April 2014 Exercise Quotes

"If you’re not eating the right foods in the right amounts, all the exercise in the world won’t combat the caloric intake." - Jennifer Hudson.

"If you cannot take responsibility for your own well-being, you will never take control over it." - Jennifer Hudson.

"I started thinking about little kids putting a cylindrical peg through a circular hole, and how they do it over and over again for months when they figure it out, and how basketball was basically just a slightly more aerobic version of that same exercise." - John Green.

"Exercise is medicine. Literally. Just like a pill, it reliably changes brain function by altering the activity of key brain chemicals and hormones." - Stephen S. Ilardi PhD.

"Medication isn’t the only way to correct brain abnormalities in depression. Physical exercise also brings about profound changes in the brain - changes that rival those seen with the most potent antidepressant medications." - Stephen S. Ilardi PhD.

"Let each man exercise the art he knows." - Aristophanes (450 BC - 388 BC).

"Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind." - Plato (427 BC - 347 BC).

"Just as animal research tells us that gluttony and sloth are side effects of a drive to accumulate body fat, it also says that eating in moderation and being physically active (literally, having the energy to exercise) are not evidence of moral rectitude. Rather, they're the metabolic benefits of a body that's programmed to remain lean." - Gary Taubes.

"When we exercise self-control on a given occasion, we win for ourselves a little credibility we can rely on the next time around. Pretty soon we develop a reputation to ourselves that we want badly to uphold. With each test that we meet, our resolve gains momentum, fueled by the fear that we may succumb and establish a damaging precedent for our own weakness." - Daniel Akst.

"A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up." - Anonymous.

"Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclusions, running up bills, stretching the truth, bending over backward, lying down on the job, sidestepping responsibility and pushing their luck." - Anonymous.

8 Fun Exercises for Cottage Country

The start of Spring and eventually Summer means more time for the family to spend at the cottage. Your weekend getaway does not have to be all about beer, BBQs, and pretzels. As the weather gets warmer, the great outdoors becomes more tempting, and that easily translates into FITNESS opportunities for the whole family!

Eight Fun Cottage Activities

1. Frisbee on the Shoreline

Kick off your sandals and go ankle deep into the lake. Running with sand and water resistance will add to an already great cardiovascular workout. Frisbee is also a good activity for working on your hand-eye-coordination and agility!

2. Swimming

The ultimate cardio and strength exercise, swimming is a no impact and challenging workout that is great for people suffering from sports injuries / back problems. If you're a jogger / runner, go for under water sprints to work on your leg strength / speed.

3. Cycling

Rent a bicycle or bring your bicycle from home along to the cottage, and spend a day seeing parts of the cottaging community you may not have had the opportunity to discover by car or foot. Make a day of it by packing healthy snacks, and bringing a friend or family members with you.

4. Canoeing

Paddling a canoe is so Canadian, but it can also be hard work. Paddling can be easy if you want go slowly, but for fun you can also have canoe races and give yourself a challenge.

5. Shoreline Activities

Whether you're building sandcastles, throwing around a football or simply walking the shoreline, being active at the cottage makes the after sunset barbecue and campfire so much more satisfying.

Sitting in the sun all day is tiring, and you're bound to get bored, and overdo the junk food. So get up, be active, and make fitness a part of your cottage plan this summer.

6. Bowfishing

All you need is a fishing license and a bow to try this fun activity. You can get a bowfishing kit from a fishing/hunting store (eg. Bass Pro) or you can make your own bowfishing kit. I recommend you learn how to do archery FIRST before doing bowfishing.

7. Snorkeling

If the water is clear and easy to see through snorkeling is a fun activity to try out. For children who have fears of water snorkeling can also be a way to get around their fears and overcome them.

8. Hiking

Don't forget to take the dog with you. A simple hike into the woods to explore is a great way to exercise, see some beautiful sights and come back with a camera full of memories.

Happy Cottaging!

12 Tips for Weight Loss Maintenance

So you've lost weight? Congratulations! You've completed half of your goal, losing the weight. Now you need to keep it off.

Tip #1. Make lifestyle changes if you want your weight loss to be permanent. Going back to your old routine just isn't going to cut it any more.

Tip #2. Drink lots of water regularly. It keeps your body clean of toxins. Avoid caffeine, nicotine products and alcohol as much as you can. When with friends, stick to one drink if possible.

Tip #3. If you regain weight at some point don't go on a diet, instead change your eating/exercise habits so that you make permanent changes. Fad diets are temporary band-aid solutions. Never go on a diet with food/a plan you KNOW you cannot eat forever!

Tip #4. Take a cooking course. Learning to make more healthy foods at home and expand your knowledge of what you can make and eat will allow you to maintain your diet more easily by having a broader range of healthy food options in your repertoire.

Tip #5. Set a caloric intake maintenance range. Your goal now is to maintain your weight, not to continue losing weight or go back to your old ways. Set a range, practice it for a few months and check your results, and once you know that the range works stick with it. After several months it should already be a habit.

Tip #6. Avoid dining out. Unless it is a special occasion you should not be dining out. Restaurant food / ordering take-out is a very quick way to break your habits - worse if you get into the habit of eating out regularly.

Tip #7. Remember to snack between meals - healthy snacks like fruit, salads, nutty granola bars, etc. This was you won't be overly hungry and binge later. Binging = weight gain.

Tip #8. Keep exercising at least twice per week for 30 minutes. Just because you lost all the weight doesn't mean you should stop exercising. Pick your favourite exercises and keep doing them.

Tip #9. Get involved in more sports that you enjoy doing.

Tip #10. Try new sports or activities that you always wanted to try. eg. Archery, boxing, rock climbing, fencing, snorkeling, windsurfing...

Tip #11. Go outside on dates more often. Regardless of whether you are married or single, dating activities such as picnics, throwing a football around, long walks on the beach - now is your chance to enjoy your new physique.

Tip #12. Get a dog and take the dog for walks twice daily. The dog will keep you healthy and it will give you an excuse to go outside more often.

Again, congratulations on achieving your weight loss goal!

Also I want to note that you should avoid going further and LOSING TOO MUCH WEIGHT. That isn't healthy for you either. What you want to do is to maintain your ideal healthy weight. Not too much and not too little. Below is an example of what happens when someone becomes too obsessed with losing weight and loses too much.

A Good Night's Sleep

Everyone needs a good nap now and then.

Last night I slept really well.

And I know why. I set my alarm clock ahead an hour so it went off at 8 AM instead of my normal 7 AM.

That extra hour of sleep made a world of difference in my opinion.

Now I understand not everyone has the convenience of being able to sleep in an extra hour whenever they want to, being a personal trainer in Toronto most of my clients are not expecting me to meet them for a personal training session until 10 or 11 AM at the earliest. Very rarely do I take on a client who wants a 9 AM workout.

But if you do have the convenience of being able to sleep in an extra hour - and you are currently suffering problems sleeping, I strongly recommend getting that extra hour to see if you can reset your biological clock.

Technically I didn't even wake to the alarm. I got up at 7:40 feeling well rested (and needing to urinate) and then I showered and I am now feeling the best I have felt in a week at least.

I am also a big fan of taking naps / siestas when your schedule permits it. A short 30 to 45 minute nap shortly after lunch is great for boosting your energy levels.

Sleep, as scientists will tell you, is extremely important to your overall health. A good night's sleep keeps you from packing on the pounds (lack of sleep causes people to overeat, especially sugary things, in order to boost energy levels), builds extra muscle (you build / regenerate approx. 80% of your muscle tissue while sleeping), and quality sleep boosts various "happy" hormone levels, which act as painkillers, antidepressants, and increase your metabolism levels so you regenerate damaged tissue faster (eg. fights back against cancer, heals injuries). The boosted metabolism even fights back against aging.

Thus quality sleep makes you slimmer, stronger, happier, healthier and younger.

Good sleep, healthy food, lots of exercise
and you will live a long and healthy life.

What is worse is that fatigue causes your body to start producing hormones that blocks your blood from drawing upon fat reserves for energy. This means that when fatigued you can only get energy from food - which means that exercising while fatigued you are drawing upon only food energy and not stored fat energy. So if you want to be burning fat then you really need to be well-rested before you exercise.

So if you are falling asleep at your desk then clearly you are not getting enough sleep. And if you are trying to lose weight by exercising, then you won't be seeing much results because you will feel fatigued all the time, unenergetic, and exercising without any results.

So if you want to see weight loss results, you need good quality sleep.

See Also

Sleeping Positions and How they Effect your Health

How to Reduce Stress using Exercise, Diet and Sleep

Get Better Sleep and Sleep Healthier

The Importance of Rest Periods

Easy Hangover Cure

So you tied one on last night and now have a hangover?

Well the good news is that there is a hangover cure, and it is a relatively simple cure. Water + Green Vegetables + 1 Hour.

That is it.

Alcohol upsets your body chemistry and makes you dehydrated. Start by drinking a litre of water to counteract the effects of dehydration.

Next make yourself a BIG SALAD. Green vegetables such as lettuce, green peppers, broccoli, etc. Go ahead and add some salad dressing and croutons too if you want, those won't hurt. Feel free to toss some potatoes or red peppers or carrots in there too. The more nutrients (and the more variety of nutrients) the better. [Some people also swear by bananas as a hangover cure, so try experimenting with that too.]

The green vegetables works to detoxify your body and give you some much needed nutrients. You don't have to make it a salad, but making a salad is pretty quick and easy. You could also make a veggie smoothie - which might taste weird, but it will work the same.

For best results drink the water and eat green veggies soon after your bout of drinking, before you go to bed. If you go to bed without drinking at least some water you will wake up in the morning rather dehydrated.

You don't need to drink massive quantities of water or eat a massive salad. 750 - 1000 ml of water will be enough, and approx. two servings worth of salad will be enough.

The last component here is 1 Hour. Within an hour after eating and drinking you will feel dramatically better. Your hangover might not be gone completely, but it will be sharply reduced since you have counteracted the dehydration and toxins in your system.

You can achieve similar results by drinking water and eating a large breakfast. The effect will be slower because most breakfast foods don't do much to counteract toxins.

Myth Busting Caffeine

Large doses of caffeine doesn't really help as much as people think. Strong coffee for example, the water helps a little but it is offset by the caffeine which also dehydrates you. The caffeine will perk you up however, but it is basically just acting as a pain killer.

Thus if you have used a big breakfast plus strong coffee before in the past as a hangover cure, you know it is going to be a slow cure. It will work but if you want faster results plain water and green veggies will rehydrate you and get rid of the toxins faster.