Thursday, July 9, 2009
Lean and Fat Mass Assessments
Monday, June 22, 2009
Get Some Exercise to Improve your Mood!
I was just reading the following -
Study after study has found that physical activity can boost mood, says Cook. How much? You don’t need to run marathons to get a benefit. “It seems like half an hour several times a week may be enough,” Cook says. “More than that may not have a further effect on mood. There seems to be a plateau.”The type of exercise you use as a natural depression treatment doesn’t seem to matter. “Your cardiologist might want you getting a lot of aerobic exercise for your heart,” says MacKinnon. “But for your mental health, just getting out and walking can be enough.”
Monday, June 8, 2009
Workout While You Travel
TRAVEL WORKOUT WORKSHOP!
Athletic Club of Bend
June 13, 2009
1) Class Introduction & Safety
a) Names and reasons for taking class
b) Safety considerations – on handouts
i) Band integrity
ii) Band placement
iii) Warm up
2) Warm Up
a) Length - 5 minutes or longer
b) Purpose – increase heart rate and blood flow to muscles, increase range of motion, decrease chances of injuries
c) Type of exercises – Big movements using multiple muscle groups (see handout)
3) Sample Workout # 1
a) 8-10 Exercises, made up of upper body, lower body, and core
b) 2 Sets of 8 to 12 repetitions for each exercise
c) 3 different bands – Xertube and door strap, Xering, and Ultra Toner
4) Example of exercises in Sample Workout # 2 and # 3
5) Create Your Own Workout (as a group and on own)
a) 5 min. Warm Up
b) 8-10 Exercises, made up of upper body, lower body, and core
c) 2 Sets of 8 to 12 repetitions for each exercise
6) Questions and practice exercises
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Summer Fitness
Ah, summer is fast approaching and what a time of year it is in
Summer is the time of year at the Athletic Club where our outdoor activities really pick up. Examine what your exercise options are for going outside with a club or a social network. Having a group of people to workout with that have a common interest or goal can make your workout that much more enjoyable and make you stick with it longer! For example, at the club we are currently taking a lot of fitness classes outside to our courtyard or utilizing the trails that wind around the Club. We just started a Multi-sport training workshop for all levels of fitness. Both members and nonmembers are working out together to train for upcoming summer multi-sport events like the Deschutes Dash or the Pacific Crest Triathlon, duathlons, or running and swim races. Our cycling, bootcamp, and sport conditioning classes are heading outside to breathe fresh air and feel the wind in our face! If training or competing in an event isn’t your thing, you may want to try personal training that is taking place outside. Our outdoor pool is very refreshing and welcoming with many activities to try such as masters swim and a new workshop called “Maximize the Water”, where you learn how to run in water and use aqua equipment to get an efficient and fun workout. Another option at our Club is team building fitness events that can be done with your work group.
Besides having a regular workout scheduled with an established group, you may want to explore the great outdoors alone or with family and friends. After all, summer is the time of year where a lot of travel and exploring takes place … so stay fit while you’re out there!
CAMPING FITNESS
Whether you’re tent or car camping you can stay fit by walking, jogging, or bicycling around the campground. Depending on the campground, you may have some trails nearby that you can use as well. The picnic table at your campsite is a perfect place to work your upper and lower body. For the upper body you can do push-ups (watch out for splinters). To perform the picnic table push-up, place your hands against the edge of the table at shoulder width apart and position your body at a 45 degree angle to the table, keep your body straight as you bend the arms and lower your chest to a distance of 1 inch above the table and then push yourself back up and repeat until you fatigue. You can use the picnic table bench to work the lower body as you use it for a reference point to perform squats. To do the squat, stand about 6 inches away from the bench, reaching your hands out in front of you as a counter balance begin to hinge back with the hips and bend at the knees, lowering yourself into a squat position, just barely tap the bench with your backside and then power yourself back up by pushing through your heels. Do as many as you can to fatigue. Hey – at least you will be staying warm whether you have a campfire or not!
MOUNTAIN FITNESS
So, you’re going for a hike and that will definitely work your legs and your heart! If you want, you can make the workout more intense by quickening the pace or by using poles. Using poles allows you to involve your upper body. With the poles you can move with quicker, smaller steps and really get the arms pumping which will also get the heart pumping. Poles are great for reducing stress on the knees and distributing your body weight more evenly. Poles or no poles, try power walking intervals as you hike. To power walk, take bold strong steps and power swing the arms as you go and then slow down and recover as needed. Make it a point to repeat the intervals again and again. Don’t forget plenty of food and water!
Whether lakeside or poolside you can do a full body workout by swimming or moving your body with purpose through the resistance of the water. If you’re poolside work your heart and muscular endurance by walking or jogging the perimeter of the pool or try treading water in the deep end. You can work muscles further by submerging yourself neck down and really pushing and pulling the water as you perform arm flies forward and back. You can also perform jumping jacks (arms stay submerged), leg raises in all directions, arm circles, and many other body movements against the water resistance. Be creative and come up with moves that make you feel good and strong. If you are lakeside you can have a lot of fun exploring with a pair of goggles. You can try swimming with fins or a kick board. If you have a boat of some sort, set a distance to swim from the boat and back and if you have to row or paddle, you can always work on intervals by picking up the pace now and again. Depending on your surroundings, lakeside may be a great place for some stretching, deep breathing and meditation all of which, help soothe the neuromuscular system and promote recovery from your workouts.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Do you have wellness at work?
What is wellness and why is it important at work? The National Wellness Association defines wellness as "an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence." That is something worth pursuing at a time when we need it more than ever for ourselves, our businesses and our community. Improving wellness can have a very positive effect on how we feel about ourselves and our lives.
Physical health is a component that we most often associate with wellness and it is the aspect that I will focus on the most. However, wellness is actually much broader than just physical health. Six interrelated aspects of human life are commonly known to comprise wellness and they are; emotional, intellectual, occupational, social, spiritual, and physical well-being. The more positive outlook you and your work associates have in all six categories, the more likely you are to experience personal and professional success. It is a proven fact that a high degree of wellness at work translates to many measureable characteristics of successful companies. “Well” companies show reduced absenteeism, improved productivity, reduction in health care costs and injuries, and improved employee morale and retention. Here are just a few examples taken from the research.
Reduced Absenteeism - reports show that healthier employees spend fewer days away from work due to illness, saving a company thousands and even millions of dollars on down time and temporary help.
· To prevent back injuries among its employees, a county in California offered classes and fitness training to all its workers. As a result, there was a significant decrease in sick days related to back injuries, producing a net cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.79.WELCOA – 1999
Reduced Health Care Costs - preventable illness makes up approximately 70% of the total costs of illness and because much of these costs are linked to health habits, it is possible for us as individuals and our companies to take action toward reducing health care utilization and costs.
A 1992 analysis of the employees of GE Aircraft showed that medical claims submitted by the company's fitness center members decreased by 27%, while claims made by non-members actually rose by 17%.
Worksite Health Promotion Economics, 1995
Cianbro, a general contracting company based in Maine, has shown that employees who participate in it’s Healthy Lifestyle Program have seen a substantial reduction in inactivity (those who do not participate in at least 30 minutes of activity per day), obesity, stress, tobacco use, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
WELCOA – 2006
Improved Productivity and Morale - Although not as easy to measure as a reduction in healthcare costs, improved employee productivity and morale can have a considerable impact on your business and its profitability.
Union Pacific Railroad found that 80% of its workers believed that the company's exercise program helped to increase their productivity and that 75% felt that regular exercise was helping them to concentrate better at work.Incentive, June 1995
An ideal “Well” worksite allows employees opportunities to improve their wellness and one easily accessible component to begin with is physical fitness. As you can see from the examples above participation in physical fitness can lead to benefits much broader than physical results. So, what are some activities that you or your company can do to increase participation in physical fitness and how can you be a catalyst for change? Here are some ideas:
Walk at your lunch hour by yourself or with a co-worker
Join a gym alone or with a family member or friend
Put an incentive program in place to inspire employees to exercise
Organize a fitness outing or teambuilding event for your worksite
Seek out organizations that specialize in corporate wellness or physical fitness training
Form a wellness committee at work
Sign up for fitness events as a staff (fun runs, Pole Pedal Paddle, etc…)
You may even think of more ideas than I’ve listed here and I hope that implementing them is something that you can do immediately so that you and your company can reap the many benefits of improved wellness in your workplace. Good luck with pursuing wellness and making your company a better place.
The Athletic Club of Bend offers Fitness Teambuilding for organizations and Corporate Fitness Training and Education. Find out more by contacting Fitness Director Jenny Anderson at 541-322-5821.
Sources:
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2951/Defining-Health-Wellness.html
http://www.welcoa.org/
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
WIN $100. with the BOD POD!
Posts
