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Exercise Does A Body Good!

This is the end of the 5-part S.H.A.P.E series designed to give you the tools to help you reach all of your fitness goals. We’ve saved the best for last -- the “E“ in S.H.A.P.E is for exercise. Everyone is looking for the magic bullet … what if I told you that you already have it! Exercise is the one major thing you can do to improve the quality (and quantity) of your life! Get moving today -- and change your life forever!!!

Enjoy the newsletter and have a blessed week!

Cathy Morenzie

Guidelines for Exercise

This week we’ll answer many of the common questions about exercising:

• How much exercise do I need to improve my health? 60 minutes? 30 minutes?
• Is gardening considered exercise?
• How about walking the dog?
• How hard do I have to push myself?

The 2005 ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) Guidelines are in and the findings are encouraging. The new research shows that as little as 20 minutes per day will give you some health benefits! Even better news -- exercise can be accumulated in 2 to 10-minute bouts. The Guidelines highlight minimums and maximums for the various types of exercise: aerobic, strength training and stretching.

Exercise -- What you need to know to get started!

The New 2005 ACSM Guidelines for Exercise

Aerobic Exercise

Your exercise routine should include a variety of cardiovascular exercise such as walking, running, swimming, tennis or cycling. These activities benefit your heart and lungs, help manage your weight and provide protection against certain diseases.

Weight Training

Weight training or resistance exercises are great for developing muscle tone, increasing or restoring bone density, improving posture, helping you look and feel better, injury prevention and increasing your metabolism. You can use your own body weight (push ups), bands, free weights or machines.

Flexibility

Stretching should also be part of your regular fitness routine. Whether it’s a few stretches when you wake up in the morning, a yoga class or post-workout stretch, be sure to stretch each muscle that you use. Good flexibility reduces muscle soreness, improves posture, increases blood flow and nutrients to the tissues and improves balance and co-ordination.

Find activities that you enjoy which fit into your lifestyle. By accumulating at least 20-60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week, you can live a healthier lifestyle, decrease your risk of many diseases and injuries, manage your weight , decrease pain and promote physiological well being.

Nutrition Tip of the Week

Hold the Trans-Fat !

Trans fat is formed when manufacturers use a chemical process that turns healthy vegetable oil (liquid) into an unhealthy one (semi-solid form like shortening and margarines), a process known as hydrogenation. >The problem is that these man-made fats raise your LDL (bad cholesterol) and lower your HDL ( good cholesterol) levels. Most of the trans fat in our diet comes from crackers, candies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods and other processed foods made with shortening and margarines.

Canada's Guidelines to Healthy Eating advises Canadians to choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats and foods prepared with little or no fat. We can significantly reduce our intake of saturated and trans fats by avoiding commercially fried foods and high fat bakery products. Eating more vegetables and fruit, whole grain breads and cereals, peas, beans, lentils and nuts will also result in a lower intake of both saturated and trans fats.

For more information on this topic, visit: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/nr-cp/2004/2004_56bk1_e.html

Exercise of the Week

Exercise Description:

Muscles Worked

Instructions:

1. Stand behind step and place one foot on top of step, heel close to the closest edge.
2. Push off the step and explode vertically to bring the other foot onto the box.
3. Step back down with your feet reversed.
4. Repeat with other leg and continue completing 1 minute per side for 10 minutes.

About Cathy Morenzie

Cathy Morenzie is a certified personal fitness trainer, fitness instructor, and Pilates instructor. She specializes in providing creative fitness solutions for people on the go. She has trained thousands of clients and trainers over the last 15 years. For more FREE tips like these, contact us or call 416-410-8517 to schedule your complimentary session. Can't fit personal training sessions into your schedule, no problem - try our online personal training and receive the benefits of one-on-one personal training at a fraction of the cost.