By: William Drapcho
How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you’ll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don’t feel like exercising?
While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn’t mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness — and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.
In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.
The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night, Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.
Try engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.
Here’s a sample exercise program that may work for you:
* Warm Up — seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints.
* Resistance Training — Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.
* Aerobic Exercise — Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.
* Stretching — Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.
By: Alvah Parker
A recent issue of a magazine includes a list of 10 activities to boost your brain health. The list includes many activities I would call important for overall wellness. In this competitive environment there is a tendency to forget health and focus intensely on a job search. It is important to take a step back and make sure that we are taking care of ourselves too. You may want to try a few of these 10 activities:
1.Go for a walk with a friend. The article suggests walking with a friend so that you talk as you walk. Social connection, physical exercise and mental stimulation are brain strengtheners. I’d add that the exercise is good for weight control and also stress control.
2.Add variety to your life. Do not follow a set routine day after day. Wake up your brain with something new. Try a new route to the office. Go to a new networking group. Memorize a new poem.
3.Be a Life Long Learner. Study something in depth. This is good for your brain and your career. Learn a new language and begin to speak and write it. (I just started an improvisation class which is good for my brain and fun!)
4.Solve Puzzles/Play games – Try cross word puzzles, Sudoku, bridge and/or chess. They suggest trying to beat the clock because that inspires quicker thinking. In my improv class games we have to think of a word on the beat of a rhythm started by the instructor. It is not easy but you do get better at it with practice. Reminds me of a Miss Mary Mac, a game I played as a child.
5.Clear the mind – Use meditation, yoga or a walk in the woods to help clear your mind. Most of us have very active minds today. Some of the chatter is noisy and negative. It is important to regularly take time to clear your mind. While you are at it take some deep breaths to cleanse your mind and body.
By: Carmina Johnstar
The significance and magnitude of health and wellness has positively come to the forefront of the health business in the preceding decade. With the baby boomer generation approaching or entering their senior years, strained health and medical services, and the understanding by greater numbers of individuals of the limitations of medical science, humanity has urbanized an increasingly outstanding attitude of responsibility towards one’s own health and wellness.
The meaning of health and wellness is reflected by the fact that diets, , fitness facilities, spas, weight loss programs, exercise programs and equipment , nutritional supplements and leisure groups of all sorts are now routine in our everyday lives. A number of of these changes are motivated by the great demands and long waits for treatment in the health care system, but also by the desire of the working generation for a more active lifestyle after retirement, with the hope of being fit and well enough to partake in their special activities. For these goals to manifest into realism the foundation of good health must be developed throughout life, not just to try to fix the damage after it’s been done.
On the other hand, herbal products are everywhere but before you start taking herbal products, ensure that they won’t act together with any other medications that you are already taking. You can inquire to your physician about that. For instance, some herbs will thin your blood and the other will thicken your blood. If you are one of those who need blood thinners to cope with the present health problem, adding either one will not skew your numbers, but may be life-threatening.