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Recent Entries

  1. Breathe
    Thursday, March 04, 2010
  2. Supplements
    Wednesday, November 04, 2009
  3. Your Wrist
    Thursday, October 08, 2009
  4. Protein
    Monday, September 21, 2009
  5. Start Easy
    Wednesday, September 09, 2009
  6. Calcium
    Monday, August 24, 2009
  7. SLEEP
    Monday, August 17, 2009
  8. Plantar Fasciitis
    Thursday, August 06, 2009
  9. antioxidants
    Monday, August 03, 2009
  10. Pizza
    Tuesday, July 28, 2009

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PERSONALTRAININGBLOG.FITNESS360SD.COM

Breathe

Fitness360sd.com
Personal Training


Whether you're a casual gym-goer, a mall walker, a mountain biker, an actor, singer or dancer, putting your breath at the core of your discipline will help you achieve far more than you ever thought.  During exercise, the body's demand for oxygen increases and our breathing volume or ventilation must also rise.  This requires numerous muscles surrounding the lungs to contract in a highly coordinated manner.  As the intensity of exercise increases, these respioratory muscles must contract more forcefullly and more rapidly to keep pace with the body's substantial increase in metabolism.  By increasing the strength and stamina of your respiratory system, your breathing becomes more efficient, requiring less energy.  Therefore you can take slower, deeper breaths, getting more oxygen out of each breath, you don't have to work as hard to get it, because you don't have to breathe as many times to get the same amount of oxygen.  Most people hold their breath when they lift something heavy or do a difficult movement and that's exactly what you don't want to do.  It's important to inhale on the eccentric phase and exhale on the concentric phase.  In other words breath out when you lift, push, or pull a weight and inhale during the negative phase.  So for your next workout try inhaling through your nose and exhaling out your mouth for the duration of the exercise.  It my seem hard at first but in the long run it will help you with your strength and stamina. 

Supplements

Personal Training Tips
Fitness360sd.com

My position at Fitness 360 in regards to Nutritional Supplements is very simple- It is outside the defined scope of practice of a fitness professional to recommend, prescribe, sell, or supply nutritional supplements to clients.  Recommending supplements without possessing the necessary qualifications can place the client's health at risk and possibly expose the fitness professional to disciplinary action and litigation.  There are also potential issues with interactions between supplements and other drugs clients may be taking.  Supplements aren't regulated by the FDA, so there's no guarantee of purity, strength or interactions with other drugs.  A personal trainer's main scope of practice is to help people improve their health and fitness through exercise and behavior change. Trainer's are not qualified to go beyond educating clients in nutrition matters. 

So remember a trainer can educate you on nutrition but make sure you consult a registered dietitian before you start a particular supplement or a new diet program.

Your Wrist

Fitness360sd.com
Personal Training Tip-

The wrist.  The ankle.  Small joints that even the most body-conscious of us tend to overlook.  Yet if these joints are compromised or impaired, they can be just as painful and immobilizing as a knee, shoulder or hip injury.  The most common wrist injuries are tendonitis of the extensor tendons and carpal tunnel syndrome-both overuse injuries resulting mostly from our repetitive motions in the realm of electronic gadgetry.  In carpal tunnel syndrome, the median nerve gets compressed from tissue swelling and causes pain to radiate into the fingers, as well as weakness and numbing. 
To help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, I recommend that you avoid keeping your wrist in an extended position, which causes all its muscles and tendons to work harder.  Keep your wrist in a neutral position with your forearm straight, so the wrist isn't bent backwards.  Try a cushioned pad for the computer mouse and see how it feels, it might take time to get used to but it beats the long term damages of doing nothing.     

Protein

Personal Training Tip-
fitness360sd.com-

Protein after exercise restores the amino acids you need to repair muscles.  Various studies have shown that the sooner after exercise you eat the protein, the better for your physiological recovery.  If you can tolerate it, the best time for eating the protein you'll need for muscle recovery is actually before you exert yourself.  Depending on your activity level plus the intensity of your workout,  your protein needs are usually between 12 to 15 percent of your daily total calories.  A sedentary individual at the weight of 140Ibs, needs about 0.8g/kg of protein per pound of body weight.  That's about 51 grams of protein a day, if the subject is an endurance athlete their needs are about 1.2 to 1.4 g/kg or 89 grams of protein per day.  My advice is to eat your protein through out the day, try to spread it out- one of my favorite protein snacks is low fat cottage cheese with fresh berries on top. Try It!

  

Start Easy

Personal Training Tip-
Fitness360sd.com

One thing's for sure-trying to make up for lost time by rebounding with a vengeance is the best way to put yourself back on the sideline far worse off than before.  This is all too common with individuals coming off an injury. They ramp up too quickly- go easy the first week, a couple of light jogs and lower weights when your in the gym.  Give your body a chance to adapt to your new routine. 

Calcium

Personal Training Tip-
Fitness360sd.com

Calcium is absolutely essential for a healthy frame, adults should aim for about 1000 mg as a minimum daily requirement.  Bone mass for everyone peaks at about age 30 and then declines.  Osteoporosis- the weakening of bone-affects one of every three postmenopausal woman, but it also affects men, as well as young women.  The real take home message for everyone, young or old, man or women, is that we need to store up healthy bone to be drawn on later, the same way you put away money in a savings account.  Watch out for soda the phosphoric acid in soda actually interferes with the absorption of calcium into bones.  High sodium has a negative effect on bone integrity, and more than two cups of coffee daily also can contribute to bone loss.  
Some good sources for calcium are yogurt, nonfat dry milk, skim milk, tofu, almonds, and calcium-fortified cereals like Total.  So watch your soda intake as well as your coffee and try to add some of these recommendations into your diet.  Remember our bones are our foundation let's support them now so they can support us later!

SLEEP

-personal training tip-

It's during sleep that you maximize recovery and growth.  Getting plenty of sleep isn't a sign of laziness; it's a vital part of keeping fit.  Sleep deprivation can lead to circulatory problems, weight gain, hormonal imbalances, as well as an inability to process carbohydrates and manage stress. 

-learn more about Fitness 360 at- fitness360sd.com
 

Plantar Fasciitis

Personal Training Tip- Heel pain or plantar fasciitis can be the result of a bone spur or inflammation of the plantar fascia, the firm tendonlike band of tissue that attaches the muscles of the arch to the heel.  Overuse and lack of shock absorption is the culprit, often made worse by a flat foot or a foot with a high arch.  I reccomend calf  and arch stretching, try to hold for 20 seconds 2-3 times a day.  Do arch strengthening (put soup cans on a towel on the floor, pull toward you with your toes).  Try heel gel pads and over-the-counter inexpensive inserts before taking the plunge to an expensive custom orthotic.  When your at home try arch massage with a golf or tennis ball, this helps stretch and massage the tendon.  Good Luck! 

antioxidants

Blueberries and strawberries are two of the foods highest in antioxidants, rinse them off and they're ready to eat.  Put them on cereal or simply pop them in your mouth.  One of my favorite snacks is low fat cottage cheese with blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.  It's great in morning or as a late afternoon snack.    

Pizza

If you are going to have pizza, try to stick to the thin crusts and go easy on the cheese. The cooked tomatoes are actually a great source of lycopene. If you pick your toppings carefully - red, green, and yellow peppers, olives and mushrooms - you can get a variety of vitamins too!

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