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.

Read this before you STRETCH 

Warm muscles, tendons, and ligaments are more flexible and stretch more easily; stretching cold muscles can cause tears. If you have been following my blogs you’ll know that I have quoted Jillian Michaels as saying you should conclude your workouts with a stretching routine.

Light stretching can be done to start the routine; but only AFTER you have warmed up. Warm up routines that utilize several body parts are better than those that focus on just one or two body parts.
Stretching can also be done in between weight lifting sets.

• Stretches should always be gradual and gentle. Don’t rush through the stretching routine.  Stretch only to the point of resistance; if the stretch hurts, you’re pushing too hard. There should be mild tension; not pain.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

I was inspired by the article in The New York Times magazine, November 28, 2010; The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian by Bruce Grierson, to share the following:


My highlights of the article are as follows:
The cohort of people 85 and older — the fastest-growing segment of the population, as it happens — is increasingly being studied for longevity clues.
Some researchers now see aging itself as a kind of mitochondrial disease. Defective mitochondria appear as we get older, and these researchers say that they rob us of endurance, strength and function. There’s evidence that for young patients with mitochondrial disease, exercise is a potent tool, slowing the symptoms. If that’s true, then exercise could also potentially be a kind of elixir of youth, combating the ravages of aging far more than we thought. 
EXERCISE HAS BEEN shown to add between six and seven years to a life span (and improve the quality of life in countless ways).

The Fountain of Youth

"...a new series of studies prompts me to again review the myriad benefits to body, mind and longevity of regular physical activity for people of all ages.

Regular exercise is the only well-established fountain of youth, and it’s free. What, I’d like to know, will persuade the majority of Americans who remain sedentary to get off their duffs and give their bodies the workout they deserve? My hope is that every new testimonial to the value of exercise will win a few more converts until everyone is doing it."

Even More Reasons to Get a Move On by Jane Brody, The New York Times, March 1, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/health/02brod.html

New Year’s Resolutions

Every year at this time, people flock to gyms across the country as a result of their New Year’s resolutions. This is great, as people rightly want to get into shape. I am thrilled to see new faces, as well as some we haven’t seen in a while, join our gym at the start of the year. However, joining a gym is obviously only the first step. Our goal is to get each of you to incorporate fitness as an integral part of your lifestyle. In other words, we still want to see you here in February, April, and even in December. A gym membership only does any good if it is used, and used frequently. To that end, I would like to make some suggestions to help you keep coming to the gym regularly:

• Enjoy your time in the gym. The best way to make any new venture enjoyable is to learn as much as you can about it.
• Make sure to take advantage of the orientation included with your membership. If you do not know what this is, ask your salesperson to explain and set up an appointment for you.
• Look for information online.
• We encourage you to browse the books in the juice bar. The books are there for you!
• Make coming to the gym a habit. Come at the same time each day so it becomes part of your routine. Lay out your gym clothes the night before. Do whatever you need to make getting to the gym as effortless as possible.
• Commit to coming to the gym three times a week for one month. Do it!! 3x a week in January; 12 times. If you get through that first month, you’ve proven to yourself that you can succeed.
• Set small, attainable goals. The idea of losing 25 pounds might be overwhelming. But losing five pounds in five weeks, 1 pound a week – that YOU CAN DO! A personal trainer could set you up with a routine and realistic goals.
• Come with a buddy. It is harder to break a commitment to someone else than to yourself. Besides, the time goes much more quickly when you workout with a friend.
• Make new friends in the gym. The “regulars” who work out at the same time each day become like a family to one another. Soon, you will be missed when you do not show up, and will feel the need to get to the gym, if only to meet your friends’ expectations.
• Results - If you hang in there for at least one month, you will begin to see results. You will look and feel better. Results that will motivate you to keep coming and pushing yourself for even more improvement.
• Finally – If you find yourself slipping, send me an e-mail. I’m here to help you. I mean it: JsBLOG@JsBigGym.com.

Wishing you, this year and every year the best of health,

BODY BUILDING, STEROIDS and all the HYPE

Flex Wheeler in The New York Times,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/sports/10steroids.html, says:

Lifting weights in the gym is “extremely healthy for you,” said Kenneth Wheeler, a former elite bodybuilder known as Flex. “But if you want to be a bodybuilder and compete at the highest level, it has nothing to do with health.”

Jay says: Like everything in life, you need to find the balance. Unfortunately many body builders have overachieved. Very few of us have what it takes to be champions. And even if you could be the top of this 'sport', IS IT WORTH YOUR LIFE? Stay in the gym and stay healthy! Enjoy the holidays and act responsibly.

Dear J's BIG GYM members,

Every once in a while I come across something I think worth sharing with our members. It may be things I read or just my own thoughts. Some of this info is posted on the blue triangular notice board located just as you enter the gym. Rather than fill your e-mail box with more stuff, I will post these things here.

The first article was in the Wall St Journal on Sep 1. It talks about exercise as we grow older. I guess this is close to my heart. Click here to see the first article: http://tinyurl.com/ncwtwr

Please enjoy and feel free to e-mail me at JsBLOG@JsBigGym.com and be sure to bookmark http://jsbiggym.blogspot.com/


Best of health,
Jay