Some people say I want to change the world, but they get burnt out or tired. Today we are going to talk about caring for your whole self. Labor Day just passed which is a day all about working hard. Let's face the facts people if we aren't at our best we aren’t much help to those around us. I'm the family caretaker so I know how stressful helping others can be and I found myself getting burnt out, skipping workouts, indulging in sweets and unhealthy foods, and the list goes on. I never expected so many aspects of my life to be affected but once it was broken down to where I could understand what it was my body needed, I flourished so I want to share my self-care tips with you today.

 First and foremost, we will be talking about three aspects of your health today. Your physical health is defined as the condition of your body, taking into consideration everything from the absence of disease to fitness level. Physical health is critical for overall well-being and can be affected by Lifestyle: diet, level of physical activity, and behavior. Your Mental Health is the condition of being sound mentally and emotionally that is characterized by the absence of mental illness and by adequate adjustment especially as reflected in feeling comfortable about oneself, positive feelings about others, and the ability to meet the demands of daily life. Your Emotional health is an important part of overall health. Emotionally healthy people are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Your physical health is broken down into three basic aspects, good nutrition, a healthy amount of rest and sleep, and exercise. I like to think about our bodies as our temples or our vehicles. The important thing to remember is that you only get one, it's not like the car in your driveway that you can go trade-in. We need to care about ourselves so that we can give the best care for others. This world has turned into a scary place but if we better care for ourselves than we can better care for and about others. This is something you can do in your everyday life to make your community a better place. It doesn't make sense to only care about your arms and not your legs, or your physical health and not your mental or emotional health. It's dangerous, Let's talk about simple ways to care for your physical health. First, you need to know how active you are in order to have a baseline to make improvements on and to set goals. For this task, I have fallen in love with the Forerunner 245 . It's a great product that allows you to track all the vital information you need to know. You can use our compare chart to see what is best for you

Your mental health is an important part of your overall health. Mentally healthy people are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It means you are aware of your emotions. You can deal with them, whether they are positive or negative. Mental health is integral to living a healthy, balanced life. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five Americans experiences mental health issues which translate to more than 40 million adults a year. Our mental health includes our psychological, emotional and social well-being. This means that it impacts how we feel, think and behave each day. Our mental health also contributes to our decision-making process, how we cope with stress and how we relate to others in our lives. I use four main rules a day to recognize where I am mentally and to train myself to better react in a situation. Rule number one, focus your attention on the present moment, two, practice gratitude, three, exercise patience over hurrying to get things done, and last but not least you need to practice accepting what is already happening. With these four rules added to my daily life, I find myself much more aware of my mental health and how I'm feeling.

I know you're probably tired of reading by now but we are going to wrap it up with your emotional health. Your emotional health is your feelings and how you identify and accept those feelings. once you recognize where you are emotionally you will be able to care for yourself in a much healthier manner. Most of us identify our emotional health by the words we use to describe feelings such as happy, sad, scared, stressed, angry ext. The first step in better emotional health is recognizing the validity of your emotional state. We don't always like how we feel but it is of utmost importance that we recognize that it is real and it is there. The next task is figuring out why, why do I feel this way? You can go back to your mental health for that and think about how your thoughts have been and how you have been feeling and why that might be, only you have this answer and we are all different. Last but not least is to remember that feelings are simply words, they do not define us, its how we respond to those feelings that matter. I hope you enjoyed our blog on how to better yourself all around, I know it was a long read but I hope you learned a lot and that you are on you A game very soon.

Remember we are all part of something bigger whether it is a family, work crew, team, school, church, community, etc so if you want to make this world a better place DON'T forget about yourself!!

 

 

If you’re like me, this weather that’s finally arrived has me itching to get out and do something. Whether its lacing up a pair of running shoes and hitting the trails or a running path throughout the neighborhood or getting my bike down from its hangers and taking it out for a spin on the open road or mountain bike trails. All I know is winter seems to be finally behind us and I want to get out and enjoy the sunshine and feel nature hitting me in the face!

If it was a long winter for you and you’re seeking some new ways to exercise outside, why not do so with your significant other? It’s long been known that there are some serious benefits to getting healthy with your partner, including a better maintaining that urge to be active outside by being able to support each other's individual fitness and diet goals. Not to mention that couples that are active together have been shown to be 90% more likely to stick to a routine than if they were going it alone. So, use that enthusiasm that's got you itching to get outside and be more active by encouraging your partner along with you for that ride, jog, even rock-climbing, but do it together and you’re going to increase that feeling of wellbeing two-fold!

Besides, it's a known fact that some outside activities also build strength and stamina, the more you do them and to the greater length that you push your bodies to increase the duration that you're participating together to meet your pre-set goals. 

Endurance: Endurance activities increase your breathing and heart rate. They keep your heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy and improve your overall fitness. Building endurance makes it easier to carry out many of your everyday activities.

Brisk walking or jogging: Getting those running shoes on is always a good feeling. After all, going for a good run is a great way to get your heart pumping and getting the kinks out after being cooped up in your home during the winter months. But as always, you need to work up to last years pace and distance and knowing just how well your doing is important in order to set realistic goals for yourself.

A good way to do this is by monitoring your progress with a good, accurate smartwatch. One equipped with a GPS and heart rate monitor to let you know just how far you’re going and how well your body is reacting to the stress you're putting on it. One good all-around monitor is the Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Watch  It’s a great all-around activity monitor that’s simple and easy to use. It has a built-in GPS function that tracks your distance and allows you to plot your course for repeat runs, or walks. This activity monitor also doubles as a heart rate monitor as well and it’s doing this right on your wrist, no more chest straps are needed. Using Garmin's Elevate wrist heart rate technology. It can keep track of your heart rate when you’re really moving and even at rest, so you know the kind of stress you're putting on yourself. And it has an "All-day” activity tracking capability that counts your steps, calories and intensity minutes and reminds you when to move. And if you desire, it automatically uploads your data to Garmin Connect, where you can see how you’re doing against your friends if you choose to allow them to view your progress.

Yard work (mowing, raking, digging) is another form of outdoor activity that can get your blood pumping while getting your place in order. After all, your yard probably needs a lot of attention if you’ve been stuck inside all winter. Now is the perfect time to get those fall leaves off of the grass, and pick up the fallen branches and sticks and give the yard a rake before you try starting that lawnmower of yours. And if it’s a pull crank, you may just be looking for a little help in yanking on that cord to get it started after its been hibernating like you this past winter season!

No matter what you're looking at doing this spring to get outside and be more active, you also need to remember to provide the fuel your body’s engine is going to need to make all of these things happen. One good form of energy to have on hand is GU Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel.  This smooth, great-tasting gel snack that not only tastes good but also gives you a kick of energy! The perfect fuel for those looking for a snack that can also be a benefit to not only their workouts but provides a boost for those that are working their muscles outside doing routine clean up chores that require hours of work to get the jobs done.

So, you can bet you’re not going to be alone this spring as the sun begins to climb higher in the sky every day, and sets a little bit later each day. Taking advantage of the springtime warmth to get back to being outdoors and active is going to be on everyone’s agenda. The key is to keep your activities in moderation as you build up your body’s stamina and in time you're going to be back up to speed to where you were when the leaves started to drop last fall.  

 

If your gearing up to participate in an endurance event, like a triathlon, or even an Ironman/Woman race. Conditioning your body is only one part of the training exercise. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a large part. But if you don’t have the right kind of fuel ready to burn to get you from point A to point B, well then, you’re not going to hit your mark, heck, you may not even be in shape to finish.

Now that would be a shame if your body is in decent shape to go the distance, but you run out of gas before you crossed that finish line.

Eating, we might as well say it, “Nutrition” is a key factor in every facet of our lives. Even if you’re not pumping iron or racking up hundreds of miles to get yourself ready to compete in that Triathlon race. Eating right can make the difference between your having a good day at work or falling flat when the clock is only showing 2 pm in the afternoon!

As an endurance machine, we sometimes forget that eating well is more than just chowing down on energy bars and salt pills. We all have grown used to taking them along with us on those long runs or bike rides our energy bars  and gels, are great for providing us with that extra boost when we need it, but what are we eating when we are not pounding the pavements, cycling countless miles or swimming those early mornings or late evening laps to condition our bodies?

Keep in mind the mantra of most endurance trainers is that our own general health is the foundation of endurance fitness, and a high-quality diet is essential for general health. Most triathletes struggle to get leaner despite an appetite inflated by heavy training. A high-quality diet is able to satisfy your appetite cravings in a calorically efficient way.

Some simple things to keep in mind as you shop to fill your fridge with what you need to fuel your body's engine are:

Your plate should be overflowing with fruits, vegetables, lean protein and complex carbohydrates

You avoid the urge to binge on junk foods (including large amounts of processed energy bars and gels) Remember, while these are good when your pushing your body out on the road, and the miles are dropping behind you, remember they also have large amounts of sugar and salt that if you’re not exerting energy so they process out of your body, then your only building up a reserve of these nutrients and when not exercising they can turn into fat!

You limit your intake of alcohol to one or two drinks a day and keep caffeine to a minimum.
Supplying your body with enough fuel to burn on training days is important. After all, if there is not enough fuel in your tank, you could possibly end up breaking down muscle as your body looks for areas to draw on for energy.

Make sure you get started with a quality breakfast, between 800 to 1,000 calories, split up between pre-workout, during and after. Your first meal of the day should make up a third to half of your daily calories, to avoid getting tired in the evening and eating too much or too poorly.

Be aware that during the course of your training that if you:
Think about food all the time
Your workouts aren’t enjoyable and don’t feel like quality sessions
Your hunger spikes in the evening

The above can be indicators that you’re not eating enough to supply your body with the energy it needs to perform the tasks you’re asking from it.

On the “Flip-Side”, You’ve hit the right balance when:
Your performance consistently improves
You recover quickly
You crave sweets infrequently (people who say they’re addicted to sugar are really just hungry)

Be aware of when you eat your meals! Even eating high-quality foods, when eaten at the wrong time can cause a problem with your body’s breaking down of the nutrients to turn that food into fuel.

The rule of thumb is:
An athlete should have some sort of nutrition approximately one to three hours before a training session," says Bob Seebohar, sports dietitian, exercise physiologist, and coach at fuel4mance.com. For short and/or high-intensity sessions under two hours, Seebohar says athletes can benefit from teaching the body to rely on fat stores for energy, which requires consuming fewer carbohydrates. For such sessions, he recommends liquid-based nutrition such as a sports drinks . For sessions more than three hours, Seebohar recommends consuming 200 to 300 grams of carbohydrates one to four hours beforehand.

What you eat after a workout:

When those muscles are primed to accept nutrients, matters just as much. The 30 to 60 minutes immediately following long and high-intensity workouts are especially important. Seebohar recommends consuming 1 to 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight and 10 to 25 grams of protein after a workout. Fat, which inhibits carbohydrate absorption, should wait until a few hours later. This is probably the most neglected factor once an athlete gets ready to “Chow-Down” It’s important to eat moderately after you’ve subjected your body to a high-intensity workout or taking part in an endurance event.

Fueling your body well goes beyond eating your fruits and veggies. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, have several important functions in the body, and it’s crucial to give your body the right amount of each.

The percentages of each will vary depending on what type of triathlete you are; an IRONMAN triathlete will need more carbohydrates (the body’s primary energy source) than a short-course triathlete logging fewer training hours. But as a rule of thumb, athletes should aim for getting 45-65 percent of daily calories from carbohydrates, 15-20 percent from protein and 20-35 percent from fat.

Remember, one of the key ways to make sure you're eating properly with the correct number of percentages between, fats, carbs, and proteins is to do the majority of your eating at home!

This way you can cook with the freshest foods, that are low in sodium while containing the good fats that are necessary to maintain that engine you call your body.

Eat Well, Exercise Smart, and most of all, embrace your healthy, fitter way of eating. Your body at the end of your event, with thank you for it!

 

We all know getting a good amount of physical activity into your daily lifestyle is the best thing you can do to keep your body performing the way it was meant to. After all, history provides the necessary facts that man is supposed to work for his food and habitat. Today, naturally, we have advanced to the state in man’s evolution that we no longer need to scavenge, hunt, grow or just plain seek out our daily nourishment. Back in the day, it was not unusual for a person to go a few days without having anything to eat because nothing crossed their paths that they could capture and put it into the group food pot.

Naturally, we can thank our evolvement into the societies that we have today that at least in this country and most others, we have abundant sources of food. But with that evolvement, came the complications that come with living maybe a too easy lifestyle. We’ve gotten fat and lazy.

Well, it’s a known fact that those of us who have decided to change their bodies, getting in better shape by exercising and becoming more physical, can not only see their bodies getting leaner and stronger, but we can now affirm that by doing this you can actually live longer.

Not just because of the benefits you are now enjoying with providing your body with the components of living a healthy life. But there was a study done a few years ago that people that exert themselves with exercise on a regular basis, like runners seem to stop the Telomere length of their chromosomes from shrinking or disappearing. It’s explained like this: Every time your cells replicate, they lose a bit of this protective cap, until the telomeres get so short that the cell can’t replicate properly anymore, which is why telomere length is considered one of the markers of biological age.

The good news is that, starting in around 2010, a series of studies has suggested that endurance exercise preserves telomere length as you get older. For example, a study of endurance runners found that their telomeres were 11 percent longer, corresponding to a 16-year decrease in biological age, than non-running controls. How does that sound to you?

But how much endurance running/exercise do you need to do to stave off the hands of time, or at least slow them down a bit?

Researcher Larry Tucker, of Brigham Young University, published 3 studies on the matter, one of which was submitted earlier this year. Tucker analyzed data from almost 6,000 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, comparing their telomere lengths (as determined during a DNA test) and their self-reported physical activity patterns. Those who exercised did indeed have longer telomeres—but only in the group that exercised the most!

The high-physical-activity group’s cells appear almost nine years younger than the sedentary group’s cells, after adjusting for differences in demographics and lifestyle.

They found that there’s no significant difference in telomere length between the sedentary, low-physical-activity, and moderate-physical groups. To get the benefits, you need to be in the highest third kind of activity. What does that correspond to? Based on the study, Tucker pegs the threshold at around 30 minutes of jogging five days a week for women, and 40 minutes five days a week for men.

Naturally, according to the research provided, they are looking at a good paced run or endurance walk. To keep you on track with the right pace necessary to maintain this new exercise endeavor, a good thing to have with you every step of the way is an accurate Activity Monitor. One that can keep track of your pace, distance and also your heart rate to make sure you are pushing your limits and still performing within a safe limit. One that we like is the Garmin Vivosmart HR+GPS. It not only does all of the above but with it’s GPS capability, you can now get off the beaten paths and make your own trails up the slopes and up and down the valleys and hills to push yourself and not worry about where you end up once you hit those newly found trails.

Another choice that meets with the staff’s high ranking is the Garmin Forerunner 920 XT Multisport GPS Watch Since your going the distance and pushing yourself to the MAX then this sports watch can do everything including measuring your VO2 Max, running dynamics and live tracking. Which keeps track and measures your maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense, or maximal exercise. It is measured as milliliters of oxygen used in one minute per kilogram of body weight.

Along with this research, nutrition consumption was also looked at and it was found that, looking at consumption of nuts and seeds. More is better: Those who consumed about 3 percent of their total energy intake in the form and nuts and seeds were one-year “younger” by telomere length.

And he published a further analysis in Nutrition & Metabolism, this one on the effects of caffeine and coffee. In this case, the results are a little trickier to parse. The short version: Caffeine makes your telomeres shorter (which is bad) but coffee makes them longer (which is good).

There’s previous evidence that caffeine may interfere with DNA repair, which disrupts chromosomes. On the other hand, coffee itself (even decaffeinated) has anti-inflammatory properties that could be beneficial. So which effect wins? That depends on various factors, like how strong your coffee is. But if you keep in mind the advice you’ve heard time and time again, that anything in moderation is ok for you to eat. You can just about live by this statement and enjoy a healthy diet if you keep everything in balance! Naturally, this depends a lot on how you are health-wise, which as you know, before increasing any physical activity or beginning a new nutrition based eating habit, it's best to see your physician and a nutritionist.

In the end, telomere research, though it earned a Nobel Prize in 2009, is still a relatively young field. There’s a long way to go before we can be confident about what telomere length really tells us and how to change or protect it. But for now, it appears that running is a good place to start.

So to end with a phrase made popular years ago, from my favorite sci-fi movie series.

Live long and Prosper,,,, And You can, if, you dial UP your exercise routine a couple of notches!

A refreshing nip in the air and fall foliage all around means that autumn is finally here and in full bloom.  The holidays are right around the corner but so is flu season. If you want to keep healthy over the next few months, consider these helpful tips: Stay active! Being regularly active is an […]