April 5, 2008
Filed under: Essays, Mental, Nutrition, Physical, Trainer — arlene @ 4:21 am
In the ‘holy trinity’ of weight management, exercise is one of the key players. Mind-set and nutrition are vital components of the Warriors programme, but without adding in exercise you won’t be able to get the maximum long-term benefit in terms of weight loss, fitness and a positive mental attitude about yourself and your body.
Think of your body as being like a car that you have left in the garage for a couple of months while you are away on business.
During that time it has not been used. When you come back, it’s likely that the battery’s run down and the oil will have stuck in the sump. You know that when you want to get the car going again it will need a service before you can get it out on the open road. Your body is just the same. If you stop using it, then you will gradually lose suppleness, strength and energy. How much you want to use it, however, is, to a large extent, up to you. (more…)
April 2, 2008
Filed under: Man, Mental, Muscle, Physical — arlene @ 1:12 am
Now we need to get a little more technical and have a look at the FITT principles — Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type of activity:
The Activity Continuum chart opposite is a useful guide to how to approach your progress. All movement along the continuum should be gradual. If you are doing nothing right now, then try to incorporate a small amount of activity into your schedule for the next few weeks. Then take a review of what you have learned, successes and failures, and then try to do a bit more. Only move up a level when you are confident and comfortable that your body and your lifestyle are adapted to the new levels. Rushing this progress is a guaranteed way to set yourself up to relapse to doing absolutely nothing again. If your eventual goal is to complete a marathon or some other intense activity, then eventually you should aim to progress towards the extreme end of thecontinuum. So where are you now? (more…)
April 1, 2008
Filed under: Gym, Mental, Muscle, Physical, Trainer — arlene @ 1:22 am
You are embarking on a new way of life, the goal is to get fit in an achievable time-scale and to lose weight. You don’t have to set any world records, or compare your progress to anyone else’s. Here are some ways in which you can make it easy on yourself.
Be realistic
Don’t set yourself up for goals that are unachievable. Take a look at the Activity Continuum and move along one step at a time. Give yourself the chance to adapt to the new behaviours and, only when you are ready, move along to the next stage. One of the biggest causes of drop-out is always trying to do too much, too soon. Your company wouldn’t grow from a corner shop to multinational grocery chain in one month, so why should you ask your body to transform from doing no activity to training like an Olympian in the same time? (more…)
February 20, 2008
Filed under: Mental, Muscle, Programs, Trainer — arlene @ 3:46 am
If you feel tense, take a run or a stretch instead of a tranquilizer!
Stretching exercises and rhythmical exercises especially aid in relaxation. Some good relaxation exercises are illustrated in the box on pages 244-245.
People who work long hours at a desk can release tension by getting up frequently and stretching, by taking a brisk walk down the hall, or by performing “office exercises.”
Massage, heat, and deep breathing aid relaxation of tense muscles.
Gentle effleurage, a type of massage, heat in the form of a hot bath (or shower or sauna), and deep breathing with prolonged exhalation when combined with conscious relaxation techniques described in this concept, are effective means for relaxing tense muscles for most people. (more…)
Filed under: Essays, Mental, Muscle, Physical, Women, equipment — arlene @ 3:41 am
Stress can be self-induced and pleasurable, or unpleasurable.
Some people may deliberately place themselves in stressful situations; for example, athletes plate themselves under maximum strain; lawyers and surgeons arechallenged by difficulties; and pregnant women acceptthe psychological and physiological stress of bearingchildren. Self-induced stress may also be an unpleasant but necessary interlude that cannot be avoided. For example, there is a risk of falling that is necessary in learning to ride a bicycle. (more…)
February 10, 2008
Filed under: Man, Mental, Muscle, Women, equipment — arlene @ 12:46 am
Poor posture, especially lordosis, can cause back strain and pain and can make the back more susceptible to injury.
The forward tilt of the pelvis may cause the sacral bone or one of the lumbar vertebrae to press on nerve roots with consequent low back pain and sciatica. To be on the safe side, some authorities advise those who have lordosis and weak abdominals to eliminate all exercises that hyperextend the spine. Incidence of lordosis is about the same for men as it is for women, except that women experience an added back strain during pregnancy, and high heels may also contribute to spinal strain.
Some people have a “flat back” (lumbar kyphosis) in the lower back region that can lead to backaches.
There is an increased interest by therapists in patients who lack a normal lordotic curve in the lumbar spine. Robin McKenzie’s theories and exercises (1980) (1981) (1983) have become increasingly popular in the treatment of people who sit for long periods with the back flat and pelvis tilted backward or those who engage in prolonged bending, heavy lifting, and long standing with flat back postures.
These people may need to regain a normal lordotic curve and probably need to perform relaxed static stretches with the back in hyperextension, such as the Press-Up Exercise. They may also benefit from the use of lumbar support (rolls or pillows) during sitting. (more…)
February 4, 2008
Filed under: Diet, Drugs, Essays, Mental, Nutrition, Physical, Sex — arlene @ 6:32 pm
There are many different positive life-styles that can reduce the risk of disease.
Many of the factors that contribute to optimal health and quality of life are also considered risk factors. Changing these risk factors can dramatically reduce the risk of hypokinetic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, back pain, and cancer, as well as other diseases such as infections and sexually-transmitted diseases. Lack of exercise, poor nutrition, smoking, abuse of alcohol and other drugs, inability to cope with stress, and poor personal hygiene are all risk factors associated with various diseases.
Not all risk factors can be altered by life-style changes. (more…)
February 1, 2008
Filed under: Mental, Physical, equipment — arlene @ 5:17 am
Possessing skill in a variety of physical activities enables you to adhere to exercise.
You do NOT have to be a great performer to enjoy sports and physical activity. However, having some skill enables you to be more active.
It is advisable to practice and perhaps seek instruction to enhance enjoyment of a lifetime activity especially if you are unskilled. People with greater skill are more likely to get involved because they are more likely to be successful. However, there is another way to increase satisfaction from sports participation. Research indicates that you must be 65 to 75 percent as good as your partner if either of you is to enjoy the activity. For this reason, it is not only advisable to improve your skills, but you should find a playing partner or group of similar ability. (more…)
December 19, 2007
Filed under: Mental — arlene @ 12:03 am
- Chronobiology investigates the rhythmic patterns in biological phenomena. Biological rhythms are endogenous and inherited with the DNA, but can be adjusted (though not imposed) by environmental synchronising cues
- Biological rhythms may show a wide range of period. The most extensively studied are circadian rhythms (from the Latin circa diem meaning about 24 hours), but both ultradian (<24 hours) and infradian (>24 hours, for example, circaseptan, circannual) also exist
- Many physiological mechanisms, each of them contributing to overall athletic performance, show a peculiar circadian pattern. Body temperature starts rising before waking, reaches a peak in the afternoon, then falls during sleep. An afternoon peak is also shown for heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, blood flow, and arterial blood pressure
- As a consequence, most components of sports performance show a rhythmic variation during the day, characterised by an afternoon-early evening peak. This is true for reaction time, isometric hand grip strength, elbow flexion and back strength, and long term memory recall. However, other aspects of performance, for example, mental arithmetic and short term memory peak in the early morning, so probably favouring sports demanding accuracy
- Circadian oscillation in biological parameters may condition one’s personality “chronotype”. In fact, both morning (“larks”) and evening (“owls”) type persons exist. The former get up and perform well early but must go to bed early. The latter wake up late and can retire late. All intermediate aspects, of course, are possible
December 18, 2007
Filed under: Aerobic, Mental, Muscle, Trainer — arlene @ 11:52 pm
For more in depth information readers should read the excellent review by Atkinson and Reilly.’ We will summarise the data from it. Although considerations such as environmental influences, temperature, meteorological conditions, and scheduled time of events make generalisation difficult, most components of sports performance exhibit a rhythmic variation during the day, with a peak in the early evening. The time of day is characterised by peaks in reaction time, isometric hand grip strength, elbow flexion strength, back strength, total work performed in high-intensity constant work-rate exercise, and lactate production” and lowest levels of joint stiffness and pain perception. When subjects are free to choose their submaximal work-rate during exercise of less than 40 minutes duration, higher work rates are achieved in the early evening without any change in the perception of effort.” Moreover, in young adults the mean work rate over 80 minutes of exercise was found to be higher in the afternoon than in the morning. Improvements in muscle strength after training sessions scheduled in the evening have been found to be 20% higher than those after training carried out in the morning. In untrained male volunteers aerobic exercise performance did not show variations during the time frame within which exercise is normally conducted, although some physiologal responses to exercise did. (more…)
Filed under: Drugs, Mental, Muscle, Physical, Trainer — arlene @ 11:51 pm
1. Increased physical fitness
Community surveys have shown that the general level of fitness in this country is ‘deplorably low’ and patients who suffer coronary problems have even lower levels. The improvements achieved by physical training as described above are of obvious benefit to the daily activities of cardiac patients. The energy costs of a wide variety of activities both at work and leisure have been estimated,”” and can theoretically allow prediction of the ability of cardiac patients to perform such tasks. In the United Kingdom the ability to regain a licence to drive a large goods or passenger carrying vehicle depends on the completion of 9 minutes of the Bruce protocol treadmill test, a feat that may only be possible after exercise training.
One group that may have most to gain is patients with cardiac failure.
Exercise in heart failure (more…)
December 7, 2007
Filed under: Diet, Drugs, Mental, Physical, Programs — arlene @ 1:36 am
As obligatory urine losses persist even in the dehydrated state, it is clear that any drink consumed after exercise-induced or thermal sweating must be consumed in a volume greater than the volume of sweat that has been lost. To investigate the influence of drink volume on rehydration effectiveness, 12 male volunteers performed intermittent exercise in the heat to induce a level of dehydration equivalent to a mean of 2.06% of their initial body mass. (more…)
Filed under: Aerobic, Mental, Physical — arlene @ 1:33 am
A poor competitive performance may result when an athlete does not take into consideration his or her circadian performance profile, as an athletic task undertaken several hours before or after the circadian peak “window” will potentially be performed with less than optimal efficiency. Taking circadian rhythms into consideration can produce major benefits in tasks involving endurance, mental function, physical strength, and others. Selection of the best circadian time can result in as much as a 10% increase in athletic performance. A 10% decrement in peak performance can be compared with a performance after less than 3 hours of sleep, after drinking the legal limit of alcohol, or after taking barbiturates. (more…)
Filed under: Aerobic, Essays, Gym, Mental, Physical, Sex, Singles — arlene @ 1:28 am
Taken as a whole, the review posits that a range of exercise regimens may have a therapeutic role in relation to a number of psychological disorders. At the same time, the research evidence to date does not provide unqualified support for the efficacy of exercise, and enthusiasm must be tempered with an acknowledgment of the dangers associated with exercise. Certainly, the literature does not indicate that exercise should be treated as a panacea or snake-oil for psychological malaise of whatever kind. Instead, it does suggest that different forms of physical exercise may be palliative in relation to particular conditions.
Whether that exercise be non-aerobic, aerobic or anaerobic, of short, medium or long term duration, competitive or non-competitive, team or individual, single or multi-session, is not always clear but there are suggestions that different psychological conditions respond differentially to alternative exercise regimens and recent attempts to develop taxonomies of physical activity and mental health may offer a realistic starting point in attempting to draw together some of the diverse recommendations. (more…)
Filed under: Family, Man, Mental, Physical, Women — arlene @ 1:27 am
This is a meditation exercise we have both found very useful. It was devised by a friend. Try it and adapt it for your own purposes, or find your own from a book, tape or seminar.
- Begin by becoming aware of your breathing.
- Do not interfere with your breath, just watch it – the rise and fall, the ebb and flow…
- Listen to the sounds near and far; become aware of the traffic noise, birds calling, wind in the trees, a dog barking in the distance…
- Then move outside yourself; look back at yourself sitting there.
- Gradually move your awareness outside your home, so you can see your house, your street, your town or city.
- Keep moving your awareness so that you are now looking down on your province, your state, your country.
- Now visualise your country as part of the Earth as you travel towards the stars.
- Once you are able to ’see’ the Earth as part of the solar system and look down on the Earth, send love from your heart back to it.
- Feel the love pouring through you like the golden rays of the sun.
- Allow yourself to dissolve and rest in the warmth of the sun.
11. Be still. Just be.
November 16, 2007
Filed under: Baby, Diet, Man, Mental, Muscle, Programs, Sex, Women — just4hours @ 1:39 am
1. Energy levels rise and you feel better
If people only realised it: their top excuse for not exercising is that they are too tired, but lack of exercise is the reason why they are tired in the first place! Exercise increases your energy levels. You may not feel like doing it, but once you have completed your workout for the day, oxygen levels are increased and the feel-good factor kicks in. Once you are in the habit, you will find you actually get a buzz out of exercising!
When the stress of life increases, your job gets on top of you or the kids become too much, then get out for some fresh air and get that body moving. Either join a club that has creche facilities or roster with your partner or friends to take turns. Maybe try going to the gym or for a walk in your lunch hour instead of sitting in the lunchroom. Even doing a lap around the outside of your house can do wonders for a stressed mind. (more…)
