To move or not to move?

Machines that aren't regularly maintained with proper coatings and lubricants and kept moving tend to rust. Their moving parts move only with difficulty or not at all. Over time their rusting metal gets so brittle that it breaks into bits, disintegrating little by little. Kind of sad and a waste of a beautiful mechanism that's useful life was cut short.

Most of us wouldn't let that happen to one of our treasured possessions. Unfortunately some of us do let a similar process of disuse and decay happen to our bodies. Fortunately it's reversible if we get off the couch, out of our chair and up and moving.

I have definitely been guilty of not moving enough at times in my life. I had no idea the price I was paying, especially as I grew older. Now that I'm so much more aware of anatomy and physiology and the danger of disuse because of my personal training study I am super motivated to stay moving and fit.

When we don't move our bodies often enough or in a great enough variety of ways our joints don't get lubricated with synovial fluid as they should. Our tendons, ligaments and muscles stiffen and weaken. Our bones become more brittle. Over time we become weaker, more unbalanced, rigid. For most people the debilities of aging, including the inability to perform regular activities of daily living, aren't so much about the natural aging process, but about disuse.

True, it's often a greater challenge to keep moving as we age because of weight gain and/or a growing number of aches and pains. But we can't let that stop us. Otherwise we'll just start a downward cycle of weight gain, more pain, less and less activity and greater and greater debility.

The truth is that we're either getting fitter or less fit every day because of our choices to move or not to move. The more we move on a consistent basis the healthier we'll be. Even those with health challenges, pain and/or disabilities need to move and can with some medical guidance.

I so admire the seniors in the 70s, 80s and 90s in my exercise classes and personal training sessions who continue to move it on a consistent basis even with discomforts such as arthritis, neuralgia, stroke debilities, and other chronic conditions. They are all younger than their chronological age in terms of physical health, appearance, mood and general well being. They aren't rusting out, they're stepping out into every day like the adventure it is.

Do you really know?

I often hear the complaint from significantly overweight women, especially those middle age and older, that they know exactly what to do when it comes to losing weight but they just can’t make themselves do it. Or if they can lose weight, they can’t keep it off. The temptations of fattening foods like cake, cookies or chips and their desire to avoid exercise are just too great. I’ve been there myself.  I remember feeling just the way they feel.

Food is often the nice person’s guilty pleasure. It’s actually quite similar to the more frowned-upon compulsions of drinking, drugging or gambling too much. It just doesn’t sound as bad or appear to be as harmful … at least until one develops heart disease, diabetes and/or joint problems. Oh yeah, don’t forget having to deal with the daily fatigue, feelings of disempowerment and self-loathing as well as social repercussions of carrying around excess poundage.

But I would challenge these ladies’ assumption that they do really know what to do when it comes to weight management. Otherwise I think they’d be doing it. They are all smart, accomplished, capable women. Like them I thought I knew what to do, but at the age of 50 I actually didn’t. It took finding out about what I personally needed to do to lose weight. In the process, which covered many months, I lost 55 lbs. and now am maintaining my weight loss.

Knowing the caloric counts of various foods and how many calories various forms of exercise burn is important, but is just part of the equation. The most important knowledge is what it takes for to become motivated and empowered to lose weight and keep it off based on your psychology, age and lifestyle. That’s especially true at midlife and beyond as it becomes more challenging to lose weight because of a slower metabolism.

My first best step was calling on my higher power. I had come to a point several years ago that I was going through menopause and didn’t seem able to lose a pound. My blood pressure was on the rise and I feared I would have to go on medication. I was totally overwhelmed, luckily, because it was only then that I remembered to call on God to help me solve my weighty problem. The challenge was just bigger than I was, and I cried out to him for help.

Soon came a big part of the answer to my prayer:  I ran across the book “A Course in Weight Loss” by Marianne Williamson, one of several good books that have come out in recent years that address the spiritual and psychological components of carrying excess weight. Such books alert us that the biggest barrier to weight loss and weight loss maintenance can be our relationship with food.

Do we see food as fuel for our activities, a means of rebuilding our bodies and a healing gift from God? Or do we see it as a way to reward, comfort, sedate, or punish ourselves? Do we overuse it as an avenue for social bonding and acceptance? When we come to rely on food to fill us emotionally and/or spiritually, we develop an unhealthy relationship with food. And an unhealthy relationship can easily lead to dependence or addiction to highly caloric foods that burden us with excess weight.

That was the path I was on. I had come to rely on food as a source of comfort. After my weight had crept up to a certain level, and my life situation had become extra stressful, it was a natural road to take. After all what more harm could a little extra cheddar popcorn, chips, dip, pizza and/or beer most days of the week do? Those things had become my refuge.

For someone else, using food as a refuge could mean indulging in too many dishes at church potluck socials, eating everything on their restaurant-portion-size plate, or binging on cookies or ice cream. It really is like alcohol dependence when you think about it. When I faced my own dependence on food for comfort and that fact that some foods especially (salty, crisp snacks) had an addictive hold on me, it was another step to creating a healthier relationship with food. I resolved to completely avoid foods that were addictive to me and to severely limit my alcohol consumption, including not keeping any at home. I asked God to give me strength to do those things. Such strategies were critical in my successful weight loss journey.

For the person suffering from an unhealthy relationship with food that is too severe for self-help measures, psychological counseling can be helpful and part of the journey to spiritual healing. When thoughts of food and/or weight loss become obsessive and/or when the urge to partake in unhealthy food or even healthy foods in unhealthy amounts becomes compulsive, it’s critical to bring in professional help. It can save years of wasted time and immediately start the psychological healing.

Misusing food is a major stumbling block to losing weight, but it isn’t the only stumbling block. Please take time to examine what’s really keeping you from losing weight and learn how to overcome the obstacles - whatever they are. There are many effective strategies for healthy weight loss, you’ve just got to find out what works for you. Keep seeking the answers and you will find them! Being the size you truly feel fit and are most comfortable with is so worth the effort!!

Why functional fitness is critical as we age

Mom wants to stay independent.

Several weeks ago the house shook. My first thought was that a transformer had blown up. It didn’t sound like a tree limb or a gun shot. I wondered if my 74-year-old mother had fallen. Because she weighs 100 more pounds than I do, there was no way I was going to be able to pull her off the floor.

As Mom squirmed like a little baby, it made me realize that she has lost more of the functional fitness in her legs and core than I had realized. I knew she had trouble getting out of a chair and tended to be a coach potato, but it never occurred to me that she wouldn’t be able to get off the floor. I had tried to get her to exercise before, but she has a vestibular problem that makes it challenging for her to stay active.

Fortunately, it finally dawned on me to get out an aerobic step so Mom could put her knees on to make it easier for her to pull and wiggle herself up on her bed. I’m not sure what she would have done if I hadn’t been there. Because my mother has always taken pride in being highly self-sufficient her inability to get off the floor was extremely disheartening.

You may think neither you nor your loved ones will ever lose the ability to get off the floor, even if you don’t exercise, but it happens to inactive seniors all the time. Even worse, seniors sometimes must rely on walkers or may become bedridden, not because of illness or injury but because of muscle disuse. Even more alarming, muscle weakness is a major risk factor for falling.

I tell you this story as an illustration of the importance of functional fitness. Simply put, functional fitness is the physical ability to do what we need to do to live our lives. If we can lift 20 pounds but we can’t climb a flight of steps without great difficulty, we may have arm strength but we’re not really functionally fit. We lose functional fitness when we are inactive and don’t regularly challenge all our muscles, including our heart and breathing muscles, our core and our legs - not just our biceps and triceps.

Anyone who has had a bone break or other injury that required a period of not using their muscles can attest to how fast muscles can lose their strength and flexibility, if not challenged. Astronauts come back from space weaker and have to build back their strength because during spaceflight their muscles aren’t challenged by gravity. The exercises they do during the flight only do so much good.

Your current physical limitations may be minor, such as not being able to turn your head as far back over your shoulder as you once could. Or they may affect you a bit more, such as not be able to carry as many grocery bags or easily reach to change a light bulb. Maybe you can’t dance as gracefully as you once could. Maybe you’re prone to neck or back spasms. All these things may seem of limited consequence, but why should we accept them when we could avoid them by doing a little exercise.

Like many people I knew nothing about functional fitness for most of my life. We hear that we need to exercise to keep our weight at a healthy level and avoid or lessen chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But we don’t really hear about how exercise can work magic when it comes to retaining and even improving our physical abilities. Our biological age can be much younger than our chronological age with a little exercise.

Four years ago I was seriously overweight and began a healthy weight loss program, which included not only a balanced diet but walking 10,000 steps a day. I wasn’t thinking fitness. I was thinking getting rid of some fat. But the most immediate effect of the program was the improvement of my cardiovascular health. I didn’t get winded as fast. Plus my legs felt stronger, and even my core strength improved. I became physical capable of more.

Later when I added yoga to my routine I gained some strength and range of motion. I could turn my head back farther over my shoulder. My lower back became stronger and I quit suffering from those occasional lower back spasms. During this fitness journey I decided to become a certified personal trainer, and as I began reading about functional fitness I incorporated strength training into my workouts. Soon I was able to carry in many more grocery bags at one time. After adding Zumba, a Latin dance aerobics, I have become more agile, coordinated and my balance has improved. My core feels as strong as after I had taken ballet for years in high school.

All this increase in functional fitness was been a shocker to me. I had no idea when I started my fitness journey how much my functional fitness would increase. When I was 49, I felt 99. Now I’m 53 feel as spry as when I was 33.

Although I had tried to encourage Mom do some leg and core exercises periodically before, she never would. I didn’t nag her of course because that is counterproductive, but I did pray. Fortunately after my mother’s fall she reconsidered her policy on exercise. She began to do leg squats and some other exercises with me. We started slow, but now she’s building up her legs and core nicely. We’ve now even begun working on her posture and arm strength as well. Mom has become a true believer. “I thought working out was just about looking better, which I'm not worried about. I didn’t realize exercise is really about being able to function!” my mom says.

A healthy dose of vanity

Some of us avoid the gym or other means of exercise, or will only exercise so often, in part because we have convinced ourselves that you have to be vain and self-centered to exercise regularly. Only someone who was vain would pay that much attention to their body is the thinking. No. 1, that’s not the case. Many if not most gym goers are primarily motivated by health, fitness and/or athletic goals. And No. 2, what if people who go to the gym regularly do take pride in their appearance and want to look their best? What if they do love themselves as well as their neighbor? Is a healthy dose of vanity so bad? Don’t we each deserve to be our best selves? Isn't that what our creator intended.

Okay, I agree some folks are obsessed with the way they look and spend far too much time on their appearance, and that’s not good. But don’t make their problem your problem by trying so hard to go to the opposite extreme. Do you avoid church because some people are hypocrites? Do you avoid alcohol because some folks are alcoholics? You’re right, some of you do avoid those things because of those reasons. So this may be a better example: Do you avoid making money because some people are greedy? Not many of us would answer “yes” to that, as making money, like pursuing fitness, is in large part a good thing.

You know, I used not to put very much emphasis on how fit I looked, or even felt. I think I didn’t want to focus on myself too much. I believed I didn’t need to use too much my time exercising, because I could be doing something more productive. But now, having faced a health scare, lost weight because of it, and gotten fit, I see things differently. I believe I deserve to be fit, as healthy as I can be, as well as look my best. All those things make me a more productive human being, and actually able to serve others better than ever before. When I am at my best, it’s easier to put my best efforts forward. I’m also taken more seriously because people see that I respect myself. So call me a little vain for being fit and trim, but I'm healthier because of it.

 

Give Me Strength

Once I saw strength training as something only body builders would want to do. Now I know it’s as important to my health as brushing my teeth.  Just as I don’t want to develop rotten teeth and inflamed gums, I don’t want my bones to develop osteoporosis, my muscles to give way to flab and my ligaments to deteriorate. That hunched over senior with the brittle bones shuffling down the street with a walker once stood tall and likely would still if he/she had followed a strength regimen.

While most of us can get away with a hit or miss approach to exercise while we’re young and still stay relatively healthy, by middle age we’re faced with the ugly and painful reality of what lack of regular exercise will do to our bodies. Bloated bellies, strained backs and other signs of our mortality begin to accumulate. Meanwhile the more active among us seem to have drunk from the fountain of youth and maintain a youthful physique and general wellbeing.

Fortunately if we heed our wakeup call, whenever it comes, we can regain much of our youthful strength, flexibility and attractiveness. Getting our heart pumping with cardio workouts is important, but we’ve also got to build our strength.

Today I worked with a middle-age lady who did not know that we begin to lose muscle mass each year beginning as early as when we turn 25 to 30 years old. Our metabolism slows because of it. We also gradually lose our ability to lift as much. She also didn’t know that our bones become more brittle over time, especially for women after menopause, if we don’t strength train. While she takes calcium and other supplements she wasn’t aware that you need to work the bones for the calcium to be absorbed.

It did not surprise me that she did not know these things about strength training, because up until recent years I didn’t know them either. While fitness fans learn such fun facts early on Joe Six Pack and the rest of us typically are clueless. Fortunately I began learning the score after taking a “Healthy Lifestyle and Weight Loss” program several years ago.

After I showed my client how to use the weight machines and discussed the various benefits of strength training, she seemed determined to make weight training part of her regular fitness routine. Yeah!

When it comes to strength training, for best results work all your body’s major muscles and bones. Use the full range of weight machines vs. just a few and/or learn other ways of working your muscles including using your body weight, dumbbells and bands. The American Council of Exercise has a great exercise library that includes video and written break downs of exercises for the entire body. Of course if you have health issues or are highly deconditioned, please check with your physician before starting an exercise program.

S.M.A.R.T Goals for the New Year

As the New Year begins it's great to look over fitness gains made in 2011, and create a plan for pursuing fitness in 2012. I like the ideas of setting S.M.A.R.T goals, as Paul J. Meyer popularized through his book Attitude is Everything. "S" is for "specific." "M" is for "measurable." "A" is for "attainable." "R" is for "Relevant." "T" is for "Timely." If you want to be S.M.A.R.T.E.R. also throw in "E" for "Evaluate" and "R" for "Re-evaluate" as goals need to be reviewed and revised over time.

Instead of setting the vague goal of getting in better shape during 2012, consider setting several S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals for incrementally improving your cardio health, muscle strength/endurance and flexibility. Also consider setting a goal for improving your balance, especially if you're over 50. And don't forget to consider how you'll fuel your training with nutritious foods such as lean proteins, whole grains, a variety of veggies/fruits, and healthy fats such as in olive oil, nuts and avocado.

Say you've been walking briskly for 30 minutes three to five times a week for awhile now and want to improve your cardio fitness level. You could decide to incrementally increase your walking to five to seven times a week for an hour within the next three months. (Remember you can split your cardio into multiple increments of at least 10 minutes each during the day if you need to and still get the benefit.) Another option (if your health allows) would be to graduately substitute 30 minutes of more vigorous cardio options such as a stair-stepper machine, running, spinning, and/or Zumba for walking three to five times a week over the next three months. You may opt to split your weekly schedule into two or three vigorous cardio workouts and two or three brisk walking sessions.

While I focused on walking one hour pretty much every day (after gradually building up to that activity level) while I was losing weight and getting back into shape, I now enjoy sometimes alternating brisk walking outdoors with Zumba and various cardio machines at the gym. This year I'll kick my cardio into higher gear with the goal of getting into the routine of four vigorous cardio workouts plus walking one to two times a week over the next three months.

To continue improving my muscle strength/endurance, flexibilty and balance I'll continue on the course I've set to strength train two to three times a week and take yoga classes at least twice a week. But since I've set a new goal of being able to do 15 push-ups in proper form within the next three months I'll be focusing kicking off my resistance training sessions with push-ups. I also want to be able to be able to balance on my right leg as long as I can balance on my left leg. That means extra work on my right leg. Three months from now I'll re-evaluate myself on push ups, balance, etc. and set some new goals.

Setting new goals, and thus changing/increasing my training techniques, intensity, frequency, time, etc., helps keeps me motivated to continue pursuing fitness. But what motivates me even more is the payoff in the way I look and feel. At 52 I'm stronger, faster, healthier and feel younger than I have in years. My sister, who has been working out of town and hasn't seen me in months, said when the family got together on Christmas Day: "I can't believe how great you look. Even your butt is higher."

Beyond That Weight-Loss Plateau

Periodically during a long weight-loss journey many of us hit a plateau where weight loss pretty much slows to a standstill. Plateaus may not be our favorite weight-loss phase, but they can be productive if we embrace them. Don’t worry, after resting a bit on a natural plateau and reanalyzing your weight loss strategy, you can again start making steady progress toward attaining a healthy weight. 
 
What’s good about a plateau? If you’ve been on diet for a while and have lost a significant amount of weight, you likely need a psychological break from focusing on losing weight. Maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits without feeling the need to be super strict can be a nice change of pace. Plus your body periodically needs time to adjust to the weight loss you have already accomplished.
 
As you rest and gear up for the next phase of your journey keep this in mind: As we take off significant amounts of weight, it’s a cold, hard fact that we must further increase our activity levels and/or reduce our caloric intake to continue to lose weight. A body that weighs less requires fewer calories, especially when weight loss has not been accompanied by strength training.

While you’re enjoying your plateau, look carefully at what you’ve been eating. The more high-fiber, nutrient-dense foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains) you work into your diet the better. The less processed foods and alcohol you consume the better. Are you opting for healthy fats such as olive oil and choosing lean meats? Keeping your portion sizes in check? You know the drill. And if you need to know more, read up on good nutrition (www.choosemyplate.gov for example) and/or consider joining a healthy weight loss program that provides such information.
 
Next look at your activity level: If you’ve been walking 4 days a week, maybe you need to up it to 6 days. And/or maybe you’ll increase your distance/time/intensity during each walking session. If you’ve been walking an hour at least 5 days a week, you may need to substitute a few walking sessions for a higher-intensity cardio option such as Zumba, Jazzercise or step aerobics. Cycling, swimming, running, etc., can also be good.

But before significantly increasing your activity level, consider any health conditions you may have. Have you been cleared to exercise by your physician? Do you have any chronic conditions that will affect your exercise choices? Please keep health considerations in mind and seek professional guidance when you need it.
 
There’s another part of the equation of the weight loss equation to consider: your muscle vs. fat ratio. The more muscle mass we have the more calories we burn even at rest. You don’t have to have the bulging muscles of a body builder, just healthy muscle tone to boost your metabolism rate.
 
It’s a fact that as we lose pounds we lose muscle weight as well as fat unless we’re building our muscles with resistance exercises. We also lose muscle mass as we age unless we strength train or otherwise keep challenging our muscles (as in hard labor). That’s a significant reason why the average person’s metabolism slows as they grow older.

How much strength training have you done as you’ve lost weight? Whatever the level, consider kicking it up a notch or two during the next phase of your weight loss push. A good, all-round strength training program may initially slow the number of pounds you lose because muscle is heavier than fat. But it will quickly start tightening your body, actually making your waist smaller, so you will look better and feel better.
 
When you see those mind-boggling “before and after” pictures every national “revolutionary diet plan” uses to advertise themselves, keep in mind that the incredible muscle definition of the person in the “after” shot either comes from strength training or Photoshop trickery. I have lost weight at various times with and without strength training. Strength training provides much more attractive results.

If you’re a gym/fitness club member you have access to strength machines as well as free weights and cable machines. Clubs oftentimes have group strength classes as well as access to personal trainers. If you can’t afford to join a gym or hire a personal trainer, don’t worry. With just a few inexpensive items such as a resistance band, pair of hand weights and a mat, you can get going. Although I sometimes work out with the equipment at my church rec center, I oftentimes work out at home with just my resistance band, hand weights and mat.

Try some of these great individual exercises and workout routines suggested by The American Council on Exercise.  I love that these workouts come with detailed written instructions as well as photo and video demonstrations. And they're free!

While you’re working on your strength, please remember to work on your flexibility. Integrating stretching into your workout routine will help you attain and/or maintain a healthy posture, balanced gait, plus improve your general fitness level. Soon you’ll be able to reach the high shelf better and twist to get something with less risk of straining your back. I have become a fan of yoga because during the course of a good class you generally stretch out from head to toe.

One more thing: A great overall resource for helping you educate yourself on the fine points of fitness and weight loss is The American College of Sports Medicine's “The Complete Guide to Fitness & Health."  The book, which I highly recommend, provides a science-based overview on strength, flexibility and cardio training, as well as good nutrition/healthy diet information.