Posts Tagged ‘exercise’:


Weight Management

Published by in Corporate Wellness, Nutrition on November 22nd, 2011
Be honest with yourself.  Only you know yourself!  This is a wonderful thing because it means that you hold the key to your own weight management.  Find your key and you will be free to live the life you want to live!
           
Give yourself the gift of freedom to live the life that you have dreamed about.  Can you imagine waking each morning feeling good about yourself and possessing the freedom to do the things you really want to do?  You will no longer be a prisoner to your weight, pain, fitness limitations or fashion requirements.  Close your eyes and imagine life without weight issues.  You deserve this life.  What are the triggers that make you turn towards food?  Is it stress, boredom, or family issues?  Why do you make unhealthy choices?  Do you eat and watch TV?  What time of day do you eat the majority of your food?  Note your answers to these questions and consider keeping a daily food log.  Check with your doctor concerning a particular diet, food choices and portion sizes for you.  Drink water, get proper rest, exercise and try to eliminate some stress from your life.  Consider having a buddy with you as you start a healthier life style.
 
Where to begin?  A pound is 3,500 calories and to lose a pound you must eliminate 500 calories per day for 7 days.  Exercise and diet together are the best way for healthy weight loss.  It is not healthy to eat less than 1,200 calories a day.  It is better to reduce calories by 250 by adding a brisk walk of 30 – 40 minutes to your day.  Exercise can elevate your mood by changing your body’s chemistry.  Loss of weight can help reduce your risk of certain diseases as well.  You can make a conscious decision to live an active lifestyle and increase your chances for a happy and healthy life.  An active lifestyle enhances your mood, increases your metabolism, improves digestion, increases bone density and may lower your resting blood pressure.  Make small goals and strive to reach them.  When you do, reward yourself.  Some goals may be walking every day, taking the stairs at work, standing while talking on the telephone or doing sit-ups during the TV commercials.
 
Choose an exercise you enjoy and wear proper clothes and shoes.  Be careful and safe and start slowly.  If you feel pain or discomfort, check with your doctor before continuing.  It is ok to take a day off.  Eat a nutritious breakfast and drink water.  Try having smaller more frequent meals during the day rather than one very large dinner.  Cut down on saturated fat and sweets and eat several portions of fruits and vegetables daily.  Check with your doctor or a nutritionist for a specific diet plan for you.
 
Visualize your overall goal and set a course for a new healthy life style.  You deserve the very best.  Now let’s begin!
 
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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Obesity and Movement

Published by in Corporate Wellness, Health on November 7th, 2011

Reports from the Surgeon General, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several governmental reports indicate that physical activity and obesity are two of the leading health indicators.  Not being overweight or obese may prevent early death from heart disease, diabetes, and other major causes of death in the U.S. Physical activity which requires us to engage in continuous movement for at least 30 minutes aids in weight control and increases muscle and bone strength.  This in turn helps our joints to remain strong and flexible and allows us full range of motion.

Physical activity also raises our metabolism, decreases body fat and provides for a growth of lean muscle mass.  It elevates our moods and spirits and contributes to our overall feelings of wellness.  The social contacts we have while exercising in a group setting have been shown to aid us in continuing in our program and attaining measurable results.  If we are accountable to our buddies to show up on time for a walk, it will be harder for us to find excuses not to exercise.

Proper nutrition of course, plays a very important role in our fight to maintain a healthy life style.  The new government food guidelines issued on 1/13/05 advised us to count calories, not carbohydrates, and eat more fruits and vegetables and less fats, sweets and salt.  It also requests us to perform daily physical activity of 30 minutes or longer.  Reputable weight control plans advise eating a nutritious breakfast of whole wheat grains and high fiber foods, drinking plenty of water, consuming several portions of fruits and vegetables, and eating 5-6 smaller meals during the day so as never to become totally famished and overeat at one particular meal.

Pre-plan your meals to provide yourself with readily available healthy choices.  Don’t eat from boredom or stress, eat if you are hungry.  Add daily exercise to your healthy plan and be prepared to realize great results.  Remember studies show that the greatest changes come to those individuals who go from being totally sedentary to exercising only 1 or 2 times per week!

Article by Bob McDowell, Certified Personal Trainer.

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