” anymore.

It’s an effort that most of us can face physically, but only few of us can face it mentally. I think challenges like this one actually show you who you are inside. It’s something noone can take away, something that is authentic deep within your own character.

I’m going for it this summer. You can find more information about the challenge on he official site: carrosdefoc.com.

Note: A real bodytweaker knows how to spend his/her summer holidays
Cost: 20 Euros to take the challenge

Even if you live far away from your workplace and a bike trip may take you over 40 minutes, you still shall consider the benefits this lifestyle could bring. Sure, you may have to get up 20 minutes earlier, but even then bicycle provides the necessary exercise that could significantly improve your sleep. Your sleep may become more deep and relaxing and you would feel far more energized in the morning than with 20 minutes of extra sleep.

Further benefits include:

• Cardio exercise improves your general health
• Never worry again about your weight
• Your muscles and figure in general becomes more toned and slim
• You don’t spend money for gas or public transportation
• A bicycle is far cheaper than a car
• Your 2 cents to save the environment
• Be different, be cool!

You could use your bike to go anywhere! It’s not only about your work. You could go to your grocery store, visit your aunt in a nearby city during the weekend or even take a road trip to Canada on your next vacations.

Cheap and healthy lifestyle: a bicycle fits perfectly a bodytweaker’s non-consumer approach to life. You’ll have to invest a few hundred $$, but it’s still a far more beneficial investment than a car.

Note: A bicycle is a bodytweaker’s second pair of legs
Cost: You could get a bike from 120$, but look for quality not just for the cheapest price.