TOPFIT Daily Activities Review

I got the week off to a good start by helping a friend for a few hours with some heavy landscaping work, but after that, the week was a bit light on the heavy lifting.  But, I still made time for:

2 Table Rock runs
2 J-Ville Forest Park hikes
1 heavy bag workout
1 ~Turkey Burn~ workout (35 mins of almost non-stop calisthenics)

What did you do this weekend to stay active?

~No Challenge, No Change~

The Palaeolithic Diet And The Unprovable Links To Our Past

We still hear and read a lot about how a diet based on what our Stone Age ancestors ate may be a cure-all for modern ills. But can we really run the clock backwards and find the optimal way to eat? It’s a largely impossible dream based on a set of fallacies about our ancestors.

There are a lot of guides and books on the palaeolithic diet, the origins of which have already been questioned.

It’s all based on an idea that’s been around for decades in anthropology and nutritional science; namely that we might ascribe many of the problems faced by modern society to the shift by our hunter-gatherer ancestors to farming roughly 10,000 years ago.

Many advocates of the palaeolithic diet even claim it’s the only diet compatible with human genetics and contains all the nutrients our bodies apparently evolved to thrive on.

While it has a real appeal, when we dig a little deeper into the science behind it we find the prescription for a palaeolithic diet is little more than a fad and might be dangerous to our health.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Rest Day
I'm not sure if my mind and body were telling me I needed it, or if I was just being lazy, but I didn't do any kind of exercise today.  Other than a couple of hours of only moderately active time with the grandkids, it was a rest day.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Holiday dieting tips: Fun with no weight gain

The average American gains one to two pounds every year during the holiday season. That may not sound like a lot, but it turns out that, despite our best intentions, those extra pounds tend to stay put in the new year. Multiply a small annual holiday weight gain by a lifetime, and before long your midsection could start to shake when you laugh like a bowl full of jelly.

Not the physique you had in mind? Here are a few tips to help you emulate Santa’s jolliness this holiday season — not his waistline.

1. Don’t skip meals. It may be tempting to starve yourself all day so you can eat more at a holiday meal or party, but that move often backfires and you arrive so hungry that you pig out. If you have a holiday gathering in the evening, eat a light lunch packed with protein. Then, about an hour before the event, have a small 100-calorie healthy snack to help keep you from over-indulging at the party.

2. Control portions with small plates. Use the smallest plate available. Research shows that people tend to eat everything on their plate — whether or not they’re enjoying it. In fact, a Cornell University study showed that people ate 52 percent more cereal when given a large bowl instead of a small one.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Heavy Bag
The only exercise I made time for today was a 30 minute heavy bag workout.  It's definitely been a light week for heavy lifting.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Staying Motivated When the Temperature Drops

Once cooler temperatures hit, it can be all to easy to cover up with cozy sweaters and sip on one too many delicious, calorie-laden drinks, including eggnog and lattes. Comfort foods such as cheesy casseroles and creamy soups are also front and center. Since we are not showing as much skin as in the summer months, we tend to relax a bit more and lose sight of our exercise and healthy food goals. Here are some tips for staying motivated when the temperature drops.

Revisit Short-Term Goals
It can be motivating and usually much easier to set a goal to get into that itty-bitty bikini, so adjustments might need to be made come fall and winter. Start by making small and attainable goals that you know you can stick with. Some examples include penciling in a date to attend a spin class three days a week, or aiming to eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal and snack. Although these goals seem easy to some, it is often times the smallest changes that have the biggest impact.

Sign Up for a Race
Colder temperatures make it more difficult to go outside and be active. In turn, it can also hinder our motivation. An outdoor race is a great opportunity to not only be active, but also have fun! Having a race on your calendar will help you stick to your weekly workouts since we often aim to get in a certain number of miles per week until race day. From the Turkey Trot to the Santa Run, there is a race that will fit every type of person's interest and level of fitness. You can take this tip a step further and ask family and friends to join you. Having a workout partner is a great way to stay on track.

Make Meal Planning a Priority
It is easy to be tempted by the many delicious treats that fill our grocery store shelves around the holidays. If you have a grocery list accompanied by a meal plan when you hit the store, it will make it that much easier to avoid temptation. When planning out your meals for the week, try searching for recipes that are still warm and comforting but will not blow your calorie intake for the day. For example, instead of potato soup that often has loads of cream, cheese and bacon, a healthier alternative would be a roasted tomato soup that combines oven-roasted tomatoes, garlic and broth.

Say No to Excuses
Making excuses often goes hand-in-hand when struggling with motivation. The best way to say no to excuses is to try to find ways to overcome them. Having trouble getting to the gym once you get home from work? Try packing a gym bag to bring with you so you can head straight to the gym from work. Not feeling like cooking dinner in the evening? Look into crockpot recipes that can be started in the morning and ready to eat when you arrive home. It is that easy!

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park Hike
Even though I felt pretty much thrashed from yesterday's activities, I still had the need to be outside....rain and all.....so, I spent a couple of hours hiking the J-Ville Forest Park trails.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Prepare Yourself to Prepare Yourself for the Holidays

The holidays: a time for family fun, winter activities, and weight gain? The mid-November through mid-January holiday season can be a contributor to yearly weight gain. People who are overweight or obese to begin with are at greater risk of gaining weight during this time period (Physiol Behav. 2014 Jul; 134:66-9). But it does not have to be that way! Start preparing yourself now for the holidays with these five tips:

1. Get in the habit of weighing yourself at home.
Studies show that weighing yourself daily produces better weight loss outcomes over those who don't (Health Psychol. 2014 Mar;33(3):297-300). Get in the habit of weighing yourself daily, or at least once per week so you can keep an eye on weight gain before it happens and take steps immediately if the scale starts to creep slowly up this winter.

2. Make working out a priority.
As you prepare for the busiest time of year, solidify your workout habits pre-November. Make time for yourself all winter long by scheduling in daily physical activity instead of letting this priority drop. The months before the holidays arrive are the perfect time to start a new class at the gym, start a walking group at work or recruit a friend for evening workouts. While prepping your gift wish-list, consider asking for new workout clothes or a set of personal training sessions. Help get the New Year off to a bright and healthy start!

3. Specialize in a healthy holiday recipes.
Classic holiday recipes can pack in serious calories and are especially high in salt, sugar and fat. Eggnog, cookies, mashed potatoes, gravy, candy, and hot chocolate can pack hundreds of calories per serving, leaving you feeling sluggish and tired. Prepare for healthy holiday eating by picking out healthier recipes to try for your friends and family this year. Crack open the holiday cookbooks early so you can plan some new favorites this year. When bringing special snacks to the office, serving friends for dinner, or contributing to a party, you can be sure that your dish will not add to holiday weight gain for yourself or the people you care about.

4. Plan special events that do not revolve around food or eating.
When thinking about time off of school and work, or planning time with friends and family, pick an activity to participate in that does not involve eating as the main activity. Plan outdoor activities such as skating or sledding, attend a play or musical, or make wreaths or holiday crafts together instead. Even if you have a special dinner or event planned, try to fit in some time with your loved ones without eating such as a post-meal walk. Plan ahead this holiday season and shift the tradition from food to spending time with loved ones.

5. Sleep.
Studies show that sleep deprivation can lead to unhealthy food choices and weight gain. Sleep can be interrupted by a busy schedule, stress, alcohol consumption and lights or technology in the bedroom. Before this holiday season commences, ensure that you have enough time to sleep each night (most adults require 7-9 hours). During cold and flu season, be sure to make sleeping a priority even during a hectic schedule. Aim for 8 hours per night with a similar time schedule for going to sleep and waking up. Sleeping supports your immune system and leaves you feeling energized enough to enjoy all the holiday parties and activities.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- ~TOPFIT Turkey Burn~ and an Upper Table Rock Run
I got my Thanksgiving celebrations off to a great start with my patented and infamous ~TOPFIT Turkey Burn~ workout.....5 non-stop circuits of 1 minute intervals of burpees, pullups, pushups, squats, SB crunches, SB leg curls and a rest station........count and total all reps.....I did 1077 total reps.....not a record setter for me, but still fairly respectable.
I dare ya to try it!  It's not just for Thanksgiving, it can be done any time during the holiday season.  (contact me for details and rules if you've got what it takes to keep up with this old geezer)
Afterward, I headed out to Upper Table Rock for an awesome run.
This workout and a Table Rock run have become a regular tradition on Thanksgiving it seems....I guess I'm committed to doing it every year now.
Maybe in the future the grandkids will join me!

~Feelin' Alive!~

The Most Dangerous Workouts

All exercise has an element of risk to it. After all, you're pushing your body hard, sometimes to the limit of what it's capable of doing. If you're not careful with the way you work out, you run the risk of some pretty serious injuries.

But do you know which workouts are the most dangerous? Some of the dangerous workouts below might surprise you!

CrossFit
The CrossFit craze is sweeping the nation, with more and more people signing up for local "boxes" to hit the Workout of the Day (WOD). But did you know that CrossFit is widely considered to be THE MOST DANGEROUS workout of all?

The reason that CrossFit is so dangerous to so many is due to the way the exercises are done. Most of the movements are done as quickly as possible, so form is often ignored. A lot of the exercises involve swinging heavy weights, jumping up, "kipping" (jerking while doing pull-ups and other exercises), and movements that are generally harder on your body.

Not only do you run an increased risk of back and muscle injury when doing CrossFit, but you wear out your joints a lot faster even if you have perfect form. Also, many CrossFit trainers have little in the way of training, so they don't know the proper form either. All in all, even if you do CrossFit just right, you're still putting your body at a huge risk.

Yoga
You may think that Yoga is safe, but you'd be amazed by how many Yoga-related injuries there are every year.

Yoga is all about stretching, twisting, and holding poses, all while breathing deeply and getting into a meditative state. Well, not all types of Yoga. Bikram Yoga, also known as Hot Yoga, is done in a room heated well above 105 F. This not only causes you to sweat dangerous quantities--leading to heatstroke--but there's also the risk that you will overstretch your muscles.

When your muscles are very hot, they are much more limber. Many Bikram Yoga newbies overstretch their muscles, pulling them and injuring themselves. With the threat of both dehydration and muscle pulls, Bikram Yoga ranks high on this list.

Mountain Biking
Cycling is a whole lot of fun, and taking it to the mountains can be the way to go. But there is always the risk that you will find yourself in dangerous situations when cycling out in the middle of nowhere. Even if you follow a cycling or jogging path, there's no guarantee that you'll be safe. You're in the wilderness, where many people run into wild animals, smash into rocks, cycle off cliff faces, and get lost with little in the way of food and water. While it's great exercise, it's not a sport to take lightly.

Martial Arts/Boxing
The fact that martial arts is ALL about kicking, punching, wrestling, and essentially injuring another person means that you are highly likely to get injured as well. There are dozens of types of injuries that can occur when practicing martial arts: knee twists, ankle sprains, split lips, broken knuckles, fractured wrists, dislocated shoulders, and strained elbows, to name a few.

While martial arts and boxing are two amazing sports, they're definitely some of the more dangerous!

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lower Table Rock Run
No gym time for me today.  It was just too nice outside, so I headed out to Lower Table Rock for a good run.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Rebounding After Giving Into Temptation

You had been doing so well with your healthy lifestyle until you went to a party, caught a cold, got busy at work, went on vacation, hosted a visit from your kids -- basically, life got in the way. You CAN get back on track after giving into temptation. Overcome the all-or-nothing attitude and recommit with these easy tips designed to get back on track. Even if you have strayed far from your path, remember that you can recover.

Jot It Down
Studies show that keeping a food record is a helpful tool for optimal weight maintenance or adherence to a fitness regimen. If you have strayed from your usual healthy eating, recommit to recording what you eat each day. Pre-arrange your workouts in a journal or planner so you have an outline for each week's activity. You may find it helpful to record emotions or temptation triggers that steer you off track so you can identify and avoid future pitfalls.

Redirect
If you are in a rut after you fell off the proverbial horse, switch it up! Maybe going to the gym is difficult in the evening, so try going in the morning. Driving by the same fast food restaurant every day can be tempting, so try a different route. Changing the patterns in your life can go a long way towards helping overcome challenges to healthy living. Stock your cabinets and fridge with healthy foods; get rid of the junk. Avoid restaurants or social situations that can be triggering to you until you feel like you have successfully recommitted. Do not enable yourself to continue to stray. Instead, set yourself up for progress.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park Hike
After yesterday's heavy landscaping work I felt like I needed to kind of take it easy today.  So, I spent 3 hours hiking the J-Ville Forest Park trails at a moderate pace/intensity.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Everything in Moderation: Does it Work?

Everything in moderation—it seems like such a good idea. It “feels” right because it promotes the idea of a balanced approach to nutrition in a nice, neat simple saying. But does it help us or hurt us?

Let’s look at the term moderation, defined as: restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses; temperance.

Is this really how most people act out moderation with nutrition?

For many people, moderation looks like this:

-Day 1: Hot wings and a couple beers watching the game with friends

-Day 2: A doughnut at the office

-Day 3: A low-fat pastry with their “coffee” drink (meaning a couple shots of espresso in a heated milkshake of ingredients)

-Day 4: Pizza night

-Day 5: Cake or cupcakes at the birthday party at the office

-Day 6: A couple glasses of wine at a friend’s wine and cheese party

-Day 7: A handful of chocolates from the office/home candy dish

It’s been more than a week since this person had hot wings and beer, so it “feels” like moderation. But it isn’t. When you are eating something from the same category of non-health foods once day, it’s not a treat—it’s a habit. And your body is built on your habits. Having any type of junk food once a day isn’t moderation, it’s a lifestyle.

There’s No Such Thing as a Superfood

There’s this relatively modern concept of “superfoods,” but there’s really no such thing. For most of human history, food was just food. There have been no newly discovered foods that act like nutritional superheroes in our bodies. Yes, kale is healthy, but it is healthy in the standard way our bodies have come to expect and in ways that kale has always been healthy. It hasn’t become Super Kale in the last decade. Healthy food is our normal. It’s not super; it is what is expected. By contrast, on the junk-food side of things, there are countless new and sometimes very distorted, freaky foods that do act kind of like “supervillains” in our bodies.

There are no superheroes in the world of food—just a lot of very good but ordinary people, along with a number of supervillains as well. It takes a lot of work and time by a lot of good, ordinary people to fight the destruction caused by just a few supervillains. While everything in the healthy category is normal, in the unhealthy food category, most foods have significant, powerful deleterious effects that are not solved simply by eating healthy food at the next meal.

The major problem is that there are all kinds of weird “food” products (they might be edible, but they aren’t really food) with harmful chemicals, sugars and fats that can disrupt your physiology. And the resulting dietary imbalances rapidly generate inflammation and a kind of hormonal static that can take weeks or months to clear.

If you eat healthfully most of the day, but have a treat each day, you’re actually creating an imbalance. And this leads to another problem.

I’ve Been Good…Now I Can Be Bad

When you feel like a saint, the idea of self-indulgence doesn’t feel wrong. It feels right. Like you earned it. “Moral licensing” is a dangerous phenomenon. When you do something good, you feel good about yourself. This means you’re more likely to trust your impulses, which often means giving yourself permission to do something bad. If you tell yourself that you’re “good” when you eat healthfully and “bad” when you don’t, then you’re more likely to eat junk tomorrow if you ate good food today.

We need to stop self-judging our morals based on our food choices—it destroys our ability to have a healthy relationship with food. If you eat a healthful food, you are getting more healthful, you are neither a good nor bad person.

Everything in its Proper Amount

I have learned too much about how the brain and body work, and coached too many people over the years, to accept “everything in moderation” as a workable concept. Like any overly simplistic attempt to reduce a complex aspect of human physiology to a simple rule, it just does not work for the majority of people. And the continued belief in outdated, ill-conceived concepts like this one results in massive psychological damage to people struggling to find health. If it’s so simple, yet elusive for you, there must be something wrong with you. The lack of progress can get internalized as a personal flaw when it is really a conceptual flaw arising from simplifying something that just isn’t that simple.

We need copious amounts of healthy food and a small amount of food with little to no value. Moderation as it is commonly used will result in moderately unhealthy people instead of thriving people.

See the World as it Is

Each day we walk through a world that presents us dozens or even hundreds of temptations and visual triggers for junk foods. We can’t escape seeing it and the constant visual stimulus can weaken our resolve. If we only eat an unhealthy food once instead of the other 99 times we’ve come across it every day, it may “feel” like moderation, but your physiology works the way it works. Daily consuming junk food—which is not moderate, by definition—erodes health and counteracts many of the other healthy choices (like exercising) you may be making on a regular basis.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lots More Landscaping
Today instead of the usual workout, I once again helped a friend with a few hours of heavy landscaping work.  I guess that's why I workout.  So I can do things like this and not be too worse for wear.

~Feelin' Alive!~

TOPFIT Daily Activities Review

Overall it wasn't a very high volume or intensity week of activity, but in addition to helping a friend with at least 4 hours of heavy landscaping work, I also made time for:

2 Table Rock runs
2 Jacksonville Forest Park hikes
1 heavy bag workout
1 deadlift workout
1 chinup/pushup workout

What did you do this past week to stay active?

~No Challenge, No Change~

Eight Weight Loss Mistakes Runners Make

Avoid these common errors that can sabotage your efforts to drop a few pounds.

Pop quiz: You just went for a run. How many calories did you blast? Chances are your guess outpaces reality, to the tune of, say, a Frappuccino. Overestimating calorie burn is the Big Daddy of runners' weight-loss mistakes, says Lisa Ellis, M.S., R.D., a nutritionist in Westchester, New York. But it's not the only misstep. Sneaky slipups can derail the weight-loss efforts of even health-savvy runners. Here's how to avoid eight common mistakes.

Oops!
Miscounting Calories
It's true that running eats up more calories than nearly any other activity: The average man burns 124 calories per mile and the average woman burns 105, which means a three-miler nets you a 315- to 372-calorie deficit. But you can easily overspend your calorie deficit with something as simple as a flavored latte and a chocolate-chip cookie.
Correction: Get a better estimate of your calorie burn with an online calculator, like the one at runnersworld.com/calories-burned-calculator, or with a GPS watch that allows you to input your height, weight, and other stats. If you're prone to overindulging postrun, avoid blowing your calorie deficit by finding a couple "reward" foods with easily controllable portions, like bite-size cookies or single-serving chips.

Oops!
Skimping on Fat
Feeling virtuous with your dry toast, naked salads, and splash of watery skim milk in your coffee? Not so fast: Your body needs fat to absorb vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and to regulate hunger; fats are digested more slowly than carbs and protein, keeping hunger at bay longer. It's also believed that fat helps your body sense the appetite-regulating hormones ghrelin and leptin, says Ellis. A no-fat or very-low-fat diet leaves those hormones out of whack.
Correction: Fat should make up 20 to 30 percent of your daily calories. But avoid trans fats (in processed foods) and limit saturated fats (meat, dairy). Rely on mono- and polyunsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, fish); these protect your heart and promote satiety. A recent study found that even the aroma of some fats, particularly olive oil, may prompt the release of satiety-inducing hormones.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Rest Day
Even though it wasn't a very high volume and intensity week, it still seemed like a good day to take a break form any serious activity.

~Feelin' Alive!~

What is fitness?

What is fitness?

Fitness is a concept that can be hard to define but easy to recognize when you see the real thing.

To some, being fit means looking like a model or bodybuilder, while to others it means being able to run a marathon or being able to lift more weight than all of their friends.

Is this really enough?  Absolutely not!  These definitions are too limited and one-dimensional.

At the most basic level, fitness should mean the ability to meet your daily challenges in life with a little left over for emergencies.  To carry this one step further, fitness could be defined as a state of peak levels of strength, power, endurance, flexibility, coordination and general health in addition to an optimal level of bodyfat that allows a person to participate in life to its fullest, free of preventable health risk factors.  This level of fitness is a step above simple health and wellness.  This is a level of fitness that will not leave you wanting for more strength, power, endurance, etc. when presented with an unexpected challenge or attempting a new sport or activity.

This level of fitness should be a prerequisite for everyone regardless of their ultimate goal or their chosen sport or profession.  If a person’s workouts are based on this definition of fitness, the specific needs of their sports, professions and daily activities will be more easily met.

TOPFIT says: If you're serious about meeting your fitness goals, you deserve the best when it comes to fitness education.
I have offered mobile personal training and fitness education in the Medford area since before the turn of the century.
Contact me now and take the first step to a healthier lifestyle!

www.topfitonline.com

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Chinup/Ring Pushup Supersets
This afternoon I spent some quality time in my gym doing supersets of chinups and ring pushups (pushups on gymnastic rings set a few inches above the floor).  I kind of lost count of the number of supersets, but it was enough to leave a mark.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Obesity Weighing Down Military Recruiting Efforts

Taking action to reverse the obesity epidemic has never been more central to supporting our troops. Every day, our recruiting stations are forced to turn away young Americans whose greatest wish is to serve their country, as many of their ancestors, peers and family have done before them. Unfortunately, many of these same Americans are too overweight to follow in these very worthy footsteps. This is more than a disservice to our youth and their dreams; it is also a threat to our national preparedness.

According to a report by Mission: Readiness, the United States military discharges more than 1,200 first-term enlistees every year because they cannot maintain a healthy weight, and being overweight is the leading medical reason why applicants fail to qualify for military service. Between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their initial military physicals because they were overweight rose nearly 70 percent, and today, more than 9 million Americans of prime recruiting age are too overweight to join up.

In addition to obesity’s toll on our troops’ ability to serve, its cost to the Department of Defense—and thus to American taxpayers—is staggering. For each discharged enlistee, the military must recruit and train a replacement at a cost of $50,000, and the 1,200 troops discharged last year for failing to meet body-fat standards cost taxpayers over $60 million. That figure pales in comparison, however, to the $1 billion cost of treating the obesity-related problems of military personnel and their families. The military’s healthcare system, TRICARE, estimates that 40 percent of military dependents are overweight or obese.

Targeted efforts to reverse the nation’s obesity epidemic are essential, not just for the overall public health of the nation but also to ensure a robust military. We have made strides in recent years and will continue to do so by promoting obesity prevention, diabetes prevention through improved nutrition and increased physical activity, but we must continue to add to our efforts by helping Americans to get moving in safe, easy, accessible and affordable ways.

These measures would enable Americans to combat the tide of inactivity that has allowed the obesity epidemic to spiral and threaten our national preparedness. As it stands, only 3.8 percent of U.S. elementary schools, 7.9 percent of U.S. middle schools and 2.1 percent of U.S. high schools provide daily physical education for students, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, our lifestyles continue to become more and more sedentary. Today, fewer than 15 percent of schoolchildren currently walk or bike to school as opposed to the approximately 50 percent of children who walked or bicycled to school in 45 years ago.

We must ensure that youth have access to the necessary preventative tools that enable them to eat better, exercise more and address the obesity epidemic that has now risen to become a national security issue.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park Hike
This afternoon a friend and I spent a couple of hours hiking the J-Ville Forest Park trails, and scrambling up and down hillsides foraging for mushrooms.  There's a lot out there, and we even found a few edibles, plus plenty to identify later.

~Feelin' Alive!~

10 Tips For Healthier Grocery Shopping

The grocery store can be a tricky place.

Between the trendy buzzwords on packaging, the tempting low prices on processed food and the limited amount of time you'd like to spend reading nutrition labels, even the most knowledgable shoppers can end up making mistakes in his or her cart.

But with a few tried and true tricks up your sleeve, we firmly believe it's not all that tough to make smarter decisions at the store. That's why we asked a group of nutrition experts to share their top tips for making healthy grocery shopping a success. Here are their suggestions -- add yours in the comments!

Make A List
"Know your grocery store and go with a list of healthy foods in the order they are laid out. That will help you resist temptation, and it speeds up shopping because you're not wasting time cruising the aisles for what you need."

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Heavy Bag and an Upper Table Rock Run
I started my day in my gym with a 30 minute heavy bag workout, and when I was finished with business for the day, I headed out to Upper Table Rock for a fun run in the fog.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Strong Minded

Why you're smart to run and smarter because you do.

Running helps more than your heart and lungs. Promising brain research shows a strong link between running and a "younger," more nimble brain. Vigorous cardiovascular activity pumps more oxygen-and glucose-rich blood to your noggin. And when you make running a frequent habit, the rewards are long-term. All forms of exercise generate more energy for the brain, but research indicates the more aerobically challenging the exercise, the greater the mental payoff. Here's a look at your brain on running.

NEW THINKING

Running sparks the growth of fresh nerve cells, called neurogenesis, and new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, says J. Carson Smith, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Maryland in College Park who studies the role exercise plays in brain function. "We know that neurogenesis and angiogenesis increase brain-tissue volume, which otherwise shrinks as we age," he says. In a 2011 study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), for example, older adults who exercised regularly increased the volume of their hippocampus—the region linked to learning and memory—by two percent, compared to inactive peers. That may not sound like much until you realize that this part of the brain isn't known for increasing at any point in adulthood. What's more, running appears to "rescue" many brain cells that would otherwise die.

SWEATING THE DETAILS

Running helps you get better at learning and storing new information and memories, and can potentially stave off age-related dementia. The hippocampus, a sea horse-shaped structure tucked under the medial temporal lobe, is most affected by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. In a 2010 study, also in PNAS, adult mice "runners" grew new neurons that made them better at making fine distinctions between shapes and colors than sedentary rodents. Earlier studies on humans came to similar conclusions. These types of cognitive skills, including improved focus, help forestall dementia.

POWER PLANNING

Lacing up regularly may make the executive functions that happen in the frontal cortex—decision-making, planning, organizing, juggling mental tasks—easier. In a 2010 Japanese study, people who'd just completed bouts of physical activity scored higher on mental tests than those who did not. So it may be that if you run regularly, you can plan your kid's birthday and your company retreat without mixing up the details.

QUICK RECALL

Being aerobically active is key not just to making memories, but finding them when you want to. In a study of patients diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, those who exercised were better able to recall names of famous people. Brain scans reveal activity in the caudate nucleus, which sits in the midbrain just below the corpus collosum. This area is involved in motor function, but also supports memory circuits; running appears to improve the quality of the signals being transmitted through those circuits, which means you have better access to the zillions of details you've got stored there.

POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Running may be just as effective—and in some instances better—than SSRI drugs in treating depression. These antidepressant meds work by keeping neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepineprhine in the synapses longer, improving mood and outlook. Turns out, aerobic exercise does the same thing. In studies, patients who were successfully treated with SSRIs relapsed sooner than those who stayed physically active.

YOU LEARN VOCABULARY WORDS 20% FASTER BY MEMORIZING THEM AFTER AN INTENSE WORKOUT RATHER THAN AN EASY ONE.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lots of Landscaping
Today instead of the usual workout, I spent about 4 hours helping a friend with a landscaping project.  I guess you can call it crosstraining.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Physical Education = Strong Bodies, Strong Brains

Physical education is now viewed as an expendable part of the school curriculum. Yet there is no question that children need to be physically active to not only stay healthy and reduce their chances of becoming an overweight adult, but also to perform well in school.

Where Have All The P.E. Classes Gone?

With increasing pressures to improve standardized test scores and reduce budgets, schools across the country have virtually eliminated physical education programs. In fact, as of 2006, only 3.8% of elementary schools and 2.1% of high schools still offered daily physical education classes. This is particularly discouraging given the growing body of scientific evidence linking regular participation in physical activity with improved academic performance.

•  Nearly 250 elementary students given a daily 10-minute activity break increased on-task behavior by an average of 8%.

•  A U.S. study of almost 12,000 adolescents revealed that, when compared to their sedentary peers, students who participated in P.E., team sports or played sports with their parents were 20% more likely to earn “A’s” in math or English.

•  The fitness levels of more than 300 middle school students were evaluated and those who were the most fit also performed better academically.

•  An analysis of the standardized fitness and academic test results for nearly 900,000 students revealed a strong positive correlation between physical fitness and academic achievement.

•  Additional research suggests that, compared to control groups, students who spend more time in school-based physical activity or P.E. (and therefore less time in the classroom) actually maintain or improve their grades and standard achievement test scores.

•  Dr. John Ratey writes in his book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (2008, Little, Brown) that levels of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, also are elevated after strenuous exercise, helping to increase focus and induce feelings of calmness.

Encouraging Physical Activity Is Everyone’s Responsibility

Support for school-based physical education programs is increasing. New legislation seeks to increase the amount of required time allotted for physical activity and recess, and several on-school fitness centers are helping students improve both their grades and overall health.

Since physically active children have fewer chronic health problems, a stronger self-image and better academic performance, it makes sense to encourage physical activity, both in school and at home. Parents, teachers and coaches all have a role to play in helping kids think positively about exercise and motivating them to make regular physical activity a lifetime pursuit.

source

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lower Table Rock Run
This morning I made time to head out to Lower Table Rock  for a really good run.  There wasn't any frost when I went up, but things are starting to get a bit muddy which makes for a great balance, stability and agility workout.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Healthy Restaurant Dining

According to a 2010 USDA report, eating just one meal at a restaurant adds an average of 134 calories to your daily energy intake, so a once-a-week dining-out habit translates to roughly 2 pounds gained per year (Todd, Mancino & Lin 2010). Now consider that most Americans eat away from home an average of 5.8 times per week—a fifth of their meals and a third of their total calorie intake (Berman & Lavizzo-Mourey 2008)—and the importance of bolstering your eating-out expertise becomes clear. With that in mind, consider these practical strategies for eating healthfully while dining in restaurants, from Megan Senger, writer, sales consultant and fitness instructor based in North Carolina.

Plan Before Eating

Check online offerings before making dining decisions. Restaurants with easy-to-find online nutrition information have much lower caloric, fat and sodium content across all menu offerings than eateries that provide information only upon request, a recent study found (Wu & Sturm 2012). You can also look for smartphone apps that help you monitor your meals. For instance, www.HealthyDiningFinder.com, a dietitian-driven website published by Healthy Dining, based in San Diego, offers an iPhone app called yumPower, a free download in the App Store. “All Healthy Dining-approved menu items are listed [for participating restaurants], along with corresponding nutrition information,” says dietitian Lauren Rezende, MPH, RD, director of nutrition for Healthy Dining. The app can also help you find zip code—specific menu choices in a variety of customized categories, including fiber-rich foods and dining for diabetics.

Make the Most of the Menu

Ask the waiter how and with what a dish is prepared. For example, are the veggies steamed and then served, or steamed and doused with flavorful butter? Plus, find out what comes with the meal, says Rezende. “If it’s served with fries or garlic mashed potatoes, request steamed brown rice or a plain baked potato instead.” Also make sure you get enough veggies in your meal. Did you know that away-from-home dishes contain up to a third less fruit, vegetables and whole grains than at-home meals, and levels of whole fruit and dark-green and orange vegetables are hit particularly hard (Todd, Mancino & Lin 2010)? To counter this, always order a side of vegetables, says Mary Jane Detroyer, MS, RD, dietitian, exercise physiologist and ACE-certified personal trainer, and ask how they are prepared. The best bet? Steamed veggies without butter, oil or cream sauce.

Manage the Meal

To sidestep supersized selections, consider sharing an entrée with a friend, along with an added salad, says Rezende. You could also piece together a healthy meal by pairing an appetizer with a side dish, as HealthyDiningFinder.com suggests. Bear in mind, though, that restaurant appetizers have, on average, more calories, fat and sodium than any other category of menu item (Wu & Sturm 2012). Also, you don’t have to feel stuffed after a meal to get value for your dollar, says Ryan Johnston, executive chef and partner at restaurants Whisknladle and Prepkitchen in San Diego. Instead, he suggests, ask the waiter to wrap up half of your entrée before digging in.

SIDEBAR: Red-Flag Terms On The Menu
Look for terms that mean that the food is healthier or less healthy. Dietitian Lauren Rezende offers these examples:

• Look for grilled, steamed, poached, baked, roasted and braised.
• Avoid battered, buttery, scalloped, crispy, creamed, creamy, fried, rich, in cheese sauce, hollandaise, béarnaise, tempura, with gravy, au gratin, Alfredo, breaded, croquettes, à la king, Newburg and deep fried.
• For sodium concerns, avoid smoked, broth, creole sauce, tomato base, fish sauce, barbecued, soy sauce, marinated, Parmesan, hoisin sauce, pickled, teriyaki, cocktail sauce, mustard sauce and chili paste.

source

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park Hike and Deadlifts
This afternoon I spent a couple of hours on the J-Ville Forest Park trails having a fairly relaxing hike and Shinrin-Yoku experience.  The recent freezing temps are bringing out all sorts of new sensory experiences.
Later in the evening, I spent about 30 mins in my gym doing standard and sumo deadlifts.

~Feelin' Alive!~

TOPFIT Daily Activities Review

Although the past week was a bit light on heavy lifting, I still found time for plenty of exercise, including:

2 heavy bag workouts
1 plyometric workout
1 pullup, pushup, TGU workout
2 Table Rock runs
1 Jacksonville Forest Park run
1 Oredson Todd Woods hike

What did you do to stay fit and active this past week?

~No Challenge, No Change~

20 Nutrition Facts That Should Be Common Sense (But Aren’t)

Common sense is surprisingly rare in nutrition. All sorts of myths and misconceptions are being spread around, even by so-called experts. Here are 20 nutrition facts that should be common sense (but clearly aren’t).

1. Artificial Trans Fats Are Not Suitable For Human Consumption
Trans fats are nasty. Producing them involves high pressure, heat and hydrogen gas in the presence of a metal catalyst.

This process turns liquid vegetable oils into a thick, toxic sludge that is solid at room temperature.

You have to wonder what was going through the head of the person who actually thought of putting this stuff in food and selling it to humans. It is baffling, really.

Of course, trans fats are more than just unappetizing. Studies have shown that they are incredibly harmful as well, linked to a drastic increase in heart disease risk.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Oredson Todd Woods Hike
This afternoon, after playing with Hailey and Mason for a few hours, I spent a couple of hours with a friend hiking and foraging on the Oredson Todd Woods trails.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Burn the Midnight Oil, Not the Stuff You Cook With

Oils are essential to our well-being and are utilized by our bodies in a variety of ways. Oils are defined as fats that are liquid at room temperature. Oils include vegetable cooking oil and the oils found in nuts, olives, avocados, fish and animal fats. You want to consume oils that are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats because these provide vitamins and help you absorb fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. They also supply essential fatty acids that are needed for growth and the health of our skin, brain and nervous system. Oils are a calorie-dense food, at 120 calories per tablespoon (about the same as solid fats such as margarine/butter) and you need to limit how much you consume to stay within your daily goals.

One really important thing to consider about which oil you want to consume is how you will use it to prepare food. When cooking with oil you need to keep in mind the smoke point of which oil you are using because oils all have a variety of temperatures at which they begin to smoke. When oil starts to smoke or reach the smoke point, the properties of the oil change. At the smoke point, oil oxidation occurs and carcinogenic free radicals form. So some oils are better for high-heat cooking and others for low-heat cooking, dressings or added flavor.

The more refined an oil is, the higher the smoke point for the oil. For easy assessment, you can look at the color of the oil, the lighter the color the higher the smoke point. Vegetable oils have higher smoke points than animal fats and oils, with the exception of hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Remember high smoke point = good for cooking. Low smoke point = good for dressing.

All of the following oils have a variety of benefits and health effects. Vegetable oils do not have cholesterol but still have varying amounts of other fats including saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. You also want to include fats that contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, since these fats are associated with heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in soybean oil, flaxseed oil and canola oil, as well as walnuts. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in soybean, safflower and corn oils.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Rest Day
Since it was a busy day and I've had a few high volume and/or intensity days in a row, it was a good day to make a rest day.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Sex and Drugs and Exercise

A couple of the hottest drugs on the market are for erectile dysfunction.  These drugs work by increasing blood flow to the affected, or more precisely, the un-affected area.....but why not do the same thing naturally with exercise?
Studies have shown that men who exercise vigorously are about half as likely to have erection problems as inactive men.  It's also been shown that as a man gains weight, he becomes more susceptible to experiencing erectile dysfunction.

For help with your fitness program, contact TOPFIT now.  Mobile training in the Rogue Valley since 1998.  In your home or on the trail.
"Bringing Fitness to Your Life"...it's what I do.  www.topfitonline.com

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Pushups, Pullups and TGUs
This afternoon I spent some quality time in my gym doing a workout of pushups, pullups and KB Turkish Get Ups......simple, but effective!

~Feelin' Alive!~

Better Butter Alternatives

Butter, made from the fat content in milk, is comprised of about 80% milk fat and 20% water and proteins. Looking at the numbers across the board, a tablespoon of butter contains about 100 calories and 11 grams of fat (7 grams of that being saturated). The steep calorie count and lack of many other nutritional components has left many health conscious individuals to turn towards other healthier substitutes.

Olive Oil
Replacing butter with olive oil has been linked to numerous heart-healthy benefits. While caloric-wise, the two do not differ significantly, the difference lies in the types of fat that the two possess. Butter contains 66 percent saturated fat, while olive oil contains half that at 33 percent. Olive oil is also rich in Vitamins A, D and E and quickly satisfies hunger, possibly leading to fewer calories ingested at mealtime.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Upper Table Rock Run and Heavy Bag
Earlier in the day I had enough time to go out to Upper Table Rock for a good run, and I finished my day of activity with a 30 min heavy bag workout.

~Feelin' Alive!~

The 10 Best Nutrition Tips Ever

Diet advice is a lot like fashion. Trends come—wedge sneakers, drop-crotch pants, those skirts that are short in the front and long in the back—and a year or two later they seem hopelessly out of date. But the truly stylish always look smart; you’ll never see a photo of Pharrell Williams wearing crocs or Victoria Beckham in a meat dress. Here at Eat This, Not That! we see the same thing with the lean and fit: Those who stay slim don’t follow diets or nutrition trends. They follow common sense eating strategies that keep them looking fit for life.

Giving up gluten, throwing back shots of apple cider vinegar, juicing everything in sight—try them if you think they make sense. (And if you need a little boost to get you back on track, try our Ultimate One Day Detox.) But when those of-the-moment diet fads are gathering dust in the back of your metaphorical closet, the simple, smart, sensible approaches will be there like a favorite pair of jeans or a perfect little black dress—look-great staples guaranteed to never go out of style.

read the full article here

TOPFIT says: Like so many articles similar to this, these might not be the best tips ever, but they are pretty good and worth reading.

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Heavy Bag and Plyometrics
I found time for two quick workouts today.  The first was a 30 minute heavy bag workout, and I finished the day with about 40 minutes of upper and lower body plyometrics.

~Feelin' Alive!~

5 Tips For Better Health

Many of you might already be doing some or all of these things (or more), and this is certainly not a comprehensive list, but if you follow these guidelines you'll have a good start on a healthier, more functional and fit lifetime.

#1....STOP drinking soda and cut out added sugar in your diet. Not only does soda have no nutritional value, it has serious and severe negative affects on your health. And more specifically, cut out all fructose unless it comes in its natural wrapper (this means only whole fruit, no fruit juice and certainly no HFCS).
#2....Go for a walk every day for at least 20 minutes, but preferably for 30-45 minutes (treadmill or elliptical will do or you can go on a bike ride inside or out). And walk like you mean it....like you have some place to be and you're late. If it's easy, your body has no reason to change. This isn't a stroll, this is a power walk! Remember, "no challenge, no change".
#3....Start cooking. This doesn't mean heating pre-made meals or using mixes, canned and frozen foods, this means cook from scratch with REAL, unprocessed (or minimally processed) food as much as possible. And just forget about fast food....there's nothing there that's good for you....NOTHING!!
#4....Get outside and experience the healing and rejuvenating affects of nature (aka biophilia). Spend some time in the open air and in the most natural setting that's practical for you for as much time as you can every day. This can be combined with #2....wow, 2 birds with 1 stone....how easy is that!
#5....Relax. Find time to relax during the day. At least 10 minutes would be good, but more is better. This could be a relaxing style of yoga, some time in a quiet room reflecting on your thoughts, stretching, practicing deep breathing and relaxation techniques, or it could be combined with #4 and you could go on a relaxing walk in the woods or hang out in your hammock.

For more fitness tips, visit www.topfitonline.com.  (new look coming soon, so visit often and let me know what you think)

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park Run
Today I made time for a much needed run on the J-Ville Forest Park trails.
I had intended on doing some heavy lifting afterward, but life had a different plan for the rest of the day.  I should be able to make up for it tomorrow.
There's much to be said for flexibility.  Sometimes you have to find ways of fitting your workouts in around what life deals you.

~Feelin' Alive!~

The 10 Biggest Running Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Runners are stubborn. It’s what gets them out the door every day, logging miles, and chasing goals. It's also why they make the same mistakes over and over again. Don’t be that guy.

Whether you're a fitness runner or a sub-three-hour marathoner, you’ve probably committed one or more of the ten crimes listed below. But don't worry, these errors are easy to correct. We recruited renowned coaches Dr. Jason Karp, and Dr. Matt Moran to keep you running happy and injury-free.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lower Table Rock Run
I managed to find enough time between appointments today for a great run on Lower Table Rock.  What a great way to start the week!

www.topfitonline.com

~Feelin' Alive!~

TOPFIT Daily Activities Review

It's been a fairly moderate week of activity that in addition to some fall yard cleanup also included:

2 Table Rock runs
2 Jacksonville Forest Park hikes
2 heavy bag workouts
1 deadlift workout
1 pullup/pushup workout

What did you do this past week to maintain or improve your fitness?

~No Challenge, No Change~

10 Fad Diets, Debunked

What should you cut out of your diet to be more healthy? Everything. According to the most popular diet books on the market, there's barely a food on Earth that's safe to eat. But what is the actual benefit of these diets? Here's what science has to say.

10. Cut Out Wheat to Slim Down

The Books: The Wheat Belly Fat Diet, Wheat Belly

The Claims: Wheat is making you fat! And not just fat, but fat around the tummy, which is the worst kind of fat! Belly fat itself puts you at a higher risk of cancer and other diseases. And we can cut our weight and cancer risk way down by cutting wheat out of our diet. This is especially hard because, since the 1970s, Americans have been pushed to eat more "whole grains" in order to be healthy. But since the 1970s, Americans have gotten steadily fatter on this supposedly healthy diet. Is there any doubt that wheat is ruining our health?

The Facts: Most "wheat belly fat" books contain persuasive book jacket blurbs that stress how obesity has gone up in the decades since people began eating a carb-based diet. But correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation. One possible explanation for the national weight gain is the fact that the median age of the United States population has also gone up, and no matter what, we gain fat as we age. In fact, age is a major factor in why we gain belly fat. Eat no wheat whatsoever, and you'll still pack on a bit more belly fat as you get older, even if the fat is internal. (Sorry.)

It's possible that belly fat may be more unhealthy than regular fat. Abdominal fat cells tend to boost the production of certain hormones which aren't healthy. But belly fat isn't the only problem. It turns out that "gluteal fat" (AKA the fat on your butt) promotes inflammation and insulin resistance. In other words, all extra fat can be bad. Belly fat isn't necessarily worse than any other kind of fat.

Even if belly fat is especially unhealthy, wheat might not be the main culprit. If you want to lose belly fat, you might want to look at saturated fats. In one study, men who ate muffins made with saturated fats gained more abdominal fat than men who ate muffins made with unsaturated fat. There is even one carefully-done study that suggests carbohydrates might lower a person's amount of belly fat. Men with a daily diet that contained 10 grams of soluble fiber lost more visceral fat over 5 years than men who didn't eat the soluble fiber. Oats, barley, and beans all have soluble fiber. A warning — this reduction in fat was a 3.7 percent reduction. There are no miracle diets that will simply take away your belly. Nor, really, do there need to be.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Rest Day
Although volume and intensity hasn't been all that high this past week, it felt like it was time for a rest day.  But, I did stay productive by spending several hours on business development projects.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Eleven ways to fit exercise into your busy schedule

If you were told there was a new drug on the market that could help you live longer, make you feel better mentally and physically, help you lose weight, improve your sleep, increase your confidence, give you a better sex life and make you more efficient at work – all without negative side effects – would you not want to be the first to try this drug?

Actually, this “drug” does exist. It comes not as a pill but in the form of exercise. And even though we all know about the benefits of physical activity, too many of us fall back on the excuse, “I don’t have enough time.”

Here are some simple steps to help even the busiest person fit in exercise:

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Heavy Bag
In addition to spending about an hour on yard work today, I also made time for a 30 minute heavy bag workout.

~Feelin' Alive!~

The 10 Greatest Bodyweight Exercises of All Time

If you want to develop functional strength--the kind you can use in your daily life--you'll find that bodyweight exercises are the best. They help you develop strength according to your own weight and height, and that strength is much more useful than the kind you build lifting weights in the gym.

Here are the 10 BEST bodyweight exercises you can do to get fit without ever hitting the gym:

1. Push-Ups -- This exercise is ranked #1 because it's the best PUSHING exercise. It builds not just your chest and triceps, but you see good growth in your back and shoulders as well. It even works out your core and your glutes when done properly, and there are dozens of variations to make the exercise easier or harder.

2. Pull-Ups -- For PULLING exercises, it doesn't get better than Pull-ups. The primary focus of this exercise is on your shoulders and back, but your biceps and forearms get nicely toned as well. Again, this is a highly versatile exercise you can do ANYWHERE!

3. Lunges -- For a leg workout, Lunges are the best. As you step forward or backward into your lunge, you work out your thighs, calves, hamstrings, and glutes. It's a complete lower body workout all in one movement.

4. Squats -- While not as good as lunges, Squats still rank high. They are a bit harder on your knees, but they help to isolate your thighs more than lunges. Never skip leg day, and definitely keep squats on the exercise list!

5. Plank -- If you want to give your core a good workout, the Plank is an exercise you should always do. Holding yourself in place is surprisingly tough, and it will work your abs, back, sides, and even your glutes. You can switch things up and give your core a complete workout just with this one exercise.

6. Bridge -- For more focus on your lower back, the Bridge is ideal. You raise your hips off the ground and high into the air, and your lower back muscles do all the work. The best thing about this exercise is that anyone can do it, even if they have back problems. It's a static exercise that has almost ZERO risk of injury.

7. Burpees -- By far one of the most hated exercises of all, Burpees combine cardio with push-ups and squats. It's a full-body workout that you love to hate, and it will push your body to its absolute limits EVERY time.

8. Mountain Climbers -- Want to boost your stamina while working out your entire body? Your shoulders, back, chest, and arms get a simple workout while holding your upper body in place, while your legs do most of the movement. Your heart will be pounding hard by the time you reach 50, and it's an EXCELLENT exercise for anyone.

9. Superman -- This is a lower back exercise that looks easy, but which will have you straining hard within seconds. It's another low-risk exercise that is ideal for those with lower back problems, and it can help you strengthen those weak muscles easily.

10. Calf Raises -- To complete your full body workout, raise yourself into the air on your tip toes. There are many variations of calf raises, but all of them focus on those important lower leg muscles.

These may be the Top 10, but the great thing about bodyweight exercises is that there are dozens more, plus dozens of variations on each exercise. With bodyweight training, the sky is the limit!

source

TOPFIT says: These aren't necessarily the 10 greatest, but they are some of the best and definitely worth having in your workout repertoire.

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Upper Table Rock Run
Even though it was a busy day, I still made time for a run on Upper Table Rock.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Sleep

Do you feel like you will never get a good night’s sleep….ever again? You are not alone. In fact, insomnia is the most common sleep complaint and is one of the top reasons that Americans visit a health care provider. Insomnia consists of trouble falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or feeling unrefreshed despite getting enough rest.

The causes of insomnia include stress, anxiety, depression, diseases, medications, sleep disorders, and poor sleep habits. While a visit to your health care provider is definitely a good idea, you should also determine whether your personal habits promote or prevent a good night’s sleep. Here are some general rules to follow for getting your zzzzs:

• Regular exercise promotes good sleep. This is one of the most important ways to promote continuous sleep. Moderate or vigorous exercise should be done no more than 3 hours before sleep, while relaxing exercise (such as yoga) can be done before bedtime. 
• Keep a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day of the week. 
• Don’t linger in bed. If you can’t fall asleep after 15-20 minutes of being in bed because your mind is racing or you are worrying about whether you will sleep, get up and go into a different darkened room. This is where you can do your worrying , read a book, or do any other non-stimulating activity. Stay there until you are sleepy. Return to bed. Repeat as needed. 
• Sleep only as much as you need to feel rested.
• Avoid naps.
• Get regular exposure to natural light, preferably in the late afternoon.
• Don’t watch TV, listen to the radio, read, or use electronic devices (computer, phone, etc) in bed. This causes you to associate the bed with wakefulness. Reserve the bed for the two S’s (sleep and sex).
• Avoid caffeine after lunch. In addition to the obvious culprits, don’t forget to steer clear of hidden sources of caffeine such as decaf coffee (it still has a little), tea, and chocolate. 
• No alcohol or cigarettes near bedtime. While alcohol can help you fall asleep, it disrupts your ability to stay asleep. Cigarettes are stimulating and disrupt all parts of the sleep cycle.
• Avoid large meals right before bedtime, but don’t go to bed hungry. 
• Establish a relaxing bedtime routine. This could include a warm bath or shower, massage, meditation, imagery, or quiet time. 
• Have a quiet, comfortable bedroom. Keep your room on the cooler side, turn off bright lights, and turn on white noise (like a fan) if it helps. 
• Hide the clock if you are a “clock-watcher.” 
• Discuss with your health care provider whether medications, herbal supplements, or other therapies may be appropriate for you. 

As with most other health issues, making sure that you are living your healthiest lifestyle is an absolute must. People who exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, and keep stress levels low are the ones who sleep the best. Sweet dreams!

source

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Deadlifts
Since it was a busy day, I didn't find the time to get out on the trail, but I did spend about 45 mins in my gym doing standard and sumo deadlifts.

~Feelin' Alive!~

How Exercise Changes Your Brain To Be Better At Basically Everything

RECENT STUDIES HAVE REVEALED MORE COMPLEX AND NUANCED WAYS IN WHICH EXERCISE ACTIVATES AND AFFECTS THE BRAIN.

The brain is fundamentally a lazy piece of meat, according to neuroscientist Gregory Berns. But take the body attached to it on a brisk walk or jog and suddenly your meat-brain is lighting up like a Lite-Brite.

WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON IN THERE?
"When we exercise, blood pressure and blood flow increase everywhere in the body, including the brain," Justin Rhodes, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign writes in Scientific American. "More blood means more energy and oxygen, which makes our brain perform better."

Research has long shown that the hippocampus, a squishy seahorse-shaped region found on both sides of the brain that's essential for learning and forming memories, becomes highly activated during exercise. But recent studies have revealed new, more complex and nuanced ways in which exercise activates and affects the brain.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Heavy Bag and Jacksonville Forest Park Foraging
After taking care of business in the morning, I spent 30 mins on the heavy bag.  Afterward, a friend and I spent some time on the J-Ville Forest Park trails studying and foraging for mushrooms.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Key Rules for Cold-Weather Weight Loss

Lose weight even during the cold winter months by following these workout and diet tips

Winter weight gain often feels inevitable—the effects of overdoing it during an ever-growing holiday season. The colder, shorter days make it harder to get outdoors and easier to stay glued to the TV. It may seem easier to say bah humbug and decline every party invitation, instead staying tied to the treadmill.

The good news: The 10 pounds the average American is alleged to gain between Thanksgiving and New Years Day is only a myth. A National Institutes of Health study in 2000 tested this theory by measuring the weights of 195 volunteers before, during, and after the six-week holiday season. What they found was that the average weight gain was only about one pound. One pound!

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park Hike and a Pullup/Pushup Workout
Although I had several hours of mostly business related projects to take care of today, I still made time for a J-Ville Forest Park hike, followed by about 30 mins of pushup and suspension pullup supersets.

I slid 50 ft down a hill to check out these guys.  It was quite a scramble to get back up.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Snoring

Does snoring keep you (or your partner) from getting quality, restful sleep? Read on to learn more about snoring and what you can do to get your zzzzzs back.

Why do people snore?

During sleep, your tongue and throat muscles relax, which makes the walls of your throat narrow in and vibrate when you breathe. The result is the rough, rattling noise of snoring.

Snoring gets louder as the throat becomes more relaxed and narrow. In some cases, the walls of the throat completely collapse during sleep and you stop breathing. This is a serious medical condition called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

What will happen to me if I snore?

Other than having an irritated bed partner, snoring on its own is not a serious problem. It is concerning, though, when you have periods of apnea (not breathing) because your body doesn’t get the oxygen it needs to function. This leaves you feeling very tired and increases your risk for heart attack and stroke!

When should I seek medical attention?

If you experience any of the following symptoms, you should talk to your doctor immediately about being tested for OSA.

• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Morning headaches
• Recent weight gain
• Waking up in the morning feeling unrefreshed
• Waking up at night choking, gasping, or feeling confused
• Decreased concentration, attention span, and memory
• Another person observes that you stop breathing during sleep

If OSA is detected and treated early on, you have a much lower risk for serious health problems.

Treatment for OSA typically involves the use of CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure). CPAP uses a mask or nosepiece that pushes room air into the throat to keep it from collapsing during sleep. Many sizes and styles of CPAP devices are available to help you sleep most comfortably.

What can I do to stop snoring? Men and older people snore the most. Unfortunately, you can’t change your gender and you can’t stop getting older! There is hope, though. Whether you have OSA or are just a regular snorer, here are some things you can do to decrease your snoring:

• Lose weight. Being overweight or obese is the #1 risk factor for snoring and OSA. Extra body weight (especially around the neck area) puts more pressure on the throat muscles, which makes them more collapsible during sleeping. Focus on slow, steady weight loss through a healthy diet and exercise.
• Try side-sleeping. Snoring is worse for back-sleepers. 
• Decrease inflammation in your nose and throat during allergy flare-ups or colds. Ask your pharmacist or provider for medication recommendations.
• Avoid alcohol and certain medications before bedtime. Alcohol, muscle relaxers, antihistamines, and sleeping pills make snoring worse. 
• Avoid large meals or snacks within 3 hours of bedtime.
• Discuss your snoring problem with your health care provider and/or dentist. A physical defect (such as enlarged tonsils or nasal polyps) may be causing you to snore. Surgery or special appliances for your mouth or nose may be recommended.

source

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lower Table Rock Run
After far too much time in the car, on the computer and on the phone (not all at the same time), I needed to get out on the trail.  Lower Table Rock seemed to fit the bill perfectly for one of the better runs I've had in awhile.

~Feelin' Alive!~