The Fitness Maven

Americans are raised on the athletic shoe as a basic supply without which one cannot engage in physical activity. Arch support, ankle support, and shock absorption are all considered to be necessary, and exercising without them is thought to be dangerous. But of course our bodies have evolved to function without external reinforcement, and our feet are designed to bear our weight all by themselves. Walking and even running barefoot trains all of the little muscles in the foot and ankle region, strengthening them and reducing our dependence on external help. Barefoot exercise also allows a greater range of motion to the foot, which can increase flexibility of that region if performed properly. Especially if you have exercise mats available to reduce the hard impact of a wood or concrete floor, try exercising barefoot for a couple weeks and see how it strengthens you from the knees down!

Did you know that most of the bodily development that results from exercise occurs when you sleep? That’s right, while you’re getting your Z’s your body is rebuilding and strengthening itself. Many exercisers devote time to their workout and even pay attention to their nutrition, but neglect this key component of a healthy lifestyle.

To get a good night’s sleep, avoid using computers and tv’s with bright screens in the evening. Get a book or talk with your family, then have a nice hot drink. A cool, dark room with warm blankets provides a cozy, healthy sleep environment.

Sleep is critical to our physical and mental health, so be sure to get as much as you need!

There used to be just one choice – cotton tees and briefs. But these days a wide variety of styles and materials have exercisers asking which garment is right for their workout?

If you play sports that require padding and other equipment, you want to wear a base layer that will protect you from chafing and allow your prespiration to evaporate. The best choice for this is a snug-fitting synthetic, like under-armor or the many less expensive brands. This type of garment is also very good for wearing under a fleece or sweats in colder weather.

In a hotter climate, you may find a garment that clings to your body unpleasant. In that situation many prefer the classic cotton tee, loose and ventilated.

It’s a fact that the temperature of your food matters. Of course you can get great nutrition from whole grains and vegetables, and sparing meat and dairy products, regardless of temperature. But there are additional benefits to consuming hot foods and, especially, drinks.

The human preference for hot food is universal. Hot foods smell better to us, and taste better too. This is our bodies’ way of letting us know we should prefer them. In addition to their nutritional value, they cleanse the body of impurities and relax our organs and muscles. We all know that pleasure of a nice hot drink, the way it soothes and calms the body.

So be sure to have a hot drink every day, and you’ll feel the difference!

Are you experiencing knee pain when you jog? Before you look at surgery or rehab, check your athletic footwear.

When we run, our knees absorb a substantial amount of the shock from the impact of every step. There is a very big difference between running on a soft surface like dirt or grass (for which we have evolved for millions of years) and running on concrete or pavement, which our bodies are not designed to tolerate.

In order to keep our knees working properly, we need to cushion our stride with good athletic shoes. They don’t need to be fancy or expensive, they just neeed a good shock-absorbing rubber sole. Just like your car’s tires, you want to replace your sneakers every year or so, especially if you run a lot. This ensures that you aren’t running on a cushion that has been compressed and lost its shock absorbent properties.

Your core – the muscles around your stomach, back and chest, is essential to good posture, good looks, and overall good health. It is worked when you move your body in sports and daily activities.

By sitting on an exercise ball, you can wiggle your middle in a way that works all the different core muscle groups in a pleasant, fun motion. It is possible to do this while working or reading, so you can fit it into your busy schedule.

A healthy core means a healthy life, so get on that exercise ball and wiggle it, if only a little bit!

It happens to the best of us. You get on a good exercise program, and then about a month or two into it, you come down with a miserable cold. You are tired and sneezy, and sleep nonstop for a few days. When you come back, you have lost all your energy and it takes a while to get back with the program.

Here’s a radical idea – it may actually be worth exercising when you are sick! Not an aerobic workout that will strain your respiratory system, but at least a light stretching and stressing of all your muscles, to keep them from getting stiff or atrophying. By doing this, at a comfortable level, you can minimize the detrimental effect of the illness on your muscles.

OK, let’s come out and say it – if you want to be healthy you have to part with junk food.

And don’t tell me about ‘healthy’ candy bars, ‘vitamin’ drinks, or ‘organic’ soda.

It’s all marketing and nonsense, so just accept it, OK?

If you want to be healthy, learn to like food that is actually nourishing your body, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and even some meats and dairy products. The more you exercise, the more you can eat, so if you like a big steak, be sure to pump iron and hit the treadmill.

As the great Michael Pollan said: ‘Eat food, mostly plants, not too much’. Everything else is just a distraction.

Aerobic exercise is exercise that works the cardiovascular system – your heart and lungs, which draw oxygen into the body and circulate it through the bloodstream.

Any exercise that makes you winded and out of breath is aerobic.

A good aerobic fitness program is critical to your overall fitness. The body’s level of aerobic fitness has a substantial impact on physical endurance in day to day activities such as walking, carrying heavy items, climbing stairs, and the like. Regular aerobic exercise also influences the body’s metabolic rate, inhibiting accumulation of fat. In sufficient quantity, it can also contribute to weight loss.

Aerobic activity also has a substantial impact on mood – it releases hormones that stimulate a positive state of mind.

To achieve maximal benefit, most exercise physicians recommend that you engage in moderate aerobic exercise for at least ½ hour, three times a week. But recent research findings dispute this widely held belief, and suggest that engaging in more strenuous aerobic activity for shorter periods may achieve similar results.

When selecting an aerobic activity, consider several factors. First, look for an activity that you can participate in regularly. Consistency is important to achieving the benefits of the exercise program. Ideally, make it part of your daily routine, like biking to school or running immediately when you return home from work.

Second, especially if you are older or have a history of joint pain, look for a low-impact exercise. Running on pavement, for instance, jolts the skeletal system with each step and can contribute to bone and joint pain. Smoother motions like cycling and swimming are far better in this regard.

If you choose to run, be sure you wear athletic footwear that provides adequate cushioning, and also do your best to run on gravel, cinder or grass rather than hard pavement. Most of all, choose an aerobic activity you enjoy – you’ll find it much easier to stick with it if it’s fun!

We strain our achilles tendon when we run, jump, and bounce in sports. And an injury there can be career-ending, as any NFL or NBA fan knows all too well.

So what can we do to keep our tendons flexible and healthy? Before exercising, stand about 3 feet from a wall. reach one leg out behind you, keeping the foot flat on the floor, and placing your hands on the wall for balance. Lean your body forward and gently stretch the foot further back.

You will feel mild tension in your achilles tendon. Doing this for about one minute before playing ball will help ensure that your tendon is limber during play.