With technology robbing us all of activity, it is important to note that it is also robbing us of valuable strength. Our population is getting weaker because we don’t lift or carry as much as they used to. Our joints are a prime example. As you become fat your joints start to hurt and so you don’t feel like doing any activity, so you become fatter. This is very much a reflection of the aging processes where a considerable loss of muscle tissue (including the organs such as the heart), bone mineral density, strength, function, vitality, posture, stabilility, and a general decline in health. Tuffs University in the USA, which specializes in anti-aging, listed the two most important reasons for ageing and degeneration – Loss of muscle and loss of strength.
The only training that will stop the degeneration of the body and can rebuild lost muscle and bone is Strength training.
1 Increase your metabolism.
The average adult has a reduction of their metabolic rate of 25 - 5% per decade of life. By adding 1.4kg of muscle our metabolism increases by 7%. Adults who take up strength training use more calories all day and decrease the likelihood of fat accumulation.
2 Reduce body fat.
Because muscle is denser than body fat, it takes up less space. One of the biggest myths is that women will ‘bulk up’ by lifting weights. When women lose fat and gain muscle they become much trimmer.
3 Increase bone mineral density.
Strength training can increase bone density. By not progressing to heavier weights as we get stronger is one of the most common reasons why there are an increasingly amount of folk in hospital from pelvis fractures. Because muscle attaches to the bone, the more resistance the muscle is under, the more increase in bone mineral content.
4 Reduce lower back pain.
Research has shown that strong lower back muscles are less likely to be injured than if you had weaker back muscles. Specific strength training exercises to the lumbar spine can decrease lower back pain in as little as 10 weeks.
5 Avoid muscle loss
After the age of 20 the average adult can lose up to 3.2kg of muscle every decade. Running or walking does not prevent the loss of muscle tissue. Only strength training will increase our muscle mass as we grow older.
6 Improve glucose control in type 2 diabetes
Adults with type 2 Diabetes have poor uptake of glucose. By lifting weights glucose metabolism can increase by 23%
7 Reduce Joint pain
Even studies with rheumatoid arthritis have shown reduction in pain. By becoming stronger individuals can reduce inflammation and help joints align and function better.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
How to choose a good Personal Trainer
It can be a minefield wondering what to look for in a good Personal Trainer. There are trainers who will just have you run around for an hour; there are also those that may take on holistic approach to health and fitness. Listed are a 5 tips and warning signs to get you started.
• Qualifications and Training. Look for someone that is qualified. All Personal trainers should be registered with a governing body. They should also have public liability and professional indemnity insurance. A registered trainer has to update their qualifications every 2 years with the latest education and fitness news.
• Personal Relationship. You need to be able to trust them. Do they sound like the type of person you will be comfortable talking about your health and fitness goals with?
• Questions to ask. How long have you been working as a trainer? Are you qualified? What sort of clients do you train? What sort of results have you had? Do you have any testimonials? What sort of bad points do you have? How long is a session? How much is it and how do I pay? What happens if I need to cancel my session?
• The first consultation. A good Trainer will ask you about your health and history, including illnesses, and injuries, family history and diet and nutrition issues. They will establish what your health and fitness goals are and put together a plan that involves activities that you will enjoy doing. If you are over 40 and haven’t exercised for a long time, overweight or have a chronic medical condition, they should recommend that you get medical clearance before you get started with an exercise program. Some of the fitness tests your trainer may perform to assess your current fitness levels are measures for height, weight, body fat, girth measurements, flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-respiratory function.
• Warnings. Steer clear of trainers who promise immediate and unrealistic results. Realistically you can expect to see some sort of improvement within 6-8 weeks.
If they don’t seem genuinely interested in you and your goals and make you feel overly self-conscious, it may be best to try someone else.
Some Trainers may advise you in areas that they are not qualified. For example- in depth Nutritional advise, where they should refer you to a dietician.
If they don’t look a picture of health and fitness or a good role model, then you know that they do not practice what they preach.
Some trainers may even insist on certain brands of dietary supplements such as Protein powders, amino acids, vitamins and other weight loss formulas. It is best to do your own research on them and only buy if you are truly interested.
If they promote useless or dangerous weight loss or exercise techniques like vibrating belts, fat blasting pills, electric shock devises saunas or wraps (which will only make you lose water for a time and not fat)
If they try to get you to commit to a long term package before you have even had your first session then you have no way to get out of it if you have paid your hard earned $$ or even had a chance to see if you are compatible.
• Qualifications and Training. Look for someone that is qualified. All Personal trainers should be registered with a governing body. They should also have public liability and professional indemnity insurance. A registered trainer has to update their qualifications every 2 years with the latest education and fitness news.
• Personal Relationship. You need to be able to trust them. Do they sound like the type of person you will be comfortable talking about your health and fitness goals with?
• Questions to ask. How long have you been working as a trainer? Are you qualified? What sort of clients do you train? What sort of results have you had? Do you have any testimonials? What sort of bad points do you have? How long is a session? How much is it and how do I pay? What happens if I need to cancel my session?
• The first consultation. A good Trainer will ask you about your health and history, including illnesses, and injuries, family history and diet and nutrition issues. They will establish what your health and fitness goals are and put together a plan that involves activities that you will enjoy doing. If you are over 40 and haven’t exercised for a long time, overweight or have a chronic medical condition, they should recommend that you get medical clearance before you get started with an exercise program. Some of the fitness tests your trainer may perform to assess your current fitness levels are measures for height, weight, body fat, girth measurements, flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-respiratory function.
• Warnings. Steer clear of trainers who promise immediate and unrealistic results. Realistically you can expect to see some sort of improvement within 6-8 weeks.
If they don’t seem genuinely interested in you and your goals and make you feel overly self-conscious, it may be best to try someone else.
Some Trainers may advise you in areas that they are not qualified. For example- in depth Nutritional advise, where they should refer you to a dietician.
If they don’t look a picture of health and fitness or a good role model, then you know that they do not practice what they preach.
Some trainers may even insist on certain brands of dietary supplements such as Protein powders, amino acids, vitamins and other weight loss formulas. It is best to do your own research on them and only buy if you are truly interested.
If they promote useless or dangerous weight loss or exercise techniques like vibrating belts, fat blasting pills, electric shock devises saunas or wraps (which will only make you lose water for a time and not fat)
If they try to get you to commit to a long term package before you have even had your first session then you have no way to get out of it if you have paid your hard earned $$ or even had a chance to see if you are compatible.
Procrastinating about exercise I don’t have time to exercise-have you heard that one before?
Do you find yourself with not enough hours in the day?
Has time ever been an excuse for not getting out and exercising?
You really do want to exercise however, with project deadlines to meet, a stack of emails to get to, the boss breathing down your neck, it is just not possible right?
Let’s look at this from another angle. Do you really think that our Prime Minister or Oprah Winfrey have more hours in their day than you do? Yet, they still find the time to exercise. You do not have to complete a time management course to be able to fit exercise into your day.
You may have heard the saying “Anything is better than nothing,” well this old saying is quite true. The world health organization has pointed out that everyone should exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. But here is the good news…aim to break up your exercise into more manageable chunks. Go for 2 lots of 15 minutes, or 3 lots of 10 minutes or even 6 lots of 5 minutes, whatever works for you. This could include taking a walk at lunchtime, running on the spot at your desk, or even run up and down the office stairs (remember the antiperspirant), or even set the alarm 20 minutes earlier in the morning to participate in an exercise DVD.
The good news is that if you are huffing and puffing then your heart and lungs are getting some action and this is great news.
Think about how many extra kilojoules that you could burn off in a month. So think a little more closely before saying those few nasty words “I just didn’t get the time”
Move a lot, move a little…just do something!!!
Has time ever been an excuse for not getting out and exercising?
You really do want to exercise however, with project deadlines to meet, a stack of emails to get to, the boss breathing down your neck, it is just not possible right?
Let’s look at this from another angle. Do you really think that our Prime Minister or Oprah Winfrey have more hours in their day than you do? Yet, they still find the time to exercise. You do not have to complete a time management course to be able to fit exercise into your day.
You may have heard the saying “Anything is better than nothing,” well this old saying is quite true. The world health organization has pointed out that everyone should exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. But here is the good news…aim to break up your exercise into more manageable chunks. Go for 2 lots of 15 minutes, or 3 lots of 10 minutes or even 6 lots of 5 minutes, whatever works for you. This could include taking a walk at lunchtime, running on the spot at your desk, or even run up and down the office stairs (remember the antiperspirant), or even set the alarm 20 minutes earlier in the morning to participate in an exercise DVD.
The good news is that if you are huffing and puffing then your heart and lungs are getting some action and this is great news.
Think about how many extra kilojoules that you could burn off in a month. So think a little more closely before saying those few nasty words “I just didn’t get the time”
Move a lot, move a little…just do something!!!
If big is beautiful - then why can it kill you?
Your size, shape, fitness level and athletic ability cannot alter the beauty you have on the inside, but sadly it can take you away from this life sooner than you would like.
Are you resigned to carrying those extra kilos around with you forever?
Do you wish to do something about it!
Do you get defensive about your weight when you know it is not healthy?
As a Personal Trainer it is all too common when I here things like…" I'm not as big as the people on “The biggest Loser” and “I haven't got any health problems yet."
Read on further to gain a few insights into what being overweight can potentially cost you.
Big is beautiful, but halving your life expectancy is not so beautiful. What about the quality of life that you could have if you were leaner, fitter and healthier?
The statistics quoted are both upsetting and scary and yet we choose to live a shortened life.
According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 of the adult population is overweight and 1 in 10 is obese. The economic burden of being overweight has significant financial consequences on individuals, systems and countries. The World Health Organization estimates that over the next ten years (2006-2015) China will lose $558 Billion in national income due to heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes comprises 90% of people with diabetes around the world and is largely the result of excess bodyweight and physical inactivity. In 2005 an estimated 1.1 million people died from diabetes.
So losing weight is really about being healthy. If you really want to feel fantastic, have loads of energy and look your best, aim to keep your weight under control.
So how do you lose weight?
1. You have to want to! All the information in the world will not make any difference if you don’t really want to do anything about it
2. Eat more of the stuff that comes out of the ground. You have probably heard about the 2/3-1/3 rule, which means 2/3 of what you eat should look like it came out of the ground (fruit, veges, legumes) and the 1/3 is the other stuff(animal fats and processed foods). Start by introducing one more piece of fruit or vegetable a day. You will find it easier to manage if you make small changes to your diet at a time.
3. Aim to move more. See everything that you do as an opportunity to get more active. Take the stairs and not the escalator, walk the dog, play with your kids, park your car further away at work, or when you are out shopping, walk around while you are on the phone. Aim to do 180 minutes of exercise per week. Break this down into 6 lots of 30 minutes or 12 lots of 15 minutes etc. You could plan to do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch and 10 minutes at night. The result will be exactly the same.
4. Lift weights. By getting stronger you will have a faster metabolism because you have more lean muscle tissue. The more lean mass you have, the faster the metabolism. The higher your metabolism is the more energy you will burn.
5. Don’t waste your time doing 100 crunches every night. They won’t burn fat and it won’t make you stronger. Aim to do the exercises that move more of your body. In the time that it takes to do those crunches, you could go for a walk or find some stairs and do some step ups. By moving more of your body you will use extra kilojoules and burn more body fat.
6. Find the exercise that you enjoy doing. It doesn’t matter how good the program is, how much weight you will supposedly lose or how much muscle you will gain, if you can’t, won’t or don’t have time to do it, it will never work! If you enjoy doing it you are more likely to stick to it. Don’t let any person, book or expert confuse you. What is missing from most exercise programs that fail is that the person found it too complicated, uninteresting, and non enjoyable.
So if you do not want to be taken away from your loved ones too soon, start making some changes. The old saying goes, if nothing changes, then nothing changes!
By taking some simple easy steps every day to work towards improving your health, you will still be that beautiful person on the inside…only now you will be around longer to enjoy it.
Are you resigned to carrying those extra kilos around with you forever?
Do you wish to do something about it!
Do you get defensive about your weight when you know it is not healthy?
As a Personal Trainer it is all too common when I here things like…" I'm not as big as the people on “The biggest Loser” and “I haven't got any health problems yet."
Read on further to gain a few insights into what being overweight can potentially cost you.
Big is beautiful, but halving your life expectancy is not so beautiful. What about the quality of life that you could have if you were leaner, fitter and healthier?
The statistics quoted are both upsetting and scary and yet we choose to live a shortened life.
According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 of the adult population is overweight and 1 in 10 is obese. The economic burden of being overweight has significant financial consequences on individuals, systems and countries. The World Health Organization estimates that over the next ten years (2006-2015) China will lose $558 Billion in national income due to heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes comprises 90% of people with diabetes around the world and is largely the result of excess bodyweight and physical inactivity. In 2005 an estimated 1.1 million people died from diabetes.
So losing weight is really about being healthy. If you really want to feel fantastic, have loads of energy and look your best, aim to keep your weight under control.
So how do you lose weight?
1. You have to want to! All the information in the world will not make any difference if you don’t really want to do anything about it
2. Eat more of the stuff that comes out of the ground. You have probably heard about the 2/3-1/3 rule, which means 2/3 of what you eat should look like it came out of the ground (fruit, veges, legumes) and the 1/3 is the other stuff(animal fats and processed foods). Start by introducing one more piece of fruit or vegetable a day. You will find it easier to manage if you make small changes to your diet at a time.
3. Aim to move more. See everything that you do as an opportunity to get more active. Take the stairs and not the escalator, walk the dog, play with your kids, park your car further away at work, or when you are out shopping, walk around while you are on the phone. Aim to do 180 minutes of exercise per week. Break this down into 6 lots of 30 minutes or 12 lots of 15 minutes etc. You could plan to do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch and 10 minutes at night. The result will be exactly the same.
4. Lift weights. By getting stronger you will have a faster metabolism because you have more lean muscle tissue. The more lean mass you have, the faster the metabolism. The higher your metabolism is the more energy you will burn.
5. Don’t waste your time doing 100 crunches every night. They won’t burn fat and it won’t make you stronger. Aim to do the exercises that move more of your body. In the time that it takes to do those crunches, you could go for a walk or find some stairs and do some step ups. By moving more of your body you will use extra kilojoules and burn more body fat.
6. Find the exercise that you enjoy doing. It doesn’t matter how good the program is, how much weight you will supposedly lose or how much muscle you will gain, if you can’t, won’t or don’t have time to do it, it will never work! If you enjoy doing it you are more likely to stick to it. Don’t let any person, book or expert confuse you. What is missing from most exercise programs that fail is that the person found it too complicated, uninteresting, and non enjoyable.
So if you do not want to be taken away from your loved ones too soon, start making some changes. The old saying goes, if nothing changes, then nothing changes!
By taking some simple easy steps every day to work towards improving your health, you will still be that beautiful person on the inside…only now you will be around longer to enjoy it.
Friday, March 6, 2009
The best exercises to burn fat from your tummy
Want to know the best way to burn fat from your tummy?
Ask yourself a few questions.
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Bakens
Post your comments and let me know other topics you would like to know about.
Ask yourself a few questions.
1. When doing all these exercises, what are the reasons you are doing them in the first place?
2. Is it to burn fat from our tummy, strengthen the core, thin the waist, or get a six pack?
3. Have you ever been guilty of crunches at the end of your workout, just so you can get that burning sensation in the abdominal area, because you know that it is your fat cells exploding and the ripple of your six-pack forming?
4. Are you emotionally attached to an exercise that gives you that burning sensation in an area that you want tighter muscles and less fat (squish the fat, squish the fat, squish the fat)?
To see this article in full go tohttp://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Bakens
Post your comments and let me know other topics you would like to know about.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
11 ways to get you exercising at work
11 ways to get you exercising at work. All very easy strategies to take to the office. How many can you do this week?
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Bakens
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Bakens
Monday, March 2, 2009
Work-Life Balance. The art of Juggling
Check out this site to hear me at a recent chat I did about Work-Life balance. The art of Juggling. http://www.griffith.edu.au/business/griffith-business-school/news-events
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