Teens, Fitness, and You

With all the pressures teenagers have to deal with today, it's no wonder so many are in trouble. Statistics show that teen suicide and teen pregnancy are on the rise, as is the firearm-homicide rate for teens. Smoking among teens is en vogue, and two-thirds of eighth-graders report that they have tried alcohol. Unfortunately, only about 38 percent of them get enough exercise - which means the other 62 percent are setting themselves up for a sedentary life and all the problems that come with it.


Now is the time to change these statistics. Research has shown that kids who play sports, or are physically active, are less likely to have these problems. But getting kids to exercise is no easy task unless you're willing to spend time with them and learn to speak their language.

Quality Time, Quality Talk

The #1 thing you can do to help teens get active is to be a good role model. Live the life that you advocate; show them that being active can be fun, and they will follow your example. Let them know that being physically active does not necessarily mean going to exercise classes or playing sports, although these are two great options. Hiking and camping, body surfing and playing Frisbee, or paddleball are activities the whole family can enjoy. Because they're having so much fun, teens will hardly realize that what they're doing is actually good for them.

Teenagers can participate in just about any fitness activity, whether it is weight training, mountain biking, or martial arts. Many gyms are lowering their age requirements and offering family memberships and discounts to reach the younger market. Organized sports also are an excellent means of improving socialization and developing discipline and teamwork skills.

They're Listening - What Do You Say?

The number-one thing you can do to help teens get active is to be a good role model. Live the life that you advocate; show them that being active can be fun, and they will follow your example. Let them know that being physically active does not necessarily mean going to exercise classes or playing sports, although these are two great options. Hiking and camping, body surfing and playing Frisbee or paddleball are activities the whole family can enjoy. And, since they're having so much fun, teens will hardly realize that what they're doing is actually good for them.

Teenagers can participate in just about any fitness activity, whether it be weight training, mountain biking or martial arts. Many gyms are lowering their age requirements and offering family memberships and discounts to reach the younger market. Organized sports also are an excellent means of improving socialization and developing discipline and teamwork skills.

Competing with the Negative

It's not easy to get your message of good health and fitness across when you're competing with the lure of television and video games. That's why it's so important to appeal to a teenager's sense of fun and need for social interaction. Whenever possible, include others, such as their friends, in your fitness activities. Encouraging a teenager (or an adult, for that matter) to become more active can be discouraging, particularly when they seem to be tuning you out. At some point, that encouragement may become counter-productive. Instead, continue to serve as a role model for an active lifestyle and perhaps they will one day follow your lead.

The most important thing you can do for today's youth is to help them value their lives. Being healthy and fit will put them in touch with their bodies, increase their self-esteem, and help them to establish a desire to set personal goals. Bottom line, however, is that in order to get anyone to exercise, teenager or not, it has to be fun. Teenagers aren't likely to do something just because they're told it's good for them. But with your support and encouragement, you can help put them on the path to better health that lasts a lifetime.

In Sugar Land check out our Youth fitness Partner Athletic Revolution Tell them BF4LN sent you! to get special discounts
 
by the American Council on Exercise (ACE)

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So, You Want To Spot Reduce? Here's How...

Besides launching millions of sit-ups, leg lifts, and torso twists; the desire for a toned and taut physique has sold a long line of exercise devices of dubious worth. Countless inventions, such as vibrating belts and gut-busting contraptions, have claimed to miraculously tighten and tone our trouble spots.
But the miracles we were expecting never materialized, and our spots remained unreduced.

What's Wrong with Spot Reduction?

Where did we go wrong? In our efforts to tone our bodies, we neglected the most important factor: fat. Exercises such as crunches or leg lifts improve the tone and endurance of the muscles, but they don't burn fat. When we do exercises that elevate the heart rate such as bicycling, walking, or aerobic dance, the body will draw upon its fat stores for energy.

Alternative Solutions

Eating a low-fat diet and following an exercise program that combines aerobic activity and strength training is the key to changing the shape of your body. In addition to burning calories through aerobic activity, strength training will increase the amount of muscle which burns even more calories. But many people shun the idea of intensive exercise, scared off by the idea of five-mile runs, barbells, or aerobic classes.

Thankfully, any aerobic activity that elevates your heart rate can help you burn fat and take off unwanted pounds. Many experts recommend doing at least three sessions of 20 minutes of aerobic activity per week. Ideally, for long-term weight control, you should engage in at least four sessions per week for 45 minutes each time.

For instance, these enjoyable alternatives to traditional aerobic exercise are effective fat burners:

•Mountain Biking

•In-line Skating

•Walking

•Country Line Dancing

•Hiking

•Martial Arts

•Boxing

•Cross-country Skiing

•Downhill Skiing

•Water Sports


In addition to these activities, which can be done solo or with friends and family, take advantage of the wide variety of fitness tapes currently on the market. You can learn everything from martial arts to swing dancing. Choose an activity because it interests you, not because it is touted as a great workout.

A few things to keep in mind when starting any new activity:

•Don't start out too hard or too fast - you may injure yourself or quit before enjoying any benefit.

•Always concentrate on enjoying yourself, rather than on what a particular exercise might do for you.

•Keep your exercise comfortable and only increase intensity after your body becomes accustomed to new activity levels.

•And always check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program, especially if you're over 40 or have cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease.

A Final Word About Toning Exercises

Just because exercises like leg lifts and crunches won't budge the fat, does not mean they are not beneficial. Unlike some aerobic activities, these exercises can strengthen and tone specific muscles of the body. The best way to shape up is to incorporate strength and toning exercises with aerobic exercises. Before you know it, you'll be on your way to looking and feeling better.

by American Council on Exercise (ACE)

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Weight-loss Plateaus and Pitfalls

It's kind of like running into a wall - that feeling you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you suddenly stop seeing results. This is called hitting a plateau and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your goal weight.
Weight-loss Woes

The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau is try to determine the cause. Could you be eating more calories than you think? Research shows that most people underreport the number of calories they eat - it's not that they're lying; they just don't know how to make an accurate assessment of how much they're eating. And even if you're eating fewer calories than before you lost the weight, you could be eating just enough to maintain your current weight at your current activity level. It is important to keep in mind that as you lose weight, your metabolism slows down because there is less of you to fuel, both at rest and during activity. So, while a diet of 1,800 calories per day helped you lose a certain amount of weight, if you've hit a plateau, it could be that 1,800 calories is the exact amount you need to stay at your current weight.

Exercise Your Options

This leaves you with two options: Lower your caloric intake further or increase the amount of time you spend being physically active. The first option is less desirable because you may not be able to get sufficient nutrients from a diet that is very low in calories, and it is difficult to stick to it for very long. It is much better to moderately reduce calories to a level that you can sustain when you reach your goal weight. The same is true for exercise. Trying to exercise for several hours per day to burn more calories is a good way to set yourself up for failure. Not only does this type of regimen require an enormous time commitment, it is hard on the body, making you more susceptible to injury and overuse syndromes.
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The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about any circumstance or stimulus.

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To help balance the intake with the expenditure, a good rule of thumb is to multiply your goal weight by 10 calories per pound, and add more calories according to how active you are. Again, be realistic. Don't attempt too much in an effort to burn more calories. Instead, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity most of the days of the week and, as you become more fit, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions. Choose activities that you find enjoyable, whether that be in-line skating, step classes, or even mall walking.

Another means for getting you off the plateau is strength training, which has been shown to be very effective in helping people manage their weight because the added muscle helps to offset the metabolism-lowering effect of dieting and losing weight. Muscle is much more metabolically active than fat; therefore the more muscle you can add, the higher your metabolism will be.

Get Off the Plateau
If you've stopped losing weight, the key to getting off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about any circumstance or stimulus.

By shaking things up a bit and varying your program by introducing some new elements, you'll likely find yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no time.

by American Council on Exercise (ACE)

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The Remarkable Health Benefits of the Humble Pomegranate

The humble pomegranate is yet further proof of why the Mediterranean diet is being hailed as the healthiest diet in the world.

For many centuries these rather unexciting and overlooked fruit have grown on fences all around the Mediterranean area and have been a seasonal part of the diet just taken for granted. However, recent research has uncovered some almost miraculous health benefits of pomegranates from which the people of the Mediterranean area have been unwittingly benefiting.

First, they have a marvelous ability to not only protect against atherosclerosis, i.e. the thickening of arterial walls which can cause heart attacks and strokes, but to actually reverse this thickening and thus return your arteries to a more youthful state. This is something that no drug on the market today is capable of.

Another health benefit of pomegranates is that they have the ability to lower blood pressure in addition to which they can effectively reduce your levels of bad cholesterol and help to increase levels of the good cholesterol.

One of the other health benefits of pomegranates will be of interest to men with problems of impotence as this is often caused by atherosclerosis as the resulting thickening of the blood vessels affects blood flow in all areas of the body. In fact it is not uncommon for narrowing of the arteries to only be diagnosed as a result of a man consulting his doctor over impotence problems. The exceptional effect that the powerful antioxidants found in pomegranates has is to improve blood flow in all areas of the body and thus dramatically lower the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and impotence.

Other recent research has uncovered evidence of the cancer protecting and even treating abilities of pomegranates, particularly in relation to prostate cancer although there is also some suggestion that the same benefits may extend to breast cancer. A substance in this remarkable fruit has been found to reduce the levels of PSA (prostate specific antigen,) high levels of which are a marker of how well a patient has responded to conventional prostate cancer treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy etc. One study of prostate cancer patients discovered that 80% of the men receiving pomegranate juice daily reduced the rate at which PSA increased dramatically. In addition there was a marked decrease in the proliferation of prostate cancer cells and an even greater increase in the rate of apoptosis, or cancer cell death.

Even in men without prostate cancer it is important to keep these PSA levels low as you age because their elevation is a precursor to cancer and can also contribute to benign prostate enlargement which affects many men as they age and causes much discomfort.

Although there has been no direct human research as yet into the protective action of pomegranates viz a viz breast cancer this type of cancer is akin in some ways to prostate cancer and certain in vitro studies have been very promising. With pomegranate extract inhibiting breast cancer cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in the laboratory.

The general antioxidant effect of pomegranates is three times greater than that of either red wine or green tea and they should definitely be included in everyone's diet.

Pomegranates tend to have a fairly short season and do not store very well. However if you want to make the most of the health benefits of pomegranates all the year round then buy them when they are in season and therefore plentiful and cheap and freeze them.

The easiest way to prepare pomegranates for freezing is to cut them in half, immerse them in a deep bowl of water then break the segments apart prying out the seeds. The seeds will sink and the pith and skin will float. Skim this off the top and then strain the seeds, pat dry on a clean tea towel, and freeze in polythene bags excluding the air. On defrosting pop them in your juicer. Alternatively you could juice them first and then freeze the juice.

Heart attacks and strokes are the number one killer for men and women alike in the western world,so if you are only going to adopt one element of the healthy Mediterranean diet then I think they should definitely be top of your list. The incredible effect pomegranates can have on not only maintaining a healthy heart, but their ability to even reverse some heart disease makes this so. No doubt as more research is done into the health benefits of pomegranates they will be found to have many other advantages.
 
by Ruth Polak

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Get Motivated

How do you motivate yourself to exercise when your mood is getting in the way?

1. Overcome Your Distracting Thoughts. Are your thoughts jumping ahead to future demands or lingering over past experiences? Remind yourself of how precious exercise time is—there will be plenty of time to return to distractions when your workout is over. Tell yourself, "Okay, I only have an hour to exercise, but I’m going to completely concentrate on it."

2. Examine How Your Body Feels. Are you feeling fatigued, stiff, tense, lethargic, or restless? Perhaps you are training too hard and need to cut back a little. Or perhaps you need to increase your stretching and decrease your cardio time. Your body also may be sending signals about other lifestyle concerns that need attention—overwork, emotional strain, poor nutrition, or not enough sleep. Listen carefully and adjust accordingly, but don’t give up on your commitment to stay active.

3. Visualize Your Achievement. Imagine how you will feel after fulfilling your exercise commitment for the day. Envision yourself stretching and reaching with full extension and perfect body alignment. Picture fat and stress running off your body along with sweat. Or dream that you’re in top condition, playing in the Super Bowl or at Wimbledon, running the last mile of the Boston Marathon, or cycling in the Ironman competition.

4. Talk Back to Your Gremlins. Do you often tell yourself, "I’m too out of shape," "I’m so slow," "I’ve tried this before, it never worked," or "I’m too old"? Talk back to those "gremlin" voices. Say to yourself, "I can do this one step at a time. I am stronger. I will stick with this program." Every time you hear the negative self-talk, challenge it.

5. Listen to Your Joy. Are you choosing activities you like or those you wish you would like? It’s true that sometimes you need to exercise when you simply do not feel like it—but if you are not getting any enjoyment from your activities, you may need to look for workouts that better match your personality and interests.

6. Examine Your Plateau. Ask yourself, "What needs to change for me to feel good about my exercise?" Clarify the gap between what you are experiencing and what you want to experience, then make the changes.

7. Wake Up Your Routine. Try a new kind of workout or change the sequence or frequency of your exercises. You do not have to add a lot of time to your workouts to see change; instead try a harder level or increase the speed on your cardio equipment. Push yourself a little.

8. Compromise Your Approach. If you decide to skip your morning power walk, plan on taking a 10-minute walk at lunch and another quick walk during your afternoon break. Plan ways to make-up for lost exercise time, like taking a hike with the kids on the weekend, or scheduling an extra training session.

9. Recommit to Your Goals. Activity levels greatly impact your physical ability, risk of disease, stress response, energy level, appearance, and attitude. Remind yourself that positive habits are created one choice, one moment at a time. Even if you choose not to work out today, make a commitment to get back on track tomorrow, no matter what.

10. Reinforce Your Exercise Values. Spend 20 minutes writing down the reasons why staying active is important to you and why you cannot quit now. The secret to success is not willpower, it’s "want-power." Choose to stay active not because you have to—but because you want to.

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Don’t Wait for Your Doctor to Tell You to Exercise

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An issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a national survey showed that only 28% of all physicians advise patients to become more physically active. Ask anyone who is physically active, and they will tell you exercise gives them an overall positive feeling of well being.
People feel better when they exercise, sleep better and have fewer aches and pains.

In a national research, sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), 1,800 adults were interviewed. Their doctors suggested they make a lifestyle change, but only 28% of the participants said their physicians had recommended that they become more active. And only 11% of the MDs had offered advice or further assistance to help their patients on an exercise program. Those patients who received both the suggestion and follow-up support from the doctors were 80% more likely to meet the basic physical activity requirements than those who didn’t. The basic physical activity requirement is 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, five times a week.

Let’s be honest. Doctors are busy people. Many doctors themselves don’t exercise. So how can we expect them to tell us to do something they don’t do. That’s why Americans have to turn to exercise experts and personal trainers. We really don’t need our doctors to tell us to exercise, do we? You would have to be pretty blind to not know about the health related benefits of exercise. Exercise education is all around us. We can either choose to ignore these messages or take action and get off our couches and exercise.

I believe many people don’t exercise because they don’t know how or are intimidated by the large health club scenes. Seniors, overweight people and new exercisers are confused with all the equipment, don’t appreciate the loud music and noise, and are uncomfortable exercising among the younger people. That’s where small personal training studios are beneficial. A personal trainer’s job is to teach their client how to exercise. The trainer should first have a complete understanding of the client’s goals, physical strengths and limitations, past and present injury history and proper medical history. Then after designing a program for the specific needs and goals, they teach proper form and technique, safety in the gym, how to properly adjust equipment, explain how to focus on the right muscle for a given exercise, make recommendations for cardiovascular exercise, strength or resistance training, flexibility conditioning, and help the client make positive lifestyle changes. If you have any special medical condition, your personal trainer should contact your doctor.

If only, the most sedentary person who is obese started to exercise, they would feel better in just 7 to 10 days. For a sedentary, obese person to start an exercise program, they should first check with their doctor on any precautions to exercise. Starting with a 10 minute walk per day and gradually increasing the time and intensity is the beginning of a more active lifestyle and a healthier new you.



Linda Geyer, entrepreneur, speaker and author has spent her entire career in health related businesses helping clients and audiences make health a priority. She is Founder and CEO of Vitality Management and owner of Peak Physique Fitness Training in Michigan. Linda inspires, motivates and educates on health prevention through exercise, healthy eating and positive attitude

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What is a Strain

What is a strain?
A strain is a stretch or tear of a muscle or tendon. Tendons are strong bands of tissue that attach muscles to bones. People commonly call muscle strains “pulled muscles”.

How does it occur?

The usual cause of a muscle strain is forceful contraction (tightening) of the muscle during an activity. For example, it might happen when you run, jump, throw, or lift a heavy object.

What are the symptoms?

•You may feel a burning or a popping at the time of the injury.

•The injured muscle is painful

•It is hard to use the injured muscle

•The injured area may be bruised or swollen

How is it diagnosed?

Your health care provider will examine the injured area and find that it is tender or painful. It is important to rule out any serious injury including a muscle or tendon tear/rupture or avulsion injury, which requires specific treatment.

How is it treated?

The general rule for treating strains is R-I-C-E.

Rest: At first you will need to avoid activities that cause pain. If you have a leg strain you may need crutches.

Ice: Put ice packs on the strained muscles for 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours. Do this for 2-3 days or until the pain goes away. You can also do ice massage: freeze water in a paper cup. Rub the injured area with the ice for 5 to 10 minutes, three times a day. This is especially useful for strains you have had for more than a few days.

Compression: Wrap an elastic bandage around your strained muscle to reduce swelling.

Elevation: Keep the injured muscle elevated above your heart as much as possible.

Also: Depending on which muscle is strained, you may be given crutches, a brace, or a sling.

Your health care provider may recommend anti inflammatory medication or other pain relievers. You may be given exercises or advised to under go physical therapy to recover faster.

How can it be prevented?

The best way to prevent strains is to warm up properly and stretch your muscles before exercise. The more flexible and stronger your muscles are, the less likely they will be strained.

SportExcel Health and Human Performance, Becky Mapes, PA-C, MPAS

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