Getting Back Into Shape

Some ask if losing weight should come before building muscle.

The standard caloric balance equation uses a formula of 3,500 calories equaling 1 pound. This means that in theory to lose 1 pound per week, you would need to create a deficit of approximately 500 calories each day below energy balance (the amount of calories it takes for you to remain at your current weight) either through food, exercise or a combination of both; 500 calories x 7 days/week = 3500 calories.

Effective fitness programs should include 3 major components: Cardiovascular exercises to primarily burn calories and increase stamina, strength training activities that promote muscle building, and flexibility or stretching exercises to help prevent injury (ACE, 2013). Resistance is key to building muscle and enhancing bone strength. There was a recent study that challenged the notion that the only way to build muscle is through heavy lifting (high weight/low reps). Researchers found that muscle gains were not only equally possible with low weight and higher reps, but that it may be easier and perhaps more appropriate for some populations to work out in this manner provided that the exercises are done to fatigue (Burd, 2012). It was the fact that individuals are working an exercise to the point of fatigue that appeared more important for muscle gains than the actual amount of weight lifted.

Therefore, an effective “get in shape” plan may include a simultaneous effort of reaching a healthy weight through reduced caloric intake coupled with a comprehensive fitness routine to help minimize lean tissue (muscle) loss along the way.

Top Excuses for not Working Out:

We all have our reasons for not working out. Some are legitimate. We're working late or nursing an injury, but often we're just talking ourselves out of exercising.

"We make excuses to reduce what's called cognitive dissonance," says Dan Kirschenbaum, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Medical School. "If we are committed to exercise and yet don't do it, the excuse allows us to feel less dissonance, or discomfort."

That's not to say you're lazy. It's a normal response. Get into the habit of working out. When you do that, your brain flips a switch and develops a "healthy obsession," which makes you want to get moving. Until then, here's how to overcome your top gym deterrents (as revealed in a Health.com poll).

The excuse: I'm too pooped.

The reality: It's the number-one reason you blow off workouts. Know this, though: Studies have shown that regular physical activity can improve energy. If you don't believe it, commit to a week of exercise and see if you notice a difference.

The excuse: There aren't enough hours in the day.

The reality: You're busy, for sure. If you work 50 hours a week and sleep eight hours a night, that leaves 62 hours for other things. The American Heart Association says 75 minutes of vigorous exercise is all you need to squeeze in each week to improve your health. Of course, something is better than nothing.

The excuse: Exercise makes me eat more.

The reality: Actually, if you work out at a moderate-to-vigorous level (think a brisk walk), a shift in hormones may help suppress your appetite immediately post-workout. In a recent study, researchers at Brigham Young University showed images of food who had just finished a 45-minute morning workout. Their neural response to the food was less than it was on non-exercise days. The researchers also found that you do not eat more on the workout day to make up for calories burned. Eat a snack right after your workout. Aim for a 150- to 200-calorie mix of protein, carbs, and healthy fats. It'll keep you feeling full so you don't eat back all those calories you just burned off.

Mental Health and Exercise

Want to alleviate stress or cope with depression? Exercise may help. Increasingly, there is evidence from researchers that certain levels of physical activity can positively affect mental health. A growing body of research over the last 10 years shows that physical activity and exercise also improve psychological well-being.  Published data show that people with higher levels of fitness are capable of managing stress more effectively than those who are less fit.  It appears that cardiovascular exercise is the method that most benefits stress reduction.  Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, performed three times a week (sessions lasting over 20 minutes) for up to 12 weeks, has the most influence on stress management.   Cardiovascular and resistance exercise seem to be equally effective in producing antidepressive effects.  Research does imply, though, that the greatest antidepressive effects occur after 17 weeks of exercise, although you can observe improvements after 4 weeks. The effects of exercise on depression seem the same for men and women.  The results of over 30 published papers show a link between acute and chronic exercise and the reduction of anxiety. It appears that even short bursts of 5 minutes of cardiovascular exercise stimulate anti-anxiety effects. The research also indicates that people who train for periods of 10–15 weeks receive the greatest beneficial effects. It appears that cardiovascular and resistance exercise can positively affect various mood states, including tension, fatigue, anger and vigor in normal and clinical populations. Plus, it has been shown that even a single session of 25–60 minutes of aerobic exercise (at low, moderate or high intensities) increases positive mood feelings while also decreasing negative mood feelings.  Let me know if you want a tailored program just for you.

Stretching Essentials

Before you plunge into stretching, make sure you do it safely and effectively. While you can stretch anytime, anywhere, you want to be sure to use proper technique. Stretching incorrectly can actually do more harm than good.  Use these tips to keep stretching safe:

·         Don't consider stretching a warm-up. You may hurt yourself if you stretch cold muscles. So before stretching, warm up with light walking, jogging or biking at low intensity for five to 10 minutes. Or better yet, stretch after you exercise when your muscles are warmed up. Also, consider holding off on stretching before an intense activity, such as sprinting or track and field activities. Some research suggests that pre-event stretching before these types of events may actually decrease performance.

·         Focus on major muscle groups. When you're stretching, focus on your calves, thighs, hips, lower back, neck and shoulders. Also stretch muscles and joints that you routinely use at work or play. And make sure that you stretch both sides. For instance, if you stretch your left hamstring, be sure to stretch your right hamstring, too.

·         Don't bounce. Bouncing as you stretch can cause small tears in the muscle. These tears leave scar tissue as the muscle heals, which tightens the muscle even further, making you less flexible and more prone to pain. So, hold each stretch for about 30 seconds. Repeat each stretch three or four times.

·         Don't aim for pain. Expect to feel tension while you're stretching, not pain. If it hurts, you've pushed too far. Back off to the point where you don't feel any pain, then hold the stretch.

·         Make stretches sport specific. Some evidence suggests that it's helpful to do stretches tailored for your sport or activity. If you play soccer, for instance, you're more vulnerable to hamstring strains. So opt for stretches that help your hamstrings.

·         Keep up with your stretching. Stretching can be time-consuming. But you can achieve the best benefits by stretching regularly, at least two to three times a week. If you don't stretch regularly, you risk losing any benefits that stretching offered. For instance, if stretching helped you increase your range of motion, and you stop stretching, your range of motion may decrease again.

·         Bring movement into your stretching. Gentle movement can help you be more flexible in specific movements..

Talk to your doctor or physical therapist about the best way to stretch if you have any health concerns. Otherwise, I can show you how to perform stretches correctly.

Obese Children at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: How Parents Can Help

There's no doubt that childhood obesity has become a nationwide issue, the future implications of which largely remain unknown. According to a new study published in the British Medical Journal, however, it appears we may have underestimated the severity of the issue.
Researchers from the University of Oxford examined data from nearly 50,000 school-aged children in developed countries to investigate the effect of body mass index on cardiovascular disease risk. They found that those who were overweight and obese exhibited greater risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, compared to those who were underweight or normal weight. Not surprisingly, the researchers referred to obesity’s effect on future cardiovascular disease as "substantial" and "concerning."
These findings are undoubtedly alarming, and may be the wake-up call our country needs to start taking more serious measures to eliminate this epidemic. According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years, and is largely a result of kids eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activity. Children today are exposed to a number of environmental factors that may make it difficult for them to make healthy lifestyle choices, including:

• fewer healthy food and drink options
• a lack of daily, quality physical activity on school campuses
• easier access to highly-caloric foods and sugary drinks
• increased portion sizes
• increased exposure to ads for unhealthy foods on TV and in the media
• limited access to safe recreation centers

As parents, you have the ability to empower your children to make healthy choices for themselves by modeling a healthy lifestyle and making adjustments to your own behaviors. “Changing our children's eating and exercise habits means we have to change our own, as well," explains ACE Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D. "If we are honest with ourselves, what we do and the example that we set greatly influences what our children do. It's vitally important that we as parents take on the responsibility of being good, healthy role models for our children when it comes to physical activity and eating sensibly. That means being more thoughtful in terms of buying food, planning meals and looking for opportunities to become more physically active as a family," adds Bryant.
Here are some practical tips on how you can positively influence your children's health and well-being:

• Limit the amount of junk food you keep in the house.
• Plan healthy meals in advance that the whole family can enjoy together.
• Try to get out of the habit of using food as a reward for good behavior.
• Plan ahead when you eat out so you can make wiser and healthier selections.
• Look for simple ways to move more as a family. For example, teach your kids the games you played as a child, such as tag, capture the flag, hopscotch, duck duck goose, or red rover.
• Train your children to connect movement with enjoyment. (Note: Many activities today tend to be conducted in a more structured environment, and many children have forgotten how to play just for the sake of playing.)

Three Things Every Exercise Program Should Have

A complete, safe and effective fitness program must include aerobic exercise, muscular strength and endurance conditioning, and flexibility exercise.

Aerobic exercise does good things for your cardiovascular system and is an important part of weight management. Muscular conditioning can improve strength and posture, reduce the risk of low-back injury and is an important component of a weight-management program. Flexibility exercise is needed to maintain joint range of motion and reduce the risk of injury and muscle soreness.

 

Aerobic exercise can be as simple as walking, jogging, jumping rope and dance-exercise are good forms of weight bearing aerobic exercise, which is any activity that uses large muscle groups in a continuous, rhythmic fashion for sustained periods of time and during which the individual’s body is not supported in some fashion.

 

How often should you exercise? Three to five days of aerobic activity is fine for general health maintenance. If you’re trying to lose weight, aim for five to six days a week, being sure you take off at least one day a week.

 

Pick calisthenics, free weights or machines. Just be sure that your strength training includes exercises for every major muscle group, including the muscles of the arms, chest, back, stomach, hips and legs.

Start with a weight that’s comfortable to handle and perform eight repetitions. Gradually add more repetitions until you can complete 12 repetitions. For greater strength conditioning, add more weight and/or more repetitions, in sets of eight to 12, when the exercise becomes easy.

Proper stretching involves holding a mild stretch for 15 to 30 seconds while you breathe normally. Always warm up before you stretch. Like strength conditioning, flexibility exercises should include stretching for all of the major muscle groups.

Healthy Ways To Eat Food

Eating out at a Restaurant may sometimes be difficult, because there are so many ways to prepare and cook the food.
Look for these terms for healthy and lowest calorie foods to eat: Look for grilled, steamed, boiled, poached, baked, roasted, broiled and braised.
Avoid battered, buttery, creamed, creamy, scalloped, fried, rich in cheeses sauce, holla

ndaise, bearnaise, tempura, with gravy, au gratin, Alfredo, breaded, croquettes, a la king, Newburg, and deep fried.

For sodium concerns, avoid smoked, broth, creole sauce, tomato base, fish sauce, barbecued, soy sauce, marinated, Parmesan, hoisin sauce, pickled, teriyaki, cocktail sauce, mustard sauce, and chili paste.

How to Stop Eating Your Anger

Sometimes, terrible instances happen.  It may be a  job loss, a house fire, a serious accident, a death, and certain frustrations. Does this bring you to an emotional low, and your weight to an all-time high? Sometimes, you internalize anger. Do you use food to deal with the depression, emotional hurt and reduced self-esteem that follows?  People who swallow their anger feel, for whatever reason, that they can't express it, so they resort to food.  Eating out of anger or frustration often sparks binges, which can really pile on the pounds.

The comfort of a sugar high is another factor. In the 1970s, researchers at MIT found that sugars and starches have a powerful effect on serotonin, a brain chemical that helps control both our emotions and our eating, which is why we tend to crave those types of foods when we're upset. Some of the newer drugs for anxiety or depression, such as Zoloft and Paxil, also help alleviate symptoms by increasing serotonin activity in the brain. So, in a very real way, eating two jelly doughnuts or a candy bar is a type of self-medication. This can lead to severe health issues!

If you can try to get some control, by working off any anger and stress by exercising, not by eating, you can begin to feel great!

If you suspect you often eat because you're angry or frustrated, what can you do about it?

Recognize that your life is never going to be trouble-free.
Put a name to what you are feeling.
Forgive yourself.
Beware of "You can't control me!" or defiance eating.
Take your emotional temperature each time you begin eating.
Install roadblocks to ward off emotionally triggered eating.
Reject lingering cultural baggage, like "Ladies don't get mad."
Jot down what you eat each day.
Don't expect to totally change your anger style overnight.

If you find that you spend a good portion of your time angry or frustrated and are overeating because of it, you may want to get help. The following peer groups often discuss issues surrounding emotionally triggered eating and are either free or have a nominal fee.

• Log on to Overeaters Anonymous or call 505-891-2664.
  
• Log on to Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) or call 800-932-8677.

Get Ready To Hit The Slopes

You don’t have to wait for the snow to start falling to get ready for ski season. Start your training now.

Skiing is an activity that involves a variety of elements: strength, endurance, balance and coordination. Hit the slopes without developing these components and you may be in for more than a little embarrassment, you might even hurt yourself.

This is where sport-specific training comes in. Generally speaking, sport-specific training programs involve focusing on the various skills associated with a particular activity.

A sport-specific program may also take into account skill-related measures of fitness such as agility, balance, coordination, power, speed and reaction time. Most sports require a mixture of these components.

Skiing is a sport that relies heavily on skill-related fitness. A traditional fitness program, which includes a combination of weight training and cardiovascular exercise, will only take you so far.

There are several ways to begin a sport-specific training program. The simplest way is to add several new exercises to your regular workout schedule.

Exercises such as crunches to work your abdominals are essential in creating a solid “core” for balance and agility.

It is important to train your body to withstand and absorb the impact associated with skiing. Plyometric movements, such as hopping from side to side, develop muscle power and strength as well as improve agility.

A great way to integrate these elements into your existing routine is to create a circuit-training program, which involves rapidly moving from one exercise to the next.

Use the slide for lateral training, perform one-legged squats to develop balance and strength and use a step-bench platform to improve power. Try catching a bean bag as it drops off your forearm to improve reaction times or bounce two balls to improve coordination.

Cardio or Weight Training First?

Working out is always good for you. The good news is that, whether you do it before or after weight training, cardiovascular exercise like running, swimming, biking or machine-work will improve everything from your heart health to your mood to your chance of avoiding many cancers. Lifting weights helps with everything from bone density to metabolism.

For those who are seeking weight loss, cardio should come first, but if gaining muscle mass is the goal, it's time to hit the weight room first.

"Doing cardio first will induce fatigue that may compromise technique and possibly increase risk of injury," explains Fabio Comana, director of Continuing Education for the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Exhausting one with a big run right before weights and resistance training doesn't just up the risk of injury; it also means you'll have less energy to throw into a really good weight training session.

On the other hand, if you're looking to lose fat, try doing interval cardio training before getting started on weights. The cardio will deplete your body's supply of glycogen, the stored form of glucose in muscle cells and a primary material in our energy storage. Once glycogen is depleted, the body turns to more long-term storage sources, like fat.

If your goal is strictly to have a lean body, not to be strongest, or most powerful, but achieve maximal leanness; try high-intensity interval training at the beginning of each workout.

But that doesn't mean weights aren't important for fat loss. In fact, when it comes to analyzing the percentage weight loss that's comprised of fat versus lean tissue like muscle, weights have cardio beat overall.

There may be other reasons for doing cardio first. If you have Type 2 diabetes or hypertension prevention and treatment is the priority, then do cardio over resistance. Some diseases are better managed with cardio first, then introducing resistance training.

It's important to get the opinion of a doctor and Certified Personal Trainer before proceeding. If you're exercising, no matter the order, you aren't doing anything wrong. Depending on your goal, you may want to choose one type of exercise over the other. Of course, you could alternate days and avoid the question entirely.