Week 12!

Exerpt from 'Psychology- Frontiers and Applications' 2003 (Thanks, Holly)


"Aerobic exercise is sustained activity, such as jogging, swimming or bicycling, that elevates the heart rate and increases the body's need for oxygen. This kind of exercise has many physiological benefits. In a well-conditioned person, the heart beats more slowly and efficiently, oxygen is better utilized, cholesterol levels may be reduced, faster adaptation to stressors occurs, and more calories are burned."

"Exercise is associated with both physical health and longevity. A study that followed 17,000 Harvard undergraduates into middle age revelaed that death rates were one-quarter to one-third lower among moderate exercisers than among those in a less active group. Surprisingly, perhaps, very high levels of exercise were not associated with enhanced health; instead , moderate exercise on a regular basis produced the best health benefits. Performing at 70 to 85 percent of maximal heart rate non-stop for 15 minutes three times a week is related to reduced risk for coronary heart disease."

" Most experts suggests that a regular (3 times per week) program of aerobic exercise performed at 60 to 85 percent maximal heart rate for 20 to 60 minutes per session has a host of health benefits. Despite the demonstrated benefits of regular exercise, people have a strong tendency to avoid doing or discontinue it after a short period. When employers offer exercise programs to their employees, it is uncommon for more than 30 percent to participate. Dropout rates of 50 percent within six months are quite typical in virtually all the exercise programs that have been studied. On the other hand, people who are able to persist for three to six months are likely to continue, since exercise becomes a healthy habit."

WEEK ELEVEN!

Team, we are now officially at the half-way point.

Remember, this is supposed to be the time of year when people get fat and lazy. With the increasing level of activity everyone is exhibiting, this Challenge 100 group is beginning to scare me. On that first Spring outing at Birds Hill Park I might just find myself being left behind.

We need a Mid-challenge Get Together and I have just the thing. A winter walk-about at Birds Hill Park - cross-country skies, snow shoes or muckluks - pick your weapon. This way I can get a better look at the overall conditioning of the 'tribe' and determine if I need to up the ante on my activity level for the second half.

Anyone else open to getting out for an afternoon - Saturday or Sunday over the next few weeks? Post the days that work for you. I think we can even arrange for a hot dog BBQ and some hot chocolate too if there's enough interest. And of course, I think other family members should be invited as well.

Week Ten!!!

You are one week away from the half-way point, team.

This weeks word is 'proprioception'. Proprioception is our sense of balance and our intuitive awareness of the position of our joints.

Proprioception keeps us stable and oriented during moving activites - like running, walking, biking and hip hop dancing. The problem is if we injure a joint, this can interupt our position sense and we are likely to keep re-injuring ourselves.

A Canadian physiotherapy team found that balance training is very important and that balance training improves leg and muscle strength more than a series of gym weight training exercises.

The exercises are very simple - stand on some foam and balance on one foot. Next try to maintain balance with your eyes closed. The next step is to toss a bounce ball while balancing. Finally, you can move up to a balance board doing the same exercises. Try this 3 times a week before exercise.

Six weeks of this has been proven to restore balance sense sense and virtually eliminate joint injuries.

Week Nine!!!!

Got this note this week from my company's HR Team. Here's some of what it said - thought it sounded pretty appropriate.

New Years? How about resolving to pump up your personal vitality. In the game of life, it's not about who's right, it's about who's left.

More than 60 percent of us in Canada are over 36 years old. The real currency of the new century is not cash. It's vitality. It's the ability to keep going every day of every week of every month of the year with vigor and verve. All you are to the people around you is a source of energy, and you cannot give what you don't have.

(Here's the shocker!!!) Ninety percent of all North American adults do no physical exercise at all. More than half of us are overweight. A third of us still smoke. So, this year, resolve to enhance your physical, emotional and mental vitality. Take just a small step. First you'll amaze yourself, and then you'll amaze everybody else.