Is Your Cardio a Waste of Time?

Happy holidays, clients and friends!

"Any cardiovascular exercise is better than no cardiovascular exercise" is a saying we sometimes hear.

But it accurate?  Is it always better to get something as opposed to nothing?

Exercise physiologist and PPT staff manager Brian Walters expains, "Cardiovascular exercise, like any form of movement, has both its risks and its benefits.  It is important to adhere to a healthy prescription so that you aren't wasting time or putting your body in jeapordy."

But how can cardiovascular exercise waste time?

Long-time director of operations and PPT health coach Val Fiott explains, "Many people choose methods of cardiovascular work that might be healthy for the heart, but that damage the joints.  Running is a great example, as it is often accompanied by an unhealthy dose of stress on the bones and joints, and tends to create muscular imbalances if the right strength & stretching program isn't in place. Elliptical work and swimming are generally safer cardiovascular exercises with less risk of joint and bone damage.  On another note, if the cardiovascular intensity is too low, then the health benefits won't accompany the work."

So, how much is too much? What should we be doing to enhance our health and lose the excess holiday pounds? 

Here are the steps:

• Know your medical history:  Lung obstructions and other pulmonary issues will change the way your cardiovascular system functions, and will thereby change the intensity at which you should be exercising.
• Once we determine an appropriate intensity and length of time for your cardiovascular fitness exercise, it is important to monitor your responses for changes to the plan.  Light-headedness, nausea, joint pain, poor posture, and other issues are reason to modify your program and track what occured and when.
• Regularly monitor your heart rate, breathing and biomechanics. There are usually clinical warning signs that you're either overtraining or undertraining, but they can be easily missed if you're not paying attention to them.

Are you not yet a client of Perfect Personal Training's?  Gain the benefits of regular fitness assessments, clinically-supervised wellness programming, and nutrition plans from a top PPT nutritionist and dietitian.

Happy holidays from all of us!  Let's make 2014 a year of safe and healthy decisions!

5 Physical Losses You Can't Blame On Age

5 Physical Losses

You Can't Blame On Age

 

We've been conditioned to believe that the aging process has to be accompanied by reduced comfort and quality of life.  But, what many consider to be common knowledge is actually an antiquated perception of what the aging process really is. Below are five of the most common complaints surrounding aging and physical loss that don't have to happen if we don't let them!

 

#1.  Arthritis: Let's start with the most prevalent.  As we posted in a recently on this blog, preventing arthritis comes down to having a strong exercise science and nutrition plan in place, providing the joints with just what they need to stay healthy.  Sleep, stress, and hydration also play vital roles, but with a personalized PPT wellness plan in place, your joints' integrities will be well-guarded against arthritic pains.  Generally healthy living isn't quite enough (and often involves decisions that worsen arthritis rather than help it), but a calculated program will protect cartilege and keep the muscle function around them strong.

 

#2.  Dementia:  While this may surprise you, dementia prevention very greatly involves cardiovascular conditioning at the appropriate intensity and duration, a solid nutrition science protocol, and an ACSM-driven strength program.  As with arthritis, sleep quality, sleep quantity, and Additionally, regular massage care and daily flexibility conditioning help to eliminate toxin build-up and improve circulation, keeping the mind healthy.

 

#3. Muscle Loss (Atrophy): No, losing significant muscle tissue is not part of the normal aging process.  While it's true that hormone changes make it more of an effort to sustain muscle, the truth is that most Americans don't adhere to the kind of wellness program that will keep muscles from atrophy.  If you're not yet a PPT client, then your muscles are missing out on helpful opportunities to grow strong and stay strong.

#2.  Bone Loss:  Osteopenia and osteoporosis (also called "brittle bones disease") are costly, painful, and risky to one's health, and are often the precursors to fractures and loss of mobility and quality of life.  They are also barriers to more productive exercise for heart conditioning and other important wellness factors.  What many lose sight of is that loss of bone mineral density is only "normal" because we let it be.  An appropriate strength program, accompanied by proper sleep and nutrition, will prevent bone mineral loss.  PPT's rich history has seen many clients reverse their osteoporotic conditions smoothly and safely, even in their 70s and 80s.  Why risk a fracture when you don't need to?

 

And, of course, we have the big one:

 

#1.  Weight Gain:  Scientifically speaking, storing more body fat is not a normal part of aging physiology.  While our hearts and other organs can't last forever, our muscle-to-fat ratio does not have to change if the right strategy is firmly in place.  Many tend to let their muscle tissue, resting metabolism, and other physical factors deteriorate due to a lifestyle that isn't necessarily "risky" but that isn't very productive either, which slowly gains body fat (usually about one pound per year, on average, for most adults) unnecessarily.  Regular body composition assessments and a clinically-crafted personalized PPT regimen will keep your bodyweight in a healthy range for the rest of your life!

 

There is a lot of information here that we'd like to help you understand on a more precise and personalized basis. Are you not yet a PPT client? It all starts with a free in-home consultation and fitness assessment from a top Perfect Personal Trainer and health coach.  Request yours today at http://perfectpersonaltraining.com/signup.php

See these insightful PPT Videos from our Youtube channel!

Metabolism at Any Age : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDOmwI_ATRo

54-Year Old Weight Loss : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3EYW3_5KiU
In-Home Chair Massage : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ZDbfHH3SE

 

Learn more and purchase your holiday gift certificates at http://perfectpersonaltraining.com

Questions?  Comment below or simply call us at (877)698-3648 ext 0

 

 

 



Find The Motivation! Perfect Personal Trainers Weight In On Staying The Course

We've all heard it 1000 times:  The hardest part is getting started.  The hard work falls into place well once we put our shoes on and get through those first few minutes of our warm-up.

But, this is often easier said than done.  For some, it's easy to find distractions and lose that self-starting drive that is so important to achieving fitness and weight loss.




"Staying the course involves finding and keeping intrinsic motivation," states PPT staff manager Brian Walters.  "When all the social outlets and external voices are no longer driving you, you need to hear your own voice that wants and needs you to succeed.  That, along with the right combination of exercise intensity and strategy, is what brings it home for people."

Client service director Val Fiott had this to add:  "Our most successful clients and the most successful fitness stories of all time all come from the same root:  The subject always remembered the sweet joys of success as well as the feeling of failure.  How do you feel when you stray from your meal plan and see yourself looking and feeling less healthy?  It's not a good feeling, and remembering those downfalls is as important to success as remembering the successes and celebrations. They all shape our drive."

"Measurable short-term goals are a large part of the equation for a fit body and mind," explains Aaron Dunn, longtime Perfect Personal Trainer, scheduling manager and exercise physiologist.  "Unless you have something realistic to shoot for, you're likely to lose sight of what you're working so hard for."

Kinisiologist and PPT weight loss coach Ian Sherman had this to add: "If [an exerciser] fails to see why the program is so crucial for the long-run, he or she will surely quit."

"The key is to help them keep their eye on the prize", confirms Val, "but with attainable benchmarks to remind them, 'you're on the right track, and here is the proof.' These benchmarks are a big part of why we conduct fitness testing.  Clients sometimes feel like their efforts are being tested, but it isn't an assessment of how hard a client is working.  Rather, it helps us, as physiologists, determine how the clinical programmatic pieces need to change and what we need to look for. It also reflects information regarding the psychological factors involved and how we can affect them positively."

In short, these three pieces of advice should help anyone aiming to lose excess bodyfat and achieve fitness success:

(1) One should have a long-term end goal, but short-term benchmarks to also reflect the smaller successes along the way (ie, "lost four pounds in my first three weeks"). 


(2) The program needs to be clinically-sound, preventing injury and physiologically designed to enhance appropriate change
(3) One needs to hear his or her own internal voice and remember how good success feels and how negative it can feel to stray from the plan

Are you not yet a PPT client?  Visit http://perfectpersonaltraining.com and click SIGN UP to request your free in-home consultation and fitness screening.  This will determine risk factors for illness and injury as well as biomechanical advantages

Already involved in a PPT program?  Aside from working with your PPT exercise professional, check in with your assigned health coach often to re-assess and update your nutrition & lifestyle.  This will keep adherence high and identify risks.

5 Natural Arthritis Solutions That WORK!

Too often, we assume that our aches and pains are a permanent byproduct of life, and that as the years take their toll, we're condemned to accept these chronic conditions.

In fact, even some MDs believe that "getting old" is part in parcel with new muscle and joint problems; making the pains greater while our movements lessen every year.

If there is one thing that holistic health science has taught us, it's that the symptoms we accept as "normal aging" are not truly "normal", but rather the results of health opportunities which we have missed along the road of life. We'll address muscle pains and other forms of damage in a future blog posting. Below, however, are the cutting-edge, fitness science ideals, as presented from PPT's clinical wellness team, that you need to know to reverse and prevent the most common form of joint pain:  Osteoarthritis (OA).

OA is the actual breakdown of cartilege (the joint's "cushion"), which often eventually leads to the painful "bone-on-bone" action.  This creates pain through an inflammatory response and through other channels as well.

There Are Five Powerful Corrective Actions:
#1: Give the body (and therefore, the joints) high doses of antioxidants to combat destructive free radicals:
Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of antioxidants, as are zero-calorie over-the-counter supplements such as CoQ10 and Resveratrol. Even more beneficial tend to be many natural compounds such as glucosamine and chondroitin, which are effectively used to rebuild damaged cartilege.  Other effective, zero-calorie solutions are healing herbs such as parsley, astragalus, and boswellia, all of which contain antioxidants that have demonstrated an ability to help damaged & inflamed joints heal.

#2: Build muscular strength, balance & flexibility in the joint's surrounding muscles:
PPT's strength-training programs have a much greater ability to improve muscular structures than exercise classes or less-personalized fitness trainer approaches. The reason is that our resistance and programming selections are particular to clinical norms for the improvement of muscular synergy. For many with arthritis, tight muscles with poor ability to contract properly are putting an unhealthy pressure on the joint. By creating healthier muscle tissue around the damaged joint, there is a greater ability for the lost cartilege to rebuild and to reduce inflammation.

#3: Stimulate the rebuilding of cartilege through well-crafted resistive/strength exercise:
Above, we discussed how having healthier muscles can improve a damaged joint.  But the actual act of strength training, when performed approriately, has its own ability to stimulate cartilege re-growth. The movements must be very natural, and the execution should be against the proper resistance for the proper amount of time, with the proper frequency of occurence. When all variables are correct, the action of strength training will actually improve the integrity and life of the joints that are conditioned.

#4: Hydrate the body throughout the day:
Water plays a vital role.  Consume adequate water throughout the day and rely on foods in your diet that are of a higher water concentration.  Your PPT health coach had specific and personalized answers for you.

#5: Avoid abrasive, impactful movements on your joints:
Many popular exercises and sports involve harmful and aggressive movements that wear down the joints. Conversely, there are smooth, steady movements that improve the joints, as described in #3 above.  Keep your daily activities free of pounding motions. Or, if your favorite sports involve these types of movements (ie, hard running, squash or tennis) then plan to trade some of that athletic time for more constructive, clinically-appropriate exercise. The end result will likely be a more pain-free life of richer, more healthful mobility.

Also Helpful: NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are commonly used to mask symptoms of pain, but these can also have some serious side effects. NSAIDs have been clinically-demonstrated to decrease the protective lining in one's stomach, which can easliy lead to ulcers in some users.  One study found that in the US alone, over 100,000 hospital admissions and more than 16,000 deaths each year are due to intestinal bleeding caused by NSAIDs. We recommend the five natural solutions above as opposed to taking NSAIDs.

If you're not yet a client of PPT's, then find out how personalized & preventive our action plans really are:  Just visit http://perfectpersonaltraining.com and click Sign Up for your free in-home fitness and wellness assessment.

We look forward to your incredible successes!

Are You Eating Right? Take This Test and See!

Is your daily nutrition truly healthy? Take this quick test to see if you're making decisions that will equate to long-term wellness!  Remember, there is always a solution -- our nutritionists are eager to help you get fit and well!

Question #1:

"Is your daily protein intake correct?"

Daily protein intake is essential to healthy eating.  This is the building block of metabolism, muscle function, and postural health throughout the aging process. Your protein intake should be at least 1 gram consumed for every 2 pounds of body weight. For those who exercise at higher intensities and more than three days weekly, this number should be virtually doubled.

Give yourself a point if your daily protein intake is appropriate for you.

Question #2:

"How many servings of fruits or vegetables do you consume on an average day?"

Fruits and vegetables contain anti-oxidants that are essential for healthy immune and cardiovascular systems. Smaller people require 5-6 servings daily, whereas larger people may need as many as 10 servings.

Give yourself a point if you're consuming an appropriate amount of fruits or vegetables on a daily basis!

Question #3:
"Are you appropriately hydrated?"

Hydration is the key to every component of good health, including weight management. In general, the amount of water a body needs each day (in ounces) is approximately 1/2 of the total bodyweight. For those that consume caffeine, heavy salts, or who sweat more than most due to exercise or weather, this number should be nearly doubled (water in ounces consumed should be equal to bodyweight in pounds).

Give yourself a point if you're staying appropriately hydrated!

Question #4:

"Are you supplementing your diet with additional anti-oxidants?"
Supplements such as multi-vitamins, Resveratrol, vitamin C, CoQ10, Turmeric, and Astragalus are believed to help build the immune system and improve biological processes.

Give yourself a point if you're supplementing with anti-oxidants on a daily basis!

 

Question #5:

"How often do you consume a meal involving fats, proteins, and carbohydrates?"

The traditional concept of three square meals per day is not ideal for metabolic health and organ function. Our bodies are more optimal when fed four or more times per day, roughly every three hours.

Give yourself a point if you're consuming more than four meals daily, each separated by three hours or more.

Add Up Your Score!

• If you've scored a 4 or a 5, then you're probably in fairly good nutritional health and making strong choices.
• If you scored a 3 then you are missing at least two of the major criteria responsible for better living, and we recommend some changes to your nutrition
• If you scored a 2 or below, then your nutritional health should definitely be improved for long-term health and wellness

A Perfect Personal Training nutritionist will be glad to help you achieve personalized prevention. Contact us at (877)698-3648 today or visit us at http://perfectpersonaltraining.com

 

 

74-Year Old Finds Fitness Success With In-Home Wellness Program



Marcia Closson, PPT Client since 2007

To most, growing older means weaker muscles, weaker bones, a weaker spirit, and a greater number of daily medications. For Detroiter Marcia Closson, the last six years have shown anything but weakness or a reliance on medications. Read her surprising and uplifting story, in her own words:

I first began exercising with Perfect Personal Training in 2007. My husband was already a client, and we learned that both of us could train, together, in our home for the price that he paid in the gym. I had been retired from teaching for two years and had tried Yoga, Pilates, and a general exercise class, but needed a regular exercise program to strengthen bone density and build upper body strength. At that time, I had been taking Fosamax for seven years, and I didn’t have the strength to lift my garage door easily. By 2010, after working with PPT for three years doing strength training and cardio, my doctor took me off Fosamax because my risk of fracture had gone from severe to mild. My bone density test in 2012 showed that my bones are still in the mild or no-risk-of-fracture category although I haven’t taken any medication in two years.

My husband was with PPT for two years before he died of cancer. He had decided to seek no treatment, but to live life as well as he could before his death. During the last year of his life, our Perfect Personal Trainer was a great help in keeping Bob as strong as possible. He was on pain medication for a short time before he passed, but still exercised with Perfect Personal Training three times a week. I am grateful for our very kind, sympathetic and knowledgeable trainer who knew exactly how to help us during this difficult period in our lives.

In 2009, three of my neighbors and I formed a group class. We meet in my basement to train three times a week. The fact that we have a trained, qualified professional planning sessions to meet our specific needs, and that we don’t have to go anywhere far from home to exercise makes PPT very valuable in our lives. Not only have all of us seen a positive change in our strength, balance, and general health, but we also have fun socializing while we train.

My greatest accomplishments since I’ve been with PPT are that I’ve learned how to pursue physical fitness, not just through exercise, but through good nutrition and by eating several small meals rather than three large meals each day. I also know how to control and use my muscles a lot better than I did before beginning my sessions with PPT. I feel healthy and well and am able to lead an active full life at 74 yrs. old.

~ Marcia Closson

For more information on beginning your personalized fitness and wellness program with Perfect Personal Training, just visit http://perfectpersonaltraining.com or call (877)698-3648.  We love to change lives for the better!

 

How Long Will It Take You To Get Fit?

It's almost February!  For many Americans, that New Year fitness enthusiasm has already left, while others are putting in the time and effort, but not including enough fitness/nutrition science to really see the results they are seeking.


So, you might be asking yourself this question: 

How long does it take to get fit? More specifically, how long will it take YOU to get fit?





Just answer these four questions to find out:

• How fit are you now?
• How much time will you devote each week?
• What obstacles might we encounter?
• How fit do you want to be?

How Fit Are You Now?
Fitness levels are measured in many ways.  Most common and valuable assessments are body composition (ratio of fat weight : muscle weight), aerobic capacity, aerobic endurance, blood pressure, and each muscle's strength.  A Perfect Personal Trainer will be happy to determine your current fitness level, or a "baseline" from which to assess your progress.

How Much Time Will You Devote Each Week?
Only you can answer this question.  Some advice for those who don't feel that they can make enough time for steady exercise includes:  Multi-task -- incorporate some light exercise during phone calls, TV time, and even with the family.  You can also find time to exercise while listening to audio books. And of course, take a bit less time for social connections, and make more time for exercise.  Your social circles are important, but your heart and health should be #1.

What Obstacles Might We Encounter?
Obstacles can be psychological or physiological.  An example of the former would be the desire for inappropriate rewards, such as those rich in unhealthy calories.  An example of the latter would be a health issue (asthma, low back pain, etc) that may, potentially, reduce your rate of fitness progress.

How Fit Do You Want To Be?
See How Fit Are You Now, above.  Let's set some goals involving any of the fitness measurement tools that you read in that list, or involving other criteria, such as cholesterol, reducing arthritic pain, posture, or mobility.

Fitness success all begins with determining your starting point, your goal, and creating a plan that works for your lifestyle.  Call us today at (877)698-3648 or visit http://perfectpersonaltraining.com to request your free consultation with a wellness professional or personal trainer from Perfect Personal Training.  Whether weight loss, muscle gains, or health issue resolution, a Perfect Personal Trainer and our team of researchers will create your personalized answer!



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