Friday, August 29, 2008

Kick the Convenience Food Habit

Easy access is the fastest way to eat poorly and gain weight; look at the meals people eat at fast food restaurants and convenience stores (potatoe chips, fries, donuts, etc.). The best way to get on track with healthy eating is to decrease your "convenience" food intake. One way to do this is not to eat and drive at the same time. The appeal of stopping at a at 7-11 or Wendy's is the convenience. If you have to get out of your car, stand in line, and then eat the food in the restaurant (or in the parking lot), the attractiveness of the food declines (just check out what the other folks eating the food look like--I doubt they resemble George Clooney or Nicole Kidman). If you do find yourself in one of these establishments forgo the value meal or the big gulp. You may get more for your money but when people are given larger portions, they eat more. If you really want a value meal, pack your own meal for the road or the office and find a nice park somewhere and have your own picnic; it is always less expensive than eating out.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hot Weather Tips

If you are a fit individual, your tolerance to heat and cold may be increased but you still need to get used to warm weather. When temperature and humidity increase, your body has the added burden of decreasing the heat. Remember to drink water based on your level of activity and how hot you become during the activity. Bigger, faster people will need more fluids than smaller slower exercisers. In most situations, water is adequate and preferred over a “replacement” drink. As the weather gets hotter, consider decreasing the intensity and/or length of your workout and gradually work back up to your normal routine over a two-three week period. This allows your body to adapt its capacity to deal with the heat. Consider exercising in the cooler parts of the day (morning/evening). Work on scheduling your exercise when the temperature is below 86 degrees and the humidity is below 80 degrees; consider air quality and pollen count as well. If even after carefully crafting your workout to “beat the heat” you may end up feeling tired or dizzy during one of your sessions. Stop exercising immediately and monitor your symptoms. If necessary and possible, bring your workout indoors for a time until the heat outdoors subsides and then gradually resume your outdoor activities using the previously mentioned tips.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Hitting a Plateau

Unlike my work in counseling and personal training, blogging requires a certain technical savvy and some aggressive marketing strategies. To tie this into the theme of this post I realize now that it is not necessarily whether anyone actually reads or comments on my blog (whether I increase my workout resistance every week or lose weight every week) but that my efforts are improving my overall skills in using web-based technologies (my efforts are improving my overall health). I could berate myself for not having readers, but I have learned a tremendous amount about how search engines work, how to add elements to my blog, and have become less intimidated by the Internet (I could drive myself crazy weighing myself everyday or realize I now know how to make better food decisions). My goal is to continue to post as often as I can for the next month while I put into place some additional tools to attract readers. Even if this particular effort proves to be unsuccessful, I will just get back up, brush myself off, and find another more appropriate venue for my message. I look forward to future challenges and will continue to learn from my "apparent" failures.

Friday, August 22, 2008

A Common Sense Approach

Once you have reached your health or fitness goals, maintenance becomes the ongoing challenge. Consider the upcoming holidays and the obstacles to maintaining both your physical and nutritional goals. Most folks will venture down to the beach or some other "get-out-of-town" destination which normally doesn't have your regular supports for fitness (home, gym, work-out buddies) or nutrition (boardwalk fries, beer, and ice cream cones). So what can you do? You can throw up your hands and say it's a special occasion; but making too many exceptions to the rule can result in backsliding. I try and take a common sense approach by planning ahead and making sure I do something active and fun while on holiday and pace my eating so I can indulge a small amount. Upon returning home, I get right back into my routine which will start to off-set the minimal damage done. Getting use to being active and eating right doesn't mean you can't have fun!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Top Ten Exercises

According to Women's Health Magazine (November 2006), the following are the best exercises for the 10 major muscle groups. If you are having trouble with mixing up your routine, these may help add the extra help you need for a specific area.

Lower Body

Quadriceps: Dumbbell Squats
Hamstrings/Glutes: Romanian Deadlift
Calves: Toe Raise

Upper Body

Upper Back: Dumbbell Row
Chest: Dumbbell Chest Press
Shoulders: Dumbbell Military Press
Triceps: Dip
Biceps: Chinup

Core

Abdominal: Reverse Crunch
Lower Back: Alternating Superman

For a description of the moves go to www.womenshealthmag.com.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Monitoring Intensity

For a long period of time I would use a heart rate monitor to measure my aerobic exercise intensity. I found wearing the chest strap uncomfortable and because of my perspiration the elastic in the strap would break. I also found it was expensive and difficult to change the battery on the watch. Although I still use the monitor on occasion, it is only to confirm what I already know -- how hard am I really working? So I started using the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to gauge exercise intensity. This method gives me a more accurate description of the sensations I feel (muscles, joints, breathing rate and heart rate) when exercising or working. Perceived exertion is assessed by using a 0-10 scale (0 being doing nothing at all, 5 is strong, and 10 is maximal). I shoot for 5-7 most days or I may do intervals alternating between 4 and say 8. Again, rather than making exercise complex, listen to your body. The issue is not about how accurate you are at measuring your intensity, but your motivation to move to a less uncomfortable physical place periodically. I never go beyond my comfort level for extended time frames because it is not necessary to do so to reap benefits. Most beginners can reap benefits with an RPE between 3 and 5. Regardless of what your intensity may be, the goal is to make your activity level effective and enjoyable.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Consistency is Key

Regardless of whether I am trying to change my eating habits, my workout routines, or my general health consistency seems to bring success. There is an expectation that if a significant change is made, in any behavior, the results should be immediate and positive. But it rarely works that way. Maintaining the change over an extended period of time is what contributes to the overall outcome. So the goal is to be more consistent with my behavior each week until it becomes a habit. Only then can I determine whether another change is necessary or whether I should move on to something else. I have seen people expect to learn a new skill, lose weight, change their body, have better relationships, etc. by trying one thing after another expecting that the first time they try something new it should work and then be discourage by their lack of results and revert back to the "old way" of behaving. Give yourself some time to see the change. If you don't get what you want, look to see what you got instead and use this information to restart your focus. Eventually, you will find the right path and move forward toward your goals.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Objective Outcomes

When looking for outcomes with health, most people choose to look at weight as the measure of success (or whether they can still fit into their jeans). There are various ways of measuring your results and using more than one option can provide a more objective perspective of health. You can start with height and weight, which gives you a range of appropriate weight for height. This gives you a general idea of your health. You can use the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is one way of measuring body fat by comparing one's weight and height (weight/height charts don't consider body fat percentages). This measurement has come under fire recently but can still give you a reasonable measure if you don't fit into one of the problem categories (body builders/elite athlete, children/small-bodied women, or the elderly). Another alternative would be the waist-to-hip ratio. If a man's waist-hip ratio exceeds .95 or woman's waist-hip ratio exceeds .80 then they are considered at greater risk. Another option is the waist-height ratio; your waist should be less than half your height. These all measure body fat but there are other objective measurements that can be used to determine health--resting heart rate, oxygen volume, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. which can be done at your annual exam. It's not just what you look like or whether you fit into a bikini that's important. These are not true or objective measures of health. It doesn't mean you ignore how you feel or how you appear but it provides additional information that is more objective.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Chart Your Weight Loss

Losing weight is a difficult process. Studies show that people who do daily weigh-ins are more successful losers, especially if they write the numbers down. You can create a chart that shows your improvement; even if you don't lose weight every week you will see the long-term progress by watching the downward movement of the weight line. Seeing this can maintain your motivation and boost your confidence in you reaching your ultimate goal. You can use the same strategy when keeping a food diary. Either way, writing your actions down helps you become aware of your challenges as well as your strengths. As you continue to identify your strengths, you can use these to off-set the obstacles you encounter. No one is perfect but using the skills you have to reach your objective will eventually pay off.

Friday, August 8, 2008

No Energy--Maybe You Need a Break

Over the last week I found it increasingly difficult to eat right, go to the gym, and write on this blog. Nothing was interesting; I didn't have any enthusiasm for activities I would usually look forward to doing. I could have beat myself up about all this -- which is what I started to do -- and then I realized I must need a break! I had been overdoing, over scheduling, overestimating what I thought I should be doing. Well, I got through the worst part of it and my motivation is improving but I made a decision to decrease my obligations, increase my sleep time, lower the intensity of my workouts, and not be so stringent about my eating. Sometimes you need to be less disciplined, less structured and do things you "like" to do rather than "have" to do. Living moment-to-moment has never been my strength, but after overdoing for a long period of time, it's a nice change-of-pace.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Access Equals Excess

The average number of pounds Americans have gained over the past 40 years is 25 pounds (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The statistic, which comes from national surveys, also suggests that the scale is tipping across the board: Average weight increased for all Americans regardless of age, sex, race, or ethnicity. The bottom line is the U.S. provides more options for food and eating as well as the lowest cost and convenience for these items and services than any other country. Since it is so easy to get and eat any and all types of food at a low cost, folks can’t seem to help themselves. A good thing to remember is just because you have the ability to do get what you want does not mean it is the right thing to do.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Increase Muscle Size and Strength Without Pain

It is a common fallacy for people to think they cannot increase strength and muscle size without pain. If you are having pain, it means that you are working at too high of an intensity, which can lead to possible injury. You may have some discomfort when starting out a new routine or increasing resistance, but if you are in pain, you need to adjust your workout. Delayed onset muscle soreness, which occurs 24-48 hours after exercise is normal. It is caused by microscopic tears in the tissues that surround muscle fibers. Remember to alternate body parts when working out or take a day off between full-body workouts and to vary your cardio routine, so that muscles have time to heal properly.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Food Logic Doesn’t Always Make Sense

When I was working in an office, everyone always looked forward to events that provided free food. Since it was up for grabs, why not eat it? We tend to think that free food doesn’t count. The funny thing is most of the time the food was mediocre at best and I would end up being disappointed and eating more to compensate. The best action is to ask yourself if you would have spent the money on it and if not, why waste the calories. I always planned to get to events or go by the coffee machine late in the day because by that time all the freebies were gone and I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. Another option was to ask for healthier options at these events but it soon became apparent that I needed to control what I ate, not my co-workers.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Doing More Doesn't Necessarily Lead to Better Results

I have struggled for a long time with my workout routines. I start off with 8-10 exercises, maybe 12-15 repetitions for 2-3 sets for all major movements. Then I'll add another exercise I read about and maybe some additional core exercises and possibly movement preparation and before you know it I am already in the gym an hour and I haven't even done my cardiovascular work! It was hard for me to realize that I was adding more exercises but not adding more value to my routine. As I get older there is a fine line between doing enough (to maintain strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance, and flexibility) and doing too much (injuries leading to extended layoffs, over training leading to physical stress and poor sleep). This is a concept known in business as "diminishing returns". At some point in a business putting more money into the process doesn't continue to produce the corresponding profits, basically you end up breaking even. The same applies to working out, at some point doing more doesn't give you any more results for the time you put into it. What I finally settled on was a 3 day a week full body routine with no more than 6 exercises. To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the exercises I have chosen compound moves and do super sets between upper and lower body movements. On strength day, I warm up with movements that prepare me for the strength exercises, and then end the strength routine with some stretching. On the alternate days I do my cardiovascular work (a mix of interval routines on my favorite machines) and my core work, plus some stretching. This keeps my gym time to under 45 minutes, and gets me off to work in about an hour. I supplement this with my normal activities of gardening, home projects, evening walks, and weekend hikes. This seems to hit a balance that works for me and can be flexible -- I can work out as much as 6 times/week or as little as 3 times/week and still reap significant benefits. Anyone can make an efficient and effective workout routine that takes under 30 minutes daily with a little effort and thought; check out the local library for information and always check with your physician before starting any exercise program.

Friday, August 1, 2008

The Best of Both Worlds

If you are new to weight training, you probably started off with a program using exercise machines that rely on a fixed range of motion. You may want to move on to free weights but still feel unsure of how to do this effectively. You can take an intermediate step by using weight machines that have cables and movable levers. These machines force multiple muscle groups to work together which reflects more accurately the body movements in real life. This will allow you the ability to go through a greater range of motion with the safety of using a machine. Once your increase your strength and balance, you can then move on to using free weights without worry.