It all starts when we are children. Conformity. Sameness has its place. It has allowed us to survive as a species. If we were all off doing our own thing, nothing would get done. Social rules keep us safe and help us fit in. The problem with conformity however is that it often occurs at the expense of independent thinking, creativity and personal freedom. With all of the technological advances we’ve made in the past 50 years, groupthink has led …
Popular but potentially ineffective gym moves.
Before copying the resident gym hardbody or You Tube star, make sure you understand the dynamics and implications of the following popular but potentially ineffective gym moves. Buns of steel Ladies, kicking your leg out like a ballerina on the stair machine to shape your glutes is a graceful but ineffective movement (not to be confused with the “Stairmaster Slouch” where people drape their upper body over the console as their feet move at mach speed). Without getting technical, this …
Cardio vs Weights: Which is best?
When should I do cardio and when should I hit the weights? For many people, cardio is their default exercise. That’s why there are limited vacancies in the treadmill line at 5:30 p.m. Treadmills are accessible and they have TVs! Popularity aside, is cardio the best way to become fit? Well, that all depends on your definition of fit. Too many exercisers adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, telling themselves “as long as I show up and jump on the elliptical trainer …
Five tips to help you stick to a long-term weight-loss strategy
According to Women’s Health magazine, close to 80 per cent of women say they would feel better about themselves if they could lose a few pounds. Not overly Earth-shattering. Most people would like to lose a couple pounds. The interesting thing about the research, however, was that more than half of women who exercise become depressed after losing five per cent of their weight. I guess you can think of it this way: You’ve decided to scale an imposing mountain …
Internal time clock also regulates things such as weight gain
Your first cup of coffee early in the morning or that late night bowl of cereal before bed may be killing your diet. For people trying to lose weight, when you eat may be just as important as what you eat. Dr. Satchin Panda of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has conducted some fascinating research on circadian rhythms and how they affect many aspects of life, including weight management. According to Panda, the light sensors in our eyes set …
Spring prep for your summer wardrobe
With summer only a month away, we find ourselves confronted with the prospect of a less forgiving wardrobe. Common sense dictates that we maintain a healthy weight throughout the year but somewhere along the line this thinking escapes us. In fact, 33 per cent of overweight and obese North Americans report they are at a healthy weight. Something isn’t working. The western lifestyle is broken. Hopefully the Q & A below will shed a little light on making your summer …
Weight Training Is Good: Enhance your golden years.
Yet another study has come out praising the benefits of weight training for those over the age of 65 (and anyone whose physiological age equates to 65 — a.k.a. people who spend their week slumped over a desk). Here’s a quick summary of the study: Weight training is good. You should do it. Weight training is good. For those that require a little more substance, the study published in the journal Preventative Medicine tracked 30,162 adults aged 65 and older …
Posh, foodie calories are still calories
With fork in hand I write this column while eradicating the remains of an Easter carrot cake that, by all accounts, was consumed unaccompanied. Typical hosting etiquette was shed like a Caribbean tan as I served myself first and often over the long weekend. Carrot cake is my crack cocaine. Left to my own devices, I would have eaten the whole thing in one sitting. Some claim I did. Frankly, I don’t recall — it’s all a bit of a …
Big Gains for Seniors
If you’re older than 50, its time to seriously start thinking about exercise. Why toil through a lifetime of hard work to find you can’t move at 60? Retirement should be about enjoying the fruits of your labour, not sitting it out. Never exercised before? No worries. Research strongly suggests fitness neophytes have everything to gain and nothing to lose by lifting weights and performing cardio. In fact, those following the right formula can recover decades of lost health. Your …
Does your fitness centre empower you?
A number of years ago, we headed into the Canadian wilderness, young kids in tow, for some time off the grid. With life’s comforts heaped into a wobbly canoe, we left the portage store hoping nothing vital was missed in all the chaos. After a wonderful week of sun, we packed up the canoe for a three-hour paddle in the rain — my wife at the bow, me at the stern and the kids playing under a makeshift tent in …