Reasons to Run (June 30, 2010)
By Inshape | June 30, 2010
A variety of motivations abound for one of the most popular forms of recreational exercise, and to kick of NYC Marathon Training season, here are our five favorites:
1. Running is one of the cheapest ways to exercise. Invest in a quality pair of running sneakers, and a moisture wicking outfit and you are basically ready to go. No matter where you live, paved roads, park trails, and sidewalks are accessible to runners at zero cost, so don’t let expensive gym memberships hold you back.
2. Running will get you out to meet people. Take a run in Central Park and stop at a water fountain or stretch your hard-working muscles, and you’ll likely meet a fellow runner. You can also join in on scores of group runs through clubs and running groups throughout the NYC/tri-state area. Search online for options in your zip code or city and make new friends during your workouts.
3. Running is good for you. As one of the more challenging forms of exercise, running, by definition, provides some of the best benefits to the body. It builds cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure, increasing lung capacity, strengthening heart muscle tissue, and increasing overall oxygen flow to muscles and organs. Running also boosts metabolism and thus can help you shed unwanted pounds (or maintain your current weight).
4. Running helps fight fatigue. Though it seems that a running workout would just make you tired, running moderate distances precipitates a boost in energy by increasing the production of endorphins and positively affecting one’s overall well-being.
5. You can run for a cause. Charity running events have increased exponentially in the last several years and they are such a great way for recreational runners to raise money for their favorite cause, as well as to set and work towards distance and time goals.
Run for the Revolution
Join Kim and a small group of devoted runners and Revolutionary War history buffs for an 11-mile run from Alexander Hamilton’s house in northern Manhattan to Trinity Church where he is buried. Saturday, July 17th at 7:00 am. Click here for details: http://www.inshapellc.com/eventdetails.php?eventid=319.
The team at inSHAPE is committed to your successfully active lifestyle, and if you need any assistance getting started with a fitness program or nutritional regimen, please let us know. Sign up for a free review of your health history and complimentary workout or give us a call (212.362.1001) so that we can help you and your heart stay fit and healthy.
Have a great week and if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please send us a note to info@inshapellc.com, call 212.362.1001, or visit our website at www.inshapellc.com.
Topics: In-Home Exercises (no or little equipment needed), Personal Training | No Comments »
The Real Age Craze (June 22, 2010)
By Inshape | June 22, 2010
Your age is just a number, right? If we’re talking about your chronological age, then yes, age is just a number. And if you are a relatively active, professional urban or suburbanite in today’s society, defying the traditional norm for aging is part of everyday life. In fact, it’s one the main benefits of regular physical fitness and healthy eating habits. However, a new metric has evolved, and thanks to the web and media, knowing your “Real Age” has become a fairly big craze.
The Real Age test measures the body’s current potential for survival relative to what is considered as an average life expectancy for sex. In case you’re wondering, in the United States, women can expect to live 80.7 years. Men can expect to live 75.7 years. So what the quiz does is take into account your current age and location (it actually breaks down by state in fact) and calculates how many remaining years you are likely to have taking into consideration the following factors:
1. Measurements like height, weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure (though if you don’t know these, you can either estimate or indicate that you don’t know).
2. Disease and family history of diseases
3. Daily routines (driving v. public transportation, dental flossing, sleep, etc)
4. Relationships (time spent with friends and family)
5. Nutritional habits
6. Activity levels (includes detail as specific as the type of activity and intensity)
As one might expect, physical fitness levels play a huge role in the subtraction of years. A 40-year old female who exercises regularly with a combination of aerobic, strength training, and flexibility sessions (4-5 times per week) can subtract as many as 8 years off of her Real Age. In addition, even with super healthy eating habits and all other variables around the norm, this same 40-year old female saw a computed Real Age of 42 with zero physical fitness activity indicated.
Other factors that make a big difference in the numbers are healthy to better-than-healthy numbers for blood pressure and cholesterol, so if you don’t know yours, ask your doctor or pharmacist to recommend a local screening location.
The Real Age Quiz can be taken here, and it takes about 10 minutes to complete the entire evaluation. You have to enter your email address and receive a verification message to see the actual number, but once you’ve completed the process, you can update your information and/or go back in six months and see if your lifestyle changes have made you younger!
The team at inSHAPE is committed to your successfully active lifestyle, and if you need any assistance getting started with a fitness program or nutritional regimen, please let us know. Sign up for a free review of your health history and complimentary workout or give us a call (212.362.1001) so that we can help you and your heart stay fit and healthy.
Have a great week and if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please send us a note to info@inshapellc.com, call 212.362.1001, or visit our website at www.inshapellc.com.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Clash of the Titans: Good Fat vs. Bad Fat (June 21, 2010)
By Inshape | June 21, 2010
No one can resist the subject; the Today show, Access Hollywood, CNN, Dr. Phil and Oprah, among other media, all cover it on a regular basis. And billions is spent each year trying just to understand the existence of this sometimes harmful but very necessary substance that exists in every living person in the world.
Fat is so popular that whole companies have been formed to fight it. You’d think that it was the Taliban or something. People are going crazy, trying to arm themselves with the best knowledge about it…what to trust…what to cut off from diets…and what’s okay to consume.
Good fats are the naturally occurring traditional fats that haven’t been damaged by high heat, refining, processing or other man-made tampering such as partial hydrogenation. The polar opposites are very processed, and the worst of which has recently been found in more foods than most of us probably care to know about. Trans fat is vegetable oil infused with hydrogen…changing the oil from a liquid to a solid (vegetable oil becomes Crisco). It becomes a difficult fat to digest; therefore, it increases the amount of bad cholesterol (LDL) in your blood and lowers the good cholesterol (HDL) while dangerously increasing your risk of heart disease. It increases shelf life, but ends up decreasing human life by stiffening the arteries, causing type-2 diabetes and weakening the immune system. Harvard scientists estimate that trans fats may contribute to more than 30,000 premature deaths each year. An 80,000-person study also showed that by getting just 3% of your daily calories from trans fats increases your risk of heart disease by up to 50% (Men’s Health).
The FDA has taken steps to require manufacturers to include trans fats on labels, however this won’t go into effect until 2006. Just be aware of these hidden fats, and steer clear of any label mentioning hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil, margarine, or vegetable shortening.
Good Fat: Don’t worry – be happy! Lots of natural foods are out there with fat that is useful and very good for the human body. Just remember that moderation and diversity are key!
Nuts: a great mid-day snack (don’t go crazy on the serving size though)
Avocados: add small chunks to a salad or a couple of slices to a sandwich
Fish Oils: salmon, tuna, think sushi and seared grill delights! The yummiest fats!
Olive Oil: cooking with it or adding it to salads adds tons of flavor. Enough said
Organic – free range meats
Fresh dairy products (milk, cheese, butter): the downside is lactose intolerance, but if your body can handle it, dairy packs a punch with healthy fats, calcium, and Vitamin D.
Bad Fat: The bad fats are what we love about most foods! Fast foods pack it in, and surprisingly, so do a lot of so-called “health” foods (mostly the kind that are pre-packaged).
Fried Foods: you guessed it – French fries, potato chips, tortilla products – just to name a few. They’re on every corner, and a part of every menu. Watch out!
Partially hydrogenated oils: you basically find this item in the ingredients list of lots of processed sweets and snacks. Be very careful – this is the hidden ingredient that keeps shelf food fresh.
Refined vegetable oils: popular vegetable cooking oil is made up mostly of polyunsaturated fat, which is much more difficult for bodies to process and flush out as waste.
The team at inSHAPE is committed to your successfully active lifestyle, and if you need any assistance getting started with a fitness program or nutritional regimen, please let us know. Sign up for a free review of your health history and complimentary workout or give us a call (212.362.1001) so that we can help you and your heart stay fit and healthy.
Have a great week and if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please send us a note to info@inshapellc.com, call 212.362.1001, or visit our website at www.inshapellc.com.
Topics: Nutrition | No Comments »
Ask an inSHAPE Trainer - Cholesterol Levels
By Inshape | May 26, 2010
“My doctor recently told me that my cholesterol level, while not dangerous, is a little too high at 205. What are some ways to lower it?”
Cholesterol levels are important because they help us guage the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. The body actually needs cholesterol, which is a substance found in the bloodstream that helps build cell membranes and form hormones. The blood transports cholesterol to various places in the body for it to do its work but cannot dissolve excess cholesterol, which is why too much of it sticks around and can end up clogging up the walls of your arteries. It’s also important to note that the liver already produces the amount of cholesterol that the body needs for its cellular functions, which means that cholesterol that you eat isn’t really needed. Finally, among the various types of cholesterol, there are two important , so you might want to speak to your doctor about specific levels of HDL’s and LDL’s, but let’s address your actual question of lowering overall cholesterol (it should be lower than 200 to be considered safe and relatively healthy).
First, make physical activity a daily part of your life. Get up and get moving every single day in order to make the body’s cells work harder. If the bones, joints, and muscles are working alongside your already efficient organs, the cholesterol that you consume will get used up or discarded by the liver. Less will be left to hang out in the bloodstream and put you at risk.
Second, eat fewer foods that contain saturated fats. Animal foods (meats and dairy) contain varying levels of saturated fats; however, plant fats do not. So by cutting down on foods that contain something that your body doesn’t want, you will help lower your overall cholesterol level.
Third, eat MORE foods that do not contain cholesterol. This suggestion may seem obvious based on the above, but just to be clear: you definitely want to eat more foods that come from plant sources (whole grains, fruits, veggies, nuts, legumes, etc) if you want to help your body lower its overall cholesterol levels. This is because they contain other substances, like fiber, which assist in the processing of cholesterol, not to mention fill you up so that you don’t go for that extra helping of mac and cheese.
Cholesterol levels is a complex topic, but we hope to have given you an easy-to-understand answer; if you have other questions, please send our nutritionist a note at nutrition@inshapellc.com.
Topics: Nutrition | No Comments »
The Truth About Sports Drinks (April 13, 2010)
By Inshape | April 14, 2010
It’s hard to ignore so called “energy drinks”, “performance shots,” and other sports beverages. They line the shelves in every supermarket, and they’re packed into convenient store refrigerators with the promise to deliver more energy and enhance athletic performance. Who doesn’t want or need more energy these days? We’re all looking for a quick boost, and what better way than to get it from a tasty, refreshing drink. More than 5 billion dollars were spent on sports drinks alone last year, but are these sugary, caffeinated, costly drinks really doing us any good?
Sports drinks were designed to help athletes replenish their energy needs by supplying a concoction of carbohydrates, electrolytes, sodium, potassium and caffeine to the body. They were intended for those individuals who depleted their energy (carbohydrate stores) and risked becoming dehydrated as a result of loss of water and electrolytes thru sweat during long, intense training sessions or competitions. Carbohydrates help ward off fatigue and electrolytes are essential to keeping the body’s cells functioning properly.
So what type of exercise justifies guzzling these drinks? Studies show that the amount of electrolytes lost in an hour of exercise is minimal and that water will suffice to replenish what the body loses in sweat. So these drinks aren’t necessary for the average person who works out an hour a day. There’s no reason to consume these drinks, which are high in calories and many of which contain high fructose corn syrup and salt. High fructose corn syrup is the number one source of calories in the US and has been linked to the increase in obesity in this country. Consuming a 20 oz sports drink daily for a year could cause a 13 lb weight gain, as the average drink contains between 150-200 calories, with many packing up to 300+ calories. And, a 20 oz sports drink contains about 275 milligrams of sodium, which is about 15% of the recommended daily allowance for teenagers. These drinks also contain caffeine which is a stimulant and will perk you up immediately after consuming it – but too much of it can result in some serious side effects, such as irritability, nervousness, insomnia, high blood pressure and abnormal heart beats. While the energy boost might be good for your workout, delaying fatigue and allowing you to sustain your workout, the negative side effects can put a damper on your workouts as well.
However, if you’re training intensely for 2-3 hours it’s a different story. For extended periods of exercise, sports drinks help prevent dehydration and restore important minerals lost through sweat. They hydrate better than plain old water. They can eliminate the symptoms of dehydration many athletes experience when working at high training levels (fatigue, cramping, headaches, loss of concentration, etc…) They also provide extra fuel for your muscles and your brain. These drinks can be a savior when it comes to keeping your energy up duirng strenuous workouts, and athletes rely on these easy to consume products for better performance. So the bottom line is, most of us don’t need these drinks. Water is always the better alternative - but if you just can’t stomach water, try to pick a drink that’s lower in calories, and more water based. Our pick would be G2 by Gatorade.
The team at inSHAPE is committed to helping you develop and maintain a long-term program of fitness that suits your lifestyle, abilities, and interests. Sign up for free review of your health history and complimentary workout or give us a call (212.362.1001) so that we can help you and your heart stay fit and healthy. Have a great week and if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please send us a note to info@inshapellc.com, call 212.362.1001, or visit our website at www.inshapellc.com.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Bored with Your Workouts? (March 23, 2010)
By Inshape | March 23, 2010
One excuse that we constantly hear from clients is that they skip their workouts or can’t stick to a program because they get bored. They don’t like doing the same thing day in and day out. Like so many, they start a routine energetically, but after a few weeks, they can’t stay motivated and give up because they just don’t see exercise as a “fun” way to spend their time.
We’re with you on that. No matter who you are: a busy executive, a working mom, an athlete, or a personal trainer, exercise gets stale and boring if you do the same thing every day. It has to include activities that provide you with more than pain and misery. We all need a little fun in our workouts, so while exercise isn’t the “life of the party,” it doesn’t have to be the grumpy stooge either.
Two Sides of the Boredom Issue.? If you find that you are bored during a workout session, then your session is most likely not challenging enough. If it doesn’t keep you stimulated, you’ll definitely fall victim to boredom. If you find yourself dreading the workout (and often skipping it) because you know that you WILL be bored, you aren’t planning your exercise time well and need some new ideas to keep things interesting. Read on for details about how to prevent these issues of boredom and put an end to using this excuse forever.
Fitness facilities started adding televisions to cardio machines for a reason – people were bored staring into space when they were on them. Watching the news while you’re on the bike, for example, was a great idea. People could get their exercise time in and get caught up on their favorite program. But think about how you feel when or if you push yourself. Do you really want to focus on the latest scandal in Washington DC or is it just enough to focus on your breathing and form and get through your workout? Hopefully, you choose the latter, because if you are bored enough to be focused on the TV, your body is probably not getting the workout that it deserves.
How do you find a happy medium? Add short bursts of effort intensity to a cardio machine workout. Most cardio machines have pre-set programs; hill training, interval training, alpine circuit, etc to manage this process for you. But if you’re one of those people who just jump on the machine and press start, it will default to a manual program. This can become a problem because most likely these people end up sticking to the same speed each and every workout. Try to create a program for yourself, it’s pretty simple. Warm up for 5 minutes and then add 30 second to 2 minute alternating intervals of increased speed and intensity (incline for treadmill, increase the level on bike or precor). Intervals will keep you focused on your workouts and you’ll be challenged more, hopefully making your workouts more exciting!
The second part of the boredom issue is a little more complicated. Missing workouts all together because you know that you’ll be bored wreaks havoc on any earnest workout plan. The good news is that fighting boredom takes a little planning but once you discover that there are dozens and dozens of ways to mix up your routine to keep it interesting and fun, you will be converted. Here’s an outline of a week’s worth of activities that you can adopt as a boredom-prevention plan:
Monday - Circuit Train. Pick a cardio exercise, pick 3 lower body exercises, 3 upper body exercises and 2 core exercises. Go from one to the next with no downtime. Use a stopwatch and do 30-60 seconds intervals at each station, then continue on. This will keep your heart rate up and you will not be bored. Repeat the circuit 2-3x. Ex. run 2 minutes, squat, lunge, calf raises (30 sec each) - run 2 minutes - push ups, shoulder press, curls (30 sec each) - run 2 minutes - plank and side planks (30 sec each).
Tuesday - Cardio Challenge. You’ll chose 1 piece of equipment. Start with a 5 minute warm up and then every 2nd- 3rd minute add 30 second sprints. If you are on a treadmill and you’re regular speed is 6.0mph, pump up your sprints to 7.5-8.0mph. You’ll feel invigorated.
Wednesday - Yoga or Mind/Body day. Take a yoga class or just use this workout to focus on breathing and alignment. It’s important to feel the body’s connection.
Thursday - POWER up. This workout is all about strength. Warm up for 10-15 minutes with some light cardio but then move on to pure strength moves. Start with the larger muscle groups and move onto the smaller ones. Work yourself to exhaustion and feel amazing when you’re done. Move quickly from one exercise to the next and change up the moves on a regular basis. Don’t get stuck doing the same exercises every time you do a strength workout.
Friday - Cardio Circuit. Pick 3 cardio exercises and move from one to the next without resting. Perform each 3-5 minutes, then switch. Repeat 3-4x.
The team at inSHAPE is committed to helping you develop and maintain a long-term program of fitness that suits your lifestyle, abilities, and interests. Sign up for free review of your health history and complimentary workout or give us a call (212.362.1001) so that we can help you and your heart stay fit and healthy.
Have a great week and if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please send us a note to info@inshapellc.com, call 212.362.1001, or visit our website at www.inshapellc.com.
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
The FLEX in FLEXibility (March 11, 2010)
By Inshape | March 11, 2010
Flexibility improves strength training & weight loss success!
by Carmen Jerome, inSHAPE trainer, massage therapist, nutrition student
Flexibility is defined as the ability for joints to move though their full range of motion pain free. So what does it have to do with your strength training and weight loss programs?
Well, for starters, improving your flexibility will help reduce post workout muscle soreness allowing you to workout harder, longer, and more often. When you contract a muscle against a resistance (i.e.dumbbells, resistance bands, ect) the muscle shortens. This repetition of intense muscle activity often only takes the muscle through part of its full range of motion and allows lactic acid to build up in the tissue. By the end of the set the muscle ‘forgets’ how ‘long’ it is and if its not stretched, the muscle stores that lactic acid causing post exercise soreness.
Improving flexibility also enhances the promotion of muscular development and improves muscular balance. As you exercise, the strenuous activity often causes damage to the muscles connective tissue. Stretching allows the muscle tissue to be realigned. Post exercise stretching also increases blood flow and nutrient transportation to the muscles speeding up the recovery process and encouraging proper muscular development. When you don’t stretch, the damaged tissues can heal at the ‘shorter’ length inhibiting efficient blood flow, decreasing muscular development and contributing to post workout soreness.
Not only is flexibility important to the success of your workout program, it is also required for all daily activities such as walking, sitting, and bending. As you age, muscle tissue tends to lose its natural suppleness and flexibility making them more prone to tears, aches, and pains. The lack of flexibility can also lead to permanent changes in posture, normal muscle function, and joint health.
Finally, a greater range of motion, obtained by stretching, reduces the degeneration of joints (i.e. flexible hamstrings, hip flexors, and quadriceps reduce stress on the low back). Your joints were designed to move, so limiting movement creates muscle imbalances stressing the joints and causing them to weaken and deteriorate. Weak joints further limit your range of motion leading to increasingly weaker joints creating an endless cycle that leads to diseases such as arthritis. The best way to prevent this cycle is to start adding some flexibility into your workout routines.
Convinced? Ready to improve your chances for success? Here are a few tips to get you started:
. *Perform balanced stretching. This means you should always stretch the muscles on both sides of your body evenly, front and back, left and right. (i.e. Quadriceps and Hamstrings)
. *Avoid over-stretching. You will feel slight tension or a pull on the muscle at the peak of the stretch but you should never push it to a point of pain or discomfort.
. *Go slow! Always stretch slowly and evenly. Hold the stretch for about fifteen seconds and release slowly as well.
. *Never bounce or jerk while stretching. This can cause injury as a muscle is pushed beyond instability. All stretches should be smooth, and slow.
. *Don’t forget to breathe. Flexibility exercises should be relaxing. Deep, easy, even breathing is key to relaxation. Never hold your breath while you stretch.
. *Ask your In Shape Trainer or Therapist for help starting a self -stretch routine to add to your daily activities.
The team at inSHAPE is committed to helping you develop and maintain a long-term program of fitness that suits your lifestyle, abilities, and interests. Sign up for free review of your health history and complimentary workout or give us a call (212.362.1001) so that we can help you and your heart stay fit and healthy. Have a great week and if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please send us a note to info@inshapellc.com, call 212.362.1001, or visit our website at www.inshapellc.com.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Ask an inSHAPE Trainer - Cardio Burnout? (February 23, 2010)
By Inshape | February 23, 2010
How much cardio is too much? I can’t seem to get the results I want even though I’m doing 60-90 min’s of cardio 5-6 days a week?
Cardio is an important part of the equation when it comes to getting in shape and seeing results. It’s hard to put a number on how much is too much. And, it also depends on what your goals are. If you’re training for a marathon, then 60-90 minute workouts might be realistic, considering the training schedule for running this distance. But other than training for an endurance event, 60-90 minutes every day is overkill. You can see results with a much more time efficient routine. If your goal is to get lean and lose weight, you need a more balanced training program; you need to take a close look at your diet and you need to incorporate resistance training a few days a week. If you’re doing one without the others the chances of seeing the results you want are slim.
It’s recommended to get 30 minutes of cardio most days of the week to keep the heart conditioned. Cardio exercise does burn calories. Initially when you start training you’ll lose weight. However, your body quickly adapts to this type of exercise and after a month or so of doing the same exercise you won’t burn as many calories because your body becomes more efficient to the training. What many people start to do when they hit this plateau is they increase their time on the treadmill or elliptical just to continue to maintain their weight. This becomes quite a burden to have to spend so much time on a piece of equipment for minimal results. Putting your body through this type of training eventually breaks the body down and you risk getting injured and overtraining. It’s not a healthy way to work out.
A good way to see continued results is to workout using interval- training. You will consistently burn calories with this style of training. When you interval train you add short bursts of cardio to your workouts. You will go much harder with the cardio, but only for very short periods. So instead of running for 60 minutes, run 30 minutes but add sprints every 3 minutes for 30-60 seconds. You will be amazed at how much your body will respond to this intense training. With this type of training you’ll burn fat, too.
Another method to use to generate results is to add 20-30 minutes of resistance circuit training to your routine. Make sure you’re working your entire body but changing up the exercises frequently. Work your body hard by training at maximum capacity. Push yourself for all 20-30 minutes with minimum down time. You’ll keep your heart rate elevated while challenging your strength. This is a very efficient way to train because you not only get the strength results but it becomes a cardiovascular conditioning routine as well. The workouts in the inSHAPE No Excuse Toolbox are an excellent example of this type of combined program - check them out here.
If you have any questions or need help putting together a more efficient program please let us know! We’re here to help. And please continue to send us your questions - Ask an inSHAPE Trainer and get free help on any fitness-related issue (send your request to info@inshapellc.com).
Topics: In-Home Exercises (no or little equipment needed), Personal Training | No Comments »
Weekend Wasteland (February 10, 2010)
By Inshape | February 10, 2010
Monday through Friday you’re super disciplined when it comes to your diet and exercise regimen. But what happens once you leave the office Friday? It might start off with a few beers with some buddies on the train, and the next thing you know you’re stopping off at the local pizza joint for a large pie, only to consume an extra 1000+ calories before the weekend really begins. Why this behavior?
We work hard all week and come Friday we feel that we deserve a reward of some sort. We’ve gone to the gym every morning, eaten every meal with discipline and possibly could be down a pound or two from last week. So we feel entitled to splurge a little. Sound familiar? But what happens when this careless eating behavior is repeated weekend after weekend? The result; we never lose weight, and we probably don’t even maintain our weight. So how can we stop this mindless eating from destroying our waistlines and our health? We’ve got some tips.
Don’t always build socializing around food.
Meet your friends for a hike or a game of tennis! Try to stay away from the idea that being social has to always include food. It’s always easier to indulge with friends and for some reason the guilt isn’t there when everyone is participating in poor eating.
Limit the liquor.
We all enjoy a glass or wine or a beer now and then, but don’t forget how many empty calories a glass of alcohol contains. Is it really worth it? You also lose all willpower with food once you start getting liquored up, so limit your consumption!
Weigh yourself Saturday and Sunday
Don’t put the scale in the closet. Keep it out and weight yourself Saturday and Sunday just to keep yourself and your weight in check. We don’t preach weighing yourself daily but the weekends are important. Doesn’t it feel awful to wake up Monday to a surprise weight gain?
Stay Active
Even though your weekend goal is to relax (which makes sense since you work so hard during the week), you should still try to incorporate some physical activity into your schedule. Even if it’s simply taking the stairs at the movie theater instead of the elevator or going for a walk after dinner, don’t rob your body of the movement it needs and craves. Other good options: play hide and seek with your kids, rearrange a closet, or do a little spring cleaning.
Treat yourself
Don’t stress, Enjoy some treats on the weekends, just be careful not to over-indulge and go nuts every single weekend. Pick one meal during the weekend and eat what you want.
The team at inSHAPE is committed to helping you develop and maintain a long-term program of fitness that suits your lifestyle, abilities, and interests. Sign up for free review of your health history and complimentary workout or give us a call (212.362.1001) so that we can help you and your heart stay fit and healthy. Have a great week and if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please send us a note to info@inshapellc.com, call 212.362.1001, or visit our website at www.inshapellc.com.
Topics: In-Home Exercises (no or little equipment needed), Personal Training | No Comments »
16-degree Run in New York City (January 30, 2010)
By Inshape | January 30, 2010
Sure, it would have been easy to blow off a run this morning. I didn’t even have to look at the weather report to know that it was painfully cold outside, but when I did and saw the number 16, I could have easily justified my sipping a little more coffee, reading the paper, and enjoying a few hours while my daughter naps.
But I am SO glad that I didn’t, and if you have the apparel to make it happen safely, I highly suggest even the shortest of short runs, just to get out there, commune with the cold, and experience the feeling of finishing a workout in extreme temperatures.
Safety
Layers are key when you exercise in below freezing temperatures or inclement weather, and you should at least wear three layers if you hit the pavement on a day like today. First, you need a moisture-wicking fabric layer closest to your skin. This prevents perspiration (yes, your body will still sweat when it’s 16-degrees out) from being reabsorbed into your skin and thereby cooling your body too quickly. The middle layer should be the insulating layer - the one that keeps you warm. The outer layer should be able to break the wind and possibly provide some warm depending on your comfort (I have this fantastic Nike jacket that does both).
And most important: a hat, gloves, and a scarf or gator. You lose 40% of your body’s heat through your head and extremeties, so take good care to keep them warm. Seriously, do not head out without something on your head and hands.
Breathing
Your mom may have used to say that if you go outside in weather this cold, your lungs would freeze. Mom was wrong, though, as there is no evidence that suggests that cold weather workouts are detrimental to one’s health. Breathing through the nose, however, helps warm air up before it hits the lungs, which proves less painful during exercise when air exchange intensifies. And a scarf or gator can aid in your breathing comfort by allowing you to warm air up before you take it in, so I never leave the house without one or the other.
Hydration
Make sure that your body is well hydrated before you head out and replenish your fluids just as soon as you return. Though it may not feel like you need it, your body can easily become dehydrated (remember, it’s actually working harder, step for step, because it’s trying to get you through the workout AND keep you warm at the same time).
Take it Easy
Don’t overdo it on a day like today. Seriously, just head out and enjoy the fact that you got out there. Unless you are training for an event and need to log some serious miles, a short jaunt is all you need.
And totally worth the effort. Have a great day!
Kim - inSHAPE Fitness
Topics: In-Home Exercises (no or little equipment needed), Personal Training | No Comments »
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