With the popularity of Crystal Light, Vitamin Water, and all of the other water "add-ins" I thought this would be a good topic to cover. First of all just a little lesson on water in general.
1) In order for a person to have a healthy dose of water they should consume at least 2 ½ quarts of water per day.
2) Water makes up almost 66% of the human body, and 70% of the brain and every major bodily function requires it.
3) Water helps maintain your core body temperature, and allows for over 50% of all chemical reactions occurring in the body.
4) Water is also responsible for the movement of nutrients throughout the body, digestion, circulation, and the excretion of wastes
5) At 2% dehydration, the body's work capacity decreases by 12% to 15%.
So obviously it's pretty important right? Now keeping 4 in mind let me tell you this. Consuming simple sugar, such as is in the oh so popular Vitamin Water slows the absorption rate of desperately needed fluids during exercise. So is it ok after exercise? Nope. Because you're still consuming simple sugar which raises your blood insulin levels quickly and stores the simple sugar you just consumed as bodyfat.
So what about the Crystal Light packets? They're sugar free right? Yes, however they are not sodium free. Sodium, along with soft drinks, is hypertonic meaning that in order for it to be digested your body actually has to pull water out of the blood stream and use it to dilute the sodium. If you drink something with sodium during exercise then essentially your body will have to pull water out of your working muscles to digest the sodium which could cause severe cramping, increased susceptibility to heat injuries such as heat stroke, and heat exhaustion. The Crystal Light however is ok to have in moderation as long as it's not within 1 hour of or during exercise.
The moral of the story here is water isn't water unless it's water. So don't sip on a bottle of Vitamin Water or throw in some Crystal Light and think it's just as good as some plain ol' H2O. Don't like the taste of water? It's ok. You'll get used to it. Just suck it up and drink it and feel better knowing that your body, and your trainer, thank you.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Time
"I don't have time to exercise." How many times have you heard that? How many times have you been the one saying that? Well do I have some good news for you. There is always time for some type of exercise. There's no golden rule saying that you must be in a gym and be there for at least an hour for it to be considered exercise. Most of us get an hour lunch break right? But it doesn't take that long to eat assuming you've packed a healthy lunch for the day. Use the extra time to do some light stretching. Sitting at a desk all day actually lets some of your muscles shorten and tighten up and they won't just magically go right back to normal when you stand up. You've got to stretch them back out. You can even get some benefit while you're driving. Research has shown that repeatedly tensing a muscle, letting it relax, tensing it again, etc. is almost as beneficial as strength training. Now you no longer have an excuse for not exercising at least a little each day!
5 execise myths debunked
You've probably heard them all and may have even thought a few of these to yourself now and then. Here are 5 of the most common myths/worries that I hear as a personal trainer from clients. Let the debunking commence.
1) If I stop working out my muscle will turn in to fat.
Muscle tissue and fat tissue are two completely different things. One cannot change to the other. However if you stop working out and are consuming more calories than are being burned it is possible that your body will store more fat and you could gain weight.
2) Lifting weights will make me "bulk up" and I just want to tone.
It takes a natural (one who doesn't use any muscle building supplements) bodybuilder approximately 1 year of hard training and effort to add just 10 lbs of quality muscle so it's not that easy to do. The bottom line is the only way to tone up muscle is through proper resistance training (i.e. weight training). So quit stressing, grab those dumbbells and get to it!
3) All carbs are bad.
We are not at war with carbs. Carbs are not our enemy. When eaten, carbs are broken down and stored in our muscles as a substance called glycogen and when we work out it provides us energy. When performing moderate intensity aerobic exercise the stored glycogen provides approximately 50% of our energy needs. When performing high intensity aerobic exercise it provides nearly all of our energy needs. So don't automatically label all carbs as evil. Just make sure you're getting them from a good source such as brown rice, fruit, beans or whole grains.
4) I can't have "good food" when I'm on a diet.
Weight loss or gain is, in a sense, determined by calories consumed and calories burned not by what type of calories are consumed. Just being alive you're constantly burning calories. Calories are to our body as what gas it to our car and you can consider our fat stores as a reserve tank. Therefore as long as you're burning more calories than you're taking in you will lose body fat because it is being used for fuel. Now this doesn't mean that you can eat cheeseburgers and cake everyday for you're total calories, but it does mean that you can indulge a craving now and then.
5) I just started working out and I gained weight. I must be doing something wrong.
In the beginning of a workout program it is not uncommon for people to actually gain a few pounds simply because they are building new muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. On a positive note muscle requires more energy for your body to sustain it so the more muscle you have the more calories your will burn. So just stick with it and you will soon reap the rewards you've worked so hard for.
1) If I stop working out my muscle will turn in to fat.
Muscle tissue and fat tissue are two completely different things. One cannot change to the other. However if you stop working out and are consuming more calories than are being burned it is possible that your body will store more fat and you could gain weight.
2) Lifting weights will make me "bulk up" and I just want to tone.
It takes a natural (one who doesn't use any muscle building supplements) bodybuilder approximately 1 year of hard training and effort to add just 10 lbs of quality muscle so it's not that easy to do. The bottom line is the only way to tone up muscle is through proper resistance training (i.e. weight training). So quit stressing, grab those dumbbells and get to it!
3) All carbs are bad.
We are not at war with carbs. Carbs are not our enemy. When eaten, carbs are broken down and stored in our muscles as a substance called glycogen and when we work out it provides us energy. When performing moderate intensity aerobic exercise the stored glycogen provides approximately 50% of our energy needs. When performing high intensity aerobic exercise it provides nearly all of our energy needs. So don't automatically label all carbs as evil. Just make sure you're getting them from a good source such as brown rice, fruit, beans or whole grains.
4) I can't have "good food" when I'm on a diet.
Weight loss or gain is, in a sense, determined by calories consumed and calories burned not by what type of calories are consumed. Just being alive you're constantly burning calories. Calories are to our body as what gas it to our car and you can consider our fat stores as a reserve tank. Therefore as long as you're burning more calories than you're taking in you will lose body fat because it is being used for fuel. Now this doesn't mean that you can eat cheeseburgers and cake everyday for you're total calories, but it does mean that you can indulge a craving now and then.
5) I just started working out and I gained weight. I must be doing something wrong.
In the beginning of a workout program it is not uncommon for people to actually gain a few pounds simply because they are building new muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. On a positive note muscle requires more energy for your body to sustain it so the more muscle you have the more calories your will burn. So just stick with it and you will soon reap the rewards you've worked so hard for.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Five Home Gym Must-Haves
I like to think that a lot of people would workout if they only had a place to go. Or maybe it's the time crunch. They just don't have the extra time to drive to a gym, workout, and then drive back home. Or perhaps they want to have a personal trainer, but in the privacy of their own home (hint, hint). Well for those people out there I tell you there's hope. Welcome the "Home Gym"! I'm going to cover the five must-haves that won't break the bank for anyone looking to start their own home gym and be successful in their efforts.
1) Pull Up Bar – A pull-up bar attaches at the top of a doorway by way of the door frame. You can get these at most of your sporting goods stores for about $30. Pull-ups are one the best, and hardest, upper body exercises you can do. Can't do a pull-up? Don't worry! There are regressions you can do to work your way up to them such as jumping pull-ups.
2) Stability Ball – A stability ball can be found just about anywhere these days. A good one will run you about $30. The exercises that you can do with these things are endless.
3) Dumbbells – I'm not talking about a whole rack of dumbbells. Just one or two pairs (a light weight pair and a heavy weight pair) or some adjustable dumbbells will do the trick. A pair of 10lb db's are approximately $25, a pair of 25lb db's are approximately $60, and a 40lb adjustable set of dumbbells will run you approximately $65.
4) Resistance Bands – Different color bands have different resistance levels so you may have to actually play around with a few before you find one that fits you. You can find these for approximately $6 (extra light) to $10 (extra heavy) per band. Once you settle on one though you can get a full body workout with just that one piece of rubber with handles. Very handy!
5) Jump Rope – You can get a good jump rope for about $15 to $20. Some are even adjustable for your height. Rarely will you find something so small that will have such a dramatic effect. This is cardio and a total body workout at the same time.
There you have it! The five must-haves for any home gym for a grand total of about $150. Your typical gym charges around $30 per month for a membership and $150 would get you about 5 months worth of gym usage. For the same price you now have an entire home gym for life! So if you just don't have the time to go back and forth to a gym or if you just can't afford that recurring $30 payment each month go out and build your own place of exercise. Now there's no excuses!
1) Pull Up Bar – A pull-up bar attaches at the top of a doorway by way of the door frame. You can get these at most of your sporting goods stores for about $30. Pull-ups are one the best, and hardest, upper body exercises you can do. Can't do a pull-up? Don't worry! There are regressions you can do to work your way up to them such as jumping pull-ups.
2) Stability Ball – A stability ball can be found just about anywhere these days. A good one will run you about $30. The exercises that you can do with these things are endless.
3) Dumbbells – I'm not talking about a whole rack of dumbbells. Just one or two pairs (a light weight pair and a heavy weight pair) or some adjustable dumbbells will do the trick. A pair of 10lb db's are approximately $25, a pair of 25lb db's are approximately $60, and a 40lb adjustable set of dumbbells will run you approximately $65.
4) Resistance Bands – Different color bands have different resistance levels so you may have to actually play around with a few before you find one that fits you. You can find these for approximately $6 (extra light) to $10 (extra heavy) per band. Once you settle on one though you can get a full body workout with just that one piece of rubber with handles. Very handy!
5) Jump Rope – You can get a good jump rope for about $15 to $20. Some are even adjustable for your height. Rarely will you find something so small that will have such a dramatic effect. This is cardio and a total body workout at the same time.
There you have it! The five must-haves for any home gym for a grand total of about $150. Your typical gym charges around $30 per month for a membership and $150 would get you about 5 months worth of gym usage. For the same price you now have an entire home gym for life! So if you just don't have the time to go back and forth to a gym or if you just can't afford that recurring $30 payment each month go out and build your own place of exercise. Now there's no excuses!
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