What's Worse than Dying 10 Years Earlier?!

A USA Today article "Obesity can trim 10 years off life" announces some shocking news:
Being 40 pounds overweight cuts 3 years off your life, and being 100 pounds overweight can knock 10 years off!

While that news is certainly bad enough, I think they miss an even more important point.

No matter how long you live, the quality of your life is more important. Being overweight can make you miss out on the things you want to do.

Are you uncomfortable from your weight?

• Are you not traveling because you don't fit in the seats?
• Do you groan every time you get out of a chair?
• Do you have no clothes that fit well?
  

Are you in pain from your weight?

• Do you avoid going on long walks because your knees hurt too much?
• Does your back ache when you stand in line?
• Do you have a hard time exercising because every joint hurts?
  

Are you embarrassed about your weight?

• Do you not go out to restaurants because you believe the other patrons are judging you for eating?
• Do you avoid the beach like the plague?
• Do you hate the summer because you sweat profusely?

What do you want to do that your weight is stopping you from?!

Choose to live a LONG and HEALTHY life. :-)

Here's how to start eating right.

And here's how to exercise right.

Committed to your health,
Maren
www.healthfitonline.com

Should I Exercise When I'm Sick?

"Should I exercise when I'm sick?" is a common question I get. After 20 years of reading the research on it and testing my theory out on myself, I've come up with some general rules of thumb:

DON'T exercise if you have:
1. A fever.
2. Body aches (that aren't caused by your last workout. ;-))
3. Are throwing up.
4. Are coughing up copious amounts of green stuff.

Heard the rule, "It's okay to exercise if your symptoms are only from the neck up"? I'd agree with that. It's amazing how a workout can give you a boost of energy and clear your sinuses out, if you just have a mild cold. And moving your body can make you start feeling human again.

Pay attention to how you feel. If you feel like you can function, try a workout. Just take it easier, reduce the intensity if you start feeling more tired than normal, and by all means quit if you start feeling really bad.

While intense exercise temporarily depresses your immune system, moderate exercise boosts it!

Committed to your health,
Maren

Metabolic Resistance Training defined

In my article titled "Why Cardio Is Not Your Answer to Weight Loss!" I talked about metabolic resistance training being the most important type of exercise to do for weight loss.

Q: What exactly is “metabolic” resistance training?

A: Metabolic resistance training, simply defined is: training with resistance that elevates your metabolism. The calories that you burn AFTER you train are what count in this type of training. The goal is to create more work for your body, restoring itself to pre-workout levels, so that you’re burning more calories for the next day and a half. A low intensity workout will burn calories during your session, but a higher-intensity workout can also increase your EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). During this time your body is going through hormone balancing, replenishment of fuel stores, cellular repair, innervation, and anabolism. The more disruption of homeostasis you put your body though, the more oxygen its using, and the more calories it expends getting you back there.

There is no single way to do a metabolic resistance training workout. The possibilities are limitless.

Resistance can include your body weight, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, machines, tubing, medicine balls, sandbags, or anything else you can resist against or that resists against you.

The higher intensity is created by increasing the volume and density of work you do. Working all your biggest muscle groups in the session, shortening your rest periods to actually ensure incomplete rest, and using supersets or circuits, are all used to get your entire body working harder. Workouts can be organized by reps or by time: keep going until you hit the goal number of reps – even if you have to rest briefly in between to get them done, or do as many reps as you can in a certain amount of time.

A simple example of a metabolic susperset would be pairing 12 pushups with 12 squats. Do the exercises back-to-back, rest 60 seconds, and repeat. Try that 4 times in a row and tell me your heart rate isn't up!

Yes, you should work up if you’re a beginner. Don’t kill yourself on a first session. It's okay to rest in the middle of a set if you need to. Just jump right back in as soon as you're able. And be continually aware of how many reps you got in, in how much time, so you can try to beat that in your next session. Pushing yourself is key.

During these workouts, your heart rate will be elevated and your entire system will feel taxed. You’ll be able to tell you’re burning more calories later, since you’ll feel the recovery process going on. Tired afterward? You did a good job!

Sign up here to get your PERSONALIZED metabolic resistance training workout sent to you online!

Committed to your health,
Maren