Relieving Stress by Exercise

With the fast pace of today’s life stress is becoming more and more of an issue, so it’s vital we know how to control it.

What is stress and how does it affect us?
There are 2 types of stress, physical and emotional. Physical stresses are actual physical conditions placed upon our body during activity or exercise. Emotional stress is caused by feelings and emotions from a certain situation, for example pressure at work or the loss of a loved one.

A certain amount of stress can be good for us, because stress is designed to make us react and take action. It goes back to the time of our ancestors where the response to stress was either fight-or-flight. They may have been in a situation where they were forced to fight or run away from a wild animal. Stress is what happens when we need to mobilize our body to take action. The problems come in today’s society where we don’t have the need to initiate the actions (fight-or-flight) associated with stress, so all the tension and emotion gets built up. Too much stress can eventually have an affect on our mental and physical health.

The affects of stress can be responsible for a number of complaints. These are just a few,

Asthma
Hyperventilation
Cancer
Diabetes
Obesity
Colitis
Constipation
Migraine
Heart attack
Colds and flu
Depression

Some people cope with stress much better than others. Learning to cope with stress is something that can be acquired and applied at anytime. It’s important for you to realize when you are suffering from stress and apply the techniques to help control it.

Unfortunately people tend to use alternative methods of coping with stress that are ineffective and detrimental to health, such as;

Smoking
Alcohol
Caffeine
Aggression

There are much better natural ways available to deal with stress. Taking regular exercise is one of the best ways to relieve stress. Exercise helps you to relax and deal with the fight-or flight response that your body has been gearing up for all day at work.
Exercise initiates the release of natural endorphins that make you feel happy and more relaxed. After an exercise session you will feel revitalized and invigorated, which helps to set you up for the day at work or a relaxing evening at home, depending on when you exercise. Of course it’s much more of a benefit if you participate in an activity that you enjoy and motivates you. Getting out, having fun and mixing with like minded people helps you to forget about the stressful things on your mind. Exercise gives you a sense of personal power and control that helps to combat the feelings of depression and anxiety.

However, it’s important to realize that exercise alone is not a complete solution to stress and is way to help relieve stress. You should carry out a lifestyle analysis and build a Stress Management Plan to identify and deal with the areas that are contributing to your stress. Identifying the source and applying a solution will help to nip it in the bud. Exercise should then become a part of a permanent change in lifestyle.

Calories per day

Wow, I was watching a TV program last night about healthy eating and I was astounded by the following, but it makes perfect sense.

Designer continental coffees are very popular these days and they seem to be a regular treat for most people either on the way to or from work or even at lunch time. They seem to have become more of a habit to a lot of people and they are playing havoc with the nations health.

How many designer coffees do you have in a day? Take a look at the following just to make you realize how many calories are in these drinks.

A large (500ml/16floz) Cafe Latte made with full fat milk contains around 330 calories. That's before you have added any sugar. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and you are increasing that to 370 calories and a whopping 20 grams of fat.

If you have one of these 5 days a week, that's a total of 1850 calories extra in a week. That equates to around 85,000 calories in one year. (Based on 46 working weeks a year)

There is approximately 3500 calories in 1lb of body fat. Now do the maths;

85000/3500 = 24lbs of body fat or 1.7 stones in weight.

Just imagine, if you are drinking one of these every day, then potentially you could increase your weight by this much each year. On a positive note, if you are drinking this many designer coffees then this is an ideal area to cut down. So potentially you have the ability to lose this much weight in a year provided you don't replace these calories with something equally as bad.

This just goes to prove that making small changes to the number of calories per day can have a huge impact on your overall body fat levels and ultimately your health.

Reasons to Quit Smoking

Another new year starts and another round of new year resolutions are kicked off.
If your New Years resolution is to quit smoking then well done for realising that this one single act will go a long way to improving your health, fitness and overall life span. If you are not yet convinced then here are a few reasons why you might want to reconsider.

Did you know that tobacco is the only legally available consumer product that kills people when used entirely as intended? No wonder wannabe ex-smokers try to kick the habit. But it's not as easy as us non-smokers think. Nicotine encourages changes in your brain structure that are believed to cause addiction. Addiction can come on pretty quickly. A 4 year study in the US of 1200 adults showed that one in ten of those who took part demonstrated signs of addiction within 2 days of starting to smoke. Even smokers who only smoked a few cigarettes a day experienced withdrawal symptoms when deprived of nicotine.

About 50% of all smokers will eventually be killed by their habit. Smoking causes 30% of all cancer deaths (84% of lung cancer deaths are related to smoking) and about 15-16% of all heart disease deaths. Smoking costs the NHS £1.7 billion a year and kills around 114,000 people a year in the UK alone and 438,000 in the US.

Smoking causes a build up of fatty deposits in your arteries which puts a strain on your heart. Also, tar build up in the lungs eventually causes lung cancer. In the mean time smokers can also suffer from a variety of other respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, infections and emphysema. Smoking is also related to a string of other diseases and problems in the intestine, veins, eyes, skin and reproductive organs.

The long term benefits of giving up smoking are; after one year your risk of coronary heart disease is cut by half and after 10 years your risk of developing lung cancer is halved.

The short term benefits are; more money in your pocket, less respiratory related illness. More efficient oxygen distribution within your body, so overall your body will begin to function much better.

So take the plunge in 2008 and quit for your own health.

how to achieve a flat stomach

I'm frequently getting asked, 'how to achieve a flat stomach'. Most people want to know what's the best exercise for achieving a flat stomach?

The answer to that question is that there is no one single exercise that will magically get you a flat stomach in a matter of weeks. Achieving a flat stomach is a combination of 3 things,

1. Low body fat
2. Strong abdominal muscles
3. Good all round fitness

It's not possible to target fat loss to one particular area of your body. Imagine your body as being is like an ice cube. Turn up the heat and the ice will start to melt across it's whole surface area, not just in one particular place. The 'heat' is your metabolism and the 'ice cube' is your body fat. Increase your metabolism and your body fat will melt away, across your whole body surface area.

How to achieve a flat stomach in 3 easy steps;

1. Increase your metabolism by doing CV & resistance exercise
2. Strengthen your abdominal muscles by incorporating abdominal & core strengthening exercises in to your routine. Make sure that you also include exercises for your lower back so as not to create an imbalance in posture
   
3. Eat a healthy balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meats and fish.

Exercise Induced Asthma

Question:
I would love to improve my fitness, but I suffer from Asthma. I've started to put on some weight and generally feel unhealthy due to a sedentary lifestyle. I'm afraid of suffering from an exercise induced asthmatic episode, that's why I have never participated in exercise before. Someone told me recently that exercise can actually help to relieve the symptoms of asthma. Is this true? Can exercise have benefits for asthma sufferers like myself? What are the recommendations of exercise for asthma sufferers?

Answer:
Exercise definitely has lots of benefits for people who suffer from asthma. Asthma should not be a barrier from including exercise activity in your life. The plus factors far outweigh the negatives as long as you are sensible and know your limitations.

Some of the benefits of exercise for asthmatics can be;

• Increased strength and endurance of respiratory muscles
• Reduction in the feeling of shortness of breath
• Reduction in medication dependence
• Reduction in asthmatic episodes

Before you start any new exercise program, get checked out by your Doctor. This is sound advice for anyone, not just someone suffering from asthma or any other illness. Your Doctor can tell you whether you are fit to participate and can advise you how to cope with exercise induced asthmatic episodes.

Although exercise induced asthma can not be completely ruled out when participating in exercise activity, there are certain precautions that you can take to help prevent an asthmatic episode. Than main thing about exercising with asthma is you need to be aware of your current state before, during and after participating in an exercise session. Know what your personal best (PB) peak flow reading is and always check your peak flow prior to exercising. If your peak flow is less than 80% of your PB, then train with caution. If it's less than 60% then do not train at all as an attack may be imminent. Here are some guidelines before you start exercising;

• Take your medication
• Check your peak flow, before, during and after exercise
• Always have your reliever medication close to hand
• Never train alone

Exercise guidelines for asthmatics;

The focus should be around cardiovascular training (CV). Because this will help to strengthen the lungs. Asthmatics should always warm up thoroughly before exercising. This is the most important part of the exercise routine. Warm up gradually until the main CV session. The CV session should be performed at a moderate intensity (60 to 80%). For resistance training asthmatics are advised to avoid training with heavy weights. The focus should be on lighter weights, with higher repetitions and working until the last rep feels difficult to do. The cool down should be like the warm up. Always cool down and always stretch. This helps to relax you at the end of each session and helps to prevent injury.

• Warm up - Should be slightly longer. 10 to 15 minutes every session
• CV Training - 30 minutes at a moderate intensity. 3 to 5 times per week
• Resistance Training - Circuit format. Light weights, 1-2 sets of (15-20 repetitions)
• Cool down - Like warm up, slightly longer. 10 to 15 minutes every session
• Flexibility - Every session.

Asthmatics would benefit from exercising outside in a warm climate away from dusty gyms and air conditioning. The clearer the air the better. However colder days could cause problems. It's also advisable for asthmatics to stay away from swimming as chlorine can aggravate asthma.

Diabetes Advice

Over 1.4 million people suffer from Diabetes in the UK and that figure is expected to rise significantly in the coming years. In fact by 2010 it is expected that the figure will have doubled.

Diabetes or Diabetes Mellitus to quote it's correct name, is the bodies inability to maintain normal blood sugar levels. It has been a recognized condition for over 3500 years. It is an incurable disease, but can be controlled by medication, exercise and diet.

Click on this link to read the full article;
http://www.kickstartfit.co.uk/articles/article_diabetesadvice.htm

Get Rid of Body Fat

Well it's that time of year again. We all want to look good because it's party time, yet we feel obliged to go out an indulge in rich food and alcohol. Then when Christmas is over, it's a mad manic rush to start fresh and get rid of the excess pounds of body fat we have accumulated over the holiday period. It's crazy, but most of us go thorough the same cycle year after year. Take a minute and look back over the years. Is this something you have been doing for the last few years? Has it almost become a habit? Why not try and make 2008 and different? Don't do what you have always done, try something new. After all, if you always do what you have always done, then you will always have what you have always got! Ring any bells. Don't start tomorrow, start now.

I'm off to a Christmas party tonight, not my first and certainly not the last. But I have decided, that I'm going to do things differently this year. I'm still going to enjoy myself, have a drink and eat some nice food, but what I am going to do is think about what I'm doing to myself. So I'm going to be sensible and that means, not drinking too much and eating sensibly. I want to be able to get up tomorrow, without the hangover and feel fresh enough to get out for a long morning walk. That will be my exercise for the day Then I can have a relaxing day and not feel guilty about over indulging the night before.

One of the main problems about todays society, is that we are too busy running around doing things for other people and not taking enough time to do things for ourselves. Just take some time to sit back and think about what you are doing to yourself and how it will effect you in the future. Don't do what other people say or do. Do what feels right to you. How many times have you heard someone saying, 'Oh go on, it's only one more drink, what harm can one more do you?' Well, the truth is, it can do you harm. The problem is, if you've heard that saying too many times, then it's not one more drink is it? It's 5, 10 or even 20 over the years.

Based on this, here's a few tips on how to try and prevent and even get rid of body fat over the holiday period, just so you can be in a better position for the new year.

1. Cut down on the alcohol. Alternate alcoholic drinks with soft drinks
2. Don't fill up the buffet plate until you can't fit any more on it, take a few bits and eat them slowly. Wait for a few minutes, if you are still hungry, go back and get some more, but the secret little and often.
3. Fill up on salad, vegetables and meats. Leave the pork pies, sausage rolls, crisps. These are the things that don't fill you up and are high in processed fats, sugar and salt.
4. For a sweet, opt for the fruit salad and creme fresh rather than pies and cheese cakes.
5. Dance the night away. Dancing is great exercise and helps burn off those excess calories.
6. Hydrate. Make sure you drink water, before the evening begins. Alcohol dehydrates you and that is what gives you the head ache in the morning.
7. Eat an apple before you go out. It helps to suppress hunger and will stop you pigging out at the buffet.
8. Mix with like minded people. If you are on a fitness campaign, find people to talk to who are doing the same thing. Stay away from those who are likely to sabotage your efforts.
9. Take some exercise before you go out. It will put you in a positive frame of mind, so you will feel more relaxed, better about yourself and less likely to want to get drunk to feel relaxed.
10. Make an effort to get up early the next morning and go for a long relaxing walk or cycle ride to get some fresh air. It'll clear your head. You'll feel better for it and it will help to erase the calories form the night before.

Remember; losing body fat is about 3 things;
1. Setting a goal
2. Eating a healthy
3. Getting active