High Intensity vs Low Intensity Exercise Benefits

New published research has shown that vigorous exercise – such as running – is much more effective than light to moderate exercise such as walking.    After assessing the data from 73,000 adults using wearables, researchers found that each minute of high intensity activity is equivalent to four to nine minutes of moderate intensity activity and 53 – 156 minutes of low intensity activity for reduction in all cause mortality and cardiovascular disease prevention and mitigation.   

Key Findings on High Intensity Exercise Benefits

High Potency: Research indicates that 1 minute of vigorous activity is equivalent to 4 - 9 minutes of moderate activity for reducing major disease risks.

Mortality Reduction and Minimal Time Required: As little at 1.1 minutes of daily high intensity activity can reduce the risk of dying from any cause by 38%, according to a New Scientist study.  

Cognitive Health: Regular, intense exercise (at least once a week) is linked to lower rates of dementia and mild cognitive impairment, particularly in adults under 75.

Weekend Warrior Effect: Concentrating exercise into one or two days a week provides similar cardiovascular and cardiometabolic benefits to spreading it out, as noted by the American Heart Association.

Brain Power:  Intense daily exercise can enhance memory and cognitive performance for up to 24 hours, according to studies published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 

High Intensity vs Moderate Intensity

While Guidelines often suggest that high intensity exercise is twice as effective as moderate intensity exercise, new evidence suggests it is far more potent - potentially up to 10 times more effective for specific health outcomes!

Cardiovascular Disease: 1 minute of high intensity activity = 7.8 minutes of moderate activity!

Type 2 Diabetes: 1 minute of high intensity activity = 9.4 minutes of moderate activity!

All-Cause Mortality: 1 minute of high intensity activity = 4.1 minutes of moderate activity!

The take home message is that while all activity is better than no activity - high intensity exercise has big benefits!

How to Make Your New Year's Resolution Come True!

If you want to make your New Year's Resolution come true - willpower alone will not get you there!

Commitment

Without true commitment you will not reach your goal!  Commitment involves being clear on why you want to achieve the goal then creating the conditions necessary to achieve it.   This involves:

Making it Public!    By sharing your goal with all around you - you create more support and accountability.

Setting a timeline consisting of small, measurable goals that lead to the overall goal!   

Creating forms of feedback and accountability and support

Removing things in your environment and life that oppose your commitment!

Once you truly commit - you will hit your goal!  Commitment involves building your life around your goal.

Create Conditions that Make Your Success Inevitable!

You will fail to achieve goals if you do not change your environment.

Example: an alcoholic who really wants to quit drinking needs to stop spending time at bars and with people who drink all the time.    This analogy applies to other goals as well.

Example - if you want to lose bodyfat you have to change your diet and that involves removing foods that you know you will overeat from your house and making changes in how you shop such as consciously avoiding shopping for food when you are hungry!

Making the changes necessary to achieve weight loss goals is challenging - consider booking a complimentary Success Session with one of your club's personal trainers.    These team members have dedicated their lives to helping others achieve their health and fitness goals and they want to help you!

The Ideal Ski Conditioning Program

 

Skiing is a challenging activity that requires:

Strength

Balance/Stability/Kinesthetic Awareness

Speed

Muscular Endurance

Ski Specific Strength

Skiing requires strong lower body muscles combined with a strong core and upper body.   What is unique in skiing is a strong emphasis on eccentric (muscle lengthening for shock absorption) and isometric (static contraction to prevent movement) muscle contractions.

To properly prepare it is important to choose specific exercises which challenge the lower body and core for the unique demands of skiing.

The reACT Trainer - The Ultimate Ski Specific Training Tool!

The reACT Trainer is an amazingly effective tool for developing ski specific strength, endurance, power, balance and stability.   It emphasizes eccentric muscle contractions which are so critical for skiing while also demanding balance and core strength.   5 - 10 minutes twice a week for 3 - 6 weeks before ski season will make an incredible difference in your skiing performance.

To learn how to use the reACT Trainer check out this quick intro video:   https://youtu.be/b5LWiI19c1k?si=679_oyiqLw55g7dk 

Slideboard Exercise/Floor Sliders

Two other great tools for ski conditioning are slideboards and/or floor sliders.  Both place a strong emphasis on the eccentric aspect of key exercises like lunges and side lunges. 

A slideboard provides a ski specific challenge to the the lower body and core in a dynamic manner that demands strength, power and flexibility all while moving laterally which is another unique aspect of skiing.  This means the inner and outer thighs must be heavily conditioned to prevent premature fatigue on the slopes, and the slideboard is perfect for this!  Check out this video of the basic slide movement:  https://youtu.be/fpaFkIQx7FE For more ski specific slideboard exercises go to:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL33FAB06632D708A6 

Floor sliders/gliders can mimic some of the benefits of slideboard exercise by allowing the foot/feet to slide on the floor during lunges, side lunges and core exercises.  To get a sense of all the exercises that can be done using these simple and inexpensive gliders check this out:  https://youtu.be/xdn9M4rXEtA 

The Incredible Mental Health Benefits of Exercise!

 

High levels of stress are being reported by most Americans!  About half of U.S. adults say that uncertainty about the future makes them feel that it is impossible to make plans for the future. About a third say their stress levels are so high that they sometimes struggle with even basic decisions.   It has been estimated that 75 – 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems. 

The great news is that exercise is extremely effective for reducing stress and relieving anxiety and depression! 

Exercise Drives Multiple Pathways to Reduce Anxiety and Depression

Exercise boosts BDNF (brain derived neurotropic factor) which improves learning and memory and literally acts like miracle grow for the brain.

Through a separate action exercise causes muscles to help detoxify a toxic chemical called Kynurenine.   Kynurenine is produced from the faulty metabolism of tryptophan.   Under conditions of acute or chronic inflammation Kynurenine forms Quinolinic Acid instead of serotonin.  Excess Quinolinic acid is directly linked to major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia – Kynurenine clearance in exercised muscle cells suppresses this build-up in the brain.

Overtime regular exercise remodels the brain’s reward system leading to higher levels of dopamine and more dopamine receptors. Through this action exercise can both relieve depression and increase your capacity for joy.

Exercise also boost levels of endocannabinoids (yep – the same ones that come from the cannabis plant!).  The “high” from exercise comes from a boost in endocannabinoids. These endogenously produced chemicals dock on brain receptors and reduce anxiety and induce a state of contentment. Studies have found that these brain changes help boost positive interactions with friends and family.

The latest research even shows that lactate – produced during intense exercise – travels to the brain from muscles where it is produced – and alters brain chemistry in ways that can reduce anxiety and protect against depression.  

The Evidence on Effectiveness of Exercise for Anxiety and Depression

A recent Metanalysis of 25 randomized controlled trials found that aerobic exercise
improved depression - particularly for moderate or intense aerobic activity.

In addition, this metanalysis found that previous studies underestimated the power of
exercise to control anxiety and depression.

Intense aerobic exercise has also been found to be very effective in treating anxiety - specifically the lactic acid produced during intense intervals has been shown to have a strong anti-depressant effect. Furthermore, lactic acid has been shown to be linked to improved REM/dream sleep. After lactate is release by muscles, it travels through the bloodstream to the brain, where it can reduce anxiety and protect against depression.

An analysis of 15 different studies showed that aerobic exercise – especially high-intensity aerobic exercise – reduces symptoms of anxiety. These anti-anxiety effects persisted for several months after cessation of the exercise.

All the participants in the studies had some degree of anxiety, with their conditions falling on a spectrum that included anxiety disorders, raised anxiety levels, and raised anxiety sensitivity - a condition in which a person feels anxious about the physical symptoms that often accompany anxiety. People on waiting lists for anxiety treatment who did not exercise served as comparisons.

They found that participants who engaged in both low and high-intensity aerobic exercise experienced greater improvements in their anxiety than non-exercising people on treatment waiting lists. High-intensity exercise reduced anxiety symptoms more effectively than low-intensity exercise. The various interventions lasted between 10 weeks and 6 months, with participants exercising three times a week on average.

Multiple mechanisms are responsible for the anti-anxiety effects of exercise. One key mechanism mentioned above is the production of lactate. Lactate increases the levels of norepinepherine and serotonin. Low levels of these neurotransmitters can drive anxiety and the inability to handle stressful situations.

How to Handle Holiday Stress

 

Although the holidays are a fun time of year they are also a very stress time of year? 45% of Americans say they would prefer skipping the entire season because of financial pressure. Most Americans feel that the stress really starts to build around December 13th, grows worse through the 18th and peaks on Christmas Day.

This holiday stress can be highly detrimental to your health, and it is sad but true that many take their lives during this season. The physiological impact of this stress manifests as increased cortisol which boosts blood sugar levels, helps drive weight gain, and breaks down muscle.

Here are some tried and true ways to combat the holiday stress syndrome:

Get your workouts in! Now is not the time to skip workouts - even a short workout can have an immediate and lasting effect in reducing your mental and physiological stress response. A quick high intensity workout - just three 20 second sprints with one - four minutes of active recovery - is all it takes! Remember something is always better than nothing when it comes to workout out.

Get your Sleep! Easier said than done, but focusing on when you eat and when you go to bed and wake up can keep your body in a good rhythm. A simple way to do this is to get up and go to bed at the same time every single day regardless of the day of the week - do not change your schedule on weekends.

Time Your Food and Beverage Intake! Keep your food and beverage intake (except for water) in the 12-hour window so that you are not eating or drinking anything for 12 hours. For example, if you wake up at 6am and drink a cup of coffee at 7am - the clock has started at 7am.

That means you want to take in your last food or beverage no later than 7pm.

If you know you are gong to go out to parties try to take in your first food and non-water beverage later in the morning. If you start at 9am this give you until 9pm to finish all food and beverage intake. By keeping your sleep/wake cycle consistent along with your eating and not-eating schedule you allow your body to recovery better.

If you are going out to parties - start early and leave early or just start drinking water and nothing else once you hit the end of your 12-hour window.

Set an alcohol budget - and switch to water after you hit it. Doing this can prevent a lot of issues!

Do not overbook yourself or your family - plan on downtime and keep it simple. Less if often more in life, and the holidays are no exception!

How to Enjoy Thanksgiving without Gaining Weight!

 

It is very easy to eat upwards of 4,500 calories if you really go crazy and pay no attention to portion size, how many portions you are eating, and what you are eating. Given that the average person burns somewhere around 2,000 calories per day it means you would have to fast for more than two days to get rid of this holiday binge or do many hour of extra exercise!

The key to not ruining your waistline is to keep heavy calorie holiday meals to just 2 - 3 days and moderate your intake a bit. A few days of heavier than normal calories intake does not need to sabotage your progress in the gym.

For example let's take a look at a more restrained (yet enjoyable) Thanksgiving Day of Eating where you enjoy portions of everything in moderation over 3 - 4 hours and come in under 2,500 calories:

3 pigs in a blanket - 150 calories

1 ounce of Brie Cheese - 150 calories

4 ounce of Sweet Potato - 187 calories

1/2 cup of Green Bean Casserole - 227 calories

2 glasses of wine - 250 calories

1/4 cup cranberry sauce - 102 calories

7 oz white meat turkey with skin - 354 calories

1 cup gravy - 50 calories

1/2 cup stuffing - 195 calories

1 cup mashed potatoes - 237 calories

3 by 3 inch square cornbread - 198 calories

1 slice Apple Pie (1/8 of pie) - 300 calories

How to Enjoy Holiday Alcoholic Beverages without Gaining Weight!

 

The holidays are a time of celebration, and assuming you do NOT have a problem with alcohol and can drink responsibly, it is okay to imbibe. The key to not putting on fat from alcohol is to understand the calorie and carb content of alcoholic beverages and plan your intake ahead of time in terms of exactly what you choose to drink and how much you have.

All alcoholic beverages tend to drive insulin production so they are a big no, no for diabetics and other people taking certain medications.   ALWAYS check for drug and alcohol interactions before drinking any alcoholic beverage.

It is also important to understand that in addition to the alcohol content itself alcoholic beverages are often full of sugar which further drives insulin and fat production.  The good news is that there ARE alcoholic beverages that are much lower in sugar/carb and calories.

Champagne

One of the best deals for a low carb holiday beverage is champagne!   Champagnes have the lowest carb and calorie content of any wine so are a great choice – particularly dryer champagnes.   A 4-ounce serving contains just 1.6 grams of carb and only 84 calories making Champagne the best choice for holiday cheer!

Common White Wines

After Champagnes the next best choice is white wines (NOT including ANY dessert wines!)

Per 5 Ounce Serving Size:

Chardonnay -   120 calories and 3.43 grams of carb

Sauvignon Blanc – 120 calories and 3 grams of carb

Reisling – 120 calories and 5.54 grams of carb

Pinot Grigio – 122 calories and 3 grams of carb

Common Red Wines

Merlot – 118 calories and 4 grams of carb

Cabernet Sauvignon – 130 calories and 3.82 grams of carb

Burgundy – 122 calories and 5.46 grams of carb

Pinot Noir – 116 calories and 4 grams of carb

Shiraz – 116 calories and 3.79 grams of carb

Low Carb Beers

 Bud Select 55 – 55 calories with only 1.9 grams of carb

Miller64 – 64 calories with 2.4 grams of carb

Michelob Ultra – 95 calories with 2.62 grams of carb

Becks Premier Light – 64 Calories with 3.2 grams of carb

Miller Light – 96 calories with 3.2 grams of carb

Amstel Light – 95 calories with 5 grams of carb

Coors Light – 102 calories with 5 grams of carb

Bud Light – 110 calories with 6.6 grams of carb

Mixed Drinks

Liquors such as gin, vodka, scotch and rum, but are full of calories and to some extent act as a “super” carb driving insulin and hunger.    That being said they do not contain any carb whatsoever so as long as you mix them with no sugar/calorie mixers you can keep your carb and calorie intake somewhat under control.

One of the best choices is Vodka and Soda Water with Lime or Lemon coming in with zero carbs and about 100 calories!   Other examples are whiskey and diet coke, Seagram's 7 and Diet 7-up, Rum and diet cola, or Spiced Rum and Diet Ginger Ale.

What to avoid!

Watch those mixers when it comes to mixed drinks – most standard mixers such as all sodas, fruit juices, and tonic are full of sugar unless you use the diet versions.    All your Caribbean and Tropical drinks such as Pina Coladas, Daiquiris, Mai Tai’s, and Margaritas, etc. are chock full of sugar and calories.

Set a Budget for Your Intake!

Set a budget on your intake of alcoholic beverages and actually keep track as you drink them making a point of knowing how much you have had each hour.     Remember each beer, glass of wine, and mixed drink takes one hour to process for the average male (and longer for females) so anything above 1 per hour is getting you inebriated at some level.  

In addition to budgeting your intake drink a glass of non-alcoholic, no calorie beverage such as water or club soda for each drink/beer/glass of wine you have to slow yourself down and stay hydrated.

 If you want to catch a buzz drink your limit and switch to all non-alcoholic beverages for 2 – 4 hours before driving.     

Even better – get a designated driver or use Uber or Lyft for travel to and from Holiday Parties!

How to Eat and Exercise to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

 

‘Tis the season again – we are entering that infamous Thanksgiving through New Years stretch where the average American will gain 8 – 12lbs!  One of the main reasons for this is that we get out of our normal routines for both exercise and diet.  It is even more challenging if you are travelling during this season because you are out of your home and have less control over your exercise and eating habits.

However, where there is a will there is a way.  Here are some key tips to prevent weight gain during travel:

1. Plan your meals and your exercise.  This is probably the most important tip because with a little planning you CAN eat healthy and get in your exercise.

2.  Start by looking at your travel schedule and planning your meals during travel.   We all know how lousy the food is on an airline so instead of being subjected to the lousy and unhealthy food bring your own.   In many airports today, there are plenty of healthy options that you can purchase and carry on the plane.  Great options include:

a.       Nuts – see below

b.       Ready to drink shakes (even starting to see these in an organic option in airports!).

c.       Nutrition bars – see below

d.       Hard boiled eggs

e.       Salads with chicken

3.  Even better, buy non-perishable food before you leave home.  Excellent choices for meals and snacks that are easy to travel with include:

a.  Nuts – come in cans and pouches with smaller packages being ideal because while nuts are healthy they are high in fats and even healthy fats have lots of calories!  No honey glazed and if you need to be concerned about salt stick with unsalted, roasted nuts.  Best choices include pecans and walnuts and brazil nuts followed by almonds, then peanuts and cashews in terms of sugar content.

b.  Nutrition bars – there are a ton of healthier bar choices now, and they have actually figured out how to make a healthy bar that tastes pretty darned good without a ton of sugar that have high levels of fiber, healthy fats, and protein.      Several variety of Kind bars fit this bill including Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt; Caramel Almond and Sea Salt; and Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan.    These bars taste great and will satisfy you and travel well.

c.  Ready to mix shakes – there are many great options for shakes that are low in sugar and high in protein that taste great and come in packets that are easy to mix in a plastic shake bottle after you add water.  Gone are the days where these options must be blended in a blender.   Experiment a bit and you can find shakes that come in single serve packets that mix quite well in a plastic shaker bottle.

d.  If you are driving, consider bringing some pre-made meals in a cooler that are either ready to eat cold or can easily be microwave or baked when you arrive.   When you bring some of your own food and healthy desserts you know you will have good options!

4.  Focus on a great breakfast because you can get eggs in every town in America both at restaurants and in people’s homes.  Eggs are a fantastic meal that really satisfies, and they can be prepared in many different ways.  Starting the day off with 2 – 3 whole eggs along with some sautéed vegetables, some cheese and some berries will keep your hunger at bay and provide a healthy meal that is easy to come by!

5.  Get your exercise in!    Plan before you leave – worst case you can use resistance bands and get a great workout in a very small physical space such as a hotel room.  For a great bodyweight workout try this one: https://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-three-best-bodyweight-exercise.html

6.  Go for a walk and check out the neighborhood or go see some nearby sites.  Sitting on your butt all day while food is being prepared all around you is asking for trouble!   Get up and get out and be active for part of the day or offer to do some shopping for the group or pitch in with some of the physical chores if you are staying at someone’s home.   

Exercise to Reduce Alcohol Craving and Intake!

 

Yes – you heard that right – exercise has actually been proven to help people reduce or eliminate alcohol intake and mitigate alcohol dependence.    Multiple studies have proven that exercise is an effective adjunctive treatment for the treatment of alcoholism

For example, in a meta-analysis of 7 randomized controlled trials using exercise interventions for the treatment of alcoholism exercise was shown to significantly reduce alcohol consumption!  This included all forms of exercise such as aerobic and resistance training.

The effects of Fibroplast growth factor 21 (FGF21) on Alcohol Intake

FGF21 is a hormone released by the liver and muscle during exercise.

When FGF21 was given to mice and vervet monkeys addicted to alcohol - it reduced their alcohol intake by 50%.  FGF21 cross the blood-brain barrier and binds to receptors in the hypothalamus where it alters dopamine signaling which plays a prominent role in alcohol craving.

The liver releases FGF21 after alcohol intake with a significant increase in blood levels.

Studies have shown that FGF21 is elevated from aerobic exercise and peaks 60 minutes later than returns to baseline 2 hours later.

A Mouse Study showed that:

Mice that were unable to release FGF21 consumed more alcohol

Mice given an FGF21 analog decreased their alcohol consumption by 50%

Another study used Vervent Monkeys.  Vervent Monkeys fall into three subtypes as it relates to alcohol in a distribution seen in humans:

Alcohol avoiders who do NOT like alcohol

Moderate alcohol drinkers

Heavy drinkers who will consume alcohol until drunk

Monkeys given FGF21 reduced alcohol consumption

Collectively these studies suggest that FGF21 is involved in telling our brains whether to drink more alcohol or not and does so across at least two species studied and that increasing FGF21 may decrease alcohol consumption in humans as well.

Exercise also modulates the brain’s dopamine reward system as well as boosting Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).   Low BDNF levels have been correlated with the severity of alcoholism in clinical studies of alcoholics!   In addition, regular alcohol use decreases BDNF and is associated with cognitive defects from alcohol consumption.

How Long does it take to burn off Halloween Candy?

 

In the big picture of weight loss it is not what we do on the occasional holiday that really determines our weight it is the week in week out eating and drinking habits that determine our weight.   That being said, if you are not careful you can eat/drink a ton of calories in one day which then turns into weeks of too many calories during the holidays starting with Halloween. 

The key is to plan and know what you are eating? Candy can be confusing because of all the different snack sizes. It is easy to assume that since you are eating smaller size candy that it is not that bad, but this is only true if you are not eating too many pieces!

Before you eat candy so how many calories you are eating - it takes no time to google calorie, sugar and fat content for any Halloween candy.

Here are some examples:

Nestle's Crunch Bar (60 calories) - 6 minutes of brisk aerobic exercise to burn off!

Kit Kat Bar (70 calories) - 8 minutes of brisk aerobic exercise to burn off!

4 Snickers Mini Bars (170 calories) - 18 minutes of high intensity exercise to burn off!

Full Size Twix Bar (80 calories) - 6 minutes of continuous kettlebell swings to burn off!

4.2 Oz Candy Corn (450 calories) - 4 - 5 miles of walking to burn off!

2 Peanut Butter Cups (210 calories) - 2 miles of running to burn off!

So eating a little candy is no big deal, but if you are not watching how many pieces you eat you can quickly rack up a ton of calories that would take hours of vigorous exercise to burn off!

Plan your candy intake and know what you are going to eat and enjoy it! The other key is to eat candy after a meal so you are not really hungry - candy and hunger make for a really bad combination.