Health and Fitness Blogs

www.megamerchant.com Whether you touch the life of one person or reach out to millions, people across America are finding creative ways to help everyone stay active.  Special guest Bill Barberg and his son Alec in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area are making a huge impact in their communities.  Here is their story:

I recently read a very interesting book: 'The Emperor's New Drugs' by Irving Kirsch. The drugs under scrutiny in this book are antidepressants, and while that were very intersting, there was another subject that caught my full attention: the role that placebos play. Of course, we all know that there is always a placebo group in drug trials, and the placebo effect is legendary. 

I offer wellness workshops.  These can also be done over the phone.  Following is a sample of my stress management workshop.  The Five - Week Stress Relief Plan Now that you have started your workbook and took an inventory of your life, how did you do?  Well if you feel that now you need a plan, keep reading because that’s what this section is all about.  Here is your five week plan to help get the stress under control.  WEEK ONE:  YOUR ATTITUDE! 

Strength training increases your lean muscle mass, which increases your resting metabolic rate—the amount of calories you burn when you’re doing absolutely nothing—leading to greater weight loss than can be achieved through aerobic training alone. Wouldn’t it be nice to burn more calories all of the time and not just when you’re sweating it out in Zumba class? Plus strength training has been shown to improve cardiovascular health and increase bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

All exercise programs, including strength training, should incorporate the PROS—progression, regularity, overload, and specificity. Progression simply means that you need to gradually increase your weights and the complexity of your workouts in order to see further gains. Regularity means that you must make it a priority, preferably 2-3 times per week, because sporadic efforts can do more harm than good. When a muscle is overloaded, or subjected to workloads above what it’s used to, it adapts by becoming stronger.

Fatigued? Muscles ache? Feeling blue? The prescription may not be in a pill but in your local health club. Regular strength training has been shown to reduce the risk of back pain, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, insomnia, and yes, even depression. Not to mention the fact that it makes you look and feel great! With one in three Americans now classified as obese, the U.S. is in a health care crisis. Obesity not only increases the risk of heart disease but has also been linked to many cancers.

Exercise is the best predictor of long-term weight loss. Here are 4 quick tips to maximize your weight loss during exercise:1. Exercise in unstable environments, using more body parts-- for example, standing rather than sitting while performing common exercises such as the cable row or using stability balls rather than the floor for common exercises such as crunches and the dumbbell chest press.

Juvenile (or type 1) diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own insulin-producing cells. It typically appears in childhood, giving it its common name of juvenile diabetes. It is the lesser known type, affecting only 5 to 10% of those diagnosed as diabetic. Still, it affects as many as three million Americans, and more than 15,000 children are diagnosed with a new case of type 1 diabetes each year in the U.S. Regretfully, statistics show the rate of increase is on the rise.

Ok, my purpose here is not to blame IDEA Fit which I highly appreciate due to all the information they provide and support.I don't know in what matter Healthy Learning and Idea are connected but since I can't get contact with a HealthyLearning management staff I decided to write this post to see if I am the only one who complain..???The purpose is not to complain actually to to make things getting change... 

Should you stretch?Years ago, in gym class, stretching served as an introduction to the activity du jour. These days, people are discouraged from stretching cold muscles. Doing a light warm-up such as jogging in place for a few minutes before stretching increases blood flow to the muscles so that they're more easily extended.