Move Your Body

“When it comes to fueling up for a workout, the when is just as important as the what.” – Fitness Magazine 2008

PRE-WORKOUT INTAKE

Two main purposes:

• Helps diminish feelings of hungry and being sluggish
• Maintains best levels of energy

Exercising on a full stomach is not ideal

Eating 2-4 hours before is best

Ideal meal consists of high carbohydrates, moderate protein and low fat

POST-WORKOUT INTAKE:

Just as beneficial for peak performance

• 30 minutes within time of post exercise
• Helps body to recoup
• Snacks high in protein are a must, Example – Energy Bars

Tara and her car

I’ve been thinking more about Tuesday night’s episode of The Biggest Loser. For the first part of this week’s challenge, contestants were able to distribute the pounds they have lost so far (in the form of colored bars) to their competitors’ scales. Tara had a sob fest afterwards because she felt everyone had been ganging up on her (Blah, blah – you’re WINNING and the biggest threat. Of COURSE people are going to gang up on you!). But she was able to successfully channel her rage into the second part of the challenge – eventually winning the whole thing. Contestants had to pull cars (yes, actual cars) with their bodies a 1/2 mile. Each car was weighed down with the extra weight that other contestants had distributed to them during the first part of the challenge. Tara had an extra 257 pounds on her car – more than any other contestant. This girl was able to come back and BEAT EVERYONE – pulling her heavy car across the finish line – easily beating everyone.

Just a great lesson from Tara and reality tv on self-talk and motivation – keep talking yourself through it. Even when the odds are against you, even when you want to quit, even when people are telling you you’ll never do it. Keep going, believe in your strength and your abilities. Step by step, one foot in front of the other. And you just might cross the finish line faster than anyone else.

Tara pulling her way to first place

Images courtesy of NBC.com

Image from www.realwomensfitness.com

Each month, we will highlight one muscle of the body giving you a clear image of where the muscle is located and exercises to help strengthen and tone that muscle.

The Triceps are located at the back of the upper arm. Their main function is extension, or straightening of the arm. Making up more than 1/2 of the upper arm’s muscle mass, it is important to strengthen this muscle by doing a variety of exercises.

Exercise #1 – Dips

Up phase

Down phase

When performing a dip, support yourself on a study surface with your hands shoulder width apart. Lower yourself by slowing bending at the elbows and then push up until you reach the starting position. Important: Do not lock out the elbow joint, always keep a slight bend. To challenge yourself, straighten the legs out in front of you or even lift one leg off the floor. Also, if you do not have access to a bench, a chair or couch will work just as well.

Congrats to Kristen for breaking a Biggest Loser record and reaching 100 pounds lost at the ranch! No other woman has done this on the show before! Why is this show so addicting? Every time the weigh in happens, the moment of suspense is the EXACT SAME before they cut to commercial. Why am I continually surprised!?!?

When someone mentions “acupuncture,” some of us immediately focus on the “puncture” part of the word and clam up. But acupuncture is quickly becoming one the most popular forms of natural health care, with more people asking about it than ever before, says Dr. Richard Ezgur of Progressive Chiropractic in Chicago. In natural health care, acupuncture is returning as a popular form of treatment.

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese healing art that has been in existence for thousands of years. Here’s how it works. Fine needles are inserted into specific points of the body in order to restore and balance its natural flow of energy, or Qi (pronounced “chee”). Theoretically once the Qi is balanced, the body is better able to heal itself and returns to a state of decreased pain.

Acupuncture can help provide relief for a number of conditions such as back and neck pain, sinus congestion and allergies. It can aid in raising energy levels, lowering stress, and is even used for smoking cessation and as part of infertility treatment. Acupuncture has also been successful in relieving some of the side effects caused by HIV or medications used to treat HIV positive patients.

That all sounds great, but what about those needles? “Most people are surprised at how anti-climactic it is, ” says Dr. Ezgur. “Once the needles are inserted, it’s more of a ‘that’s it?’ because people expect much worse than it actually is.” If that doesn’t convince you, think about it this way: acupuncture needles are only about 1/100th the thickness of a needle like the one your doctor uses to give you your annual flu shot. Many people do not feel the needles being inserted at all, and if they do, the sensation is close to that of a mosquito bite.

In order to determine if acupuncture is the right treatment for you, “a practitioner should examine your condition and health history just as any medical care professional would,” Dr. Ezgur recommends. At Progressive Chiropractic, your acupuncture treatment is administered in a quiet, soothing room. After the needles are inserted, you’ll lie back and relax for about 15 to 20 minutes. The practitioner will remove the needles, and you’ll be on your way.

The number of sessions required to feel relief will vary based on the condition and how chronic that condition may be, says Dr. Ezgur. Someone being treated for sinus congestion, for example, may begin to breathe easier as soon as his or her session is over. Someone who is trying to quit smoking, on the other hand, may require anywhere from ten to 20 visits.

If you’re interested in exploring how you might benefit from acupuncture, do a little research. Find a practitioner through a referral or search in your area, making sure the doctor has been trained in acupuncture. Schedule a consult and check out the office to see that it’s somewhere you’ll feel comfortable. Once your session is complete, you’ll wonder how you ever survived with an unbalanced Qi in the first place.

Props to those girls who faithfully trek to the gym at 5:15 every day after work. But for some of us, just the thought of working out after putting in a full eight hours is enough to break a sweat. That 60 minute break in the middle of your day – also known as your lunch hour – can be the perfect time to fit in a work out. Not only does exercising in the middle of the day free up your evenings, but it can also help reduce work-related stress and increase productivity during the afternoon. Here are some ways to make a lunchtime work out work for you:

• Choose convenience. Since you are working with limited time, it’s important to pick a gym that’s close by. If your company has a fitness center or a work out room, take advantage of it! You can often use these facilities for a nominal fee, if not for free. If not, do some investigating to find a gym near your work. You can probably find something within walking distance or a short drive.

• Just walk away. Schedule an hour-long lunch meeting with yourself through Outlook and have a reminder pop up on your screen at noon. Recruit a friend to stop by your office on her way to the gym. Do whatever you have to do to force yourself to stop answering email and get your muscles moving.

• Make it count. Don’t try to fit a total body workout in an hour. The American Heart Association says that just 30 minutes of physical activity done on most days of the week is shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. A half hour workout leaves you 15 minutes beforehand to change clothes and 15 minutes afterwards to shower and freshen up. If you find an hour just isn’t long enough, see if you can work something out with your manager – take a longer lunch and come in early or stay late to make up the time.

• Brown bag it. Bring lunch from home and eat at your desk after exercising. There are a variety of low cal frozen meals that make for tasty lunches. You can also bring healthy snacks like fruit or almonds to graze on throughout the day and help satisfy cravings. You’ll probably find that you consume fewer calories than if you went out for lunch – and you’ll be saving money too.

• Don’t sweat it. After a particularly frustrating meeting, you may just need to get out of the building and vent to some coworkers over lunch. Don’t beat yourself up for skipping your workout. See if you can exercise another day that week instead. If not, take comfort in the fact that you are getting your fitness back on track, and vow to hit the gym again tomorrow.