The Power of Exercise

Exercise: Powering the Body's Energy

Nothing elevates your energy faster and more effectively than exercise. When you exercise, you are not just training your muscles, you are also training your DNA. Amazingly, you can actually change your genetic makeup that you inherited.

Research indicates that with even moderate exercise, your mitochondria ( your cellular energy factories) literally grow in size and efficiency. Basically, the more you move the more energy your body will make.

The human body is similar to a self-winding watch - it's designed to generate more energy when you move. When you activate your muscles, you are revving up the gears of your molecular machinery.

- Oxygen utilization increases and becomes more efficient.
- Sugar (glucose) is better processed.
- Fat burning is increased.
- Brain cells regenerate faster.
- Brain functions improve: memory, problem-solving, concentration and altertness.
- Cardiac and pulmonary functions improve.
- The nervous system shifts toward a calming state ( parasympathetic)
- Your brain releases the "feel good" neurotransmitters - serotonin and endorphins.

The Oxygen Factor:

Oxygen is a crucial raw material of energy production. Exercise increases the oxygen supply to your cells. Exercise enables your lungs to become more efficient at extracting oxygen from air; the heart pumps more blood and blood vessels dilate, which increases oxygen delivery; hemoglobin releases a greater amount of reserved oxygen when body temperatures rise; and over time new capillaries actually grow.

By remaining sedentary, you are virtually suffocating your cells - you are not maximizing your oxygen reserves or energy supply.

The Mind-Body Connection:

What you believe and can conceive - you can achieve. Our body is directed by the mind. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. With exercise, as in all aspects of our life, what begins at an energy level - with thought or intention - translates to the molecular level and then
reverberates throughout the body . Exercise helps to build more efficient energy-building mitochondria; you also train and recruit more muscles to burn more sugar calories for the same amount of effort and produce more enzymes that better metabolize fat. As muscle develops and grows and fat dissipates, your cardiovascular endurance ( stamina) and energy levels rise and guess what, exercise becomes easier.

The Depression Connection:

Moderate exercise, according to many studies, is a powerful, natural anti-depressant. Exercise elevates the same neurotransmitters targeted by antidepressant medications, but without all the side effects, not to mention the cost. Many people suffer from mild forms of depression without realizing it. Regular exercise is the healthiest path to an improved state of mind.

Note: Individuals who have been prescribed antidepressants should not taper or discontinue use without a doctor's supervision.

Keep it Challenging and Stimulating:

It is important to always remember to start easy and gradually build intensity and duration. Always warm up to prepare the body for activity. Build a good strong base of fitness - balancing aerobic, strength (upper/ lower body and core), balance, agility, and flexibility into your training. Then you can introduce new challenges ( sports or new activities) that test your fitness levels. Creativity helps to reduce boredom and chance of injury - this is best accomplished by cross-training ( essentially alternating your workouts and varying the muscles used to perform in those workouts)

The Inner-Athlete:

It is never too late to discover your inner-athlete. Every step you take , every mile you walk, every weight you lift, and every breath you take gives you new energy and life. All of the actions you take today will improve your life for years to come. The key is getting in touch with your inner potential. It starts with a thought and intention. It develops and continues with your commitment and desire to live a healthy life. You can use the power of the mind - such as creative visualization or guided imagery. Seeing yourself as athletic may be one of the most powerful tools you have for actually becoming athletic.

Two keys in successful visualization include - make it detailed and to visualize in the present. Support your visualizations with affirmations ( Ex: I am strong, I am fit, I feel great).

The inner athlete exists within each and every person. The journey begins with self-awareness and self-examination. Make a clear map of the terrain that lies ahead. Make a plan and make sure to strengthen your resolve by creating a strong support network. By getting clear of your goals and the obstacles that block your success you can create a path to reaching your potential - and eventually connecting with your inner athlete.

Wellness Tips for 2009

1. Make A Plan - Reaching short-term goals leads to long-term success. Do a self-assessment that examines your current life and helps you to get clarity on on how your thoughts and beliefs influence your behaviors and actions. Get clear on your strengths and weaknesses and how they play a role in helping you reach your desired goals. It is important to realize that how you live your life today will greatly impact your quality of life for many years to come.

2. Create a Journal - Tracking your activities and decisions helps you to connect with your successes and failures. Charting your achievements and setbacks helps you to move forward and helps establish accountability.

3. Expect some Roadblocks - Not every road is paved smoothly. Have a plan and stick to it. It's normal to encounter boredom or simply lose motivation and interest. Be creative and re-commit to your efforts.

4. Create a Support Network - Workout with a friend(s) or hire a personal trainer. Here again, accountability is helpful in helping you meet your desired goals.

5. Find a New Challenge - Pick up a new sport or activity that interests you.

6. Make Exercise /Training a Priority - It's too easy to push fitness aside and justify other obligations you may have. Organize your workouts as well as your meals into your schedule
(daytimer, PDA, smartphone, etc).

7.Consistency Leads to Results - Like anything in life the more effort you put in the better the results you will achieve. Working out and eating right will help you look, feel and perform better. Once you notice and appreciate these changes - this will help motivate you to maintain your goals and your commitment to healthy living.

Benefits of Exercise:

1. Improved longevity and quality of life - helping reduce the effects of aging.

2. Helps with stress management which directly impacts health and prevention of disease.

3. Improves sleep ( especially deep, restorative REM sleep) - vital to mental health, immune and metabolic function.

4. Key to metabolic function - impacting weight gain and management.

5. Strengthens immune system and helps prevent( or better control) illness and disease such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart disease , cancer, arthritis, dementia, metabolic syndrome, and much more.

6. Increases energy and improves mood and stabilizes mood swings.

7. Improves Brain Function - memory, concentration, alertness, creative thinking, problem solving ( oxygenating the brain and stimulating neural function)

8. Need to incorporate strength training ( upper and lower body and core), aerobic conditioning, balance, agility and flexibility.

Stress Management:

1. Un-managed stress leads to a variety of illnesses and disease.

2. Stress comes in many forms ( job-related, personal, social, financial, health)

3. Type A personalities are particularly vulnerable and often struggle with life- imbalances such as too much work, too little sleep, exercise and play.

4. Exercise , combined with healthy nutrition are critical to managing stress. In addition, the use of relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, yoga, biofeedback, and guided imagery have been proven to significantly reduce the effects of stress.

5. Working out should not be an additional stress in your life. Find something that you enjoy and will maintain. Keep it challenging and stimulating.

Healthy Nutrition:

1. " You are what you eat"

2. Eating right is a mindset. Much like exercise and managing stress - the effort matches the result. Good habits produce good outcomes.

3. Proper nutrition will compliment your fitness training and produce a strong and reslient body.
Together, they will help to prevent the onset of disease - cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke and other degenerative effects of aging.

4. Your body is an amazing machine - but years of abuse and neglect and your body will not support you as you age. It's simple: Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.

Nutritional Facts:

1. Your metabolism will slow 3% each year after the age of 35.

2. The more muscle you build the higher your metabolic function as you age.

3. If you don't build muscle you will add bodyfat.

4. Hydration is essential to your metabolism. Dehydration will not only slow down your metabolism (and fat burning) and digestive functions, it will impact the nervous system
( brain processes and nerve communication), circulatory system ( heart function and blood supply), muscular system( muscle building, tone and strength), and skeletal system ( bone health).

5. Eat 5-6 small meals each day. Frequent small meals boost the metabolism and helps to control hunger.

6. Don't skip meals. Never skip breakfast.

7. Include 25-35 g of fiber each day ( green vegetables, whole grains, beans, oatmeal, fruit).

8. Avoid refined sugars. Never eat carbs alone. Refined sugar and simple carbs trigger insulin release. Insulin takes carbs you eat and converts it to fat. Insulin forces the body to burn only sugar fuel and changes this sugar into fat and cholesterol. Also, overeating any food ( except green veggies) causes a spike in insulin. Basically, in the presence of insulin, you cannot burn fat as fuel. Fiber is a key to buffer and slow the insulin response.

9. Skipping meals and low-calorie diets lead to weight gain. Due to elevated cortisol( also brought on by stress). Cortisol releases stored sugar from your body triggering insulin and causing fat storage.

10. Glucagon ( The fat-burning hormone) - is the opposing hormone to insulin. Insulin takes the sugar you eat converts it to fat. Glucagon takes the stored fat and breaks it down into sugar for fuel , thus fat-burning.

11. Eating more protein and exercise both increase glucagon levels.

12. Minimimize alcohol consumption which impacts fat metabolism and liver function.