November’s Healthy Newsletter

November 2010 , GetInShapeWithDavid.com

The Reason for the Season is Not Excess

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE, www.acefitness.org), the average Thanksgiving dinner is 3,000 calories, with 229 calories from fat.

As we approach the holidays, I don’t expect anyone to act like Charles Barkley – who, when asked how he managed to lose so much weight, responded, “I spit out everything that tasted good.” However, we need to be mindful of portion control, especially during the holidays.

New Studies of Metabolic Syndrome

Disagree with Workout Protocols

Metabolic syndrome is a disease that is indicated by a group of risk factors, including high body fat percentage, isulin resistance, high blood pressure and lipididemia, better known as high cholesterol.

Candidates for this disease generally live sedentary lifestyles. New studies indicate our previous expectations regarding exercise are not sufficient. Experts are beginning to suspect that the old axiom doesn’t quite measure up to fitness: 30 minutes a day, five days a week of exercise is not enough to combat metabolic syndrome for those sitting at a desk eight hours daily.

Here are some tips to help get you moving during the course of the workday:

· Replace your desk chair with a stability ball.

· If there are stairs in the building, take a stair break.

· Walk one or two laps around the office.

From The Independent ( http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-
and-families/health-news/take-a-break-it-could-save-your-life-1872147.html )

A great answer to a great question

Why Hydrate During Winter?

by Phil Wagner, MD, SPARTA Performance Science director

for The Daily News

Drinking water to stay hydrated usually is associated with images of sweltering heat and long bouts of endurance. However, as the rain signals the beginning of fall and the upcoming winter storms, athletes need to stay hydrated to optimize their strength, not just their endurance.

A 2008 study out of the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory examined healthy, resistance-trained males in three states; hydrated, slightly dehydrated (signaled by a loss of 2.5 percent body weight in water), and dehydrated (loss of 5 percent). The study found that the dehydrated individuals had higher levels of cortisol, a hormone that is a marker for stress, and lower levels of testosterone, a hormone responsible for much of the growth in strength and muscle size after exercise. Such detriments were even greater among individuals in the more dehydrated state.

So these trained males' response to lifting weights was normal: an increase in stress hormones, particularly cortisol. This catabolic environment from the stress of exercise is normally balanced by an increase in testosterone, a marker of the anabolic process that allows the body to respond to the stimulus of resistance training. These normal responses were both negatively affected by even a slightly dehydrated condition.

For you power athletes, such as anyone not involved in cross country, you do not need to be drinking water for endurance or cramping. But water will help you reap more benefits from a set of sprints or lifting.

Go ahead: tip your glass of water more often, about half an ounce for every pound of body weight. It is one of the cheapest ways to improve hormone levels without testing positive. For more information, visit SpartaScience.com.

November is Here: And So Is
the 2010 Winter Biggest Loser Contest

This year, the competition is going to be slightly different: I am joining the contest, and the winner has to lose more weight than I do to claim the prize money.

Entry fee is $10, and winner takes all.

The winner will be chosen by greatest percentage of body weight lost. However, if I win, the money, the kitty will be held over to our next contest (which will be next summer).

Beginning weigh-ins will be held Monday, November 8 and Tuesday, November 9. Ending weigh-ins will be Monday, December 20 and Tuesday, December 21.

Contact me for more information.

David Cohen , ACE Certified Personal Trainer & ACE Advanced Health and Fitness Specialist

http://getinshapewithdavid.com , getinshapewithdavid@gmail.com

Tai Chi Demo

Here are two videos for my class that had to absorb the entire Tai Chi form in six weeks. The first video is narrated and shows the movements at a faster speed. The second video shows the movements at regular speed.

I hope these dedicated students continue to practice — and if there are any questions, feel free to contact me.

Here are a few tips as you watch the video:

• Shoulders down, elbows down, knees slightly bent.
• Do not tuck, or lift the chin.
• Breath through your dan tien.
• If you get hung up: relax, focus on your breathing, then continue.

Faster speed, with narration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4JFWp3_QR0

Regular speed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83CGF3gIxL8

Don't Drink the Water

We all know how important it is to stay hydrated while we work out. We rely on water to carry A.T.P. and other nutrients to the working muscles during physical activity.

However, when I go the the water fountain, more times than not, the water is really cold. Although this feels refreshing, it's not necessarily the healthiest way to hydrate.

Cold water takes longer to get absorbed by the body than warm water. So, if you drink from the fountain then feel unwell during your workout, bring water from home that's room temperature. Your workouts will be more comfortable.

Spotting Dumbbell Bench Press Correctly — At the Weight

I constantly see athletes spot dumbbell bench presses incorrectly.

Most people want to spot a dumbbell bench press at the elbows. This is flawed for a few reasons:

• If the weights get dropped from the up position, they can hit your arm, chest or head. This is not good.

• If a lifter is using heavy weights, and a spotter is pushing up at the elbows, the lifter who collapses at the arm risks breaking his/her elbow or the spotter's toe if the weight falls.

When we spot a barbell bench press, we spot at the weight. Why would it be different for dumbbells?

Tune In or Turn Off When Working Out

Last winter, I spent a lot more time in the gym because of the copious amounts of snow and ice on the road.

Normally, I cherish a run in the snow: the powdery quiet, my feet making tracks, the solitude as most people peered out of their windows, wrapped in warmth as I pushed through the icy wind.  Mine would be the only footprints I'd see, especially if I started early.  It was my time to be alone with the entire world.  It was beautiful.

However, I turned to the gym when that bucolic scene turned into two feet of snow piled on roadsides, sidewalks unshoveled and ice covered every conceivable surface. I took my earphones with me and watched way too much "Say Yes to the Dress" and "What Not to Wear."  I even met the Kardashians and, by the time spring rolled around, could tell Kourtney from Khloe.  (Hey, sometimes "Law & Order" just can't be found.)

As the weather warmed, we shot from freezing to blisteringly hot.  Many days I found the heat and humidity simply too much even in the early morning hours.  Other days I convinced myself that it was simply too hot and humid in those early morning hours because I secretly wanted to sleep in.  Additionally, the area I usually run was under heavy construction: sidewalks were closed so pedestrians were diverted to areas with potholes, backhoes and inattentive drivers in unfamiliar terrain.  In short: it was dangerous.

And yet — some days I just have to hit the road.

On those days, I remember why I love to run: it's a chance to be totally free for an hour.  Everyone knows my route, from Police and Fire to Public Works and Utilities, so I can be found in case of a true emergency (as opposed to simple urgency).  (No, I am not that important, but sometimes my work is.)

This hour of solitude allows me to focus further than an arm's length away and watch the squirrels and butterflies — even catch the bright yellow birds that dart among the flowers in the summer.  I hear the sounds of the community: construction, cicadas, fellow athletes. 

As I run, I tell myself stories of my own brilliance, courage and wit (because everything is possible when it happens in my brain).  I sometimes think of nothing, letting my brain process my footfall into the rhythm of a poem or search for a lead for that story that has stumped me for days.

Disconnection should not be among people, but regarding machines.  Tuning into "Cake Boss" can clog my brain from the really important process of thinking and creating.  Don't get me wrong, I have been known to zone with "Bridezilla" (much to the shock and dismay of my husband, who just glances at me from time to time, wondering what happened to his reasonable wife).

More importantly, we need to disconnect from the tidal wave of intel relentlessly pouring into our brains via phone, computer, BlackBerry, iPod.

We all need the humbling realization that a missed phone call is not a tragedy, an e-mail will remain in the inbox until we address it (and, if we're lucky, will have been addressed by someone else in the meantime).  

This helps me realize how I am important to the important people in my life does not depend on the computer that helped me compose this essay — but is a tool that helps us connect when we can.  Only when we disconnect can we truly connect in a way that's meaningful.

— Chris

A Drug Society

We have definitely become a drug society.

My daughter mentioned on Facebook how she was having a tough time sleeping at night. A friend suggested she try melatonin, an over-the-counter supplement that resets our internal clocks. It is used to reduce jet lag and insomnia.

This is exactly what I would have done for a friend with a problem: I would have recommended a solution.

Now that I have said that, here are a few possible side effects of melatonin:

• headaches
• nausea
• depression
• nightmares
• irritability
• abdominal cramps
• dizziness.

There are better ways to fall asleep than just putting drugs in our bodies, such as light meditation for relaxation, warm milk or a walk an hour before bedtime.

It's always better to try natural remedies first before putting drugs in your body.

And word to the wise: don't approach these powerful supplements without first consulting a medical professional. Just because they're "natural," "herbal" or "homeopathic" doesn't mean they're not powerful or that interactions with something as simple as aspirin can't be dangerous.

New Running Shoes: Hype or Magic Bullet?

Someone stopped me in the gym a few days ago to ask me about the new toning shoes on the market.

Can a pair of shoes actually help shape your legs and butt?

A panel of experts put the shoes through their paces for A.C.E., and the bottom line will make you think twice before investing a lot of money in shoes with amazing claims.