Dynamic Fitness and Wellness by Michael

The Physical dimension of wellness involves encouraging regular activities that produce endurance, flexibility and strength. Read each statement carefully and respond honestly by using the following scoring:

• Almost Always=2 points
• Sometimes/Occasionally=1 point
• Very Seldom=0 Points

___1. I exercise aerobically 30min at least 3 times a week

___2. I eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains every day.

___3. I avoid tobacco products.

___4. I wear a seat belt while riding in and driving a car.

___5. I deliberately minimize my intake of cholesterol, dietary fats, and oils.

___6. I avoid drinking alcoholic beverages or consume no more than one drink per week.

___7. I get an adequate amount of sleep.

___8. I have adequate coping mechanism for dealing with stress.

___9. I maintain a regular schedule of immunization, physical, dental checkups and self exams.

___10. I maintain a reasonable weight, avoiding extremes of overweight and underweight.

___ Total for physical wellness dimension.

 

SCORE:

15 to 20 Excellent

9 to 14   Room for Improvement

0 to 8     Needs a lot of work

 

 Diet, exercise, mental health, and supplemtation are four Keys to great health. So what does this mean to you?  You need to eat healthy, be more active, strive for mental balance, and take supplements. I want to briefly touch on each key.

When it comes to diet, we need to eat healthy. Anything that comes through your car window should not be considered food. All refined and processed foods should be eliminated from our homes and diets. You should eat whole foods such as fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, lean meats, poultry and fish.

Can exercise make us healthy? Simple answer…. Yes! Exercise has many befits. Exercise is a very important part of a person’s daily life.  Exercise keeps our bodies working in peak condition even when our minds are not.  Daily exercise is essential for optimal cardiovascular health and a long life. It has shown to reduce the risk for diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure osteoporosis and heart disease are a few of them.

Striving for mental balance cannot always be so easy. A few tips that can help you to strive for mental balance are learning to relax. Allow yourself to let go of inner tensions by giving yourself a “mini vacation.”  Be kind to yourself, people are frequently too hard on themselves when things don’t go right. Find a friend; friendships are very important to mental fitness. Working on developing and maintaining friendships is one of the best ways to continue growing as a person. Learn to say “NO”; all too often people feel the need to respond immediately when a friend or family member make a request. Do it now; procrastination can lead to negative feelings about yourself. Adapt to rather than resist change; change is inevitable and is a necessary part of life. These are just a few of tips that can help you strive for mental health.

There are many supplements out there. Not many which I would recommend, but there a few that most people should take. Taking a good multivitamin can help you to get the vitamins and minerals that you could miss out in your diet. Omega-3s are a good way for you to get the healthy fats that you would miss in your diet. The last supplement that most people should take is probiotics.

In Good Health,

Michael 

Do you know your trainer? Fitness professionals get a bad rap at times, and most of the time they’ve earned it. There are many trainers out there that are more interested in their self gratification rather than taking care what is most important, the client. I have sat back and watched trainers with their clients.

 There are 2 types of trainers. One who stands there looking pissed off and not wanting to be there. They have their arms crossed and are not even having a conversation with their client, and even more important there not even correcting the form of their client.

There is a 2^ndtype of trainer. One that looks the part, they are engaged with their clients. Making sure each step of the way their client is using proper form, standing a sports stance ready to help the client.  The trainer is focus on their client and having a conversation.

I sometimes ask why some trainers got into this profession.  You should ask yourself the same thing if your trainer is like the 1^stone. If they are more like the 2^ndone they are well worth the money you invested in your health and fitness.

In Good Health,

Michael 

A complex illness affecting multiple systems of the body, in particular, the nervous and immune system. CFS or Chronic fatigue syndrome has many symptoms including extreme exhaustion, aching muscles, joint pain, headache, dysfunctional sleep, and flu-like feelings. Recovery can take years if at not at all, most people suffer relapses throughout their lives. There is no known cause CFS.

                Often a problem for most chronic fatigue syndromes suffers, exercise can worsen their symptoms. Whether people with the syndrome should attempt regular exercise or not is divided upon the medical field opinion. But some good evidence that a program of graded modest aerobic exercise may improve function in many with the syndrome. Physicians do in general advise suffers to carefully pace themselves and encourage them to avoid unusual physical or emotional stress.

                A person with CFS needs a gentle approach to physical activity and should only make tiny increases in frequency, duration and intensity of their exercise program. Some doctors recommend graded exercise therapy (GET) as part of a treatment regimen. Research shows that GET can help you alleviate symptoms and regain functionality, while exercise can be an important part of your treatment, it’s not a cure, and it takes time for it to work.

In Good Health,

Michael 

There are many reasons people need to hire a personal trainer. Sometimes we all need a little help with exercise. Weight training injuries increased as much as 48% between 1990 and 2007 according to a study by the American journal of sports medicine. The take home-home message is good form matters. Along with good form a personal trainer also can help with the following 10 reasons. 1. Motivation One of the main reasons people benefit from a personal trainer is that they loss motivation to stick with a consistent exercise program. Certified personal trainers can provide structure and accountability, and help you develop a lifestyle that encourages health. 2. Individualized program If you have any chronic health conditions, injuries or training goals (running a marathon, for example) a trainer will work with you and your health care provider to plan a safe, efficient program that considers these needs and enable you to reach your health goals. 3. Efficiency Personal Trainers help you focus on results and stop wasting your time doing inefficient workouts. A personal trainer has a plan and will help you get maximum results in minimum time. 4. Improve technical skills If you play a particular sport, the right personal trainer will help you improve your skill by showing you new training techniques specific to your sport. The Trainer will incorporate skills training into your program so you improve not only your strength and endurance, but your agility and mental focus as well. 5. You are new to exercise If you are an absolute beginner; a personal trainer is the ultimate fitness coach. A good trainer will introduce you to a very simple, effective routine and build efficiently so before you know it, you have the confidence and knowledge to decide what is right for you. 6. Break through plateaus Ok, you are already in pretty decent shape, but you've been there for years. If you are stuck in the same routine and want to break out of a rut, a personal trainer is the perfect solution. A trainer will jump start, not only your motivation, but you’re routine as well. 7. Learn how to go it alone If you ultimately want to learn all the facets of designing your own routines so you don't need to use a personal trainer, going for a few months may be all you need. All good personal trainers will teach you the basics of building and modifying a fitness program to achieve maximum results. 8. Workout Safely A personal trainer watches your form, monitors your vitals and can provide objective feedback about your limits and strengths. Most of us tend to ignore some of the subtle signals our body provides. We either push through pain or give up too soon. Because a personal trainer can watch what you are doing while you are doing it, they can help push you or slow you down as necessary. 9. Workout at home Many personal trainers make house calls. If you don't have the type or interest in going to a gym, but have a hard time knowing what to do on your own at home, a personal trainer can bring fitness into your living room. 10. Lose Weight There is a good reason that the number one reason people hire personal trainers is to lose weight and get into shape -- it works. If you made a resolution to lose the fat and build the muscle, a trainer can keep you on track and help you realize that goal. Before you hire a personal trainer you should ask the folloing questions • What are there qualifications and certification? A qualified personal trainer has an education in physiology, health promotion, athletic training, kinesiology or a similar field. They should have first aide and CPR certification as well as certification from a reputable organization such as ACSM, ACE, IDEA, YMCA, NSCA NCSF or similar. • Do you have liability insurance? They should answer yes. • What are your policies and procedures? A personal trainer should have a documented policy explaining their services, costs, cancellations, length of contract, and emergency procedures. They should also require a medical clearance form to be completed before they work with you. • Finally, you should feel comfortable with the trainer, his/her style of communication and the expectations of your time together

Your Body uses calories for fuel and knowing how can make a big difference in how you approach your weight loss program. The body primarily uses fat and carbs for fuel. A small amount of protien is used durning exercise, but it's mainly used to repair the muscles after exercise. Depending on the activity in which you are doing the ratio of these fuels will shift. A fast paced-running (higher intensity exercise) will rely more on carbs for fuel than fat. That's because the metabolic pathways available to break down carbs for energy are more effcient than the path ways available for fat breakdown. Longer, slower exercise, fat is used more for energy than carbs. When it comes to weight loss, it doesn't matter what type of fuel you use. What matters is how many calories you burn as opposed to how many calories you take in. Just because you're using more fat as energy doesn't mean your're burning more calories, is the bottom line. In good Health, Michael

Many people believe that strength training decreases flexibility. Actually, a well rounded program of progressive resistance exercise is likely to increase flexibility beyond normal ranges, when the movements are carried through a complete range of motion (ROM) and when exercises are selected to include both members of antagonistic (opposing) muscle groups.

Nearly 1 in 3 Adults has hypertension and it’s on the rise. A recent article by AP reports US fails to fight High Blood Pressure. High Blood Pressure is relatively simple to prevent and treat yet it’s the nation’s second leading cause of death, simply cutting salt, eating more potassium and getting some exercise. It had long been supposed that the effort involved with weight training could be problematic for people suffering from high blood pressure. However, the medical literature reveals that properly performed strength training has actually been shown to reduce resting blood pressure in mildly hypertensive adults without the risk of dangerous blood pressure increase. Check us out at Vertex Fitness and see how we can put you through a safe and effective workout. And meet your fitness goals!

Breathing while working out you would think would come natural, but it does not. Must of us hold our breath during strength training or heavy exertion which is called Valsalva maneuver. The Valsalva maneuver involves forcibly exhaling against a closed glottis (entrance to the throat), which increases your pressure in your chest. This raise in chest pressure can couple with adverse effects that could become life-threatening. Breathing throughout the performance of exercise should be continuous and natural, and it should be performed with an open mouth. As an exercise becomes more difficult and the lactic acid begins to accumulate in your muscles, causing that “burning” sensation, you should deliberately breathe faster, or hyperventilate. This step will help you break the urge to hold your breath and employ the Valsalva maneuver. Two good articles to check out on the importance in breathing when lifting weights are www.livestrong.com or www.answers.com In Good Health, Michael

It’s that time of year where many new bee’s flock to the gym in search of reaching their goal of New Year’s resolution of better health, losing weight, and looking better. But for those that all ready are gym goers there are a few individuals that that suffer from exercise addiction. Individuals with an exercise addiction are characterized by their compulsive exercise behaviors, and over involvement in exercise and the presence of an activity disorder. Exercise addiction is maladaptive, so instead of enhancing the person’s life, it is detrimental maladaptive, so instead of enhancing the person’s life, it is detrimental. It can threaten health, causing injuries, physical damage due to inadequate rest, and in some instances malnutrition and other problems. Exercise addicts may be driven to work out despite exhaustion or injury. Intense exercise addiction can lead to permanent physical damage, as the body is not allowed to recuperate between workouts. This addiction not only causes these issues but also causes the person to skip school, miss work, forgo social events, and exercise even when they are ill or tired. There are many signs of exercise addiction including fatigue, soreness and stiffness, and hormonal changes. Such as decreased testosterone in males and increased production of cortisol, a hormone produced in response to stree that can cause the breakdown of bone, leading to an increased risk of stress fractures and osteoporosis, muscle wasting can also be a side effect of the addiction. Anxiety and discomfort with rest or relaxation, and inability to stop exercising are all behavioral signs of the addiction. In Good Health, Michael