Tamer trends: You can stay fit in less outlandish fashion in 2013

Tamer trends: You can stay fit in less outlandish fashion in 2013

Take a look at a trend prediction for 2013. I like seeing the increase in circuit training and stretching routines.  Have a fitness filled New Year!

Regular Exercise May Add Years to Life, Study Finds

If you need convincing to get off the couch and exercise a bit, then here is another study that you can be excited about.  Just a little bit of exercise can add years to your life. I have written about this before but I foresee a major increase in exercise among seniors in the coming years and my industry is gearing up to meet the challenge.  The Physical Fitness Industry is a great place to be for a living and for the pleasure of kowing what yo9u do can really iompact a person's life for teh long haul.  Get off the couch and start moving.






Regular Exercise May Add Years to Life, Study Finds

Beware "Healthy Halo" foods

Beware of marketers who use healthy terms to convey an item will keep you on your diet.  The author of the article provides a simple rule, read the label.  Also, don't over eat buy eating another item thinking that the healthy item made it possible.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2012/11/27/ellie-krieger-halo-foods/1710175/

Right Amount of Exercise Can Boost Mental Health: Study

Right Amount of Exercise Can Boost Mental Health: Study

Balance is a concept that works whenever applied to many life strategies, so it makes sense that it is important to hit the right livel of exercise to achieve the best results for exercise. The right amount of exercise leads to a better outlook than too little or to much just like overworking versus personal time can have deleterious results.  This study puts some good guidelines on balance when it comes to physical fitness and that makes good sense to me.

Burn Calories all day long!

I am a big fan of EPOC designed training.  EPOC stands for Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption and meams that after strength exercises combined with Cardio exercises results in Calories being burned 12 to 24 hours after teh work out.  The atatched article discusses in greater detail. I agree tnat many trainers do not teach this and it is so basic and important that this is a big miss.  Try it out and burn bonus calories.

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20120929/ARCHIVES01/120929841/1014&parentprofile=1057

Lead a Longer Life when you exercise, The Boomer Boom

I read that article that I have linked to below with excitement because the news that exercising leads to a longer life and the aging of America intersect nicely for people like me whom Train individuals for a living.  It is no wonder then that it was recently reported that we will have a shortage of Physical Fitness Trainers in the coming years as the aging baby Boomers work to eat and live better.  And what could be more rewarding than helping older Americans lead a more productive life?  It is a great time to be in the Physical Fitness business and the welcome mat is out to others.

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20120830/healthy-living-old-age-can-add-up-to_6-years

Having someone to push you works

I am a big believer in motivation.  Some of us have very strong self motivation and can push ourselves without much assitance. Some of us, even Olympic Athletes like the great Michael Phelps, need a coach to push us along.  I was also struck by the coach/athlete realtionships that were on display at the Olympic Gymnastic events. Most of us could do bettter if we had a coach. Enjoy the attached article that makes that point well which is my coaching advice for the day.

http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/31/want-to-lose-weight-a-coach-or-a-buddy-can-help/

Heat is Good up to a point

It is good to get advice that takes a general idea such as the article that I am linking to about heat and then breaks it down for better understanding.  Yes working out in the heat can be very good for the muscles but only up to a point.  Essentially, humidity can be the cause of a heat issue.  Exercising when it is 90 and less than 30% humidity is better than 80 and over 60% humidity. In all cases, especailly those of high humidity, hydration is very important. So enjoy the heat but watch the water/humidity!



http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/18/uk-fitness-heat-idUSLNE85H01520120618

Artificial Sweetners a Mystery, better than sugar.

I found an article that concisely highlights the debate over artificail sweetners. Which ones are OK and which are risky to long term health.  The one conclusion is that while all of the research is inconclusive that the artificial swettners are deemed to be "safe" by the FDA and that all scientists agree that they are better than sugar when it comes to leading a healthy life.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/which-sweetener-should-you-choose/

Oils and Fats reconsidered

I read the linked article about OIl rediscovered and was remided how Points of View can change on the types of food that we consume.  Who would even think of adding Lard to an oil today to spike up flavor given the bad image that lard has.  But as  Mark points out, we now find that natural fats can have a role in a diet in a moderated way. Plus, and here is the good news, adding these natural fats like lard or various nut oils can give food great flavor.  Never think that you know it all because all I can say is that the point of view will change and what was out might actually become back in.


http://www.qsrmagazine.com/marc-halperin/oil-reconsidered?utm_campaign=20120518&microsite=3+4109&utm_source=jolt&utm_medium=email

No More Pot Bellies

I am linking to a study that highlights the risk of having excess belly fat around the mid section.  There is a correlation betweeen large waist lines and sudden Cardiac Arrest.  Anormal exercise routine combined with a focus against better eating can really help to put one out of the danger zone. Articles like these seem scary but they are real and it is time to wake up.

http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=664467

A Healthy lifestyle is more than working out

I like the attached article for its focus on Healthy Eating and how cooking at home can help someone learn about healthy eating.  Diet should be about what is good to eat versus how much less you eat.  A well rounded lifestyle combines Physical fitness and healthy Eating. 

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2012/04/healthy-eating-nutrition-education-qa-with-michelle-neyman-morris/

10 Ideas for losing weight including lifting weights

I am a big proponent of eating right and lifting weights to promote healthy weight loss and it is good to see weight lifting on the list of the linked articel below.  There are other good ideas on the list as wel like eating popcorn as a snmack versus chips.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sc-health-0321-10-things-nutritionist-20120321,0,7315902.story

One Third of 'Empty Calories' Come from Snacks

One Third of 'Empty Calories' Come from Snacks

As with all food decisions, it is not when you eat but what you eat.  Eating sancks that are high in protein frequently is not a bad thing but eating snacks that do not meet your nutrition goals does not help. Once again, we see that the majority of eaters have a lot of eduction to do on what they eat. When they eat will just be a based upon their hectic schedules and, of course, that is where snacking comes into play.

Common sense on Food Choices - not Food Deserts fault

The artcle linked to below adds some common sense to the story of how we choose food.  Critics would like to blame obesity on Fast Food and lack of healthy choices, yet a California Study points to results that say that we have choices wherever we shop healthy and not so healthy.  Contrary to what critics would have us believe there are unhealthy choices at the supermarket.  The key is to undersatnd our choices and then to act responsibly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/dont-blame-food-deserts-for-obesity/2012/03/06/gIQAwOEUvR_blog.html

Weather Moods

I saw the following exerpt from a Luminosity web site today and it got me thinking about motivation once again.  If the brain functions better in better weather then wouldn't our motivation to exercise be stronger when the weather is better.  I wonder what the propensity to exercise in the winter is like in the South versus the North in the winter and vice versa in the summer?  To counter the impacts of weather on motivation, my theory is that there is an impact, I think that Exercise centers should design their facilities to bright, airy and fresh.  Lighting technology today is amazing and I hope that Exercise Companies are taing advantage of the technology to counter the moods of weather!

As the winter wears on outside of Lumosity's San Francisco headquarters, we're pondering this question: can bad weather be bad for your brain?

In some cases, wintry weather can lead to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a seasonally recurring depression linked to  limited sunlight exposure during winter months. Research shows that about half of non-depressed people have some degree of SAD symptoms during the winter.

But seasonal affective disorder doesn't just change your mood. A Psychological Science study showed that seasons can impact cognitive processes such as memory and speed. The study found that students' mood ratings and memory performance improved when the weather was better, especially on days with more sunlight. In an experimental manipulation, students who took a memory assessment indoors performed worse than students who took the same test outdoors on a warm, sunny day.
Given that research suggests a link between warm weather and enhanced cognition, we turned to our own database of cognitive performance to assess the effects of the seasons on Lumosity game performance. 
We looked at scores from the popular free game Memory Matrix to answer this question. Our analysis included only adults in North America, to control for seasonal differences in daylight and weather in the Southern Hemisphere. 
Members who started playing Memory Matrix during the winter months (December, January, and February) had significantly lower initial scores than those who started playing during the three other seasons. However, after just five sessions of training, winter Memory Matrix scores improved as much or even more than those in other seasons.  By the fifth training session, Memory Matrix scores had improved and were at about the same level across all seasons.
So though initial game scores affirmed prior research linking bad weather to poor performance, we also found that people can significantly improve memory in any season.

Teamwork

Motivation can be from one's self and from a team.  Sometimes a combination is what it takes to keep going.  You have to want to train but when your motivation is ebbing there is nothing like a team mate with a similar goal to keep you going.  Enjoy this link.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2012/02/15/ri_researchers_find_weight_loss_may_be_contagious/

Use APPS for measuring and tracking

Exercise caution when choosing health apps - USATODAY.com


This article provides sound advice in an age of technology. I prefer to use technology for measuring and tracking performance once an individaul plan has been established versus letting an Application establish an individual plan. To me there is no way to account for personal diferences in an universal application. Of course, there are helpful Applications that provide tips and ideas and I like those applications.

Supersets

I have used the concept of Supersets in my training and have found that it works well to burn fat while keeping the work out intersting.  I aslo recommend 3 Supersets in my training.  The linked article is very good.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sc-health-1228-time-supersets-20120104,0,19509.story?track=rss

Happy New Year is not motivation enough.

Motivation takes work and motivation is what it takes to stick with a good fitness plan.  Staying motivated is a challenge that you can meet but you need creative ways to do so.  I like the article that I am linking to because the author recognizes that staying motivated takes work.  I hope that his tips help you. I especially like his tips to "step on the scales regularly" and to 'set realistic goals".  You cannot improve if you do not measure.



http://www.freep.com/article/20120104/FEATURES08/201040316/Successful-weight-loss-needs-right-motivation