Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Room to breathe. . .



Many of my clients tend to hold their breath or breathe very shallowly while exercising - especially when doing new routines or cardio programs. Proper breathing is important during exercise for 2 reasons: to deliver oxygen to the cells and to assist the rhythm of motion.

The exact timing of the breath depends somewhat on the exercise, but the general rule of thumb is that you breathe in during the relaxed phase of the exercise and out during the exertion phase. For example, you would exhale when you push off during a shoulder press. Focus on proper activation of your core to stabilize the trunk of the body and coordinate this with the breathing cycle. The main key is to listen to your body and RELAX - your body will signal you when to breathe.

Deal with that pain in the neck



Today it's almost impossible to get through the day without using your computer. So it's no surprise that sometimes we get a radical pain in the neck! The most common pain is in the area of the trapezius and can become chronic. The good news is that a study published in Arthritis Care & Research has shown that exercise can alleviate the chronic pain your neck.

While general exercise is the typical prescription given by most health care professionals, the study revealed that you need to do specific strength training of the neck muscles for lasting relief - improving the isometric strength of your neck. Try a simple shoulder shrug with hand weights to help strengthen those muscles. Hold a weight in each hand with arms hanging at your sides. Raise your shoulders up towards your ears and release back down. Make sure the movement comes from the upper back and not your arms. Do this for 1 set of 10-12 reps, rest for 60 seconds and repeat.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Working Out Adds Years to Your Life - From LifeFitnessBlog




We know it’s good for us to exercise but studies continue to show just how good it really is. The latest findings confirm, “People who exercise can add three years to their life, and their hearts reap benefits from something as simple as brisk walking a half-hour a day,” two studies suggest.

In a study conducted in Rotterdam, researchers analyzed more than forty years of information from the Framingham Heart Study, a long-running health analysis of suburban Boston residents. There were three groupings of participants which totaled 4,121 people: low physical activity, medium and high. The volunteers, who had kept track of how long they spent doing various activities each day, received scores based on the estimated oxygen consumed for their activities.

The results were as we would expect them to be, the group with the higher physical activity level lived longer. Life expectancy at age 50 for the medium activity group was 1.5 years longer than for the low activity group. The high activity group lived 3.5 years longer. The extra years were lived mostly free from heart disease. The study didn’t give details quantifying high, medium or low activity.

Other similar studies have found several ways to achieve the benefits:
 Walking for 30 minutes five or more days a week, either moderately or briskly, improved cardiorespiratory fitness. It worked just as well to walk briskly three to four days a week.
 Only fast-paced walking on five or more days a week also led to short-term progress in cholesterol levels.
The reality is if you set out to exercise 5 days a week, you will more than likely workout 4 days a week, if you set your goal at 60 minutes a session, you will probably do 45 minutes. To achieve results you need to be consistent so set your goals and stcik to it. Check with your doctor before you start any program of exercise.

Workouts Alone Won't Keep You Healthy. . .

Fitness Quote from Life Fitness Blog:

"Far too many times over the next 12 to 15 years, it was brought to my attention that people who followed my exercise guidelines exactly but ignored their diet, their weight and their cigarette smoking had heart attacks at age 55."
- Kenneth H. Cooper

I loved this when I read it although I did have to read it a few times before it sunk in. I believe this is how many people view their fitness and how they think it should work. If they workout, they should lose weight. If they workout, they should be healthier. If they workout they should live longer. What they fail to “hear” is that exercise without proper nutrition and behavior modification when it comes to alcohol, smoking or drug use is not a fix all solution which will wipe the “unhealthy” slate clean. A proper lifestyle pattern of exercise, proper eating habits and preventive care - such as doctor visits and avoiding unhealthy behaviors is what extends the lifespan.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Tip the Scales in Your Favor. . .

To tip the energy balance in your favor, start by determining how many calories you need each day to maintain your current weight. Doing this requires a few simple calculations.

First, multiply your current weight by 15. That’s roughly the number of calories per day needed to maintain your current weight if you are moderately active. Moderately active means getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day (walking at a brisk pace, climbing stairs, or active, physical gardening). If you are less active, you’ll need to increase your activity to that level or reduce your calories further, or you will gain weight.

Weight X 15 = Daily calories to maintain weight
Daily calories - 500 = Weight loss

Let’s say you’re a moderately active woman who is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. If you multiply 150 by 15, you will get 2,250, which is the number of calories per day that you need to maintain your current 150-pound weight. To lose weight, you will need to eat below that total each day.

If your BMI shows that you are overweight, you can set a goal of losing one to two pounds a week — a rate that experts consider safe. To lose weight, your daily food consumption should provide 500–1,000 calories less than your total weight-maintenance calories. So in the example of the 150-pound woman, reducing calories to 1,250–1,750 a day will produce the desired weight loss.

If you are sedentary, you will also need to build more activity into your day. In order to lose at least a pound a week, try to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days, and reduce your daily calorie intake by at least 500 calories. However, calorie intake should not fall below 1,200 a day in women or 1,500 a day in men, except under the supervision of a health professional. Eating too few calories can endanger your health by depriving you of needed nutrients.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Don't Leave Your Goals to Chance


As a personal trainer and life fitness coach, I see many clients grabbing the weights and strapping on their running shoes before they know exactly what it is they want to achieve. My advice is to leave nothing to chance. Research shows that writing down your health and fitness goals makes them 95% more achievable. The more specific you are about what you want, the more likely you will do what is necessary to get it.

First, check your expectations. Are the goals you set reasonable? While it would be nice to lose 20 pounds in 7 days, there is no safe way to make that happen. Unrealistic expectations undermine your efforts and make it difficuilt to stay on track.

Look beyond the obvious. Set goals that can be measured with something other than a bathroom scale - like lowering your blood pressure by 10 points or increasing the distance you can walk or jog.

Keep track of your progress. Journal a record of the progress you make in keeping your goals. It will help you resolve to stay committed. Feelings of accomplishment will provide the fuel you need to continue moving forward.

Think carefully before sharing your goals. Sometimes it is a good idea to share your goals with family and friends and sometimes it isn't. Think about what feels right to you and trust your intuition.

Celebrate every achievement, milestone and moment! Reward yourself! it's a great way to stay motivated.
Review and revise. Life happens when you're making other plans. You may have to modify of change your goals to accommodate your situation.

The Magic 8 Rules for Healthy Eating


1. Eat 5 meals per day. Smaller, more frequent meals boost your metabolism, increasing the rate at which you burn calories for some time after the meal. DO NOT SKIP the snacks, even if you aren’t hungry. Eat a little something. It will boost your metabolism and your energy level. As you get fitter, you’ll find you are burning more calories and will need the fuel.
a. Breakfast (DO NOT EVER SKIP BREAKFAST)
b. Mid-Morning Snack
c. Lunch
d. Afternoon Snack
e. Dinner

2. Redistribute your calories throughout the day. This is an extremely important aspect to weight loss that is often overlooked. The best way to PUT ON MORE weight is to skip breakfast, eat a light lunch and then power feed at dinner. The old adage from our parent’s day turned out to be true and will guarantee you shed pounds:

a. Eat like a KING at breakfast (biggest)
b. Eat like a PRINCE at lunch (moderate)
c. Eat like a PAUPER at dinner (lightest)
d. Add to that – 2 healthy energy boosting snacks per day

3. Consume 25-30% of your total daily calories at each meal and the remaining 10-25% comes from your snacks.

4. Be wary of portion distortion. Overly large meals actually cause your body to store fat. Consuming a large number of calories at one sitting makes your body secrete an abnormally high amount of insulin, known as an insulin spike. Insulin’s job is to take glucose (sugar) out of the bloodstream and lay it down as body fat – exactly what you DON’T want.

5. Set an eating cutoff time. Stop eating a minimum of 2 hours (and preferably 3) BEFORE BEDTIME. You don’t want to feel ravenous, but feeling a little hungry is a good thing – it’s your body’s way of telling you it is losing fat. Just this step alone will translate into some weight loss.

6. Eat from the rainbow. Eat a variety of healthy foods from all the colors of the rainbow – red, green, yellow, purple, etc. The greater the variety and balance of foods, the healthier you will be. This may take some attitude adjustment but try to think of eating clean as a gift not a punishment.

7. Strive for a balance of carbs, protein, and fats every day. .

a. Carbs are the major source of energy for the body and primary source of fuel for the brain. Without adequate carbs, you can’t burn fat efficiently.
b. Protein is important, but too much reliance at the expense of other nutrients puts strain on the liver and kidneys and will cause the body to break down its muscles to gain energy, resulting in weight gain.
c. Healthy fat is necessary for digestion, creating hormones, and increases your immunity to disease.

The healthiest balance is approximately:

50-60% of calories from healthy carbs
25-30% from fats
15-20% from protein

o Eat 2 servings of fruit and 4 of veggies per day
o Eat 5-7 servings of whole grains/day for necessary fiber

o Fats: Canola oil, avocado, flaxseed, omega 3’s from fish

o Protein: Eat high quality sources that are low in saturated fat.

8. Limit alcohol and drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day.
Alcohol has more calories per gram (7) than either carbs or protein (4)
Alcohol slows the metabolism and the effects can last for days.
You tend to eat poorly when drinking and exercise less effectively the next day.

What's the Calorie Story Anyway?

Most people cut too many calories from their diet in order to achieve weight loss, and eventually give up out of frustration. You should only cut 500 to 700 calories from your daily intake to lose weight.
A healthy weight loss goal is to lose .5 to 2 pounds per week. Losing more than 2 pounds per week will mean the weight is less likely to stay off permanently. Never cut back to fewer than 1,200 daily calories without medical supervision.

Cut your calorie intake by 500 to lose 1 pound each week or cut by 700 calories to lose 1-½ pounds each week. There are 3500 calories in one pound of fat. To lose 1 pound, you need a calorie deficit of 3500 calories. This calorie deficit should happen over the course of one week.

A diet with too few calories is hard to maintain and will slow your metabolism. Eat too many calories and you will not lose weight. The healthiest eating method is to eat 5 to 6 small meals per day and include a daily aerobic exercise program 5 days per week. This will increase your metabolism and help you lose weight quicker.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Finished Number 2!

My friend Elaine and I ran our second 1/2 marathon last Sunday. Unlike the Seattle Marathon, this one was tough. We definitely didn't have as much fun as our Thanksgiving run. The hills were much steeper than they looked on the virtual tour and the weather was hotter than predicted. It took me almost 5 miles just to settle in, waiting for the adrenaline rush that never came. The hills came at us one right after the other, so we never had time to recover. Thanks again to the kind neighborhood folks who sprayed us with their garden hoses as we ran up those never ending hills!

The good news is despite the hills and heat, we came in only slightly over our last race time - just over 2 hours. We're in the process of deciding whether to train for the full marathon in November or just race more competitively in the 1/2. I'd love to start a training program for first time 1/2 marathoners.

It's a great gift we give to ourselves twice a year - running our race and keeping on going!