A Good Hug

Image from here

You know why!

Go hug the people who are closest to you. Your family, your friends.  And then go hug someone who you are NOT that close with (with their permission, of course). 

Let the world know, let each other know, you care.

Physical exercise is great – BUT – as I’ve tried to say many times – life is a BALANCE.  Please try to find your balance.

Good physical health REQUIRES good mental health.  If you need help or if you think a loved one needs help, reach out to a friend or loved one, to a member of the clergy, or to NY City’s Crisis Intervention hot line: 1.800.LIFENET.

See you in the gym.

Jay

Image from here

Image from here

Counter Intuitive

In just one week, The New York Times published three articles about obesity and exercise. The titles of these articles may cause you to “SAY WHAT?”.

The headlines all seem to be counterintuitive. But those of us who know anything about exercise and fitness, read most of this and say DUH?! (and that’s not meant to insult or ridicule anyone.)

Just the same, it is interesting reading:

In ‘Obesity Paradox,’ Thinner May Mean Sicker

By Harriet Brown

Eating for Health, Not Weight

Opinion By Dean Ornish

For Weight Loss, Less Exercise May Be More

By Gretchen Reynolds

Jay’s “you should knows” (Two quotes from each of the above reference articles.):

• studies conducted by Steven Blair at the Cooper Institute in Dallas (those who’ve read my previous blogs should know this is the institute founded by Dr. Ken Cooper. Dr Cooper is the man who introduced the concept of aerobics), - shows that being fat and fit is better, healthwise, than being thin and unfit.

More often that not, cardiovascular fitness is a far more important predictor of mortality risk than just knowing what you weigh,” said Glenn Gaesser, author of “Big Fat Lies” and director of the Healthy Lifestyles Research Center at Arizona State University.

The TRUTH!?

London Olympic stadium 

THE TRUTH
click on London Olympic stadium to view YOU Tube video.

It's a VERY long video, almost one hour.

Listen to it 5 or 10 minutes at a time.

The video presents the findings of a study by Oxford University about:

     - sports drinks

     - running shoes

     - dehydration

     - supplements 

The journalist points out the challenge of science versus show biz.

Questions  / observations raised include:
          Are sports drinks better than water?

          What is the value of low calorie sports drinks, if the benefit from sports drinks are the 

                   carbohydrates and they have been eliminated in low calorie sports drinks?

           The most important factors related to reducing injury during running include: 

                    distance, recovery time, intensity.

The video, although not light, does include some humorous points:

                     11:30 - Jam on bread.

                     31:09 - Humans are the only animal that needs to be told how much to drink.

Jay's 2 cents:

• Use common sense
• Try to be consistent

For example:  If you need to drink, and you should if you have been exercising and in hot weather, what do you accomplish by drinking sugary drinks? Water is what your body needs.

Hips and Knees

What Joints Are You Talking About?

Click on the Photo above and check out the words:

I like my bands in business suits, I watch them on TV
I'm working out most everyday and watching what I eat
They tell me that it's good for me, but I don't even care
I know that it's crazy
I know that it's nowhere
But there is no denying that

It's hip to be a square

Click the picture above and see what Jane Brody is talking about. 

Jay’s takeaways:
“Thus, the most effective way to prevent arthritis in knees and hips is to lose weight if you’re overweight and to pursue non-impact activities for recreation”.

Dr. Glen Johnson, who reported on arthritis prevention and treatment at the annual meeting of the National Athletic Trainers' Association in June.

The most helpful exercises are those that strengthen the quadriceps (muscles in the front of the thighs), like leg presses, mini-squats and wall squats, and flexion and extension exercises that restore and preserve range of motion, Dr. Johnson said.



And of course Jay adds:
Check with your medical doctor BEFORE you engage in any new physical activity.

Ask any one of the fitness professionals at J’s to show how to do the above and other beneficial leg exercises. Proper technique is essential.



Oh, and the answer to what joints are you talking about:

A. Marijuana cigarette
B. Where two separate pieces of material are bonded together
C. Portions of the anatomy that can move
D. A building or other place
E. Prison or Jail
F. A song esp. rap


From http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=joint
Relief for Joints Besieged by Arthritis - Jane Brody, NYT

BORN TO RUN?

Springsteen live at Hammersmith Odeon, 1975

Finding a Sustainable Running Stride

Jay’s bottom line:
It’s not about how much you weigh or don’t weigh; it’s not about how fast you run 1 mile or 26 miles – It’s HOW HEALTHY and FIT am I (given the tools God has give me).

Recommended reading:

'Finding a Sustainable Running Stride' by Tara Parker-Pop, NYT.

Resistance Training?!

What is it? What it's good for?

First assumption:

You want to lose weight and / or get in shape.

• We all know what lose weight means. 
• Get in shape? It may sound cute but it works:

If you get in shape you fit into your clothes better.

If you are fit you have a better shape.

Get in shape means get fit or fitter:

1. Any plan to get you fitter, healthier and lose weight MUST involve increasing muscle.
2. Any plan to increase muscle MUST involve resistance training.

There - I've said it. The word I hope you come to love - resistance training. Before you turn off, it doesn't have to involve metal - even though metal is usually (usually, certainly not always) better.

Resistance training is:

Anything where a force or tension is applied to a muscle or group of muscles.

• cable resistance
• barbells
• dumbbells
• kettle bells
• any other item; such as bricks, bottles of water, etc.
• rubber exercise bands or tubing
• water exercises
• your own body weight

..and... May the force be with you. 

I WILL do it!

Now that 2012 has started, most of us feel a need to start a gym routine.
This is great, and it feels so good to see the results in the beginning.
What is difficult is keeping those results coming so you stay motivated.

Give yourself a STAR!

Just for starting (or staying on the course!). Because YOU are A STAR!

And if you need, just reach out to Jay or any of the staff at J’s.

I WILL DO IT!
I WILL DO IT!
I WILL DO IT!

Need MOTIVATION?

It's Never too Late to Start;
We just learned of Ernestine Shepherd.

Ernestine is featured in this month’s Muscle & Performance magazine.


Ernestine started exercising at 56 years young and is currently 75 years of age. WOW!

LOSE the WEIGHT… LOSE the SCALE!

How often should you weigh yourself?
It’s all about changing habits.

Losing weight should be about your pursuit of health and wellness. In order for you to stick with it, the steps you take must be FUN!

Grab a friend and do some exercise. Try to eat healthy. Cut out at least one junk food a day. You will know how you are doing by the way your clothes fit.

Eventually you will only need to get on the scale once a month. Start by cutting down to once a week, then

Things are tough?

Don’t leave the Rat Race now!!!!!!

"…there is no substitute for the “real thing” of exercise when it comes to protection from aging."




Read the complete article: The Behavioral Medicine Report

YOUR TIME IS PRECIOUS; DON’T WASTE IT!

I’ve already written that LESS is MORE.  The key to successfully implementing the less is more principle is by cranking up the intensity. That’s because cardiovascular exercise relies on frequency, duration and intensity for effectiveness.  Both frequency and duration are about time, and none of us has enough time. So don’t waste it.  The only variable left is intensity.  So how do we increase the intensity?

Your heart rate is the best way to judge intensity:

The traditional formula (the latest formula takes into account a person’s resting heart rate and has results that vary slightly from the traditional formula presented here) used to calculate target heart rate zones is:

220 minus your age = 100% (maximum heart rate)

For example:  a 35 year old’s maximum heart rate is:
220 - 35 =  185.0


Many people who exercise regularly often workout at a moderate intensity level.  Moderate is defined as 60% - 70% of the maximum.  In our example the moderate range; 60% - 70% of the maximum 185.0 is 111 – 129.5.

A high intensity level falls between about 75 - 85% of your maximum heart rate.  At this level exercise feels challenging and leaves you too breathless to talk much.  For our 35 year old, this is a range of 139 – 157.

5 Tips for January

It’s January.  It’s GREAT to see both so many familiar faces as well as new ones.  Hopefully more than just a few of you become much more than just faces to Jay and the rest of the staff. SO! – Don’t let the January effect wear off.

You need to stay motivated!  Long enough to make health & fitness part of your life – forever.  

OK – How do we do that?