A large amount of the population today tends to suffer from chronic lower back pain. Did you realize that a common cause of this complaint is due to improper posture and weak core muscles? Aerobic exercises and strength training of your abdominals will help to alleviate your back pain and strengthen your muscles so it becomes a thing of the past. If you do suffer from chronic back pain talk to you personal trainer about some core exercises you can do at home to begin the road to recuperation

As a society we are very much concerned with our weight and appearance. A common measure still used today to determine whether one is an acceptable weight is the calculation of BMI (Body mass index). BMI is simply ones weight (in kg’s) divided by their height (in meters) squared. Unfortunately there are limitations with this old measure of study.
1. BMI does not take into account muscle mass and fat mass as separate measures. It simply sums up your entire weight. Therefore a person who contains 7% body fat and has a large amount of muscle could be considered morbidly obese when they calculate their BMI.
2. BMI tells no information of fat distribution. As the measure is still used as a health indicator this is a dilemma.
3. BMI does not account for ethnicity, frame size, or bone density

Along side the health limitations are the psychological effects of hearing one is “overweight” or “morbidly obese”. These may indeed have a positive effect kick starting an individual into wanting to begin and adhere to a training program. They may also have a negative effect for someone with lower self-esteem. Karen Harding – a blogger of fat acceptance has put together a slide show showing different people with their BMI ratings. Please take a look at the link and view the slide show (clicking on the I to see the information) to see a visual of the variation in this common method of measure.

http://flickr.com/photos/77367764@N00/sets/72157602199008819

http://www.tedloofitness.com

Incorporating a Healthy Lifestyle for Busy Professionals

The 10 Common Pitfalls of Working Professionals and their Fitness
1. Don’t have any goals
2. Don’t have a plan
3. Don’t have accountability
4. Don’t make the time
5. Don’t have healthy habits
6. Don’t have the knowledge
7. Family responsibilities too great
8. Job responsibilities get in the way
9. Low energy levels when time is available
10. It isn’t a priority
11. Don’t have a routine that supports fitness
12. Procrastination gets in the way
13. Excuses

Identifying the Misconceptions regarding Fitness
1. Fitness isn’t a priority when you are young
2. If you eat well, you don’t need to exercise as much
3. You have to choose one activity (gym, or tennis)
4. You have to follow a fitness routine that is set in stone – (alter depending on factors)
5. Small things don’t matter-(stairs, walking)
6. It has to be all or nothing – (3×15 min better than nothing)
7. You need to know how to exercise
8. Cardio is enough to satisfy fitness needs
9. It isn’t traditionally fun –
10. Have to feel like you are being punished
11. Genetics plays the strongest role in your health
12. If you lift weights you’ll get bulky – (women)

Things you can do tomorrow to begin integrating fitness into your life:
1. Sit down and set some ‘realistic’ goals for yourself – S.M.A.R.T. goals
2. Write a strategic plan
3. Schedule in exercise time
4. Accountability – training partner, trainer. Tell others goals
5. Look at ways to integrate your fitness with other activities (Family, business)
6. Small cycles-daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly with rewards
7. Once you start to move your energy will go up – stairs, lunch walk
8. Start looking at your actions as healthy or unhealthy. Start there.
9. Schedule activities for the family that involve movement
10. Look at how to share child minding if that is a consideration
11. Incorporate healthy eating habits – What, Quantity, Frequency, Timing
12. Rid home of food that is not conducive to your goals
13. Know that there will be ups and downs and be accepting of both
14. Look for consistency with flexibility
15. And of course…consider hiring a trainer to get your started.

Bonus tip: Visualize – not only what you want to feel & look like but also the actions to get you there. eg visualize workout & meals

http://www.tedloofitness.com

If you see that a given aerobic exercise burns a certain amount of calories, e.g., running a mile burns 100 calories, be aware that the number is usually based on a 70 kg (154 lb) man. If you weigh more than that you will burn more calories for the same aerobic activity, and if you are lighter you will burn fewer calories.

http://www.tedloofitness.com/

I’m sitting here on my laptop watching thousands of people go by on the 23rd Annual Vancouver Sun Run. It is an annual event where over 50,000 people walk or run a 2.5km or 10km course. The past few weeks I’ve heard several people say I’m not ready for the Sun Run yet so I’m not going to do it. I’m watching the majority of participants go by and they are walking rather than running and it hits me. Yes, you could have done it whether you ran or walked but you would have completed the event.

Many of us put limits on what we can achieve!

Start off with a goal, if you think that the goal is not currently achievable then modify it into baby steps that are within your reach. You may not run right away but at least you’ll be moving towards your ultimate goal. Remember the old saying, “Walk first, then Run!”

Below is an article by Martin Rooney that was sent to me by Matt Brundage… many thanks Matt!! It’s a spin on what I’m always referring to as the little choices we make in life. Enjoy! Ted

The Little Things Make a Big Difference

When I look back at all of the great people that I have worked with over the years, the most successful ones all had something in common: they all paid attention to the “little things”. I describe the little things as tasks throughout a person’s day that are simple to do. Unfortunately, I also describe the little things as tasks throughout a person’s day that are simple not to do. For instance, it is as simple to eat well every day as it is to eat poorly. It is as simple to get the right amount of sleep every night as it is to lose sleep. It is as simple to be on time and thorough with your training as it is to be late and half-hearted. It is simple to deliver great service to your customers as it is to be lackluster. These instructions sum up this entire concept: Do the little things right and the big things will take care of themselves. As the Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden once said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

Momentary Pleasure Only Lasts a Moment

Many people often stop along the way to greatness because they settle for what they want now instead of what they want most. The most successful people choose the future over now. Don’t lose sight of your goals for something that is not going to be worth it. This is going to require what I consider one of the greatest characteristics that all successful people have on their path to success: persistence. As the author Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, ” By persisting in your path, though you forfeit the little, you gain the great.”

I have found that the one thing that won’t fail you on your trip to the top is your persistence. The wise President Calvin Coolidge gave what I believe is the best description of persistence that history has known:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

The tennis great, Bjorn Borg, stated a similar quote that also demonstrates the power of staying the course:

“My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories.”

I hope you all enjoyed these thoughts and start putting it to use right away. Pay attention to the little things this week and P.U.S.H (Persist Until Something Happens!)

Do this and I promise the big things will take care of themselves.

http://www.tedloofitness.com/

Below is an article from Sunday’s Vancouver Province. It emphasizes the point that when we get busy we usually stop doing the things that keep us healthy and productive. Remember, three key ingredients to a healthy lifestyle are regular exercise, nutrition and recuperation.

****

STARBUCKS GENERATION: Workaholics rely on caffeine to keep going
— North Jersey Media Group Inc.

HACKENSACK, N.J. — They’re sleep-deprived and struggling through the day on caffeine and nerves.

Sex? Forget it. Friendships? No time. They forgo sleep, exercise and fun in favour of work. Instead of winding down at night, they’re doing the chores and worrying about tomorrow.

At each stage of life — from youth to old age, through pregnancy, baby care and menopause — women find that getting a good night’s sleep is hard. And it becomes harder, not easier, as they age.

“Sure, guys are exhausted, but they’re not blindsided by their biology,” says Meir Kryger, chairman of the task force that designed this year’s poll for the U.S. National Sleep Foundation. “They don’t have babies. They don’t have menopause.”

The main message, says Kryger: Women don’t give sleep a high enough priority.

To cope, the “Starbucks generation” drinks another cup of joe. Two-thirds of women use caffeine to stay awake, and more than a third drink three or more cups of coffee (or their equivalent) a day, the poll found.

People don’t understand that “sleep is a biological need,” says Dr. Jeffrey Barasch, director of the Valley Hospital Sleep Center in Ridgewood, N.J. “They think it’s a waste of time.”

But without it, he says, “everything deteriorates: your health, your performance, your family life.”

Exhaustion reduces the body’s ability to fight disease. It diminishes mental sharpness, leading to poor judgment and delayed reaction time — critical factors while driving a car or caring for small children.

Some suffer from sleep apnea, or the temporary cessation of breathing while asleep. Oxygen deprivation causes a person to wake up with a start, heart pounding.

That leads to a faster heart rate and higher blood pressure. If breathing stops too long, it can cause a heart attack.

Poor sleep goes hand in hand with poor mood. More than half of women say they’re likely to be in a bad mood when they’re sleepy. Nearly half eat sugary foods to compensate and seven per cent use medication to keep them alert.

When pressed for time, women cut back on healthy activities: Half say they sacrifice sleep and exercise when time is short. And more than a third cut back on time with family and friends, healthy eating and sex with their partner, according to the poll.

http://www.tedloofitness.com/

Found a great article on health in the workplace. Below are some tips for being healthy, stress free and happy in your work environment.

Seven key ingredients of a healthy workplace

Dr. Martin Shain outlines that a healthy, safe place of employment is one in which you:
1. Have a clear understanding of your role and responsibilities and perceive that your skills match the job
2. Have a say in your job and how you do it and feel that the work demands placed upon you are reasonable and fair
3. Feel respected and valued for your contribution and being rewarded, with praise and recognition, for work well done
4. Feel that the people you work with, including managers, are trustworthy
5. Feel reasonably secure in your job
6. Believe that your employer takes every reasonable precaution to protect the health and safety of employees and that he or she has a genuine concern for the well-being of employees
7. Feel that you are part of a common purpose.

Follow this link to read the whole article.

http://www.canadian-health-network.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1169408550471&pagename=CHN-RCS/CHNResource/CHNResourcePageTemplate&c=CHNResource

Cheers,
Ted

http://www.tedloofitness.com/

http://www.tedloofitness.com/

Okay, I admit it… I watch American Idol.

I usually only watch at the beginning of the season when they are showing the auditions. I’ve always thought I was watching for the humour factor, laughing at the antics of these people that just can’t sing. Call me mean but it’s mindless though funny entertainment. Well, I’ve had a revelation which I will touch on in a moment.

The other night I was watching Larry King on CNN and he had these past Idol contestants on the show. The basic theme of the segment was “are the judges being too harsh and making too much fun of the people auditioning?” Understand the 4 main ex-contestants Larry was talking to had experienced some degree of success and fame on the show.

Towards the end of the show Larry brings on William Hung. This is the kid who a few seasons ago did not make it past the audition phase of the show but achieved fame not because he could sing but because he couldn’t sing or dance and put all together he was funny to watch while trying to sing Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs.” Listening to Larry interview William you got a real sense that he believes in himself and that he truly thinks he is a really talented singer and performer. Some questions regarding William’s talent were posed to one of the other contestants, Bucky, and though being polite he had a hard time not giggling, holding a straight face and you could tell that he really did not take William Hung seriously.

Larry then asked William the question that put it all together for me,

“William, have you made a million dollars as a result of being on American Idol?”

Pausing, he answers “Yes, it’s safe to say that I have!”

I then took a hard look at Bucky who you can tell has been looking down at William. They have a remote camera feed coming from his home, he’s been unable to answer several questions because he doesn’t have a TV or vcr so he’s not able to see what is being talked about. I look at William who has been flown into town, arrived to the studio in a limo and just released a new cd of country songs. Then it hits me! The real reason why I enjoy watching American Idol isn’t because I enjoy watching people embarrass themselves. It’s the fact they are taking a risk, putting themselves on the line and in some way growing as a person and in William Hung’s case, reaping not only personal satisfaction and confidence but also financial rewards.

So what does this have to do with fitness?

All the time I see people who are held back because they have a limiting belief in what they can physically achieve. With an open mind, a willingness to take a risk and put themselves on the line… one can achieve more than they ever thought possible!

Get out of your comfort zone, take a risk and go for what you want… it’s do able!!

To your health!
Ted