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Do you know about these surprising benefits of exercise? By Amanda Miarecki

November 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

3 Surprising Reasons You Should Be Working Out Regularly

It’s common knowledge that working out can help you lose weight and reduce your risk of disease. Physical activity also increases strength and energy levels. It can help alleviate depression, boredom, and stress.

The benefits of exercise extend to everything from your mood to your digestive health but I bet you didn’t know about these 3 surprising reasons you should be working out regularly.

Controlled Blood Sugar

Exercise is a great tool in controlling blood sugar levels, which can be exceptionally helpful for people struggling with diabetes, hypoglycemia, and other blood sugar related illnesses.

Exercise makes your heart beat faster which causes muscles to use more glucose, the sugar in your blood stream. Over time, this lowers overall blood sugar levels.  Cardio, like brisk walking, jogging, or stairs, incorporated into a weekly fitness routine keeps blood sugar levels in a healthy range.

Lose Weight Without Losing Bone Density

A study done at Washington University found that dieters who didn’t work out lost bone density, while exercisers did not. A regular fitness routine can help you lose weight without sacrificing done density.

Weight-bearing exercise forces bones to adapt to the pull and weight of muscles by building more bone cells. This increase in bone cells results in improved strength and bone density, which in turn decreases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Weight-bearing exercises, such as weight lifting, jogging, and dancing, are excellent for maintaining and increasing bone density.

Enhance Your Immune System

When you workout, your temperature rises. This higher body temperature makes it challenging for certain infectious organisms to survive. Working out will also speed up the rate that antibodies flow through your blood stream. This increase results in higher immunity against common illnesses.

A 30-minute walk once a day is enough to speed up the flow of antibodies in your system and help you ward off illnesses, like the common cold.

Amanda is a Boulder-based Health Coach, fitness enthusiast, avid trail-runner, and aspiring physician with a passion for integrative health. Her goal is to motivate women to live inspiring and healthy lives and create a revolution in how people think about their health. Her passion is encouraging others to take care of their bodies with exercise, healthy behaviors, and nutritious foods. Get inspired to live fit and connect with Amanda on her blog, via Facebook and Twitter.

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Put enthusiasm back in your exercise! By Nicole Bryan

October 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

If your workout routine has become boring and you’re body is no longer changing, you may be on a fitness plateau.  A plateau simply means your body has adapted to your current exercise routine.  It is time to shake up your workout and make your body learn something new.

Performing a new exercise means the mind must develop a new muscle/memory pattern.  In other words, a new neurological pathway will give your body a stimulus to adapt to, and therefore you’ll continue to get stronger, more fit, etc.

Try the following ideas to energize your workout routine and break through the plateau.    

 

Change the order of your exercises.  While we usually work larger muscles to smaller muscles, changing the order of similar muscle groups will be just enough unaccustomed exercise to prompt change again.

Change the angle at which you are working a specific muscle.  Pick an entirely different exercise or machine to work a particular muscle group.

Change the number of sets and repetitions. While the basic number of sets and repetitions is determined by your goal, try supersets or giant sets for a more challenging workout.  Supersets involve exercising opposing muscle groups back to back without a rest period.  Performing giant sets involve choosing three exercises done in a circuit format.

Cross train. Choose a completely different mode of exercise.  For example, join a spin class or try the rowing machine at the gym.

Circuit train.  Alternate one set of a resistance exercise with one minute of cardiovascular work.  Repeat until all exercises/sets are completed.

It is a good idea to change a component of your routine once every six weeks.  You will increase your chance of reaching your goal, and decrease your chance of injury and boredom.

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Thank You: September Trend Setters

September 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Cutting-edge, relevant, innovative and current: all words to describe our September Chat Sponsors. Health Your Way Online offers them each a THANK YOU for Sponsoring our Motivational-Monday Live Fitness Chat on Twitter.

Here are your September Trend-Setters.

Check them out to learn how they can help make your health and fitness, BETTER.

Shaping Her Esteem. Shaping Her Esteem (SHE) promotes the participation of girls in physical activity to increase their health and wellbeing. They share nutrition tips, motivational videos and facilitate boot camps for young girls. They offer fun community events, like this SHEmob- check it out here: SHEmob. Shaping Her Esteem is looking for girls between 8-16 who would love to write about her experiences in sport/dance, and to share positive experiences in physical activity! Follow them on Twitter for more info.

Sockwa. Sockwa is excited to present their newest model, the X8. Now boasting an odor-free, breathable, recyclable mesh fabric that has a moisture wicking inside to keep you cool. They’ve also perfected the Playa Lo and Playa Hi models.  Developed for the beach soccer and beach volleyball players of the world, these minimal beach socks provide comfort and protection. They are expanding their products into retail centers everywhere, so please reach out to stores@sockwa.com and tell them the name and city of the store where you’d like to see Sockwa! Follow them on Twitter for updates and product information.

RecoFit. Discover the RecoFit Compression Gear difference for yourself!  Their technical-fit and uniquely designed gear helps you get more oxygen to your muscles, reduce swelling and delay fatigue. RecoFit is the only compression gear that cuts their fabric in a cross-grain process; this means effective compression and no-slip positioning! Their breathable material disperses body heat and moisture, and has a negative ion charge to help oxygenate blood. As an American-made durable product, RecoFit’s specific manufacturing method allows users the exact amount of compression, exactly where they need it most. They offer 4 cost-effective products targeting legs, as well as arms. Founded by an athlete, tested on athletes, but made for everyone! Contact your compression experts directly at Recofit@gmail.com or via phone 303/415-0580. Check them out on Twitter!

Jessica Matthews. Health Your Way Online welcomed back our chat co-host Jessica Matthews. Jessica is a fitness expert, @acefitness health coach, fitness blogger, yoga educator and college professor, just to name a few. View her latest YouTube video for expert tips how to get in your workout without equipment, without a gym. Check out her blog for motivation and inspiration.And be sure to follow her on Twitter.

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Squash: A Superfood? By Lori Rosenthal

September 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Fall has arrived and with it came a slew of delicious, seasonal fruits and vegetables to enjoy. One that should definitely not be missed is winter squash.

Winter squash comes in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes, each with a unique flavor profile and texture. When selecting winter squash, opt for those that feel heavy for their size and have a hard, undamaged rind.

The most popular types are butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash:

Acorn Squash: Acorn shape, dark green skin with hints of orange or yellow and pale yellow-orange flesh. It has a sweet, nutty flavor.

Butternut Squash: Pear shape with beige/tan skin and sweet, orange flesh.

Spaghetti Squash: Long, oval shape with yellow skin and flesh. When cooked and removed from the skin with a fork, it forms spaghetti-like strands, making it a healthy alternative to pasta.

Winter squash is an excellent source of vitamin C, packing half of our recommended daily dose in just one cup. It’s also an excellent source of vitamin A, getting its yellow-orange pigment from carotenoids, which include beta-carotene (may reduce risk of macular degeneration.) The darker orange the squash, the more carotenoids it contains. Both vitamin A and C are antioxidants, compounds which protect our cells from damage caused by free-radicals, reducing risk of cancer and heart disease. Winter squash is a good source of dietary fiber, containing approximately 6 grams per cup. Fiber not only keeps us feeling full for longer, but also improves gut motility, promotes blood sugar control, has a cholesterol lowering effect and protects us from various forms of cancer.

Winter squash is not only packed with health promoting nutrients; it’s also easy to cook, delicious and very versatile. When preparing squash, steaming is one of the fastest and healthiest cooking method. All it takes is four simple steps: halve, de-seed, peel and cube. Squash can also be baked, broiled, roasted, sauteed, boiled or microwaved. When microwaving a whole squash, be sure to puncture the skin in several places with a fork or knife to prevent it from exploding.

This is one of my favorite winter squash recipes. It is tasty, simple to prepare and freezes well. Serve it with a dollop of low fat, plain yogurt for protein and added flavor.

Butternut Squash and Apple Cider Soup

1 butternut squash (1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove peeled, minced garlic
3 slices fresh, peeled ginger
1-14 oz can or box of low sodium vegetable broth
1-1/2 cups apple cider

1. Peel squash with a vegetable peeler (from stem to root) and cut lengthwise with a heavy knife. Scoop out the seeds with a large spoon, cut lengthwise again and then into chunks.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion and garlic.
3. Once they have softened (~5 min), add ginger, squash, vegetable broth and cider. Cover and cook over a medium flame for approximately 20 minutes or until the squash is very soft.
4. Remove from heat, uncover and let cool.
5. Puree in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. Adjust the thickness with additional cider if desired.

Lori Rosenthal, MS, RD, CDN
Bariatric Dietitian
Twitter: LoRoRD

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Is Sleep Really Important? By Rachael Roehmholdt

September 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Getting great quality sleep is something that comes naturally to all of us. After all, as infants, it’s the one thing we do best. As we grow up, sleep becomes less and less important to us. As adults, our actions throughout the day threaten our sleep quality with caffeine, highly stressful lives, and constant availability to cell phones, screens and TV’s. It’s no wonder that our sleep is one of the first habits that slips away when life gets hectic.

Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to sleep, which is why it is a priority of living a healthy life. Don’t believe me?

Here are three reasons why great quality sleep should be included in every healthy living plan:

1. Sleep quality affects your stress response.
When stressed, our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol which heightens our senses and keeps us alert for the situation we’ve encountered. Without being able to fully relax with quality sleep, our stress levels never fully recover after this response. With heightened awareness and stress, our likelihood of getting great sleep becomes even more difficult.

2. Sleep affects your digestion.
Digestion, absorption and assimilation of food takes quite a bit of energy from the body. In order to do this with ease, great quality sleep is required to let your body fully take advantage of that restful cycle.

3. Sleep curbs inflammation.
Increased amounts of inflammatory hormones are released into the blood when the body has not had time to get adequate quality sleep. This inflammation is a common link for many common illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

Make the effort to add great quality sleep to your healthy living plan. Your body and your health will thank you for years to come.

Rachael Roehmholdt is a certified holistic health coach and founder of Be More Healthful. With a passion for good food and living a healthful and balanced life, she believes that small changes to our everyday lives can set us up for a lifetime of health and happiness.

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To those who have motivated our healthy living: Thank You!

September 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Has someone in particular inspired or motivated your fitness? Offer him/her a Thank You! A few words of encouragement, an email of enthusiasm or a simply a text offering a Good Luck goes a long way toward motivating one another. As athletes we are instantly a community of friends. We all understand the effort and dedication required to live healthy and fit.

So, contact someone today who has inspired you, motivated you, or provided encouragement on your healthy living journey, and offer these two simple words of gratitude: Thank You.

 

THANK YOU to our Summertime Motivational-Monday Live Fitness Chat Sponsors! If you’re looking for ways to motivate your fitness, check them out.

PrAna. If you’re on the go often and believe in living an active lifestyle, you should know about PrAna! Their slogan “clothing for people who live life fully, play long, and travel well” sums up their motivation behind their clothing designs. They offer men’s clothing and women’s clothing touting functional apparel for the unconventional spirit. Designed for healthy living and offering durable apparel be sure to include prAna in your next health living adventure. Follow them on Twitter to see what’s new. www.prAna.com

Flip2BFit. Peak your kids interest to be active through the innovative games of Flip2BFit. Ideal for the whole family to play on a weekend, for a group activity at a birthday party, or for teachers to have on hand as a rainy day go-to. Their games encourage self-esteem all realized through the spin of a wheel and the flip of a card! Order yours today for hours of family fun time via www.Flip2BFit.com and check them out on Twitter.

RunnerBox. RunnerBox offers you the opportunity to sample top fitness, running and triathlon products just like the Pro’s (without having to train like one.) Each month you’ll receive a mini shoe-box full of products chosen just for you; you’ll find nutrition, gear, gadgets, just to name a few. Choose a subscription or 1-time purchase to gift yourself or favorite athlete. At www.therunnerbox.com, there’s no better way to find YOUR perfect running, triathlon and fitness products. Follow them on Twitter for a preview of upcoming products and discounts.

RunHappyRaces. Discover the ease and inspiration of virtual races through RunHappyRaces. All proceeds from Run HAPPY Races events go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through their Team In Training program. HAPPY stands for “Run Happy. Have a Purpose!” and this is exactly what you’ll experience in their events. So, what’s the benefit of a virtual race? Complete the race distance before the final day, anywhere and at any time you choose- that’s it! Enjoy connecting with fellow athletes online without the travel costs and 3 am shuttles to race starts. Go to www.runhappyraces.com for event information and follow them on Twitter for all race info and updates.

Rock My Run. Looking for a motivational boost during your workout? Meet RockMyRun! They offer music mixes specifically designed with YOU, the athlete, in mind. Offering over 15 difference genres from which to choose, you can also select desired duration and beats per minute for your run and gym workout. RockMyRun has designed their mixes to keep you going when your motivation is challenged. As your training partner, they’ll get you through and onto logging your next personal best. Follow them on Twitter to learn about all their new and upcoming mixes. Check out www.rockmyrun.com – where your next favorite music mix awaits.

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Core Moves: Easy as 1-2-3 by Chanda Fetter

August 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

We’re all busy, busy, busy, so here are three great go-to exercises to strengthen your core. 

No more excuses, strengthening your core is a necessity!  It allows us to stand taller, have a stronger spine with less low back and neck discomfort.

Plank  – This is one of the all time best core exercises.  The idea is to contract your core muscles while holding a prone neutral position.  Planks can be done on your elbows, hands.  A general modification to keep your knees on the floor, just make sure your weight shifts into the abdominals as opposed to hips or shoulders.  You will want to tighten your abdominals and make sure to keep your legs sipped together as one.  Other variations include side planks, dynamic rotation or even adding a pike.

Sitting V with Trunk Rotation – Grab yourself a 5-10 pound medicine ball, bag of potatoes or even fruit.  Sit up tall with your feet on the floor, knees bent and hinge back from the hips to engage your abdominals.  If possible wedge your feet under something for added stability.  Be sure you don’t hinge back too far as you don’t want to over recruit your hip flexor muscles, nor do you want to load your lower back.  Stay at a safe angle that allows maximum recruitment of your abdominal wall.  Take your weight and rotate side to side making sure to stay evenly planted on your tail.  While you are performing this exercise be sure to tighten your abs and breathe deep.  Know that this exercise can be performed with just your body weight as well for less intensity by simply crossing your arms on your chest.   Perform until you find fatigue in your abdominals then rest for a few breathes and repeat 3x.

Superman/woman – Lie on your stomach with your arms extended overhead and legs reaching long out of your waist.  Lift opposite arm and leg while lifting chest slightly off the ground.  As your limbs lift, your chest lifts, and they go down, your chest lowers back down.  Once you get the hang of that try lifting all four limbs off the floor and hold for 15-30 seconds.  General reminders are to lengthen out of your spine and inhale, then exhale and lift your chest off the ground to find a position just beyond neutral.  You’ll want to be sure you pull the shoulder blades down your back so you’re not taking weight into your neck and shoulders.  Keep your gluts relaxed and feel the muscles along the sides of your spine tighten and you extend your back.

Chanda Fetter
IMX Pilates Studio & Fitness Center, Owner
IMX Pilates Master Trainer
Chanda@imxsb.net

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Strength Training: How do I start?

August 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Many put off joining a gym because they don’t know where to begin in regards to a strength training program. There are three questions to ask yourself when choosing your exercise program:
 

What is my goal? This determines your priority exercises. There are many types and modes of strength training exercise.

Is there an event/specific task for which I need to prepare? If you are focused on achieving a particular outcome by a specific date, it is in your best interest to seek professional assistance. Upon a fitness evaluation a Professional Fitness Trainer will be able to recommend the appropriate course

What time commitment am I willing to make?  Any time is better than no time.

Upon answering the questions above you will be set to take action. There are three keys to building strength:

Stimulating the muscle, done through intensity and variety. To stay in your anaerobic pathway muscle fatigue must be reached within a 30-90 second time period/per set. This ensures you’ve recruited the muscle fibers and overloaded them sufficiently. For variety, change a component of your program every four to six weeks. This will create a new neurological pathway so your body will have a stimulus to adapt to and continue to become stronger.

Proper weight lifting mechanics. Firstly, every movement should begin with neutral posture: Line your ears up over your shoulders, and line your shoulders up over your hips. Secondly, draw your belly button in tight. Now you are ready to begin the movement.

Controlling the movement. Control the weight throughout your range of motion to reduce risk of injury.

Every strength exercise you perform in the gym should serve a specific purpose. If you’re not sure which to choose, consult a Fitness Professional to assist you.

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3 Core Mistakes by Chanda Fetter

August 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Having worked in the fitness industry for over twenty years, one of the biggest deficiencies I’ve seen in people’s training is working the Core. Most neglect it all together, others just do the exercises improperly.  Either way it leads to bad posture, low back pain and countless other problems, all which could be eliminated. Remember your core essentially makes up all the muscles between your hips and your ribs both front and back!

Keep the following  in mind the next time you’re working your core:

Core is MORE than just Abs – The language I use with my clients is “front core” and “back core.” Owning a Pilates studio I see people with back problems all the time, I hear the same mistake over and over again. There is a misconception that working your Abs is working your Core.  If you neglect to work your spinal muscles but continue to work only your abs, there will be a drastic muscle imbalance created thus resulting in more back pain, tight hip flexors and even tension to the neck.  So evaluate your workouts and make sure to include “back core” exercises into your routine!

Slow Down – It pains me to walk through the training room and see people rapidly moving through their sit ups. If it hurts more than it helps, don’t do it! Moving too quickly through your motion adds stress to the spine, recruits too much hip flexor and tends to skip over the deeper abdominal muscles.  So just slow down a little and let your muscles define your range, not your momentum.

Be nice to your neck – Neck pain should not be felt during abdominal work. What most people neglect to address is the Lats. Often times when doing crunches people round the head forward too far and pull on it, or when in a plant the weight of the head sinks and adds stress to the neck. By simply pulling your shoulder blades down and engaging your Lats, the tension is pulled out of your neck and shoulders and allows for a much more enjoyable experience with core work.

Chanda Fetter
IMX Pilates Studio & Fitness Center, Owner
IMX Pilates Master Trainer
Chanda@imxsb.net

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Getting Organized by Coach Juli

August 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

An effective work space and living space is a component of healthy living. A  functional living space means decreased stressed, increased efficiency in how you operate and accomplish tasks day to day.

Here’s how to clear the clutter and get organized, once and for all! (Yes, you can do this!)

Clutter has a way of creeping up on us and one day we realize it is simply out of control. Leaving it alone only increases it dimensions and makes the overwhelm significantly pronounced.

How to Begin:

Start by scheduling time over the course of days and perhaps even weeks to tackle the issue.  Consistent work on it will yield progress.  Often just getting started helps get the ball rolling and you can move along faster.  It is necessary to understand that there simply is not enough space for everything to fit.  One general rule of thumb I apply is that everything needs a place to be stored.

Rule: If something doesn’t have a place to be then either create a place, or don’t keep the object.

It’s really that simple.  If you don’t do this, it is a guarantee that it will be tucked under something and otherwise rendered useless. It will become forgotten among items it has nothing in common with. You will end up wasting time looking for it in places it shouldn’t be, and if you don’t find it, you will most likely end up buying another one!

What do you do when you are stuck with the decision of whether to keep or toss out an item?  If you unearthed it from under a pile of junk and you forgot you even had it, chances are you don’t need it.

Be honest. Try asking yourself, honestly, “what are my reasons for keeping this?”

Get tough. If your answer isn’t strong enough, perhaps the item needs to find a better home –the trash or donation center is that better place.

Contributed by Coach Juli, CPC: ADHD Productivity Coach. Efficiency Expert since 1984, and author of the eBook, Order! A Logical Approach to an Organized Way of Life, www.getordernow.com. Contact at jshulem@gmail.com 805-964-2389 or www.coachjuli.com.

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