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The benefits of exercise
Do we really understand the benefits of including exercise and healthy eating as a daily routine of your week? Diseases linked to obesity has overtaken smoking related health problems as the world number one killer according to Barry Popkin, professor of global nutrition at the University of North Caroline. It is important to look at our culture, upbringing and beliefs and change our view to not only start a healthy, physical active existence but to make it a life style choice. The benefits include: Feeling Happier - exercise releases endorphins that create feelings of happiness and euphoria Reduces stress – working up a sweat can assist with the management of physical and mental stress Improve confidence – exercise can elevate your perception of attractiveness and self worth Improve your cardiovascular system – increases blood flow from the heart throughout the body increasing cardiorespiratory Helps in the prevention of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipid (cholesterol and triglyceride) profile, stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and colon and breast cancers. Increase bone density and muscle – we lose 6% muscle every year from the age of 30. So assist in protecting against osteoporosis Improves sleep quality Raises your metabolism to assist with weight management HOW DO WE STAY MOTIVATED TO CONTINUE WITH OUR NEW LIFESTYLE? By setting goals It is really important to choose a goal that is important to you Set short and long term goals: increase your walks from 20 mins to 30mins, do a 5km fun run, achieve a proper push up etc Reward yourself monthly for continuing with your health y and fit lifestyle by papering yourself in “ you time” - Have a bubble bath, read a book, watch a good movie, enjoy a small treat etc Involve your family and friends to form a support group around you to ask your progress and help motivate. Don’t give yourself a hard time if you stray occasionally… just get yourself back on track. Write how great you feel, look, sleep and sticky note them around the house as reminders of why you need to continue this lifestyle- MAKE THEM YOUR AFFIRMATIONS (PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF MY GOAL SETTING- OXFAM 100KM - 10KM RUNS AND HALF MARATHON)
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It is as important to pick the right Personal Trainer, as it is to pick the right Doctor, Hairdresser, Beauty Therapist or Masseuse. You need to feel as comfortable as you would be discussing personal information with your doctor. In other words you need to be open and honest.
Most Personal Trainers want to help you achieve your fitness goals. So when you are Ready, Willing and Able to commit to your fitness program there are a few questions that you should ask yourself before you commit to a Personal Trainer. 1. Do they have your best interests at heart? 2. Will they motivate and inspire you to reach your goals? 3. Will they push you harder than you would yourself during a training session? 4. Do you look forward to seeing them, or always eager to get to the session? 5. Do you trust and respect her/him? 6. Do they make you feel good, encourage and support you? 7. Can you be honest with him/her? 8. Can you be yourself when you are with him/her? 9. Do they have measures in place to show your progress? If you have answered No to most of these questions then you need to reevaluate your current relationship with your Personal trainer. If you have said Yes to all or most then you are on the right track. If the questions have initiated the need for more information or questions, then now is the perfect time for you to be upfront and discuss these with your trainer. If you are committed in achieving the best outcome for you and will you will build a good, solid trusting relationship with your trainer. Stretching is as important as doing the training session for many reasons. It increases circulation and blood flow to the heart and muscles. It increases flexibility and range of motion and strength. It also reduces soreness of the muscles assisting in muscle recovery. Stretching decreases injury, stress on the joints and improves posture.
When stretching it should be in a static movement, which means taking the muscle to the point of resistance and holding the position for 20 to 30 seconds. To increase the stretch you can gently push the resistance a bit more in the same position. Please ensure that you do this carefully and cautiously.
The benefits of exercise should be promoted and especially so for older adults at all ages and ability levels. In fact the benefits of regular moderate exercises for elderly people outweigh the risks, even for those with chronic
illnesses. It has been proven that regular exercise can improve Alzheimers and dementia, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and neuro-cognitive function. Regular exercise will also improve mood and feelings of well being, increase cardiovascular functionality, mobility, flexibility, muscle strength, gastrointestinal function and can lower the chance of injury. So what does that mean? * It means feeling happy and lowering feelings of anxiety and depression * It means regaining some coordination and balance * It means maintaining healthy bones and joints * It means increasing bone density and joint range of motion * It means reducing the risk of falling and fracturing bones * It means having heart muscles in great shape, reducing common cardiac problems * It means increases respiratory intake to helps fight common illnesses, such as a cold or the flu * It means a stronger immune system to fight off infection and sickness * It means stronger gastrointestinal functionality, which increases metabolism and the elimination of waste and encourages digestive health * It means living independently for longer Ensure that you choose a qualified older adult Personal Trainer who has a good understanding of the required exercise program, they will ensure that the training session will provide stretching, flexibility with balance and hand/ eye coordination exercises. In April 2016 l completed the Oxfam 100km walk with a wonderful team. Oxfam is a
charity walk within the Dandening Ranges to raise money for under privileged people around the world, helping to provide such things as clean drinking water, education and enabling communities to become self-sufficient. It is a worthy and challenging event. I know how challenging it is as l completed it 3 years ago. The reason I chose to do it again was because of the awful experience, due to various reasons, l had last time. Having assumed I would not have the opportunity or desire to participate in this event again I suddenly found three wonderful ladies that were interested in completing this challenge. This time we all had the same values and definition of team so l knew l had to take this opportunity. Once again I had a goal! When choosing a challenge or goal make sure it is meaningful to you because it will require preparation, dedication, passion, commitment and motivation. You won’t commit to something that has no meaning or importance to you. If you are choosing a challenge that requires team work make sure you choose the correct team. Speak to each other about your expectations of training times, what time you hope to finish the event in, your expectation of each other as a team and how much support or how support will be provided to each other. Be aware that if working as part of a team your commitment is not just to yourself but also to each other. Preparing, training and completing Oxfam again reaffirmed to me the benefits of committing to a challenge and setting an exercise goal. It is easy to get caught up in life and have periods where a regular exercise routine is disrupted by commitment to work, family or friends coming first. In the short term or even in the long term it can be difficult to get motivated and get back on track with your training. Setting a goal can ensure that it does. Whether it is a long term or short term goal it just needs to be important to you so that you want to achieve it. So whether it is being able to walk to the local shops, a 5km walk, performing a chin up or running a marathon, It needs to inspire the desire to stay committed and achieve that goal no matter what gets in the way. My next challenge.... Half marathon in July 2017... What is yours? We all know that stress can affect us physically and mentally. It can reduce our sleep, encourage moodiness and tiredness, affect our concentration and encourage us to eat high sugar foods and eat too much food. Exercise produces endorphins- chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers – which improve the ability to sleep,
becomes a mood elevator and reduces stress. Exercise also reduces the levels of our body’s stress hormones, such as cortisol. Although cortisol is great for regulating blood pressure and the immune system during a sudden crisis too much release of this hormone will tell the body to crave sugary, high fat foods, which will result in weigh gain usually in the abdominal area. So feel better, sleep better and help keep that tummy tight by maintaining regular healthy exercise. The Fit Ball Is One Of The Most Under Utilised Training Tools And Used Correclty Can Increase Your Resistance Workouts By Increasing Your Balance, Mobility And Flexibility. It Will Strengthen Back, Spinal And Abdominal Muscles And Improve Posture.
Why? Because You Are Working On An Unstable Surface So You Need To Work Your Abdominal Muscles While Performing Your Exercises. For Example: Performing Bicep Curls On A Fit Ball Requires You To Sit Up Straight, Improving Your Posture And Ensuring Your Abdominals Muscles And Back Musscles Are Switched On. So You Are Working Much Harder Than Just Sitting On A Bench And Performing The Sane Action. Thus Increasing Their Workout Dramatially. You Can Also Increase Or Reduce The Instability Whilst Sitting On The Fit Ball By Bringing Feet In Closer Or Feet In Wider By Increasing Your Base Of Support. We all know stress affects us physically and mentally. It effects our sleep, moods, energy levels and concentration. But did you know that long term stress leads to weight gain?
Experiencing a stressor results in a number of hormones being released. One of these is cortisol. In the short term the release of cortisol actually helps the body to adapt to a stressful situation. However chronically high cortisol levels depress the immune system and result in craving sugary and high fat foods resulting in weight gain, usually in the abdominal area. There are a number of ways of reducing the feelings of stress, exercise is one of the most effective. Exercise actually reduces cortisol levels and produces endorphins. Endorphins are a set of hormones which act as natural painkillers, improve sleep, elevate mood and reduce feelings of stress. So feel better, sleep better and help keep that tummy fat down by maintain regular exercise. It is very easy to get off track with your training. So if you start to feel that you are losing your enthusiasm, look through the 9 ways to help keep you motivated.
1.Nuts to you.
Add a palm full of raw nuts into your diet. Although they can be high in fat, they are loaded with magnesium, vitamin E, fibre and other nutrients. So a few every day are good for you. 2.Get enough sleep Getting enough sleep is as important as the right diet and exercise. Lack of sleep is one of the highest risk factors of gaining weight; it can throw your appetite hormones completely out of whack and can drive insulin resistance, which means the body is unable to use it effectively leading to high blood sugar. 3.Drink water before your meals Drinking a glass or two of water before meals will continue to keep you hydrated but also makes you feel full so you consume fewer calories. It also better to drink cold water as the body will use additional energy (calories) to heat the water to body temperature. To work out how much water you should be drinking each day: divide your weight by 28. E.G If you weigh 67kg, 67divided by 28 = 2.39 litres of water 4. More Coffee please It has been proven that coffee is healthy for you, can help you burn fat and improve physical performance, by stimulating the nervous system. It has nutrients, such as Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium and Niacin and antioxidants that can improve your health. Studies have shown that it can improve energy levels, memory, mood, reaction times and general cognitive function. Studies also suggest that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of several serious disease, such as Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, Parkinson disease and Type 2 diabetes to name a few. I wouldn’t recommend more than 3 a day and NOT in conjunction with Red Bull, V, Mother, or any other energy drink 5. Salmon and Salad please. We know that fish is good for you but this is true particularly for fish that is high in good fats, like salmon. Salmon is full of omega 3 acids, protein and various other nutrients. Recent studies have identified small bioactive protein molecules that may supply support to joint cartilage, insulin effectiveness and control of inflammation through the digestive system. Also eating Salmon following a workout will assist with muscle recovery may reduce muscle soreness and reduces inflammation. Studies have shown that eating more fish can also lower the risk of heart disease, depression and dementia. |
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