Chris Reid, host of Cityscape on UMFM wanted to talk to me about the latest buzz in health and fitness. This week one of the top stories was about Canadians being told to exercise less.
We're not really going to be told to exercise less; CSEP (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology), will, according to news releases this past week, be presenting their new recommendations for the minimum amount of exercise Canadians need to get a health benefit. Which isn't much.
Children 5 to 17 years old will be pared back from the current 90 minutes per day to 60 minutes of daily physical activity.
Adults 18 to 64 can feel good about only needing 150 minutes over an entire week compared to the current 60 minutes daily of light activity, or 30 minutes daily of moderate intensity activity.
The over age 64 changes are about the same for the 18 to 64 crowd.
The past Handbook for Canada's Physical Activity Guide suggests we don't need much activity to start realizing health benefits, and that starting with a mere 10 minutes walking is all it takes. Which is right of course.
These official guidelines are already quite conservative, and achievable.
The problem is very few people like exercise or see any point to it, so it doesn't really matter how much we minimize the time recommendations for exercise, few will buy into a product that has a poor reputation.
The genius is supposed to be that we align Canadian recommendations with that of the World Health Organizations physical activity recommendations. This should work really well because countries like the US, Australia, and UK, have adopted these lower guidelines, and we can see how well it's working as those countries clearly have the healthiest and fittest populations.
Oh wait, I lost my mind for a moment. Actually those countries each are experiencing the same obesity and reduced physical activity trends we are, if not worse.
So maybe the genius is about putting into reach physical activity recommendations that can be achieved. We've set the bar too high. People are so far away from being physically active for 60 minutes a day that doing so seems like you might as be asked to swim the Channel.
We're better off lowering the bar to only 150 minutes over seven days.
Let me clear something up here. These minutes of "activity" that are being referred to here.. we're not talking about slugging out a high intensity workout in the gym or running 10k up hill with a packsack full of bricks. We're talking about walking. Just walking.
On one hand that shows how dismal we're doing.. Canadians are so physically inactive that from the time we wake to the time we go to bed, most of us don't move our bodies for more than 60 minutes total.
Yikes.
The good news is that being so out of shape it doesn't take much physical activity to produce measurable health benefits.
The recommendations also include flexibility exercises and strengthening exercises. Click on the link to the guide for more info.
I don't think this new deal will work. There should be emphasis on how good it feels to gain the benefits of strength, flexibility, and endurance. Up front and centre we should talk about building excitement towards the rewards of getting more fit and little by little by gradually adding more exercise.
How about something simple like;
"Start easy, add more, feel great".
One phrase imparts the idea of not needing much to get going, but implies there's more to be done, and that it's rewarding to do so.
Already CSEP is fielding questions about the bar being lowered (read this CTV Calgary article in which Silken Laumann, former Olympic rower doesn't show much love for the new standards), which is certainly how this will be perceived by many.
I usually like what CSEP does. I'm not in favour of this latest move though. It's a retreat.
Cris LaBossiere
Strength training and mountain biking. My two favorites
Friday, January 14, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
"No safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke" US Surgeon General report
I used to smoke.
I used to scoff at non-smokers.
"What.. are you too weak to handle it?" If one of those do-gooder non-smokers told me about the risks of smoking I would reply, "hasn't done anything to me yet!" Or the infamous, "So and so smoked until they were 90 years old.. didn't bother them."
Of course these reactionary words from me were simply an expression of denial and my inability to come to grips with the reality of my own ignorance and addiction.
I remember feeling cool and tough looking when I smoked. Or perhaps even sophisticated if I took a drag in just the right way;
The "French inhale"- letting smoke come out of your mouth and be drawn up your nose in two silky streams..
The long hold- holding the smoke in your lungs, then speaking without releasing smoke until you finished your sentence, which concluded with a sigh where you let the smoke out. If you were really good at this you could hold enough smoke in your lungs to allow smoke to percolate out of your mouth on the start of your next sentence. Apparently this advanced smoking technique shows how in control you are.
And who could forget blowing circles? While I never quite mastered this pinnacle of smoking prowess, I was able to blow off a few good "o's" now and then. Impressive.
What a wicked irony wherein the smoker is actually displaying the various ways they can introduce toxic chemicals into their bodies under the guise of modelling self control, intellectual superiority, entertaining party tricks, or perhaps even freedom to choose.
After a while those superficial ego based attachments to smoking wained and I had simply become a habitual smoker. It was part of life (sic). Cigarettes were on the grocery list; milk, eggs, bread, veggies, oh yes, and the other necessity; a pack of smokes.
I would receive as gifts fancy ashtrays or high end lighters with the mechanical action of a finely engineered Porsche manual transmission. My favorite lighter was one from Japan; it looked like a cigarette and held the same dimensions; taking off the filter revealed the flint action. Unwittingly these were all ways of celebrating a deadly habit.
Quitting
Despite the front, inside I always knew that smoking was not a smart decision. Eventually this other me, the non-smoking me, made an increasing presence in my conscious thought. You know the heart beat sound at the beginning of "Dark Side of The Moon", by Pink Floyd? That's how my desire to quit started. Faint, but grew steadily, and finally a huge relief to defeat the beast.
Before success though, I failed many times. I tried cutting down, switching to "light" cigarettes (what a joke those are), and went cold turkey. Then there was the throat infection. It was pretty bad. A doctor told me if I didn't quit right then, the throat infection could take a turn for the worse and become very, very serious.
Go here for the conclusion on how I finally quit smoking.
It's been known for decades that smoking, if you do it long enough, will eventually cause serious health problems. This might give the impression that one has some time to consider their smoking habit.
It's now understood that there is no safe level of cigarette smoke exposure either first or second hand. The chemical constituents of cigarette smoke instantaneously cause cellular damage.
Quitting smoking has immediate benefits.
I can confess that quitting feels really good. Instantly sleep quality improves, cognition improves, energy levels increase, and best of all you don't have that beast of burden dragging you down. Maybe that isn't the real "best of all"; that might best be reserved for the fact that quitting smoking saves your life both physically and emotionally.
If you're a smoker; quit. You'll like it :-)
I used to scoff at non-smokers.
"What.. are you too weak to handle it?" If one of those do-gooder non-smokers told me about the risks of smoking I would reply, "hasn't done anything to me yet!" Or the infamous, "So and so smoked until they were 90 years old.. didn't bother them."
Of course these reactionary words from me were simply an expression of denial and my inability to come to grips with the reality of my own ignorance and addiction.
I remember feeling cool and tough looking when I smoked. Or perhaps even sophisticated if I took a drag in just the right way;
The "French inhale"- letting smoke come out of your mouth and be drawn up your nose in two silky streams..
The long hold- holding the smoke in your lungs, then speaking without releasing smoke until you finished your sentence, which concluded with a sigh where you let the smoke out. If you were really good at this you could hold enough smoke in your lungs to allow smoke to percolate out of your mouth on the start of your next sentence. Apparently this advanced smoking technique shows how in control you are.
And who could forget blowing circles? While I never quite mastered this pinnacle of smoking prowess, I was able to blow off a few good "o's" now and then. Impressive.
What a wicked irony wherein the smoker is actually displaying the various ways they can introduce toxic chemicals into their bodies under the guise of modelling self control, intellectual superiority, entertaining party tricks, or perhaps even freedom to choose.
After a while those superficial ego based attachments to smoking wained and I had simply become a habitual smoker. It was part of life (sic). Cigarettes were on the grocery list; milk, eggs, bread, veggies, oh yes, and the other necessity; a pack of smokes.
I would receive as gifts fancy ashtrays or high end lighters with the mechanical action of a finely engineered Porsche manual transmission. My favorite lighter was one from Japan; it looked like a cigarette and held the same dimensions; taking off the filter revealed the flint action. Unwittingly these were all ways of celebrating a deadly habit.
Quitting
Despite the front, inside I always knew that smoking was not a smart decision. Eventually this other me, the non-smoking me, made an increasing presence in my conscious thought. You know the heart beat sound at the beginning of "Dark Side of The Moon", by Pink Floyd? That's how my desire to quit started. Faint, but grew steadily, and finally a huge relief to defeat the beast.
Before success though, I failed many times. I tried cutting down, switching to "light" cigarettes (what a joke those are), and went cold turkey. Then there was the throat infection. It was pretty bad. A doctor told me if I didn't quit right then, the throat infection could take a turn for the worse and become very, very serious.
Go here for the conclusion on how I finally quit smoking.
It's been known for decades that smoking, if you do it long enough, will eventually cause serious health problems. This might give the impression that one has some time to consider their smoking habit.
It's now understood that there is no safe level of cigarette smoke exposure either first or second hand. The chemical constituents of cigarette smoke instantaneously cause cellular damage.
Quitting smoking has immediate benefits.
I can confess that quitting feels really good. Instantly sleep quality improves, cognition improves, energy levels increase, and best of all you don't have that beast of burden dragging you down. Maybe that isn't the real "best of all"; that might best be reserved for the fact that quitting smoking saves your life both physically and emotionally.
If you're a smoker; quit. You'll like it :-)
Friday, December 31, 2010
New Years Stuff
Are you ready to make a new you this year?
Becoming more fit and healthy is one of the most personally rewarding things we can do for ourselves.
You feel great, your brain works better, you're less likely to get sick, cancer risk reduces significantly, and you live longer. Study Study Study Study
But new years resolutions are often more contrived and misguided with strict regimes rather than well thought out and sincere; after all, what is suddenly so important about getting fit next week that wasn't important last week?
It's easy to convince ourselves that the new year resolution is uniquely important, but that is a simple misdirection that most often doesn't work. Of course if a person happens to make some healthy commitments to themselves at this time of year and follows through for the rest of their lives I think that's great, but the stats say that nearly everyone who get's excited about personal change this time of year will fail in their pursuit before six months passes, often before even a few weeks pass, because of unrealistic goals and expectations.
With Canadians becoming less physically active and more overweight every year from 1981 to 2009, the annual rush for healthy resolutions is clearly not panning out, despite the best of intentions.
Is that a bit of a downer?
Boot camps, crash diets, fad diets, and really hard workouts are the soup de jour, but soon these contrived fancies go sour and back come the old habits.
That's the reality.
So how do we overcome that?
Although only a very small percentage of the population is successful in making the transition to living a healthier lifestyle, the answer is simple.. do what those who succeed are doing.
Research has shown the following are the key ingredients to making it work, and I can personally attest to these values as I have made the transition myself, and over a couple decades of coaching I've seen these traits turn couch potato's into the lean and fit..
Eat a healthy breakfast every day, and don't skip meals. Skipping meals makes you more hungry and you are more likely to overeat later. Also, food is not your enemy, it's not something you want to avoid. Learn to feel rewarded by healthy eating.
Learn how many calories you need to consume and stick to it. Eat less on days you move your body less, eat more when you move more. Go here to learn about how much food you need in a day.
Start with a conservative exercise program; you don't need to get fit fast, you just need to get fit. With regular exercise you're going to get fit anyway so you may as well do it right and get better long term results. Gradually build an exercise routine that you like. Make sure there is a mix of cardiovascular and strength training exercises. We need both. If you're not sure what to do consult a professional.. it's easy to do exercises wrong and limit your results, or worse, get hurt.
Weigh yourself every week, whether or not you're trying to gain or lose weight. Where did those extra pounds come from? Gradual weight gain can go unnoticed for a long time. If you're losing weight keep it safe and avoid losing more than 2 pounds per week as that is a sign of losing muscle and becoming dehydrated. If you notice a weight trend going the wrong way the sooner you catch it the sooner you can correct it. You keep track of your bank account to keep it balanced, same thing goes for your body.. keep track of your weight, and waist girth. If your waist girth is more than 36 in for men and 32 in for woman, the research shows you are in a higher risk category for cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes.
Be honest with yourself; take an inventory of your current value and reward system and ask yourself if it's compatible with healthy living objectives. If it isn't, then practice unlearning feeling rewarded by unhealthy choices, and learning to feel good about healthy choices. We're often trapped by the idea that overeating is fantastic reward, and that exercise is a stupid chore that we labour at. But really, it's being out of energy, weak, inflexible, and overweight that traps us. It really does feel great to be fit and healthy, make it a goal.
How much exercise? That really does depend on the individual. Generally, unless you're already a fit athlete, doing light to moderate activity that doesn't make you feel sore or exhausted is the way to go when starting out. Even one time per week will benefit. Research shows those who exercise around 4-5 days per week have about 40% fewer colds than those who don't exercise.
Keep these basics in mind:
Cardio
One time per week for 30 to 60 minutes will provide a small benefit. Four times per week will provide much more benefit when you can handle it. Walking is a good place to start but walking won't make you fit. Go too hard too soon and you're likely to burn out. Intensity should be high enough to increase breathing rate, but not so high that you're out of breath. Interval training is very effective, but build some base fitness before you add hard or moderate intervals. Each person has their own limits, but it will typically take a couple months of gradually increased intensity during steady state cardio before you're really ready for intervals. You can start with intervals earlier if you have no health risks for high intensity exercise, but more often than not front end loading high intensity into exercise programs causes short term bliss, but also short lived results as people tend to burn out.
Learn to use heart rate monitoring.
Weight training
Again, one time per week will benefit. Two times is better than one, and three can be better than two, but adding a fourth session doesn't seem to provide more benefit than three well done sessions. Three days off between weight training sessions has been shown to be optimal.
Set's and rep's.. One set will provide great benefit when you're starting out. Once technique is good and you're accustom to regular weight training, research shows doing two set's is about 40% better than doing one set. Doing three set's might net you another 5-10% gains greater than with two set's.. but you can get very, very strong with two set's done at a high intensity, once you're ready for the intensity. The common mistake is going too hard too soon. Starting out with light weights you can easily lift 20 to 30 times without feeling exhausted or sore is best (you should feel like you can keep lifting when you stop). As tolerance to weight training increases, push yourself harder.. use a weight heavy enough that you can't lift it more than 20 to 30 times. There are many variations of set's and rep's that work, but typically lighter weight with more reps is a better place to start.
Flexibility
Stretching is very important. Tight muscles cause many biomechanical problems that can lead to poor technique, limit gains, and lead to repetitive strain injury. Stretching after every workout when you're still warm is best. Hold each stretch until you feel 2 - 5 releases (tightness feels like it reduces slightly). Stretching works best if you can have a silent mind, breath slow, and relax.
Self massage/ professional massage
Go here to learn about trigger point massage therapy and you can learn work out those tight spots yourself.
Becoming more fit and healthy is one of the most personally rewarding things we can do for ourselves.
You feel great, your brain works better, you're less likely to get sick, cancer risk reduces significantly, and you live longer. Study Study Study Study
But new years resolutions are often more contrived and misguided with strict regimes rather than well thought out and sincere; after all, what is suddenly so important about getting fit next week that wasn't important last week?
It's easy to convince ourselves that the new year resolution is uniquely important, but that is a simple misdirection that most often doesn't work. Of course if a person happens to make some healthy commitments to themselves at this time of year and follows through for the rest of their lives I think that's great, but the stats say that nearly everyone who get's excited about personal change this time of year will fail in their pursuit before six months passes, often before even a few weeks pass, because of unrealistic goals and expectations.
With Canadians becoming less physically active and more overweight every year from 1981 to 2009, the annual rush for healthy resolutions is clearly not panning out, despite the best of intentions.
Is that a bit of a downer?
Boot camps, crash diets, fad diets, and really hard workouts are the soup de jour, but soon these contrived fancies go sour and back come the old habits.
That's the reality.
So how do we overcome that?
Although only a very small percentage of the population is successful in making the transition to living a healthier lifestyle, the answer is simple.. do what those who succeed are doing.
Research has shown the following are the key ingredients to making it work, and I can personally attest to these values as I have made the transition myself, and over a couple decades of coaching I've seen these traits turn couch potato's into the lean and fit..
Eat a healthy breakfast every day, and don't skip meals. Skipping meals makes you more hungry and you are more likely to overeat later. Also, food is not your enemy, it's not something you want to avoid. Learn to feel rewarded by healthy eating.
Learn how many calories you need to consume and stick to it. Eat less on days you move your body less, eat more when you move more. Go here to learn about how much food you need in a day.
Start with a conservative exercise program; you don't need to get fit fast, you just need to get fit. With regular exercise you're going to get fit anyway so you may as well do it right and get better long term results. Gradually build an exercise routine that you like. Make sure there is a mix of cardiovascular and strength training exercises. We need both. If you're not sure what to do consult a professional.. it's easy to do exercises wrong and limit your results, or worse, get hurt.
Weigh yourself every week, whether or not you're trying to gain or lose weight. Where did those extra pounds come from? Gradual weight gain can go unnoticed for a long time. If you're losing weight keep it safe and avoid losing more than 2 pounds per week as that is a sign of losing muscle and becoming dehydrated. If you notice a weight trend going the wrong way the sooner you catch it the sooner you can correct it. You keep track of your bank account to keep it balanced, same thing goes for your body.. keep track of your weight, and waist girth. If your waist girth is more than 36 in for men and 32 in for woman, the research shows you are in a higher risk category for cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes.
Be honest with yourself; take an inventory of your current value and reward system and ask yourself if it's compatible with healthy living objectives. If it isn't, then practice unlearning feeling rewarded by unhealthy choices, and learning to feel good about healthy choices. We're often trapped by the idea that overeating is fantastic reward, and that exercise is a stupid chore that we labour at. But really, it's being out of energy, weak, inflexible, and overweight that traps us. It really does feel great to be fit and healthy, make it a goal.
How much exercise? That really does depend on the individual. Generally, unless you're already a fit athlete, doing light to moderate activity that doesn't make you feel sore or exhausted is the way to go when starting out. Even one time per week will benefit. Research shows those who exercise around 4-5 days per week have about 40% fewer colds than those who don't exercise.
Keep these basics in mind:
Cardio
One time per week for 30 to 60 minutes will provide a small benefit. Four times per week will provide much more benefit when you can handle it. Walking is a good place to start but walking won't make you fit. Go too hard too soon and you're likely to burn out. Intensity should be high enough to increase breathing rate, but not so high that you're out of breath. Interval training is very effective, but build some base fitness before you add hard or moderate intervals. Each person has their own limits, but it will typically take a couple months of gradually increased intensity during steady state cardio before you're really ready for intervals. You can start with intervals earlier if you have no health risks for high intensity exercise, but more often than not front end loading high intensity into exercise programs causes short term bliss, but also short lived results as people tend to burn out.
Learn to use heart rate monitoring.
Weight training
Again, one time per week will benefit. Two times is better than one, and three can be better than two, but adding a fourth session doesn't seem to provide more benefit than three well done sessions. Three days off between weight training sessions has been shown to be optimal.
Set's and rep's.. One set will provide great benefit when you're starting out. Once technique is good and you're accustom to regular weight training, research shows doing two set's is about 40% better than doing one set. Doing three set's might net you another 5-10% gains greater than with two set's.. but you can get very, very strong with two set's done at a high intensity, once you're ready for the intensity. The common mistake is going too hard too soon. Starting out with light weights you can easily lift 20 to 30 times without feeling exhausted or sore is best (you should feel like you can keep lifting when you stop). As tolerance to weight training increases, push yourself harder.. use a weight heavy enough that you can't lift it more than 20 to 30 times. There are many variations of set's and rep's that work, but typically lighter weight with more reps is a better place to start.
Flexibility
Stretching is very important. Tight muscles cause many biomechanical problems that can lead to poor technique, limit gains, and lead to repetitive strain injury. Stretching after every workout when you're still warm is best. Hold each stretch until you feel 2 - 5 releases (tightness feels like it reduces slightly). Stretching works best if you can have a silent mind, breath slow, and relax.
Self massage/ professional massage
Go here to learn about trigger point massage therapy and you can learn work out those tight spots yourself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)