AXLR8 Fitness

Productivity at Work and Exercise

Mallory — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:11:51 +0000

Today, I want to touch on the relationship between productivity at work and exercise. Although news reports claim that we are coming out of recession and there are definite signs of ‘the end’… money is still tight, jobs are still on the line, and everyone is still pushing their bodies to work harder, longer hours. I have heard the excuse a thousand times over- “I don’t have enough time to exercise during the work day and when I’m off work, I am too exhausted to make it to the gym”… that is a self-destructive statement. Exercising during work (lunch-time, before work, or immediately after) has proven to be extremely beneficial on many levels.

Exercise can help with overuse injuries that occur at work. Conditions such as chronic low back and neck pain, arthritis, carpal tunnel, sciatica, and general muscle pain can be caused from repetitive movement and stress on a certain area. If properly designed, a regular exercise routine can work to strengthen the areas that are under stress all day. Sitting at a desk all day may seem to be ‘not stressful’ to the body, but in fact can be very dangerous to the low back, knees, hips, hands, and upper back… as well as contribute to tension headaches. Exercise can and will reduce the use of disability claims, reduce the risk of sedentary injury, increase metabolism- helping with weight loss, and decrease sick time. Also, exercise increases hormone production in the body which in turn heightens your mood. Ever been in a terrible mood at work and not felt like doing a thing??? Well, a good mood and a clear mind allows an employee to concentrate on the business tasks at hand. A recent study of 200 people at 3 major corporations revealed that an employees quality of life, mental performance, and time management was 15% better on days when they exercised. Lastly, who wouldn’t want to temporarily escape from the stress of deadlines, hard to deal with co-workers and bosses, high-maintenence clients, and the constant ringing of the phone? Exercise will decrease stress level and help keep ‘burn-out’ on the job at bay.

SO- point being: take time for exercise. Even when you feel in over your head with responsibilities, emails, phone calls, meetings, etc… making time for a 30minute walk or hitting the gym before or after hours will help you out during your day and on the job!

Reasons to Lift Weights!

Mallory — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:24:31 +0000

1. You Will Be Physically Stronger.
Increasing your strength will make you far less dependent upon others for assistance in daily living. Chores will be easier, lifting kids, groceries and laundry will no longer push you to the max. If your maximum strength is increased, daily tasks and routine exercise will be far less likely to cause injury. Research studies conclude that even moderate weight training can increase a woman’s strength by 30 to 50 percent. Research also shows that women can develop their strength at the same rate as men.

2. You Will Lose BODY FAT.
Studies have found that the average woman who strength trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat. As your lean muscle increases so does your resting metabolism, and you burn more calories all day long. Generally speaking, for each pound of muscle you gain, you burn 35 to 50 more calories each day. That can really add up.

3. You Will Gain Strength Without Bulk.
Researchers also found that unlike men, women typically don’t gain size from strength training, because compared to men, women have 10 to 30 times less of the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy. You will, however, develop muscle tone and definition. This is a bonus. I hear all the time that women don’t want to ‘bulk up’… don’t worry- you won’t!!!

4. You Decrease Your Risk Of Osteoporosis.
Research has found that weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density (and enhance bone modeling) by 13 percent in six months. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be a women’s best defense against osteoporosis.

5. You Will Reduce Your Risk Of Injury, Back Pain and Arthritis.
Strength training not only builds stronger muscles, but also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability. This acts as reinforcement for the joints and helps prevent injury. A recent 12-year study showed that strengthening the low-back muscles had an 80 percent success rate in eliminating or alleviating low-back pain. Other studies have indicated that weight training can ease the pain of osteoarthritis and strengthen joints.

6. You Will Improve Your Attitude And Fight Depression.
A Harvard study found that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling did. Women who strength train commonly report feeling more confident and capable as a result of their program, all important factors in fighting depression.

A Few Tips on How to Prevent Injury

Mallory — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:16:42 +0000

First things first, SHOES…How long have you had your shoes? If you’re feeling a little more than a tickle in those knees and hips, if you haveshin splints, if your ankles are feeling sore, if your feet cramp, possibly even if you have minor lower back pain… you may need new shoes. If you just purchased a new pair, give it a couple of weeks to break them in.
Lifting weights and keeping a ‘balance’ in the muscles of the body will help strengthen the joints and lighten the load they bear. Consider the knee. It has to walk you and your body weight around every day- up and down stairs, in and out of cars– then you go and cross your legs or twist it into an unthinkable position in your chair or you run on it every day… there’s no way it won’t hurt unless you’re doing something to strengthen it. Lift weights for the hamstrings, quads, inner and outer thigh, glutes, and calf in order to give it more stability.
Change it up- don’t do the same thing every day. Swim, bike, run, do the elliptical, do a circuit training class, and lift weights. Do it all- there’s a better chance for balance and less risk of injury if you aren’t overtraining one specific area.

Thanksgiving SURVIVAL Tips

Manda — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:37:22 +0000

What do most people think when Thanksgiving rolls around? Most likely, the first three words that come to people’s mind are “LOTS OF FOOD!” Many times we are stuck in situations where we don’t have a choice in what we get to eat such as Thanksgiving, for example, but there is a way to get through the holidays without sabotaging our fitness goals. Here are just a few things you need to consider before you go into “survival mode.”

First, you need to consider that this is just one meal, so it will be okay if you indulge a little and within reason, of course. The thing that is not ok is using this dinner as an excuse to eat the same way through the New Year. As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, go back to your normal healthy eating habits. One other thing to keep in mind is that Thanksgiving is not only about food, but it’s about spending time with family as well. Put more emphasis on spending time with your family instead of the food. This will help keep you distracted from the food and keep your eating habits on the right path.

Of course this is just one meal, but it doesn’t mean that we still can’t make healthy choices. Here are a few ideas you can do to survive Thanksgiving:

Instead of going for the dark meat stick to the light meat when it comes to turkey. The light meat is leaner while the dark meat contains more fat, thus more calories.
Try to stay away from the finger food table. Hanging around the table and munching until dinner is ready will add so many more calories to an already high calorie day!
When you are full STOP EATING! Listen and pay attention to your body! Eating slowly and drinking a lot of water during the dinner will help you recognize a full stomach.
Don’t starve yourself before dinner; this will make you want to eat more than you should. Stay on schedule with your eating habits.
Try a small serving of everything; don’t just indulge in large calorie helpings that you don’t usually eat.
Drink alcohol in moderation or don’t drink any at all. Not only will alcohol add to your calorie intake for the day, but it also lowers inhibitions and will make you justify that third serving of pumpkin pie.
Most importantly, it is ok to say no to seconds. People will understand. JUST SAY NO!

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

BENEFITS OF SLEEP…zzzzz

Manda — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:45:22 +0000

There are many factors to losing weight in individuals. Sure there is the healthy diet, exercise, and other different components to it, but the amount of sleep also plays a great role in losing weight. Letting your body rest properly can keep you from overeating and from over working your body. Studies show that people who do not get enough sleep tend to have increased blood pressure and a greater risk for heart disease. If the body does not get enough sleep it interferes with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates and causes high blood levels of glucose, which leads to higher insulin levels and greater body-fat storage. Lack of sleep also drives down leptin levels which in turn causes our body to crave carbohydrates. So we should be getting around 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night to keep this from happening, but it is variable; some of us may only need 6 hours.

Best “Take-Anywhere” Upper Body Workout: THE PUSH UP

Manda — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:27:58 +0000

The simple push up, it can be done anywhere, anytime, and in many ways. You don’t need fancy equipment or a gym membership to do these. The push up is a complete workout that everyone can do. Not only are you training your chest, triceps, shoulders, and anterior deltoids, but you are also stretching your biceps and back. The push up is not only limited to just upper body, but it could serve as a formidable core workout as well. For instance, you must use your core so that your back does not sink down when you complete the motion. You need one simple thing to complete this workout….space!!! You can do push ups at home, at the office, in the living room, during the commercials of your favorite shows, etc. Another great thing about the push up is that it is probably one of the most modifiable workouts ever. It can become one of the easiest things you’ve ever done or the hardest. Challenge yourself. Try to do 100 push ups a day! I’m not saying do it all in one sitting, but spread them out throughout the day; you will begin to see results. Below are some different modifications to the push up. Take your pick and have fun!

Feet elevated push up - feet on a step, chair, or your bed; as long as your feet are about 1 foot higher than your hands. The higher the feet, the harder the push up!
Elevated hands - hands on step, or chair
Stability ball push ups - hands on the stability ball or feet on the stability ball; not only will this work the upper body, but really get into your core muscles!
Clap push ups - perform a normal push up, but on the up movement, explode off the ground and clap your hands before landing; this is an advanced push up, so only try if you have mastered the traditional push up
Push ups from the knees - if you are a beginner, this is a great way to start to build to the full push up; just perform the push up with your knees on the ground
Hand stand push ups - this is another advanced push up, so only perform this one if you have mastered the other push ups and have good core and shoulder strength
Wide/narrow push ups - hands are wider than shoulder width apart
Triceps push ups - elbows are kept close to the body
Diamond push ups - hands on the floor placed directly under the breastbone, forming a diamond with the index and thumbs of both hands

Benefits of Strength Training

Manda — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:05:13 +0000

Strength training is not just something we do to build up muscle to look like the Spartans from the movie 300. There are many physical and psychological benefits that you can receive from strength training. Strength training increases metabolic rate, even after you are done working out your body still continues to burn calories (which is good for weight loss). Studies also show that with regular strength training your bones become more dense thus helping prevent osteoporosis. And above all not only do you begin to look good after a while, but you also feel good about yourself. Here are a few other benefits…

-decreased risk of heart disease

-good for rehabilitation

-improves balance, stability, mobility, and flexibility

-increases fat free mass.

Dining Out

Manda — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:04:16 +0000

There are many things that may sabotage a weight loss plan, one of the main saboteurs is dining out. Dining out is not that bad if you pay attention to what you’re eating and drinking. In a day an average person should be eating around 2,000 calories; at restaurants you have a good chance of eating around 1500-2000 calories in one sitting. That is a whole day of calories in one meal! An example of this would be one Smokehouse Burger and fries at Ruby Tuesday’s is about 1,751 calories, and that is without the soda or alcohol you may be drinking or the appetizer you get before. Just think, you would need to jump rope for about 160 min just to burn off that one meal. Here are a few tips for dining out and still keeping up with your weight loss:

-Plan ahead- there is always a nutritional guide for foods at restaurants (dietfacts.com - site shows nutritional facts for the foods of our favorite restaurants)

-Skip the pre meal bread

-Skip the soft drinks

-Most meals contain more than one serving, so try to eat half and take the rest to go

-Eat slow- it takes the stomach 20 minutes to realize it is full!

-Try drinking 2 full glasses of water before eating your meal

Good luck in your dining out experiences!!!

Alcohol & Weight Loss

Manda — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:03:53 +0000

Okay…you know that drinking alcohol is not the best choice when you want to lose weight and lose excess body fat. While some studies show that moderate consumption of alcohol does have health benefits, alcohol still contains 7 calories per gram. One glass of wine, for example, is about 98 calories while 1.5 ounces of vodka contains about 100 calories. Add mixers such as juices or syrups and some drinks can contain over 300 calories! Those empty calories can really add up! So how can you stay on the weight loss track yet still have your alcoholic indulgence?

Try one or even a few of these tips…

Try alternating a non-alcoholic drink with your alcoholic beverage. Drink a glass of water before ordering your next beer or glass of wine.
If possible, Ask for low calorie/diet mixers. You could save over 100 calories!
Make your wine into a lower calorie spritzer. Just add seltzer water to about a half glass of wine.
Be sure to eat a good meal before drinking or going out. The food will help slow the alcohol into your bloodstream and allow you to better control your food and drink consumption.
Avoid the alcopops. These carbonated alcoholic drinks are about 200 calories per bottle.

Sample Testimonial

govea — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:37:10 +0000

Instead of deleting this first testimonial, edit it with the correct content. There must always be at least one testimonial so you may delete additional testimonials in the future.