Exercise

Boost Your Metabolism

Comments Off Written on May 13th, 2010 by Linda DeFever
Categories: Alternative Weight Loss, Exercise
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Strength training is one of the best ways to increase your metabolism so you will burn more calories. It is also great for increasing strength, building stronger bones, increasing energy, improving overall function, and toning your body.

Muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in the body. Making muscles stronger will improve your body’s ability to burn unwanted fat. In the first six weeks of starting a strength training program, metabolism may increase up to 30%, and then it will taper off.

Start with whole body type exercises like squats, lunges, pushes and pulls, with bodyweight or light resistance for at least three weeks, in order to strengthen the tendons and ligaments adequately before increasing the load. Always maintain excellent posture throughout each exercise. This will help prevent injuries. Exercise two to three days a week with at least one day off between sessions. When you are going through your routine, you are breaking down the muscle tissue, so you are actually weaker at the end of the workout than you were when you started. You need at least two days for your body to rebuild the tissue stronger than it was before. If you do the same exercise two days in a row you are simply breaking down your tissue and you will get no strength gains.

After about six to eight weeks, you will need to change the exercises and exercise parameters in order to continue progressing and to avoid boredom. A well designed resistance program done in a circuit format can provide an excellent cardiovascular workout as well.

If you chose to do aerobic exercise, either do it on alternate days of your strength training program or do aerobic exercise after your strength training program. Keep your aerobic exercise to 30 minutes, using high intensity interval training. My professional recommendation: Tabata Intervals!

Contact Linda

Call: 847-722-4376 for your free consultation

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It is Never too Late!

Comments Off Written on May 10th, 2010 by Linda DeFever
Categories: Exercise
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It is never too late to start an exercise program. In fact physical inactivity could be more of a major risk to your health.

Here are a few interesting statistics: In the year 2000, roughly 35 million people (13 percent of the population) were age 65 or older. By 2030, the number is expected to double. According to the Active Aging Partnership National Blueprint, 88% of these people have at least one chronic health condition that in many cases may be improved or managed with physical activity.

Once adults pass the physical prime of their teens and 20’s, an average of 10 ounces of lean body mass in the form of muscle is lost yearly. Since few people actually lose 10 ounces of weight a year (instead, we are more likely to gain about a pound a year), the loss is masked. The average person actually gains about a pound and half of body fat a year. This gradual loss of muscle strength is one of the main reasons the older population has difficulty performing daily activities. Ultimately, this leads to the loss of an individual’s independence. It is important to remember a slight increase in muscle strength, at any age, can improve a person’s quality of life, and prevent the frailty that use to be considered a normal part of aging.

Older, inactive adults lose ground in three areas that are important for staying healthy and independent. These are endurance, balance and flexibility. Endurance training can maintain and improve cardiovascular function, which reduces the risk factors associated of diabetes, colon cancer, and heart disease. Balance exercises help prevent falls and builds confidence, while flexibility training helps to keep the body from stiffening up by stretching muscles that are limiting motions needed to perform daily activities.

Whether you are approaching 60 or 70, I encourage you to increase all types of exercise and physical activity. According to an article in the winter of 2002 Aging Successfully, published by the St. Louis School of Medicine and Geriatric Research, the goals of exercise for the older adult should be to minimize the effects of aging and chronic disease, reverse the effects of inactivity and maximize psychological health.

Regular exercise will help the older adult. The older population becomes sick or disabled more often from not exercising. Almost all older adults can improve their health and independence through exercise and physical activity. There are few reasons to keep from exercising, and “too old” and “too frail” are not among them.

Contact Linda

Call: 847-722-4376 for your free consultation

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Why Strength Training

Comments Off Written on April 6th, 2010 by Linda DeFever
Categories: Alternative Weight Loss, Back Pain, Exercise
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Resistance training is great for increasing strength, building stronger bones, increasing energy, improving overall function, and toning your body. Did you know that resistance training can increase your metabolism, the calories your body burns, up to 30% in the first six weeks. Generally, you work your muscles against resistance, stopping just before your form deteriorates, you have a little rest, and then you do it again. The important thing to remember is that your training doesn’t drain you!

A gym membership is great, but if you are not able to get to a gym, much can be done with bodyweight and a Swiss ball at home. If resistance training is new to you, I would highly recommend coming in to see me for an in depth assessment and program that is appropriate for your fitness level; as well as program that will keep you injury free.

Start with whole body type exercises like squats, lunges, pushes and pulls, with bodyweight or light resistance for at least three weeks. It is good to start with strengthening the tendons and ligaments, then you can add additional weigh to your program. As a general rule of thumb increase your weight between 3-5%. It is more important to maintain excellent posture throughout each exercise, than lift heavier weights. This will help prevent injuries. Avoid weight machines that you sit or lie on. Our bodies are not meant to exercise sitting down – they are meant to Squat, Bend, Lunge, Push, Pull and Twist.

Strength train two to three days a week with at least one day off between sessions. When you are going through your routine, you are breaking down the muscle tissue, so you are actually weaker at the end of the workout than you were when you started. You need at least two days for your body to rebuild the tissue stronger than it was before. If you do the same exercise two days in a row you are simply breaking down your tissue and you will get no strength gains.

After about six to eight weeks, you need to change the exercises and exercise parameters in order to continue progressing and to avoid boredom, so go see your trainer again. A well designed resistance program done in a circuit format can provide an excellent cardiovascular workout as well, so you do not need to spend extra time on the treadmill or exercise bike.

If you are injured or have chronic pain, you may need some help with stability and motor control first.

Contact Linda

Call: 847-722-4376 for your free consultation

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Posted in Alternative Weight Loss, Back Pain, Exercise

Back Pain and Exercise

Comments Off Written on March 29th, 2010 by Linda DeFever
Categories: Back Pain, Exercise
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Since back pain during exercise is common today, I consider this to be a “red flag” that body could be at greater risk of injury. Once recognized, modifications to correct this situation should be initiated immediately. In order to help you avoid potential injury, carefully consider the following a common cause of back pain when exercising.

Muscle imbalances may cause low back pain during exercise. When a muscle becomes short and tight, the muscle that is opposite the tight muscle will become long and weak. This creates an imbalance in the body. To determine if this is the cause of your low back pain try stretching any tight muscles in the area you are feeling pain. If this eliminates your pain, you probably have corrected the muscle imbalance. A good example of this is when an individual gets low back pain while performing crunches. If the relief is short-term, you may need to stretch the tight muscles between each set while resting. If this does not work you may want to seek help from a C.H.E.K Practitioner.

Another reason for low back pain during exercise is a faulty recruitment of muscles. This may be due to muscle imbalances, pain, inactivity and/or poor training. Faulty recruitment of muscles around joints exposes the joint to excessive compression, torsion and shear – the primary enemy of joints. If this goes unchecked by the muscular system inflammation, pain and injury result.

Pain in any muscle or joint may cause the same scenario. For example, if you injure one of your sacroiliac joints (joints in the low back below the waistline) in a fall, the pain will usually cause the gluteus medius muscles (lateral butt muscles) to shut down. If this goes unattended the body will use other muscles to stabilize the injured area. Those muscles become over worked, or other joints being incorrectly stabilized because of faulty recruitment, become painful. Most likely this injury will lead to low back pain.

If you cannot track your problem to a specific incident seek the help of a professional. Performing any exercise that hurts only makes things worse.

As you can see, there are many reasons why you may be experiencing low back pain while exercising. Remember your goal should be to train not drain! There is no reward for training in pain. Pain is an indicator that damage is being done, not that damage is about to be done. Please if you are hurting and you do not know why find someone that can help you. Pain is the most powerful reprogramming agent in the human body. Exercising in pain trains the system to function incorrectly. Exercise should be a fun, not stressful activity – exercise should be a positive experience.

Contact Linda

Call: 847-722-4376 for your free consultation

vitalityincorporated.com

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Posted in Back Pain, Exercise

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