Fitness Tips
09/01/2010
Stride for Better Health
By Patricia Wagner
Did you know that walking is one of the best activities you can do to dramatically increase your level of health?
Many people today are afflicted with "coach-potato-itis!" They come home from work, switch on their TVs and forget that their bodies need maintenance. But one day reality comes crashing through when their doctors say, "You have a problem!"
This article will show you a simple strategy for improving your health through a fun and inexpensive walking program that promises many benefits.
First, it will increase your energy level. Since walking is an aerobic exercise, it helps the heart and lungs become more efficient.
Both PCOPF (the President''s Council on Physical Fitness) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) state that a regular walking program can lower resting heart rates and blood pressure. It can help burn excess calories and increase muscle tone too.
Second, walking can enhance your mental health. Taking regular walks can help reduce stress and enable you to sleep better. It can also help relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. When you walk, your body produces endorphins which produce a feeling of wellbeing.
Third, it''s fun! The President’s Council on Physical Fitness (PCOPF) calls walking the most popular form of exercise. It can be very enjoyable taking walks with a friend or loved one or even in groups. My husband and I often take walks at night and discuss our day. It''s a special time for me.
Here''s what you''ll need as you begin your new walk-for-health lifestyle. Purchase a pair of comfortable shoes, sunscreen or a hat and sunglasses. Choose loose-fitting garments. Bring along a bottle of water on warm days.
But before you briskly stride out the door to begin your new adventure, you''d better check with your doctor first if you experience any of these symptoms:
-persistent dizziness
-chronic shortness of breath
-high blood pressure
-heart problems
-chest pain
When you''re ready to begin walking regularly, there are some precautions to take. Walk during daylight hours or at night only in well-lit areas. Be sure to obey all traffic rules for pedestrians. If you decide to wear headphones, make sure you can still hear what''s going on around you - like cars honking. Stop and rest if you start feeling sick to your stomach, dizzy or experience unusual pain.
Try to walk whenever possible as part of your daily activities.
- For example, park a distance from stores so you can get some extra exercise going to and from your destination.
-Why not visit local parks to enjoy the beauty of nature while you''re exercising?
-Check out the neighborhood where you live to find good routes.
-On rainy days you can walk in malls instead of doing without your exercise time.
-It''s a good idea to make a habit of selecting stairs instead of elevators when you need to spend time in office buildings.
-It''s more fun if you have a companion. This is good exercise for dogs too - they love to go for walks!
Experts recommend thirty minutes of brisk striding per day. It''s best to walk every day, but you only really need to walk five days a week. This can be broken down into smaller segments of time - three ten-minute walks instead of one long 30-minute one.
Try to stride as fast as you can without overexerting yourself. You can tell when you are going at a brisk pace because your heart will beat faster and you''ll breathe deeper. However, your heart should not be racing and you should still be able to carry on a conversation.
So get off the couch, put those chips down, slip on your comfortable shoes and start striding your way to better health!
Patricia Wagner offers informative tips on living a more energetic lifestyle at http://www.a-to-z-wellness.com
Article provided by Custom Built Personal Training
08/02/2010
How to Get In Shape Fast With Interval Training
By Tim Kauppinen
Interval Training is one of the best ways to reach your health and fitness goals. That's the reason you are seeing more and more written on the benefits of alternating short bursts of high intensity with periods of lower intensity exercise.
And, if you're like me, you've seen the laundry list of these benefits. Benefits you can't get from traditional long, slow cardio. To recap:
• Interval training can decrease the risk of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and the onset of diabetes
• Interval training can burn more fat than traditional cardio – even burning fat up to 24 hours after the end of your exercise session
• Interval training has been shown to be the best type of exercise to reduce belly fat – a leading indicator in the development of metabolic syndrome
• Interval training can teach your body to burn fat first during activity
• Interval training can add lean muscle to your frame – muscle that boosts your metabolism, helping you burn more calories
• Interval training can hep increase the release of Human Growth Hormone – the essential substance in building and repairing muscle, keeping bones healthy and burning fat naturally
Why Doesn't Everyone Interval Train?
"Why doesn't everyone do interval training,"you might be thinking, "when it does all of these great things?"
Because you must be a little bit cautious in switching to high intensity training. You must build up gradually so that you don't risk getting hurt. It's difficult to just jump right into high intensity training.
I had this very problem when I started interval training again in my mid-thirties. I tried to go back to the workouts I had done 10 or 15 years earlier – and I paid a price.
The method I tried to use involved running sprints at the local high school track. And it worked in that I felt better, had more energy and dropped some serious fat. But, trying to be a little too gung ho, I forgot that my body hadn't moved this way in a long time. As a result, I started to run into problems like pulled hamstrings, strained calf muscles and sore Achilles tendons...
The Safest Interval Training Method
That's when I started to look around for a better way to run my intervals. And what I found worked wonders.
I decided to go back to basics. To go back to a workout that I had used in high school (and seen plenty of elite athletes incorporate into their training). The answer that I found to making interval training safer was: the hill sprint.
The only change I made to my interval training was to take it to a hill instead of sprinting on a flat. The difference was dramatic.
Less Chance of Injury
First of all, running intervals on an incline made all of my little nagging muscle pulls and tweaks disappear. I was able to train at a high intensity without having to worry about injury.
One reason for this is that sprinting on an incline decreases the impact that running has on your body. Flat surface sprinting can place a lot of pounding on your shins, knees and back. Hill sprints alleviate most of this high impact punishment. Studies have shown that adding even a slight incline to your running decreased the impact on your lower legs by as much as 26%.
Interval training on hills is also safer for your hamstrings – one of the most commonly seen sites of injury when increasing the intensity of your workouts. Because your stride is shortened slightly when going up hill, you tend not to over-stride and pull with your hamstrings. But, in this case, you plant close under your center of gravity, switching the focus to your leg muscles that push. This means you can run fast, and have less of a chance of pulling the old hammies.
Get Results Faster
The second reason that hill sprinting is a great way to interval train is that it's an easy way to increase the intensity of your workout, no matter what your current level of fitness is. Just by going up a hill (or stairs, or bleachers), the intensity of your workout is automatically increased. If you currently walk, walking uphill will be "high" intensity. If you can sprint, sprinting uphill will raise the intensity even further. And if you are somewhere in between, the hill will provide the same benefits.
What this means is that you can start interval training right away. You don't have to work up as gradually as you would doing flat sprints. Your progression from walking to sprinting can be done in a shorter period of time.
Get More Done in Less Time
Finally, using hills for interval training can decrease the length of your workouts. Again, because the incline raises the intensity, it is not necessary to go as far or as long as you would with flat surface intervals. Give them a try and you'll be surprised how fast you are "huffing and puffing" as recommended for maximum health benefits.
If you've been putting off the start of your interval training because you don't want to get hurt, I've just given you a solution to your problem. Taking your intervals to the hills, stairs or bleachers will allow you to start RIGHT NOW. This training can be safer than flat intervals and just as effective. In fact, potentially even more effective in a given period of time.
No more excuses. Time for you to get results.
Tim Alan Kauppinen, or Coach K, has over 20 years experience as an athlete and coach. He has developed champion athletes across multiple sports through speed training, strength improvement and conditioning.
07/01/2010
Hot Ways to Break a Sweat
By Cynthia Dusseault
Call them fitness crazes. Call them trends. It really doesn’t matter so long as people are trying them, sticking to them and getting something out of them. If you’d like to add something new to your fitness routine but aren’t sure what those quirky names such as body pump and spinning are all about, here’s a brief guide to some of today’s popular fitness activities and what they can offer you.
Body Pump
The posters promote it as "the fastest way in the universe to get in shape." It’s an energetic barbell workout that’s choreographed to music and targets every muscle group in your body. "It’s actually ideal for beginners right through to experienced exercisers because you can adjust the weight on the barbell," says Peggy Cleland, trainer, fitness instructor and program director for The Sports Clubs of Canada (in Toronto). "For people who are intimidated by a weight room or don’t know exactly what they’re doing in a weight room, it’s a nice way to get started with a weight program."
Done two or three times a week, body pump will tone and strengthen your muscles without, as Cleland points out, building a lot of bulk.
Spinning
If you want to improve your cardiovascular fitness level, consider trying this intense indoor cycling class, sometimes called power pacing or studio cycling. On a stationary bike, similar to a road bike, you use a knob or lever to change the resistance and intensity.
"With the music, the instructor, and the motivation, spinning encourages people to get their heart rates into the levels they should be at [for cardiovascular benefit]," says Lara Penno, fitness instructor, trainer and co-owner of Momentum Fitness, a personal training facility in Vancouver.
"Something that’s really popular right now are spinning combination classes," she says. Along with the main cycling component, they incorporate an off-bike upper body or core component as well, so you get a complete workout.
Circuit Training
As Micaela Henkel, fitness instructor and director of operations for Just Ladies Fitness in Vancouver, points out, circuit training is popular with individuals who don’t have a lot of time to work out. In a fast-paced, hour-long class, you warm up and then alternate (approximately every 40 seconds) between cardio (i.e., stepping, jogging, cycling) and working on a piece of strength-training equipment. The instructor generally leads you through some stretches at the end.
"Circuit training is very effective for changing body composition quickly," says Henkel. So if you want to firm up fast or simply want an effective fitness activity that fits into a busy schedule, consider a three-times-a-week circuit training regime.
"The Ball"
If it’s got the word "ball" in it, then you’ll be working out with an exercise ball that’s 55 to 75 centimetres in diameter (the size depends on your height). "It’s very versatile," says Henkel. "It really targets core strength, and it’s great for the lower back, the abdominals, and for building balance."
In a ball class, you can use the ball for adding resistance and intensity to the cardio portion, for doing strength-training exercises and for stretching.
Kickboxing
Variations of this vigorous martial art go by names such as TKO (technical knockout), TKB (Thai kickbox), Tai Bo and Body Attack. Kickboxing’s popularity "probably originated with the whole Tai Bo craze on TV," says Cleland.
In a non-choreographed format, it incorporates punching, blocking, kicking, jabbing and some footwork. Cleland advises that you make sure you’re doing the moves properly or kickboxing can do more harm than good. "If it’s done properly," she says, "it’s a really good workout for your core and for learning how to control your body’s movements. It’s also a cardiovascular workout, a bit of a stress release and a way you can learn a little self-defence."
Pilates
"The big catch-phrase in the fitness industry today," says Penno, "is ‘core stability’--strengthening the trunk muscles or the torso." That’s the focus of Pilates. For the "mat" version, all you need is an exercise mat.
An instructor leads you (without music) through a series of slow, controlled, stretching and strengthening exercises that focus on the muscles of your back, abdomen, hips and buttocks (your "core").
Penno says the main benefits are "improved posture, core stability and abdominal and back strength." All of these help to keep your body properly aligned and can stave off back problems in the future, but Penno recommends that if you have a "bad back," you should take care of it first so that you can get the most from the Pilates exercises.
Tai Chi
This is just one of the many martial arts that are popular fitness activities today. It’s an ancient form of self-defence that involves slow, controlled, yoga-like movements that often culminate in kicks or jabs. Meditation is part of it, as is mind-body awareness. Practising tai chi can improve your balance, coordination and posture. It can help you to move more gracefully, and its meditative effect can help to relieve stress.
Cynthia Dusseault is an
Edmonton-based freelance writer who specializes in health and fitness
topics. Reprinted with permission from Alive Magazine. Article provided by Custom Built Personal Training
06/01/2010
''Cookie Cutter'' Low Carb Diet Plans Explained
By Jenny Mathers
Most diet plans, including low carb diet plans are best taken with a grain of salt, because although one may work for your best friend, it may not work for you. For those with serious weight problems and have co-existing issues such as hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels) or like some of us hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) etc., the popular diet plans usually will not be able to cater to individual needs.
We are all individuals and as such we need to feed ourselves as individuals, having said this some diet plans will be more beneficial for the general population than others. To assess which particular diet plan will be beneficial, you can follow these guidelines. They are very much common sense points, and provide a good framework which many nutrition professionals would broadly follow, and within which you can divide the scammy diet plans from those that can offer you safe and healthy diet ideas.
1. Diet offers sufficient balance and a variety of carbohydrates, protein and fats.
2. Diet does not exclude one particular food group, and encourage excessive consumption of another.
3. Diet encourages exercise to complement sensible eating habits.
4. Diet encourages awareness of portion sizes.
5. Diet does not encourage unrealistic quick weight loss.
6. Diet is backed up with medical research data.
In addition to these points, I''ve broadly outlined the low carb diet plans, which seem to be occupying the minds of dieters and researchers alike, as well as the research for and against pertinent to the low carb diet plans.
Low Carb Diets
A lot of the diet plans these days center around the low carb diet plans. These low carb diet plans are considered by some diet fads, others consider it the new wave in healthy eating. Diets such as The New Atkins Diet Revolution maintain that obese people are insulin sensitive and carbohydrates make them gain weight. Low carb diet plans such as The Zone lay down specific proportion of carbohydrates, protein and fats that should be consumed in order to lose weight and while fats are reduced, the main source of energy comes from the consumption of protein.
Low carb diet plans such as Sugar Busters, believe that sugar is your body’s most heinous weight loss enemy and since carbohydrates are the foods that are processed into sugars – carbohydrates should be limited. The Scarsdale Diet also is a low carb, high protein diet and offers a 2 week crash dieting plan.
Popular diets such as the South Beach Diet and the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet are also low carb diet plans that have become popular with dieters who have tried and failed at the Atkins diet. All these diets see themselves as the worlds answer to the obesity problem.
To be fair, there are significant and many research papers that support and argue against the low carb revolution, as yet the wider medical community has not fully made it’s mind up as to whether the diets are something that is favourable in the long term.
Recent research by Layman et. al., and Saris have found that the low carb and high protein diets provide little benefit to dieters. Researchers found that when protein was moderately increased and carbohydrates proportionately decreased, insulin levels stabilised but no significant weight was lost. Saris in his review concluded that it is probable that a low carb, high fat diet will increase the likelihood of weight gain.
While there is a lot of evidence against the low carb philosophy, there is also a lot of evidence to support it. Research published in May, 2004, found that when patients on a low carb diet were compared with patients on a low fat diet, those patients who had consumed a low carb diet had a greater weight loss, decreased triglyceride levels and increased levels of HDL''s - in other words their cholesterol levels had improved. To put the icing on the cake research has just been published to support the long term efficacy of eating a low carb diet.
Despite the evidence to support low carb diet plans, mainstream medicine still does not recommend them. The main points of contention with the low carb, high protein diets is that they don’t offer balance and variety and could prove dangerous for people at risk of heart disease. Particularly with low carb diet plans such as the scarsdale diet, they are not realistic and cannot be maintained in the long term causing yo-yo dieting and no one wants that!
References:
Wim HM Saris Sugars, energy metabolism, and body weight control Am J Clin Nutr 78: 850S-857S
Donald K. Layman, Harn Shiue, Carl Sather, Donna J. Erickson and Jamie Baum Increased Dietary Protein Modifies Glucose and Insulin Homeostasis in Adult Women during Weight LossNutrition.org
Yamashita T, Sasahara T, Pomeroy SE, Collier G, Nestel PJ. Arterial compliance, blood pressure, plasma leptin, and plasma lipids in women are improved with weight reduction equally with a meat-based diet and a plant-based diet. Metabolism. 1998 Nov;47(11):1308-14.
Yancy WS Jr, Olsen MK, Guyton JR, Bakst RP, Westman EC. A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004 May 18;140(10):769-77. Jenny Mathers writes for Savvy Fat Burning Foods and has created a research resource to educate and inform about what REALLY is fat burning food.
Article Provided by Custom Built Personal Training
05/01/2010
Build Those Muscles, Burn That Fat: Right?
The world of physical fitness centers itself on muscle building for weight loss. Men are constantly fed more and more information telling them that the more muscle you build, the more weight you will be able to lose. But, how accurate is that statement really? Does muscle really effectively burn fat from the body without any extra effort?
Studies have been conducted on many occasions related to the amount of calories burned for every pound of muscle built. These studies have concluded on several occasions a range of 30 to 50 extra calories a day from every pound of muscle that is added to the body. With that fact being said, how long does it take to build a pound of muscle?
For the male species, a pound of muscle takes approximately one month to build. For the female species it can take twice that long or more. Muscle building, without external supplementation, is a slow process of tearing the muscles and allowing the muscle to rebuild. When trying to build muscle to lose weight and burn fat, this tearing and repairing process is the only way to truly see the effects of your workout over an extended period of time.
The Best Way To Build Muscle to Burn Fat
If building muscles is on your short list for your weight loss program, there are tried and true ways to do just that. But, there are also necessary actions that need to take place in order to maximize muscle build and minimize the pain associated with the tearing of the muscle.
When a muscle is worked with weights, the muscle will reach a point where it can no longer lift the amount of weight being pressed. This is called lifting to failure. When the muscle is pushed to this point, tiny tears in the muscle occur. These tiny tears will rebuild over a 48 hour period of rest and gain muscle mass in the process. This is the same muscle that will burn more fat on the body and thus burn more calories.
The key to keeping muscle building a safe and painless (mostly) process is the stretching. After the muscle is torn, lactic acid will rush in and start the healing process. This lactic acid, if left to settle in the muscle, is the reason for pain after a hard workout. Stretching the muscle can help to dissipate the amount of lactic acid in the muscle and lower the chance of that extra, day after, pain that is felt during recovery.
When building muscle to lose weight, it is important to work the one day on, one day off program. While some muscle groups, such as abdominals and triceps, are okay to working on a daily basis, all others need at least 48 hours to recover and rebuild before tearing the muscle again with a workout.
As time passes, the muscles will grow stronger and add bulk. This bulk will be the extra muscle needed to burn those extra calories while watching TV, surfing the Internet or sitting at that business meeting.
How Many Pounds Can Be Lost?
If every pound of muscle burns an extra 50 calories per day, that will add up to 1500 calories a month. An extra 1500 calories burned with no extra effort. And, if the muscle training program continues and within a years time, 10 extra pounds of muscle are added to the frame of the body, that means an extra 15,000 calories burned every month. Not bad for a little tearing and repairing.
Article Provided by Custom Built Personal Training
04/01/2010
Guide To Strong Core Exercises
Core exercises are just as important as the name implies - they workout the core of your body, which benefits the rest of your body as well. Your core area are the muscles around your trunk and pelvis. Good core stability means that the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips, and abdomen are all working together, which in turn makes it much easier to do a lot of things. For example, when you have good core strength, you will find it easier to play golf or tennis and even to tie your shoes! You will have better posture, and you greatly reduce your risks for lower back pains or injuring your muscles. Sadly, however, most people think they just need to do a few sit ups or crunches to work out their core, and by doing so, they severely neglect that muscle group. Fortunately, there are a lot of easy core exercises you can do - right from the comfort of your own home, if you like - to strengthen your core area.
First, there are the standard core exercises, the ones most of us learn to do in grade school. These include squats, push ups, sit ups, and crunches that target your abdominal area. If you are looking for some more intense core exercises, then first up is the bridge. To do this exercise, you need to lie on your back with your knees bent. It is very important to keep your back in a relaxed, sort of neutral position - no arching your spine or pressing your back into the floor! Next, tighten your abdominal muscles and lift your hips off of the floor so that they are aligned with your knees and your shoulders. Hold this position for three seconds (count them out: one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi), then slowly return to the starting position, and start all over again.
The second type of hardcore core exercises are segmental rotations. Again, begin by lying down with your back in a relaxed position and your knees bent. Tighten your abdominal muscles once more. This time, however, you are going to let your knees slowly fall to the left while keeping your shoulders on the floor. Do not stress yourself too much - only let your legs fall as far as is comfortable for you. When you are doing it right, you will feel the tension of the stretch but you will not experience pain. Hold for another three count, return to the starting position, and then repeat, this time lowering your legs to the right.
The last set of core exercises are quadrupeds. For this exercise, you begin on your hands and knees. Your hands should be directly below your shoulders and your head and neck should be aligned with your back. Start off by tightening your abdominal muscles, then lift your left arm off the floor and reach ahead. Hold for a three count, then lower your left arm and repeat the exercise using your right arm. Once you are back in the starting position, this time, you are going to raise your left leg off the floor. If you feel yourself falling off balance, just tighten the muscles in your trunk area. Hold for a three count, go back to the starting position, and do the same with your right leg.
Do these core exercises regularly, and you will be on your way to a strong, healthy core - not to mention some serious six-pack abs!
Article Provided by Custom Built Personal Training
03/01/2010
3 Ways to Exercise for Weight Loss
1. Exercise on a Regular Basis
For exercise to be effective, you must be consistent. It is currently recommended that you exercise for 30 to 45 minutes at least five days per week in order to lose weight. You must make exercise a priority and schedule it into your day just like you would a doctor's appointment. Choose a time of day that you know you can stick to on a regular basis. The more you can work your exercise routine into your daily schedule, the more successful you will be in sticking to your program. It is also helpful to partner with someone else who shares your goals. It is more fun to exercise with someone and you are more likely to stick to your routine if you have made a commitment to another person. You can also try joining a class. This will help motivate you to exercise regularly and make sure you are exercising correctly and efficiently
2. Participate in Cardiovascular or Aerobic Activities
The most effective type of exercise for weight loss is aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. This involves any exercise in which you move at a fast and steady pace with the goal of increasing your heart rate and rate of breathing. Typical forms of aerobic exercise are brisk walking, biking, dancing or swimming.
In order to lose weight you need to do these activities at a level that brings your heart rate between 60 and 75 percent of your maximum heart rate and then maintains it for 30 to 45 minutes. If you work out at this level, you are burning calories. The higher the intensity, the more calories you burn. For example, a pound of fat is worth 3500 calories. If you exercise enough to burn 500 calories a day, you will lose one lb. of body fat per week. To find this level use the formula of 220 minus your age. Then multiply this number by 60 to 75 percent--or by the level of intensity you wish to work out at. This number is the number of times your heart should beat when taking your pulse for 10 seconds during aerobic activity. Working out at a level lower then this may not be vigorous enough to burn enough calories to lose weight. Working out at a higher level is not recommended and can lead to injury.
3. Do Strength Training
Strength training exercises are movements that are done against some kind of resistance such as a machine, hand weights, tubing or even your own body weight. These exercises should be done slowly and with control. While strength training does not burn as many calories as aerobic exercise it does help to raise your metabolism. This happens because muscles need more energy then fat to sustain everyday activities. In other words, muscles need more calories then fat even at rest. So the stronger your muscles, the more calories your entire body is burning, even during normal everyday activities.
