Archive for the ‘Fitness’ Category:


The Benefits of Yoga

Published by in Corporate Wellness, Fitness on December 8th, 2011
Your practice of yoga is a journey of self-discovery. Yoga is a holistic approach to good health and well being. Your yoga session will include relaxation, breathing, posture alignment, strength conditioning, and flexibility. The results can include better sleep, less stress, more energy and stamina. Yoga empowers you to seek your true inner self, and wipe away the needless thoughts and anxiety that cloud your mind and constrict your spirit.
Each yoga experience is the same, yet different. It has been compared to entering the same river and the same spot along the bank. However, as the water flow is constant, the place you enter is always changing. You are where you need to be right now to enter the flow of the river! Yoga reminds us that we are not alone in the universe. We are part of a universal cosmic energy that, once tapped into, can greatly enhance our outlook on life and our ability to fully experience all of life’s wonders.
So ask yourself, what do you desire from yoga? What amount of free time do you have to practice yoga? How does your body feel to you? Armed with these answers and still having

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many questions, try a yoga class and experience the stillness and joy of yoga. Gradually you can pick a style of yoga that suits you best and draw on the concepts of yoga that appeal to you. Keep an open, playful mind and feel the new vitality you’ll have in your everyday life. People who practice yoga eventually believe they are doing yoga 7 days a week, 24 hours a day as they are in the “yoga mind and spirit” continually.

For example, you can bring awareness and calmness into a stressful situation at home or work. Remember “yoga” in Sanskrit means “union” so yoga unites mind and body. Living yoga daily means applying the knowledge of yoga to everyday life situations and staying aware and present each moment. When you are able to practice the yoga postures in a state of awareness of breath and relaxation then yoga will be part of you. The posture and the meditation are finally joined.
Article by Bob McDowell, Certified Personal Trainer.
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Should I Walk Or Jog?

Published by in Corporate Wellness, Fitness on December 5th, 2011
You may have heard that walking at a moderate intensity will burn as many calories as jogging. That is true, but it will take longer. For example, walking for 40 minutes is roughly the same as jogging for 20 minutes as far as the amount of calories used during the exercise session. Walking is gentler on the joints and can be done by most people anywhere or anytime. Consider safety concerns when walking alone, at night, along busy roads or in extreme temperatures.
The most important item for walking is your shoes. Get a good pair that fit well and keep then for walking only. Shop for shoes later in the day when your feet are at the fullest extent and wear the socks you intend to use. In warm weather wear light colored clothes that wisk away sweat, not hold it as cotton does. The outside layer can be a light wind breaker. Use a hat and sunscreen as necessary. In cooler weather add gloves, a scarf, and layer a shirt or sweater under the windbreaker. Consider carrying water in a bottle that straps onto your belt or over your shoulder in a carrying case. You may like to use a pedometer to measure your distance, a heart rate monitor to record your heart rate, and a small flashlight for evening walks.
If you walk with a friend, you can practice the “talk test” to determine the intensity of your effort. If you can carry on a full conversation with few pauses for breaths, you are probably walking at a very light intensity. If when you talk you are gasping for air, you are at

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a high intensity level. Pick a moderate level in which a small conversation can be accomplished with slight breathing effort. Walk about 30 – 45 minutes on level ground to begin. Later add a few hills and work up to 45 – 60 minutes. If all you have one day is 15 minutes then enjoy a shorter, quicker paced walk in that time. Have fun by changing the walking route or trying a different walking buddy. Dog walking is good if the dog is actually walking and not stopping every few seconds. If you feel light headed, develop chest pains, or become short of breath, stop walking, rest, alert your buddy and consider your options. If you carry a cell phone, use it if necessary. Tell someone where you are walking and your expected return time.

Some normal soreness may develop if you are new to walking. Stretch tired muscles at the end of your walk as you cool down. When you begin to walk start slowly and use this time to warm up your leg muscles and get into good form and posture. Most people use the heel-toe walking technique where your heel strikes first followed by the rest of the foot and finally pushing off the ground using the big toe. Have a comfortable stride which allows you to lean forward slightly, head erect, arms pumping at your sides and feet moving straight forward. If you want to add jogging to your walk, then every 10 minutes jog for 1 minute and return to walking. See if you like that variation.
Sources:
Walking Medicine, Gary Yanker and Kathy Burton.
Walk Shaping, Gary Yanker.
Article by Bob McDowell, Certified Personal Trainer.
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Metabolism and Exercise

Published by in Corporate Wellness, Fitness on November 29th, 2011
Metabolism is the process by which the food you eat is converted to useful energy production which will nourish and sustain you and provide the “gas for your engine”. Metabolism is the total of all the energy producing and absorbing processes occurring in the body. Even when you are resting, calories are being consumed to sustain life. Your brain, heart, lungs and other organs have to be nourished with oxygen enriched blood.
The basal metabolic rate is the lowest rate of energy metabolism of a person at rest. A very general estimate of your basal metabolic rate is to add a zero to your weight in pounds. For example, a 150 lb person has a rate of 1,500 calories needed to sustain normal living functions. Now it becomes more understandable why people on very low calorie diets of 1000 – 1200 calories cause their body to “think” it is being starved and slow down metabolism. This in turn causes fat to be held by the body rather than burned as fuel.
Aerobic exercise such as walking and anaerobic exercise such as weight lifting greatly increase your metabolism and cause you to burn fats and carbohydrates during the exercise session and even after you stop. As you increase lean muscle tissue, more calories are needed to sustain muscles as compared to fat. By incorporating exercise in any weight loss program, more fat and less muscle mass is lost. Eating breakfast and 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day raises your metabolic rate and

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keeps it elevated thus causing more calories to be burned. If you skip breakfast and only eat 2 meals daily, your metabolic rate will remain below normal for most of the day. It is important to eat foods that contain fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

If your intake of carbohydrates is very low you will reduce your energy level. If you cut your protein intake below normal limits, the body will draw its’ needed protein from your muscle tissue causing a loss of muscle and a lowering of your metabolic rate. It would appear that healthy nutrition and regular exercise are the key elements to weight loss and energy production. Dieting without exercise is not the most beneficial way to approach obesity. You will be more successful combining dieting and exercise together as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Sources:
Physical Fitness, Robert Hockey
Is There A Way To Burn Calories Faster?, Neal Bernard, MD, Vegetarian Times, Mar 2005.
Article by Bob McDowell, Certified Personal Trainer.
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Home Exercise

Published by in Corporate Wellness, Fitness on November 28th, 2011
           
There are many ways to get your 30 – 60 minutes of daily exercise around the home without having to travel to a gym or health club.  Weather permitting, you can walk for your aerobic segment.  Try to include some hills on your route and consider using a pedometer to record your distance, and a heart rate monitor for your intensity level and target heart rate (THR).  Remember, you are trying to work out for at least 20 minutes in your THR which is found by subtracting your age from 220 and multiplying the answer by 65% for the lower end and 80% for the upper end.  For example, a 50-year old would subtract: 220 – 50 = 170, and multiply: 170 x .65 and 170 x .80, for a THR of 110 – 136 beats per minute.  Other aerobic exercise could include climbing the stairs in the house, dancing to fast music, performing an aerobic routine by following a video, or jumping rope.  Check with your doctor prior to doing aerobic exercise and ask for her recommendations. 
 
Strength or resistance training can be done at home by traditional exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, squats, stretch and reach, and lunges.  If you have a pair of 5 or 8 pound dumbbells, use them for arm curls, chest press, shoulder press and 1-arm rows.  If you don’t have dumbbells, use soup or bean cans or plastic detergent containers.  There are numerous books in the library and many magazines in the supermarket that show pictures of the proper form for all these exercises.  You may want to buy an exercise band for stretching and strengthening moves.  They are sold at many department stores. Some have handles and some are simply the band itself.  The band can be placed around a stable object such as a pole in the basement and you can pull the ends towards you in a rowing motion.
 
For better flexibility and decreased risk of injury, perform some stretches for the legs and back.  They can be done by lying on your back and bringing your knees to your chest.  Also, you can raise 1 leg at a time straight to the ceiling and stretch the back of the leg.  Almost all the books on yoga include a section on stretching.  Often the package in which an exercise band is wrapped includes instructions and sample exercises.  A broom or mop handle can be held at the ends with both hands and used for stretching.  Calf stretches can be done on the stairs by placing the front half of the foot on the first step and raising and lowering the heel in the air. 
               
Use your imagination to think of other exercises and stretches.  Make it fun but most of all, be safety conscious.  Have proper balance and body alignment and wear loose clothing and no jewelry.  Protect your joints such as the knee by keeping the knee over the ankle when lunging or squatting.  See what you have in your house or apartment that could be used for exercise.  Do you have a sturdy table, counter top, or a chair without wheels?  If so, you can gently lean on them to perform a push-up or an upper back stretch.  You may want to use and exercise ball or a medicine ball for resistance and lifting.
 
Find something that you can do regularly and make it a positive, healthy habit.  Could you try a few sit-ups while watching television?  Involve the family or a friend in your program and keep a record of your accomplishments.  Set short and long range goals and reward yourself on a job well done.  You deserve the benefits a strong body and a healthy lifestyle provides!
 
Article by Bob McDowell, Certified Personal Trainer.
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Two Types of Exercise for the Total Body

Published by in Corporate Wellness, Fitness on November 14th, 2011
The difference between aerobic and anaerobic activity is the presence of oxygen.  Of course you are breathing during both activities.  Aerobic exercise such as walking, biking or an aerobic exercise class, is often defined as any activity using the large muscle groups of the body for at least a 20 minute duration in the Target Heart Rate (THR) zone.  The exercise is sustained by oxygen from the blood circulation through the body fueling the energy-producing activity of muscle fibers.  Aerobic training is often called a cardio workout from the word cardiovascular. Its purpose is to strengthen the heart and lungs and help the body more efficiently use energy to perform a function such as walking.  Activities such as snow shoveling and gardening can be aerobic in nature.  The THR is found by subtracting your age from 220 and multiplying the result by 65% for the low end and 80% for the high end of your THR.  For example, a 50 year old:  220-50 = 170; 170 x .65 = 110; 170 x .80 = 136.  Therefore, the THR is 110 – 136 beats per minute.
 
Most training manuals recommend beginners and those people interested in weight loss to exercise at 60 – 70% of the THR as the body uses more fat for energy in that range and the body can sustain activity for a long period of time at that intensity level.  Also, there is less chance of injury and exercise soreness.  Weight loss requires burning more calories than you eat.  Aerobic exercise burns fats and carbohydrates, but predominately fats, which is why it can help in weight loss.  We want the body to use more fats as fuel as opposed to stored carbohydrates or proteins.  Besides the THR method of determining intensity levels, you can use the talk test and the rate of perceived exertion (RPE).  If you can maintain a short conversation while exercising, you are primarily aerobic and not under undue cardio respiratory stress.  RPE is a 0-10 scale with 0-2 being very, very weak exercise effort, 3-5 moderate to strong effort, 6-10 very strong to maximal effort.  The new government guidelines for healthy living issued in 2005 recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily.  If you have time you can exercise for 45-60 minutes or break it up into 15-20 minute segments.  The important point is to do some aerobic activity daily.
 
The other type of activity is anaerobic which refers to short duration exercise requiring a burst of energy such as sprinting, weight lifting, martial arts, or running up a couple of flights of stairs.  A different energy pathway system is used to fuel our muscles to perform anaerobic exercise.  It is important for overall good health to include both aerobic and anaerobic activities in our daily lifestyle.  Training with moderate weights 2 – 3 times per week would be beneficial to our bone health as well as adding strength and size to our muscles.  As we age it is vital for our bones and muscles to perform some resistance training or we will lose lean muscle mass and weaken our bones and joints.
 
Sources:
 
The Book on Personal Training,  Karl Dauphinais and James Bell, 2004.
Muscle Mechanics, Everett Aaberg, 1998.
 
Article by Bob McDowell, Certified Personal Trainer.
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