Brat 2006

[CF-OC_gal]

Kinder, gentler fitness

By JOANNE RICHARD, TORONTO SUN

http://www.ottawasun.com/Lifestyle/2...83732-sun.html


NO PAIN, big gain.
That's the latest fitness buzz from a leading Harvard Medical School doctor who once advocated punishing aerobic exercise as the only route to health and happiness.
Dr. Harvey Simon is recanting. He's altered his fitness gospel. Now he's says it's simple -- no need to even break a sweat to get healthy and live longer.
Simon, who once practised what he preached -- running marathon after marathon for decades -- is now promoting day-to-day activities like housework, gardening and walking. Even golf! "As long as you walk the course," he says.
"The latest scientific studies show conclusively that people can get the full health benefits of exercise with only slight modifications to their daily routine," says Simon, founding member of the Harvard Cardiovascular Health Center. "It doesn't have to take extra time. It doesn't have to be dull. We don't have to work out until we ache!"

CAN LOSE WEIGHT
So, pump up the raking, vacuuming and dusting and add years to your life -- it's all fitness and it all counts, even little chunks at a time.
And don't knock the walk. "Walking is not a distant second best, although that still tends to be the perception," says Simon, adding moderate exercise can produce tremendous benefits, if it's done right, such as shedding pounds, increasing stamina and energy and reducing stress.
People are overwhelmed and discouraged by conflicting recommendations on exercise, says Simon, so he's offering a new approach in his latest book, The No Sweat Exercise Plan: A Simple Way To Lose Weight And Improve Your Health Without Spending Hours In The Gym (McGraw Hill).
"It's written for people who know they need to exercise to look better and improve their health, but who just aren't into heavy workouts," he says.
Forget formal exercise in the gym as the end all and be all -- think bowling, badminton and billiards. Along with nutritional advice, the book offers a point system to measure and maximize the benefits of everyday activities, as well as recreational pursuits.
"You don't have to go from couch potato to marathon runner to be slim and healthy," he says.
Simon has switched gears -- from marathons to moderate exercise.

FEWER ACHES, PAINS
"It's kept me slim, healthy and happy as running did -- and with many fewer aches and pains."
Anita Cotter, 43, is physically fit but rarely hits the gym, and if she does, it's for a stretch class or yoga. The Mississauga mother walks her dog daily and keeps healthy with other day-to-day activities, including parenting three children, keeping up with the household chores and volunteering.
She tried jogging a few years ago but hated it.
"I lead a very active lifestyle and am fortunate that in doing so I am able to keep fit without a regimented exercise routine," she says.
From dog walking and skating to skiing and bowling, "I enjoy the benefits of spending more time with my family and doing things I really enjoy. The summer is busier with cycling, rollerblading, swimming, tennis, mowing the lawn and gardening."
All the little bits add up to big-time gains, Cotter says.
"I often find fitness routines in the gym boring, but I never tire of spending time with my kids being active and cleaning my house ... well, maybe not the cleaning part. Looking after a household of five in itself is an exercise in staying busy."

LITTLE STRAIN, BIG GAIN
- Doing 55 flights of stairs (eight flights a day) a week will lower your death rate by 33%
- Gardening an hour a week lowers your risk of sudden cardiac death by 66%
- Walking 15 km a week results in a 22% lower death rate
- Walking or performing demanding household work lowers heart attack risk by 54% in men and 84% in women
- Spending 2-4 hours a week on light, leisure-time activity lowers mortality rate by 32%
-- Dr. Harvey Simon, Harvard medical doctor

NO SWEAT!
"Cardiometabolic" exercise (CME) is the key to health. Every little bit of physical activity counts, says Dr. Harvey Simon, whether you break a sweat or not. Here's a broad range of daily activities and their CME point value -- aim for 1,000 points a week, or about 150 a day. Losing weight will require more activity.
Activity / Dur.* / Pts.
(*Dur. = time in minutes)
---
Auto repair 30 / 100
Chopping wood 30 / 200
Heavy cleaning 30 / 150
Cooking 30 / 60
Digging 30 / 190
Dusting 30 / 75
Ironing 30 / 0
Doing laundry 30 / 70
Mowing lawn 30 / 145
Having sex 15 / 25
Painting walls 30 / 180
Vacuuming 30 / 115
Raking 30 / 130
Walking 3 mph 30 / 110
Bowling 30 / 100
Ice skating 30 / 180
Jogging 12 min./mile 30 / 200
Yoga 30 / 130
Skiing downhill 30 / 200
Skiing cross-country 30 / 315 Courtesy of The No Sweat Exercise Plan (McGraw Hill)

Hi Brat,

Let me know when you can do my laundry, cook me dinner, and iron my clothes. I'd like to have the satisfaction of knowing that, in some small way, I contributed to your overall health and fitness by creating a "no pain, big gain" kinder, gentler fitness opportunity for you.

[CF-OC_gal]

Originally Posted by pierini

Hi Brat,

Let me know when you can do my laundry, cook me dinner, and iron my clothes. I'd like to have the satisfaction of knowing that, in some small way, I contributed to your overall health and fitness by creating a "no pain, big gain" kinder, gentler fitness opportunity for you.

Oh no, I wouldn't dare take that opportunity away from you for your own health's sake! That would be selfish of me.

I posted that because it supports the notion that you can find any pseudo credible (a Harvard medical doctor) source to support any argument. My parents basically live that sort of "clean basic life". My Dad turned 80 this year and my Mom is only a year behind. The trouble is that although they are suriviving all the major killers (diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer), I don't envy their quality of life. I think for that you need to iron your gym shorts and beat your 5K t-shirt clean on the rocks on the river's edge.

My problem now is that I have discovered that getting up at 5:30 am is good for getting more done than just early morning workouts. That pile of procrastinated bookwork beside my computer is getting the attention its been needing!

[CF-OC_gal]

Today Mon. Mar.13:

Cardio- OUTSIDE 6:45 am (5 deg. C light east wind)
9min run /1 min. walk x 2 + 2min run, total including WU and CD - 35 min.
max HR achieved 162 bpm

I only had one little time out during the second 9 min run. I think I had treadmill-i-tis. I felt really slow outside but I did manage to cover more territory than I thought I would.

In case anyone was thinking I've been slack, weighed down by butter tarts and wine, well not exactly. The running and my work has brought out all kinds of new annoyances in my hips and butt. I get a very painfully tight quad too. I been trying various stretches but it seems the whole area needs long breaks to recoup and get used to this type of exercise. It even interfered with my squat ROM last week. It's running it's course on both sides separately. Today I felt like I had been kicked right square on the centre of my hip but the pain was coming from inside at the joint. I'll just take my time with this.
__________________

[ajarvis]

I'd never think of you being slack. You're too consistent!!

[CF-OC_gal]

From: by Jonny Bowden, MA, CNS http://diet.ivillage.com/issues/itim...,,145t,00.html

Every responsible source in bodybuilding and athletics recommends that you eat after training, and preferably within 45 minutes (maybe up to 60) after a workout. This period, known as the golden hour, is when the muscles absorb the most nutrients and when glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. The actual composition of the post-workout meal is a matter of some debate; for optimal glycogen replacement, most people recommend carbohydrates, but a certain amount of protein (at least 10 percent of the meal) is needed for muscle repair and growth.
I think the above recommendation is a good general guideline for athletes, but for weight management you probably have to go higher in protein and lower in carbs. You don't have to eat a big meal, but you should eat something after training. Lots of people get good results with a small, high-protein shake -- just beware of the extremely high sugar and carb content of juice-based smoothies. Experiment with the amount of food or drink and with the proportions of carbs, protein and fat to find out what works best for you.
Perhaps what the trainers at your gym are trying to emphasize is the need to moderate carbohydrate intake in a weight-loss program. They correctly want to see you become a "better butter burner," that is, someone whose metabolism burns fat faster and more efficiently. That is best accomplished by eating a nutritionally dense, low-calorie diet that offers a balance of protein, high-quality fat and the right kind of carbohydrates. This will keep your hormones balanced and your fat-burning machinery working optimally. I agree that you shouldn't load up on carbs and fat after a workout

From: http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/...sk&msg=10835.1

If you're a high-intensity, daily exerciser of at least 60 minutes per day, try to eat about 1/2 your weight in carbohdyrate and 25% of the carbs in protein. For a 120 pound person, that's 60 grams of carbohdyrate and 15 grams of protein (60 divided by 4 = 15). This is for folks who are burning a lot of energy exercising, aren't focusing on weight loss, but instead are trying to improve their exercise capabilities.

[CF-OC_gal]

....

...the FDA has this health claim:

“Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”
They go on to say that "Types of nuts eligible for this claim are restricted to almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pistachio nuts and walnuts." That's because they have similar nutrition profiles and there's some research done using these types of nuts that shows their benefit in reducing risk of heart disease.
So feel free to substitute hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts for those almonds if you want!

Lynn Grieger, RD, CDE iVillage.com Healthy EAting Expert

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/...sk&msg=10841.6

[CF-OC_gal]

I feel I need to explain things.

I hit another iron "low". It's a bad one this time. I was told that my blood tests were normal last fall so I've been irregular about supps. My bad. I'm in a big slump. I felt it coming on last week, mood swings and all! I'll be so glad when all this is behind me! (I got invited to a meet with the medical specialist - their words - WTF??? )

On the bright side, I'm ready to "rock and roll" again when the body and mind say go!

Sorry, it's cryptic I know!

[.V.]

Brat, sorry you are feeling bad. If my memory serves me correctly I think I remeber what is wrong. You know what helped my wife prevent anemia in the "time before"? Sounds crazy, but prenatal vitamins did the trick. When you see your medical specialist, ask - might be worth the question.

[CF-OC_gal]

I've been on those for 8 years. I let my iron supps slip.

Thanks for the offer.

[.V.]

Well, pooh - Thought there might be something to help. Take those supps and get to feeling better really soon. I know how those "run down, blaah" days go - different reasons of course...take care of yourself.

[CF-OC_gal]

It's a dumb lesson all over again. By the time I realize what it is, it's already at the point it's going to take a couple of weeks to build it back up again.

[CF-OC_gal]

Thanks for sticking by me through this Andy . It was a bad one.
It's weird the way hormones work. I'm super charged to get going again although each time I direct my energy I get wiped! Coincidentally I got a call (finally) for my referral appt. with a specialist. I've been waiting 6 months for the "invitation for a dr's appointment" at this women's clinic! Hopefully they'll give me the treatment I need for this.

Any hoo! I challenged one of our salesmen to a "dip" contest then proceeded to do a couple of partial ROM dips between two boats in the showroom! Surprise surprise! I can still do them if I am not gripping narrow/parallel but in a more V formation. He declined the challenge! Me, I now have found a place to do a little catch-up in this department.

Watch for my return soon. I lost 4 scale lbs overnight this time around. I feel dehydrated and weak as crap. (I do regain the weight when this happens but mostly it's needed fluid weight that's lost)

[.V.]

Hormones can be problems at both ends of the scale - starting out and changing to more mature. I've got a wife at one end and a daughter at the other. A younger daughter just beginning to get moody. Hence my reason for changing from a 40 minute workout plan to a 1.5 hour plan. Then there's the evening cardio - 3.5 hours all by myself with no females.

Hang in there, with the right supps and HRT, it can get better. A few years back, I strongly supported estratest - the one that gives a woman the perfect balance of estrogen and testosterone to make her feel 21 again. Now that I'm not a few years younger anymore, I'm re-thinking my position on that one. It requires a lot of energy and work from the male of the species. But hey, for her health and happiness, we guys sometimes have to be willing to make sacrifices.

Best of luck with the specialist.

[CF-OC_gal]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Hang in there, with the right supps and HRT, it can get better. A few years back, I strongly supported estratest - the one that gives a woman the perfect balance of estrogen and testosterone to make her feel 21 again. Now that I'm not a few years younger anymore, I'm re-thinking my position on that one. It requires a lot of energy and work from the male of the species. But hey, for her health and happiness, we guys sometimes have to be willing to make sacrifices.

Best of luck with the specialist.

Poison!!! Heresy!! Get back!!

I am a non-believer in hormone supplementation. My hormones are already too high. Besides, we have had 2 cases of BC in my immediate family. Any Dr. who would even go there would have their knowledge questioned (unless of course he was male, then he'd be considered an expert on females - the creeps!!) I can't even use progesterone cream without have a negative response. I've been wanting a non-invasive surgery for 4 years now but "I'm not in bad enough condition" to be considered yet! It's time for a little drama I think.