iTrainer Blog - Fitness Advice, Personal Training, Weight Loss, MP3 Fitness - The MP3 Personal Trainer on Your iPod - Thursday, July 13, 2006

Fitness Fact 1. Studies have suggested that walking at a brisk pace for three or more hours a week can reduce your risk for coronary heart disease by 65 percent.

Fitness Fact 2. About 25 percent of American adults — and an even greater percentage of women — are sedentary. After age 44, upwards of 30 percent of women are sedentary, and by age 65, the proportion increases to almost 35 percent. By the time they reach age 75, about 50 percent of all women are sedentary.

Fitness Fact 3. Only about 22 percent of American adults engage in regular, sustained physical activity for at least 30 minutes five times a week, and only 15 percent exercise both regularly and vigorously.

Fitness Fact 4. No matter how poor your current level of fitness, you can start an exercise routine and become fitter and healthier. Even 90-year-old women who use walkers have been shown in studies to benefit from light weight training.

Fitness Fact 5. Simply adding movement into your daily routine can increase your level of fitness. For example, if you park in the last row of the parking lot and walk briskly five minutes each way between your office and your car, walk up and down the stairs at your office during your 10-minute afternoon coffee break, and walk the dog for 10 minutes when you get home, you've racked up 30 minutes of exercise for the day.

Fitness Fact 6. Women with heart disease or arthritis actually experience improved daily function from involvement in various modes of physical activity.

Fitness Fact 7. Fitness consists of four components: your body's ability to use oxygen as a source of energy, which translates into cardiovascular fitness; muscular strength and endurance; flexibility; and body composition.

Fitness Fact 8. To address all the components of fitness, an exercise program needs to include aerobic exercise, which is continuous repetitive movement of large muscle groups that raises your heart rate; weight lifting or strength training; and flexibility exercises or stretching.

Fitness Fact 9. Walking at a brisk pace (a 15-minute mile or 4 mph) burns almost as many calories as jogging for the same distance. The benefit of jogging is that it takes less time to cover the same distance and it benefits the bones; however, it may be too strenuous for some.

Fitness Fact 10. It takes about 12 weeks after starting an exercise program to see measurable changes in your body. However, before 12 weeks, you will notice an increase in your strength and endurance.

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Are you a smoker who would like to quit? Opinion polls show that a majority of people who smoke, would also like to quit. The reasons to quit are obvious—health, quality of life—and longevity being some of them. You know why you should quit, and may even have tried to quit several times, only to start smoking again. Remember, smoking is more than a physical addiction, it is a psychological addiction as well.

Here are some tips to help:

1. Make a list of times that you reach for a cigarette. Write down how you feel, where you are, and if you really want the cigarette or are just lighting up out of habit.
2. Set a "Quit Day" and make sure that plenty of people know about it. Accountability can be a GREAT motivator.
3. Find others who would like to quit with you. This will allow you to go through the experience with other people. When you feel like having a cigarette, make sure to talk to one of these people, or to someone else to whom you are accountable.
4. Find a time to quit when your stress will NOT be high. For example, a vacation would be a good time.
5. When you feel like smoking, wait a few moments to see if the feeling will pass.
6. Set times during the day that you will not smoke, such as when you are on the phone or in the car. Gradually increase the amount of time you are not smoking.
7. When you feel like smoking, distract yourself with a conversation or with physical activity.

You can become smoke-free for life. Millions have done it—you can too

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Are you a fast eater?

Do you blitz through meals like a chainsaw through soft wood? When you're at work, do you usually eat a quick lunch at your desk? Or even worse, eat breakfast or lunch in the car, on the way to work ot to appointments?

Well, as a reformed fast eater, I can tell you there's a better way. And slowing down your eating could make a big difference in your weight, your health...even your enjoyment of life.

First, let me explain what's happening when you eat fast.

Typically you're eating on the run or at your desk because you are very busy and trying to fit the meal in. So you're under time pressure. Not the most conducive environment for eating.

Eating fast puts tremendous stress on your body. When you gulp down your food, without really tasting or enjoying it, you mess with your digestive system.

More importantly, you're stressing yourself to the point that your body actually begins to release stress hormones, such as cortisol. This does three things.

First, it slows down the digestive process. Second, it slows down your metabolism. Third, it increases the amount of insulin in your bloodstream causing your body to deposit more fat from the calories you are taking in.

What a triple whammy on your body! Add in the indigestion you are likely to experience as you rush to that next meeting....it's definitely a recipe for eight gain and stomach problems.

If you're eating in such a way as to decrease your metabolism and promote
fat storage, then you're likely to a gain weight.

Excess weight can exacerbate other health conditions. And it makes it harder to get in gear and exercise to control or reduce your weight.

Eating quickly also causes major digestive problems. In fact, it's estimated that eating too fast is a major cause of acid reflux disease, or GERD.

A little factoid here: did you know that digestive aids and stomach relief medicines are the number one type of product sold over the counter in the U.S.? They sell more of these than they do painkillers.

What does that tell you about the stress that we are under - or more correctly,often put ourselves under.

Acid refluz is an incidence of inflammation in your body. Remember, inflammation is systemic: where there's smoke, there's fire. Inflammation in one part of your body can lead to inflammation elsewhere, such as heart problems, arthritis...even Alzheimers.

If you are interested in losing weight, or improving your enjoyment and quality of life, do like the French do: slow down.

Set aside the time to actually sit and enjoy your meals. Even if you can't do this for every meal, try to take more time more frequently. See how many meals per week you can eat in a more relaxed manner.

And free yourself from the chains of your desk. Yes, oh corporate hard charger, you CAN go out to lunch once in awhile. Or take your sandwich and drink outside to a park bench and soak up some sun while you are
dining.

Here's one more very important thing you can do, even when you don't have a lot of time for your meal.

As you begin to eat, take 5 to 10 deep breaths. And try to take some deep breaths while, and immediately after, you eat.

This will naturally and quickly relax you, allowing you to enjoy your meal. It will limit or eliminate the release of stress hormones. And it will literally ncrease your metabolism, so your body will more efficiently process and use those calories.

You'll burn more of what you are eating as energy. Your body will have less reason to deposit those calories as fat.

Trade fast eating for deep breathing....and see how much better you feel as you go through your day.

You Can Do It!

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Wanna lose belly fat, get healthier, and look better for spring? Then speed up your workouts! A recent study from Duke University found that people who perform regular higher-intensity workouts were able to significantly lower their abdominal fat levels and lose weight relatively quickly.

However, people who only did low-intensity exercise (like walking at an easy pace) for 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week did not lose any belly fat -- in fact they gained an average of 1 1/2 pounds over the course of the 8-month study!

According to Duke researcher William Kraus, MD: "All exercise helps prevent fat gain... but to lose abdominal fat, you have to work harder."

The 30-minutes-per-day, 5-days-per-week walking regimen that so many doctors and weight loss "gurus" recommend is certainly better than not exercising at all, and it may help to prevent weight gain. But, at least according to this study, it's not going to put a real dent in your fat stores.

There's a lot of evidence that abdominal fat is more dangerous than other types of fat. Studies have linked it to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. So getting rid of it is about more than just "looking good" -- though that's not a bad side effect. If you want to lose belly fat simply boost your exercise intensity, eat a healthy diet, limit alcohol intake, and try to reduce stress levels.

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Weight-lifting is one of the fastest ways to see changes in your body but too many people are scared away from it by horror stories of women turning into bulky Schwarzenegger clones as well as torn ligaments and other afflictions. The reality is nothing like that; women will firm up, not bulk up, and when you lift weights properly there’s practically zero risk that you will injure yourself. Don’t miss out on the benefits of weight lifting any longer; start one of these simple routines and be on your way to firmer muscles right away! Follow the exercises described below and incorporate them into your exercise plan at least three times per week, and you will start to see results in as little as three weeks. Pair you’re weight lifting up with daily cardio exercise and watch your body truly reinvent itself!

Begin by assessing your current strength level. If you are a member of a gym, the staff can help you determine the best weight for you, but if you’re a home exerciser, don’t worry. Invest in a good set of dumbbells that range in weight from three to ten pounds (more if you are an old pro at weight-lifting and expect to increase your strength considerably). Hold the 5-lb. weight in your dominant hand and do as many bicep curls as you can before tiring. If you can do more than 15 curls without feeling your muscle tire, you need to use a higher weight. On the other hand, if you were only able to do twelve repetitions or less, you should probably use a lower weight until you have built up more strength. Between twelve and fifteen reps means the five-pound weight is appropriate for you right now.

Once you have identified the right weight for you, the next step is to know the right form to use. Proper alignment is crucial to avoiding injury and getting the most out of your workout, so stand up straight as you move the weight and remember to keep your shoulders back and lifted and your head high. Imagine there is a string attached to the top of your head that is pulling your body straight. If you feel yourself begin to hunch over or slouch, stop and take a deep breath and then resume your good posture. Staying in alignment earns you the most results from your workout.

Build Upper Body Strength

This is a simple routine that you can easily incorporate to your preexisting workout schedule. Simply add these exercises three to four days per week and watch your muscles become shapely and defined.

Bicep Curl (tones front of arms)

The classic move, bicep curls can be underestimated and overused if you’re not careful. It’s not just about lifting a weight up and down; when done correctly, this can be one of the most powerful moves in your arsenal. Begin by holding one weight in each hand with your palms facing inward. Rotate your arms out so that your palms now face to the front and slowly lift the weight almost one hundred and eighty degrees until your palm and the weight face your shoulder. Slowly lower the weight back to its original position and then repeat. By slowing down the speed of the movement, you force the muscle to work harder than it would with the momentum of a fast action. This develops the bicep muscle faster and better. Repeat this move for three sets of 25 repetitions for each arm.

Tricep Press (tones back of arms)

The tricep muscle can be one of the most difficult muscles to develop primarily because most people do not use it very often in daily life. Running along the back side of the arm opposite to the bicep, the tricep muscle can turn flabby and droopy without exercise. The best move to tone saggy arms is to begin standing with feet shoulder-width apart with weights in hand. Take a giant step forward with your right foot, lean forward slightly and then raise the weights behind you with your palms facing the ceiling. Raise the weights toward the ceiling as far as possible and then slowly lower. Repeat this move for three sets of 20 repetitions: on the final repetition of each set, hold your arms up and gently pulse the weight up no more than a few inches. Asking your tricep muscle to squeeze every ounce of strength out of it will start to show serious results in a short amount of time.

Overhead Raise (tones shoulders)

Shoulders can be neglected when you focus on improving the arms, but having strong, healthy shoulders is vital to many everyday movements. Strengthening the shoulders will allow the arms to grow stronger as well and improve your overall upper body muscle. Begin by standing with weights in hands about shoulder height. Slowly lift the weights overhead and then lower. Repeat the movement for three sets of 25 repetitions. This move tones the muscles that run on top of your shoulder and increase performance from the bicep. When these muscles grow in strength, they complement each other and increase effectiveness as well as turning your muscles into lean, beautiful powerhouses.

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Who doesn’t want a more attractive bottom line? Exercise mavens note that shaping the glutes (gluteus maximus, the official name for the muscles of your tush) is the single item most likely to appear on the priority lists of both men and women on all ages. It tends to creep its way up the priority list over the years as age and nature take their inevitable toll on the bottom line. The loss of muscle mass that goes along with aging is the prime culprit in sagging tushes and dropping bottom lines. However, say a fitness expert, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything to tone your tush, even in the golden years.

If you’re looking to shape up your butt with just exercise, though, it won’t be that easy. According to Women’s Sports & Fitness magazine, it takes a combination of healthy diet, cardio exercise and specific shaping exercises to get that shapely, rounded and firm bottom that is everyone’s goal. Because the rear end is one of the body’s storehouses for fat, you can shape and firm the underlying muscles all you want – but it won’t make a difference if you can’t see them through the layer of fat that covers them. In addition, some of the best butt-sculpting exercises are ones that can be hazardous if you’ve been diagnosed with osteoporosis or arthritis. Here are the best tips for seniors who want to tone their tushes – the safe and fun way.

Before undertaking any exercise program, see your doctor to get his blessing. Exercise is a good thing – and most doctors will be happy to refer you to a professional who can help you design a workout program that’s perfect for you.

Take a good look at your diet and tune it up. Eating healthy will help keep that fat padding over your bottom to a minimum and let all the effort you’re putting into toning your tush show through.

The best toners for your tush are stair-climbing and jogging – exercises that work those gluteus muscles to the max. They also have the advantage of being aerobic – they’ll keep your cardio and pulmonary systems working at top capacity and reduce the risks of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis.

To get maximum benefit from your walking and jogging, you can add light weights to ankles. That way you also take advantage of strength and resistance training that can strengthen your bones and help improve your balance.

If your doctor or physical therapist Okays them, squat thrusts are amazingly efficient at sculpting your bottom into shape. Because one-leg thrusts put all your body’s weight on one leg, you’ll be practicing balance as well as improving your bottom line. Don’t do these if you have osteoporosis or any type of arthritis, though. The risk of compression fractures is too great.

If your doctor feels that jogging and stair climbing are too risky because of joint problems, it doesn’t mean you can’t work those glutes. Jogging and working out in water takes the pressure off joints and eliminates impact stress entirely, while increasing the benefits of most exercise because of the added water resistance. Check with your doctor to be sure, but most experts feel that water aerobics are an excellent alternative to high-impact and joint-stressing exercises like jogging.

Another alternative to high impact, weight bearing aerobics is chair aerobics. Seated exercise may sound like a contradiction in terms, but you can get one heck of a good workout for your butt with leg bounces, knee lifts and crossing scissor-kicks all without ever standing up on your own two feet.

Among the physical activities that are great for your bottom are golfing, walking, swimming, jogging, dancing and bowling. If a regular exercise program isn’t for you, engage in one of these activities three times a week (or three of them once a week or.. you get the idea) for at least half an hour.

A regular workout and exercise program that focuses on toning your tush is a great way to keep your body looking – and feeling – young and healthy. Don’t let a sagging bottom bring your spirits down – join in the fun and trim your bottom line.

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You’ve heard the stories: weight training makes women look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories, and more. While some fitness myths make sense on the surface, deeper examination proves these stories are simply made up and have little or no basis in reality. Let’s tackle five of the most common myths and check out the real story behind them.

1. No pain, no gain – Perhaps the most common myth out there is this one that says if you don’t feel pain when you exercise, you’re not doing it right. The truth is absolutely opposite: exercise done right should never be painful and professional trainers recommend that you stop your workout at the first sign of pain. The logic behind “no pain, no gain” says that you can’t expect good results without sacrificing something – twisted at best, downright sadistic at worst. Exercise should be something you enjoy or else you very quickly become disillusioned and drop it entirely. While an intense workout may create slight discomfort, it should never get to the point where you are in actual pain.

2. Training with weights bulks women up – Few women want to look like professional bodybuilders, so this myth scares thousands of female exercisers away from weights every day despite scientific evidence to the contrary. The physiological differences between male and female bodies decree that men have a higher percentage of muscle throughout the body; thus men tend to increase bulk with weight lifting. On the other hand, female bodies have a higher percentage of fat to assist with childbearing and have less muscle to build and bulk up. Weight training for women is aimed at producing stronger muscles that can take more stress and bounce back better than ever.

3. Exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories – This one seems like it should make sense since exercise burns calories and an empty stomach has no calories to burn. It seems like you would be ahead of the game! Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Your body needs energy to run, so when you exercise on an empty stomach the body has to find fuel somewhere else. The body tries to provide energy while looking for it at the same time and can get overwhelmed, resulting in the risk of dizziness or even fainting in extreme situations. The smartest choice is to have a small snack about ten to fifteen minutes before working out. Carbohydrates are the best source of energy, so have a small slice of toast or a banana.

4. Crunches are the best way of firming up the stomach – Too many videos and articles send the message that hundreds of crunches are the best way to correct a jelly belly but fail to take into account that most saggy abs are because of excess fat, not weak muscles. Simply doing crunches alone strengthens the abdominal muscles but doesn’t address the layer of fat over the muscles. You may see your stomach appear to grow larger since the muscles are gaining strength underneath the fat layer. The best strategy for getting firm abs is simple: burn fat and strengthen abdominal muscles at the same time. By using a two-pronged approach, fat that covers muscles is burned and the muscles are firmed at the same time, accomplishing your goal and giving you strong, sleek abdominal muscles.

5. Protein will help build muscles – Protein can do great things for your health but it won’t help you increase your muscle strength. Too much protein in your diet can lead to unintended health risks such as kidney strain or dehydration. Extra protein also packs extra calories into your diet that can result in extra pounds – definitely not what you want. The best source of fuel for weight lifting is carbohydrates – easily digestible by the body, carbs provide fast, consistent energy for the body and allow you to continue lifting weights longer. That alone is what builds strength, not the specific kind of food you eat. Provide your body with the right kind of energy to use and you’ll be able to build muscle better.

There are many more myths about health and fitness, but the best defense against false information is education. When you are confident that you know the right plan for your body, spotting myths become easy.

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The yoga craze of the late twentieth century ended up segueing into the Pilates craze of the early 2000’s but many people questioned the exercise value of both. Despite media hoopla, few people actually seemed to understand the physical benefits of either. The truth is that both forms of exercise have unique approaches to fitness and can provide significant benefits for the strengthening and conditioning of the body. Though similar in the focus on strengthening the body through isometric movements, the paths of yoga and Pilates ultimately diverge.

Yoga was developed over five thousand years ago in Northern India. It is first mentioned in the sacred Hindu text Rig Veda. During its first clear period, yoga was practiced and refined by Vedic priests, who documented the practice in their writings. Patanjali, who is considered by most to be the father of classical yoga, fostered the next phase of yoga’s development. Following Patanjali’s broad expansion of yoga and its meanings, Tantric yoga became accepted as the new form of yoga and concentrated on cleansing both the mind and the body. Yoga finally neared its modern form in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when more and more Indian yogis traveled to the West, sharing their art and increasing the world’s interest in yoga. The 1947 premiere of Indra Devi’s yoga studio in Hollywood became the opening bell to the American fascination with yoga. While most incarnations of yoga have had a strong spiritual element, modern Hatha yoga does not align itself with any religion or spirituality; instead it focuses primarily on the yoga postures and using them to reach and maintain strength and flexibility as well as inner calm.

Compared to yoga, Pilates is a spring chicken in terms of age. Joseph Pilates, who was born in Germany and suffered frail health as a child, created the program. Pilates overcame his childhood sicknesses through exercise and began to create a system of physical development that would later become his legacy to the world. In his thirties, Pilates traveled to England to work as a self-defense instructor to Scotland Yard but was forced into an internment camp during World War I. Despite the hardship of internment, Pilates went about his business within the camp, teaching his physical program to his fellow internees. During the terrible flu epidemic of 1918, thousands of people died, but none of Pilates’ protégés were affected. Following the war, Pilates returned to Germany but left for good when asked to teach his method to the German army. Settling in New York City with his new wife, Pilates opened his first fitness studio. He taught thousands of students until his death in 1967 at the age of 87. Trusted students carried on with the Pilates name and method, and by the early twenty-first century more than 5 million Americans were practicing Pilates.

Despite the wildly different histories, yoga and Pilates share the same focus on developing the muscles of the body and strengthening it by primarily using the body’s own resistance to build up power. The postures of yoga and the movements of Pilates are sometimes strikingly similar, but ultimately the two follow separate roads. Yoga has spawned a multitude of varieties that range from Kundalini to Iyengar to Tantric, though Hatha remains the most popular form in the United States. Many first-time yoga practitioners can find the pace to be overly slow or grow impatient while waiting to see results. The best candidate for Hatha yoga is a person who appreciates time to slow down, meditate, and spend quiet time with oneself, and does not become easily discouraged by failure to immediately master a pose. Yoga requires a certain measure of patience and while this can be developed through practice, lacking it can make the first several weeks of yoga practice very trying for a person. The good thing about yoga is that it rarely requires extra equipment. You will need a yoga mat to begin with but after that, accessories are optional. Blocks, straps, and other tools can be helpful, but are not required.

Pilates is a method that is fairly easy to master. It doesn’t call for complicated movements and is usually straightforward and simple to understand. The program’s movements also tend to build strength fairly quickly so that results are apparent sooner than in yoga. The ideal Pilates practitioner should be able to discipline himself to complete his routine every day, which is a large part of the method. Attending classes is a great way to start but for the maximum results, the method should be practiced daily to benefit the body. Pilates typically doesn’t require many props or accessories, though advanced practitioners will probably want to add machines or tools to their collection in order to maintain a high level of fitness.

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Pilates. Looks almost like Pirates, but sounds more like string cheese. Actually the pronunciation of Pilates is puh-lah-teez. So what is it? A weird kind of coffee drink like a latae? Something with pulleys? An odd way to say please?

To explain what a Pilates is you have to go all the way back to a gentleman by the name of Joseph Pilates. This poor guy was your typical 98 pound weakling and sickly to boot. He had no energy, no strength and quite honestly was in terrible health. Finally he decided to do something about his terrible condition. To do this he developed a health system. He may have been sick but obviously not dumb. This system consisted of yoga, Zen philosophy, and a number of exercises taken from ancient Romans and Greeks.

During the second world war Pilates was held in a German prison camp. While he was there he introduced these exercises to other prisoners at the camp. These exercises helped the prisoners maintain their strength and fight off illness. While he was doing this he also developed other techniques for working out on the floor or a mat. He started developing equipment as well that he made out of bed springs and other materials. This equipment was perfect for creating resistance which aided in strengthening the muscles. What he developed in this prison camp and what he taught the other prisoners is what was the start of the current Pilates movement. The modern version is a series of exercises made for the purpose of improving flexibility and strength through a series of stretching and balancing movements.

The group of people who are most attracted to this system are dancers, especially ballerinas. This should be fairly obvious as to why since dancing requires a lot of strength and agility and a great deal of flexibility. The regiment is also said to aid in preventing injury which dancers are very prone to. Pilates is said to strengthen the body from the inside out. And in addition to that the effect this system has on the mind is supposed to be very beneficial as it helps to relieve stress and anxiety.

Chiropractors highly recommend Pilates for the strengthening of the back and spine. They say after a sufficient amount of time using this system a person can expect increased mobility in the joints, a flatter stomach, thinner waist and thighs, and improved circulation.

Pilates is a low impact routine, meaning it does not cause a lot of stress on the body since there is very little bouncing as with other forms of exercise. This makes it very attractive to people rehabilitating from an injury who need physical therapy. It is also good for elderly and overweight people as it increases circulation and reduces weight gradually. For those with arthritis this is also a good routine as it helps ease stiffness in the muscles. It is also said to get women back into shape who have just had a baby.

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Getting and staying in shape doesn’t have to be dull and boring! Try some of these fun fitness activities to make your workout time more enjoyable.

MUSICAL EXERCISES – Put on your favorite music and do some yoga! No need for slow, elevator music. Move to your favorite beat. Or pop on the headphones or earphones and grab your MP3 or cassette player or handheld PC and bike to a nearby park. Too cold or rainy? Then head to a mall or other enclosed area where you can walk. Caution: make sure you are alert while listening to music with headphones or earphones.

FUN IN THE SUN – Check out the latest tanning solutions and try fun, scented versions with funky, multi-colored sunglasses. Grab your cassette player or MP3 player and favorite tunes. And pack some flavored water, new flavored health bar that you’ve been dying to try and some frozen berries in your carryall for breaks and have a “sense”-ational time.

FITNESS CLASSES – Try out a new fitness class for fun. Enjoy a full water aerobics workout with less stress on your joints. Grab some colorful water gear and swim to the beat. Or try a dance or Jazzercise routine. No need to commit long-term, just ask about popping in for a class or two to check it out and enjoy. Meet new friends and get fit all at once.

VCR / DVD – Head to the library or local rental store and grab a fun fitness video or DVD. Crank up the sound when your favorite tunes come on and join the taped workout participants in the privacy of your own home.

GYM / FITNESS CENTER – Dig out those coupons you’ve been receiving in envelop mailers and those money saving coupon magazines. Again, no need to commit long-term. Just head on over and use the free or low-cost trial / invitational period and enjoy!

JOURNALING – Spice up your logging routine with an inexpensive new journal from a discount or dollar store nearby. Crate snazzy charts with colored markers. Add bright colored stickers for each workout. Paste or tape clipped pictures of your goals throughout the covers and inside sections. For example, paste pictures of that vacation spot you want to travel to with your new, healthy YOU wearing a new swimsuit.

So add some fun in with your fitness activities. Wake up your senses with new taste, smells, sights, touches and sounds. Forget that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” stuff. Workouts plus play make Jack a fun, fit boy!

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When you’ve got a busy schedule crammed full of meetings and work, you don’t have time to mess around with your workout. You want to get the best results possible for the time you invest – the good news is that you can get extra benefits with just a few simple changes to your workout!

1. Keep proper form.

One of the most common mistakes in exercise is not maintaining the right form during the workout. Bad form can lead to muscle pain and stiffness but, more importantly, bad form prevents you from burning as many calories as you normally would. Maintain good posture during exercise and you’ll build more muscle faster!

Take giant steps.

During your cardio workout, take deep, wide steps to shape up your thighs and buttocks. By taking a larger step than normal, you require more effort from your muscles – more effort equals more strength and shapeliness. Short, shallow steps don’t place enough stress on the muscle to produce fast results, but when you change to bigger movements, you start to see serious muscle taking shape. The same concept is true for running as well: runners who take long, deep strides burn more calories and cover more distance than short-striders.

Listen to your breath

During a cardio workout, check your breathing to see how hard you’re truly working. If you can carry on a conversation with ease, it’s time to increase intensity. How to know when you’re at the right level? The general rule of thumb is that when you can sing the national anthem but need a breath after every phrase, you’re most likely at the appropriate level for your needs. You should never work out so hard that you can’t talk or begin to feel faint.

Double up your workouts.

Add weights to your cardio routine (or vice versa) and you can start to see results within three weeks! You really see the best of both worlds by using interval training. Interval training is highly effective because you introduce your body to a new challenge every five minutes or so. Traditional cardiovascular exercises focus on building aerobic capacity while weightlifting concentrates on increasing muscle strength. Combining the two into one interval training workout means you get benefits from both!

Add variety.

The fastest way to become disillusioned with your workout is to do the same thing over and over again, plus your body can become conditioned to the movements and fail to burn as many calories as you would like. Avoid all this by surprising your body with new and different challenges at least once a week. If you typically run several times during the week, try hiking at a nearby park. If you’re a Spinning devotee, take a Pilates class instead. The ultimate switch-up for most exercisers is swimming: an exercise that requires much more aerobic and muscle strength that imagined. Do a few laps in the pool and you’ll see what I mean.

Challenge yourself.

Set a goal for yourself every week that is beyond your normal effort. Try lifting weights that are five pounds heavier than you normally use, or walking three miles daily rather than two. Small goals like this are easily attainable and can make big changes in the results you see from your workout.

Introduce yourself to stretching.

Stretching is sometimes the crazy uncle of the exercise family – nobody really wants to talk about it, but the fact is stretching is key to getting more out of your workout. Stretching assists in muscle recovery from strenuous workouts and can prevent soreness that might stop you from working out. Your entire body feels more comfortable when you have strong, flexible muscles. Spending a few minutes when you wake up and again before and after your workout really add up in terms of flexibility.

Don’t exercise on an empty stomach.

Sure, it may seem efficient to work out when you haven’t eaten in hours but in reality it’s a bad decision. When your body’s fuel supply is low, you start feeling sluggish and slow – definitely not the ideal mood for a productive workout. An empty stomach does not equal more calories burned.

9. Snacks, not meals, provide the best fuel.

After dining at the all-you-can-eat buffet, you may feel like you should work out just to compensate for overeating, but don’t do it. Exercising on a full stomach can lead to cramps, upset stomach, and/or diarrhea because your body is trying to digest the meal and also provide you with energy at the same time. The best way to fuel your body without nasty side effects is to have a small snack 15 to 30 minutes before you exercise. Ideal snacks include foods with adequate carbohydrates: bread, cereals, and rice.

Drink plenty of water.

You’ve heard it over and over, but it really is true: water will help you lose weight. Water helps fill your stomach to stop hunger pangs and keeps you alert throughout the day. When you become dehydrated, your entire body slows down and works much less efficiently. Working out causes you to lose hydration through sweat, so it’s important to replace lost water after a workout.

We all run short on time these days but by incorporating one or more of these simple strategies you can maximize your workout time and see fantastic results fast!

Your personal trainer home.

While most of us know that consuming excessive amounts of fat will make us fat, we don't all understand exactly why this is true. To implement a successful weight management program, you need a good understanding of fat and why this nutrient makes us fat.

The amount of energy a particular food has depends on the quantity of fat, carbohydrates, and protein it contains. Food energy, both in its consumption and expenditure, is measured in terms of calories. Foods are either made up of fats, protein, carbohydrates, or a combination. A food that contains mostly fat will contain more than twice the calories than a food containing mostly carbohydrates and/or protein. For example, compare a serving of low-fat yogurt to a serving of nonfat yogurt--the low-fat yogurt has quite a few more calories than the nonfat variety because every gram of fat has more than twice the calories of a gram of protein or carbohydrate. Fat contains 9 calories per gram; protein and carbohydrates yield only four calories per gram. Therefore, it is important that you move towards replacing foods high in fat with foods higher in protein and complex carbohydrates.

No more than 25 percent of your total calories should come from fat, fewer than 10 percent from saturated fat, the most damaging form. A recent study of 23 lean men and 23 obese men found little difference in the total number of calories each group consumed. But the obese men consumed, on average, more than 33 percent of their total calories from fat, compared with 29 percent for the lean men. Because the body converts dietary fat into body fat more easily than it converts protein and carbohydrates into body fat, the obese men were storing more fat even though both groups consumed the same total number of calories.

During the process of converting protein and carbohydrates to fat, your body uses them as energy and burns more than a quarter of their calories; it takes more energy (calories "burned") to convert carbohydrates and protein into body fat than it does to convert dietary fat into body fat. Thus, more carbohydrate and protein calories are used and fewer are stored as fat. Dietary fat, on the other hand, goes straight into storage, with very few calories being used. For example, John consumes 2,000 calories a day of which 40 percent come from fat. If John replaces half of the fat calories (20 percent of total calories) with calories coming from complex carbohydrates, less food will be converted to body fat even though the total number of calories consumed has not changed.

It is important to note that when that 20 percent of the 2,000 calories from fat now comes from carbohydrates (or protein), you consume a lot more food, since each gram of carbohydrate or protein contains less than half as many calories per gram. Therefore, when you begin to decrease the amount of fat in your diet and replace it with carbohydrates and protein, even if you still consume the same amount of food as before, you will be consuming a lot fewer calories.

If dietary fat were easy to control, most "diets" would probably succeed. Even with the recent explosion of low-fat and nonfat products, people generally still eat too much fat. The reason is simple: We have grown up loving fat, and we are accustomed to its taste and texture. Although most people do not usually crave fat as they do sugar or salty foods, we do have a strong taste preference for fat. Fat is responsible for the flavor and texture of many of our favorite foods: meats, cheese, dressings, sauces, creams, desserts, etc.

Because a high-fat diet increases fat storage and yields more than twice the amount of calories, the most effective way to reduce body fat is to concentrate on reducing your daily fat intake. Even if you do not consciously lower your total caloric intake, making the switch to a low-fat diet will most likely result in fat loss. However, attempts to suddenly restrict high-fat foods when you still have a strong preference for them causes feelings of deprivation which may, in turn, cause a higher intake of fat than normal. Deprivation is part of the "diet" process, and one of the main reasons it is doomed to fail. It is very important to make gradual, healthier changes to the foods you enjoy. Drastic changes backfire. When people base their food choices on the number of calories consumed and a "foods allowed/not allowed" list, the focus is on numbers rather than satiety and enjoyment of the foods' taste and texture. This often negates any positive effect the original focus on choosing low-fat foods may have had. Simply counting calories and grams of fat does not make for a permanent healthy lifestyle change. If tastes do not shift to enjoying foods lower in fat, this quickly becomes too restrictive and normal eating habits resume.

I'm not saying that you should avoid counting grams of fat altogether. The way to lower fat in your diet is to become a fat-conscious eater--and this requires that you know the amount of fat in each food. However, instead of counting fat grams and deciding if it is a "good food" or a "bad food," try to balance the foods you are eating so that you average 25 percent or less of your total calories from fat each day. It's okay to have a piece or two of high-fat pizza (pizza can be low-fat) if you are truly hungry and craving it, as long as you balance that out with low-fat foods at other meals soon after. What's crucial is to learn how to make small healthier changes. Consume fat in moderation by balancing higher fat foods with lower fat foods.

You should now have a better understanding of fat and why excess consumption of this nutrient makes us fat. Your greatest challenge, however, is not learning new low-fat shopping or cooking techniques. Nor is it remembering how to calculate fat percentages or what to say to the waiter to reduce the fat in your restaurant meal. The greatest challenge facing you at this moment is deciding whether you are willing to make a change--to make small, gradual changes to the foods you love.

Sure, there is plenty of work to be done, but it really doesn't matter how long this new process takes. If you allow changes to take place over several years, your body will adjust comfortably, and you will be more likely to maintain the healthy lifestyle permanently. When you begin achieving improvements in energy and physical and psychological performance, the fun and excitement you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.

This article was provide by Chad Tackett, President ofGlobal Health and Fitness. Please visit his site at www.global-fitness.com

A safe and effective weight management program is not a plan that you go on and start over when you've been "bad." You must become flexible enough to allow it to become a comfortable, enjoyable way of life. Then these healthier habits will work with you and for you rather than against you. As you experiment, you will discover what works best for you.

Diets teach us that changing our exercise and eating habits are short-term projects rather an improved lifestyle. Headlines and advertisements everywhere read "Lose 30 pounds in 30 days," and most people believe them. They go on and off diets, start and stop exercise programs, and their weight--and self-esteem--go up and down. Unfortunately, most people don't realize that there is a real alternative to diets, so they jump back on the diet roller coaster when their weight goes back up or a new miracle diet comes on the market.

In order to break free from the diet mentality, you need to view these healthier changes you're making as part of a permanent lifestyle transformation. To gain the lasting benefits of this program, it is important to re-orient short-term thinking towards realistic goals.

Goal setting is a great way to stay motivated and achieve the results you deserve. Unfortunately, many people set goals simply to look better in the short run and not for the other many benefits a healthy lifestyle offers us in the long run. For example, setting a short-term goal of losing 10 pounds for a class reunion isn't helpful. Once the reunion is over, most people will either revert to their previous habits because the special event is over or simply quit all together because the goal they set was unrealistic.

Living a low-fat lifestyle and decreasing your body fat takes a long-term commitment. Trying to do it all at once, however, only makes you frustrated and discouraged. Instead, set a realistic long-term goal; then achieve it by reaching smaller, short-term goals. For example, if your goal is to decrease your body fat by 10 percent, shoot for modest goals, such as decreasing your body fat by one percent each month. Decreasing body fat slowly is not only the safest and most effective way, it is also the most realistic. Every goal, short-term or long-term, should be one that is truly attainable.

Every goal should also be one that you are in charge of. Setting a short-term goal where you are in charge, such as exercising four times a week, will help you achieve your long-term goal. Remember--and remind yourself: each time you reach a short-term goal, you are one step closer to achieving what you really want: a healthier, more attractive body.

Focusing on how you're going to look and feel at some time in the future prevents you from enjoying the way you look and feel today. Focusing instead on the day-to-day process rather than the end result paradoxically brings about a better end result. Thinking only about the future reminds you of how far you still have to go rather than focusing on what you should do today.

If you happen to overeat, or eat a high-fat meal, or skip a workout, enjoy it; don't worry about it ruining your program or your future. Shift instead to living low-fat and healthy the rest of the day. By taking it one day at a time, you can do a better job of concentrating on what's working for you and what's not, how you're feeling and what you're thinking.

For example, perhaps you've just enjoyed a low-fat version of your favorite pizza, using healthy cooking techniques you recently discovered. You can't believe how great it tasted and how easy it was to prepare. Focusing on this present moment, when you're feeling satisfied, energized, and confident, helps you stay more balanced in your decision-making about food and exercise. On the other hand, reflecting on this scenario from a future focus might leave you feeling overwhelmed: "Boy, do I have a lot still to learn about healthy cooking. I'll have to experiment with my favorite foods for the rest of my life!"

Setting small goals and acknowledging all the small achievements on your path are essential to successful change. Remember, successful programs are for life--take it one day at a time. Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the many great benefits of a succussful weight management program.

Your Weight Loss home.

Flexibility is one of the key components of a balanced fitness program. Without flexibility training (stretching), you are missing an important part of overall health. Flexibility prevents injury, increases your range of motion, promotes relaxation, improves performance and posture, reduces stress and keeps your body feeling loose and agile. Although there is still some controversy over which flexibility exercises are the best and how often one should stretch. Most fitness professionals agree that the principles and guidelines of flexibility training that are about to be discussed are the safest and most effective.

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One way to stay motivated is to constantly remind yourself that a worth-while pay-off lies ahead; a new, healthy, strong you is emerging. Effective, consistent exercise will not only improve your overall health and fitness, but will also improve your appearance, energy level, and social interactions. Also, look forward to the many psychological benefits as well: confidence, self-esteem, and relief from depression, anxiety and stress.

If you are serious about your health and well-being, you will take action and begin an exercise program, and you will benefit in all these ways. Once you see the results, you will become even more motivated. Action creates motivation!

Set Goals

Goal-setting is another great way of staying motivated. Goals focus your workout program and clarify what you are trying to achieve. As you attain each goal, you gain encouragement and further motivation. Here is how to achieve the goals you set and obtain the results you deserve.

1. Make sure your goals are measurable: A vague goal, such as "I want to be fit," gives you nothing to shoot for. Decide when and what you are going to achieve, such as "I want to lose 2 percent of my body fat by August 1st."

2. Be realistic: Make sure your goals are attainable. If you set your expectations too high, you will get frustrated and will be more likely to quit. Make sure, however, that your goals are not too easy; they should be challenging. When you achieve a challenging goal, your pride and satisfaction will create more motivation.

3. Set short-term goals as stepping stones to your "ultimate" (long-term) goals: If your long-term goal is to bench press 200 pounds in one year, then set short-term weekly or monthly goals of the weight you will need to bench press to achieve your long term goal--develop a plan. It is a lot easier to accomplish a goal one day or week at a time, such as increasing 2.5 or 5 pounds a week, than it is to think that you need to increase your bench press by 50 pounds.

Make It Fun

Another way of assuring that you stay motivated is to make exercise fun. If you perceive your workout as a chore, you more than likely will not stick with it. Here are some techniques for making your workout something to look forward to.

1. Add Variety: If your weightlifting is getting tedious and boring, change one of these factors:

(a) Vary how often you do an exercise and the number of sets and reps you do.
(b) Find an alternate exercise; for example, if you always do the bench press using a barbell, try doing it with dumbbells or on a machine.
(c) Change the order of the exercises you do for each muscle group and the muscle groups themselves.

2. Include Friends and Family: Training with a workout partner not only makes your training session more fun, safe, and intense, but will also increase the likelihood of your showing up at the gym. Make sure you pick a partner whose goals and interests are similar to yours and who is willing to spot you correctly and motivate you to do your best.

3. Fight Discouragement: If once in a long while you blow off a workout because you choose to go out with friends, just accept and enjoy your choice--do not feel guilty. Otherwise, the sense of failure can make it harder to get yourself back on track. Focus on how much progress you have made so far, not on how far you have to go.

4. Expect and Prepare for Plateaus: If you feel you have reached a plateau and/or are bored, do not give up--this is a natural part of working out. Make sure to vary the exercises, sets, repetitions and order of your workout--continually search for new ways of making your routine fun and exciting.

5. Schedule your Workout: If you always exercise on the same days at the same time, your routine will become a fixture in your life, not a whim. Not going to the gym will feel unnatural. Including exercise into your busy schedule will be an adjustment, and staying motivated will be equally challenging. Change is difficult for many people. However, if you have the willingness to work through the initial emotional discomfort as you move step by step through a safe and effective program, you will find the confidence, commitment and determination that will ease the way.

When you begin achieving great results, the excitement and fun you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.

This article is for those of you who have very limited time to devote to exercise, but are serious about getting or staying in shape. Most fitness experts agree that even devoting 30 minutes to strength training two or three times a week is sufficient for strength and muscle development. Many people make the mistake of adding more exercises and sets to their program to make it harder. To increase intensity, do not look for ways to do more exercise, look for ways to do the same or even less, by efficiency. Try to increase the intensity and shorten your workout time by using the following methods.

1. Make sure exercise is convenient: Getting to your exercise equipment should be easy and convenient. If you have to drive a half an hour to get to your gym, you will view working out as a chore. If you spend more time traveling to the gym than you do in the gym, you might want to consider a program that you can do in your home. Muscles do not care where the resistance comes from--they are going to respond. Resistance can be from body weight (push-ups), Thera-band® (rubber resistance), free weights, machines, or a combination of any of these.

2. Work several muscles in one exercise: Another way to fit weightlifting into your busy schedule is to choose exercises that work several major muscle groups at the same time. Squats or the Leg Press (you can find the instructions and video demonstrations for these and many other exercises on my site) works the quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks, and calves. Essentially, you will be training four muscle groups at the same time with these exercises.

3. Limit resting time: Skip the usual minute or so of resting time between exercises. You can do this by doing Supersets, which involves doing two or more successive exercises for a given muscle group without rest in between. This can be done one of two ways: The first is to do two or more exercises in a row for the same muscle group without any rest in between. For example, do a set of the Shoulder Presses and follow them immediately with a set of Lateral Raises. This saves time and forces a lot more blood into the shoulders and provides a more intense and effective training stimulus for the shoulder muscles.

The second way to do supersets is to train two opposing muscle groups without any rest in between. You can use this superset style of training for two different muscle groups, but only if they have an agonist/antagonist relationship with each other. In other words, on any given lift one muscle is contracting and the other muscle is relaxing (such as the biceps and triceps when performing a biceps curl). Choose muscle groups that are physically close together such as biceps and triceps, or chest and back, or quadriceps and hamstrings.

4. Have alternate exercises for each muscle group: This is especially important for those who are pressed for time. Often there will be someone working on the piece of equipment you want to use. You should always have a back-up plan, an alternate exercise that trains the same muscle group.

I hope you found this information helpful. Your greatest challenge is not learning new exercises or the proper technique; it's not learning how many sets or reps to do or how much weight to use. Nor is it deciding when or how to change your routine. The greatest challenge facing you at this moment is deciding whether you are willing to take action and make time for yourself and make strength training a priority.

When you begin achieving great results, the excitement and fun you experience will make the change and time you've spent well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of an effective strength training program.

Your Personal Trainer home.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a safe and natural way to build more muscle in a shorter period of time? In this day and age of exercise gimmicks and quick fix solutions, most smart bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts would be skeptical if they heard such a claim. But guess what? Such an "animal" really does exist. No, it's not a drug. It's not some miracle supplement, either. Nor is it a newfangled piece of workout machinery. If you've been training seriously for any length of time, it's something you're probably already familiar with but haven't fully exploited to the maximum degree. What is this method for building more muscle in less time? Surprise, surprise; it's called supersetting!

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Success can be measured on a number of levels. It's important to measure your progress by the new healthy habits you're adopting as well as by your appearance. Long-term decreases in medical problems, injury, and other health risks and an improved quality of life, with or without weight loss, are the most important measures of success

Short- and medium-term changes can also be measured regularly during the process. These include obvious changes in health-related behavior patterns such as a decreased reliance on medications, increased ability to perform physical activity, a reduced intake of fat, and the increased intake of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals in your diet.

If you've started making slight changes in how your food is cooked or prepared, or if you're reading labels at the grocery store and are discovering new tastes and textures, you're making great improvements towards a healthier lifestyle. When you feel good about yourself and acknowledge the changes you're making along the way, you're more likely to keep moving forward on your path.

Physical indicators of progress towards a healthier body fat distribution include the waist circumference and waist-hip ration (WHR). Because abdominal obesity has consistently been associated with risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, any reduction in the waist circumference or in the WHR is a positive step towards a healthier body fat distribution, regardless of weight loss.

Another good way of determining physical progress is having your body fat measured by either hydrostatic weighing, electrical impedance, or simply by using skinfold calipers. This latter is by far the cheapest and most accessible. Although it is not as accurate as the other two methods, it can at the very least give you a beginning point from which you can easily measure decreases in body fat.

However you decide to measure your physical progress, never use the scale as an indicator. Your weight does not reflect how healthy you are or the progress you've made. When you step on the scale, your weight reflects the combined total of both your lean body weight (muscle, bone, organs, fluids) and body fat weight. Two people with identical body weights do not have the same body composition; they could, indeed, have entirely different body types. For example a 170-pound man might have 60 pounds of body fat and 110 pounds of lean body mass. A healthier, more muscular man might only have 25 pounds of body fat and 145 pounds of lean body mass. Even though these two individuals weigh the same, one is in much better shape than the other.

Using the scale to measure your progress gives you no information about the body composition (fat vs. muscle) changes that are actually occurring. The scale may show that you've lost seven pounds, but it can't tell you that half of the weight was muscle and water, not fat. Similarly, people become discouraged when they haven't lost any weight, even though they have actually lost pounds of fat and replaced them with pounds of firm, fat-burning muscle.

Developing healthier eating and physical activity habits will most likely result in a loss of body fat even though the scale may indicate that you weigh the same. Learn to use other methods of determining body composition and pay more attention to improvements in how you feel, in your self-esteem, and in your physical appearance.

Height/weight charts and other tables such as the BMI (Body Mass Index: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters, squared) have similar limitations when used as an indicator of progress towards a healthier lifestyle for several reasons. First, these formulas are not always related to how fat you are since they don't take into account body composition/fat distribution. Many people who are muscular or short and stocky have a high BMI, even though they are not necessarily fat or at high risk for disease. Second, the BMI is only appropriate for adults 20-65 years of age. It cannot account for patterns of growth in adolescents or in the elderly, who may decrease in height with age. Third, the focus is still on changing one's weight to produce a lower BMI (since it's not possible to increase one's height). This continues to promote weight change as the ideal way to improve health.

Don't forget to notice and acknowledge improvements in energy, performance, self-esteem, and the many other benefits you'll gain from this healthier lifestyle: improvements in health risk factors and medical conditions, improved quality of life and psychological functioning, healthier eating, and more enjoyable physical activity. Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.

This article was provide by Chad Tackett, President ofGlobal Health and Fitness. Please visit his site at www.global-fitness.com
 

Most people have experienced painful muscle pulls, yet when it comes to treatment, deciding on the best course of action can be puzzling. This article describes tendonitis and bursitis (two painful conditions that affect muscles); gives tips on how to talk to a health care practitioner about an injury; and explains when to treat with heat versus ice.

Tendonitis and Bursitis
Tendonitis and bursitis are two common musculoskeletal conditions. Tendonitis is inflammation of a muscle tendon. Tendons lie at the ends of muscles, where they attach to bones. If a tendon is inflamed, acute or chronic pain occurs with movement of the muscle or joint. Bursitis is inflammation of a bursa. Bursas are fluid-filled sacs surrounding joints or muscle tendons; these sacs function to guide and lubricate the muscles and joints. Symptoms of bursitis include severe pain, especially in response to touch or movement, and limited range of motion. Health care professionals diagnose tendonitis and bursitis by palpating, examining and taking a history of the injury.

Fortunately, if tendonitis or bursitis is not severe, it may heal without any long-lasting effects. Complete healing time can range form two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the injury and adherence to a good treatment plan. Restoration or proper joint motion, rehabilitative stretching and strengthening, and physical therapy are extremely effective. These treatment methods help alleviate pain, prevent tissue scarring, and return the injured area to as close to normal function as possible. An injury is less likely to heal completely with competent care.

When You're Injured
When you get injured, it's best to consult a reputable health practitioner who knows about musculoskeletal health and injuries. Receiving a specific diagnosis for you injury is important. Ask if the injury is a muscle strain or tear, a tendon pull, a ligament sprain or an irritated bursa. Don't settle for a general diagnosis, such as, "Something in your hip is inflamed." Ask for specific treatment and get the name of the particular muscle, bursa or ligament involved. Muscle names can be long and difficult to pronounce. If you're not familiar with the name your doctor gives you, have him or her write it sown so you can look it up later.

What if you can't get immediate help? Remember the acronym "RICE" for strains and sprains:

Rest the affected area and avoid further injury.

Ice the area for at least 10 minutes every two to three hours to decrease pain and swelling.

Compress the area with an elastic bandage or wrap to minimize swelling.

Elevate the area to facilitate fluid drainage from the injured site.

Ice Versus Heat
Determine whether to use ice versus heat by keeping in mind the condition of the involved tissues.

Ice
Ice numbs the area, reducing pain. It also constricts blood vessels, limiting blood supply to the injured site. This action decreases swelling. Ice can also decrease muscle spasms. If an area is painful to move or swells after exercise, use ice. The best way to use ice is to apply a pack to the painful area for approximately 15 minutes every two hours following an injury. For general irritation, use an ice pack two or three times a day. If the cold is too intense, use a towel between the ice pack and your skin.

Heat
If an injury is in a more advanced stage of healing "usually after four or five days" heat is recommended. Again, keep in mind what heat does to an area. Heat increases local blood supply, bringing healing cells to the area and potentially relaxing tight muscles. Use moist, hot towels or microwavable heat packs for no more than 10 to 15 minutes several times a day. If the heat becomes too intense, put a towel or piece of clothing between the heat source and your skin. Never sleep on a heating pad.

If an area swells after use, it probably wasn't ready to be worked. You should generally rest and ice an injury for 48 to 72 hours, but this really depends on the severity and degree of damage.

Of course, preventing injuries before they happen is best! Properly stretch and warm up before placing any physical demands on your body and pay attention to what you body is telling you. Stop exercising before you feel pain or discomfort.

Your Personal Trainer home.

In order to be successful at leading a healthier lifestyle, you need to have knowledge and a good understanding of the best, most effective ways to do that. Global Health and Fitness (GHF) will give you that. But we also want you to know that it's okay to be afraid and uncomfortable with this lifestyle change; that's natural. Changing old habits isn't easy. In general, people have a hard time adjusting to change. Change is made even more difficult when we're not certain we want the goals we have set out to achieve. Change is impossible when we set ourselves unrealistic goals.

But it truly is possible when we set realistic goals and when we make those changes gradually. If you have a willingness to work through the initial emotional discomfort as you move step-by-step into this new lifestyle, you'll find the confidence, commitment, determination, and belief in your own self-worth that will ease the way.

Healthy living means making important lifestyle changes, changes in the way you eat and exercise and, we hope you're coming to see, in the way you think. It may sound overwhelming at first, but it's really quite simple. Remember, these changes will be gradual. They'll also never be painful or hard to stick with. Many Americans have already successfully made the change to a healthy lifestyle. You can too, once you understand how easy it is.

Making the change to a healthier lifestyle is a process you will enjoy and can be proud of. The easiest way to go about it is to take it one step at a time. If you try to hurry change, chances are that it won't be permanent. It's important to understand that once you put into effect the lifestyle habits GHF is going to teach you, they are yours forever and will make a substantial impact on your life.

Once you truly believe that you have the ability to find a comfortable balance of food, activity and life attitudes, you can break free from fad diets forever. Action creates motivation. Once you understand and implement safe and effective exercise and eating habits, you will become successful. Once you start achieving great results, the excitement and fun you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Enjoying the many great benefits of a healthy lifestyle will help provide the impetus to stay on the healthy road you've taken.

This article was provide by Chad Tackett, President ofGlobal Health and Fitness. Please visit his site at www.global-fitness.com

Most people realize they sweat more when they exercise and that in order to stay healthy, they need drink water. However, many people aren't aware of how much water they need to drink and why it's important to so.

When engaged in physical activity, body temperature rises as much as 3 degrees. Your body's natural cooling system, sweating, kicks in to lower body temperature. Under extreme exercise and heat stress, a body can lose 1/2 a gallon of water per hour. If the lost water is not replaced, dehydration occurs and serious consequences may follow.

To understand what happens, I'll use the analogy of your car. When your car's cooling system is running smoothly, excess heat from the engine is transferred to the water in the tubes, which goes to the radiator to be cooled by the air. The cooled water goes back to be heated once again by heat drawn from the engine. If there is not enough water in the system to allow for proper heat dissipation, your engine overheats, your car stops running, and you are left cursing at the side of the road.

Now picture your body as the car-- your muscles are the engine, your skin is the radiator and your blood vessels are the water tubes that connect the engine with the radiator. When your cooling system is running smoothly, excess heat from your muscles is drawn into your blood vessels where is circulates to your skin. Evaporating sweat draws heat away from the blood vessels. The cooler blood then recirculates throughout the body, lowering body temperature.

When too much water is lost through sweating, your blood volume decreases. This decreases blood pressure which, in turn, reduces blood flow between the muscles and skin. To overcome this, your heart rate increases. Because less blood reaches the skin, heat loss is reduced and the body overheats. Just like your car, your body can quit running.

If you fail to replace the water you lose, you run the risk of becoming dehydrated. When a person is dehydrated by more that 4% or 5% of body weight, their exercise performance declines by 20% to 30%. Not only that, the impact of dehydration on the cardiovascular system can produce heart problems in people with coronary heart disease and diabetes. Dehydration is also hard on the kidneys.

How do you prevent your body from "breaking down"? It's simple. You need to put in as much water as is going out. Sweating is not the only way you lose water. Another is through respiration-- you lose water every time you exhale. This water loss increases as your physical activity increases because you breathe more. So if you are just replacing how much you are sweating out, it's not enough. Also if you just drink when you are thirsty, you aren't getting enough water because thirst alone isn't the best measure of a body's fluid needs.

Generally speaking, you should drink water before, during, and after exercise. Drinking about 2 cups (16-oz.) of water one hour before, and 1 cup 1/2 hour before is a good start. Then you should drink 1/2 cup to 1 cup or more, every 15-20 min. The amount depends on the air temperature, your body weight and how hard you are exercising. Drink up! Show the people you exercise with that you know how to keep your body running!

Why Diets Don't Work
If you go "on a diet", what does that mean? That you will eventually go "off the diet". If you haven't changed your eating and physical activity behaviors, what's going to happen? Rationally, you know the answer, but emotionally, you engage in wishful thinking, hoping that this time you will lose the weight and keep it off. What weight are we talking about? When people tell me they lost 12 pounds in two weeks, I ask "12 pounds of what?" On low-calorie diets, about 25 percent of the weight loss may be muscle (Ballor & Polehlman 1994).

Losing muscle is a bad thing. Muscle tissue is very active--it burns a lot of calories. Every pound of muscle burns about 35 calories per day, just staying alive. Using the above example, if you lost 12 pounds, then, you lost three pounds of muscle. You would be burning 105 less calories per day or 3150 per month. Since there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, you would gain almost one pound of fat per month just from the muscle mass that you lost!

Why The Middle-Aged Spread Keeps Spreading
Inactive adults lose around one-half pound of muscle per year, or five pounds per decade. Since most people continue to eat as much as usual, what's going to happen? If you take in more calories then you burn, the extra calories get stored as fat. Fat is less dense then muscle---a pound of fat takes up more room than a pound of muscle. This means that as you lose muscle and gain fat, your weight might remain the same over the years, but your waistline will continue to expand!

Rev Up Your Metabolism--The Key to Permanent Weight Loss
How can we lose and keep off extra fat? You need to increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is the pace your body burns calories at rest. Your RMR is closely linked to the amount of muscle you have--remember, muscle burns more calories than fat. Adding muscle will raise your RMR and will greatly increase the chance that the weight loss (more accurately fat loss) will be maintained.

Strength Training Versus Aerobic Exercise
Contrary to what many people think, strength training is as important, maybe more important to successful fat loss than aerobic exercise. The reason lies in the amount of calories that are burned when you aren't exercising. Depending on the intensity and your weight, an aerobic workout (walking, cycling, stairstepping) will burn approximately 300 calories per hour. If the exercise is strenuous enough (which is unlikely in the beginning exerciser) the RMR will be elevated temporarily up to a few hours afterwards. Compare this to strength training which elevates the RMR permanently. The RMR accounts for 60 to 75 percent of your daily calorie expenditure, so even a modest increase will help burn off more fat.

One study (Campbell 1994) found that a three-month basic strength-training program resulted in the subjects gaining three pound of muscle and losing four pounds of fat, while eating 370 more calories per day (a 15 percent calorie increase). Remember, aerobic exercise generally doesn't increase muscle tissue. In fact, excessive amount of aerobic exercise combined with a low-calorie diet can cause the loss of some muscle tissue. This is not to say that overweight individuals shouldn't do aerobic exercise--it offers many health benefits and is a part of a weight loss program. It's just that aerobic exercise by itself may not be the best solution for permanent weight (fat) loss.

Don't think that you need to workout in a gym for two hours to strength train. Significant gains can be made with a consistent 30-minute workout performed 2 -3 times per week. This could be your key to successful weight control!

You may have good intentions of sticking to your exercise plan, but obstacles will come up that may detour you. Remember, excuses only get in the way if you allow them to. Follow these suggestions to get going and stay on track:

Write down your reasons for starting your physical activity plan on a 3x5 index card. Put this card where you will see it often.

 Write down your three most disruptive obstacles to activity and propose three realistic solutions.

 
"Not enough time" is the most often used excuse. Increase your time management skills so that you can fit in your weekly exercise sessions.

 
Schedule your weekly exercise sessions in a daily planner or calendar. Consider these as appointments with yourself. Give yourself the same respect you give others in keeping appointments. Your only reason for not exercising should be if you're sick or injured. Remember--no more excuses!

 
Enlist a friend or relative to share physical activity with you or to act as a helper. Support is one of the most important factors in exercise adherence.

 
It can take up to 8 weeks to see some of the benefits you desire from your program. In the meantime, focus on short-term goals, like performing your weekly training sessions as planned, which will increase your self-confidence.

 
Use a log sheet to track your progress. Consistency is the key, not how long or how hard you exercise. Do ten minutes when you don’t feel like a longer workout. Write it in your log. The most important thing is that you did something. You’ll be proud of your accomplishments and this will help you to stick with your program.

The most important tip to remember:
You are responsible for your own life and how you lead it. There is a gap between your perceived obstacle and your reaction (to exercise or not). Within that gap is your power to choose. When you choose not to exercise, you are giving power to your excuse. Do or do not--it’s your choice.

If you're having trouble getting motivated to exercise more, don't expect to suddenly change your behavior by telling yourself to "just do it". This is a great phrase for those already "doing it" and are feeling a moment of laziness. The phrase backfires, however, with people who aren't in the "action" stage of behavior change.

"It's because change doesn't begin with action", remarks James Prochaska, psychologist and head of the Health Promotion Partnership at the University of Rhode Island. He says that there's more anxiety around change than there needs to be. That's because there's been so much pressure to act-- regardless if someone is ready for it. In his book Changing for Good, Dr. Prochaska