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The President’s Council on Fitness and Sports has published a fitness test for adults. Though a couple of bloggers have discussed it positively, I won’t touch it with a one-foot sit-and-reach ruler.

Why do I loathe the President’s Challenge Adult Fitness Test? One reason:

The President’s Challenge Kids Test

Go back to your darkest days of gym class and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

“Do as many sit-ups as you can in 60-seconds. Go!” (I petered out after the first 20.)
“Hang on this pull-up bar for as long as you can. Go!” (Zero seconds.)
“Run a mile as fast as you can. Go!” (14 minutes, 36 seconds.)

And then there’s the dreaded sit-and-reach, the easiest test, but also the one I hated most. I remember sitting on the ground with my legs splayed around a ruler, my (male) gym teacher holding down my bare knees with his bare hands, asking me to reach. “I am reaching!”

Thank you, Mr. President, for this hellish walk down memory lane.

Ironically, I may have been a fitter kid if it weren’t for gym class and tests like these. The President’s Challenge crushed my self esteem. Every year. Worse than being picked last for the volleyball team, worse than being forced to take group showers, the President’s Challenge actually made me feel sick to my stomach. The only time I didn’t mind gym class was when we played badminton or learned country line dancing.

It’s absurd, because I wasn’t a terribly lazy or unfit kid. I rode my bike everywhere and roller skated religiously. I even walked a couple miles to school every day when I could have taken the bus. I just didn’t like sports, and I still don’t like competition.

If only the prez measured fitness by how much snow I could lift over my head.
(Is this not the saddest snow fort you’ve ever seen?)

The Adult Fitness Test breaks down fitness into a few components: aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition. But where is self-esteem in all of this? I know I know, you can’t really measure body image. It just irks me so that tests like these tend to destroy the positivity required to BE fit.

MizFit’s recent post has some telling comments about THE SUCK that is gym class and the President’s Challenge. Surprisingly, some of her readers don’t seem to mind the thing, and some even have good memories of gym class. But most of them feel like I do, like Merecedes of Geek Girl Fitness:

I sucked at gym. I faked stomach aches, menstrual cramps, and forged my mother’s signature to avoid class whenever I could, especially on days that I knew we’d be running. Attempts at running were mortifying, and usually resulted in me wheezing like an emphysema patient or sprawled over at the sidelines. And no, I didn’t have asthma… I believe if even one of the many gym teachers who tortured me over that decade had ever said, “slow down and you won’t wheeze, and will make it to the finish line”, I probably wouldn’t have done everything possible to avoid running over the course of the following decade. It was only when i read a beginners article saying to start running sloooow, that I felt I had permission to attempt running again.

Think I’m being too hard on ol’ GW? Do you have your own memories you’d like to share? Back me up or put me in my place in the comments.

How Fit Are You? [Healthbolt]
The President’s Challenge Fitness Test [MizFit]
Running with President George Bush [Runner’s World]

Dal with Roasted Cauliflower, Aloo Gobi, and Basmati Rice

I’ve been meaning to write about packed lunches for months. Thankfully, Kris at Cheap Healthy Good has beaten me to it. In her One-Stop Shop for Work Lunch Ideas, Kris provides seven invaluable tips for brown-bagging it:

Plan ahead. This is where your grocery list comes in handy.

Prepare your food the night before.

No one wants to wake 20 minutes early so they can half-assedly slap a bologna sandwich together before the 8am train. Assembling an simple lunch in the evening will let you sleep longer AND increase the likelihood of a meal you’ll enjoy. If those nightly 10 minutes are too inconvenient, you can always …

Prepare your food in bulk. I’m a fan of freezing individual portions of dal, veggie chili, soup, and cornbread.

Don’t settle for sandwiches. Amen. Have I mentioned the joys of dal?

Use leftovers wisely. Hmm, dal anyone?

Pack snacks. I’m all over this: raw veggies, fruit, nuts, hummus, beans. And if you’re doing this to save money…

Avoid the 100-calorie packs, though, as they are the biggest ripoff, ever.

Invest in reusable lunchboxes and utensils. Good tupperware that does not leak is key. I’m sad to report that the Laptop Lunchbox, though cute, is a big sloppy mess if you pack anything liquid. Check out JustBento for an awesome supply of container ideas.

I can’t hold back - I’m a star when it comes to packed lunches. But I guess it depends on your perspective. I had one workmate who once looked at what I was eating and said, to no one in particular, “Huh, life of a vegetarian, I guess?” I think he was confused, but I was too happy in my bowl of chili to care. I hope you don’t mind me showing off a few of my favorite lunches from this past year:

Veggie sushi with Carrot & Hijiki Salad, Marinated Tofu Steaks, and Spinach Gomae

Veggie Chili with Roasted Okra, Cornbread, No Knead Bread, and Banana

Dal with Roasted Cauliflower, Aloo Gobi, and Basmati Rice

Marinated Tofu Steaks with Soy Dipping Sauce, Pearl Barley, Carrot & Hijiji Salad, Rocket Salad

Amaranthy/Quinoa Timbales with Green Salad, Roasted Veggies, and Shredded Beetroot, Pinenut and Cilantro Salad

Pasta Arrabiata with No Knead Bread, Cannelini Bean Puree, and Tomato, Rocket, Cucumber and Asparagus Salad

What are your favorite brown-bag lunches? Please share in the comments below!

One-Stop Shop for Work Lunch Ideas [Cheap Healthy Good]

Welcome all veg-heads and meat-heads alike. Whatever you fancy, we’re delighted to be hosting this edition of the vegetarian carnival on behalf of Veggie Chic. Some of you might be surprised: “I thought SmarterFitter was a health and fitness blog, what’s all this vegetarian mumbo jumbo?” Well guess what, vegetables are a huge part of staying fit and living smart, but you already knew that. So enjoy the links and don’t forget to visit the Veggie Chic Carnival to submit an article for the next edition.

My favorite submissions

How to shop at a farmers’ market
by valereee at Cincinnati Locavore
“Every vegetarian needs a farmers’ market!” says valereee. I say every person who eats food needs a farmers’ market. Still, sometimes I find it hard to will myself to battle the crowds. As someone who finds the farmer’s market a challenge, I can definitely vouch for valereee’s suggestions: these are spot on. Especially the ones about going early, expecting to pay more than the supermarket, not expecting the most beautiful food on earth, and of course: bringing a friend. There is safety in numbers.

Baking an omelet in the solar oven
by Esther Garvi
This post has something for everyone: vegetarians, protein-hungry iron-pumpers, sun worshippers, and lovers of nifty inventions. Esther lives in Niger as an upaid volunteer for the Eden Foundation and helps the people of the “least developed area of the least developed country in the world achieve a sustainable life”. Here, she uses an ultra nifty solar oven to make a tasty omelet. It’s not a vegetarian recipe but it does includes a lot of vegetables and protein-hungry people will like it for its inclusion of tuna and lots of eggs. She serves it with solar-cooked millet bread. Reading this and through her other blog posts reminds me that even one of the poorest country in the world can also be the richest in certain respects.

Spinach Paratha
by Manjula Jain at Manjula’s Kitchen
“This is a great anytime meal. Spinach Parathas are whole-wheat Indian flatbread stuffed with a spicy spinach filling,” says Manjula. Parathas are gooood, and Manjula’s video shows you how to make them, kneeding the dough to preparing the filling to cooking them on the stove. Indian bread can be a challenge to make, but her video makes it look easy. It’s inspired me to try my hands at paratha and chapattis. I bet this would taste delicious with the channa masala posted below.

Curried Mushroom Couscous
by Vera Nadine at Vegetarian Frugal Housewife
One of the reasons I liked this post is because I could relate to Vera’s fondness for the type of couscous that comes in a box with a sachet of highly-processed flavor, what Vera calls “the last straw of my (SAD) Standard American Diet”. If you’re like most Americans who grew up on this kind of stuff, it’s hard to forget that these foods at one point tasted really damn good. In fact, some of them still do. But guess what, you can experience the salty goodness of processed foods with all-natural ingredients!! As Vera says, this is “a quick and very yummy homemade version of store-bought flavored couscous. A nice side dish or easy food for picnics and hiking.”

Homemade Tofu
by Jen Carlile at Modern Beet.
Should you ever want to make your own tofu, Jen shows you every step of this somewhat ambitious process. She makes a good case for the effort: “Making tofu from scratch is a fairly involved endeavor, but worth it if you have the urge to know where your food comes from and how it’s made.” Well said, Jen. I think it’s funny that she used a tin of Chicken Noodle Soup to press the curdled soy into firm tofu.

Roasted Parsnip Fries
by Chef Erik.
Erik says: “This has to be one of my favorite recipes. I came up with this recipe for health reasons. Roasting, as we all know, is so much healthier for us than frying.” I say forget the health benefits: parsnips are just damn good. And this recipe is EASY: only 5 ingredients, two of which are salt and peper.

These folks also like to eat their vegetables

As you can see, I had a hard time choosing favorites.

• Randy Powell presents Blue and Purple Food posted at Eating-Veggies.com.
• 
  Allen Holman presents Switching from Vegetarian to Vegan posted at Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes, saying, “Some tips about making the switch from vegetarian to vegan.”
• 
  Eccentric Vegan presents Vegan Bites: Responses To PETA Reward, Vat Meat, & The NY Times posted at Vegan Soapbox.

• Alison presents Quorn posted at Green Me.

• Vihar Sheth presents Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler posted at Vihar Sheth.

• J.F. presents Ever Consider Dr. McDougall’s Soups? posted at vegoftheweek.

• Lane Wright presents Chana Masala posted at Vegan Bits.

• Lisa presents Greek Scrambled Eggs with Tomato and Feta posted at Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen.

• Melanie Rimmer presents Bean Sprouts: Fried Halloumi with Redcurrant Chili Sauce posted at Bean Sprouts.

• VnV presents a luscious strawberry dessert posted at Veggie Monologues.

• kitchenetta presents Vegan Manhattan Clam Chowder posted at got no milk, saying, “One of my all-time favorite soups from one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Although I am not a vegetarian, I love vegetarian cooking, and enjoy it often.”

• Expat Chef presents Honey and Vinegar posted at The Expatriate’s Kitchen, saying, “A light, lemony salad with couscous and vegetables.”

• Jason Isbell presents On the spot dinner posted at Tired Garden, saying, “Create a recipe on the spot and have a good meal.”

• lalaine y. manalo presents Sauteed Bean Sprouts and Tofu posted at thecookmobile.com, saying, “fast, easy and delicious vegetarian tofu recipe.”

That concludes this edition. Got a veg-tastic link of your own to share? Submit your blog article to the next edition of the vegetarian carnival using ourcarnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

You see it all the time: people cycling around town with the seat to short looking like their squatted over the toilet seat. Bicycle fit is complicated enough, but it’s even harder for women. Many women end up riding men’s bikes, which are designed for men’s wider shoulders and taller statures. Furthermore, seats can be especially uncomfortable for women who have comparatively wider pelvic areas (though now that I think about it, I hear more men complaining about their bike seats than women). Anyone riding a poorly fit bike will experience pains after cycling for a couple hours. And as Merry says on Cranky Fitness, this is the time of year when you want to go out for a long cycle ride:

If I sound preachy it’s because I think it’s really, really cool to go for a long bicycle ride out in the country where there aren’t a lot of cars but there is a lot of nature. You get to see things you never when you’re driving a car, plus it’s easy on your knees and you can get a workout while sitting down!

Amen sister.

In her post, Merry covers the often ignored subject of bicycle fit, making welcome mention of some chick-specific factoids we girlies should consider when sizing up our bicycles.

It’s true there’s a vas deferens between men and women. (That joke never gets old, at least not to me.) To quote the WOMBATS website (Women’s Mountainbike And Tea Society), women often have shorter torsos and longer legs than a man of the same height. Just because you and your boyfriend are the same height doesn’t mean you’ll be comfortable riding his bicycle.

Bicycling Sizing is COMPLICATED, at least for my feeble brain which relied on the very capable folks at Austin’s University Cyclery to size my bike. But if you’re more patient than I am, or you don’t have access to a bike shop with a kick-ass mechanic, then check out these excellent resources for bike fitting:

Bike Sizing For All

• Sheldon Brown’s Revisionist Theory of Bike Sizing
• Colorado Cyclist’s Article on Bicycle Fitting
• Edward Zimmerman’s Frame Fitting Site with Online Calculations

Bike Sizing For Girls

• Bike Fit a la WOMBAT
• Myra and Simon’s Bicycle Fitting for Small Women
• Women’s Saddles and Bicycle Fit by Pamela Blalock
• Myra & Simon’s Buying a bike that fits a woman

Since we’re talking about bike fitting, I have to make special mention of my Jamis Nova, pictured above. You might notice that that front tire is smaller than the rear tire. Why? It all boils down to my being vertically challenged. The bike has a really small frame, and as a result a bigger tire would result in my toe hitting the wheel wheel whenever I made a turn (this is called “toe overlap”). I think it’s cool that Jamis makes a small bike for shorties like me who like to tour, and I’m extra happy that I was able to meet a mechanic who was able to recommend it (a fellow female shorty at the aforementioned Cyclery - it was the last bike shop I visited when bike shopping in Austin, and by far the best and most capable). Terry, the “first and last name in women’s cycling”, uses the same technique. Myra & Simon get into this in more detail on their site.

And in case you can’t tell, I’m ga-ga for my Jamis Nova, who even carry a whole line of bikes designed for women. I’ve taken my Jamis across France and Wisconsin, up and down Texas‘ Hill Country, and a countless number of times through London and Austin. I’ve never experienced achy knees or a sore bum, just miles of good times and sunshine, with the odd goat and rain storm thrown in for good measure.

Who Says Size Doesn’t Matter? [Cranky Fitness]

Thanks to all who have visited our site from Lifehacker and downloaded the Healthy Grocery Store Templates. And welcome to all our new subscribers!

Apologies to those who TRIED to download the templates but couldn’t connect to the blog. You crushed our servers! It’s okay, though, we don’t blame you. Things should be back to normal now. So happy shopping and most of all: happy eating!

A few folks have had some nifty suggestions for improvements:

• Checkboxes next to each item
• Seasonal grocery lists
• Columns sorted by grocery store aisles

Any other suggestions? Feel free to post them in the comments.

Grocery List Templates For Healthy People

Recently, we’ve been thinking lots about functional fitness and getting hard without the gym. Although we like to avoid equipment as much as possible, a medicine ball could be a useful addition to our “home gym” (which is thus far small enough to stash under the bed, bicycles aside).

Medicine balls are those big heavy black balls that are a little scary except to those few masochistic folks who like to toss them back and forth to one another. It may harken bad memories of gym class. I remember when my 3rd-grade gym teacher tossed one of these cannon balls at me and I dropped it on my toe, not prepared to catch something that weighed 8 pounds (my gym teacher was a competitive body builder who could lift a car like it was a feather, but he wore those rediculous 80s Zubaz pants so we couldn’t really take him seriously).

Trying Fitness has two great videos that demonstrate various medicine ball exercises that you can do on your own. They look like they’d make you hard really fast.

Medicine Ball Exercises You’ve Never Tried [Trying Fitness]
Zubaz Official Website
Buy a medicine ball online [Amazon]

This last year I’ve been swimming regularly and cycling every day. More recently, I began running. I’ve thought about doing a triathlon, but I’m a little worried. I should feel great from all this exercise, but often I feel sluggish and stiff. Am I not stretching enough? Sleeping enough? Eating enough? (Wouldn’t that be a wonderful problem to have?!) Sometimes I’ll have a great swim one day, and a lethargic run the next. Yesterday I took a brisk one-hour walk with Tim after swimming the day before - the walk totally conked me out. How embarrassing. I should be perfectly capable of walking!

It turns out that multi-sport training in tough, and it’s basically impossible to excel in more than one sport at a time. The New York Times explains that the body responds to different sports in different ways. Changes that help you be a kick-ass runner may screw your swimming. And if you think about musculature, it makes sense:

Swimmers need large muscles in their backs and shoulders. Runners and cyclists want small, light upper bodies. Cyclists need large quadriceps muscles. Runners don’t, and in fact they don’t want any extra muscle weight on their legs.

It’s just as well that I don’t hope to win any races; I just wanna have fun and be fit. In fact, training for a triathlon should be good for a recreational athlete like myself. Or so says the physiologists:

Cross training — cycling one day and swimming the next, for example — lets you maintain your energy and enthusiasm and avoid injuries that come from doing the same activity day after day. That’s also part of the appeal of being a triathlete, [triathlon coach Joe Friel] said.

“It’s fun to train,” said Kelly Couch, a 30-year-old triathlete from San Mateo, Calif. “Just being a runner, just being a cyclist, can get a little stagnant.”

Agreed: doing multiple sports is appealing, if only for the variety. But what about my energy? Are there any triathletes out there who’ve experienced this? I’m not even training for real, yet, and need a little reassurance that a triathlon won’t totally wear me out for all the other good things in life, like strolling in the park and throwing frisbees and playing pool.

For Peak Performance, 3 Is Not Better Than 1 [New York Times]

Download: Excel or PDF

The trouble with existing grocery store templates is that they all include foods that are off the radar for us smarter-fitter folk. No offense to lovers of fish sticks and soda pop, it’s just that people like me don’t want this stuff on our grocery lists. The problem isn’t that we don’t eat corn chips or tater tots. It’s that we don’t want to be reminded that corn chips and tater tots are within an aisle’s reach, and so are sour cream, shredded cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise.

To save you time, calories and money, I bring you the Super Ultimate Grocery List Template. This grocery list will help you to

• Stay fit by shopping for healthy, whole food
• Keep track of the foods you need
• Make shopping faster
• Make sure you never forget an item
• Save money by avoiding impulse purchases and expensive, pre-packaged processed food

It’s available as a PDF and Excel spreadsheet. All cells are editable, so just add and delete items as you see fit. Then keep a copy on the fridge or in your wallet and use it to track the items you need so you’ll never forget to buy tomatoes, or be reminded to visit the Easy Cheese aisle.

Download the Super Ultimate Grocery List Template below:

US Letter: Excel or PDF
A4: Excel or PDF

Note: I made this list with me in mind, so you won’t find any meat here. Is this a problem? Any other thoughts or suggestions? Let me know what you think in the comments.

I’ll be hosting the Vegetarian Carnival this week on behalf of Veggie Chic. Do you have a tasty recipe or interesting blog post you’d like to share? Then submit your entry by Monday, May 12th and we’ll consider sharing it with the rest of our hungry readers.

On a side note, Veggie Chic is looking for a new blogger. Interested? Read more about it here.

What’s a blog carnival? Click here to find out.

Popeye may have been on to something with all that spinach malarkey.

A team at Rutgers University extracted liquid phytoecdysteroids from spinach and placed it on samples of cultured human muscle. According to the New Scientist, the extract “sped up [muscle] growth by 20 per cent. Rats were also slightly stronger after a month of injections of the extract…Unfortunately, you would need to eat more than a kilogram of spinach every day to gain equivalent amounts of the steroid.”

That’s something like 35 cups of raw spinach, or 6 cups of steamed spinach - impossible for even the most determined body builder. Any bets on how long it will take for GNC to bottle spinach extract and sell it as an all-natural muscle-booster? Wanna-be muscle-heads: guard your wallets!!!

Why Popeye may have been right about spinach