Monday November 4, 2013

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about how our bodies change as we age. Being 26 is just so hard.

Wait, what I meant to say is that pretending to be 26 is hard.

Anyway, we all know we're going to get older no matter how many wrinkle creams they create and, working with the variety of clients I do gives me unique insight into the aging process. Sometimes? It kind of sucks. However, nothing really takes the place of actually experiencing these changes - Less energy, less time, more fatigue, more aches and pains and slower recovery times. During my conversation with my friend, there were a lot of, "I used to's" and "I never had to worry about's" sprinkled throughout.

We also talked about how our workouts have evolved over the years, becoming shorter, less bouncy and at times, more mindful.

Change is always going to happen and, many times, it's a good thing, a process where we learn more about what our minds and bodies need. Thinking about your own history, how have your workouts changed over the years? Do those changes have to do with how your body has changed or from changes in your lifestyle or circumstances?

Vote in this week's poll and leave a comment telling us how your workouts have changed.

Thursday October 31, 2013

Every year, my husband and I agree that we won't buy any candy that we actually like. That means we can't have Butterfingers or Snickers. Or Whoppers. Or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Or...well, I could go on.

Every year, guess what we buy? "Oh, just one bag of Butterfingers/Snickers/Whoppers/Reese's Peanut Butter Cups won't matter, right? It's the fun size! That's like, no calories, right?"

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About.com Exercise - Exercise - Get weight loss advice, cardio and ...

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for the purpose of enjoyment. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent the "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.[1][2] It also improves mental health, helps prevent depression, helps to promote or maintain positive self-esteem, and can even augment an individual's sex appeal or body image, which is also found to be linked with higher levels of self-esteem.[3]Childhood obesity is a growing global concern[4] and physical exercise may help decrease some of the effects of childhood and adult obesity. Health care providers often call exercise the "miracle" or "wonder" drugalluding to the wide variety of proven benefits that it provides.[5][6]

Physical exercises are generally grouped into three types,[7] depending on the overall effect they have on the human body:

Sometimes the terms 'dynamic' and 'static' are used. 'Dynamic' exercises such as steady running, tend to produce a lowering of the diastolic blood pressure during exercise, due to the improved blood flow. Conversely, static exercise (such as weight-lifting) can cause the systolic pressure to rise significantly (during the exercise).

Physical exercise is used to improve physical skills. Physical skills fall into the following general categories: Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy.[11]

Physical exercise is important for maintaining physical fitness and can contribute positively to maintaining a healthy weight, building and maintaining healthy bone density, muscle strength, and joint mobility, promoting physiological well-being, reducing surgical risks, and strengthening the immune system. Developing research has demonstrated that many of the benefits of exercise are mediated through the role of skeletal muscle as an endocrine organ. That is, contracting muscles release multiple substances known as myokines which promote the growth of new tissue, tissue repair, and multiple anti-inflammatory functions, which in turn reduce the risk of developing various inflammatory diseases.[12]

Exercise reduces levels of cortisol,[13] which causes many health problems, both physical and mental.[14]

Endurance exercise before meals lowers blood glucose more than the same exercise after meals.[15] According to the World Health Organization, lack of physical activity contributes to approximately 17% of heart disease and diabetes, 12% of falls in the elderly, and 10% of breast cancer and colon cancer.[16]

There is evidence that vigorous exercise (9095% of VO2 Max) induces a greater degree of physiological cardiac hypertrophy than moderate exercise (40 to 70% of VO2 Max), but it is unknown whether this has any effects on overall morbidity and/or mortality.[17]

Some studies have shown that vigorous exercise executed by healthy individuals can increase opioid peptides (a.k.a. endorphins, naturally occurring opioids that in conjunction with other neurotransmitters are responsible for exercise-induced euphoria and have been shown to be addictive), increase testosterone and growth hormone,[18] effects that are not as fully realized with moderate exercise. More recent research[19] indicates that anandamide may play a greater role than endorphins in "runner's high". However, training at this[which?] intensity for long periods of time, or without proper warmup beforehand and cooldown afterwards, can lead to an increased risk of injury and overtraining.[citation needed]

Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise work to increase the mechanical efficiency of the heart by increasing cardiac volume (aerobic exercise), or myocardial thickness (strength training). Such changes are generally beneficial and healthy if they occur in response to exercise.

Read more:
Physical exercise - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia