Everyone knows that the real benefits of exercise, in terms of weight loss and overall health, come in the long term. The problem is too may people get bored with their exercise routine in the short term.
The trick to maintaining a long-term exercise commitment? Get out of your rut! Vary your routine! Make it interesting…and therefore more enjoyable and then maybe you won’t get bored so easily!
I showed up to meet my friend Becca at the bouldering gym in Seattle on a Monday afternoon. When we discussed what time to meet, she said something about needing an hour’s notice with the baby and all. I figured she meant that she had to arrange things so her husband could watch the baby while she left the house. But then I walked around the corner of one of the walls, and there he was in his car seat on the floor of the climbing gym, all of 3½ months old, chilling and content as the Buddha.
“Bouldering is just easier with him,” Becca says, you know, as opposed to roping up and climbing 40-foot routes. If he starts crying, Becca says, she can just downclimb or hop off whatever problem she’s on and take care of it. Indeed, I say. Becca and her husband weren’t exactly slowed down by the baby’s birth back in December, taking him for ski weekends in their travel trailer almost immediately, one watching him while the other went out and got in some turns. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: Great article about Mom’s who continue to charge through this adventure that we call life. Happy Mother’s Day!
In his recent study, supported by USA Track and Field, he recruited about 3,000 runners and divided them into two groups. One group was instructed to do 3 to 5 minutes of static stretching before each run. That is, they stood in one place and stretched their quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles.
“It’s the classic way of stretching,” Pereles says.
The other group of runners was instructed not to stretch before runs. Both groups had a mix of men and women of different ages who ran varying speeds and distances. At the end of three months, Pereles found that 16 percent of all the runners had sustained an injury. But it turns out the stretchers fared no better than the non-stretchers. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: I have not been a fan of pre-workout stretching for many years. Take time to warm up by easing into your exercise routine & focus on using proper form throughout your workout. Stretching after exercise, in my opinion, is much more effective with less risk of injury (because the muscles are already warm). Best choice - Use gentle stretching as a cool down from your run or other forms of exercise.
Here’s good news for geezers — or for merely middle-aged folks — who’d like to stay fit and independent far into their later years.
You don’t have to lift heavy weights to build muscle strength. Lifting lighter weights can be just as effective if you do it right, and you’re much less likely to hurt yourself, researchers say.
That’s important information for people exercise expert Stuart Phillips calls “mere mortals” — those with dwindling muscle mass who want stay active, as distinct from body-builders and elite athletes.
Phillips, a professor of kinesthesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, says everybody needs to do some kind of resistance training to build muscle strength as they age. Cardiovascular exercise, while important, isn’t enough to maintain muscle mass.
“For most people that’s meant going to the gym and lifting heavy weights,” Phillips told Shots. That’s mainly because of the hoary dogma that to build muscle you’ve got to lift 80 percent of your all-out maximum weight for eight to 10 reps. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: 20 years ago, while training for college football, I used a super slow workout to add muscle mass & strength with awesome results. Needless to say, I’m a big fan of using lighter weights with slower reps during your workouts. This type of workout will lower your injury risk while giving you an opportunity to reach most of your fitness goals.
Eat right and exercise is about as basic as medical advice gets.
Follow it, and you’ll benefit from better overall fitness, improved quality of life, and a reduced risk for chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.
The American Cancer Society now says the evidence has piled up that diet and exercise can help cancer survivors manage, beat, and stay free of their disease, too. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: Evidence is mounting that supports the idea that eating healthy & exercising regularly is effective at preventing most dis-ease. It doesn’t take much of a leap to see that lifestyle choices help determine how well one recovers from illness.
Whether you want to Regain & Restore, Prevent & Maintain or Elevate & Enhance your overall health, the way you eat & the way you move are important factors in your success.
“Americans now walk the least of any industrialized nation in the world,” says writer Tom Vanderbilt. To find out why that is, Vanderbilt has been exploring how towns are built, how Americans view walking — and what might be done to get them moving around on their own two feet.
Talking with Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep about what is wrong with Americans’ relationship with walking, Vanderbilt says, “The main thing is, we’re just not doing enough of it.”
“We’ve engineered walking out of our existence and everyday life,” Vanderbilt says. “I even tried to examine the word ‘pedestrian,’ and it’s always had sort of this negative connotation — that it was always better to be on a horse or something, if you could manage it.”
In a series of stories for Slate about “The Crisis in American Walking,” Vanderbilt writes about pedestrian life in America, from “sidewalk science” to possible ways to make the U.S. less car-centric. And he finds that what started as a push for convenience has become a difficult problem, as many parts of the country are now designed specifically for cars, not pedestrians. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: Going for a walk in nature is one of the quickest & easiest ways to strengthen the connection between your body, mind & higher self. Find a nearby park, trail or beach & watch your life improve in a matter of minutes as you walk.
Are you making one of the following mechanical mistakes?
The 5 Most Common Running Form Mistakes
Dr. Jay’s Note: Great tips to keep in mind for more enjoyable running.
The heart of the minimalist and barefoot running craze suggests that by transitioning from overbuilt running shoes to shoes that allow the feet to function normally, heel-striking will become a thing of the past and running form will be naturally corrected. This is not always the case, however, and to ensure you get what you’re looking for out of a minimalistic running shoe, attention to good form is a necessary objective. The first step? Take an honest look at flaws that are making a negative impact on your stride. Here are a few telltale signs of improper stride form you may need to correct. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: I transitioned my running form over 3 years ago to mimic barefoot running. This shift to a more natural form has added to my enjoyment of my workouts & has virtually eliminated running injuries from my life. Highly recommended!
![The Daily Bike
Surely this is the cycling quote of the month: “I haven’t cycled on a track for 80 years,” said Frenchman Robert Marchand. “You have to get used to the fixed gear! I prefer cycling outside but that is impossible at the moment [due to snow]. I don’t want to catch the flu. So I am short on training.”
You’re forgiven, dude.
If you’re lucky enough to live 100 years, a bicycle probably looks like a hip fracture waiting to happen, but Marchand, the stud, celebrated his centenary by breaking the one-hour distance record for his age group in a velodrome at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland. He rode 24.251 kilometers without getting his heart rate above 110. “I could keep going for another hour,” Marchand said. “I’ve been told not to raise my pulse too high so I’m not even tired.”
Marchand’s last competition was 10 years ago, at age 90. He rode (and finished) the 600km Bordeaux-Parise race. But then he decided to notch it back. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: Love stories like this. Is your lifestyle preparing you to be this active & have this much fun when you reach age 100?](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzvxkwXl6J1qb1ls8o1_1280.jpg)
Surely this is the cycling quote of the month: “I haven’t cycled on a track for 80 years,” said Frenchman Robert Marchand. “You have to get used to the fixed gear! I prefer cycling outside but that is impossible at the moment [due to snow]. I don’t want to catch the flu. So I am short on training.”
You’re forgiven, dude.
If you’re lucky enough to live 100 years, a bicycle probably looks like a hip fracture waiting to happen, but Marchand, the stud, celebrated his centenary by breaking the one-hour distance record for his age group in a velodrome at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland. He rode 24.251 kilometers without getting his heart rate above 110. “I could keep going for another hour,” Marchand said. “I’ve been told not to raise my pulse too high so I’m not even tired.”
Marchand’s last competition was 10 years ago, at age 90. He rode (and finished) the 600km Bordeaux-Parise race. But then he decided to notch it back. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: Love stories like this. Is your lifestyle preparing you to be this active & have this much fun when you reach age 100?
Many endurance athletes and daily exercisers alike suffer the pain of muscle cramps, usually in the calves, either during a sporting event or workout session or directly after. What causes these painful cramps?
There are many possible causes for why the cramping occurs. Some of these include low blood sugar, salt imbalance due to sweating, nerve damage, compromised blood flow, heat or cold and even a disruption of energy along acupuncture meridians. While many of these are general causes of cramps, there is disagreement whether they are actually involved in exercise-induced cramping. Read More
Surf’s up, Colwyn Thomas
Unfortunately it often just makes things worse!
We are connected with all living things in ways we do not quite comprehend and our behaviours may well backfire on us.
These work :)
Pic found here! :)
I don’t have to try to explain memes to my dad, because he has a tumblr.
