Empowerment
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Take your training and racing to the next level and improve your
effectiveness and success in the "larger game" of life...with these
original Endorphin Warrior products made for training, racing, exertion
and building strength of body and mind.
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Welcome
We hope 2010 is off to a great start for you. Throughout the year, we wish you good health and many, many great workouts. From all of us at Endorphin Warrior...All the best to you in 2010!
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Workout Wisdom
of the Ages
"In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education
and physical activity. Not separately,
one for the soul and the other for the
body, but for the two together. With
these two means, man can attain perfection."
-- PLATO (427 - 347 BC)
"An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."
-- HENRY DAVID THOREAU (1817 - 1862)
"The way to find out who we are is through our bodies."
-- DR. GEORGE SHEEHAN (1918 - 1993)
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Exercise Science
A growing body of research suggests that most adults could benefit by adding even a small amount of high-intensity exercise (sprinting, intervals, or other exercise that gets you into your anaerobic range) to their workout routine. In addition to the established and well-documented benefits to the cardiovascular system, muscle strength and performance, high-intensity exercise produces other special, significant benefits that are not derived from moderate, continuous exercise.
-- Interval Training Improves Learning Ability. In a 2007 study by German researchers, volunteers who did two, 3-minute sprints during a 40-minute treadmill run had significantly higher increases in brain proteins and chemicals that enhance brain function when compared to study subjects who stayed at a low intensity for all 40 minutes. Accordingly, in cognitive tests immediately following the run, the sprinters learned vocabulary words 20 percent faster.
-- HGH the Natural Way. A 2005 study in England found that adding a single spurt of sprinting for 30 seconds - in this case while pedaling on a stationary bike - generated a sixfold increase in human growth hormone (HGH), which peaked for two hours after the sprint. HGH plays a role in the repair and regeneration of human tissue throughout our lives.
-- Increase Fat Burning. In a study that compared the effect of a 20-week endurance-training program with a 15-week high-intensity program in terms of body fat loss, the high-intensity exercisers lost over three times as much subcutaneous fat as the endurance-training group, despite expending less than half as many calories. For every calorie expended during high-intensity training, there was a 9-fold loss of subcutaneous body fat, as compared to the endurance-training group.
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Thinking Out Loud
by Eric Jenican
Founder, Endorphin Warrior
Good Suffering
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
-- Frederick Douglass
Those of us who run or engage in other forms of strenuous, physical training are extremely fortunate...we actually "enjoy" physical discomfort. Because of this, we gain countless benefits.
Unlike other parts of life, where external forces thrust pain and struggle upon us, pain that we do not want (which, of course, is the greatest initiator of our growth as human beings), the suffering within our physical training is our choice...we choose the amount and frequency. We can add some "good" suffering to our life and reap the rewards.
One of my training goals for 2009 was to run a steep, single-track trail from the floor of my neighborhood canyon, up to the top of a local hill where I could see the Pacific Ocean in the distance...return to the start...and do this 100 times during the year. Basically, this came down
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"The suffering itself is not 'fun,' but it is a joy to feel
so fully alive."
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to running up the hill two times per week. The run to the top has about 15 minutes of continuous, high-intensity, uphill running that inflicts a lot of good suffering. I chose this goal because I wanted to make sure that regular physical suffering was a part of my life.
After completing hilltop run number 100 last December, I now look back at my 100-run challenge as a one-year "continuing education" course. Below are a few reflections about what I learned as I suffered up the hill:
1. Physical suffering and all that goes with it is a complete contrast to the rest of a typical day. In the suffering you experience something that is not comparable to anything else in your daily life. So the suffering adds a whole other dimension to your day and your life. It is something to be embraced and experienced, rather than avoided.
2. Simply put, nothing compares to the "aliveness" you feel created by extreme exertion (I'm not saying that this feeling is superior to the aliveness we can all feel in any moment of life...just that it is vastly different). You put yourself in this place where you are struggling, your lungs are heaving for oxygen, your legs ache, sweat is flowing everywhere...and you feel wonderfully, intensely alive. The suffering itself is not "fun," but it is a joy to feel so fully alive.
3. The greater the suffering, the greater the relief when it is over...and the more intense and pleasurable the post-exercise high. I'm sure that the science would show that the greater the intensity of the prolonged exertion, the greater the secretion of endorphins and all of the other natural brain chemicals that contribute to the pleasure we feel after a strenuous workout. After completing one of my hilltop runs, I would emerge feeling especially cleansed, whole, calm, content and experiencing a keen sense of my being connected to all around me. These moments of basking in the glow of an extremely intense workout are rewards that are definitely worth the effort.
4. Pushing yourself through the struggle and pain of an intense workout develops our mental ability and strength as much as it trains us physically. Every time we face the pain and demonstrate to ourselves that we have the capacity to endure, it tells every part of ourselves that we are strong. To me, it's exciting to know that I can continue to make myself stronger.
5. Simply stated, the latest exercise science reports that when we do vigorous cardio, it sends a signal to all of the cells in the body to "stay strong and grow." Workouts that really crank up the intensity, struggle and pain -- knowing that we are doing something so good for our body, mind and spirit -- make us feel especially good inside. We're giving really good care to ourselves. On many of my hilltop runs I repeated a mantra that was both a celebration of what I was doing...and an inspiration. I would repeat to myself as I faced the pain and struggle, "Stay strong and grow, stay strong and grow."
6. Suffering intensifies everything. It takes us places we otherwise never would go. Within the suffering, we seem to enter a different state of mind. There is an inward focus where we draw strength and understanding from within. From my perspective, it feels like I'm unpeeling previously unknown layers of myself.
When I was younger, I would have thought that after many years of running, cycling or working out that my interest would eventually wane. Actually, I'm finding the opposite to be true. It seems that within the running, biking and strenuous activity there is always more to uncover about training, ourselves and life. How fortunate those of us are who are healthy enough to put our bodies in motion, exert ourselves and enjoy some good suffering.
Warrior On!
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Announcements
Endorphin Warrior Gives Back
Endorphin
Warrior donates 1% of all sales to a select group of non-profit
organizations that help transform lives through running, physical
training and athletics.
Girls on the Run - One of the organizations we're supporting this year is Girls on the Run
(GOTR), a non-profit program that encourages preteen girls to develop
self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. The GOTR program
combines training  for a 5K running event with self-esteem enhancing,
uplifting workouts. There are more than 160 GOTR councils across the
U.S. and Canada. For more information, go to: www.girlsontherun.org
Girls on the Run San Diego - Train for and run the San Diego Rock n' Roll marathon or half marathon on June 6, 2010 and raise money for GOTR. In addition to receiving free training from the San Diego track club, those who raise over $1,000 for GOTR will receive a FREE Endorphin Warrior - Warrior Training Bracelet. For more information, go to: www.gotrsd.org
Canadian orders and shipping to Canada
We are pleased to
announce to our Canadian friends that we now offer ordering and
shipping to Canada through our Online Store. Orders to Canada are
shipped via USPS first class mail. Normal delivery is about 10 days.
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About Endorphin Warrior
To learn more about Endorphin
Warrior, or to view our original product line of empowering products for training and life, visit our website:
EndorphinWarrior.com
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Contact Us
Email: CustomerService@EndorphinWarrior.com
Tel: (949) 360-1508 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST)
Mail: 26895 Aliso Creek Rd., Suite B-248
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Website: www.EndorphinWarrior.com
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The entire contents of TRAINING FOR LIFE are Copyright Endorphin Warrior 2010. All rights reserved.
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