Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, General Fitness, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Running on a treadmill- boring. Stairmaster? Boring. We all suffer from lack of motivation at times, but sometimes it is way worse and lasts longer. Men’s Health has a good article on exercise motivation- where it comes from, and how to get it. This is worth reading since most people have a hard time sticking with their exercise resolutions and routines. I think you will be surprised by what really motivates people to exercise. It isn’t what you think but here is a hint- guilt and fear are no match for lust. The article is a few pages long, but well worth the time to read.
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So if liking exercise is the key to sticking with it, what makes us like it? SDT researchers say you’re intrinsically motivated to do an activity if it meets three basic needs. The first is autonomy — the choice to do it was made by you, not somebody else. The second is competence — you know what you’re doing, or are at least becoming better at it. The third is relatedness — the activity connects you in some way to other people.
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The second need is a really important one. No one likes doing things that they are no good at. This isn’t just a gym thing, it is a life thing. Work can become unbearable if you are forced to do things you aren’t any good at. So one of my main goals when I’m training with someone is to make sure they are making discernible progress- both in how they look and how strong they are. That is why walking on a treadmill is such a non-motivating form of activity. Lifting weights at least has the benefit of someone seeing that they are getting stronger and seeing more muscle tone. It’s also a lot more fun to workout with someone else. It’s faster to workout by yourself, but it definitely helps to connect with someone. So take these principles to heart and you will find exercising a lot more appealing.
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
When I suggest to most guys in the gym that they should do squats to build core muscle strength, they pretty much all say “I tried them once but they hurt my back”. Sometimes that is true, but usually it is an excuse. No doubt, squats are “uncomfortable”. They stress you like no other exercise. But getting comfortable with them is more a matter of form and technique than anything else. They are always going to make you winded and tired. They should- but if you follow these few guidelines you will become much more comfortable with them and really make some impressive gains.
Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width and your toes pointed slightly out. Most people keep their feet to close and have trouble with balance. There is a “groove” that is right for you depending on your height, how long your legs are, etc. Don’t be afraid to try different stances to see what feels right for you. Just do it with light weight so you have complete control.
Next, make sure the bar is sitting below your traps and not on top of them. Most people place the bar too high on their back and that causes balance problems. You will never feel comfortable doing squats if you are off balance. When I first start someone squatting, they are worried that the bar will slide down their back. In reality, this never happens, so don’t worry. The lower you can keep the bar on your back, the more balanced you will feel.
When you drop down into the squatting position, do it deliberately- not fast- so that you are controlling the weight all the way down. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor. You don’t need to go any lower than that and “bouncing” off the bottom is hard on your knees. If you really want to work your legs, when you come back up, don’t lock your knees out. Leave them just slightly bent so that the pressure is never off. If you do squats like this, you will see great results and your strength will increase very rapidly. So head to the gym and do some squats!
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
Picture from MSN
My experience after 30 years in the gym is that guys love to bench and hate to squat. Too bad it isn’t the other way around because squats are the best core strength exercise you can do. Bench press is certainly OK too (although dumbbell presses are better) but for overall strength, squats are king. When you squat heavy, you push your body in a way no other exercise can. Thus the theory that squats will make your whole body grow because it is the only exercise that can tax your body enough to make it release growth hormone. Don’t know if that has ever been proven clinically, but the evidence from the gym bears it out. Guys (and ladies) who squat are almost always bigger and leaner. Most people try to find any excuse they can to skip doing legs and especially squats. But even pro basketball players are required to do squats as part of their training since it adds several inches to their vertical jump. Since this is the case, resolve to add squats to your weekly training schedule. Doing them correctly is very important, so I’m going to post a short “how to” tomorrow with pictures and a few secret pointers that will really help you get comfortable doing them.
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Supplements, Youth/fit | Add Comment
A new study has shown that children who eat a diet rich in Omega 3 fatty acids have a significantly lower rate of developing type 1 juvenile diabetes. This is a pretty significant find since it may help with other types of diabetes also.
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CHICAGO (Reuters) – A diet rich in fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids helped cut the risk that children with a family history of diabetes would develop the disease, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
“It is a relatively large effect,” said Jill Norris, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“It is exciting because it suggests we might be able to develop nutritional interventions to prevent diabetes.”
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Since there is already significant evidence that Omega 3’s help with many other problems such as heart disease and even depression, it is probably wise to add it to your diet if you haven’t already. There are many products on the market that contain Omega 3’s, but a good fish oil/flax seed oil supplement is probably all you need. Check your health food store or even at your regular grocery store. I get mine at Kroger in the vitamin aisle. Here is a good tip though- take it with a meal since it will have a fishy taste. If you take it on an empty stomach, you won’t like the results!
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Supplements, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
With about 90% of adult Americans consuming caffeine on a regular basis- usually several times a day, it makes sense to ask how much is too much. Some people I know actually abuse it by drinking multiple caffeine drinks like Red Bull to help get them through the day (or night as it may be). So does it have any really bad side-effects? Well, everyone responds differently, but in general caffeine is not dangerous in moderation. There is an old wives tale floating around that caffeine is a diuretic and can cause dehydration. The truth is that unless you are consuming a huge amount of caffeine, that is simply not true. The two cups of coffee in the morning is no worse than drinking water and a lot better than drinking Coke or some other high sugar drink. For the athlete, caffeine can have a big effect and it really does help a lot of people to have a cup of coffee about 1/2 hour before they work out. But, the possibility does exist for caffeine to affect some people much more than others, so be aware of the symptoms and cut back if you experience any of them. From MSN Health-
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Though moderate caffeine intake isn’t likely to cause harm, too much can noticeably affect your health. Heavy daily caffeine use — more than 500 to 600 mg a day, or about four to seven cups of coffee — can cause:
- Restlessness
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Muscle tremors
- Sleeplessness
- Headaches
- Nausea, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal problems
- Abnormal heart rhythms
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If you have any of these, cut back your caffeine intake by about half and see if thee is a difference. If not, try cutting all caffeine out. If there is no difference in the symptoms, it obviously isn’t the caffeine and you should see a doctor.
Posted by: Curt | Under: Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Seniors/fit | Add Comment
Here is an article that I really don’t need to comment too much on… But I will say this- if you put donuts and pastries out in front of most people, they will eat them until they are gone. That is the American way.
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MAHOPAC, N.Y. – It was just another morning at the senior center: Women were sewing, men were playing pool — and seven demonstrators, average age 76, were picketing outside, demanding doughnuts.
They wore sandwich boards proclaiming, “Give Us Our Just Desserts” and “They’re Carbs, Not Contraband.”
At issue is a decision to refuse free doughnuts, pies and breads that were being donated to senior centers around Putnam County, north of New York City. Officials were concerned that the county was setting a bad nutritional precedent by providing mounds of doughnuts and other sweets to seniors.
…Inside, some seniors said they missed the doughnuts but others said they were glad to see them go.
“It was disgusting the way people went after them,” said 80-year-old Rita Jorgensen. “I think the senior center did them a favor by taking it away.”
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Spiritual/Emotional, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Photo by Bill Coleman
The Amish people in SE Pennsylvania have long been the subject of curiosity- not just because of their simple, no modern technology lifestyles, but also because of their overall excellent health and low disease rate. There is always more to something like this than meets the eye, so one of the writers for Men’s Health explores some of the secrets in this article. Some are really obvious- like they work hard all day and eat healthy, home-grown food. It is good reading and has some important insights but fails to really articulate the deeply spiritual part of their lifestyle and community and how it affects everything they do. Still, well worth reading…
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Maybe the secret is hidden in the weirdness of Amish law, I thought, after Daniel and I had stocked up at the hardware store, had said our dankes to the clerk, and were heading home along the damp, empty farm roads. Maybe there was some clue in the mind-twisting logic that permits Daniel to ride in a car, for instance, or even own one, but not drive. Or the fact that he can use a battery-powered drill but not an electric one; and can scoot along on in-line skates or a Razor scooter, but when it comes to a bike, nicht, nicht. But if the magic formula was there, it wasn’t doing me much good; I couldn’t even understand the Amish playbook, let alone copy it.
Daniel isn’t much of a talker, so I knew quizzing him would be useless. Before I dropped him off, though, he did offer this tip: The reason I was so baffled, he suggested, was because I focused on the inconsistencies and missed the intent. If there’s one clue to the riddle of Amish culture, he explained, it’s this: “Every action must have a purpose.”
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
My brother sent me a link to an on-line magazine called Faith and Fitness. There are several big name contributors including Lee Haney and Dennis Tinerino. Both are very passionate about their Christian faith and about fitness. Most people agree that health and fitness are very much intertwined with our emotional and spiritual lives. This site looks at fitness from a Christian perspective and has some good articles on training for youth and children as well.
As a Christian myself, I realize that my desire for fitness has a spiritual aspect. Something beyond pure vanity drives me to take care of my body although vanity surely plays a role! If you believe that God created mankind for His glory- which is the orthodox Christian view, then you must look at how most people treat their bodies as counter to what God wants for us. I really don’t think that Adam and Eve in the original creation account looked like the typical American. Even if you don’t believe the creation account in the Bible, it must still strike you as wrong to “de-evolve” into what we have today. Faith has a powerful effect in people’s lives and I believe that it will play a crucial role in helping people live healthier more productive lives.
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
I saw an interesting study cited over on Dr. Mirkin’s site that suggests that portion size has a huge effect on if you will get huge- or huger, if that is a word. This really makes sense since we see portion sizes steadily increasing at fast food places and the size of people is getting steadily bigger too.
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Whether or not you are overweight, portion sizes of food are a major factor in determining how much you eat. In a recent study, researchers at Pennsylvania State University in University Park measured how much normal and overweight people ate (Obesity, June 2007). They then fed these people fifty percent larger portions of food at every meal. Both overweight and normal weight people increased their intake of food equally and they continued to eat far more food for the duration of the study.
You might expect that when people overeat, they would eventually reach a point where they feel full and stop taking in too much food. However, this has not been shown to be the case. When people are offered large portion sizes, they continue to eat more food and it doesn’t matter whether they were fat or thin when they received the larger portions.
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So do the right things- eat 6 small meals a day so you are never feeling starved, and order/eat smaller portions. Here is a good example- There is a fast food SW/Mexican style chain here in Atlanta called Moe’s. Most of the menu items are huge. Really huge. So a friend of mine suggested getting the small children’s size burrito and it was perfect. Way too much for most kids, but perfect for an adult. That just shows you that we start overfeeding our kids early in life too!
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness, Health | Add Comment
This summer here in Atlanta was brutally hot- 95-100 most every day. So now that it is absolutely perfect and in the 50’s at night/80ish during the afternoon, you would think that everyone would be happy. But the fact is that the season change is starting to be felt and not everyone responds well to that.
Personally, I hate winter. I hate the cold and I hate the short days. I would not go so far as to say I get depressed, but it definitely has a negative effect on my mood. I like warm sunny days and winter in Atlanta is typically in the 40-50’s and rainy. That makes me SAD.
SAD is an acronym for Seasonal Affective Disorder and it affects a lot more people than realize it. Some, obviously worse than others. After reading this you might recognize the symptoms in yourself or someone you know. This article over at Reuters Health Blogs gives some typical symptoms and suggestions for treatments. For me, the best treatment would be to move to the Virgin Islands…
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According to Mental Health America (formerly National Mental Health Association) , a diagnosis of Seasonal Affective Disorder can be made after 3 consecutive winters of the following symptoms if they are followed by complete remission of those symptoms in the spring and summer months:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Mood changes: extremes of mood and in some, periods of mania in spring and summer
- Sleep problems: desire to oversleep and difficulty staying awake or disturbed sleep and early morning awakening
- Lethargy
- Overeating: craving for starchy and sweet foods resulting in weight gain
- Social problems: irritability and desire to avoid social contact
- Sexual problems: decreased libido and decreased interest in physical contact
Causes
SAD may be a result of seasonal light variation. As seasons change, there is
a shift in our “biological internal clock” or circadian rhythm due partly to
these changes in sunlight patterns. This can cause our biological clock to
be out of step with our daily schedules.
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Check out the rest of the article for more resources.
