Health Habits

Researchers have found that in just 3 short months, a group of inactive men with high blood pressure were able to drastically lower their BP, resting pulse rate and body-fat % by playing soccer.

That’s right – soccer.

In fact, the results were significantly better than results achieved via the typical medical advice on healthy diet & exercise. (link to study)

The researchers found that “a regular game of soccer affects numerous cardiovascular risk factors such as maximal oxygen uptake, heart function, elasticity of the vascular system, blood pressure, cholesterol and fat mass far more than e.g. strength training and just as much if not more than running”.

More than running?

But, isn’t that what soccer is? You run and chase the ball over here…and then you chase the ball over there…etc, etc….

So, why is playing soccer better than just running around a track?

What’s the difference?

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The difference is that soccer is played with other people, and when you play soccer you talk and laugh and compete with those other people.

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And that makes it fun.

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And fun + exercise is better than running on a treadmill while watching Anderson Cooper make his serious “news-man” face.

But, maybe you don’t like soccer. Maybe it’s a little too Euro for your taste.

Doesn’t matter.

Find some physical activity that:

Gets your heart beating, and
You think you may enjoy

Maybe you join a running club, or lift weights with a buddy, or go swimming with the old ladies at the community center, or play softball or volleyball or basketball or play ping pong with nunchucks

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It doesn’t matter what the activity is.

Fun + Exercise = Good for You

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Posted in Exercise, I Wanna Be Healthy, I Wanna Look Great, bodybuilding, fat loss, fitness, fitness - energy system, fitness - strength, obesity, personal trainer, weight loss, working out

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Snake Oil Supplements v.s. Instant Gratification

February 22nd, 2010

How can I lose weight fast?

sigh….you would not believe how often I hear this question.

Sure, it may have taken 10 years to put on all of that extra body-fat, but everyone wants to melt it off in a couple of months.

And that’s why people watch The Biggest Loser (it’s NBC’s highest rated show).

And that’s why people buy Fat Burners.

Because they promise results….very fast, very effective results

But what happens when ordinary folk don’t get the advertised results?

They get mad…and when people get mad in 2010….they sue.

According to the NY Daily Times, “Biggest Loser” celeb trainer Jillian Michaels is being sued over one of her weight-loss supplements.

Kathy Hensley charges that the supplements are made with a “potentially lethal” ingredient, citrus aurantium, which can in rare cases cause heart problems and high blood pressure, according to Us Weekly.

Hensley, who’s suing for less than $5,000, also names the supplements’ maker Thin Care, Basic Research and Walgreens.

Michaels, 36, who calls herself “America’s Toughest Trainer,” told Us Weekly in a statement after the first lawsuit was filed that the claims against her supplements are “entirely without merit.”

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Besides citrus aurantium, the pills contain guarana and coffee bean extract.

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“I stand behind all my products,” Michaels’ statement said.

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ThinCare also responded by saying: “We are confident we will prevail.”

Conclusion

ThinCare is wrong.

No one is going to prevail here.

Not Jillian Michaels
Not ThinCare
Not The Biggest Loser
Not the fans of The Biggest Loser
and not Kathy Hensley

Everyone involved with this mess is a loser.

The Solution….Grow the Hell Up People

You didn’t put the weight on overnight and you’re not going to take it off overnight.

The truth about fat burners is that:

Most of them don’t work
And the ones that do work only work for a short period of time

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So, save your money, read through the Health Habits archives, join the Facebook Group, sign up for online training (shameless plug), toss out the chocolate covered bacon strips and get ready to sweat.

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Teens Just Wanna Have Fun

February 17th, 2010

According to the latest research, emphasising the emotional benefits of exercise is more effective at increasing levels of (teenage) physical activity than highlighting traditional health benefits.

Or, to put it in layman’s terms…

Teens like to do fun stuff
They don’t like to do stuff that is “good for them”

Well….duh!

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But seriously, there is evidence showing that people who believe that physical activity is enjoyable and fun are more likely to engage in sport and exercise.

To test this concept, researchers investigated whether highlighting the emotional benefits of sport and exercise to young people increased their levels of physical activity.”

The Study

To test their hypothesis, the researchers sent different types of SMS messages to kids (ages 16-19) encouraging them to “get active”.

Group 1 received messages that highlighted the emotional benefits of physical activity such as ‘Physical activity can make you feel cheerful. What activity will you do today?’ and ‘Physical activity can make you feel more enthusiastic. What activity will you do today?’.

Group 2 received messages that highlighted the physical health benefits of exercise such as ‘Physical activity can help maintain a healthy weight. What activity will you do today?’ and ‘Physical activity can keep your heart healthy. What activity will you do today?’.

Group 3 received a combination of the two messages – emotional one week, practical the next week.

Group 4 was the control group. Their SMS messages contained only the final element of the phrase used in the intervention groups, ‘What activity will you do today?’ for comparability.

Results

Analysis of the results found that the physical activity levels of all 128 participants increased after the two-week intervention by an average 31.5 minutes of moderate activity a week.

Amongst the naturally active kids…

…overall activity a little bit, but none of the 4 text messages stood out as being more effective than the others.

But… in the naturally inactive group, the teenagers who received the texts which highlighted the emotional benefits of exercise performed 120 additional minutes of moderate exercise.

That’s 4x the overall average.

Conclusion

If we (you, me & Michelle Obama) want our teens to get active, get healthy & drop a few pounds, we need to forget about motivating them with logic.

It ain’t gonna work.

We need to motivate with emotion…with fun.

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Any suggestions?

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Online Personal Training

February 16th, 2010

A little over a month ago, I introduced my Health Habits online personal training service….

…and I can’t believe how successful it’s been.

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Each new client has achieved noticeable results (weight loss, strength gains, improved endurance, lower heart rate and blood pressure) after just a few weeks.

I couldn’t be happier….or more relieved.

Because, if I am being completely honest, I have to admit that I was a little bit worried about doing online training.

I was worried that because my online clients wouldn’t be getting the same “hands on” type of attention that my face to face clients get, they might not get the same quality of results.

And, my (slightly overinflated) ego wouldn’t be happy with half-assed training results. I built my training business solely on word of mouth and a mild case of OCD when it comes to designing and implementing training programs.

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Now I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner.

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So, as a thank you to all of the people who already signed up, and because I am unbelievably happy about how things have gone so far, for the remainder of the month, I am offering 3 months of online training for the price of 2 months.

Unfortunately, because I design all of the training programs by hand, I can only take on another 8 clients…sorry.

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3 Months of Online Personal Training – $500….Save $250

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