by IcennaEmach | Oct 12, 2009 | Uncategorized
People will often ask me what they should eat before they train. It’s a good question because what and how much you eat prior to working out should depend on which fitness component you will be working on. For example, say that your emphasis on a particular day is going to be muscular strength, and so you will probably be lifting free weights and or a machine weights. It is a known bit of information in the world of strength that what you eat prior to strength training has a direct correlation on your ability to lift. Foremost one has to eat prior to strength training because it aids in keeping the blood sugar levels up so we do not feel weak or faint when exerting the energy.
It is true that most of our energy comes from food that we have eaten the day prior as it is stored in the muscles in the form of glycogen. This glycogen is what fuels our energy especially when we are engaged in endurance events. When it comes to strength training though, there is a direct correlation between what we consume one hour – 30 minutes prior to a strength event and how we actually perform.
So the question is,
What to Eat Prior to Strength Training?
1. Protein
2. Carbohydrates
3. Fat
Here’s good examples of the three eaten together- see if any will work for you. And by the way, if you are not used to eating before you workout or real early in the morning before you train, just start with a small amount of food. Ideally depending on your size, 250- 500 calories should be sufficient. You should not feel full as if you are too full, all your digestive organs will be using the blood and energy that you really need for the muscles you are aiming to strengthen.
* One slice whole grain toast-1-2 TBLS peanut butter- an orange or 6 oz.orange juice.
* One slice whole grain toast- one poached egg – 4 to 8 oz. cantaloupe.
* Half cup to one cup steel oats – half cup soy milk – half cup berries
* Small bran and flaxseed muffin – 1 to 2 oz low fat cheese – small apple or other fruit.
* Smoothies made with yogurt, fruit and low sugar protein powders.
What To Eat When Working The Cardiovascular System?
When you are training the cardiovascular system and using the largest muscles of your body in a continuos motion, eating is a little different just prior to working out. If you are doing a long slow bike ride or long slow elliptical or jogging walking training day, then you’ll want to eat a little more simply and definitely a little less if you are eating just one hour prior to your training. You’ll have to experiment with your timing, but general quidelines say that you should eat more simple carbohydrates if eating 1-2 hours before a cardiovascular training day. You should also know that Proteins and Fats tend to take much longer to digest than carbohydrates and so for this reason, they are not a good choice if eating one to two hours before training.
If You are Diabetic
If you are diabetic, prone to low blood sugar, or older, adding a small amount of protein or a good fat is a good choice regardless. It will keep your blood sugar from dropping. You should experiment. People with regular blood sugar levels will most likely feel better doing endurance activities with small amounts of simple and or complex carbohydrates depending upon the time or distance of the event. There are variations of how you can best eat prior to training when it comes to the use of cardiovascular intervals, or even flexibility training but we’ll take that up another day. Call or email if you have any questions. I’d be happy to help.
Our Wealth is in Our Health,
Kim Miller
by IcennaEmach | Sep 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
“We are not only what we read, we are how we read,” says Maryanne Wolf, a developmental Psychologists at Tufts University and the author of Proust and the Squid: The story and Science of the Reading Brain. Wolf contends that the style of reading promoted by the Internet puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else and that we may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged shortly after the printing press came into play. When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction remains largely disengaged.”
Google, and other search engines thrive on loads of information. Of course it has its pros and cons. As a writer, it is a godsend. I can get research, get quotes and not have to sift through any books or go to the library. The downside is that I have slithered down that superficial road of just finding information, but not really interpreting it or making the mental connections that are necessary for thoughtful reading to occur.
The point is that we may be heading down that same superficial road with diet and exercise. We are, I believe, heading deeper and deeper down that road of trying to be healthy by educating ourselves incessantly with internet health information. Something is missing. It seems to me that we may be confusing the very act of reading health information with actually implementing the health information. Writing in the July issue of Atlantic, Nicholas Carr relates how the London Scholar Group from the University College in London has been studying the behaviors of internet users and that what they found was that people using the sites exhibited a “form of skimming activity,” hopping from one source to another and rarely returning to one source they’ve already visited.
Are we receiving a lot of information, but processing it the same way we are reading it – by skimming? Ironically diet and exercise for good health and wellness calls for just the opposite. We need to design a plan and stick with it. We tweak it only after we have sustained an effort for a considerable amount of time, and additionally have assessed it for it’s worthiness in helping us to achieve our health goals.
It’s ironic, as we get increased information on diet and exercise, we get more of the health problems associated with obesity. The state in which I live, Florida, one news station reports, is the most obese state in the nation. Do we need to consider that there may be a direct correlation between our style of reading health information and the future of our wellness?
Our Wealth is in Our Health
Kim Miller
by IcennaEmach | Sep 7, 2009 | Uncategorized
Having a personal trainer does not have to be a lifetime commitment. Trainers are utilized in multiply ways and most good trainers enjoy the variety of reasons that people come to them whether for one single session or a continuous program. Credentials are important. The following are various reasons people may hire a trainer.
1. Learn proper alignment and form on machines and free weights.
2. Weekly as an extra energy boost to typical routines.
3. Quarterly for changing routines, and offering more progressively challenging tasks.
4. After the Holidays as a motivational jump start.
5. Prior to special events to look and feel good.
6. Weight loss jump start.E-mail accountability programs to boost fitness or wellness goal success.
7. Body sculpting program for swim wear season.
8. After cardiovascular rehabilitation to reinforce implementation in new setting.
9. Learn safe back strengthening exercises to decrease back pain.
10. Full body conditioning prior to or after surgery to decrease surgery complications.
11. Reduce blood pressure prior to deciding with doctor on taking prescription drugs.
12. Increase bone strength prior to deciding with doctor on taking prescription drugs.
13. Design training routine for sporting competition.
14. Abdominal training exercises post pregnancy.
15. Target muscle training such as triceps ( back of arms), hip, and gluteus routines.
16. In home training or consulting on various fitness routines or health programs.
17. Home gym set up consulting and implementation advice.
18. Blood sugar reduction program.
19. Nutrition and exercise consulting via e-mail, phone, or in person.
20. More fun, more challenge, and more variety.
Hiring a Personal Trainer
Find out if the trainer is certified by a nationally recognized body such as the American Council on Exercise (acefitness.org) or the American College of Sports Medicine. Both of these organizations require a health related academic degree.
Ask the trainer about his philosophy related to teaching fitness and see if it matches your philosophy of fitness.
Ask him what his specialty areas are and how he would quide you in reaching your goals.
It should be offered , but ask for a no obligation training session to get a feel for how you may work together.
Remember, you are hiring them, and attention to your needs and how best they can be met should be their number one priority.
Unlike in years past, the services of personal trainers are not just for those that are looking to build their bodies. Clients have a variety of ways in which they may benefit from the expertise of an ever increasing specialized profession of fitness trainers. Hiring a personal trainer that suits your interests and needs is a challenge of past generations.
by IcennaEmach | Aug 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
Thankfully, there’s an ongoing awareness that aging well requires being physically fit. But many people are unsure of what being physically fit actually means. Does being fit mean that you can run a mile in 8 minutes? Or does it mean that you can touch your toes or do 25 push-ups in one minute? There are five prime components to being physically fit and regardless of age, extending oneself in these five key areas of health are critical to healthy aging. There are additional areas not traditionally considered part of physical fitness like balance training and mental training but will be considered in upcoming articles.
Keep in mind that aging well is an ongoing process so although we may get specific testing data on where we should be performing in each fitness category based on gender and age, truly aging well requires expending energy in these five key areas over a lifetime.
Cardiovascular Fitness
Minimum 20 -30 minutes 4 days a week
Heart rate at minimum of 70 %. Formula is 220 minus age multiplied by .70 = HR minimum. Example for a 71 year old minimum at 70% is 104 beats per minute while exercising the heart. *Those on beta blockers will not use this formula and should consult their doctor on exertion levels.
Exercise must use leg muscles and be a continuous motion to be considered cardiovascular in nature. Ex. walking, biking, stair climbing, jogging, elliptical trainer, cross country skiing.
Muscular Strength
How much upper body can lift for one repetition. How much lower body can lift for one repetition. * Should not try this one rep maximum especially if you have not been training. There are rules that apply to this depending on the age of the person.
Muscular Endurance
How many repetitions upper body can lift in one minute. How many repetitions lower body can lift in one minute.
Flexibility
The range of motion in such areas as the hamstrings ( back of legs), upper and lower back areas, shoulders, hips, neck, and quadriceps ( front of thigh.)
Body Composition
Being at a weight that is comfortable for the individual given his lifestyle needs. It includes being at a weight that does not contribute to elevated blood sugars, lack of energy, cardiovascular risks, osteoarthritis, and other increased body fat health issues.
Includes being at a body fat that is considered within normal range. This varies but typically men should look at a range from 10-18% depending on age and lifestyle needs and women at 18-26%.
Regardless of age, extending ourselves in these five key health areas, studies have shown, reduce premature aging and are vital for aging well.
by IcennaEmach | Aug 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
Our muscles have an innate capacity to respond to stimuli by growing in size, density, and strength. Here’s how to smartly proceed in a healthy aging strength training program weeks 4-12.
The first 3-4 weeks are designed to learn proper technique as well as allow the ligaments, tendons, and muscles to adjust to the increased stress that will be placed on them incrementally in ongoing weeks. These opening 4 weeks lay the foundation not only for the body physically, but for the mind mentally. See Strength For Those That Never Weight Trained.
Strength Training Weeks 4-12
There are pros and cons of using machine weights and free weights. As a novice, machine weights will be a much better option in weeks 4 through 12 of your strength training program. Since this time period is primarily to build strength progressively, machine weights will offer more convenience increasing your chance of continuing your new program, as well as allow you to focus more intensely on working each muscle group rather than on correct body positioning. With machine weights, once you are set up properly, there is little room for misalignment.
Basic Machine Set Up With a Trainer
If you haven’t already hired a personal trainer to get you set up properly in each machine, then now would be a good time. At a minimum have the trainer show you the appropriate settings. You should write them down and have the trainer allow you to practice setting each machine as well as executing each machine so that he may provide feedback. This feedback will be invaluable in ensuring you will practice correctly on your own thus decreasing injury occurrences. It will take a minimum of 4- 5 sessions with a trainer to acquire the basics. During these sessions, ask the trainer for detailed specifics on how and when to with weights and reps. A good trainer will not overwhelm you but will help you make sense of these opening 12 weeks of base strength trainingand will assist you in making adjustments for physical limitations.
Machines For Base Strength Training
· Leg Extension
· Leg Curl
· Hip Adductor
· Hip Adductor
· Leg Press
· Chest Press
· Lattisimus Dorsi Pull Down
· Shoulder Press
· Bicep Curl
· Tricep Press Down
Days
For progressive strength gains aim for training 2-3 days per week implementing all of the above exercises in the order indicated. It will be necessary to take a day or two off in between to allow your muscles to rest.
Repetitions
Perform each exercise one time aiming for 10 – 12 repetitions for upper body and 12 -15 for the lower body. You should strive to use a weight that is heavy enough that by time you get to the 10th -12th repetition for upper body and 12 -15 for lower body, the muscle is moderately fatigued. After you have been doing the upper repetitions in three consecutively training sessions then move up in weight. Most weight machines will have increments of 5 and 10 lbs. If you can at least perform 8 repetitions for the upper body, and 10 for the lower body then keep the increased weight and proceed from there.
Sets
Since your objective during this 12 week period is to gain strength primarily for healthier aging, one set of exercise performed to fatigue, according to research, is the most effective means for increasing strength. (The reason many people need to do multiple sets is that they didn’t perform the first one at maximum intensity.) Your main priority should be to focus intently on each exercise and fatique each muscle group thoroughly.
Quality, not quantity, is paramount in gaining muscle and bone strength, density, and most importantly a body that ages well! You can do it. I’d be happy to help! Until the next posting, think about this, ” Healthy aging may not imply living longer, but do you think it can mean living with less disease, more fun and more vitality?” If so, make just one healthy aging change in your life today. Don’t push yourself to change everthing all at once. There’s no hurry. One change is good. We’ll work on others later. Life is good. Call if you need to. 904 501 6002
Click on this link to see a recent article which reverses decades of advising cancer patients to avoid strength training. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32390238/ns/health-cancer/
