Currently viewing the category: "fitness"

Plank Position for Strengthening the Core and Abdominals

By On · Add Comment · In abdominal core, abdominal hollow exercises, fitness, plank pose, strength

I’ve already shown you the basic movement required to strengthen the abdominal core,now let’s take it to another level.  The plank pose is one of the best abdominal core strengthening exercises there is, but the level you take it to really depends on your current fitness level.  Whichever level you are at currently, you will need to be proficient at abdominal hollowing exercises–so practice if you have not yet mastered that move.

There are many variations of plank pose.  The one I prefer is for athletes, yogis or anybody already having the strength to maintain the top of a push-up position.  However, anyone can do the plank pose.  Watch the video below to see the proper way to do plank pose, as well as an alternate version for those who currently have a little less strength.

Baby Boomers Breaking Down

By On · Add Comment · In active lifestyles, baby boomers, exercise, fitness, wear and tear injuries
Flash! Breaking news: Baby boomers are not invincible. That’s right, recent reports disclose that baby boomers, like every generation before them, wear down.

Is that news?

According to Dr. Jeffrey A. Ross, foot and ankle podiatrist from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, who spoke at the recent annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, an increasing number of baby boomers are suffering wear and tear injuries as a result of living active lifestyles. As the middle-aged generation continues to play hard and exercise balls to the wall, they are developing an inordinate amount of repetitive use injuries of the feet, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and elbows. These numbers seem alarming because this is the first generation to take a highly active lifestyle into older age. Despite these facts, I say bravo!

These types of headlines might make some people think that active lifestyles are hazardous to the health, but it’s important to put it all into perspective. Previous generations tended to decline in physical activity as a sort of “natural process”. During the 1st half of the 20th century, medical science even saw increased physical activity in the elderly as detrimental. Pshaw, I say. We know now that staying physically active is more than just good for you–it’s essential.

The problem happening with baby boomers is one of faulty form, poor biomechanics, and ignoring the need to establish parameters. Many baby boomers have jumped into physical fitness without taking the time to be properly trained, and the result is an increase in injuries. No problem. It’s never too late to learn to do it the right way.

Poor biomechanics can be a simple issue of poor form or it might be due to biomechanical dysfunction. Chronic subluxations, poor flexibility, and funky feet can all exacerbate the problem…and eventually lead to injury. Gotta get your stuff worked out. See a chiropractor. Take yoga classes. Get fit for orthotics. You can get back to normal functioning; I see it happen every day in my practice.

And establishing parameters just means always reevaluating your limits. You can do this by keeping records of your current physical abilities–how far you run, how quickly you lap Runyon Canyon, how much weight you push, and so forth. If you wake up one morning feeling beat to hell, take note: you might need to change that current parameter and work back up to where you were. Wisdom is listening to your body. You will slow down eventually, but that doesn’t mean you have to hang ’em up at fifty. Keep going, just listen to your body when it tells you to bring it down. That way, you will be able to enjoy all the benefits of an active lifestyle for years to come.

Bodybuilders Need Cardio

By On · Add Comment · In aerobic, athletes, cardio, cardiovascular exercise, endurance, exercise, fitness, heart, left ventricular hypertrophy, strength, ventricles

You know what I never get? The one-dimensional exerciser. You know who I’m talking about–the buffed guy who never does cardio; or the panting and sweaty guy who does an hour on the treadmill (get off, man–people are waiting!) and nothing else. Even so, most people have the sense that they’ve gotta mix it up from time to time. But now, my friends, we’ve got proof.

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at athletes who participated solely in one fitness activity–either endurance or strength training–and found that people who do cardiovascular exercise (endurance training) have an increase in size of both their right and left heart ventricles, while those who do strength training have excessive growth in their left ventricle only. Additionally, the ability of the left ventricle to fully relax between beats–the diastolic function–is enhanced in endurance athletes, while it worsens in strength trainers.

The heart ventricles pump blood away from the heart. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs and the left ventricle pumps blood to the rest of the body. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon, then, to figure out why cardiovascular training increases growth in both ventricles–cardio pumps blood to the lungs as well as the working muscles of the body. And it’s not brain science understanding how strength training increases growth in the left ventricle excessively. Pumping iron requires massive amounts of blood moved to the working muscles. Heart muscle, like any other muscle, increases in girth when exercised. Pumping iron=pumping blood=buffed heart. That’s a heavy workload for the left ventricle to supply the muscles of the body all by its lonesome–but it does.

Unfortunately, an enlarged left ventricle can present a problem. It’s called left ventricular hypertrophy and can lead to things like shortness of breath, chest pain, sensation of rapid, fluttering or pounding heartbeats (palpitations), dizziness, fainting, or rapid exhaustion with physical activity. Therefore, it’s probably not a good idea to neglect your cardiovascular training. If you read my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, you’ll see how all three pillars of exercise–resistance training, cardiovascular training and stretching–work together to enhance each other. So you’ve really got to do each one in balance.

Some people think that if they just do their weight training at a quick pace then they’re getting their cardio in. Uh, no, sorry. Cardio is cardio. Try this. Moderately paced and continuous aerobic exercise (weight training is anaerobic) that makes you sweat. That’s it. That’s cardio. It’s not window shopping, walking through the parking garage to your car, or resting for only one minute instead of two between sets at the gym. Uh uh. Nope. Gotta keep moving for 15, 20, or 30 minutes. And if you do it regularly, you’ll gain strength, balance, and endurance in your muscles, lungs, and heart. Now ain’t that worth the added sweat?

Social Connections Help Surgical Outcomes

By On · Add Comment · In anxiety, bodywork, chiropractic, chiropractor, exercise, fitness, friends, maintenance, massage therapy, pain, social circles, social support, socially connected, surgery, well-being

No, no, no…this story is not about who you know, but about how large your social circle is. People who are heavily connected–those with lots of friends and strong family ties–do better before and after surgery, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Socially connected people feel less pain and anxiety before going under the knife, and they spend fewer days in the hospital and use less pain meds following surgery than their more isolated peers.

The study looked at 605 patients at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who underwent major surgery of the chest or abdominal area. The original study actually sought to determine the benefits of massage therapy on surgery patients, but also collected information on the subjects social support networks. They grouped people according to how many close friends and relatives they had, how often they saw them, and whether they attended a place of worship or other social function at least once a week. Participants with large social networks were less likely to exhibit anxiety or feel pain before the surgery or afterward, and required less opiate drugs. As an aside, the research team found that massage relieved pain equivalently to a 1 milligram dose of morphine.

Well, two thoughts here: First, I’m not surprised by these findings but am pleased that this sort of thing has finally been looked at. Far too little time is spent on the mental and emotional components of health and healing. I speak about the social connection aspect of achieving fitness in my upcoming book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health–it seems obvious to me: The more connected you are to others and society as a whole, the more your health will flourish. Further, exercising in groups of two or more does wonders, as people who take advantage of this connection tend to work out more often and push themselves a little harder.

The second thought has to do with the findings on massage. Let’s see, regular bodywork–working out the stresses and tensions of muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments–helps reduce pain? You don’t say? Not only is this one of the major premises of my book, nothing is more obvious to a chiropractor. That’s precisely why we get such great results in chiropractic offices helping people who are in pain; because everybody–and I mean everybody–needs regular maintenance care to work out the wear and tear that accumulates in the body from daily living. Just as a car needs its oil changed and its tires rotated regularly, the human body needs its own regular bodywork.

Bravo! Great study. Heed the results folks–your social life is important in more ways than one. It greatly enhances your mental and emotional well-being, it’s fun, and it positively affects your physical health. And regular bodywork is as good as a shot of narcotic. Whoa! Now that’s a party.

Exercise Extends Life

By On · Add Comment · In exercise, Exercise Testing and Research Lab, exercising, fitness, fitness scores, Jim Fixx, live, longer, physically fit, quality of life, running
Breaking News: People who are physically fit live longer than those who are not. Does this seem obvious? Maybe not. How many times have I heard, “Jim Fixx (the Godfather of running for fitness) died of a heart attack, so fitness can’t really matter all that much.” Well, now we have evidence to prove otherwise.

A new study lasting for over 20 years and following 15,000 U.S. military veterans showed that men who exercised regularly and were “highly fit” died at half the rate of men categorized as having “low fitness”. And men who were considered “very highly fit” had a 70% lower risk of death than those who had lower fitness scores. Furthermore, going from low fitness to high fitness is not that hard, either. According to Peter Kokkinos, director of the Exercise Testing and Research Lab at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, and lead author of the study, “All you need is between two and three hours of brisk walking a week. You can spread that out between four and six days a week.” He goes on to explain that by simply walking briskly for 30 minutes, 5-6 days a week would be enough to push an older or middle-aged man from the “low fit” to the “very highly fit” category in a matter of months.

One of the more interesting finding of the study was that this health benefit was independent of race or income, an idea that I push heavily on this post as well as in my upcoming book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health. In fact, this is the first major study that looked at both black and white men equally. Participants in the study were between 50-70 years old and were encouraged to exercise until they were tired. They were monitored for an average of 7.5 years. The study was controlled for factors of income and access to health care.

OK, I know this doesn’t seem surprising to some of you. Exercise is good for your health–we all know that. But now we know for sure that it not only improves the quality of life–through less pain, increased energy, heightened stamina, better sleep patterns, more stable moods, better sex drive and increased endurance–but also prolongs the amount of time one gets to enjoy that improved life. In other words, by simply exercising, you can not only feel great more often, but you can play harder and longer. Now isn’t that what life should be about?

Final Fitness Update…Ever

By On · Add Comment · In blood test, body fat, bodywork, chiropractic, cholesterol, energy, exercise, fitness, handstands, HDL, LDL, optimal health, posture, shoulders, sleep, stretching, triglycerides, weight loss, yoga
OK, this is it; my final fitness update. It couldn’t come at a more opportune time as I have just turned 40 today. Woohoo! As my brother told me, I have officially entered an age where each year will seem to pass in six month increments. Woosh…

I made my proclamation to become Fit in 90 Days on September 5th, so officially, my run should have ended December 5th. I was vacationing in Palm Beach at that time, so I actually needed another 14 days; which is probably the amount of time throughout the whole endeavor that I did nothing. No worries, 90 days, 100 days, it’s all the same.

As I’ve been reporting, I tried to exercise (gym) three times a week. I did several private yoga sessions with an instructor, and fined tuned my practice, which I carried out faithfully every day (OK, nearly every day). That was huge. I resolved some fairly irritating muscular imbalances that were causing low back discomfort, and I also did quite a bit of work on my shoulders. My new yoga routine improved my posture. I feel the difference.

I kept a regular chiropractic regimen–very important with all the moving and stretching and lifting and hiking. A combination of yoga and chiropractic is powerful, indeed.

I followed a pretty solid nutritional program–ate more fresh fruits and vegetables, drank lots of water, and took my daily vitamins. As usual, I was diligent about taking my essential fatty acids and alpha lipoic acid, the powerful anti-oxidant.

I think the most profound health habit I adopted through all of this, though, was seriously minimizing my consumption of refined sugar (started November 8th). As I described in an earlier post, I had a brief roller coaster ride with regard to my energy levels, but that evened out. Once I got over that withdrawal stage, my energy skyrocketed. And I lost weight as a result. Before “no sugar,” I lost four pounds (to 163 lbs.); afterward, eight pounds (to 155 lbs.). Nice. So in total, I’ve lost twelve pounds. Twelve pounds in twelve weeks. Very healthy.

Let’s review my goals: I wanted to lower my weight by seven pounds–I beat that. I wanted to lower my body fat. Oops, forgot to check it for this update. Sorry. I wanted to do unassisted handstands–didn’t do it (remember what the Yogi said?) Wanted to run Runyon Canyon. Nope, didn’t do that either.

So, you might wonder, what did I accomplish then? In my mind, I just made my routine a regular habit; I really am happy with that. It’s not a cop out. What I want from a health regimen is improved or maintained health. What I really want is optimal health. Without a doubt, I’ve accomplished that. I know with complete certainty that by putting this kind of consistent and careful attention into my body, there is no other possible outcome to be had. But as serendipity has it, I happened to take a blood test as a part of a life insurance policy I was pursuing, and they were kind enough to send me the results. I normally don’t put too much stock into these tests, because, as I’ve said, I know that if I do the right things, I’ll have a good functioning and healthy body. But hey, I was happy to check it out; I mean, it is my physiology. Here are the results:

  • Cholesterol–217 mg/dl. Between 200-239 is considered borderline high.
  • Triglycerides–58 mg/dl. Anything under 150 is normal. Hmmm.
  • HDLs–68 mg/dl. Anything above 40 is desirable, above 60, very good.
  • LDLs–137 mg/dl. Should be under 160 if have only zero or one risk factors.
  • Chol/HDL ratio–3.20. A desirable ratio is under 5; optimum under 3.5. Booyah.

Remember, the amount of cholesterol is not nearly as important as the amount of HDLs in your blood, and even less important than the cholesterol/HDL ratio (read the post, here). So, as to not bore you, all the other test were good to optimal too. Yes, I love tests, especially when they work in my favor.

So what did I accomplish? I motivated myself to exercise, eat well, get regular bodywork, sleep, and focus on my health in a proactive manner. I feel better, have more energy, feel more rested, look better, and have less physical discomfort all around. And, hopefully, I’ve shown you that with a little planning, and a large commitment, you can create a better place for yourself physically. You can achieve optimal health if you want it.

Which One Is The One?

By On · Add Comment · In Atkins Diet, burn, calories, diet, exercise, fitness, Jenny Craig, South Beach, supplements, The President's Council on Physical Fitness, The Zone, weight loss, Weight Watchers

Atkins, South Beach, The Zone, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig – which diet is the best? Well, if you listen to the latest flavor-of-the-month diet guru, then their diet is the best. Want to know one of the quickest ways to riches – write a diet book, open a weight loss clinic, or market your trim slim miracle supplements to a desperate culture. That’s it – instant millionaire.

Just ask Dr. Phil. Or Kevin Trudeau. Ask them about the biggest scam “they don’t want you to know about”. Yup, Dr. Phil discontinued his weight loss program – guess he wanted to keep some sort of credibility. The other guy? He doesn’t care. Trust me – he doesn’t care. To quote Mr. Trudeau, “It’s always about the money.” Uh huh, yeah, whatever.

Here’s the skinny: To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. To gain weight, you need to take in more calories than you burn. To break even, your calorie intake must equal exactly what you burn. Simple mathematics.

Yes, some diets work for some people. But no diet works for all people. And according to a recent study, many diets work about the same – which is, not very well. Never thought I’d do it, but if I’ve got to endorse a diet, it would be Weight Watchers. Their protocol is to control, or watch, the amount of calories one takes in on a daily basis. Duh! Makes sense to me. And…they offer coaching and support, something I think is absolutely essential.

You can’t do it without exercise either. There are metabolic reasons for this – you can read about them in detail in my upcoming book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health -but suffice it to say that without a fitness routine to help you burn calories, you won’t find success by dieting alone.

See what the The President’s Council on Physical Fitness has to say about it.

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