2012年8月15日星期三

Lance Armstrong and Exercise - From Denial to Desire!

Press Conference 1996 Lance Armstrong
On Wednesday October 2, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I have been made aware that it has spread to other parts of my body... I... I am... here to say, I will work with the doctors to overcome... and I will work hard to race once again.

Just DO it Nike Ad

Sunday July 24, 2005 Lance Armstrong not only beat cancer, but also went out on top after winning seven consecutive Tour De France bicycle races. If you don't know, the Tour De France bike race is with out a doubt the most grueling endurance race ever. For the most conditioned athletes it is the hardest optical they will ever face. However, for Lance after cancer, the race seems as if it were just a formality of a race already won.

No one will ever know what truly drives a human being to overcome such odds. No one will ever know what demons they had to face each and every day in those beds, bikes and back roads of their minds. What I do know is Lance did go from denying his condition to having a deep desire to overcome it and succeed!

In my best selling book I write what it takes to go from denial about your health to incorporating exercise into your daily routine.

Heres a small portion:

From Denial to Desire

Living in a state of denial can really be a big weight to carry for anyone, no matter what the circumstances are surrounding it. But, what does it mean to be in denial of your health? What are some of the behaviors that are associated with denial?

I know I need to make an appointment for a checkup! But you don't.

I may have a few pounds on me, but I still feel fine.

I walk on the golf course isn't that enough?

I'm going to die sooner or later, why start now on an exercise program?

Ok, I get the point, but

Where do I go from here? Whats next for me?

HAVE A DEEP DESIRE

What does it mean to have deep desire for something? Remember those feelings you had back when you wanted your first bicycle. That Barbie doll you made a fit over in the toy store in front of everyone. Or what about that girl or boy you would have done just about anything for? There was such a hunger, a burning in your gut. You couldn't even think straight, eat or sleep because it occupied your every thought. You just had to have it!

HAVE HOPE

Have hope! Acknowledging the reality of your life does not mean you have to give up hope. It can mean just the opposite, A new, fresh beginning. Many a people have done extraordinary things with nothing but a little bit of hope. Combine that with some faith and a deep desire to feel better, you may be surprised how your life will change.

HAVE AN OPEN MIND

Have an open mind toward exercise and eating better, rather than resenting the actions.

Accept the fact that life will not hand you a perfect situation.

Learn that your self-worth is not based upon if you ask for help along the way.

We age. Our metabolism slows down, and we are more prone to injuries and illness. However, it does not have to be fatal or depressing if you exercise and eat better. The threesome of denial, pride and laziness will always be followed up by some unwanted consequence to your health. And things that make you resist exercise and eating right are only illusions you have created.

If the whys are big enough, the hows don't matter!

Niche

HAVE A LONG-TERM ATTITUDE

If you want to go from denial to desire, call on the all or nothing attitude. If you are going to start now, you have to start for good. The reality is you will have good attitude and bad attitude days for the rest of your life. But understand, if you are going to be healthier through exercise and eating, you are going to have to participate in some form of exercise till the day you die. This is not a temporary fix to a long-term problem; it is a lifestyle.

TAKE AN INSIDE-OUT APPROACH

It is really important to understand that in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle, you have to develop a positive type of mind set. Sure it looks great and feels great to have a well-shaped body on the outside. However, you will never win the aging battle if you think that all you have to do is work on the outside of the body.

You will have a better chance of feeling better inside and outside if you have a deep desire to be healthy both physically and emotionally first! When your motives and desires come from the heart or INSIDE-OUT, then true health begins to grow. And if your physical appearance changes during the process, that is icing on the cake.

2012年8月14日星期二

How much weight? How many reps?

“How many reps/sets should I do?”
“How much weight should I lift?”

These are two of the most common questions I hear as soon as people learn I am a personal trainer. For some, it's as if those are the only questions; they seem to think that if they figure out those, everything else will fall into place.

It's only partly true. The number of reps/sets and amount of weight are definitely key components that will make the difference between success and frustration. Of course, there is far more to a successful workout, such as choosing the right exercises and properly performing them, incorporating cardio, and following proper eating habits.

Yet in terms of the how many/how much questions, because no two people are the same, there are no one-size-fits-all answers.

The first thing to consider is your goal. Men and women usually have different goals. The most common goal for men is to build muscle and strength; women usually want to build muscle tone, but not too much. (We'll cover other scenarios too.)

The second thing to determine is how your body responds to exercise. This is an oft-neglected but essential factor in putting together a personalized program that will work. If your goal is to gain muscle, but you have difficulty doing so, your program will be different from that of someone who develops muscle easily. Likewise, if you want to tone but tend to bulk up when lifting weights, your program will differ from that of someone who does not tend to bulk up.

By taking into consideration your goal and how your body responds to exercise you can modify reps/sets and weight/intensity in order to achieve the results you want.

WEIGHT

Strength level is subjective. Weight that feels heavy for one person might feel light for another, especially considering different fitness levels. Also as you exercise and get stronger, of course, weight that was once challenging might become easy. So the easiest way to determine how much weight to lift is by breaking it down into five levels.

Light

Moderately Light

Moderate

Moderately Heavy

Heavy

"Light" is when the weight is so low you don't even feel like you're exercising. If you are working out and it feels light, pick things up.

At the " Moderately Light" weight, by the time you reach your final reps you will feel as if you have been doing some, but not too much, work.

At the " Moderate" weight, after the set you feel like you are definitely making effort but are giving 70 percent to 80 percent and thus could still go for a few more reps.

" Moderately Heavy" is the weight for most people. You feel like you are making an effort to finish the set, about 90 percent of all you've got, but you could actually do one or two more reps with perfect form .

"Heavy" is a weight that takes 100 percent of your strength. You can do all the reps with perfect form but couldn't do even one more without breaking the form.

REPS

In order to determine how many reps to do, it is helpful to review the latest findings about reps and development: Research has shown that you can get muscle tone and development by doing any number of reps between 1 and 20. Anything more than 20 reps will give mainly endurance benefits; you won't see more improvement on muscle tone. Between 1 and 5 reps, you are training for what is called "power." An example of power is a "power lifter" raising 700 pounds. It's an amazing proof of strength, but he couldn't lift that amount for several reps. For most, the ideal is between 6 and 20 reps. I know that's a wide range. That's why knowing your goals and how your body responds to exercise will help you select the best number within that range.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

If you are a beginner, start with two sets of 15 to 20 reps each at a " Moderately Light" weight. After a few weeks, increase to " Moderate" weight for two sets of 15 to 20 reps each . These are the guidelines for both men and women who haven't worked out for a while, regardless of how your body responds to exercise. Your goal at this stage is to gently communicate to your body that you are doing something new that demands it to work harder, thus encouraging your body to adapt.

Females trying to tone should do two sets of 10 to 15 reps each at a "Moderately Heavy" weight. You will build muscle tone, but the high number of reps will keep you from loading on excess weight, which would make you bulk up. If you are a female who tends to bulk up, increase the reps to 15 to 20 per set . The extra-high number of reps will force you to lighten up the weight, but will still give you the "burn". If trying to gain strength and muscle, increase the number of sets to 3 , drop the number of reps to 6 to 10 and increase weight to "Heavy." If you are doing 6 to 10 reps and going all out, you're lifting a pretty good amount of weight.

If you are a male trying to develop your body in a moderate way, stay between 8 to 12 reps each and do 3 sets at a "Moderately Heavy" weight. If your goal is to get as strong as possible and develop as much as you can, or if you have a hard time developing muscle, stay between 6 to 10 reps for 3 to 4 sets at "Heavy" weight. (In other words, the weight is so heavy that you can't do more than 10 reps without breaking form. If the weight is so heavy that you can't even do 6 reps, you are lifting too much; decrease the weight till you can do at least 6 reps.

2012年8月13日星期一

Moderation and Enjoyment

The fitness field has evolved a great deal in the past few years. Workout techniques have been enhanced, and the science of Kinesiology is respected for its immense contributions to improving the health and well being of Americans. Doctors advise patients to exercise, and most people possess the desire to start a fitness program because they are aware of the benefits of being healthy and in shape. It is common knowledge today that you must exercise in order to maintain a healthy weight and be at your best.

However, one of the "side effects" of this fitness revolution is the erroneous idea held by many that in order to get any benefit from exercise or to be at a "good" level of fitness you must endure a hard, grueling exercise program.

Everyone has seen the ads: "Welcome to Scream with Pain Boot Camp ! Overweight? Haven't worked out for 10 years? No problem! Join us and we'll get you lean in six weeks." They should also add the fine print We'll also get you injured within a year, and if not, we promise you'll be sick and tired of exercising within another year.

Then there are misleading TV shows like "The Biggest Loser". If you are not familiar with it, two teams of overweight people compete against each other to lose the greatest amount of weight possible. Although that may make for entertaining TV, it gives the wrong idea about how most people should go about losing weight and regaining their health.

Over the years at gyms, I have seen countless people who workout for two or even three hours at a time. I have even witnessed some who do that TWICE A DAY!! They proudly declare, "I'm a gym rat", and act as if that is the key to good health. Now, I'm not saying that it is unhealthy to be very active. Many people love it and enjoy it. However, there are many cases where people feel that they must follow this strict regimen because it is the only way to be healthy and maintain their weight.

That kind of thinking reflects a notion held by many that exercising is supposed to be hard and unpleasant ("No pain, No gain". How many times have you heard that?). The unfortunate consequence is that many people get so afraid of exercising that they avoid it like the plague, even thought they know it would be good for them.

Now if I were to tell you that all you need to do is work out two or three days a week, with a combination of light weight training and light aerobics, you would probably be less fearful of exercise, wouldn't you? Great! If you are up for a little more of a challenge, try three to four days at a moderate to moderately hard intensity with a combination of weight training, aerobics and flexibility training. But you know what? If either of those seems like too much for you, how much can you conceive of doing? A brisk walk for half an hour three times a week? Perfect. If that's still too much, how about a twenty-minute stroll, a couple of days a week? Although I hope to see you doing more over time, you are better off doing even just a small amount then not exercising at all. Even if all you did for the rest of your life for fitness were to go out for a walk around the block twice a week, you would be better off than someone just lounging on the couch. So if that's all you can conceive of doing without being "scared", go for it.

But I have to "warn" you that an interesting and exciting thing happens when you give your body something as wonderful as the gift of doing something healthy, even if it's as minimal as a twice a week walk around the block. Your body starts asking for more. Exercising feels good because our bodies were designed to be active. So if we allow ourselves to be active, as opposed to forcing ourselves to be active, we will guarantee that we will stick with it.

Part of "allowing" ourselves to be active is to find activities that we enjoy and that feel good for you personally. For a good example let's take a look at three of my clients: Betty, Ken, and Ric. Betty is an elderly lady, who comes to the gym two days a week and we do some moderately light exercises. On some of the days we don't work out, she does gardening. While gardening, she has to carry things around, stand up, squat down, etc. In other words, she is active. Ken enjoys working out at home in the morning three times a week doing a moderate resistance band routine, push-ups, and lots of stretching. In addition, we go for a four-mile walk along the river three times a week, and he also plays golf at least once a week. Ric is in top shape, and loves working out. We meet three times a week for an hour of pure power. On top of that he does half hour of cardio on three of the days we don't work out. He recently won a fitness competition at the gym.

What do those three people have in common? They are all in fabulous health condition, and they all enjoy what they do. Betty wants to be in great health and enjoy her gardening. Ken wants to have great endurance and enjoy the outdoors. Ric wants to have a great body and enjoy the challenge of a hard workout.

You may like hiking, or possibly playing tennis or golf. Perhaps you enjoy activity on the beach in the summer or skiing in the winter. All you have to do is to remember that those are physical activities, so you can plan to do them as a way of being healthy and active. You will be happy, feel good about yourself, gain a sense of accomplishment and maintain the identity of someone who is active. This identity of being healthy and active is critical in affecting your success with your fitness goals. (For more on this and help with achieving these goals, download your own copy of my program How to Succeed With Your Health and Fitness Goals.)

Finally, as you become more excited about being healthy and active, you can start adding more formal weight training at home or in a gym, or even start taking a Yoga or Pilates class. If you find that you take pleasure in being very active that's great! But always keep in mind that fitness is supposed to be enjoyable. Balance is the key. You want to be fit, healthy and have fun. If you keep it that way, you will keep it up for good!

2012年8月12日星期日

How small training variations can be the difference between progress and stagnation

There has been much written on the subject of periodization and variation in resistance training. I'm a very strong advocate of these principles, both from my own experience and the results others have achieved (and are continuing to achieve) using these principles.

There are literally an infinite number of ways you can structure a program, and more training variables than I can probably think of off hand. Everybody knows the basics like intensity, rep range, and split, right? Well to give you a quick run-down there are also variables like rep tempo, rest interval, volume, density, and frequency to name a few.

Not only this but there are also training techniques like supersets, giant sets, trisets, circuits, pre/post-exhaust, drop sets, and wave loading that you can incorporate into your lifting schedule. And in the grand scheme of things all this is barely scratching the surface. See what I mean about infinite program variation?

The problem is though, while some people take all this into account (and those that don't, may you wallow in the pit of the so-called "hard-gainer" for eternity) there's one thing they invariably end up missing - the movements.

Exercise selection is something that far too many people, myself included, tend to forget about. You get comfortable with a set of movements and you do them program in, program out, no matter what else you change - and for some people I'm betting that its the factor that has got them stuck in a rut.

Things like split and rep range your body will adapt to relatively quickly which is why they are probably the most varied parameters from program to program - more often than not the rep range will change many times even in the same program. Though your body might take a lot longer to adapt to the selection of exercises you are using, more-so if you frequently change the other program variables, make no mistake - IT WILL ADAPT.

Your body is like some sort of Borg warrior from Star Trek, no matter how advanced your technology is your body will find a way to adapt and then BANG - your progress is assimilated into the hive mind of the supplement-junkies. For the love of god don't end up like Picard.

I'm guilty of it myself, learning new movements can be annoying because for a week or two your form is kinda shaky and you're not really sure what sort of weight you should be using and aww to hell with it I'm just gonna bench some more.

The truth of the matter is that for a little extra effort you can get out of that rut, sometimes not even by changing movements altogether. Even a slight variation in the same movement you are using could be enough to get some more progress going. I've come across some good examples of both that I thought I'd share in this article alongside their more "regular" counterparts, as well as a short list of exercises these movements can replace in your program if you aren't even doing them to start with.

2012年8月10日星期五

10 tips to Look Your Best in a Crunch!

We all have events that we need to look good for on occasion including dates, vacations, photo shoots, family dinners, weddings, pool parties, the beach, high school reunions and/or physique competitions. The list goes on. Sometimes we don’t have much time to prepare ourselves for these important appointments!

These 10 tips will support you in getting ready and looking the best you can with the short time available to you. Maybe you only have a month or even less like 2 weeks! Follow these guidelines and they will make a big difference in how you look and feel for that special event.

1. Pay special attention to your nutrition: Make sure you are making clean and healthy food choices. Eat 3 small meals and 2-3 small snacks per day about every 3-4 hours. Try to have each meal and snack be balanced with the 30 – 50 – 20 ratio (meaning 30% carbohydrates, 50% protein and 20% good fats). This will support you in balancing out your insulin and glucagon hormones to attain an ideal body weight. NO sabotaging yourself with crash diets! After the event go back to maintaining with the 40 – 30 – 30 ratio (40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% good fats).

2. Up the cardio: I would suggest if you have the luxury of doing your cardio in the morning before breakfast, go for it. Just have one scoop of low carb protein powder in about 8-12 ounces of water first. Then do 45-60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. Then if you are able to have another session of cardio after your workout in the afternoon or evening, it would really help!!! Once again, 45-60 minutes. Note: Go at a slower pace instead of full tilt so you don’t burn off valuable fat burning lean muscle. You can also take a serving of BCAA’s (Branch Chain Amino Acids) before your cardio to prevent muscle breakdown. This can be bought at any health or supplement store.

3. Have variety in your workout routine: Your body absolutely loves to learn new ways of movement, more weight, different resistance exercises, different cardio exercises etc. In order to build lean muscle you need to progressively overload so you shock and grow your muscles to raise your metabolism and become a fat burning machine. Some days do upper body, lower body, one body part, opposite body parts, complimentary body parts, isometrics, plyometrics etc.

4. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ: Your muscles only grow when they are resting and/or sleeping! Always make sure to take at least one day off for every 4-5 you train and get 8 hours of sleep every night! In a crunch I train 3 days on / one day off and repeat until my event takes place. On my off days I still do about a half hour of some form of cardio but that’s it. No weights. Then, after the event, I go back to training Monday to Friday with weekends off to chill and recover.

5. Make water your best friend: Just because you are trying to lose weight doesn’t mean that you should limit your H20. You should be drinking at least 2-4 litres of water per day. I drink 4-6 litres when I am preparing for an event. Don’t risk becoming dehydrated and try to reduce the consumption of diet soft drinks and other liquids that can cause adverse reactions and more water retention. The only time you would slow down on the water consumption would be the night before and the day of the event. Just take very small sips every 20-30 minutes and then rehydrate yourself when the event is over.

6. Take fibre pills in the evening: Pick up a bottle of fibre pills and take the recommended dosage to help regulate you in the mornings.

7. No salt, sugar, bread, dairy products and/ or alcohol: If you are really serious about looking your best in a crunch, I challenge you to eliminate these items from the menu for the duration of the preparation period. Yes, ladies, this includes chocolate as well and beer for the fellas!

8. Have a plan: The most important thing you can do to save time, be efficient and effective is to create an outline for your preparation period. This is very important! Take a few moments to write down your Nutrition Plan and schedule your workouts into you daily planner. Make training and eating appointments with yourself and don’t ever stand you up! If you miss an appointment for whatever reason, just get back on track as quick as you can and continue following the plan!

9. Stay focused under pressure: Some of us work well under pressure, some of us thrive on it, and some of us absolutely hate it. I tend to thrive on it and it completely energizes me! Regardless, a deadline is a deadline, and it must be met. This means shifting into overdrive. With passion, drive, persistence and believing in yourself you can achieve anything!

10. GO SHOPPING: This is my favorite feel good tip. Nothing beats showing up to the special event in some new threads! Dress to impress! Pamper yourself with clothing, shoes, a purse or handbag, some jewelry, a new watch and/or some slick shades! Always remember to take care of number one and spoiling yourself on occasion is essential!

Congratulations! You made it. If your event includes a meal or social eating of some sort, you can now relax a little and enjoy yourself. After all, this is what you’ve prepared yourself for. You will be as tight and lean as possible at your current level of body fat, so now it’s time to indulge. Look good! Feel Good! Have FUN!

2012年8月9日星期四

Michelle Obama: Baring her arms to the world

One thing that Michelle is most famous for, and that no first lady has revealed in the past, is her toned arms in sleeveless outfits. She is seen in numerous photos including the covers of magazines, such as Vogue magazine where she sported a stunning silk sleeveless top; and People’s magazine where she ravished in a lacy pink sleeveless blouse. She was also recently seen in a purple sleeveless shirt this past Tuesday at congress.

This new sleeveless trend of Michelle Obama has caused a lot of talk in the fitness industry. Women are proclaiming that they want Obama arms, instead of Madonna arms, or Kelly Ripa arms. Mrs. Obama, at 44 years of age, is a prime example of a woman who commits to being the first lady; a full time mom; and still finds time to fit fitness into her daily routine. She admittedly told People magazine that she does 3-90 minute training sessions a week and that both she and President Obama get up at 5:30am to work out and have breakfast.

Personal trainers will openly admit that women tend to shy away from strength training. But, Michelle Obama has created this Obama ripple effect inspiring many women both young and old to take responsibility for their bodies through strength training. She also shows how strength training can have beneficial results: toned arms. Michelle Obama contradicts the myth that strength training will only produce the muscular body builder type arms that most women believe.

The media however has been buzzing and controversy has risen about Obama’s sleeveless shirts being considered too revealing. A columnist from the Boston Herald, Lauren Beckham Falcone wrote to Obama, "It's February. Going sleeveless in subzero temperature is just showing off. All due respect."

But, despite these whispers many women in the community have decided to change their own way of life after seeing Michelle’s stunningly toned arms. A 25 year old woman proclaimed after she had seen Obama’s speech on Tuesday that she was going to shift herself into high gear and go buy a couple of 5 pound dumbbells for herself.

It is important to note however, that we must train all the muscles of the body when strength training. Even if you are targeting a specific area of muscles, personal trainers would advise training all the different muscles to prevent the limitation of lean mass. You first need to target body fat before you can begin toning. The main idea and purpose of strength training is to build lean muscle mass, and decrease body fat.

If you are unsure of where to start, I would suggest going and getting a set of 5-10 pound dumbbells and doing 12-15 reps of a few different exercises: bicep curls, lateral raises, and tricep kickbacks for starters. You can easily find these exercises as well as other arm exercises at our fitness.com exercise page. It does take time however to see results, so give at least 6-8 weeks.

Another important key is to focus on your diet while strength training. Try to maintain a healthy diet that includes: lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. While trying to maintain muscle stick to lean protein like fish, chicken (without the skins), beans and eggs.

2012年8月8日星期三

How to start Every Workout

The other day I was beginning a session with a client and this was at the time when the gym was just opening. Yep, right at 530 am. This time of year when there is some light it's not so bad. But in the middle of winter when it's still dark and cold that's another thing altogether.

Anyways, as we were warming up I was able to notice what everyone else does when they get to the gym. It's much easier to notice this at 530 am because every new person you see has just walked in the door. And here's the thing. People tend to do just dive straight in to the regular workouts.

If they are cardio people then head straight for their machine of choice, key in the program they want to follow and get started.

And if they're people who lift weights then they will go straight to their exercise of choice and start loading weight on the bar for their first set.

And the yoga people throw their mats down, turn the lights in the group fitness room and go to sleep. Well, not really but pretty close.

But here's the thing, when you go skiing do you do a few warm up runs before you tackle the moguls and advanced runs? When you go golfing do you do a few practice swings and maybe a few stretches before teeing one up on the 1st tee? And if you play rec league basketball, soccer or volleyball do you shoot a few free throws, dribble or pass the ball around before game time?

Absolutely you would. So why wouldn't we take some time to warm-up before our workouts? Besides increasing our core temperature, activating the core and mobilizing key joints a proper warm-up helps us perform better during our workout. And you will reducing the chance of injury and enhancing your ability to recover when you warm-up properly.

Not sure what to do for a proper warm-up? Well here's what we include for our athletes and clients.

1. Tennis ball roll. Rub the bottom of the foot, without shoes, on a tennis ball. This helps awaken proprioceptors in the foot and as the muscles are connected by fascia it helps to recruit the musculature throughout the lower extremities and towards the glutes and hips.

2. A general warm-up. This may be a light jog if outdoors or a few minutes on a cardio machine to get a sweat on.

3. Run through a dynamic warm-up. The keys are to get the body moving but start slow to fast, no rotation to rotation, small level changes to larger level changes, small ranges of motion to greater ranges of motion. If you're not sure how to set up a dynamic warm-up let me know and I'll send you one.

4. Lateral tube walking. We want to get the glutes firing. This is a great staple of our program and a great drill to make your knees really stable.

5. Med ball chops. We use a med ball to increase loading through the core and increase mobility through the thoracic spine.

6. Wall slides. Most people have over active upper traps and this drill helps to reverse this.

7. Ankle mobilizations. Most people tend to lack ankle mobility. And what we lack at one joint will be accessed from another. Unfortunately for many this ends up being the low back which shouldn't be moving around a lot.

8. Scapular push-ups. The more we do these the less shoulder issues I've seen with our clients and athletes. And it transfers very well to the technique we want them to use when doing any kind of horizontal pressing.

Well that's how we warm-up. 8 drills or exercises that take approximately 10-15 minutes. It gets the body warm, fires up the nervous system and get the key area activated, mobilized and ready for work.

2012年8月7日星期二

Not All Carbs Are Created Equally

Carbohydrates have long been studied as an energy source and the debate as to what quantities and types of carbohydrates are optimal for performance and health is ongoing.  Some types of carbohydrates, most often termed 'simple' carbohydrates, are converted more easily into fat in the body, raise blood glucose levels rapidly, and are linked to certain health issues such as obesity, cancer, and diabetes, to name a few (1).  Other carbohydrates, sometimes referred to as 'complex' carbohydrates, are not converted to fat easily and are also not linked with negative health problems (1).   Due to the important effects that carbohydrates have on the body, glycemic index and glycemic load should be taken into consideration when planning for fitness, nutrition, sport performance, and overall health. 

Developed about 30 years ago, the glycemic index ranks carbohydrate-containing foods based on the effect that they have on blood glucose (sugar) levels.  The glycemic index uses a scale from 0 – 100, with 100 being equivalent to ingesting 50 grams of pure sugar.  To find the glycemic index of a particular food, a portion of the food that contains 50 grams of available carbohydrate is fed to test subjects (1).  The subjects' blood sugar response to that food is then measured and compared to the blood sugar response after ingesting 50 grams of glucose.  For exa

ctive to others. And it gets even worse -- you have reason to be concerned.

3) People judge others by how they look

It's a fact of life that people really do judge us by the way we look. The more attractive we are, the more strongly people are drawn to us. Studies have shown that people who are more attractive get promoted more quickly and make more money. You can insist on political correctness all you want, but it isn't going to give you that raise. And it's certainly not going to bring you more clients and customers.

Of course I agree that it's not fair to be judged by the shape of your body, but belaboring that fact is not going to give you the results you desire. If you want to achieve success and abundance, there's really just one question that's helpful: "What are you going to do about it so you can achieve the benefits below?"

The benefits of taking action

1) More confidence

I know how you feel - because I used to be more than 30 pounds overweight. Before I finally claimed the fit and healthy body I truly wanted, I was down and depressed. Now, I love meeting people and I even love being on stage and in front of the camera. There are no longer any worries about how I look. Instead, I'm free to focus on the reason I'm there.

2) More physical energy

You see, most people spend up to 70% of their energy just digesting their food. That doesn't leave too much for doing the kind of things that will boost your success. So if you can reduce that percentage to 50% by making your metabolism more effective, you'll practically double the energy you have available. Imagine the competitive edge all that new energy could give you.

3) More emotional energy

And you'll gain more energy in other ways as well... How long does it take you to find clothes that make you look good -- or at least as good as possible? Finding clothes that flatter a less than fit body can be a true project. Not only does it require extra time to go through your closet or a store's offerings to find something that camouflages those "bad" parts, but it also takes a lot of energy. How so, you may wonder...

Most people really beat themselves up in dressing rooms. Looking at the unvarnished truth in full-length mirror can be challenging indeed. But do you know how much emotional energy all that self-criticism can take? And chances are, you're also doing the same thing every morning when you decide what to wear for the day.

4) Success and abundance

You will begin to thrive in all areas of your life once being self-conscious about your body no longer holds you back.

Now, if you are ready to thrive, I'd like to invite you to claim your free Consumer's Awareness Guide and MindBody FX Book Preview which will give you the support to finally claim your fit and healthy body, double your energy, and boost your confidence so you can achieve true abundance.

2012年8月6日星期一

Health benefits of Organic Flax Seed oil

Flax seed oil also known as Linseed oil is highly recommended for general wellbeing and for whole body nutrition and is considered to be nature’s richest source of omega-3 fatty acids

Omega 3 fatty acids are needed for the health of almost all body systems. Flax Seed Oil contains omega-6 and omega-9 essential fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium, fibre, protein, and zinc and also provides approximately 50% more omega-3 oils than what you could get from taking fish oil.

Studies show that Omega-3 fatty acids found in Flax Seed oil help lower cholesterol. The EFA’s are also known to help protect the body against high blood pressure, inflammation, water retention and lowered immune function.

Flax Seed oil is known to reduce the risk of cancer, due to the high content of lignan in it. Research suggests that populations with a large amount of lignan in their diet show fewer incidences of cancer, especially colon and breast cancer.

Flax Seed oil is also known to help to lower cholesterol, protect against heart disease, promote the growth of healthy hair and nails, improve absorption of calcium, and help increase the metabolic rate, making it good for weight loss.

Flax Seed oil is also known to be helpful in the treatment of Eczema, Psoriasis, and Dandruff and can relieve some cases of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) in females.

Unfortunately, our current diets do not come close to meeting our daily EFA (essential fatty acids) requirements. It’s recommendable to take Flax Seed in oil form rather than capsule form, as about 10 -15 capsules makes for the recommended amount which is just short of 1 tablespoon of Flax Seed oil. The best way to ingest this is by adding it to your shake or smoothie to disguise the taste, although the taste according to many is not that bad and almost nutty.

2012年8月5日星期日

Strategic Steps for Success that Health/Fitness Professionals Can Take

1. Develop a winning attitude. Expect to succeed. Believe in yourself. See challenges in your professional career as opportunities for success. Be at your best when your best is needed. Keep all things in proper perspective. See the glass as half full rather than half empty.

2. Focus on the important factors in life. Know what’s important to you and what you want - both professionally and personally. Systematically expend your time and energy in a targeted manner. Do not allow yourself to be distracted or dissuaded from your priorities. In other words, always keep your eyes on the "prize."

3. Make success a habit. Be a creature of positive habits (e.g., exercise regularly and attend professional conferences and meetings). Be a "can-do" rather than a "make-do" person. Don’t procrastinate. Be trustworthy. Be adaptable to your circumstances as they exist (not as you’d like them to be). Don’t be satisfied with the status quo; continue to strive for improvement.

4. Commit to lifelong learning. Have a desire to learn. Be someone who is teachable. Never be content about how much you know. Exhibit a thirst for relevant knowledge concerning health/fitness. Try to maintain a competitive edge with regard to knowledge. Accept the fact that learning is an ongoing process. When in doubt, read, read, and then read some more.

5. Develop your memory. Never underestimate the exceptional value of a good memory. Do whatever is necessary to improve your memory. Keep in mind that your memory can assist you in a number of ways, including helping you navigate the daily deluge of information, enhancing your ability to learn, making the most of your efforts to influence the actions and behaviors of others, and helping make the best use of your time.

6. Think outside the box. Be an independent thinker. Reach decisions and make objective judgments based on your own experiences and observations rather than simply relying on the statements or opinions of others. Have confidence in your ability to think critically and act appropriately.

7. Have a plan to succeed. Identify and then address the various steps that need to be undertaken to enhance your level of professional success. Prioritize the steps and allocate the resources/ time to accomplish each step. Start executing your plan as soon as the necessary resources (if any) are in place. In this regard, adhere to the following basic rule of thumb, "do it right and do it now."

8. Be persistent. Stay the course. Exhibit a high level of industriousness. Be an overachiever. See every task you undertake through to its completion. Avoid the "law of least effort" (i.e., trying to get things the easiest way you can).

9. Accept responsibility. Have the courage to be answerable and accountable for your actions, obligations, and duties. Don’t blame others when things go wrong. Search for a solution, not an excuse. Don’t try to just get by; be motivated by excellence in everything you do.

10. Have a balance in your life. Always remember that life requires that you pay attention to every part of it. Don’t be a workaholic. Set aside time to work, exercise, and play. Make time for friends and family. As the traditional axiom states: plan your work and work your plan.

2012年8月3日星期五

Play More, Sit Less

 Based on the large number of over-tired parents of small children out there, it is usually assumed that these children are constantly on the move. However, research has found that children are sedentary 73 to 84 per cent of the time that they are awake. Additionally, even though we know that “screen time” can have many detrimental effects on child development both physically and socially, most children are now exposed to “screen time” too early in life and for far too long.

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) and ParticipACTION released Canada's first ever physical activity guidelines for the early years. Basically, the guidelines state that all children aged four and under should be moving more and sitting less throughout the day. The following guidelines are based on research of sedentary behaviours of children and are supported by the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (CHEO-HALO).

Physical Activity Guidelines:

Under 1 year old:  Activity several times daily.

Activity for this age group is usually “interactive, floor-based play” and includes supervised activities like tummy time, pushing and pulling, reaching and grasping, and crawling.

Age 1 to 4:

At least 3 hours per day.

Activity for this age group should be varied and spread throughout the day. It is encouraged to expose children to different environments so that they can develop movement skills like running, dancing, playing outside, and climbing stairs.

Age 5:

At least 1 hour of “energetic play” per day.

By this age, children should be engaging in at least 60 minutes of energy-requiring activities such as skipping, riding their bike, running, and hopping throughout the day.

Keep in mind that these are the minimum recommendations – more activity provides greater benefits in a child's life.

Screen Time and Sedentary Behaviours

Not only is it important to encourage physical activity at all ages, it is also crucial to limit the amount of time spent being sedentary each day. Sedentary behaviours are those that require little movement and include being seated or reclined for long periods of time. Common sedentary behaviours for children include: using computers, tablets, smartphones, playing video games, watching television or movies, and sitting in strollers, high chairs, or any other seat where the child is restrained.

The guidelines for sedentary behaviours for the early years are as follows:

Children should not be seated for more than one hour at a time.

Screen time for children under the age of 2 is not recommended.

Screen time for children aged 2 to 4 should be limited to less than one hour per day.

Keeping children active and minimizing sedentary time creates positive health habits that will, hopefully, continue as the child gets older. You don't have to go out and enrol your kids in every sport out there – it can be as simple as going outside to explore your neighbourhood instead of watching that 30 minute television show.

2012年8月2日星期四

Want to live longer? Exercise adds up

Want to live longer? The American Heart Association (AHA) reports for every hour of regular exercise, a person gains two hours of additional life expectancy. That’s even true, the AHA notes, if you don’t start until middle age.

The good news is you don’t have to get it all in one lump. The AHA says three 10-minute periods of moderate activity are almost as beneficial to overall fitness as one 30-minute session. And just 30 minutes has proven health benefits, the AHA says.

The AHA’s Go Red for Women campaign is on a mission to fight heart disease in women. Almost every minute, a woman in the U.S. dies from heart disease. Nearly five times as many women will die from heart attacks alone than will die from breast cancer. But there are ways to live a heart healthy lifestyle by eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, giving up smoking, and not drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.

It isn’t easy. If it were, we’d all be the perfect specimens. But those sobering numbers about heart disease should be a motivator for getting more fit. As a way to help, the AHA, in partnership with the Brainerd Lakes Heart and Vascular Center at Essentia Health - St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd put together a team of regular residents, both men and women, for its first Go Red Better U Heart Health Challenge.

The idea is to teach team members ways to improve their health and have them share what they’ve learned with others. That’s where this blog comes in. As one of the team members, I’ll be sharing those tips with readers.

One of our first sessions was on being more active throughout the day.

Activity counted as gardening, walking a little extra by parking farther way when running errands, working around the house, walking the dog. It’s all good.

Our office lives are helping kill us off in more ways than one. Besides increasing levels of job stress, we have gone from physically demanding work of past generations to exercising our fingers on the keyboard.

But it’s in your best interest to take a quick break, stretch by slowly tilting your head from one shoulder to the other and bending your head forward, roll your shoulders forward and backward. Stretches should be held for 10 to 30 seconds. Don’t bounce. And take a quick walk around the building.

If you want to lose weight, the activities in your life should include 60 to 90 minutes of exercise per day. Exercise is the workout that makes you sweat. It’s biking, hiking, jogging, brisk walking, playing tennis, among others. The AHA reported healthy adults, age 18 to 65, need moderate intensity exercise for 30 minutes at least five days a week or vigorous activity exercise at least 20 minutes, three days a week. Use a talk test, which means you are exercising hard enough that you only have enough breath to easily speak in short sentences.

Regular exercise promotes better sleep, helps lubricate joints, builds your immune system, benefits memory by increasing oxygen flow, relieves tension, anxiety, anger and depression and can decrease your chances of developing a host of cancers. Exercise also lowers blood pressure, benefiting the heart.

2012年8月1日星期三

Dish Network Fitness Shows

Are you a fitness lover? Or do you love to work out? Then you would definitely enjoy watching some amazing TV shows on fitness and exercise. DISH Network offers you a wide range of satellite TV channels which can bring you a wide array of fitness shows to fulfill your fitness needs. These fitness shows offer you a wide range of fitness trainings that can offer you a great entertainment and at the same time can give you a chance to learn some brand new fitness techniques. You will get to learn them all and you can try them at home too.

 Trying different new fitness techniques can be a great thing as it not only gives you confidence but also makes you look fabulous. If you can tone up your body your near and dear ones will surely like it and they will shower you with compliments. It is such an amazing feeling that no one wants to let go. But trying new fitness techniques everyday can be a little bit difficult as these techniques may not be suitable to you. In these cases you may need the help of the fitness and well being related shows on DISH Network channels. You will find this fitness shows both entertaining and educating.

 Do you want to join a yoga class to learn new stress relieving techniques? Why waste time? Just tune in to a DISH Network channel which offers you a good fitness relates show. Many of these fitness shows are hosted by some celebrated fitness experts. They will tell you about the right ways of doing exercise, yoga and free hands. You will also learn about a complete fitness training starting from the yoga to strength training. You will definitely enjoy watching the cookery shows.

 People often find it annoying that the postures featured in the DISH Network fitness shows often require a number of equipments and it is not always possible to get them all at home. Do not worry, there are wide arrays of fitness shows which can bring you poses that can be done with just a few equipments and the best part is that most of these equipments are easily available at home. So you will not find it hard to do the fitness training at home.

 During the weekdays you often have but a small time in hand in which you cannot always go for elaborate fitness training. But there are some fitness shows that will offer you some gym regime that can be done in a short span of time. So you can watch these fitness shows and do them quickly. This will help you save a lot of time on exercising. You will have a great time with the same. You may even record your favorite fitness shows and try them while playing the recorded show. This way you will be able to see the fitness training and try them accordingly. So, there will be no flaw in your postures. And you will get nothing but compliments from the near and dear ones who will see you all toned up.