Entries Tagged 'Personal Trainer' ↓

Are you considering a water fitness program? More people than ever are exploring pool activity programs, and for good reason: Water fitness can improve strength, flexibility and cardiovascular health; decrease body fat; facilitate rehabilitation; improve functionality for daily living; and even enhance sports skills. Water fitness classes today offer more variety than ever before, but how do you find the right class for your goals, interests and skills?

We asked water fitness experts Mary Sanders, MS, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nevada at Reno, and Tatiana Kolovou, assistant director of fitness and wellness for the Division of Recreational Sports at Indiana University in Bloomington. They offered these recommendations for making sure your pool time is spent wisely. Continue reading →

When it comes to the Big Three of exercise–cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training–it’s pretty clear which one can get overlooked. After all, while we prize cardiovascular and strength training for their role in helping us lose weight, build muscle and get fit, the benefits of flexibility training are less immediately alluring.

However, as the population ages, more of us are learning to appreciate the rewards of stretching. Staying limber can offset age-related stiffness, improve athletic performance and optimize functional movement in daily life. Research shows that flexibility training can develop and maintain range of motion and may help prevent and treat injury. In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine has added flexibility training to its general exercise recommendations, advising that stretching exercises for the major muscle groups be performed two to three days per week. Continue reading →

Want to cut a few strokes off your golf game? Or thinking about trying golf for the first time? Whether you’re new or experienced on the greens, a sport-specific conditioning program can give you an edge. Even if a training program doesn’t help your score, it could keep you on the course rather than on the sidelines with a nagging injury, says Dawn Norman, MA, ACT, athletic trainer and golfer.

A good golf conditioning program emphasizes strength and flexibility, according to exercise researcher Wayne Westcott, PhD. The conditioning goal for golfers is a strong and flexible musculoskeletal system that maximizes swinging power and minimizes injury risk. The golf swing is one of the most complex and unnatural actions in sports, so it’s difficult to design sport-specific exercises. However, research has found that improved muscle strength and joint flexibility can increase swinging speed and enhance driving power. Continue reading →

 Here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies.

Diets & Dying

The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

CONCLUSION:

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

• It is well documented that for every minute that you exercise, you add one minute to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month.

• My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. Now she’s 97 years old and we don’t know where she is.

• The only reason I would take up exercising is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

• I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven’t lost a pound. Apparently you have to show up.

• I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.

• I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

• I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

• The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.

• If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

• And last but not least: I don’t exercise because it makes the ice jump right out of my glass.