Sweat and Stress
STRESS!! It seems to be everywhere in these days of uncertainty. Even if these days don’t negatively affect you, we all know so many people who are affected that it can make us anxious and afraid. What to do? The best we can do is to treat the way that stress affects us as best as possible.
Research has shown us that physical exercise is our best tension reliever. Exercise, when property done, gives your body time to operate in its most efficient mode. Virtually any form of exercise can decrease the production of stress hormones and counteract your body's natural stress response.
Physically, exercise improves your cardiovascular functions by strengthening and enlarging the heart, causing greater elasticity of the blood vessels, increasing oxygen throughout your body, and lowering your blood levels of fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides.
Mentally, exercise provides an outlet for negative emotions such as frustration, anger, and irritability, thereby promoting a more positive mood and outlook. Exercise improves mood by producing positive biochemical changes in the body and brain and reduces the amount of adrenal hormones your body releases in response to stress. Also, with exercise, your body releases greater amounts of endorphins, the powerful, pain-relieving, mood-elevating chemicals in the brain. Depressed people often lack these neurochemicals. Endorphins are natural pain killers and also help lift your mood. Exercise, therefore, will keep your body functioning properly and will keep you feeling both relaxed, refreshed and promote deep, restful sleep
Begin an exercise that you enjoy, Preferably, do something that brings you into contact with other people. The value of such exercise, three times a week for 20 minutes to two hours, can not be over emphasized.
Problems always seem less important when you are walking, swimming, running, cycling, or are involved in any physical pursuit; apart from the mental benefits, physical exercise uses up excess adrenaline. Exercise has another beneficial effect. Most people, when exercising, do not worry. They are actually resting the nerve cells in the brain that worry, giving those cells time to renew themselves, so they can function normally the next time they are needed. There are other ways of "resting your mind". Any activity which concentrates your attention on a subject other than life's problems will help rest your mind.
Aerobic or Anaerobic Exercise?
There are two types of exercise that perform different functions. Aerobic exercise is sustained activity involving the major muscle groups, such as swimming, running, or brisk walking. Your heart and respiratory rate increase, and more oxygen is circulated through the body. This kind of exercise strengthens your cardiovascular system and increases your overall strength and stamina.
You've probably heard of "low-impact," or anaerobic, exercise. This means that you are not exercising vigorously or long enough to reach and maintain your training heart rate. It does not mean, however, that low-impact exercise is useless. It improves your muscle strength and flexibility and can still be a good outlet for negative feelings that you might have bottled up.
There are three kinds of anaerobic exercise:
Isotonics require that your muscles contract against a resistant object with movement, such as in weight lifting.
Isometrics requires that your muscles contract against resistance without movement. Isometric exercises increase strength without building bulk.
Calisthenics are stretching exercises, such as sit-ups, toe-touches, and knee-bends, help increase flexibility and joint mobility.
The kinds of exercises you choose to do depend on your physical ability as well as your preferences. The most important rule is to choose activities that you enjoy and that are accessible and feasible for you to do regularly. Most importantly, develop a routine that is fun and safe! Enjoy youself!
Before you begin an exercise program, you should have a physical examination. If you are over the age of forty, your doctor will probably want to do a stress electrocardiogram to determine how much activity your heart can handle. If you have not exercised regularly for some time, begin slowly with low-impact exercise and gradually increase your activity.
LouAnn Good is the Owner of Fitness Together, located in south Fort Myers, part of the world’s largest personal training organization. She has over 15 years of personal training experience in the Lee County area. All personal trainings at Fitness Together are done one on one in a private training studio where there are no interruptions, no waiting for equipment, and all the attention is on you, the client. “One Client – One Trainer- One Goal”
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
9671 Gladiolus Dr. #108
Fort Myers, FL 33908
239-337-BODY
www.FTFortMyers.com
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Behaviorial Therapy
In review of other disciplines involved with the treatment of overweight and obesity, take note that psychologists/psychotherapists, nutritionists/dietitians, and physicians all provide care for patients trying to lose weight. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing eating habits and physical activity. These approaches encompass a spectrum of sophistication and may be tailored to the expertise of either a mental health or nutritional therapist.
The Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders (YCEWD) at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., specializes in the assessment and treatment of weight problems. A number of their clients suffer from binge eating disorders, which are characterized by ingesting inordinate amounts of calories at one time without any compensatory mechanism (ie, self-induced vomiting, seen in bulimia nervosa). Recurrent binge episodes can cause massive weight gain and lead to other health comorbidities.
The psychologists and advanced clinical psychology doctoral students at YCEWD provide outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy to both individuals and groups of obese binge eaters. Some of the hallmarks of their therapeutic approach include self-monitoring where clients maintain food, mood, and activity records; written homework assignments including emotional and nutritional activities; and behavioral strategies to increase physical activity. Furthermore, they have utilized nutritionists to colead binge eating disorder groups and provide one-on-one counseling.
“Behavioral treatment has been more intensively researched and its effects more thoroughly documented than any other intervention for obesity,” writes G. Terrence Wilson. Behavioral “treatment has been widely disseminated and accepted. [It] has, for some time now, been regarded as a necessary component of any adequate obesity treatment program.”8
In addition to outpatient therapy, inpatient and day-treatment programs exist for patients who need more intense, supervised, and structured healthcare to lose weight. Many of these programs are costly and generally reserved for more affluent people. They may encompass a variety of therapies including—but not limited to— nutrition, exercise, psychological counseling, and pharmacotherapy.
The Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders (YCEWD) at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., specializes in the assessment and treatment of weight problems. A number of their clients suffer from binge eating disorders, which are characterized by ingesting inordinate amounts of calories at one time without any compensatory mechanism (ie, self-induced vomiting, seen in bulimia nervosa). Recurrent binge episodes can cause massive weight gain and lead to other health comorbidities.
The psychologists and advanced clinical psychology doctoral students at YCEWD provide outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy to both individuals and groups of obese binge eaters. Some of the hallmarks of their therapeutic approach include self-monitoring where clients maintain food, mood, and activity records; written homework assignments including emotional and nutritional activities; and behavioral strategies to increase physical activity. Furthermore, they have utilized nutritionists to colead binge eating disorder groups and provide one-on-one counseling.
“Behavioral treatment has been more intensively researched and its effects more thoroughly documented than any other intervention for obesity,” writes G. Terrence Wilson. Behavioral “treatment has been widely disseminated and accepted. [It] has, for some time now, been regarded as a necessary component of any adequate obesity treatment program.”8
In addition to outpatient therapy, inpatient and day-treatment programs exist for patients who need more intense, supervised, and structured healthcare to lose weight. Many of these programs are costly and generally reserved for more affluent people. They may encompass a variety of therapies including—but not limited to— nutrition, exercise, psychological counseling, and pharmacotherapy.
Behaviorial Therapy
In review of other disciplines involved with the treatment of overweight and obesity, take note that psychologists/psychotherapists, nutritionists/dietitians, and physicians all provide care for patients trying to lose weight. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing eating habits and physical activity. These approaches encompass a spectrum of sophistication and may be tailored to the expertise of either a mental health or nutritional therapist.
The Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders (YCEWD) at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., specializes in the assessment and treatment of weight problems. A number of their clients suffer from binge eating disorders, which are characterized by ingesting inordinate amounts of calories at one time without any compensatory mechanism (ie, self-induced vomiting, seen in bulimia nervosa). Recurrent binge episodes can cause massive weight gain and lead to other health comorbidities.
The psychologists and advanced clinical psychology doctoral students at YCEWD provide outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy to both individuals and groups of obese binge eaters. Some of the hallmarks of their therapeutic approach include self-monitoring where clients maintain food, mood, and activity records; written homework assignments including emotional and nutritional activities; and behavioral strategies to increase physical activity. Furthermore, they have utilized nutritionists to colead binge eating disorder groups and provide one-on-one counseling.
“Behavioral treatment has been more intensively researched and its effects more thoroughly documented than any other intervention for obesity,” writes G. Terrence Wilson. Behavioral “treatment has been widely disseminated and accepted. [It] has, for some time now, been regarded as a necessary component of any adequate obesity treatment program.”8
In addition to outpatient therapy, inpatient and day-treatment programs exist for patients who need more intense, supervised, and structured healthcare to lose weight. Many of these programs are costly and generally reserved for more affluent people. They may encompass a variety of therapies including—but not limited to— nutrition, exercise, psychological counseling, and pharmacotherapy.
The Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders (YCEWD) at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., specializes in the assessment and treatment of weight problems. A number of their clients suffer from binge eating disorders, which are characterized by ingesting inordinate amounts of calories at one time without any compensatory mechanism (ie, self-induced vomiting, seen in bulimia nervosa). Recurrent binge episodes can cause massive weight gain and lead to other health comorbidities.
The psychologists and advanced clinical psychology doctoral students at YCEWD provide outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy to both individuals and groups of obese binge eaters. Some of the hallmarks of their therapeutic approach include self-monitoring where clients maintain food, mood, and activity records; written homework assignments including emotional and nutritional activities; and behavioral strategies to increase physical activity. Furthermore, they have utilized nutritionists to colead binge eating disorder groups and provide one-on-one counseling.
“Behavioral treatment has been more intensively researched and its effects more thoroughly documented than any other intervention for obesity,” writes G. Terrence Wilson. Behavioral “treatment has been widely disseminated and accepted. [It] has, for some time now, been regarded as a necessary component of any adequate obesity treatment program.”8
In addition to outpatient therapy, inpatient and day-treatment programs exist for patients who need more intense, supervised, and structured healthcare to lose weight. Many of these programs are costly and generally reserved for more affluent people. They may encompass a variety of therapies including—but not limited to— nutrition, exercise, psychological counseling, and pharmacotherapy.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Why does no one talk about this?
Struggling With the Epidemic
The CDC calculates that in 2000, the United States spent $117 billion on obesity. Furthermore, it was linked with more than 300,000 premature deaths. People with BMIs of 25 and higher are at increased risk for myriad diseases and conditions: hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, stroke, gallstones, gout, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea and other respiratory problems, cancer, complicated pregnancies, bladder control problems, kidney stones, depression, eating disorders, and low self- esteem.5 Emergence of one or more of these problems associated with excess weight leads to lower quality of life, reduced productivity, increased healthcare spending, and a further taxation of healthcare delivery.
The recent estimates say that the United States spent $33 billion on treating weight loss.2 Apart from too-good-to-be-true over-the-counter supplements promising to shed pounds during sleep, other methods have been employed to promote a reduction in weight. They include bariatric surgery, jaw wiring, stomach balloons (which are no longer used), commercial support groups such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, exercise, behavior modification and psychotherapy, hypnosis, fad diets, medical nutrition therapy by registered dietitians, meal replacements (eg, Slim Fast products), and pharmaceutical agents.
Surgical intervention has taken center stage these days. Tufts University’s Health and Nutrition Letter reports, “More than 63,000 [bariatric] operations were performed in 2002, up from 16,000 10 years earlier.”6 There are numerous procedures—of which extensive coverage is beyond the scope of this paper—but the most popular are gastric bypass (new stomach connected to jejunum) and vertical banded gastroplasty (food trickles into the stomach).
Overall, these procedures are considered an absolute last resort for extremely obese patients who have been unsuccessful on every weight-loss diet, tried prescription medication, group support, and basically anything else under the sun purported to promote weight loss. In these cases, the risks of the surgery are considered less than obesity itself.6,7 Also, patients must undergo evaluation from a nutrition professional and a psychologist before being approved for the surgery. First-rate surgical programs require patients to attend nutrition classes and stop smoking.6 Body image and emotional status are both closely linked with weight and size. Patients must be mentally prepared to undergo surgery, deal with painful and difficult postoperation side effects (eg, diarrhea, vomiting, faintness, and gastric discomfort), and receive education on the proper diet to meet protein, vitamin, and mineral requirements.
Generally, a person with 200 pounds of extra body fat can lose 120 pounds during the first two years after surgery.6 On the flip side, patients can gain all the weight back and more because the stomach can stretch and patients may try to cheat by consuming high-calorie, high-fat foods such as premium ice creams and cream sauces. Liquid items go down easier and are better tolerated, plus they are very satisfying to the taste buds; however, calorically dense foods go against the nutrition recommendations and meal plans patients are expected to follow.
In response to the booming overfatness in American society, hospitals are recruiting surgeons with laparascopic expertise and outfitting surgical suites with state-of-the art video equipment to perform the procedures. Marketing efforts have been stepped up as well. Droves of patients are requesting the procedure. Insurance companies reimburse for some of the $25,000 average cost and recipients pay for the remainder. In looking at the bigger picture, antiobesity surgery can cure and improve a host of the problems mentioned earlier—hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, asthma, heart failure, and sleep apnea—further reducing the demand on our healthcare system.7
The recent estimates say that the United States spent $33 billion on treating weight loss.2 Apart from too-good-to-be-true over-the-counter supplements promising to shed pounds during sleep, other methods have been employed to promote a reduction in weight. They include bariatric surgery, jaw wiring, stomach balloons (which are no longer used), commercial support groups such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, exercise, behavior modification and psychotherapy, hypnosis, fad diets, medical nutrition therapy by registered dietitians, meal replacements (eg, Slim Fast products), and pharmaceutical agents.
Surgical intervention has taken center stage these days. Tufts University’s Health and Nutrition Letter reports, “More than 63,000 [bariatric] operations were performed in 2002, up from 16,000 10 years earlier.”6 There are numerous procedures—of which extensive coverage is beyond the scope of this paper—but the most popular are gastric bypass (new stomach connected to jejunum) and vertical banded gastroplasty (food trickles into the stomach).
Overall, these procedures are considered an absolute last resort for extremely obese patients who have been unsuccessful on every weight-loss diet, tried prescription medication, group support, and basically anything else under the sun purported to promote weight loss. In these cases, the risks of the surgery are considered less than obesity itself.6,7 Also, patients must undergo evaluation from a nutrition professional and a psychologist before being approved for the surgery. First-rate surgical programs require patients to attend nutrition classes and stop smoking.6 Body image and emotional status are both closely linked with weight and size. Patients must be mentally prepared to undergo surgery, deal with painful and difficult postoperation side effects (eg, diarrhea, vomiting, faintness, and gastric discomfort), and receive education on the proper diet to meet protein, vitamin, and mineral requirements.
Generally, a person with 200 pounds of extra body fat can lose 120 pounds during the first two years after surgery.6 On the flip side, patients can gain all the weight back and more because the stomach can stretch and patients may try to cheat by consuming high-calorie, high-fat foods such as premium ice creams and cream sauces. Liquid items go down easier and are better tolerated, plus they are very satisfying to the taste buds; however, calorically dense foods go against the nutrition recommendations and meal plans patients are expected to follow.
In response to the booming overfatness in American society, hospitals are recruiting surgeons with laparascopic expertise and outfitting surgical suites with state-of-the art video equipment to perform the procedures. Marketing efforts have been stepped up as well. Droves of patients are requesting the procedure. Insurance companies reimburse for some of the $25,000 average cost and recipients pay for the remainder. In looking at the bigger picture, antiobesity surgery can cure and improve a host of the problems mentioned earlier—hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, asthma, heart failure, and sleep apnea—further reducing the demand on our healthcare system.7
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Healthcare?
The Impact of Obesity on Healthcare Delivery
By D. Milton Stokes, RDVol. 16 No. 2 p. 34
Looking back at it all, we may wonder how the overweight and obesity epidemic began. How in the world could Americans have become so fat? How could humans (proportionally) be the fattest mammals? And, many people scramble to buy any gimmick promising to help shed pounds, build muscle mass, or increase metabolism to reverse the trend.
As revealed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2000 data, more than 64% of American adults qualify as overweight or obese; 15% of adolescents (aged 12 to 19) are overweight; and 15% of children are overweight (aged 6 to 11).1 But, it does not end there. People in other countries are following suit and packing on the pounds. In The Hungry Gene: The Science of Fat and the Future of Thin, author Ellen Ruppel Shell identifies Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, England, Finland, Russia, Bulgaria, Morocco, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia to be among the many other nations whose citizens are growing in portliness.2
One measure of weight status used today is Body Mass Index (BMI), which was derived from the discovery that weight of normal adults is proportional to height squared. A BMI of 24.9 or less is generally healthy; 25 through 29.9 is overweight; 30 through 39.9 is obesity; and 40 and above has been called extreme obesity or severe clinical obesity.
Fatness has been in vogue in certain periods of history, however. Look at statues of the merry Buddha, carvings of voluptuous and curvaceous Greek and Roman women, and hefty, celebrated sumo wrestlers (who remain today). Then, around the 18th century, 30 doctoral theses were written on the topic of obesity. In 1757, a Dutch doctor named Malcolm Flemyng identified obesity as a problem and blamed its growth on an inherent “inclination” instead of character. That is to say, perhaps, that it was not due to personal weakness where people took to excess by their own choosing, but rather a preprogrammed tendency.2
In examining the history further, we see that the outcry against excess weight came from the fashion industry, an expansion in athletics and sports, and with more women entering the workforce. Additionally, the insurance industry connected body weight with health, and for the first time, overweight and obesity had a commercial significance. Fatness equaled more financial risk.2
Researchers have attempted to pinpoint why we have seen such a stark increase in extra weight. The agricultural period resulted in a growth of more domesticated animals bearing more body fat, and, in turn, humans consumed more and more meat from those fatty animals. The industrialization of society led to increased efficiency and more labor-saving devices.2 Others contend that we watch too much television, eat portions of food in one sitting big enough for two people, and sell junk food to our kids in schools. Moreover, exercise and physical activity have been almost entirely eliminated from schools.
In the laboratory setting, scientists are scrambling to distinguish physiological causes of the body’s tendency to hold tight to fatty tissue—similar to Flemyng’s theory from the 18th century.2 Specifically, they are trying to verify whether or not something in body fat communicates with the brain. It appears that one of the communicators is leptin, a gene linked with obesity, and there may be a deficiency in leptin’s metabolic pathway.2-4
More tomorrow
LouAnnGood
www.FTFortMyers.com
By D. Milton Stokes, RDVol. 16 No. 2 p. 34
Looking back at it all, we may wonder how the overweight and obesity epidemic began. How in the world could Americans have become so fat? How could humans (proportionally) be the fattest mammals? And, many people scramble to buy any gimmick promising to help shed pounds, build muscle mass, or increase metabolism to reverse the trend.
As revealed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2000 data, more than 64% of American adults qualify as overweight or obese; 15% of adolescents (aged 12 to 19) are overweight; and 15% of children are overweight (aged 6 to 11).1 But, it does not end there. People in other countries are following suit and packing on the pounds. In The Hungry Gene: The Science of Fat and the Future of Thin, author Ellen Ruppel Shell identifies Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, England, Finland, Russia, Bulgaria, Morocco, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia to be among the many other nations whose citizens are growing in portliness.2
One measure of weight status used today is Body Mass Index (BMI), which was derived from the discovery that weight of normal adults is proportional to height squared. A BMI of 24.9 or less is generally healthy; 25 through 29.9 is overweight; 30 through 39.9 is obesity; and 40 and above has been called extreme obesity or severe clinical obesity.
Fatness has been in vogue in certain periods of history, however. Look at statues of the merry Buddha, carvings of voluptuous and curvaceous Greek and Roman women, and hefty, celebrated sumo wrestlers (who remain today). Then, around the 18th century, 30 doctoral theses were written on the topic of obesity. In 1757, a Dutch doctor named Malcolm Flemyng identified obesity as a problem and blamed its growth on an inherent “inclination” instead of character. That is to say, perhaps, that it was not due to personal weakness where people took to excess by their own choosing, but rather a preprogrammed tendency.2
In examining the history further, we see that the outcry against excess weight came from the fashion industry, an expansion in athletics and sports, and with more women entering the workforce. Additionally, the insurance industry connected body weight with health, and for the first time, overweight and obesity had a commercial significance. Fatness equaled more financial risk.2
Researchers have attempted to pinpoint why we have seen such a stark increase in extra weight. The agricultural period resulted in a growth of more domesticated animals bearing more body fat, and, in turn, humans consumed more and more meat from those fatty animals. The industrialization of society led to increased efficiency and more labor-saving devices.2 Others contend that we watch too much television, eat portions of food in one sitting big enough for two people, and sell junk food to our kids in schools. Moreover, exercise and physical activity have been almost entirely eliminated from schools.
In the laboratory setting, scientists are scrambling to distinguish physiological causes of the body’s tendency to hold tight to fatty tissue—similar to Flemyng’s theory from the 18th century.2 Specifically, they are trying to verify whether or not something in body fat communicates with the brain. It appears that one of the communicators is leptin, a gene linked with obesity, and there may be a deficiency in leptin’s metabolic pathway.2-4
More tomorrow
LouAnnGood
www.FTFortMyers.com
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Mon Nov 2, 10:54 am ET
LONDON (AFP) – A diet heavy in processed and fatty foods increases the risk of depression, according to research published on Monday.
Researchers at University College London also found that a diet including plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depression.
They compared participants -- all civil servants -- who ate a diet largely based on "whole" foods with a second group who mainly ate fried food, processed meat, high-fat dairy products and sweetened desserts.
Taking into account other indicators of a healthy lifestyle such as not smoking and taking physical exercise, those who ate the whole foods had a 26 percent lower risk of depression than those who ate mainly processed foods.
People with a diet heavy in processed food had a 58 percent higher risk of depression.
The researchers put forward several explanations for the findings, which are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Firstly, the high level of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables could have a protective effect, as previous studies have shown higher antioxidant levels to be associated with a lower risk of depression.
Secondly, eating lots of fish may protect against depression because it contains high levels of the sort of polyunsaturated fatty acids which stimulate brain activity.
And they said it was possible that a "whole food" diet protects against depression because of the combined effect of consuming nutrients from lots of different types of food, rather than the effect of one single nutrient.
The researchers concluded: "Our research suggests that healthy eating policies will generate additional benefits to health and well-being, and that improving people's diet should be considered as a potential target for preventing depressive disorders."
The study was carried out on 3,486 people with an average age of 55, who worked for the civil service in London.
Each participant completed a questionnaire about their eating habits, and a self-assessment for depression.
LONDON (AFP) – A diet heavy in processed and fatty foods increases the risk of depression, according to research published on Monday.
Researchers at University College London also found that a diet including plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depression.
They compared participants -- all civil servants -- who ate a diet largely based on "whole" foods with a second group who mainly ate fried food, processed meat, high-fat dairy products and sweetened desserts.
Taking into account other indicators of a healthy lifestyle such as not smoking and taking physical exercise, those who ate the whole foods had a 26 percent lower risk of depression than those who ate mainly processed foods.
People with a diet heavy in processed food had a 58 percent higher risk of depression.
The researchers put forward several explanations for the findings, which are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Firstly, the high level of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables could have a protective effect, as previous studies have shown higher antioxidant levels to be associated with a lower risk of depression.
Secondly, eating lots of fish may protect against depression because it contains high levels of the sort of polyunsaturated fatty acids which stimulate brain activity.
And they said it was possible that a "whole food" diet protects against depression because of the combined effect of consuming nutrients from lots of different types of food, rather than the effect of one single nutrient.
The researchers concluded: "Our research suggests that healthy eating policies will generate additional benefits to health and well-being, and that improving people's diet should be considered as a potential target for preventing depressive disorders."
The study was carried out on 3,486 people with an average age of 55, who worked for the civil service in London.
Each participant completed a questionnaire about their eating habits, and a self-assessment for depression.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Tired of seeing candy at the checkout counter? See what some communities are doing to clean up our diets!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/business/smallbusiness/31grocery.html?ref=health&pagewanted=all
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/business/smallbusiness/31grocery.html?ref=health&pagewanted=all
Thursday, October 29, 2009
This is great article on diabetes and exercise and diet.
By Julie Steenhuysen Julie Steenhuysen – Wed Oct 28, 7:05 pm ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) – People on the brink of developing diabetes who get a lot of support and encouragement to diet and exercise can turn things around and avoid the disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
"Millions of people could delay diabetes for years and possibly prevent the disease altogether if they lost a modest amount of weight through diet and increased physical activity," said Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease.
In the United States, about 11 percent of adults -- 24 million people -- have diabetes. Most have type 2, the kind linked with a poor diet and lack of exercise.
The 10-year study of overweight people with elevated blood sugar who lost a modest amount of weight found they lowered their risk of developing diabetes by at least a third.
People over 60 got even more dramatic results, cutting their risk of diabetes during the study period by about half.
"People can lose weight, and this weight loss is accompanied by a lowering of their rate of diabetes," said Dr. William Knowler, who works at the health agency, part of the National Institutes of Health. His study appears in the journal Lancet.
The findings follow up on a large randomized trial of 3,234 overweight or obese adults with elevated blood sugar.
Results of that study, reported in 2001, found a diet and exercise program and support classes helped cut the risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent after three years compared with a placebo group.
The program consisted of reducing fat and calories and increasing physical activity to 150 minutes a week. Participants also got training in diet, exercise and behavior modification.
People in this group lost an average of 15 pounds (6.8 kg) in the first year, but they gradually regained all but about 5 pounds. A second group who took the diabetes drug metformin also succeeded in lowering their diabetes risk by 31 percent after three years compared with placebo.
The latest results show what happened after 10 years of follow-up.
Starting in 2002, study participants were offered the diet and exercise program and support classes.
After 10 years, the group that started off in the diet and exercise group has sustained a modest weight loss and cut their risk of developing diabetes by 34 percent, compared with the group that started out on a placebo.
The group that took the diabetes pill metformin and later added in the lifestyle program had an 18 percent lower risk of developing diabetes during the study.
"All that to me supports the fact that the lifestyle intervention, whether it was given immediately, or later on, was beneficial," Knowler said in a telephone interview.
He said some people in all three groups continued to develop diabetes, but the rate was much slower if people were able to eat a healthier diet and get regular exercise.
From a policy perspective, he said diabetes can be delayed or avoided with intensive effort.
louAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
www.ftfortmyers.com
By Julie Steenhuysen Julie Steenhuysen – Wed Oct 28, 7:05 pm ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) – People on the brink of developing diabetes who get a lot of support and encouragement to diet and exercise can turn things around and avoid the disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
"Millions of people could delay diabetes for years and possibly prevent the disease altogether if they lost a modest amount of weight through diet and increased physical activity," said Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease.
In the United States, about 11 percent of adults -- 24 million people -- have diabetes. Most have type 2, the kind linked with a poor diet and lack of exercise.
The 10-year study of overweight people with elevated blood sugar who lost a modest amount of weight found they lowered their risk of developing diabetes by at least a third.
People over 60 got even more dramatic results, cutting their risk of diabetes during the study period by about half.
"People can lose weight, and this weight loss is accompanied by a lowering of their rate of diabetes," said Dr. William Knowler, who works at the health agency, part of the National Institutes of Health. His study appears in the journal Lancet.
The findings follow up on a large randomized trial of 3,234 overweight or obese adults with elevated blood sugar.
Results of that study, reported in 2001, found a diet and exercise program and support classes helped cut the risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent after three years compared with a placebo group.
The program consisted of reducing fat and calories and increasing physical activity to 150 minutes a week. Participants also got training in diet, exercise and behavior modification.
People in this group lost an average of 15 pounds (6.8 kg) in the first year, but they gradually regained all but about 5 pounds. A second group who took the diabetes drug metformin also succeeded in lowering their diabetes risk by 31 percent after three years compared with placebo.
The latest results show what happened after 10 years of follow-up.
Starting in 2002, study participants were offered the diet and exercise program and support classes.
After 10 years, the group that started off in the diet and exercise group has sustained a modest weight loss and cut their risk of developing diabetes by 34 percent, compared with the group that started out on a placebo.
The group that took the diabetes pill metformin and later added in the lifestyle program had an 18 percent lower risk of developing diabetes during the study.
"All that to me supports the fact that the lifestyle intervention, whether it was given immediately, or later on, was beneficial," Knowler said in a telephone interview.
He said some people in all three groups continued to develop diabetes, but the rate was much slower if people were able to eat a healthier diet and get regular exercise.
From a policy perspective, he said diabetes can be delayed or avoided with intensive effort.
louAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
www.ftfortmyers.com
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Breast Cancer and Exercise
Breast Cancer and Exercise
In the US, around 40,000 women are dying each year from breast cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The greatest risk factor for developing breast cancer is gender (female) and the second is age. Between 2000-2004, 95 percent of new cases and 97 percent of breast cancer deaths occurred in women aged 40 and older. Like most cancers, the causes are uncertain. While no one knows with any certainty how to prevent the occurnce of breast cancer, we do have control over many aspects of our lives that can protect our health and also enhance our recovery, Regardless of our genetic make-up, there are a number of things that we, as women, can do to protect ourselves. Mamograms and self-examinations are critical to our health, as well as our lifestyle choices, such as exercise and diet.
So what can we do if are diagnosed with breast cancer and undergo treatment and therapy?
A daily walk around the block, a few laps in the pool, a vigorous game of soccer: studies are now suggesting that exercise is extending the lives of women who've survived breast cancer, even as it lifts their spirits and increases their sense of well being. Being physically active boosts the odds that breast cancer patients will survive the disease, according to the first study to produce evidence that exercise improves the prospects of beating any malignancy.
The findings, from a large, well-respected study of U.S. nurses, found that breast cancer patients who walk or do other kinds of moderate exercise for three to five hours a week are about 50 percent less likely to die from the disease than sedentary women.
"Women with breast cancer have little to lose and much to gain from exercise," said Michelle D. Holmes of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, who led the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "This is good news for women with breast cancer."
Dealing with any life threatening disease is much more than just therapies and protocols. The diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer can often leave women feeling hopeless and powerless, in addition to the fear associated with any type of cancer. Besides the obvious physical benefits coming from exercise, being active, especially with others, can ease the sense of fear and loneliness that often comes from such a diagnosis. Exercise gives us all the opportunity to view our bodies as a friend instead of a part of our lives that we must “deal” with. Exercise and activity, regardless of one’s condition, increases our general outlook and sense of well-being.
"Exercise empowers these women with a tool that's there at their disposal," said Dr. Cheryl Perkins, senior clinical advisor at the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, one of the nation's largest organizations dedicated to fighting the disease. "The benefit correlated with the amount of exercise. So, the more exercise, the better survival," Perkins said.
"One of the biological theories as to why exercise might be a good tool for reducing risk or in prevention is that it can reduce obesity, and obesity is known to increase circulating estrogen," Perkins said. High levels of circulating estrogen are thought to greatly increase a woman's risk for breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence.
Still, for most breast cancer survivors past the active-treatment stage of their care, "there's no limit as far as the capacity to do vigorous exercise," she said.
Of course, exercise can be a tonic for the mind as well as the body.
"It simply increases your sense of wellness," Perkins explained. "It helps increase your stamina in the long run. It's good on a lot of levels."
Perkins should know, since she's a long-term breast cancer survivor herself. She credits regular exercise with helping her stay fit in her fight against the disease.
We have been honored at Fitness Together to have many breast cancer survivors as clients and to be considered part of their return to a normal and healthy life. All of our programs are tailored to fit the exact needs of our clients, regardless of their condition.
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
In the US, around 40,000 women are dying each year from breast cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The greatest risk factor for developing breast cancer is gender (female) and the second is age. Between 2000-2004, 95 percent of new cases and 97 percent of breast cancer deaths occurred in women aged 40 and older. Like most cancers, the causes are uncertain. While no one knows with any certainty how to prevent the occurnce of breast cancer, we do have control over many aspects of our lives that can protect our health and also enhance our recovery, Regardless of our genetic make-up, there are a number of things that we, as women, can do to protect ourselves. Mamograms and self-examinations are critical to our health, as well as our lifestyle choices, such as exercise and diet.
So what can we do if are diagnosed with breast cancer and undergo treatment and therapy?
A daily walk around the block, a few laps in the pool, a vigorous game of soccer: studies are now suggesting that exercise is extending the lives of women who've survived breast cancer, even as it lifts their spirits and increases their sense of well being. Being physically active boosts the odds that breast cancer patients will survive the disease, according to the first study to produce evidence that exercise improves the prospects of beating any malignancy.
The findings, from a large, well-respected study of U.S. nurses, found that breast cancer patients who walk or do other kinds of moderate exercise for three to five hours a week are about 50 percent less likely to die from the disease than sedentary women.
"Women with breast cancer have little to lose and much to gain from exercise," said Michelle D. Holmes of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, who led the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "This is good news for women with breast cancer."
Dealing with any life threatening disease is much more than just therapies and protocols. The diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer can often leave women feeling hopeless and powerless, in addition to the fear associated with any type of cancer. Besides the obvious physical benefits coming from exercise, being active, especially with others, can ease the sense of fear and loneliness that often comes from such a diagnosis. Exercise gives us all the opportunity to view our bodies as a friend instead of a part of our lives that we must “deal” with. Exercise and activity, regardless of one’s condition, increases our general outlook and sense of well-being.
"Exercise empowers these women with a tool that's there at their disposal," said Dr. Cheryl Perkins, senior clinical advisor at the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, one of the nation's largest organizations dedicated to fighting the disease. "The benefit correlated with the amount of exercise. So, the more exercise, the better survival," Perkins said.
"One of the biological theories as to why exercise might be a good tool for reducing risk or in prevention is that it can reduce obesity, and obesity is known to increase circulating estrogen," Perkins said. High levels of circulating estrogen are thought to greatly increase a woman's risk for breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence.
Still, for most breast cancer survivors past the active-treatment stage of their care, "there's no limit as far as the capacity to do vigorous exercise," she said.
Of course, exercise can be a tonic for the mind as well as the body.
"It simply increases your sense of wellness," Perkins explained. "It helps increase your stamina in the long run. It's good on a lot of levels."
Perkins should know, since she's a long-term breast cancer survivor herself. She credits regular exercise with helping her stay fit in her fight against the disease.
We have been honored at Fitness Together to have many breast cancer survivors as clients and to be considered part of their return to a normal and healthy life. All of our programs are tailored to fit the exact needs of our clients, regardless of their condition.
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Health Care
There's a great debate, as there should be, regarding the nation's healthcare future. Lot's of groups, i.e. doctors, hospitals, insurance groups, big pharma all fighting for their interests. Who's health are they all fighting for? Most likely their bottom lines. Naturally any business has to do this and healthy businesses are good for our country. But when is health care going to really address the health of us, the consumers? What would the impact of a 10% improvement in the overall health of our country's population be on the cost of our healthcare? We all know there's much room for improvement!
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
www.ftfortmyers.com
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
www.ftfortmyers.com
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Let's do something for our kids!
It's bad enough that we, as consumers, have developed eating and exercise habits that corrode the quality of our lives, but we are creating a dire legacy for our children. It's no wonder that as we get fat, our kids get even fatter. We have created a culture that is toxic! Adult onset diabetes (type II) is no longer called that because it is commonly afflicting our kids. WTF! How can we control health costs when we are sabotaging ourselves with our lifestyles? Are we afraid to do the right thing for our kids because it would force most of us to change the way we live? It sure looks that way! Please watch these short news clips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rutaw8OJ9Wo
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=13989207
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together
www.ftfortmyers.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rutaw8OJ9Wo
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=13989207
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together
www.ftfortmyers.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Diet Fads
Don't be lulled by the tempation of too easy to be true weight loss. Our bodies can't shed weight any quicker than we can gain it. Any weight loss program that does not include exercise can not sustain itself. Our bodies are meant to move and we eat on a basic level to fuel the movement of our bodies. Check out this video for some clear information on weight loss programs:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=14216338
At Fitness Together, our mission is to tailor a program for you that lets you achiev your goals.
LouAnn Good
www.FTFortMyers.com
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=14216338
At Fitness Together, our mission is to tailor a program for you that lets you achiev your goals.
LouAnn Good
www.FTFortMyers.com
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
We are what we choose!
Deepak Chopra said, “You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices.” We all make choices everyday, some minor, some impact the rest of our lives. We can't undo the choices we made yesterday, but we can make choices today which make our lives today and in te future better, more satisfying, more enjoyable. We all have the potential to help each other!
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
www.ftfortmyers.com
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers
www.ftfortmyers.com
Monday, June 29, 2009
Florida Weekly Best of Fort Myers
BEST WAY TO GET INTO THAT BIKINI Fitness Together Fort Myers
You're not fooling anyone with those baggy clothes. So why not do something about it and hit the beach this summer in top shape? Fitness Together Fort Myers can help by pairing you with a personal trainer who will design a workout and nutrition plan just for you. Because no two clients are alike, neither are the program at Fitness Together Fort Myers.
Details: 9671 Gladiolus Drive, Fort Myers, 337-2639
You're not fooling anyone with those baggy clothes. So why not do something about it and hit the beach this summer in top shape? Fitness Together Fort Myers can help by pairing you with a personal trainer who will design a workout and nutrition plan just for you. Because no two clients are alike, neither are the program at Fitness Together Fort Myers.
Details: 9671 Gladiolus Drive, Fort Myers, 337-2639
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Exercise and Depression
Depression
Senior Walking Fitness Helps Fight Depression, By Peter Stockwell, Apr 17, 2009.
As we get older we can feel isolated and alone. Everybody has the ‘blues’ sometimes, but depression is a different thing. You can find difficulty in sleeping, or doing your job, you can feel anxious or maybe can’t concentrate. Anyone with these symptoms could have depression. This is a common condition, one in seven people have a period of depression serious enough to need treatment some time in their lives. You must do something about it. Just trying to carry on in the hope that it will go away should not be your only option.But what to do about it? First of all see your doctor, he may prescribe anti depressants or counselling. He could well also suggest exercise, for it has been found that exercise helps a lot. You feel better, you look better, you get out and about and your self esteem rises. A fitness walking program and gentle cardiovascular program can have great benefits. The British Journal of Sports Medicine tells us that as little as twenty minutes exercise a week can improve our mental health. Any type of exercise can do it from a fitness walking program to cardiovascular exercises or even gardening and housework. I would hope that we are able to take more than twenty minutes exercise a week. It does appear that the more exercise we take the less depressive illness we have. But, of course this must depend on age and general level of fitness to begin with. Always start slow with any exercise regime.When you start exercising you must do four things:Decide which exercise you like doing.Be Positive - exercise will help your depression, so you are going to do it.Set reasonable goals - if you only feel like exercising for ten minutes, exercise for ten minutes. Don’t set yourself half an hour, give up at twenty minutes and feel a failure.Rejoice - celebrate when you have finished. You have achieved something, congratulate yourself.If you decide that a fitness walking program is the way to go I would advise walking in the country. Take one or two friends if possible. There is always something to look at and enjoy and you will, for a while at least, forget the troubles which are causing your depression.City walking is different, it can itself be a stressful activity. Crowds, traffic, shop assistants, can all cause stress and often do. But a change of scene, a day out in an unfamiliar town will make you feel more alert and, by overcoming the inevitable problems, more confident.Exercise will not cure your depression. You will have to look at the cause and address that to begin a cure. But it will help you on the road to a brighter future.
Author's Bio
Peter Stockwell is an architect, writer, walker and author of the Senior Walking Fitness Blog, helping all ages to achieve lifetime fitness.
Fitness Together Fort Myers can help you start on the road to changing your life.
LouAnn Good
Fitness Together fort Myers
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
April 29, 2008
Personal Health
You Name It, and Exercise Helps It
By JANE E. BRODY
Randi considers the Y.M.C.A. her lifeline, especially the pool. Randi weighs more than 300 pounds and has borderline diabetes, but she controls her blood sugar and keeps her bright outlook on life by swimming every day for about 45 minutes.
Randi overcame any self-consciousness about her weight for the sake of her health, and those who swim with her and share the open locker room are proud of her. If only the millions of others beset with chronic health problems recognized the inestimable value to their physical and emotional well-being of regular physical exercise.
“The single thing that comes close to a magic bullet, in terms of its strong and universal benefits, is exercise,” Frank Hu, epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in the Harvard Magazine.
I have written often about the protective roles of exercise. It can lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, dementia, osteoporosis, gallstones, diverticulitis, falls, erectile dysfunction, peripheral vascular disease and 12 kinds of cancer.
But what if you already have one of these conditions? Or an ailment like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, congestive heart failure or osteoarthritis? How can you exercise if you’re always tired or in pain or have trouble breathing? Can exercise really help?
You bet it can. Marilyn Moffat, a professor of physical therapy at New York University and co-author with Carole B. Lewis of “Age-Defying Fitness” (Peachtree, 2006), conducts workshops for physical therapists around the country and abroad, demonstrating how people with chronic health problems can improve their health and quality of life by learning how to exercise safely.
Up and Moving
“The data show that regular moderate exercise increases your ability to battle the effects of disease,” Dr. Moffat said in an interview. “It has a positive effect on both physical and mental well-being. The goal is to do as much physical activity as your body lets you do, and rest when you need to rest.”
In years past, doctors were afraid to let heart patients exercise. When my father had a heart attack in 1968, he was kept sedentary for six weeks. Now, heart attack patients are in bed barely half a day before they are up and moving, Dr. Moffat said.
The core of cardiac rehab is a progressive exercise program to increase the ability of the heart to pump oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood more effectively throughout the body. The outcome is better endurance, greater ability to enjoy life and decreased mortality.
The same goes for patients with congestive heart failure. “Heart failure patients as old as 91 can increase their oxygen consumption significantly,” Dr. Moffat said.
Aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure in people with hypertension, and it improves peripheral circulation in people who develop cramping leg pains when they walk — a condition called intermittent claudication. The treatment for it, in fact, is to walk a little farther each day.
In people who have had transient ischemic attacks, or ministrokes, “gradually increasing exercise improves blood flow to the brain and may diminish the risk of a full-blown stroke,” Dr. Moffat said. And aerobic and strength exercises have been shown to improve endurance, walking speed and the ability to perform tasks of daily living up to six years after a stroke.
As Randi knows, moderate exercise cuts the risk of developing diabetes. And for those with diabetes, exercise improves glucose tolerance — less medication is needed to control blood sugar — and reduces the risk of life-threatening complications.
Perhaps the most immediate benefits are reaped by people with joint and neuromuscular disorders. Without exercise, those at risk of osteoarthritis become crippled by stiff, deteriorated joints. But exercise that increases strength and aerobic capacity can reduce pain, depression and anxiety and improve function, balance and quality of life.
Likewise for people with rheumatoid arthritis. “The less they do, the worse things get,” Dr. Moffat said. “The more their joints move, the better.”
Exercise that builds gradually and protects inflamed joints can diminish pain, fatigue, morning stiffness, depression and anxiety, she said, and improve strength, walking speed and activity.
Exercise is crucial to improving function of total hip or knee replacements. But “most patients with knee replacements don’t get intensive enough activity,” Dr. Moffat said.
Water exercises are particularly helpful for people with multiple sclerosis, who must avoid overheating. And for those with Parkinson’s, resistance training and aerobic exercise can increase their ability to function independently and improve their balance, stride length, walking speed and mood.
Resistance training, along with aerobic exercise, is especially helpful for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; it helps counter the loss of muscle mass and strength from lack of oxygen.
In the February/March issue of ACE Certified News, Natalie Digate Muth, a registered dietitian and personal trainer, emphasized the value of a good workout for people suffering from depression. Mastering a new skill increases their sense of worth, social contact improves mood, and the endorphins released during exercise improve well-being.
“Exercise is an important adjunct to pharmacological therapy, and it does not matter how severe the depression — exercise works equally well for people with moderate or severe depression,” wrote Ms. Muth, who is pursuing a medical degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Feel-Good Hormones
Healthy people may have difficulty appreciating the burdens faced by those with chronic ailments, Dr. Nancey Trevanian Tsai noted in the same issue of ACE Certified News. “Oftentimes, disease-ridden statements — like ‘I’m a diabetic’ — become barricades that keep clients from seeing themselves getting better,” she said, and many feel “enslaved by their diseases and treatments.”
But the feel-good hormones released through exercise can help sustain activity.
“With regular exercise, the body seeks to continue staying active,” wrote Dr. Tsai, an assistant professor of neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She recommended an exercise program tailored to the person’s current abilities, daily needs, medication schedule, side effects and response to treatment.
She urged trainers who work with people with chronic ailments to start slowly with easily achievable goals, build gradually on each accomplishment and focus on functional gains. Over time, a sense of accomplishment, better sleep, less pain and enhanced satisfaction with life can become further reasons to pursue physical activity.
“Even if exercise is tough to schedule,” Dr. Moffat said, “you feel so much better, it’s crazy not to do it.”
Fitness Together in Fort Myers is your source for personal training and personal attention. Visit us at www.ftfortmyers.com
LouAnn Good
Personal Health
You Name It, and Exercise Helps It
By JANE E. BRODY
Randi considers the Y.M.C.A. her lifeline, especially the pool. Randi weighs more than 300 pounds and has borderline diabetes, but she controls her blood sugar and keeps her bright outlook on life by swimming every day for about 45 minutes.
Randi overcame any self-consciousness about her weight for the sake of her health, and those who swim with her and share the open locker room are proud of her. If only the millions of others beset with chronic health problems recognized the inestimable value to their physical and emotional well-being of regular physical exercise.
“The single thing that comes close to a magic bullet, in terms of its strong and universal benefits, is exercise,” Frank Hu, epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in the Harvard Magazine.
I have written often about the protective roles of exercise. It can lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, dementia, osteoporosis, gallstones, diverticulitis, falls, erectile dysfunction, peripheral vascular disease and 12 kinds of cancer.
But what if you already have one of these conditions? Or an ailment like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, congestive heart failure or osteoarthritis? How can you exercise if you’re always tired or in pain or have trouble breathing? Can exercise really help?
You bet it can. Marilyn Moffat, a professor of physical therapy at New York University and co-author with Carole B. Lewis of “Age-Defying Fitness” (Peachtree, 2006), conducts workshops for physical therapists around the country and abroad, demonstrating how people with chronic health problems can improve their health and quality of life by learning how to exercise safely.
Up and Moving
“The data show that regular moderate exercise increases your ability to battle the effects of disease,” Dr. Moffat said in an interview. “It has a positive effect on both physical and mental well-being. The goal is to do as much physical activity as your body lets you do, and rest when you need to rest.”
In years past, doctors were afraid to let heart patients exercise. When my father had a heart attack in 1968, he was kept sedentary for six weeks. Now, heart attack patients are in bed barely half a day before they are up and moving, Dr. Moffat said.
The core of cardiac rehab is a progressive exercise program to increase the ability of the heart to pump oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood more effectively throughout the body. The outcome is better endurance, greater ability to enjoy life and decreased mortality.
The same goes for patients with congestive heart failure. “Heart failure patients as old as 91 can increase their oxygen consumption significantly,” Dr. Moffat said.
Aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure in people with hypertension, and it improves peripheral circulation in people who develop cramping leg pains when they walk — a condition called intermittent claudication. The treatment for it, in fact, is to walk a little farther each day.
In people who have had transient ischemic attacks, or ministrokes, “gradually increasing exercise improves blood flow to the brain and may diminish the risk of a full-blown stroke,” Dr. Moffat said. And aerobic and strength exercises have been shown to improve endurance, walking speed and the ability to perform tasks of daily living up to six years after a stroke.
As Randi knows, moderate exercise cuts the risk of developing diabetes. And for those with diabetes, exercise improves glucose tolerance — less medication is needed to control blood sugar — and reduces the risk of life-threatening complications.
Perhaps the most immediate benefits are reaped by people with joint and neuromuscular disorders. Without exercise, those at risk of osteoarthritis become crippled by stiff, deteriorated joints. But exercise that increases strength and aerobic capacity can reduce pain, depression and anxiety and improve function, balance and quality of life.
Likewise for people with rheumatoid arthritis. “The less they do, the worse things get,” Dr. Moffat said. “The more their joints move, the better.”
Exercise that builds gradually and protects inflamed joints can diminish pain, fatigue, morning stiffness, depression and anxiety, she said, and improve strength, walking speed and activity.
Exercise is crucial to improving function of total hip or knee replacements. But “most patients with knee replacements don’t get intensive enough activity,” Dr. Moffat said.
Water exercises are particularly helpful for people with multiple sclerosis, who must avoid overheating. And for those with Parkinson’s, resistance training and aerobic exercise can increase their ability to function independently and improve their balance, stride length, walking speed and mood.
Resistance training, along with aerobic exercise, is especially helpful for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; it helps counter the loss of muscle mass and strength from lack of oxygen.
In the February/March issue of ACE Certified News, Natalie Digate Muth, a registered dietitian and personal trainer, emphasized the value of a good workout for people suffering from depression. Mastering a new skill increases their sense of worth, social contact improves mood, and the endorphins released during exercise improve well-being.
“Exercise is an important adjunct to pharmacological therapy, and it does not matter how severe the depression — exercise works equally well for people with moderate or severe depression,” wrote Ms. Muth, who is pursuing a medical degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Feel-Good Hormones
Healthy people may have difficulty appreciating the burdens faced by those with chronic ailments, Dr. Nancey Trevanian Tsai noted in the same issue of ACE Certified News. “Oftentimes, disease-ridden statements — like ‘I’m a diabetic’ — become barricades that keep clients from seeing themselves getting better,” she said, and many feel “enslaved by their diseases and treatments.”
But the feel-good hormones released through exercise can help sustain activity.
“With regular exercise, the body seeks to continue staying active,” wrote Dr. Tsai, an assistant professor of neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She recommended an exercise program tailored to the person’s current abilities, daily needs, medication schedule, side effects and response to treatment.
She urged trainers who work with people with chronic ailments to start slowly with easily achievable goals, build gradually on each accomplishment and focus on functional gains. Over time, a sense of accomplishment, better sleep, less pain and enhanced satisfaction with life can become further reasons to pursue physical activity.
“Even if exercise is tough to schedule,” Dr. Moffat said, “you feel so much better, it’s crazy not to do it.”
Fitness Together in Fort Myers is your source for personal training and personal attention. Visit us at www.ftfortmyers.com
LouAnn Good
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
From the New York Times:
June 23, 2009
Well
How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains
By TARA PARKER-POPE
As head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David A. Kessler served two presidents and battled Congress and Big Tobacco. But the Harvard-educated pediatrician discovered he was helpless against the forces of a chocolate chip cookie.
In an experiment of one, Dr. Kessler tested his willpower by buying two gooey chocolate chip cookies that he didn’t plan to eat. At home, he found himself staring at the cookies, and even distracted by memories of the chocolate chunks and doughy peaks as he left the room. He left the house, and the cookies remained uneaten. Feeling triumphant, he stopped for coffee, saw cookies on the counter and gobbled one down.
“Why does that chocolate chip cookie have such power over me?” Dr. Kessler asked in an interview. “Is it the cookie, the representation of the cookie in my brain? I spent seven years trying to figure out the answer.”
The result of Dr. Kessler’s quest is a fascinating new book, “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite” (Rodale).
During his time at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Kessler maintained a high profile, streamlining the agency, pushing for faster approval of drugs and overseeing the creation of the standardized nutrition label on food packaging. But Dr. Kessler is perhaps best known for his efforts to investigate and regulate the tobacco industry, and his accusation that cigarette makers intentionally manipulated nicotine content to make their products more addictive.
In “The End of Overeating,” Dr. Kessler finds some similarities in the food industry, which has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry and stimulates our desire for more.
When it comes to stimulating our brains, Dr. Kessler noted, individual ingredients aren’t particularly potent. But by combining fats, sugar and salt in innumerable ways, food makers have essentially tapped into the brain’s reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more and more even when we’re full.
Dr. Kessler isn’t convinced that food makers fully understand the neuroscience of the forces they have unleashed, but food companies certainly understand human behavior, taste preferences and desire. In fact, he offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named “bliss point.” Foods that contain too little or too much sugar, fat or salt are either bland or overwhelming. But food scientists work hard to reach the precise point at which we derive the greatest pleasure from fat, sugar and salt.
The result is that chain restaurants like Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily,” he notes. And Dr. Kessler reports that the Snickers bar, for instance, is “extraordinarily well engineered.” As we chew it, the sugar dissolves, the fat melts and the caramel traps the peanuts so the entire combination of flavors is blissfully experienced in the mouth at the same time.
Foods rich in sugar and fat are relatively recent arrivals on the food landscape, Dr. Kessler noted. But today, foods are more than just a combination of ingredients. They are highly complex creations, loaded up with layer upon layer of stimulating tastes that result in a multisensory experience for the brain. Food companies “design food for irresistibility,” Dr. Kessler noted. “It’s been part of their business plans.”
But this book is less an exposé about the food industry and more an exploration of us. “My real goal is, How do you explain to people what’s going on with them?” Dr. Kessler said. “Nobody has ever explained to people how their brains have been captured.”
The book, a New York Times best seller, includes Dr. Kessler’s own candid admission that he struggles with overeating.
“I wouldn’t have been as interested in the question of why we can’t resist food if I didn’t have it myself,” he said. “I gained and lost my body weight several times over. I have suits in every size.”
This is not a diet book, but Dr. Kessler devotes a sizable section to “food rehab,” offering practical advice for using the science of overeating to our advantage, so that we begin to think differently about food and take back control of our eating habits.
One of his main messages is that overeating is not due to an absence of willpower, but a biological challenge made more difficult by the overstimulating food environment that surrounds us. “Conditioned hypereating” is a chronic problem that is made worse by dieting and needs to be managed rather than cured, he said. And while lapses are inevitable, Dr. Kessler outlines several strategies that address the behavioral, cognitive and nutritional factors that fuel overeating.
Planned and structured eating and understanding your personal food triggers are essential. In addition, educating yourself about food can help alter your perceptions about what types of food are desirable. Just as many of us now find cigarettes repulsive, Dr. Kessler argues that we can also undergo similar “perceptual shifts” about large portion sizes and processed foods. For instance, he notes that when people who once loved to eat steak become vegetarians, they typically begin to view animal protein as disgusting.
The advice is certainly not a quick fix or a guarantee, but Dr. Kessler said that educating himself in the course of writing the book had helped him gain control over his eating.
“For the first time in my life, I can keep my weight relatively stable,” he said. “Now, if you stress me and fatigue me and put me in an airport and the plane is seven hours late — I’m still going to grab those chocolate-covered pretzels. The old circuitry will still show its head.”
June 23, 2009
Well
How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains
By TARA PARKER-POPE
As head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David A. Kessler served two presidents and battled Congress and Big Tobacco. But the Harvard-educated pediatrician discovered he was helpless against the forces of a chocolate chip cookie.
In an experiment of one, Dr. Kessler tested his willpower by buying two gooey chocolate chip cookies that he didn’t plan to eat. At home, he found himself staring at the cookies, and even distracted by memories of the chocolate chunks and doughy peaks as he left the room. He left the house, and the cookies remained uneaten. Feeling triumphant, he stopped for coffee, saw cookies on the counter and gobbled one down.
“Why does that chocolate chip cookie have such power over me?” Dr. Kessler asked in an interview. “Is it the cookie, the representation of the cookie in my brain? I spent seven years trying to figure out the answer.”
The result of Dr. Kessler’s quest is a fascinating new book, “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite” (Rodale).
During his time at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Kessler maintained a high profile, streamlining the agency, pushing for faster approval of drugs and overseeing the creation of the standardized nutrition label on food packaging. But Dr. Kessler is perhaps best known for his efforts to investigate and regulate the tobacco industry, and his accusation that cigarette makers intentionally manipulated nicotine content to make their products more addictive.
In “The End of Overeating,” Dr. Kessler finds some similarities in the food industry, which has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry and stimulates our desire for more.
When it comes to stimulating our brains, Dr. Kessler noted, individual ingredients aren’t particularly potent. But by combining fats, sugar and salt in innumerable ways, food makers have essentially tapped into the brain’s reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more and more even when we’re full.
Dr. Kessler isn’t convinced that food makers fully understand the neuroscience of the forces they have unleashed, but food companies certainly understand human behavior, taste preferences and desire. In fact, he offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named “bliss point.” Foods that contain too little or too much sugar, fat or salt are either bland or overwhelming. But food scientists work hard to reach the precise point at which we derive the greatest pleasure from fat, sugar and salt.
The result is that chain restaurants like Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily,” he notes. And Dr. Kessler reports that the Snickers bar, for instance, is “extraordinarily well engineered.” As we chew it, the sugar dissolves, the fat melts and the caramel traps the peanuts so the entire combination of flavors is blissfully experienced in the mouth at the same time.
Foods rich in sugar and fat are relatively recent arrivals on the food landscape, Dr. Kessler noted. But today, foods are more than just a combination of ingredients. They are highly complex creations, loaded up with layer upon layer of stimulating tastes that result in a multisensory experience for the brain. Food companies “design food for irresistibility,” Dr. Kessler noted. “It’s been part of their business plans.”
But this book is less an exposé about the food industry and more an exploration of us. “My real goal is, How do you explain to people what’s going on with them?” Dr. Kessler said. “Nobody has ever explained to people how their brains have been captured.”
The book, a New York Times best seller, includes Dr. Kessler’s own candid admission that he struggles with overeating.
“I wouldn’t have been as interested in the question of why we can’t resist food if I didn’t have it myself,” he said. “I gained and lost my body weight several times over. I have suits in every size.”
This is not a diet book, but Dr. Kessler devotes a sizable section to “food rehab,” offering practical advice for using the science of overeating to our advantage, so that we begin to think differently about food and take back control of our eating habits.
One of his main messages is that overeating is not due to an absence of willpower, but a biological challenge made more difficult by the overstimulating food environment that surrounds us. “Conditioned hypereating” is a chronic problem that is made worse by dieting and needs to be managed rather than cured, he said. And while lapses are inevitable, Dr. Kessler outlines several strategies that address the behavioral, cognitive and nutritional factors that fuel overeating.
Planned and structured eating and understanding your personal food triggers are essential. In addition, educating yourself about food can help alter your perceptions about what types of food are desirable. Just as many of us now find cigarettes repulsive, Dr. Kessler argues that we can also undergo similar “perceptual shifts” about large portion sizes and processed foods. For instance, he notes that when people who once loved to eat steak become vegetarians, they typically begin to view animal protein as disgusting.
The advice is certainly not a quick fix or a guarantee, but Dr. Kessler said that educating himself in the course of writing the book had helped him gain control over his eating.
“For the first time in my life, I can keep my weight relatively stable,” he said. “Now, if you stress me and fatigue me and put me in an airport and the plane is seven hours late — I’m still going to grab those chocolate-covered pretzels. The old circuitry will still show its head.”
Monday, June 22, 2009
Polishing the Stone
Not too long ago, several would be cosmetic surgery patients got together at a New York City YMCA to hear a lecture on the latest cosmetic surgery procedures by a prominent plastic surgeon. The surgeon, Dr. Gerald Pitman, spent the first twenty minutes of his talk trying to discourage the audience from having cosmetic operations in the first place. “Ask yourself ‘Can you avoid it?’”, he asks, and “what kind of lifestyle changes can you make?” “Some people think liposuction and tummy tucks are alternatives to diet and exercise”, Dr. Pitman said, "They are not”.
We are all diamonds in this world, diamonds in the rough. We live in a culture that conditions us to be dissatisfied with our bodies and encourages us, for the sake of profit, to select products that will make us “happy” and/or “attractive”. This is rarely the result. Fads and gimmicks often leave us feeling disappointed and unhappy with ourselves. The typical result is to look for the next fad or gimmick that promises to fix what ails us.
To polish the true miracles are bodies are, we have to develop habits that will sustain ourselves throughout our lives and provide a true foundation for satisfaction and happiness. Although not always easy, it’s almost too simple: the basic elements are diet and exercise. It’s difficult to create profit from simple solutions. Feeling comfortable in our skin and responsible for our health is the cornerstone to enjoying our lives the way we were meant to do. We are all different and we will never all look the same, but we all can follow the same plan to be the best that we can be.
The key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and a healthy body isn’t about short-term dietary changes and on and off again exercise programs. It’s about a lifestyle that makes habits out of healthy eating, regular physical exercise, and balancing the number and quality of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses. It’s about developing habits that make us feel good.
Make a commitment to start making regular small changes to your diet, eliminate foods that are high in fats, processed meats, and sugar. A healthy eating plan should be based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy products. Be sure to include lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans, eggs and nuts. Avoid heavily processed foods and foods high in saturated fats, cholesterol, salt, and the two bad “boys” of the grocery isles, trans-fats and sugars.
Moderation and balance are not dirty words. Maybe to the soft drink makers and potato chip industry. We don’t have to eat large quantities to feel satisfied. Go ahead, have some ice cream, just don’t eat a quart every night! Expand your food choices and sample all of the wonderful and exotic foods available to us. Forget apples and bananas, try mangoes, kiwi fruit, pineapple, or berries! Grill or sauté vegetables with herbs like rosemary; buy a new cookbook and experiment. Use protein sources as part of your meal instead of the centerpiece. The diets of many healthy people around the world, Asia and the Mediterranean for example, use protein very creatively in combination with legumes, vegetables, fruits, etc.
A good diet needs to be complemented with physical activity. Good exercise habits keep our metabolism and bodily systems functioning. A good diet improves our ability to effectively exercise and proper exercise is difficult without a proper diet. A well designed exercise program can help you maintain your proper weight, reduce high blood pressure, reduce risk for type 2 diabetes, reduce arthritis pain and risk of osteoporosis. It has been demonstrated that exercise can reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Do you think it’s coincidence that the country with one of the highest obesity rates in the world also has the highest rate of psychotropic drug use in the world? We think not!
But best of all, a balanced and healthy diet and a well designed exercise program makes us feel good and happy with ourselves, just what all the ads promised! Make a commitment to be happy with yourself and to do something everyday that will make you a better person!
LouAnn Good is the Owner of Fitness Together, located in south Fort Myers, part of the world’s largest personal training organization. She has over 15 years of personal training experience in Lee County helping people of all ages meet their fitness goals. All personal trainings at Fitness Together are done one on one in a private training studio where there are no interruptions, no waiting for equipment, and all the attention is on you, the client. “One Client-One Trainer-One Goal”.
Not too long ago, several would be cosmetic surgery patients got together at a New York City YMCA to hear a lecture on the latest cosmetic surgery procedures by a prominent plastic surgeon. The surgeon, Dr. Gerald Pitman, spent the first twenty minutes of his talk trying to discourage the audience from having cosmetic operations in the first place. “Ask yourself ‘Can you avoid it?’”, he asks, and “what kind of lifestyle changes can you make?” “Some people think liposuction and tummy tucks are alternatives to diet and exercise”, Dr. Pitman said, "They are not”.
We are all diamonds in this world, diamonds in the rough. We live in a culture that conditions us to be dissatisfied with our bodies and encourages us, for the sake of profit, to select products that will make us “happy” and/or “attractive”. This is rarely the result. Fads and gimmicks often leave us feeling disappointed and unhappy with ourselves. The typical result is to look for the next fad or gimmick that promises to fix what ails us.
To polish the true miracles are bodies are, we have to develop habits that will sustain ourselves throughout our lives and provide a true foundation for satisfaction and happiness. Although not always easy, it’s almost too simple: the basic elements are diet and exercise. It’s difficult to create profit from simple solutions. Feeling comfortable in our skin and responsible for our health is the cornerstone to enjoying our lives the way we were meant to do. We are all different and we will never all look the same, but we all can follow the same plan to be the best that we can be.
The key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and a healthy body isn’t about short-term dietary changes and on and off again exercise programs. It’s about a lifestyle that makes habits out of healthy eating, regular physical exercise, and balancing the number and quality of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses. It’s about developing habits that make us feel good.
Make a commitment to start making regular small changes to your diet, eliminate foods that are high in fats, processed meats, and sugar. A healthy eating plan should be based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy products. Be sure to include lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans, eggs and nuts. Avoid heavily processed foods and foods high in saturated fats, cholesterol, salt, and the two bad “boys” of the grocery isles, trans-fats and sugars.
Moderation and balance are not dirty words. Maybe to the soft drink makers and potato chip industry. We don’t have to eat large quantities to feel satisfied. Go ahead, have some ice cream, just don’t eat a quart every night! Expand your food choices and sample all of the wonderful and exotic foods available to us. Forget apples and bananas, try mangoes, kiwi fruit, pineapple, or berries! Grill or sauté vegetables with herbs like rosemary; buy a new cookbook and experiment. Use protein sources as part of your meal instead of the centerpiece. The diets of many healthy people around the world, Asia and the Mediterranean for example, use protein very creatively in combination with legumes, vegetables, fruits, etc.
A good diet needs to be complemented with physical activity. Good exercise habits keep our metabolism and bodily systems functioning. A good diet improves our ability to effectively exercise and proper exercise is difficult without a proper diet. A well designed exercise program can help you maintain your proper weight, reduce high blood pressure, reduce risk for type 2 diabetes, reduce arthritis pain and risk of osteoporosis. It has been demonstrated that exercise can reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Do you think it’s coincidence that the country with one of the highest obesity rates in the world also has the highest rate of psychotropic drug use in the world? We think not!
But best of all, a balanced and healthy diet and a well designed exercise program makes us feel good and happy with ourselves, just what all the ads promised! Make a commitment to be happy with yourself and to do something everyday that will make you a better person!
LouAnn Good is the Owner of Fitness Together, located in south Fort Myers, part of the world’s largest personal training organization. She has over 15 years of personal training experience in Lee County helping people of all ages meet their fitness goals. All personal trainings at Fitness Together are done one on one in a private training studio where there are no interruptions, no waiting for equipment, and all the attention is on you, the client. “One Client-One Trainer-One Goal”.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Interval Path to Feeling Better and Looking Younger!
Tired of feeling old and run down? Want to look and feel younger? Then turn up the intensity and try interval training. Interval training is a great way to increase oxygen demands and slow down the aging process. Interval training is a workout technique that consists of short burst of intense exertion followed by a short period of active recovery. The brief period of high intensity forces the body to adapt in ways that slow the aging process.
So how do you get started? Easy, keep it simple choose two exercises for instance push up and jumping jacks. The push up will be considered the high intensity interval which you will perform as many repetitions as possible within a 1 minute time frame. After the 1 minute of pushups is performed you will stand up and execute 30 seconds of jumping jack which is considered the “active recovery”. Active recovery is an exercise that is performed at a low intensity to decrease your heart rate slightly from the previous exercise without stopping. This is an example of a strength/cardio interval workout which is great because you incorporate strength training with or without weights into a cardio derived workout. Interval training is a great tool to use when trying to lose weight. By performing the strength training aspect you are building more lean muscle while burning fat at the same time. Building muscle is a vital component of any type of prolonged weight loss program. By building muscle you are increasing your metabolic rate which will allow you to burn more calories throughout the day. So just by building more lean muscle you will be able to lose fat faster and keep it off.
Not sure how to vary your workouts? Here are some good components to keep in mind when designing a interval workout.
Speed: Increasing the speed of a run/walk or exercise is a great way to boost the intensity, but stay within your limits especially working with weights don’t try to do too much or go too fast and cause injury to yourself or others.
Resistance: The more resistance/ weight involved the harder the exercise will become therefore the more energy needed to perform the movement. Easy resistance techniques would be running uphill, using your body weight to perform basic exercise, run into the wind, swim against the current, and adding weights is also another easy way to increase the intensity of any exercise. Once again safety is the number one priority so stay within your limits and stay injury free.
Upper/lower split: The idea behind this is mainly weight training derived. The concept is to work an upper body muscle ex: Back (bent over rows) followed by a leg exercise ex: Quadriceps (leg extensions). The reasoning behind this split is to allow one muscle group to rest while still working out the other. This is a great technique for those who would rather do their strength training and cardio training separate.
Duration: The interval of you workout can vary depending on your fitness level and goals. You can do any type of intervals you choose as long as one is “different” than the other. In this case different means a different type of strain on the body as we discussed above, any change in speed, resistance, or muscle type of any sort would be considered “different”.
Also keep in mind that this is a great way to exercise with a partner or group that will keep you motivated and accountable. So if you’re tired of the same old routine and want to kick up the tempo give interval training a try and you will be on your way to feeling and looking younger.
Jamie Swagler is a certified Personal Trainer at Fitness Together. Fitness Together, located at 9671 Gladiolus Dr., #108, is part of the world’s largest personal training organization. All programs are specifically tailored for every client and conducted in a private training studio. Their motto is “One Client - One Trainer – One Goal”, www.FTFortMyers.com.
Tired of feeling old and run down? Want to look and feel younger? Then turn up the intensity and try interval training. Interval training is a great way to increase oxygen demands and slow down the aging process. Interval training is a workout technique that consists of short burst of intense exertion followed by a short period of active recovery. The brief period of high intensity forces the body to adapt in ways that slow the aging process.
So how do you get started? Easy, keep it simple choose two exercises for instance push up and jumping jacks. The push up will be considered the high intensity interval which you will perform as many repetitions as possible within a 1 minute time frame. After the 1 minute of pushups is performed you will stand up and execute 30 seconds of jumping jack which is considered the “active recovery”. Active recovery is an exercise that is performed at a low intensity to decrease your heart rate slightly from the previous exercise without stopping. This is an example of a strength/cardio interval workout which is great because you incorporate strength training with or without weights into a cardio derived workout. Interval training is a great tool to use when trying to lose weight. By performing the strength training aspect you are building more lean muscle while burning fat at the same time. Building muscle is a vital component of any type of prolonged weight loss program. By building muscle you are increasing your metabolic rate which will allow you to burn more calories throughout the day. So just by building more lean muscle you will be able to lose fat faster and keep it off.
Not sure how to vary your workouts? Here are some good components to keep in mind when designing a interval workout.
Speed: Increasing the speed of a run/walk or exercise is a great way to boost the intensity, but stay within your limits especially working with weights don’t try to do too much or go too fast and cause injury to yourself or others.
Resistance: The more resistance/ weight involved the harder the exercise will become therefore the more energy needed to perform the movement. Easy resistance techniques would be running uphill, using your body weight to perform basic exercise, run into the wind, swim against the current, and adding weights is also another easy way to increase the intensity of any exercise. Once again safety is the number one priority so stay within your limits and stay injury free.
Upper/lower split: The idea behind this is mainly weight training derived. The concept is to work an upper body muscle ex: Back (bent over rows) followed by a leg exercise ex: Quadriceps (leg extensions). The reasoning behind this split is to allow one muscle group to rest while still working out the other. This is a great technique for those who would rather do their strength training and cardio training separate.
Duration: The interval of you workout can vary depending on your fitness level and goals. You can do any type of intervals you choose as long as one is “different” than the other. In this case different means a different type of strain on the body as we discussed above, any change in speed, resistance, or muscle type of any sort would be considered “different”.
Also keep in mind that this is a great way to exercise with a partner or group that will keep you motivated and accountable. So if you’re tired of the same old routine and want to kick up the tempo give interval training a try and you will be on your way to feeling and looking younger.
Jamie Swagler is a certified Personal Trainer at Fitness Together. Fitness Together, located at 9671 Gladiolus Dr., #108, is part of the world’s largest personal training organization. All programs are specifically tailored for every client and conducted in a private training studio. Their motto is “One Client - One Trainer – One Goal”, www.FTFortMyers.com.
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