Fitness & Wellness

If you’re into fitness, you’re probably always interested in new exercise trends and the latest gadgets to make your workout better or at least more interesting. You’ll find many of the new trends aren’t really new, but recycled trends of the past. That’s because they aren’t a fad, but really work to help you get into shape faster than you thought possible. You’ll probably recognize many of these trends and may even be doing some of them. If they’re new to you, it’s time to get on the bandwagon and give a few of them a try.

HIIT is one of the more popular fitness trends.

It’s been around for a while, but has surged in popularity because HIIT—high intensity interval training—really works. Not only does it burn off pounds quickly, you don’t have to workout as long to get the same benefits of traditional workouts. That’s one of the reasons we use it here. HIIT combines a burst of maximum-effort for about 20 to 90 seconds, followed by a low-intensity recovery period, then you go back to maximum effort. As you improve, the length of recovery shortens or the high-intensity period grows longer.

Group training is becoming even more popular.

Not only does group training provide a lower cost method of getting the services of a personal trainer, it’s actually more fun. People in the group often provide a great deal of support for one another and you’ll often hear grunts and groans mixed with words of encouragement. While there are many types of training where you work in a group, not all group training is alike. When you work with a personal trainer, each person has his or her own goals, so nobody feels left behind or bored. Group training often provides far more motivation to continue than you’d get working out on your own.

Strength training has come into its own.

Sure, you still have cardio lovers that spend the entire morning on a stationary bike or run miles through the neighborhood, but strength training has become far more popular because of all the benefits it provides. When you do specific types of strength training, you can get a cardio workout and some flexibility training in the process. It boosts the metabolism by building muscle mass, which also slows the age related atrophy of that mass that can affect the heart and bones. Strength training is more popular with women, now that everyone realizes it won’t bulk them up, but will help them lose weight.

• You can’t bring up new trends without mentioning the wearable technology that tracks heartbeat, steps and other fitness related information. Even fitness clothing has gone high tech with new fabrics and designs.
• Bodyweight training has come back into the world of fitness with full force. It doesn’t require any equipment and can be done anywhere, even on the beach at sunrise.
• Personal trainers that provide both exercise and dietary information are now more popular than ever. People are often lost when it comes to fitness and healthy eating and trainers are a good source of information.
• Senior fitness programs now are gaining in popularity. Part of the reason is the increasing number of seniors, but the bulk of the reason is the information on how staying fit can prolong life and improve quality.

There’s a lot of talk about eating organic to avoid the pesticides found in food. That can be quite expensive. Your job is made a lot simpler if you follow the USDA findings and particularly easy if you simply go to the Environmental Working Group—EWG for this year’s list of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15. The EWG uses the information from the USDA testing to identify fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticide residue and the least.

Just washing the fruit or vegetable may not be enough.

The samples are taken from the grocery and include produce grown in traditional manners. In some cases, even after a thorough wash and sometimes peel, the fruit or vegetable still has high levels of the 230 pesticides and residue tested for by the USDA. These veggies and fruits make the Dirty Dozen list. Some fruits and vegetables show almost no pesticides, so they make it to the Clean 15 list.

Should you be concerned?

You’re not as small as a bug, so even though pesticides are used to kill insects, will they affect your health? Probably not if you only ate a tiny bit throughout your lifetime, but that’s often not the case. If you’re eating healthy and enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, you’re bound to have more than a bit in your system. Numerous studies show that pesticides can contribute to a predisposition for conditions like cancer, nervous system disorders, hormone disruption and brain disorders. Women eating two or more servings of fruits and veggies high in pesticides reduce the changes of a successful pregnancy by as much as 26 percent.

One of the benefits of the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list is to save you money.

Besides showing how ridden with pesticides some fruits and vegetables are, identifying the foods on both lists can be a real money saver. It means you don’t have to buy everything organic, especially foods on the Clean 15 list that have minimal if any pesticides. These foods often have a thick skin, like avocados or are their own natural protectors and didn’t need pesticides, such as onions. Fruits and veggies on the clean 15 list include onions, avocado, sweet corn, cabbage, pineapple, papaya, asparagus, eggplant, mangoes, honeydew and cantaloupe melons, kiwis, frozen sweet peas, broccoli and cauliflower. Save money by buying the traditionally grown variety rather than organic.

Stick with organic for the following fruits and vegetables to avoid pesticides and pesticides residue strawberries, spinach, apples, nectarines, peaches, grapes, pears, celery, potatoes, tomatoes and sweet bell peppers.

• Spinach, the second on the list of the Dirty Dozen, slightly behind strawberries, had 1.8 times the amount of residue from pesticide than any other fruit or vegetable, when judged by weight.
• Tests for pesticides were done AFTER the USDA thoroughly washed the fruits and vegetables.
• While domestic blueberries were high on the list in 2010, they’ve dropped in the amount of pesticides in this year’s list. For a complete list of foods and their contamination, go to the EWG website.
• Lastly, a6 fats to Omega3, contains more CLA—a potent cancer fighter and is higher in nutrients like calcium, magnesium, beta-carotene and Vitamins A, D, C and E.

Your jaw is set, teeth are clenched, you’re going to get this run (you can substitute any exercise you hate for this one) out of the way. You’re going to do it! You’ve got your shoes on and are ready to head out the door. The telephone rings. Thank heavens, it’s Aunt Bessie. She talks forever. All your plans for that workout today are out the window as you sit nodding on the phone, listening to the latest scoop. If you find this scenario typical of your plans to exercise, you’re doing it wrong. You need to make fitness fun or even the best laid plans will fly out the window and you’ll be right back where you started.

Group exercising is often more fun that working out alone.

You knew I was going to mention this at some point, didn’t you? As a personal trainer, I love helping people and getting them excited about exercising again. Not only do I provide a varied routine that will keep their heads in the game, I also track their progress and record their goals, so they have something to shoot for and a way to know if they’ve reached that goal. Seriously, just making a goal and tracking your progress is a huge way to make the workout more fun. Varying it, of course, takes the monotony out of it.

There’s no doubt about it, if you workout with a group, you’re more likely to go. First, the group becomes your conscience and holds you accountable because

they know when you’ve skipped a session. Most importantly, it’s just more fun with a group. There’s loads of comradery and if you’re working out with a personal trainer, nobody feels left behind or bored. Consider a group boot camp or other type of sessions.

Do active things you enjoy as part of your workout program.

If you’d rather clean the toilet or scrub each tile in the kitchen by hand, rather than doing your workout, you need to change that workout—even if it’s only one or two days a week. Riding bikes, hula hooping, rock climbing or taking a hike with the kids could be an alternative and break the monotony of doing the same old thing. A night out dancing, where you dance to all the fast songs, not just the slow ones, is more than just fun, it’s great exercise too.

Consider working with a personal trainer.

• Put on music and headphones and make your workout serve two purposes. Dance your way through household chores going at top speed. You’ll have a good workout and a super clean home.
• Break your workout up to shorter sessions and do them throughout the day. Getting three fifteen minute workouts will do you as much good as one 45 minute one and they could be a great way to break the monotony or stress from other things in your day.
• Find ways to squeeze extra “fit moments” into your day. Do exercises during commercials if you’re watching TV or jog in place while you’re waiting for that super slow download on the laptop. Use the stairs rather than the elevator at work for added exercise.
• Learn something new or try a challenge. Whether you want to learn how to use battle ropes or kettlebells, it’s the fact it’s new that will hold your interest. You can also challenge a friend to a workout contest based on the amount of improvement each shows or the weight lost.

If you want to lose weight, learning how to simply cut out junk food is the first place to start. Almost everyone knows what junk food is. It’s those sugary snacks close to the checkout counter, the salty crisp chips piled high in a prominent place in the store and foods in the frozen food department, bakery and even in the soft drink area, although most people fail to identify soft drinks as food. They’re all empty calories that are specifically created to tickle our taste buds with just the right blend of sugar, salt and flavors that make us want more. Junk food may contain ingredients that actually make you hungrier and can cause weight gain.

Switch to whole foods and those less processed.

Whole foods are foods closest to their natural state, such as fresh vegetables and fruits. If you read the label and there’s more than just two or three ingredients, it’s probably highly processed. You can create your own treats like trail mix, by purchasing bulk items such as nuts and seed, with a bit of dried fruit for the sugar. Other treats can include raw veggies and healthy dip or sliced fresh fruits with a bit of nut butter on the slices. Have them ready for those times you need something sweet and quick.

Create a vision for the eye that won’t create an abundance of calories.

Visual appeal is part of marketing junk foods, but you can use that to your benefit. Did you know that most people like foods that have three colors and three visible ingredients? That trail mix is starting to look a lot better, but a plate with celery, carrots and red pepper slices with a dopple of white dip will do too. Who wouldn’t love cantaloupe, honey dew and watermelon kabobs ready to eat in the refrigerator. When you plan ahead, it helps you stick to your weight loss plans.

Breaking any habit takes at least three weeks.

You can control what you have in your home, so plan ahead and you’ll beat the junk food habit. Create healthy snack menus and make them up ahead of time. Make a grocery list, so you won’t have to “shop,” which can lead to craving and impulse buying. Give yourself at least a month and then identify whether you still have cravings for sweet, salty, fried or other empty calorie foods.

• Know your weaknesses. Is there a time of day you crave certain foods or emotional triggers? Do you crave some foods more than others?
• When you find you have a craving for your favorite junk food, get busy. Even if you have to take a walk or run up and down the stairs, keep your body moving. Grab a healthy snack if it’s real hunger.
• Give up your daily soft drink, even if it’s a diet soft drink. One study showed that diet soda puts extra inches on the waistline. That’s visceral fat, the most dangerous type to your health.
• If you break down and sneak a snack, chew it slowly. Masticate it until there’s no evidence left that it was once whole and don’t take another bite until you swallow it. Eating slower will let you really taste the snack and not just gobble it for the memory of how it tastes. You’ll eat less, the slower you eat.

You were probably raised to believe, or at least heard, that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That’s somewhat true for children. Studies show that the first meal of the day creates the energy for improved cognitive performance and better focus and task performance throughout the day. However, when kids reach the age of 18, it’s a toss up whether a hearty breakfast actually helps the individual and it becomes more a question of personal preference. People whose daily routine causes them to eat later at night often find they aren’t hungry for breakfast. Rule of thumb, if you want to lose weight, pay attention to your hunger pangs. Don’t eat if there aren’t any. However, be ready with a healthy snack for those times you need sustenance.

There are reasons to eat in the morning.

If your workout is in the morning, you’ll want to make sure you have something ready to eat before you continue the day. The same is true for anyone with diabetes or other chronic health conditions. The food doesn’t have to be the farmhouse breakfast of flapjacks, eggs, grits, potatoes and bacon. In fact, that’s probably what you don’t want to eat. You’re not going out to work in the fields, but going to the office. Choose healthy foods and if they aren’t traditional breakfast foods, it’s okay.

A healthy breakfast does provide a good amount of nutrients.

Even though some people can function well without eating a healthy breakfast, that doesn’t mean that a healthy breakfast doesn’t have its benefits. Not only do you get valuable nutrients, they’re spread out throughout the day. This is ideal since it sustains higher blood levels. Even though adults don’t have to perform in school, good cognitive functioning is still important. Breakfast can boost your performance. It also can give a boost to your energy level.

Some studies link a good breakfast to better health.

There are contradictory studies about breakfast, as noted previously. Some of them declare that unless you’re young, you don’t need to eat it. Others link a good breakfast to lower levels of LDL cholesterol—bad cholesterol—to a healthy breakfast. It could be the oatmeal that helps with that. Some show that it helps keep weight in check and lowers the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

• Skipping breakfast can interfere with the fasting and eating cycle of the body. It might make the difference between having the energy to think clearly or have muscle power when you to the most.
• As noted earlier, certain foods, such as oatmeal, that are relegated to breakfast may have benefits no matter when they’re eaten. If you skip breakfast, consider adding them to your diet later in the day.
• While one study showed that eating a breakfast lowered the risk for coronary heart disease by 27%, another showed that a high fat breakfast increased the risk of atherosclerosis. Be careful what you eat.
• Eating breakfast has been linked to weight loss. Effectively, when you eat breakfast, you’re giving your body the sign that you have ample food for the day, so it can burn those calories. Studies show that people who skip breakfast have a higher weight compared to height, even though they eat fewer calories.