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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PPT Client Sees Amazing Wellness Successes

 

Rikki Schwartz

Although Rikki Schwartz of Waterford, Michigan has created a very successful career as a chemical engineer, her health was not always as prosperous. “I was exhausted all the time; I rarely had any surplus energy, and thereby resisted most varieties of social activities,” Rikki explains. “I couldn’t climb a flight of stairs without being winded.” Rikki was growing increasingly exasperated with her inability to keep up with friends and family—even attending a simple art fair was exhausting.
With her upcoming 46th birthday, Rikki knew that she had to make lifestyle changes. “I realized that the distance to 50 was shorter than the distance from 40,” she says. “I concurrently realized that I likely would not make it past 60 if I didn’t do something as soon as possible, or if I did make it past 60, my quality of life would be dismal.” Admitting her diminished well-being was just the first step. The exercise component, which she knew had to be a part of her journey to better health, was a different obstacle entirely. Rikki not only associated exercise with discontentment, but also with fear. The thought of working out was daunting. As Rikki explains: “Exercise had always meant two things to me: pain and humiliation.” Much of her insecurity stemmed from grade school, where she had struggled to keep up with her peers. Avoiding fitness altogether just seemed easier, though it led to a multitude of issues for Rikki as she approached middle age.

Although she knew that she had to overcome her trepidation, the thought of joining a health club wasn’t even remotely appealing. Beyond the challenge of finding motivation to leave her home to exercise, Rikki just couldn’t face the deep-rooted public humiliation that she associated with gyms. Contacting Perfect Personal Training, whose wellness professionals would come right to her home for each session, seemed like a much better fit, especially with her busy career. She loved the thought of a “gym” knocking on her door and asking her for less than an hour of her time, which for Rikki was far more motivating than packing a duffle bag full of spandex and leaving her house.

Working with Perfect Personal Trainers Val Fiott and Jordan Gruppen in the comfort of her own home, Rikki never imagined that she would trade shame for a decreased body fat percentage and new-found confidence.  But, that wasn’t before Val helped Rikki to realize something even more important: she was asthmatic. “I did not even suspect the condition until Val Fiott encouraged me to seek medical attention about three months after I began working out with him, once he believed that I was experiencing what he believed to be asthmatic symptoms during my workouts,” Rikki says. The discovery explained some unanswered questions for her, including why she had avoided most physical activities for much of her life. “That may have been addressed medically when I was younger, had I known that asthma was, in fact, largely responsible for my lack of aerobic capacity,” she says.

Asthmatic or not, Rikki wasn’t about to let anything inhibit her at this point in her life. Her continued work with Perfect Personal Training produced incredible results. Rikki hadn't realized, until her initial work with Val Fiott, how truly at risk her health was. Although she had always considered herself to be of “average” weight, she learned, through Perfect Personal Training’s in-home consultation and fitness assessment, that her body fat percentage was nearly 45 percent. “I was thereby morbidly obese,” she explains. “That was obviously disturbing.” But these numbers didn’t perturb her for too long.  Rikki still holds on to an email she received from a coworker after she began working with PPT.  In the email, her coworker remarked how fabulous Rikki looked. “I do not know what you are doing but it looks good on you,” the uplifting email read. Rikki was very happy: “It was the first time I had ever felt empowered to take credit for a physical transformation of any kind because it was the first time I’d ever put any real effort into it,” she exclaims. “As such, it wasn’t just a matter of being proud of my appearance, but moreover proud of the effort that I had invested into it.”

Since beginning with Perfect Personal Training, the now 50-year-old Rikki Schwartz has decreased her body fat percentage by nearly 10 percent, has tremendously improved daily nutrition habits, and feels much more energetic and confident. “Considering I was, prior to PPT, a dyed-in-the-wool carb addict, and ate very, VERY little lean protein, the nutritional transformation has been miraculous,” she emphasizes. “Val’s encouragement of my food journaling, along with educating me regarding my recommended limits, really helped to set me on the right nutritional path.” Her dialogue with food has completely changed, particularly her former infatuation with fast food, which Rikki said she used as a “quick high” in her old life. “Now, I think of food as a tool: ‘How will this improve my life, today and in the days to come?’ [There’s] no comparison.”

Aside from her dramatically-improved physical appearance and overall health, Rikki is clearly in love with the way she now feels. “I am prouder of my appearance, my ability to keep up with my peers, and in general, my ability to honestly say that working out is a routine, prioritized, conscious, and dedicated focus of my life,” she says. “Nobody who knew me before 2008 would ever have believed that those words could/would come out of my mouth.” Rikki attributes her success to Perfect Personal Training’s accessibility and commitment to her success.  Rikki stresses that had she even considered a gym, the added commute would double her daily exercise commitment, making a steadfast fitness routine nearly impossible for her.  Convenience, attention, and encouragement were just a few of the adjectives she used to describe the reason for her nearly five-year investment with Perfect Personal Training. “My experience with PPT has been one of structure, security and safety,” she says. “I have stuck with PPT because they deliver exactly what they promise – personalized workouts that are paced for success, in the privacy of my own home.”

 

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Perfect Personal Training, LLC
(877)698-3648
http://perfectpersonaltraining.com