It’s not shocking to learn that smoking, drinking heavily, poor diet and lack of exercise is devastating to your health, but the level of devastation might be. A recent study that tracked 5,000 British adults for 20 years found that these four common bad health habits, combined, can age a person by up to 12 years! The study was reported in a recent Boston Globe article.
A person is considered to be practicing these bad habits if they smoke cigarettes, drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day for men (two for women), exercise less than two hours per week, and eat fruits and vegetables less than three times a day, the study said.
Another sobering statistic from the study showed that, of the 314 people who had all four unhealthy behaviors, 91 died (29 percent), compared to only 8 percent of those who didn’t practice any of the bad habits.
To learn more about the study, read the article, and let us know what you think: http://ow.ly/1Fg4N
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Challenge Question Answer
For years, we’ve been hearing our members say they don’t want to challenge their muscles by lifting heavier weights because they want to achieve a lean, toned look. So instead, they choose to lift lighter weights and do extra repetitions, thinking it is the best way to get the physique they have been longing for. The fact is, lifting heavier weights only makes you big and bulky if you combine it with a heavy daily calorie consumption.
Multiple studies in the past decade have concluded that challenging your muscles and doing fewer repetitions is the best way to get the lean muscle tone that so many people are looking for (combined with a well-balanced healthy diet, of course).
The New York Times set the record straight last week on this old exercise myth. Read the article and let us know what you think. http://ow.ly/1wDrv
ANSWER: False
Multiple studies in the past decade have concluded that challenging your muscles and doing fewer repetitions is the best way to get the lean muscle tone that so many people are looking for (combined with a well-balanced healthy diet, of course).
The New York Times set the record straight last week on this old exercise myth. Read the article and let us know what you think. http://ow.ly/1wDrv
ANSWER: False
Monday, March 29, 2010
3rd Annual Fitcorp Company Challenge
The 3rd Annual Fitcorp Company Challenge was held at the Boston Racquet Club on Saturday, March 20th. With the defending champions, One Beacon St., walking in with the trophy in-hand, teams were geared up and ready to bring the trophy home to their club!
The Company Challenge was born to bring the entire company of Fitcorp together for an evening of food, games and fun. With busy schedules and other center happenings going on all the time, it is difficult to get together and interact with other Fitcorp peers. The Company Challenge boast games such as sumo wrestling, jousting, ping pong, four square, and an obstacle course, among many others.
The competitive side of everyone always shines through at this event to see which team will prevail in the end. The last event of the night is always a “Spirit Competition” where each club performs a skit in front of the owners to be judged. With tight competition throughout the night, the BRC went into the Spirit Competition in first place. After some great laughs and hysterical mannerisms, Longwood came from behind to pull out the overall victory and walk away with the trophy!
In the end, it was a successful night, with great friends and coworkers. It’s days like these that make a person glad he/she works for Fitcorp.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Interval Training Can Cut Exercise Hours Sharply
By MARIA CHENG
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 25, 2010; 12:28 AM
LONDON - People who complain they have no time to exercise may soon need another excuse.
Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an entire week's workout into less than an hour. Intense exercise regimens, or interval training, was originally developed for Olympic athletes and thought to be too strenuous for normal people.
But in recent years, studies in older people and those with health problems suggest many more people might be able to handle it. If true, that could revolutionize how officials advise people to exercise - and save millions of people hours in the gym every week. It is also a smarter way to exercise, experts say.
"High-intensity interval training is twice as effective as normal exercise," said Jan Helgerud, an exercise expert at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "This is like finding a new pill that works twice as well ... we should immediately throw out the old way of exercising."
Intense interval training means working very hard for a few minutes, with rest periods in between sets. Experts have mostly tested people running or biking, but other sports like rowing or swimming should also work.
Helgerud recommends people try four sessions lasting four minutes each, with three minutes of recovery time in between. Unless you're an elite athlete, it shouldn't be an all-out effort.
"You should be a little out of breath, but you shouldn't have the obvious feeling of exhaustion," Helgerud said.
In Britain and the U.S., officials recommend that people get about two and a half hours each week of moderate exercise.
Helgerud says that time could be slashed dramatically if people did interval training instead. He said officials have been too afraid of recommending intense training, fearing it might be too much for some people.
"I'm much more afraid of people not exercising at all," he said. "Inactivity is what's killing us."
When compared to people on a normal exercise routine, like jogging, research has shown those doing interval training can double their endurance, improve their oxygen use and strength by more than 10 percent, and their speed by at least 5 percent. Even studies in the elderly and in heart patients found they had better oxygen use and fitness after doing interval training.
Still, most studies have been done in young, healthy adults, and experts advise people to consult a doctor before starting any fitness program.
For Adamson Nicholls, a 36-year-old Londoner and martial arts enthusiast, interval training is a way to boost his endurance so he can outlast sparring opponents. "It's a shortcut to explosive fitness," he said, adding the training results in snappier and heavier punches.
Using interval training, Nicholls got into top shape last year in about six weeks, using weekly 45-minute sessions. He estimates the same level would have taken about three months via regular training.
Experts say that's because intense bursts of activity are precisely what the body needs to build stronger muscles. Traditional workouts lasting an hour or more simply don't push the body enough.
"A lot of the (benefits) from exercise are due to a stress response," said Stephen Bailey, a sports sciences expert at the University of Exeter. "If you disturb your muscles, there's an imbalance created and your body will start signaling pathways that result in adjustments."
Bailey said intense bursts of exercise help the body to convert one type of muscle fiber into another type that uses oxygen more efficiently and is capable of exercising a lot longer. Even though interval training only takes a few minutes, its effects last for hours.
"You've exercised at such a high intensity that you're going to create a massive disturbance in your muscles," Bailey said. That creates a higher metabolism for several hours afterward, which the body will bring down by burning fat and carbohydrates.
Helgerud and others predicted that as further studies confirm interval training is safe for wider populations, authorities will include it in their exercise guidelines.
"This is definitely the way forward to save time on your exercise," Nicholls said. "The results are worth it."
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 25, 2010; 12:28 AM
LONDON - People who complain they have no time to exercise may soon need another excuse.
Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an entire week's workout into less than an hour. Intense exercise regimens, or interval training, was originally developed for Olympic athletes and thought to be too strenuous for normal people.
But in recent years, studies in older people and those with health problems suggest many more people might be able to handle it. If true, that could revolutionize how officials advise people to exercise - and save millions of people hours in the gym every week. It is also a smarter way to exercise, experts say.
"High-intensity interval training is twice as effective as normal exercise," said Jan Helgerud, an exercise expert at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "This is like finding a new pill that works twice as well ... we should immediately throw out the old way of exercising."
Intense interval training means working very hard for a few minutes, with rest periods in between sets. Experts have mostly tested people running or biking, but other sports like rowing or swimming should also work.
Helgerud recommends people try four sessions lasting four minutes each, with three minutes of recovery time in between. Unless you're an elite athlete, it shouldn't be an all-out effort.
"You should be a little out of breath, but you shouldn't have the obvious feeling of exhaustion," Helgerud said.
In Britain and the U.S., officials recommend that people get about two and a half hours each week of moderate exercise.
Helgerud says that time could be slashed dramatically if people did interval training instead. He said officials have been too afraid of recommending intense training, fearing it might be too much for some people.
"I'm much more afraid of people not exercising at all," he said. "Inactivity is what's killing us."
When compared to people on a normal exercise routine, like jogging, research has shown those doing interval training can double their endurance, improve their oxygen use and strength by more than 10 percent, and their speed by at least 5 percent. Even studies in the elderly and in heart patients found they had better oxygen use and fitness after doing interval training.
Still, most studies have been done in young, healthy adults, and experts advise people to consult a doctor before starting any fitness program.
For Adamson Nicholls, a 36-year-old Londoner and martial arts enthusiast, interval training is a way to boost his endurance so he can outlast sparring opponents. "It's a shortcut to explosive fitness," he said, adding the training results in snappier and heavier punches.
Using interval training, Nicholls got into top shape last year in about six weeks, using weekly 45-minute sessions. He estimates the same level would have taken about three months via regular training.
Experts say that's because intense bursts of activity are precisely what the body needs to build stronger muscles. Traditional workouts lasting an hour or more simply don't push the body enough.
"A lot of the (benefits) from exercise are due to a stress response," said Stephen Bailey, a sports sciences expert at the University of Exeter. "If you disturb your muscles, there's an imbalance created and your body will start signaling pathways that result in adjustments."
Bailey said intense bursts of exercise help the body to convert one type of muscle fiber into another type that uses oxygen more efficiently and is capable of exercising a lot longer. Even though interval training only takes a few minutes, its effects last for hours.
"You've exercised at such a high intensity that you're going to create a massive disturbance in your muscles," Bailey said. That creates a higher metabolism for several hours afterward, which the body will bring down by burning fat and carbohydrates.
Helgerud and others predicted that as further studies confirm interval training is safe for wider populations, authorities will include it in their exercise guidelines.
"This is definitely the way forward to save time on your exercise," Nicholls said. "The results are worth it."
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Americans Excercising Less In 2009 Than 2008
Though it might seem like Americans are becoming more health conscious every year, we at Fitcorp recently came across some interesting, yet disappointing findings.
Last Friday, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index revealed that Americans (overall) exercised less in 2009 than they did in 2008. While the percentage of Americans who said they exercised for at least one day a week for 30 minutes or more was only down one percentage point for the year (68.1% in 2009, down from 69.1% in 2008), the more troubling statistic came from the year-over-year comparison, which showed it was down from the previous year in 10 out of the 12 months.
With so much evidence today about the mental and physical benefits of getting regular exercise, we at Fitcorp are confused as to why it took a back seat in ’09?
Is this statistic going to be the same this year or are we going to make up the lost ground in 2010?
Read the article and let us know your thoughts: http://ow.ly/YbSa
Last Friday, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index revealed that Americans (overall) exercised less in 2009 than they did in 2008. While the percentage of Americans who said they exercised for at least one day a week for 30 minutes or more was only down one percentage point for the year (68.1% in 2009, down from 69.1% in 2008), the more troubling statistic came from the year-over-year comparison, which showed it was down from the previous year in 10 out of the 12 months.
With so much evidence today about the mental and physical benefits of getting regular exercise, we at Fitcorp are confused as to why it took a back seat in ’09?
Is this statistic going to be the same this year or are we going to make up the lost ground in 2010?
Read the article and let us know your thoughts: http://ow.ly/YbSa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)