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Archive for the ‘Fitness’ Category

Everybody makes mistakes in the beginning! Nobody can expect to learn everything overnight. Fitness can really be a process of trial and error. Still, it helps to learn from other people’s mistakes.

Here are TEN common fitness mistakes that should be avoided:

1. Spot Reduction

Wouldn’t it be great if a couple hundred crunches a day could give you washboard abs? Spot reduction or spot training is when you work the one part of your body, you feel needs change. Unfortunately, it does not work. If you want to lose weight in your stomach, you need to do cardio to burn fat. Fat will not come off in just one place though. It will be an all over weight loss. You also need weights and strength training to give the abs shape and definition.

2. Improper Technique

This was my first and biggest mistake. I started working out at home, learning weight training exercises from fitness magazines. No magazine can properly explain the subtle differences in technique. There will be questions a magazine or the Internet can’t answer and as a result, you could injure yourself. I did! The best thing to do, is to hire a personal trainer. If you are a member at a gym, the staff should be able to go through some exercises with you as well. Nothing can beat an in person demonstration.

3. Neglecting Nutrition

Results are 50% exercise and 50% nutrition. No matter what goals you have, nutrition plays a huge factor in your success. If you want to build muscle you need to eat a lot of healthy food with lean protein, or your muscles won’t be fed enough to grow. If you want to run you need complex carbohydrates and water, for energy and hydration. If you want to lose weight you need a calorie deficit and a low fat diet. Fitness and nutrition always go hand in hand.

4. Not Eating Before a Workout

Not eating before a workout will cause you to faint, see spots, throw up etc. It’s not pleasant! You will not have the energy and strength to finish an effective and purposeful routine. If you work out first thing in the morning and have trouble eating, drink some juice or have an apple. It will save you the embarrassment of having to sit with your head between your knees at the gym. Plus your workout will be so much stronger!

5. Steroids and Weight Loss Pills

Steroids and pills are a quick fix. Steroids will give you acne and make you short-tempered. Most importantly, it does unfortunate things below the equator. What’s the point of having a ton of muscles if your naughty bits will scare people away? Pills are hardly ever approved by the government and they make you sick. You will feel awful, have diarrhea, headaches and sometimes worse! Don’t be one of the people that forces the pill company to take their product off the shelves for “Further investigation.” Besides, even if they did work, you would have to stop taking them at some point. The weight would just come back again!

6. Unrealistic Goals

Unrealistic goals will set you up to be disappointed. The fitness models you see have been working on their bodies for YEARS! The average weight loss goal can take up to a year or more. Building muscle is also a long process. Those gimmicks you see around, that guarantee you will lose 30 pounds in 30 days are bogus. Keep in mind that the slower you lose weight, the longer it stays off!

7. Excluding Fitness Components

Every fitness component is just as important as the next. You need a warm up to prepare your body for the workout. You need cardiovascular training to lose weight and make your heart healthy. You need strength training to give your body tone, as well as strengthen bones and joints for future training. You need to cool down to bring your body back to its normal state. You need to stretch to prevent injuries so you can continue to cardio and strength train. Every component weaves in through the next. Cardio without weights will make you look scrawny. Strength without cardio will make you look bulky and you won’t see much muscle definition. All of the components of fitness need each other!

8. Not Planning

It helps a lot to have a plan. It doesn’t have to be very complicated or take much time. You should plan your workouts ahead of time or even write down what you did in the gym, at a minimum. Even if your goals are simple, like wanting to feel good it’s helpful and also motivational to see how far you have come since the beginning and to help plan for the future.

9. Starting Out Too Fast

I think it’s awesome when people want to dive right in. I love the enthusiasm and drive. The only concerns it brings up is the risk of injury and burnout. Have you ever been swimming for the first time in a while and decided to swim laps? Well, after a few minutes you feel like your heart and lungs may explode right out of your chest. Swimming takes a lot of cardio conditioning! If you have been inactive for ages and want to skip walking and start running right away, you may hurt your knees, ankles and hips. Same with lifting too much weight, too soon. If you work out 7 days a week you may start to feel signs of burnout like fatigue and irritability. It’s best to take it slow and let your body adapt at a comfortable pace. If you have not exercised in twenty years and then all of a sudden you are spending a week straight in the gym your body might be shocked and angry with you!

10. Inconsistency

When I first started exercising I would workout and then not do another routine for weeks, or even months! Obviously that’s not when I started seeing results. Results happen when your workouts remain consistent. Once a week or less is not enough. Think of it this way, if you put yourself through one or two workouts why let them go to waste by not doing it again for weeks?

If you have already made these mistakes or you are making them right now, no worries! The more you know, right? Just get yourself back on track and remember that everybody makes mistakes. It’s part of the learning process!

Learn and Grow!

1. Peppermint oil (enteric-coated) is used as an antispasmodic Candida cleaning process home made remedy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome; it happens to be anti-Candidal and antifungal as well.

2. Psyllium husk powder is a water-soluble, high-fiber substance with a particularly beneficial effect in clearing toxic debris accumulating in the large intestine. It flushes the gastrointestinal tract of fungi and their mycotoxins. Take 1 tablespoon powder with at least 16 ounces of water to prevent constipation and optimize its use.

3. Selenium, a common ingredient in fungicidal shampoos and lotions, is a Candida cleaning process home made antifungal in high doses. Over 600 micrograms daily can be toxic to the liver; care must be exercised in oral supplementation.

4. Tanalbit is a broad-spectrum intestinal antiseptic made up of natural tannins and zinc. It is preferred by some practitioners over nystatin and caprylic acid. Tanalbit is a formula made up of natural tannates and Chitin (N-acetyl-glucosamine derivatives) extract and Lotus rhizome extract, which provide powerful synergistic antifungal as well as antibacterial action. Tannates act through their agglutinating/astringent effects. In other words, they bind irreversibly to lipoproteins and lectins on the surface of the fungal membranes. By so doing, the fungi lose their ability to adhere to the host’s epithelial membrane and to colonize.

Fungal metabolism is blocked and the fungi end up sticking together and dying. The Chitin extracts and Lotus rhizome extract also can be a Candida cleaning process home made and can protect against gastrointestinal colonization by yeast infections and other fungi. Tanalbit is usually effective as an anti-diarrheal agent and has not been reported to have any side effects. It is just one more natural therapy that can be used to keep fungi under control. Tanalbit is manufactured and distributed by SCS Intensive Nutrition Products. It can be found in health practitioner offices as well as in most large health food stores.

5. Tea tree oil (Melaleucea alternifolia) is a broad-spectrum antiseptic (fungi, bacteria, parasites) traditionally used as an effective remedy against acne, blisters, athlete’s foot, bronchitis, cold sores, wounds, warts, boils, burns, insect bites, sore throats, and all types of Candida infections. Tea tree oil works topically as a local anesthetic (for muscle pain); it penetrates below the skin surlacc and does not burn skin (unlike water-soluble antiseptics). Despite warnings on tin-label, some holistic health practitioners recommend the oral use of tea tree oil as an antifungal (15 drops in some water two or more times daily). Tea tree oil appears to be safe when taken internally at this dose.

These 5 essentials can be used as a Candida cleaning process home made and should be included in an all around yeast infection cure program.

The first time someone said to me “Trust the Process” the thought that came to mind was what process? Being blessed as I am today, knowing what I know today I do absolutely “Trust the Process”! The process is allowing things to be just as they are not trying to manipulate them to be what he or she thinks is the right way. Ease and comfort comes to the person whom finally gets that the only control he or she has is on themselves and the thoughts he or she allows.

Eating disorders do not happen overnight, this disorder stems from low self-esteem, a trauma, feelings of abandonment, fear and rejection and other deep rooted beliefs. The illusion that he or she has control over food by eating or not eating is what continues the disease cycle of eating disorders. Accepting circumstance’s exactly as they are is the answer. The Serenity Prayer that is said to be written by Reinhold Niebuhr and used in 12 step programs is very helpful in teaching one to “Trust the Process.”

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

Reaching out for help with an eating disorder is essential to recovery. When he or she spends time trying to figure out why an eating disorder exists leaves him or her stuck in the problem and not moving toward the solution. Everyday I ask for the wisdom to know the difference and I trust the process knowing that everything is in divine order, when I am stuck I ask for help. Freedom comes from knowing help is available when I ask.

Prayer retrieved June 9, 2009 from http://www.prayerguide.org

Fitness shoes are specially designed to fulfill the specific needs of your feet. If you learn about the shoe types, process of fitness shoe selection will become very easy. Shoe type depends upon the activity and foot type.

1. People with excess weight problems may require motion balancing. Motion control fitness footwear are highly durable and rigid. You should purchase these shoes if you overpronate. Those who wear orthotics or need stability support, should get motion control oriented shoes.

2. Shoes specifically designed for superior stability provide excellent cushioning and support. You don’t need to worry about the durability of stability footwear. You should get these shoes if you have an average weight and need some walking support. Overpronate people should not buy this footwear.

3. You can also get cushioned footwear if you want extra walking comfort. You will have to bear with the extra weight of shoes, though. Looking at the present day advancements, it can be safely predicted that companies will come with light weight shoes with even superior cushioning technology. These shoes do not provide additional support. Underpronate people should get cushioned footwear.

4. If you are going through fitness training, you should get lightweight fitness shoes. Whether you are racing or going through a fast paced training, these shoes will provide you with the flexibility to move your feet around. Your feet don’t have to struggle with the shoes. These shoes are preferred by efficient runners. Make sure you have no motion control problems before you buy lightweight fitness footwear.

5. For best traction and stability, you should get trail fitness shoes. These shoes are an obvious choice for those who run on the roads. Get a pair of shoes with thicker sole if you need extra traction. Trail footwear is also suitable for inclement weather.

I am a General Surgeon with a passion for Health and Wellness. The number one New Years Resolution has to do with Health, Exercise, and Diet. We all feel that it is the best time to start for the first time or again. The percentage of people that make it through the whole year is disappointingly small and here is why I believe it happens. As I watch what is going on in the media I am beginning to believe that we are becoming a “credit card” society. What I mean by that is we get what we want now and are willing to pay for it later, immediate gratification.

That does not work with our health. The media also suggests to us that we can lose large amounts of weight or get a “six-pack” abdomen in a six-eight week time frame. That is impossible in all but extreme situations. We take these kinds of external influences into consideration when it comes to our health and look for those “immediate” results. Becoming “Healthy” is not an overnight miracle; It is a process just like learning how to walk is a process. You could not cheat that process or find any shortcuts. You cannot take a seed and grow it to harvest in three days. You cannot change or cheat the “Process” of nature.

As you read this article you are either becoming healthy or unhealthy. You cannot stand still. It is just like if you were standing on a staircase; you either go up or down, but cannot stand on the same step forever. The question becomes “Do you want to get Healthy?” You, first of all, need to know your reasons for getting healthy. Some of us just need to look at our medical history and there are a plethora of reasons there. We, as a nation, are beginning to lead the world in obesity and diabetes. Becoming healthy can reverse many of these trends. Once you know your reasons, you need to make some commitments to your cause. We, as human beings, are good at making commitments, but, for the majority, do very poorly in carrying them out. Just look at “New Years Resolutions.” We also tend to react to crisis faster than the subtle hints that we get everyday. We decide to improve our health after the heart attack instead of doing things to help prevent it.

There are two phrases to keep in mind as you consider the content of this Letter. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing everyday expecting different results.” We all are guilty of that in all aspects of our lives, not just our health. We feel that we can change our results with our old habits and actions but if you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. The other phrase is: “If you want to make some changes in your life, you have to make some changes in your life.” Change is often uncomfortable because we are so secure in our comfort zones, but change is good. It is part of the “process”. We will not make these changes that we need to make to improve our health and lives if the reasons for doing so are not important enough.

So with all of this as background, how does one get started? Stated very simply, take the first step: make the decision to start the journey. Every journey begins with the first step. Make some commitments; develop new habits. You do that every day of your life for your job or profession because you want the result at the end of the week, a paycheck. What about another result? Your good health.

One caution: Don’t do it alone. Find yourself a mentor, someone who has done what you want to do and is very successful at it. In the area of health it may be your doctor, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, etc. Find someone with the fruit on the tree and follow their direction and advice. You will pay a golf pro to improve your game. Find a pro in your health. Finally, set some goals and go after them. Let your mentor guide you in the process initially.

Remember this: Becoming healthy is a process, which must be an ongoing journey. Learn to enjoy the journey for, believe it or not, the success of achieving these goals is not in attaining them, it is the “process” of becoming who or what you need to become while you are doing it.

A major approach to the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves narrative processing of the traumatic memory. This is designed to undo the distressing continued effect of the traumatic experience that intrudes into the patient’s present life as PTSD symptoms, depression, and dissociation. The narrative processing collects and organizes the fragmented images and perceptions of the trauma into a coherent verbal structure with beginning, middle, and end. Now the person can assimilate the gathered fragments into verbal memory as personal history. The shock of the trauma is no longer stunning in present time and no longer felt as unfinished threat. The experience finally can be examined in the light of present consciousness as a remembered past event.

It is exceedingly difficult to simply recite a traumatic experience. Outside of verbal consciousness memory fragments fester like “memory shrapnel” and prevent narrative closure. Enlisting the help of the “mind’s eye” and the imagery of the right brain can facilitate the assimilation of these nonverbal images into verbal memory. It is not just what the mind’s eye sees but how it beholds and reports. When the mind’s eye serves narration it is observing and describing through the perspective of a hidden observer. It is helping to protect the person from reliving the experience.

The methods to recruit the mind’s eye to the work of narrative processing depend on visual imagery even though many of the memory fragments may not be visual. They may consist of bodily sensations such as pain or pressure or feelings of terror. Whatever the content, their presence can be detected by the mind’s eye and reported by the hidden observer. It is the duty of the hidden observer to give an objective narration while resisting the subjective pull of unfinished experience and avoiding reliving of the experience. Once narrative closure is achieved there is no more pull into the traumatic experience.

The Hidden Observer

In the 1970′s the research psychologist Ernest Hilgard experimented with the hypnotic induction of analgesia and discovered that a hidden observer could be elicited in those subjects claiming to feel no pain. He asked for a report by a part of the subject that did feel the pain and could rate the severity. Some subjects responded from a part of themselves that was aware of the pain and could rate it on a scale of ten during the time the subject had claimed analgesia. These elicited parts were very much alike from subject to subject. The part was normally hidden from the subject’s awareness although the part claimed to have always been there. The part was aware of the experimentally induced pain (produced by ischemia of the arm deprived of circulation by the tourniquet effect of a blood pressure cuff inflated to a pressure above the systolic pressure) but the part denied suffering. Dr. Hilgard designated these parts “Hidden Observers.” The Hidden Observers claimed to be onlookers of the person’s experiences at all times, whether the subject was hypnotized or not. They played no role in executing action and did not participate in the emotional experience of the subject.

More than 90% of the patients undergoing hypnosis in an intensive trauma therapy clinic were able to liberate a Hidden Observer. Following hypnotic induction by progressive relaxation the patient visualizes an imaginary scene and executes the imaginary action of stepping out of the body and observing the body from the outside. The therapist refers to the onlooker as the Hidden Observer and points out the capacity for emotional distance from the patient. The Hidden Observer then temporarily leaves the patient in the imagined scene and goes to the time of the trauma to observe the traumatic event as it unfolds. The Hidden Observer narrates the event impassively, referring to the self in the trauma in the third person – as “him” or “her” – and telling the story from beginning to end. The narration is recorded by videotape for subsequent review by the patient in a normal waking state. The hypnotic session ends after the Hidden Observer returns to the self left in the imagined scene.

Reviewing the videotaped narrative in the waking state completes the hypnotic narrative processing. The patient and the therapist watch the replayed videotape together. Now the patient no longer has the emotional distance of the Hidden Observer. The patient may only dimly remember much of the narrative and there is a risk of being triggered into a re-experiencing of the trauma. If this happens the therapist will stop the tape and help the patient become grounded.

Usually there is little or no triggering or abreaction with review of the tape. This is positive because abreaction interferes with verbal narrative assimilation. There may be an element of desensitizing in the review. Emotional desensitization can also diminish assimilation because the patient might escape full avowal or owning of the experience and feel instead as if it happened to someone else. If this failure is not corrected, the entire narrative processing must be repeated.

Usually when the narrative processing is repeated the second narration is more detailed and complete and makes it possible to fill in gaps that were not detected during the first. When this still does not relieve the intrusive symptoms of PTSD the cause might be that the symptoms arise from earlier traumas. The patient may have to search for unremembered traumas, such as preverbal ones or overlooked traumas due to medical or surgical procedures, for example.

Processing traumatic memories with the mind’s eye and the Hidden Observer makes it possible to do trauma therapy rapidly and safely without re-traumatizing the patient.