February 8th, 2008 — Nutrition, Personal Trainer
In the United States, bookstores are packed with best-selling diet books, and magazine racks overflow with diet plans and promises. Yet more than 90 percent of dieters regain their lost weight, and then some. With such a profusion of creative diets, why does the obesity rate continue to grow?
It turns out diets themselves may be the problem. Some experts believe people become so accustomed to dieting as a way of life that they lose touch with their natural relationship with food. Caught in a vicious circle of weight cycling, they punish themselves with dieting, rebel by overeating and shamefully return to dieting. Some research has shown that in addition to causing negative psychological effects, weight cycling can increase a person’s risk of developing diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Continue reading →
February 7th, 2008 — Fitness, Spritual Health
Who has time to worry about stress? After all, if we had time to manage our stress, we would not be stressed in the first place! This retort, unfortunately, is often our first response to the subject of stress. Yet no matter how busy we become in our daily routines, we cannot afford to ignore our reactions to stressful circumstances.
Stress has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, immune system disorders, certain cancers, alcoholism, obesity and more. In fact, recent research has strengthened the link to heart disease, suggesting that the way we handle stress may be a factor in whether we develop injured blood vessels or blocked arteries, two conditions that lead to heart attacks and strokes. Continue reading →
February 6th, 2008 — Fitness, Fitness Motivation, Personal Trainer, Workout Tips
Recent research results could hardly be clearer: Taking a walk is one of the best ways to take charge of your health. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (February 11, 1998) showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 8, 1997) reported that men 61 to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes, including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other research has shown similar results for women.
Besides the well-documented health benefits, the beauty of walking is you can go at your own pace. If you are new to exercise or recovering from injury or childbirth, you can aim to walk for 20 to 45 minutes four or five days a week at the good fitness walking speed of three miles an hour. When (and if) you want to power up, you can take longer walks and work up to walking each mile in 15 minutes or less. Continue reading →
February 5th, 2008 — Fitness, Personal Trainer, Workout Tips
Q. Why is it important to know your heart rate when exercising?
A. Monitoring heart rate during exercise provides an excellent measurement of intensity. Intensity, or how hard you are working, is an important factor in determining if you will improve your fitness level. Heart rate training takes the guesswork out of how hard you should be working to achieve the results you want. That’s why cardiovascular exercise equipment, such as treadmills or stationery cycles, have heart rate sensors, which are an easy way to monitor heart rate. Consult with a fitness/health professional to assure that you are exercising at the appropriate exercise intensity.
Sean Toomer, MEd
Life Fitness Academy Continue reading →
February 4th, 2008 — Fitness, Personal Trainer, Workout Tips
Imagine taking your trusty old three-speed–or your rugged new mountain bike–onto the open road for an exhilarating 40-minute ride. It’s a beautiful day . . . there’s a gentle breeze . . . and before you know it, you’re back home, tired but refreshed from a workout that seemed more like fun than work.
The simple pleasure of riding a bicycle is so appealing that this traditional pastime has been revived as a hot new way to exercise indoors–where weather, traffic, terrain and plain old lack of motivation are less likely to foil your good intentions.
Indoor cycling classes are popping up in gyms and studios around the world. If you haven’t witnessed the real thing, no doubt you’ve seen the advertisements: groups of exercisers huddled over stationary bikes, looking determined and even a little euphoric as they listen intently to an instructor and pedal their hearts out. Have you ever wondered about joining them? Continue reading →
