Considering a Personal
Trainer?
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If
you are considering hiring a personal trainer, there are a few things
you should keep in mind:
- Make sure the trainer you hire is
certified by a reputable certifying body. The American Council
on Exercise (ACE) and the American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM) are the two most respected organizations in the industry.
- Check with a few of his or her current or
previous clients. Your prospective trainer should be able to
provide you with ample names to contact.
- Be wary of any trainer who begins working
with you without first doing some preliminary work to find out
your current physical condition, your goals, and any physical
issues you may have.
- Be wary of any trainer who tries to sell
you supplements that he or she profits from.
- Try to determine before making a large
commitment if you and your prospective trainer are going to be
compatible. It's not good to have a trainer with a personality
that clashes with yours.
Maybe I can be
of service to you. Check out my website www.grahamfitness.com. Read my
bio and check the testimonials page. Let me know if I can help. You
can call or text me at 803-447-8557 or email tim@grahamfitness.com.
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The New Year is here and you started an exercise program and after
spending an hour or more in the gym for the first time in years, you
could hardly get out of bed the next morning because you were so
sore. What you experienced is known as DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle
Soreness.
When you exercise for the first time in a while or increase the
intensity of your workout or change your workout, you are very likely
to feel soreness, because you have torn microscopic muscle fibers and
some mild inflammation has set in. Between workouts, your muscles
repair themselves and become stronger. Your strength gains actually
come during your rest days, not your workout days. That's why it's
important to take a day off between strength and resistance workouts.
But back to DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is not serious. In
fact, it's a sign that you are working with enough intensity to do
some good. If you continue to do the same workout, you probably won't
get sore unless you increase the intensity significantly. If you
haven't been sore in a while, it's probably time to vary your
workout. As a matter of fact, I make my clients switch their workouts
at least every six weeks. I personally do a different workout every
time I'm in the gym. I work the same muscle groups, but do different
exercises. I do this with some of my clients as well.
Don't confuse soreness with pain. You'll know the difference.
Soreness is okay. Pain is an indication of an injury of some kind. If
you feel pain, don't try to work through it. You may do some real
damage that will prevent any exercise for a while.
Finally, some people experience DOMS more easily and more frequently
than others, just like some people sweat more profusely than others.
More soreness or consistent soreness doesn't necessarily equate to
more efficient workouts, just as no soreness doesn't necessarily mean
you're wasting your time in the gym.
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After running almost every day for 38 years, I'm finally cutting
back. I began running in 1977 when I was 30 years old. I stopped
drinking and smoking that year and resolved to get myself in better
shape. I was 5'7" and weighed 185 pounds, 45 pounds more than I
currently weigh.
I started
running for health, but it soon became an obsession. When I say I ran
almost every day, I'm not exaggerating. There was one stretch of over
six years - over 2000 days - when I literally did not miss one day.
And I was a pretty good runner. I ran sub 7 minute miles through my
40's and 7:30 to 8 minute miles in my 50's. But in the last few
years, my times have slowed considerably. Anymore I'm lucky if I can
break 11 minutes per mile. I've also gone from running 25 to 30 miles
or more a week to less than 15 per week. Still until a couple of
weeks before Christmas I ran 30 minutes a day, five days a week
without fail. That's when I decided to cut back. I won't go into all
the reasons for that decision here, but suffice it to say, I'm 68
years old now, and age takes its toll. And besides, I've logged by a
conservative estimate about 29,000 miles running or almost 10 trips
across the United States, and that's enough.
Don't get me wrong. I'll still run some, including an occasional 5k
race, but I'll walk a lot more. Mostly what I'm doing now is running
and walking. For instance I might run a half mile, then walk a
quarter mile or run six minutes and walk two. Or I might reverse
those numbers. I'll do this for 30 minutes, six days a week and take
one day completely off. If you've been thinking about running for
exercise, this is a good way to start.
Of course, I'll continue to workout with weights as well. Strength
exercise is more important as you age than it is as a
youth. I'll get two to three sessions in the gym a week,
but I'm not trying to impress anyone anymore. The days of bench
pressing my weight are over. As I approach seven decades of life, I'm
just now beginning to learn moderation. A part of me wishes I'd
learned it earlier, but another part of me is glad I didn't.
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More whole grains, less fat. Since the 70's that's been the
nutritional mantra. Yet in the last 40 years as our fat consumption
has dropped, the rates of heart disease and diabetes have doubled.
Something isn't adding up. To complicate matters even more, some
countries like France and Switzerland eat a lot of saturated fat yet
have a very low incidence of heart disease.
So what's going on? Well, as it turns out, our bodies need fat to
function properly - all types of fat except trans fats. Fat builds
stronger bones, helps us sleep better by increasing our serotonin
levels, helps our eyes, skin, and hair, and improves our immune
systems. We used to think saturated fat - the fat in meat and cheese
- increased our cholesterol, but now scientists are discovering it's
just not the case. In fact, we now know that diets rich in saturated
fats don't increase triglyceride levels as much as high carbohydrate
diets.
In some studies, it appears that coconut oil is effective in the
treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients. As for weight
loss, a high fat, low carb diet such as the old Atkins Diet is still
one of the most effective ways to trim the inches from the girth. And
this is coming from someone who was once adamantly opposed to the
Atkins approach.
I can't tell you with certainty that any of this is absolutely true.
Nutritional science changes rapidly. Coffee was once thought to be
bad for the heart, now coffee is almost a health drink. Chocolate was
bad, now dark chocolate is good for you. Red wine is healthy. No it's
not. Do your own research. You'll probably end up as confused and
frustrated as I am. But at least for now, the next time you sit down
to eat a beautiful steak or prime rib, enjoy it without guilt.
I am certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on
Exercise which publishes "Fitness Journal," a magazine
which goes out to its members monthly. Generally, the publication has
a few interesting articles, some of which I've shared in this
newsletter. But one article in this month's issue aggravated me. It
is titled "World Obesity Federation Shares Worrisome News."
I didn't even know there was a World Obesity Federation. I wonder who
funds that.
Anyway, the WOF projects that about 17 percent of the world's
population will be obese by the year 2025. That's about 2.7 billion
people. Their solution to this looming problem? More government
intervention. Here are the ideas that Tim Lobstein, PhD, director of
policy for the WOF, proposes: government regulation of junk-food
advertising aimed at kids, healthier school food options, taxes and
subsidies to make healthy foods cheaper and unhealthy foods more
expensive, and more. I wonder what the "more" encompasses.
Imprisonment of McDonald's franchise owners?
Government intervention will not fix the problem of obesity. People
know why they are getting fatter. They eat too much and they don't
exercise enough. The solution to the obesity problem lies with
personal responsibility, but if people don't want to change their
lifestyles, that's their decision. Why do we have to look for the
government to fix everything that's wrong? It seems to me the more
the government tries to fix, the worse things get. And while I'm
ranting, all you employees of the World Obesity Federation, get a
real job.
It's the season for the common cold. More people get a cold in
January or February than any other months. The reason we are told is
because we are inside more and thus exposed to more germs from other
people who are also inside more. The cold weather has nothing to do
with it according to the experts. Going out in the cold with wet
hair, not wearing a coat on frigid days, and even going barefoot
won't give you a cold.
Colds come from
viruses, and there are hundreds of different varieties. Whenever you
have a cold, you develop an immunity to that particular virus, but
since there are so many, you never become immune to all of them.
Viruses are transmitted by touching something that is contaminated,
such as a doorknob, and then putting your hand to your nose or eyes
which are both breeding grounds for viruses.
Once you have a cold, there's not much you can do but wait it out.
Most colds run their course in seven to ten days. Viruses, unlike
bacterial infections, do not respond to antibiotics, and over the
counter remedies only treat the cold symptoms, not the actual virus.
One thing I can personally recommend is Zicam, which is a zinc
supplement. Anecdotally, these lozenges, which you dissolve in your
mouth, seem to help me, but you must start taking it at the very
first sign of a cold. The zinc supposedly builds up your immune
system which helps reduce the cold's severity. Try it if you like, it
can't hurt unless you are immune to zinc or can't stand the metallic
taste it leaves in your mouth.
One other thing, don't confuse a cold with the flu. Influenza is a
serious ailment which causes high fever and nausea, symptoms not
associated with the common cold. The flu will put you in bed for a
few days. You can usually keep going with a cold.
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If
you want to be part of the fitness in-crowd for 2016, here are some
terms you need to add to your vocabulary:
- AMRAP. As Many Rounds As Possible. You'll
hear this one at CrossFit. Used in a sentence: "Each set is
10 pushups and 20 squats AMRAP-style. The time is 15 minutes.
Now ... GO!"
- Afterburn. Popular at Orangetheory
Fitness, it means a boost in your metabolism that lasts for
hours after your workout is over. Used in a
sentence: "Keep that heart rate up on the rower if you want
the full afterburn."
- Pood. . A Russian unit of weight equal to
about 36 pounds. You might hear this one with kettlebell
junkies. Used in a sentence: "That
dude's a beast. I saw him doing single arm swings with a
two-pood bell."
- Rooster Squad. The group attending the
earliest class of the day. This is trendy at SoulCycle. Used in
a sentence: "I have to hit the sack.
I'm down for the rooster squad tomorrow."
And I leave you
with this quote from one of my clients: "My favorite exercise is
the one between a lunge and a crunch. It's called lunch."
Graham
Fitness
Tim Graham
ACE
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified
Nutrition Specialist
Website:
www.grahamfitness.com
Email:
tim@grahamfitness.com
Phone:
803-447-8557
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Harbison Recreation Center
106 Hillpine Road
Columbia, SC 29212
Phone: 781-2281
The Harbison Rec
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stationary bikes; a 25 meter junior Olympic size indoor heated
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Wolf's Fitness Center
5432 August Road
Lexington, SC 29072
Phone: 356-6400
Wolf's is a total
fitness facility offering some great amenities. There's a huge weight room
featuring free weights and machines. There is a cardio area with
treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, stair steppers, and the
cardio theater. Other
amenities include an indoor walking/running track, sauna, child care
facilities with an attendant, tanning beds, clean locker rooms and
showers, and sports supplements. Prices are very
reasonable and there are no
enrollment fees ever. Wolf's also offers a full slate
of fitness classes including kickboxing and pilates, as well as spinning classes.
Check out their website, www.wolfsfitness.com
for rates and specials.
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