Avoid Fitness Failure
The biggest mistake people make when entering into an exercise program is hammering away too heavy, too fast. If you haven't worked out in a long, long time...ease yourself into it! Go for PERSISTENCE! Find activities you know you will stick with "most" days of the week, start out doing 15-20 minutes of light-moderate activity, and after 4-6 weeks gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts. If you feel like you need to workout super-hard, and really long, you won't stick with it; (you're also more likely to injure yourself and be unable to workout at all!)
You should not get "stressed" out over working out. It should be a "stress-reliever!" Hey, when done properly, you may even start to look forward to it!!
Few Basic Principles of Exercise:
Warm-Up: Warming up is VERY important! Most people want to jump in and start working out...ALWAYS do 5-10 minutes of light activity, usually mimicking the activity you will be doing; walking, swinging your legs, jumping jacks, moving your arms (you can do movements you will be doing resistance training movements with NO weights)
NEVER stretch cold muscles! I always see people stretching before they run or get on a machine..NO! Always warm-up first, you can do some dynamic warm-up movements, get your body temperature elevated and then stretch AFTER you perform the exercise. If you put a rubber-band in the frezer and stretch it, it will break. If you warm it up and ease it into the stretch it will stay in tact.
When weight training, stick with lighter weights in the beginning, where you can do 10-15 repetitions. Start our doing one set of 6-8 exercises (1 for each muscle group).
Do activities that you will stick with MOST days of the week. Putting too much pressure on yourself will lead to program failure.
STRETCH--don't skip the stretching & cool-down phase of the workout. At the end of your workout spend 10 minutes stretching and cooling down. Hold movements for AT LEAST 15 seconds to make it count! This is KEY to avoiding injury and gaining results!
Seek out the advice of a PROFESSIONAL! Another big mistake people make are mirroring what they see other people do. A lot of times the person you are watching may have no idea what they are doing....or it may NOT be appropriate for you! Just because they look good does not mean its right...Everyone is different, and you need to get into a program that in unique to your individual needs. Some fitness clubs offer a free orientation with a trainer, you can get some fitness testing done and find exercises that will meet your goals.
Educate yourself, seek advice on professional certifying agency's message boards, like the American Council of Exercise (ACE) or web communities like Wellsphere; there are certified trainers and professionals on there that can answer your questions. Become familiar with proper form, warm-ups, cool-downs and stretching techniques.
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From: The Fitness Dish
Posted February 2010
The Skinny in Vitamins....do they really work?
I have always been a FIRM believer in getting your nutrients-- vitamins, and minerals from whole foods. I used to juice religiously. I don't have the patience for the clean-up with my out-dated juicer, but I still do it as often as possible. I have always had such a tough time with Vitamins. Frankly, they have always made me quite nauseous. I always tried to juice, and eat nutrient-rich foods...
My concern is that the pollution and heavy metal toxicity in our fish make it dangerous to eat it as often as recommended (note, you can also get a significant amount of Omega 3's in plants). There are also studies that show that they way we grow our food has an impact on the nutrients in those foods!
USDA figures show a decline in the nutrient content of 43 crops it has tracked since the 1950's. In a recent analysis, vitamin C declined by 20%, iron by 15%, riboflavin by 38%, calcium by 16%. So this means that you would have to eat 3 apples today to get the same amount of iron you would in 1 apple in the 1940's, scary! Research shows that plants grown with industrial fertilizers were significantly inferior to those grown in organic soil. So think of this: if there are higher levels of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals (plant chemicals found in fruits, veggies, spices, herbs, seeds and beans known to reduce cancer and cardiovascular disease) in the crops grown organically, will you consider investing in eating those crops rather than the cheaper, less nutrient rich version grown with pesticides? Do you think that is the same thing as investing in taking a supplement? Wouldn't you want the "real thing" as opposed to a vitamin (that may or may not be getting absorbed)?
Your activity level has no impact on whether or not you are deficient in a certain vitamin, it all comes down to the food. People who exercise do not need a special amount of vitamins just because they are exercising. So don't buy into anyone trying to sell you a Vitamin because it will make your muscles grow bigger when you lift, or "burn fat" more efficiently when you workout.
The most "common" nutrient deficiencies in the general population include Vitamin B6 (folic acid), and the antioxidants Calcium & Zinc. Other studies show that the reliance on processed foods full of "empty calories" created common deficiencies in vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A and magnesium.
Are supplementation the answer? Will they ensure that you are getting the right amount of nutrients to ward off illness, disease, feel your best? The jury is still out, it can help, but on the other hand, it can be dangerous if you are not smart about it. I do believe that eating a nutrient-rich diet, staying away from known "anti-nutrients" and staying active will put you on the right path!
It's considered unethical for me 'sell' or 'push' vitamins on my clients.
I know what vitamins and minerals are important for certain conditions, for instance, magnesium may help people with hypertension.
(I told my brother all through college to take Milk Thistle, which supports the liver, because he drank so much, haha)
So I may tell a client with hypertension what foods are rich in magnesium, but you will never see me "pushing" a certain vitamin or vitamin-type product on anyone.
I am going to give you the break-down of vitamins, and you can decide if you should look into supplementing, or getting tested for nutrient deficiencies. There are some facts you should know, like too much Vitamin A (more than 20,000 IU daily) can be toxic!