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The Power of Regular Activity

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What if we told you that you have the power to add years to your life span, perform daily activities easier or prevent disease and sickness?

The truth is we all have this power and it can all be accomplished through consistent, regular physical activity!

This can be planned exercise or any activity really that requires you to expend energy.

The power of regular movement, be it planned exercise or not, has many proven positive benefits. The more consistent the physical activity is, the greater the potential benefits.

Here is a brief list of what you can expect to achieve by introducing regular physical activity and movement into your lifestyle:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Lower blood sugar
  • Improve cholesterol
  • Reduce your risk of heart disease
  • Reduce your risk of diabetes
  • Lose weight
  • Gain strength
  • Improve bone density
  • Improve range of motion
  • Stronger joints
  • Improve joint conditions (eg. arthritis)
  • Help with depression
  • Improve sleep
  • Increase longevity
  • Perform daily activities better/easier
  • Maintain independence
  • Reduce risk of some types of cancer
  • Improve cognitive abilities

This list could go on and on.

The human body was meant to work. Today we sit more then ever in the history of our existence so building regular physical activity and exercise into your life has become a necessity. The more we move and challenge our bodies, the more fit we become, the more efficient and effective we are and of course the healthier we are. So, get moving!

Why are you here?

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A lot of people assume that one joins a health club to lose weight, and arguably so, for the majority, that’s correct, but truth be told, there are many other reasons for people to join a club like ours. And even if they have other reasons for joining, and there are many, weight loss usually results simply because they are more active and using up more calories than they were prior to taking up regular exercise. Regardless, here are some of the different reasons that our actual clients have joined our club and requested our assistance.

“My doctor wants me to go on high blood pressure medication and I’d like to try to avoid having to do that.” ……done.

“My doctor says I’ll be on my high blood pressure medication for the rest of my life. With your help, I’d like to prove him wrong.” ………….done.

“I’d like to try to reduce and control my high cholesterol.” …….done.

“I’d like to increase my bone density. My doctor says it’s too low.” ……..done.

“I’d like to better control my blood sugar levels and possibly reduce or eliminate my diabetes medication.” ………….done.

“I’m having a difficult time getting out of my car. I need to strengthen my legs.” …………done.

“I’d like to eliminate my back pain so I can stop taking this pain medication.” ………..done.

“I just want to get out of my house and shake this depression.” ……………done.

“I need to strengthen my legs for figure skating.” ……….done.

“I need to better my swim time. I’m a tri athlete.” ……….done.

“I want to compete in a body building contest.” …………done (several times).

“I want to be able to go up the two steps at the entrance to the Italian Hall without help so I can go dancing again.” ………..done.

“I want to be able to walk without the help of my walker.” …………….done.

“I want to be able to walk without the help of my cane.” ………………done.

“I want to be able to get up out of this wheelchair that I’ve been in for 35 years and walk on my own.”………….DONE!

So there you have it. This is what we do every day and have been for over 33 years. As you can see, it’s not all about weight loss.

Gino

The Importance of a Good Warm Up

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Before jumping into your strength training routine, you should always begin your exercise session with a light warm up of some kind. The warm up often gets skipped, especially if time is short but it is a very important piece of your exercise routine that should be incorporated every single time.

When you warm up you are taking your body from a resting state and getting it moving. This usually means some kind a cardiovascular activity. It can be walking, running, biking, jumping jacks, skipping, anything to get your body moving. You don’t want to surprise your body at the beginning of a workout by walking into the gym and beginning with weight lifting.

Once you start moving a few things happen. Your heart rate will start to elevate from it’s current resting state. This will get more blood flowing out to your muscles which helps to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles during exercise.

Your body temperature will begin to rise. This gets your muscles warmer and better prepares them for the exercise ahead and helps to prevent injuries from loading cold, unprepared muscles.

The third and one of the most important reasons for a warm up is to give you a few minutes to get the days worries, stresses and demands out of your head and to switch your focus to the workout ahead. Clear your mind and mentally prepare for your workout. You don’t want to be distracted during your workout and mindlessly go through it. You should be focused to get the most out of it.

For a good warm up all you need is 5 minutes of continuous light movement that gets your heart rate up, gets you feeling warmer, maybe even a light sweat started and lets your body and mind know to get ready for exercise.

Be Strong, Stay Strong

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Anyone who has listened to Matt and I speak about the benefits of strength training, already know that we are, without a doubt, convinced that consistent, effective strength training is the key to a great quality of life. If I was given a choice to live ten more great, healthy, and happy years or to live fifteen years but the last ten of those fifteen years would be in ill health, I would choose the first.

To me, (and this is just my personal opinion), quality of life is everything. That is precisely why I chose this business. Life should not be a struggle, and unfortunately, simply because people do not stay strong in their elder years, life becomes a constant struggle, when, again, in my professional opinion, it should not be. I’ve referenced before in a previous newsletter that if you visit the small towns of Italy, nestled quaintly on the side of a mountain, the elderly there are strong and they stay strong long into their later years because literally everything they do is an uphill climb! Those in their 80’s and 90’s are still physically capable of more than you may think. I’ve witnessed it first hand and it just made me happy.

Here at home, I see constant examples of people in their sixties and seventies struggling to get out of their cars, go up a flight of stairs, walk upright with good posture, even to put their socks on. It’s not their age, although they are convinced it is. It’s because they have allowed Mother Nature to do her thing quicker than is really necessary. When I see these things, all I can think to myself is, “I can fix that with strength training.”

How many personal trainers do you know that can get a man out of his wheelchair that he’s been in for 35 years and have him walk again without it? You know one….me. While his surgeons and specialists were trying to figure out what surgery would best serve him next, I looked at him and figured out what muscle strengthening and stretching would serve him best. I won.

If you consider any sport (even golf), every athlete, regardless of their sport does strength training. Sports you never expected to benefit from strength training like auto racing, golf, skiing, tennis, soccer, curling, running, basketball, and such. Why, because the benefits of strength training go far beyond making and keeping you strong.

There are many, many more benefits on a list far too long to mention them all here, but some include mental clarity and alertness, better reflexes, better balance, increased flexibility, more efficiency in your blood flow which in turn brings more oxygen to your muscles more efficiently, increased bone density, and so on.

Well, if you’re not convinced yet to take up strength training if you haven’t already, don’t worry, I’ll likely write about it again some time, it’s that important. And for those of you who I have convinced, get strong, stay strong and live your best life because you only get one.

Gino

How Long Does It Take to See Results from Exercise?

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Everybody wants to know; how long do I need to exercise before I see results? Depending on what results you are after the period of time it takes will vary. We will look at a few of the more common benefits and when you can expect to start to see some results. There is a catch though! We will address that at the end, so read on.

Resting Heart Rate
Within just a couple weeks with regular aerobic training you can see improvements in your resting heart rate. The heart is a muscle and improves and gets stronger with exercise. As you get fitter, not only will your resting heart rate decrease but your heart rate will recovery quicker after an exercise bout as well.

Blood Pressure
Again, within just a few weeks you can start to see improvements in blood pressure if you have high or borderline high blood pressure.

Endurance
Expect it to take 4-6 weeks of regular aerobic exercise before you see noticeable improvements in your endurance although the changes begin within the first couple weeks, it just takes a bit before they translate into noticeable improvements.

Strength
You will begin to notice strength gains within the first 2 to 3 weeks. These gains are mostly from neuromuscular adaptations where your muscle learns to move more efficiently. In a 3 to 6 month period you can see anywhere form a 25-100% gain in strength.

Muscle Size
This one takes a lot of work and needs a long-term perspective and the amount varies from very little change to up to about a 60% increase. There are a lot of variables that come in to play for this one such as age, gender, genetics, type of resistance training program and nutrition.

Weight Loss
With no change in diet, depending on how much energy you are expending throughout the week you could see results within a week or never see any weight loss results. Remember, you can’t out work a bad diet. The best weight loss results come from combining diet and exercise. If you do that the results are immediate.

Mental Health
Results in your first workout! Every workout will produce positive mental health benefits.

Now here is the catch.

Most of these results begin within the first few weeks of beginning an exercise routine BUT they only matter if you maintain the consistency with your exercise program. You have to keep it up to keep the results up.

Find a way to make exercise a regular part of your weekly routine and you will reap all of the benefits listed above for the rest of your life!