Newsletter September 2011

Motivation

The Right Workout For You

All too often we run out of energy or motivation to continue training. It seems that finding an excuse to miss a training session or personal workout is easier than finding sunlight in Phoenix. The countless number of excuses and reasons to neglect our training become as prevalent as 110+ degree heat. So how do we change these excuses and habits into something more productive?

Let’s start with communication. Because Fuzion Fitness provides clients with fantastic trainers, we are prepared to change workouts and ideas to meet your needs – ALL THE TIME, EVERY TIME. If you are not enjoying your workouts (because they are too heavy, too light, or too routine), just let us know. Tell us what you like and what you don’t like – which will change over time (because life changes). The more information you give your trainer, the better she/he will be at designing the perfect workout that sustains motivation. Sometimes compromises will have to be made, however, because trainers also have your goals in mind and have to design something to give you results.

Next, let’s talk about exercise. Think about your preferences: heavy lifting with weight; heavy lifting with bodyweight; heavy lifting with partner resistance; light lifting with vigorous reps; light lifting with dynamic movements; multiple exercises in a circuit; one exercise at a time; timed reps; etc. There are so many different types of exercises and designs to workouts that you should be able to identify those that keep you motivated and those you dread. Pick those that you like and share them with your trainer.

Mix things up with a partner. If you are searching for a partner or a group – have a friend join you and sign up (you both get a discount) or experience a few of our group classes (for all levels). Friendly challenges and competition are great in motivating and encouraging exercise.

Some days are better than others. You will find that some days your trainer can throw anything at you, and you are all about the challenge and then some. Other days you will need to just get through it – we all have such days. Just let your trainer know you need it

 light, more cardio, easier movements, or just plan stretching for a day. Don’t beat yourself up for a down day, which everyone has every once in a while. Utilize these days to encourage your ability to overcome challenges – research has proven that exercise improves attitude, self-esteem, confidence, and can turn negative emotions into positive.

By: John Byron Gassaway, Psy.D.

Poor sleep increases high blood pressure risk

In the study, men with the lowest level of the deeper stages of slumber, known as slow-wave sleep, had an 80 percent higher chance of developing high blood pressure than men with the highest level of this restorative sleep.

The link held regardless of other factors, such as obesity or how long the men slept.

“Reductions in the deepest stage of sleep is specifically associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure,” said Dr. Susan Redline, the Peter C. Farrell Professor of Sleep Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

The study, published in the Aug. 29 online edition of the journal Hypertension, reinforces other research that has linked sleep problems with a raised risk of obesity and cardiovascular problems, among other ills.

Redline evaluated 784 men, average age 75, who were part of the Outcomes of Sleep Disorders in Older Men Study. In 2003-05, the men did not have high blood pressure. Ideally, blood pressure readings should be below 120/80. When they returned for a follow up in 2007-09, the investigators found that 243 men had developed high blood pressure.

The researchers divided the men into four groups, from those with the lowest amount of slow-wave sleep to the highest.

After the researchers took into account age, race, body mass index and other factors, the link between low slow-wave sleep and higher blood pressure held. Even when the researchers took into account sleep-disordered breathing and the length of overall sleep, the link held.

Slow-wave sleep decreases with age, Redline said. “Kids may have 40 percent slow-wave sleep 1/8of total sleep3/8,” she said, but healthy adults, overall, may have only about 25 percent.

In this study, the men averaged 11.2 percent of slow-wave sleep, she said. Those in the lowest of the four groups averaged only 4 percent or less. Other studies have shown that slow-wave sleep is lower in older men than in women.

While the study found an association between slow-wave sleep and high blood pressure, it did not prove a cause-and-effect.

Source: USA Today

By: Fate Byrd

Eating Healthy: 5 food habits to kick 

Like spare change and catchy lyrics, bad eating habits are easy to pick up and nearly impossible to shake. Especially if you’ve practiced them at every meal since you were a kid. To help you overcome your table tics, we’ve rounded up expert advice on how to quit wolfing down your food and sidestep other diet pitfalls. Follow it, and you may end up with a new habit: buying all of your clothes in a smaller size.

1. Rushing Through Your Meal

New habit:Hitting the brakes.In a study, women who were asked to eat quickly consumed more food (and in less time) than those who were told to eat slowly. The reason? When you pace yourself, your brain has more time to register fullness and tell you to stop eating. 

Try this:Count your chews.The women in the study who were told to slow down chewed each bite 15 to 20 times and paused before taking the next bite.     

2. Eating While You Sort Mail, Shop Online… 

New habit: Meditating on your meal.Researchers at the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University studied mealtime multitasking and found that most people underestimate how much they eat by 30 to 50 percent if they’re distracted. 

Try this: Measure your food up front.People are significantly more aware of how much they’re eating when they pay close attention to their serving sizes, says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab. So before you zone out in front of the tube with a plate of stir-fry, scoop out just half a cup of rice rather than piling a heaping mound onto your dish.

3.Eating When You’re Stressed or Bored

New habit:Noshing only when you’re hungry.Having a high-carb snack when you’re feeling anxious will produce a tension-relieving serotonin rush, says Joan Salge Blake, R.D., a nutrition professor at Boston University. Problem is, it will be followed by a blood sugar crash that will leave you craving more.  

Try this:Keep a clear container on your desk.

Every time you resist buying a snack, put money into the box, Blake says. The growing pile of dough will be a reminder that you can overpower those urges. When you have enough money saved, use the cash to splurge on a nonfood reward like a facial or a new bag.  

4.Cleaning Your Plate

New habit: Leaving half of your meal behind.Studies show that when it comes to chowing down, Americans rely on external cues (“Is the plate clean?”) instead of internal ones (“Am I still hungry?”). In his studies, Wansink found that even when he served mushy pasta in watered-down sauce, people still ate every last morsel. To make matters worse, in recent years the average plate size has grown by two inches in diameter.

Try this:Split an entree with your date. Or order appetizer-size portions, or have half of your meal wrapped up before you dig in so you’ll avoid temptation entirely. Research shows that just seeing and smelling food can trigger the release of hormones that make your tummy growl, even if you aren’t actually hungry.  

 5.Always Having Meat As Your Main Course New habit: Using meat as a garnish.Cut back on your carnivorous ways and you’ll cut back on total calories as well. Blake’s rule: Eat twice as much produce as meat at any given meal. (Think veggie stir-fry with a few chicken strips, or a big salad with a small piece of beef.)

Try this:Treat veggies like meat.marinate, season, and grill them-and you can enjoy the same flavors that come with a juicy steak. Or designate one day a week for a meat main course and cut back on the other six.

Source:Women’s Health Magazine