Fitness Tip - "This is why we do it!"

This week's tip from Kalev Personal Training:

Training without a purpose? Do you lack definitive goals,and do you get down on yourself for it? Well…at least you’re still training! Remember, there’s so many benefits of working out. You may not even be aware of some of them. Here are a some great reasons as to why we do what we do in the gym.

-To reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and strengthen your heart

-To normalize blood pressure

-To decrease body fat

-To promote joint stability, increase bone density, and strengthen bones

-To increase balance, coordination, agility, and muscular strength

-To improve core strength and improve posture

-To eliminate stress and boost self esteem, giving an improved outlook on life and making it more enjoyable.

Bam! For all you people out there who make it a priority to keep fit and stay active: even if those washboard abs aren’t showing up as soon as you’d like them to, before you get discouraged take a step back and think of all the other ways your body is benefiting from working out. Keep it up!

Please comment on this post and share any other health benefits you’ve experienced, personally, from having a consistent workout program and a personal trainer to help you achieve your goals!

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Teen Dieting and Weight Gain

Adolescence is a common time for girls to start to worry about their weight, and often attempt weight-reducing or controlling measures. A study published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at whether behavioural strategies by teenage girls were beneficial in preventing long-term weight gain.

The study looked at dietary and physical activity strategies, alone and together, and subsequent weight gain of over 4400 females, aged 14 to 22, over 4 years.

23.7% of girls said they were trying to maintain their weight, and 54.5% said they were trying to lose weight. The weight control strategies used by most of the girls included: not eating snacks, following low-calorie or low-fat diets, limiting portion sizes, and exercising.

The outcomes

Participants in the study gained an average of 3.3kg (7.3 lbs). None of the dietary strategies alone predicted less weight gain. Girls who exercised 5 or more times per week gained significantly less weight. The strategy that was found to be most successful in preventing weight gain (no surprise here!) - the combination of limiting portion sizes combined with frequent exercise.

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Happy Holidays!!

Thanks for reading my blog, leaving comments and making it a great year!!

May 2010 be full of health and happiness!

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Fitness Tip - Muscle Confusion

Kalev Training Personal Trainer Fitness Tip:

Every training program should involve muscle confusion techniques. Muscle confusion is vital for progress in any routine. If you don’t attack and challenge your muscles from different angles consistently, they will become accustomed to the movements, used to the resistance, and muscle memory will stunt your growth. This is how plateaus are reached.

In order to avoid plateaus, or to break free of one, you have to vary your workouts and confuse your muscles. Throw them off so that they’ll be saying to themselves, “….i don’t remember doing this exercise”. Maybe you want to do different exercises for each muscle group on the different days you work them. Maybe you want to use different tempos of concentric vs.eccentric on different days. You can also switch up your rep ranges, training for strength one day, endurance the other day, and maybe power the next day.

I like to do 2-3 full body resistance training sessions a week. On Monday I will train for strength, and Friday I will train with plyometrics for power. On Wednesday if I feel up to it, I will train for endurance, doing reps till failure with light loads. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I will practice Muay Thai and do sprints on the treadmill afterwards. I also have a workout “A” and a workout “B” for every resistance routine. This weekly outline allows for plenty of variety in my program and always challenges my muscles in different ways.

Speak to your personal trainer to make sure that your program incorporates a significant degree of muscle confusion, and feel free to comment on this post to share the ways you construct your program to keep your muscles guessing.

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Green tea - Can it help you lose weight?

Can green tea help you lose weight? There have been conflicting studies about this theory in the past. A study published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition re-examined the effects of Green Tea Catechins (GTC) on body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to hip ratio. This study was a systematic review, compiling the results if 15 independent studies, and over 1200 people.

Green tea catechins are antioxidant compounds found in green tea. The researchers compared GTC's with caffeine, GTC's without caffeine, and caffeine alone. The results found that GTC's with caffeine decreased BMI, waist circumference, and bodyweight, but not waist-to-hip ratio when compared to caffeine alone, or caffeine-free GTC's, and the control group.

What does this mean?

It looks like green tea catechins, when taken with caffeine, can have a positive effect on body weight, BMI and waist circumference. However, researchers admit this benefit is modest at best, and as 15 different studies were involved, it's unclear just how much GTC would have to be taken to see this modest effect.

However, in long run, switching your morning coffee for a hot cup of green tea could help to battle the bulge. GTC's have also been linked to other health benefits. Read more about Green tea here.

Read this study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition here.

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Movie Review - Food Inc.

Food Inc. is a movie about the close connection between the food industry and big business, and how that affects the consumers choice in the grocery store, as well as their safety. The film also explores the massive gap that has grown between people and the origins of their food.

The average person is probably very unaware of the close ties between the multi-billion dollar food companies and the government. How does this happen and why does it matter?

McDonald's is the largest purchaser of ground beef in the U.S., and one of the largest purchasers of potatoes, chicken, and even apples. In the 1970's, the top five beef packers owned only 25% of the beef industry. Today, the top 4 beef packers control more than 80% of the beef market. When a handful of companies are purchasing the majority of a food, they suddenly have immense power into how they want that food produced.

Food Inc. argues that a small number of companies controlling such a large proportion of the food industry gives them too much power and influence over the food supply. When large companies are driven by profit, and less concerned about the welfare of the public and livestock, health issues such as antibiotic resistance can arise.

"Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment."

Large companies often lobby government according to their agendas. Executives at companies such as Monsanto are ending up in prominent positions in government organizations such as the FDA and USDA. In effect, the regulatory agencies are being controlled by the very companies they're meant to investigate. Needless to say, this could potentially add a bias to the decision making going on within these agencies regarding food safety and food policy, and Food Inc. argues that these multinational food companies end up with more influence than the public and consumers purchasing the food.

Although this movie is targeted at America, similar things are happening in Canada with companies like Monsanto. Awareness is our best defence. If you're interested in your health, food or the environment, I recommend this movie and you can draw your own conclusions.

Visit the official movie website here.

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