Move Your Body

Most people know the obvious benefits of exercise:  controlling your weight, improving your mood and boosting your energy levels.  But there are other lesser known reasons to exercise too – things like improving your sleep habits, bringing that spark back into your sex life, and more!

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article about the Hidden Benefits of exercise. Studies show that regular exercise – something as simple as a brisk  30-45 minute walk 5 times a week – can boost the body’s immune system.  If you need a little reminder about why you made that New Year’s Resolution to work out more, check this out.

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

So push through the pain and mental blocks and get your butt on the treadmill.  You’ll be glad you did.

The non-profit, American Council on Exercise (ACE), has announced the top fitness trends from 2009, based on its annual survey of personal trainers, group fitness experts, advanced health and fitness specialists and lifestyle and weight management consultants.

The survey revealed that boot camp-style workouts, which were named the most popular workout in 2008, were also the most popular fitness trend in 2009!

Here are the Top 10:

1. Boot Camp-Style Workouts: Boot camp workouts remain extremely popular because they provide a total-body workout that’s varied, fun and challenging. Up to 600 calories can be burned during a boot camp session, which is obviously going to facilitate weight loss.

Billy Blanks: Ultimate Bootcamp

2. Budget-Friendly Workouts: With today’s economy slow to recover, more people will cut costs to stay in shape. Gym membership continues to decline in 2009, with many people using the resources around them as their gym and equipment.

RIPCORDS Resistance Bands – Power Tension 5 Pack

3. Specialty Classes: While yoga and Pilates will remain strong, dance-based classes were all the rage this year. Zumba, a fitness program inspired by Latin dance, combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise. Bollywood, ballroom, Afro-Cuban and other exotic dance styles grew in popularity thanks to shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.

Zumba Beginners DVD (2004)

Zumba Advanced Workout Dvd

We’ve also reviewed Jillian Michaels 30-day shred – check it out. 

4. Getting Back to Basics: Despite the fact that many exercises and equipment are becoming more advanced and trendy, trainers continued to focus on basic movements and techniques with their clients.

5. Circuit Training: Studies have shown that interval training combining strength training and cardiovascular activity at different intensities provides a more time-efficient workout than participating in traditional aerobic and weight training sessions.

6. Kettlebells: The reason for the surge in kettlebell training is that it gets back to basic training that requires functional, whole body fitness.

JFit Premium Vinyl Kettlebell 8-15 lb Set

7. Boomer Fitness: Individuals age 50+ have the means, motivation and desire to enhance their quality of life through physical activity – and this group is only going to increase in size in 2010.

8. Technology-Based Fitness: From iPods to Cardio Cinema to exergaming (i.e., Wii Fit, Expresso Bikes) the latest in technology continued to infuse itself in all aspects of fitness. We recently wrote a post about some great fitness-related iPhone apps.

Wii

Wii Fit Plus

9. Event or Sport-Specific Exercises: Despite the emergence of new and trendy workouts, sports or recreational activities remained a popular way to stay in shape.

10. Mixing It Up: Traditional programming has changed from what’s called linear progression to undulating, as research shows similar if not better results. For example, mixing low-intensity cardio with intervals on different days, and mixing high-volume, low- intensity weight training with low-volume, high-intensity training on alternate days.

Companies use all sorts of techniques to get you to buy their fitness and weight loss products. One of the most popular ways to sell you something is by showing a “before and after” picture of someone who has used the fitness equipment, weight loss pill, exercise video – you name it. Let’s face it, those pictures can be pretty amazing. Take a minute and watch this short video on the truth behind “before and after” photos you see in exercise magazines or with weight loss products. Are they for real?

The Truth Behind Before And After Photos

Most of the time, the people in the before and after pictures are fitness models who have spent a few months slacking off prior to getting their “before” pictures taken. When a muscle is trained, detrained and retrained, there is a faster change in muscle size.

There are so many different techniques you can use to alter the models bodies, and as mentioned in the video, sometimes the Before and After photos are taken in the same day. So….don’t believe everything you see!

As the weather begins to change, and we’re thinking more of hibernating than going to the beach, there’s no better time to warn against the dangers of man boobs.  Jeff Bayer at AskMen.com offers a few suggestions on how to win the “man boob battle.”

Shout out to mizzFIT, a SWEET fitness blog.  Great find on the picture – we’re laughing our boobs off over here.

For those of you who haven’t heard about the P90X workout, it is an intense…I should say VERY intense, 90 day workout program which includes full body strength training, yoga, abdominals, plyometrics, kenpo (martial arts) and stretching.   The trainer (and creator) in the videos, Tony Horton, emphasizes over and over again the importance of regular exercise to increase stamina and build muscle to burn through the unwanted fat and calories.  As a trainer myself, I know how important it is to be consistent when exercising.  In most cases, individuals will not see significant results by exercising once a week.  BUT, 90 days straight??????  Really?

P90x Extreme Home Fitness with Tony Horton – Set of 13 Dvds

The reason P90X has become such a hit in recent months is because  of how different it is from all of your other exercise videos, although I must say it is still very cheesy at times!! The reason for it being so different is because P90X focuses on “muscle confusion” which means to constantly work your muscles in a different way than they are used to so that you never plateau.   Muscle confusion has many benefits and I will list some below.

1)  It speeds up your metabolism to a whole new level allowing your body to utilize more calories during your workout and will even stay at that level for a period of time after your workout.

2)  It keeps you from becoming bored with your normal everyday workout which probably involves doing the same exercises each and every day, right?!  P90X is made up of 12 videos, between 30min and 1hr each.  Trust me, there are so many exercises included and a lot  of them were even new to me.  You will not be bored, I promise!

3)  One more benefit of muscle confusion that I’ll explain is the fact that it allows your muscles and ligaments to be used from several different angles, rather than repetitively doing the same motion over and over.  Most importantly, this prevents injuries and strengthens muscles you didn’t even know you had!

I have done and completed all of the videos included and LOVE it!! I was incredibly sore after a lot of the workouts, but I have seen results and have incorporated a lot of the exercise routines in my own personal training sessions and have gotten a lot of great feedback.  Tony Horton is extremely motivating  and pushes you throughout the entire program and I found that to be helpful.  Another thing I wanted to point out is how important a good warm-up and cool-down are and Tony Horton does not slack off when it comes to that.  He goes through a good 10 minute warm-up and cool-down before and after each session.  Major plus in my book!

Also, when you purchase P90X, it comes with a nutrition guide and a calendar to track your progress.  Once you purchase, all you need to get started is a set of dumbbells (I recommend a lighter set and a heavier set) or a resistance band. 

3pc Resistance Band Set Multi-colored: Light, Medium, Heavy Tensions in Mesh Travel Bag

You may also consider a floor mat for the yoga and ab exercises, although this is not essential.  I’d say 75% of the exercises include using just your body weight, so no equipment is needed a lot of the time.  In some of the videos, they do a number of chin-ups and pull-ups…but, don’t worry!!  They always show a modification for those who do not have a chin-up/pull-up bar or for those who are not at that level, just yet!

P90X Chin-Up Bar

Here is a short video of Tony Horton being interviewed.   Take a look and please let us know what you think.  If you’ve done the program already, share your thoughts with us AND if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate in asking.

It seems we all want to lose weight.  But how do you know what a healthy weight is exactly?  One way, and I do stress one way, to gauge where you are weight-wise is to calculate your BMI, or body mass index.  Here’s how you do it:

• Multiply your weight by 703
• Divide the result by your height in inches
• Divide that number by your height in inches again
• If the final number is between 18.5 and 24.9, you are at a healthy weight.  If the number is outside of this range, you may be under- or overweight.

If this calculation brings back too many bad memories of high school math class, you can use a handy online BMI calculator.

There are a few caveats regarding using BMI to determine whether or not you are at a healthy weight.  WebMd has some more in-depth reading about the matter, the most salient point for me is the following:

“It’s important to remember that your BMI is only one measure of your health. A person who is “overweight” according to BMI charts, but not “obese,” may be healthy if he or she has healthy eating habits and exercises regularly. People who are thin but don’t exercise or eat nutritious foods aren’t necessarily healthy just because they are thin.”

You can read the whole article from WebMd here.

Let’s face it: trying to follow all of the “golden rules of health and fitness” can be not only intimidating, but unrealistic, too.  Most days it feels as though there are not enough hours in the day between work, household responsibilities, cooking meals, and if you have kids?  Forget it.  You feel proud of yourself if, after a long tiring day, you dragged yourself off the couch to take the dog around the block for 10 minutes.  I couldn’t make it to the gym today but, hey….this has got to be good enough.

There is a lot of information out there about what we should eat to be healthy, how much we should work out, how much sunscreen we should apply at ALL TIMES in order to avoid the sun’s damaging rays.  It’s a lot to keep in your head, and if you fall short (which we all do), you end up feeling more guilty than anything.

That’s why I breathed a sigh of relief when I read this article from Prevention magazine.   It’s a quick read and you’ll be glad you checked it out.  How can people who are busy or just plain unmotivated still reap the benefits of healthy eating and exercise?  It can be done!  The key message here:  believe that every little bit counts.

Here’s an example.  The “gold standard” of daily fruit and vegetable consumption is 9 servings.  I don’t know about you, but when I see something like that I picture myself eating a piece of fruit or a veggie once every hour while at work.  People would think I was nuts…and beyond that, it would just never happen.  Of course you could double-up your servings during a meal…but even that would be a challenge.  So how can you ever feel like you’ve getting enough fruits and veggies to make a positive impact?  The article says that actually, 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day is “good enough.”  Anything on top of that is gravy.  So sure, strive for 9 servings.  But if you make it to 5 you’re still doing alright.

Here are some other interesting health mantras that the article explores:

Cardio – Gold standard is 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.  Good enough?  17 minutes a day – broken up throughout your day if you need to.

Sunscreen – Gold standard: Apply SPF 30 or higher several times a day.  Good enough? Throw on some moisturizer in the morning that contains SPF 15 (unless you’re spending the day at the beach, of course.).

Strength training – Gold standard: 2 or 3 times a week.  Good enough?  Once a week.  (A little digression here: I recently starting taking a half hour strength conditioning class at my gym once a week.  I’ve been attending consistently for about six weeks and have seen marked improvement in my upper and lower body strength.  I’m able to lift more than I was at the beginning of the class, and I surprised myself at how many push-ups I could do without fatigue during last week’s class.  I’ve been getting a few compliments here and there that I look “tone,” although I actually haven’t lost any weight.  Again, this is only a half hour class once a week.  Case in point that every little bit counts.)

Read more here – you’ll feel better about the small improvements you can accomplish throughout your day in regards to your health and overall fitness.

Info courtesy of “Unmotivated?  Nine Health Tips for the Lazy Girl,” by Camille Noe Pagan, Prevention magazine

To perform an Oblique Twist, lie down with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.  Lean back until you’re at a 45 degree angle, keeping your back straight.  Keep your hands together in front of you (add a weight/medicine ball to increase the difficulty) and twist side to side.  Be sure that you’re twisting/rotating the shoulders to either side and not just moving the hands.  If you’re holding a weight or ball, try touching it to the floor on each side to make sure you’re getting enough rotation in on each twist.   You will get the most out of this exercise by twisting slowly and concentrating on the breathing, exhaling as you twist.  Each twist is one repetition.   Try doing 20 reps (10 on each side) with a maximum of 3 sets.  To make the Oblique Twist even more challenging, lift the feet off the floor.

I was cruising Men’s Health today and came upon a great series of articles they put together on golf workouts.

The series includes:

The 20 Best Workouts to Improve Your Score – specific exercises to improve power, mechanics and flexibility.

Secrets to a Better Golf Game – 6 things you can do to improve your golf game

Swing Flaws and Fixes – 4 common swing flaws and ways to fix them

As the weather starts getting nicer (we can only hope here in Chicago), it can be a great opportunity to get out there and play a round with friends and enjoy some exercise. Golf (especially if you walk the course) can be a great workout and offers you a chance to enjoy nature while breaking a sweat.

Here is a cool calculator from Self.com that allows you to input your weight, duration and whether you rode in the cart and/or carried your clubs, to figure out how many calories you burned during your golf game.