Fitness Tips: The story so far ... continued

by David Garred,
Club Manager Dusit Resort Sports Club.

Welcome back. What we have this week is the final part of our little revision that I started last week.
The Case for Moderate Exercise...
Still going for “The Burn” when you exercise? New research shows that high intensity exercise is not necessary if you want measurable changes in your health status. Even moderate intensity activities, such as walking a kilometre and a half in 30 minutes, can provide substantial health benefits for sedentary individuals: reduced risk of heart disease, improved cardiovascular fitness, and reduced risk of diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and depression. The new exercise recommendation guideline issued by the American College of Sports Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports suggests that when exercising for health, “Every adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity over the course of most days of the week”. If exercising for higher fitness levels is the goal, the guidelines suggest exercising 20-60 minutes, 3-5 days per week, and including a variety of activities for stretching, strengthening and cardiovascular fitness. Under these new guidelines, however you can improve your health by:
* Mowing the lawn for 20 minutes and raking the grass for 10.
* Walking at lunch for 15 minutes and vacuuming at night for 15.
* Going out at night dancing and being on the dance floor for 30 minutes.
* Walking anywhere - along the beach is nice - for 30 minutes.
Fitting in the amount of exercise that can make a significant difference to your health may just be easier than you thought!
Exercise your options with cross-training...
Performing a variety of aerobic activities can improve your physical health and help you avoid burnout. A plus for injury prevention, cross training utilises a variety of muscles and helps you avoid over-stressing muscles used every time you work out. The secret to cross-training is to include as many activities that have appeal to you: stepping, walking, bicycling, strength training, swimming, etc. If you are getting bored with the same old routine, try incorporating a new activity. This challenge may just be the nudge that your motivation needs and it will certainly add some spice to your exercise program.
How to speed up a depressed metabolic rate...
*Increase your food intake, slowly. If you have been on a severely restricted diet (less than 800 calories) you will need to add more food to your diet to kick your metabolic rate into gear. The trick is to do it slowly and gradually so you don’t “shock” your system into gaining weight.
* Eat frequent meals. Eating 4-6 times per day helps activate your metabolic rate. Eating only once or twice a day encourages fat storage.
* Exercise aerobically 3-5 times per week.
* Aerobic exercise will burn calories and keep you metabolic rate elevated even after you stop exercising.
* Be active all day long. All movement, even the purposeless kind, requires calories.
* Include muscle strengthening exercise in your workout.
Strengthening your muscles through toning exercise or the use of strength training equipment helps build muscle tissue and encourages fat metabolism.
* Stop Dieting!
Speak up...
Asking for what you want, speaking up when your feelings get hurt and stating your opinions without fear of reprisal are all examples of an assertive communication style. Practising assertiveness strategies will help you deal with eating issues that stem from unexpressed feelings.
Some of the basic techniques include:
* No person’s opinion is more important than your own.
* There is no such thing as a right or wrong opinion.
* When you let someone else hurt you without speaking up, you are essentially saying that the other person’s feelings are more important than your own.
* Conflict is not the same as anger or violence. There is nothing to be afraid of when all that stands between two people is a difference of opinion.
Heighten your awareness...
By paying attention to when, where, what and how you eat, you may begin to see patterns that explain the why.
* Catch yourself in the act of eating when you’re not hungry.
* Don’t sneak food; eat the kinds and amounts of food in private that you would eat publicly.
* Eat without guilt.
* Try to determine what you’re hungry for if its not food.
* Begin to think of eating when you are not hungry as a signal that there’s something else going on; seek out the source of the stress instead of beating yourself up for it.
Reward yourself...
The best way to encourage others is to reward for their efforts. We can use that same philosophy on ourselves as well, with remarkable results. Rewards help you to acknowledge the process of change, rather than the end results. The next time you want to honor your progress, you might experiment with one of the following:
* A movie, theatre, or ballet.
* A new item of clothing or exercise attire.
* A long distance phone call to an old friend.
* A weekend getaway.
* A dinner out at your favorite restaurant.
* Flowers or a plant.
* A picnic in the sun or sunset stroll.
This concludes the summary. Now that your memory has been refreshed, its time to go out and put all the re-discovered knowledge to good use. Start now - Seize the day.

Fitness Tips