One of the most dangerous ailments that plagues over an estimated 8 million people, and threatens to impact more, is highly preventable.  Dubbed the silent killer because there are rarely any symptoms, high blood pressure is commonplace in our society affecting 1 in 3 adults without them being aware.  While may put its treatment on the back burner, doing so can potentially lead to life-altering consequences.

If left unchecked, high blood pressure plays a large role in increasing the chances of creating a host of health issues.  As pressure builds up, the arteries my become narrowed and hardened, blocking blood flow to other areas of your body such as the heart, brain and limbs, increasing the chances of stroke, heart failure, and even dementia.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Small effort often goes a long way towards taming and preventing high blood pressure; as little as 30 minutes of exercise several days a week is enough in most cases.  On the diet front, decreasing the amounts of added salt in your diet has been shown to lower blood pressure as well.  With so much on the line, it’s in our best interest to take the necessary precautions to ensure that we maintain our quality of life, both for ourselves and the ones we love.  

When you’re told that exercise improves your heart health, you probably automatically think of cardio exercises right? After all, “cardio” is short for “cardiovascular” exercise, named as such because it utilizes the cardiorespiratory system, which consists of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels, which work together to supply oxygen and nutrients to all your vital organs. But did you know that heart-pumping cardio isn’t the only exercise that helps to keep your heart healthy? That’s right, pumping iron in the gym can help your most important muscle in the body- your heart- pump better, too!

Strength training exercise works the heart in a completely different way. At any given moment, certain muscles are contracting and relying predominantly on type two muscle fibers, which are responsible for making us stronger. As the muscles contract—say the arm muscles during a bicep curl—they press and close the blood vessels that flow through them. This leads to increased blood pressure in the rest of the body and the heart has to fight against a stronger force to push blood out. The heart adapts to this by increasing the thickness of the left ventricle wall. This thickness derived from chronic weight training is healthy, whereas the thickness from chronic high blood pressure is not.

Strength training increases your heart rate just as cardio and circuit training does, depending on resistance, repetitions and rest between sets. As your heart rate increases, so too does your ability to burn calories and lose weight. Lung health improves, as well. While increasing muscular strength doesn't directly improve your lung health, strengthening weak arm and leg muscles increases your body's endurance. This, in turn, reduces your body's exhaustion and breathlessness, which means your lungs don't have to work as hard.

Exercise also stimulates the production of new blood vessels. As we make more blood vessels, there are more places for blood to flow, which results in more efficient circulation. Cardiovascular exercise increases the number of new blood vessels while resistance training increases the size of those blood vessels.

Use it or lose it. Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age but strength training can help you preserve and enhance your muscle mass at any age. Once cleared to exercise, it doesn't take much time to obtain the heart-healthy benefits of resistance-training! The AHA recommends that healthy adults perform 8-10 strength-training exercises (to work the whole body) twice a week. They advise picking a resistance level that allows you to fatigue your muscles within 8-12 repetitions, but beginners and older or frailer individuals should use much lighter weights, aiming for 10-15 repetitions per set.

1. A Concrete Plan of Action:  If you walk into a gym and decide on a whim what exercises you are going to do, you are actually putting yourself at risk for injury.  Too many times, people do the traditional “mirror workout” or train only what you see.  But when you train only the visible, you are at risk of having an unbalanced workout which can create muscular imbalances, which then can lead to injury.  A customized exercise program is a complete plan designed to train the total body and help prevent the likelihood of injury!
2. It is Progressive:  Many people see initial success with a new exercise program, but continue to train with that same program for months or even years.  It is then people see fitness plateaus and no longer see results.  With a customized exercise program, your plan will include proper progressions to challenge your body in a safe way and that will insure continued success!
3. Addresses Your Specific Needs:  Many of us come across the latest workout trends in our favorite newspapers or magazines, but those workouts are created for the general public.  Whether you have been ordered to lose weight for health reasons or are coming off of an injury and need additional strength, a customized exercise program will address your specific needs and will help you to see great results faster than a general workout!
4. Addresses Your Goals:  If you are training for a marathon, it does not make sense to do a workout that promotes increased muscle mass.  A customized exercise program is designed to help you reach your goals.  Whether you want to increase your endurance, or gain muscle mass the customized exercise plan will be designed to help you achieve your specific goals!
5. Keeps you Motivated:  Knowing you have a plan that has a variety of exercises that are designed to help you achieve better fitness can help you stay engaged with your workouts.  A new exercise program provides variety which can prevent boredom and keeps you motivated to achieve your fitness goals!

As a patient, having a team of health and wellness professionals to address each aspect of your health is beneficial to ensure your long-term wellness.  Not only does it provide you with the highest level of care because multiple facets of your health are being addressed, but it also gives you access to the strengths of each health and wellness practitioner.   

In terms of your long-term wellness or the treatment of an injury, there are many different approaches.  For example, physical therapists and acupuncturists both can treat shoulder pain.  The ways in which these health care professionals approach pain may be very different.  The overall outcome of having each discipline care for you can be better than having only one type of care. 

Additionally, every person responds to treatment in his or her own individual way.  Being treated by one health and wellness discipline may not be enough for some individuals to reach their long term wellness goals.  Being cared for by a team of wellness professionals can oftentimes, mean the difference between reaching your goals and falling short. 

At All Access you have a variety of health and wellness professionals in house to care for you needs.  You also can take advantage of the relationships we have build with other top health and wellness providers to assure that your specific needs are being addressed and that your long term wellness goals are met. 

You may have noticed some of the equipment at All Access Fitness Academy and wanted to know how to use it and what it is for.  The medicine balls and blast straps are fun and easy to use.  Incorporate them into your fitness routine to mix it up and stay motivated!!!

The medicine ball is simply a coated ball filled with varying amounts of weight.  because of its shape, you can use them for a variety of movements such as walking lunges while holding the ball to your chest for added resistance (or over your head to increase the difficulty) or twisting exercises for your abdominals.  You can even increase the difficulty of walking for a distance by carrying a medicine ball with you.  Depending on the exercise that you are doing, such as medicine ball slams or tosses, it may be more appropriate to choose on of the non-rubber coated balls so that it doesn't bounce when thrown against a surface.

The blast straps are another unique tool that offers a wide variety of full body exercises.  Since they have two adjustable straps with a metal handle attached to them, you are able to hold on and use your own body as resistance, making these ideal for people who travel often and would like a lightweight solution to exercise while on the go.  These straps can be used for typical exercises - such as push ups, squats, and rows - to more advanced exercises like a single leg squat, bicep curl, and abdominal fall outs.  Because of the added instability of the straps, the exercises can be adjusted to accommodate everyone, from the person who is currently in physical therapy to the advanced exerciser looking for new and challenging exercises. 

Ask any All Access staff member to show you how to get started!!!

Quality amounts of physical activity are beneficial from an overall health standpoint. There are numerous benefits of daily physical activity including lower blood pressure, healthy weight management, improved emotional state and many others. Recent studies have found strong correlations between physical fitness, exercise and cancer. Individuals that exercise regularly and are generally physical fit have decreased risk of cancer and a higher chance of recovering from existing cancer conditions. The strongest correlations involve colon, breast, endometrial, and lung cancers. Itwill improve the treatment for mesothelioma.

Prevention is Best!

The health benefits of physical activity improve overall health and wellness. Overall health and wellness is a strong preventer of cancer. This is primarily due to the nature of cancer. Damaged or unhealthy tissues are more prone to cancer. An unhealthy immune system is less able to combat cancer cells. It is often unknown that everyone has cancer, all the time. Cancerous cells are constantly popping up throughout the body—even in healthy individuals. The difference between not even noticing these cancerous cells and developing a tumor is often based on immune response and overall body health.

Overall, patients were found to have between a 30% and 60% less chance of developing cancer if they had active lifestyles. High activity rates during adolescence seemed to have an especially positive effect. This may be due to the development of foundational activity habits during the teens years that carried their positive benefits throughout life.

The Important Link Between Exercise, Mental Health, and Cancer
When most people think of exercise and physical fitness they think of managing weight, building muscular strength, or maintaining the heart. These are all very beneficial effects of an active lifestyle, but the psychological effect of exercise is equally as important. Optimistic or so-called “happy” people tend to have naturally lower blood pressure, longer lifespans, and stronger immune systems. Depressed mood creates all manner of physical harm to the body. This is why many symptoms of depression include body pain and longer recovery times from injury or sickness.

Exercise is an important part of staying happy and avoiding depressed mood. Vigorous exercise causes the release of hormones in the brain which have a natural anti-depressant effect. Anything that makes you break a sweat is sufficient vigorous exercise. Many psychologists conclude that the effects of natural, exercise-induced hormones are as effective in reducing depression symptoms as prescription drugs. There are also no side-effects.

In a patient already diagnosed with cancer, maintain an optimistic mental state is all the more challenging and important. Your own body is your strongest weapon against cancer. Your immune system deals with cancerous cells every day. If you do develop a tumor or cancer diagnosis, your immune system is still your best ally. Positive mood elevates the effectives of your immune response to battle cancer.

Increased Survival Rates

Studies on breast and colon cancer showed direct correlation between increased physical activity and survival rates of those already diagnosed with cancer. Home-based fitness programs lessened the likelihood of cancer recurrence and assisted the women involved in the study in maintaining strength and energy balance. The degenerative effects of most cancer treatments, and the resulting fatigue, were lessened in those women who either maintained or increased their activity levels. High activity levels have a direct correlation on lowering the various negative effects of common cancer treatments.

Effects Related to Breast Cancer

Many types of breast cancer are caused-by or responsive-to hormone levels. An active lifestyle assists in regulating and balancing hormone levels which will effectively combat many types of breast cancer. It will also increase the effectiveness of other treatments.

Effect Related to Colon Cancer

High activity levels have a direct effect on metabolism and digestion. There is a strong tendency toward an increase in both. Good physical fitness tends to decrease colon inflammation and lessens the time the colon is exposed to various passing carcinogens. Both are important in lessening colon cancer risk.

How Much Activity is Enough?

The health benefits of physical fitness can be achieved without extreme levels of activity. In fact, it is a process of diminishing returns. It is not necessary to be an athlete, run twenty miles a day or weight-lift for four hours to achieve excellent health benefits. In fact, if the goal of physical activity is purely to improve overall health a more moderate exercise plan is usually preferred. Intense physical activity has some extra benefits, but also increasingly high risks of injury.

Moderate physical activities include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, or doing light aerobics for between 30 and 60 minutes a day. This should be done at least 3 times a week, but once every day is preferred. This activity is will not be intense enough to require “rest days” like more intense training regiments would.

David Haas

 

Everyone wants to improve their health, but most people feel they’re too busy and stuck in their routines to take time for themselves and their wellbeing.  The solution often lies in the problem; you’ve got to incorporate simple, beneficial habits into your routine. 

Let’s approach the issue in 3 steps: prepare, perform, and recover.  Preparing for your day is as simple as eating properly.  This can be an overwhelming topic with a lot of options and varied opinions, but staying away from heavily processed foods and preservatives will help increase your overall nutritional intake.  If it doesn’t grow or run in nature, such as a toaster pastry, than it likely will not supply your body with good nutrition.  When grocery shopping, begin your shopping in the fruit and vegetable aisle and try to stock up, rather than treating it as an afterthought.  This will make it easier to create meals with varied colors, a good indicator of nutrition. 

Let’s talk “performance”.  You may feel that you don’t have enough energy to exercises, but you’ve got to understand that exercise is a positive feedback loop.  People who exercise have more energy than those who do not because their bodies respond to the demands being placed upon them, creating more energy to match the needs of their routine.  Starting small brisk walking 20-30 minutes, 3 times a week should be enough to shake the rust off a long draught of exercise.  This does not require specialized equipment or a major time commitment, just a commitment to incorporate it into your weekly routine. 

From an effort perspective, “recovery” is the easiest part!  Sleeping requirements differ from person to person, but it’s a safe assumption that you require 7.5 hours of sleep.  People sleep in 90 minute cycles.  The next time you wake during the middle of the night, there’s a good chance it will be in a 90 minute interval from the time you fell asleep.  Five 90 minute cycles (7.5 hours) will allow your mental and physical wellbeing to recover the stresses of your day and ensure you’re ready to begin your following day alert and prepared to continue your healthy lifestyle.   

In December of 2011, CNN reported some of the top fitness trends to look forward to in 2012.  We are proud to say that All Access is ahead of the trends!

Zumba and Other Dance Workouts

Dance workouts are a great way to add variety to your traditional workout routine.  Not only do they provide a cardiovascular workout to great music, but they also focus on core and leg strengthening.  All Access now has a variety of dance options for our members.  On Tuesday nights we offer Zumba and Dance Fit.  Zumba is a Latin based, easy to follow, dance party that focuses on both caloric burn and overall strengthening.  Dance Fit offers basic Zumba moves combined with traditional strength exercises to focus on muscular strengthening.

Studio Joy at All Access offer dance based fitness through the practice of Nia.  Nia is a sensory based movement and lifestyle practice that leads to health, wellness, and fitness. It empowers people of all shapes and sizes by connecting the body, mind, emotions, and spirit.  Blending simple, powerful choreography with the energy of the martial arts, the dance arts and the healing arts, Nia will make you sweat and smile!

Functional Training

Functional Training can be defined as exercises that mimic the demands of everyday life by training the body to move through similar muscular contractions, range of motion, and speed of movement.  This training is helpful in injury prevention as well as preparing the body for specific activities.  Whether it is training balance, performing exercises on unstable surfaces, or training at high speeds, All Access not only has equipment to assist in this training, but many of our classes incorporate these training methods.  Our Complete Body Conditioning class uses kettlebells, ropes, as well as exercises that require balance to get not only a more challenging workout, but also provide the training that can carry over to improve the quality of daily living. 

In December of 2011, CNN reported some of the top fitness trends that we can look forward to in 2012, and at All-Access Fitness Academy we are proud to say that we are ahead of the trends.   All-Access offers a variety of services that meet the needs of every person regardless of gender, age, and ability.  In this second of this three part series, we will highlight many of services that we have to offer so that you can have the best fitness experience.

1. Personal Training and Group Training. 

Having a personal trainer assist you with your fitness goals has many advantages.  Not only can your trainer design your plan so that you can reach your expectations faster and safer than working on your own, a trainer can also be a source of support and motivation to keep you inspired as you progress.  While some may enjoy the one-on-one atmosphere with their trainer, others may enjoy training with a friend or a group.  Studies have shown that when you are exercising with another person, you are more likely to commit to the fitness program for the entire duration. Training with a friend will hold you accountable to get to the gym on a regular basis.  At All-Access we offer both private and semi-private training to meet your training needs and assist you in improving you and your friends!

1. Exercise and Weight Loss.

Most people start an exercise program for the sole purpose of losing weight.  And while increased exercising will help with weight loss, the results can be limited if you do not have a proper nutrition program.  At All-Access we offer a comprehensive 12 week nutrition program that will not only help you see results faster, but also help assist you in making a life style change in your eating habits.  Our nutrition program offers weekly meetings to teach you how to make the proper nutrition choices for your daily life as well as weekly personal training sessions to guide your exercise program.  Having both exercise and nutrition programs with your plan will provide the best opportunity for success!

1.  Core Training

The core is the center of the body.  It helps support proper posture and assist in movement.  Therefore it is extremely important to train the chest and back, abdominals, and hips to assist in injury prevention, enhance sports performance, and improve the quality of life.  All-Access offers many classes such as Cardio, Kettlebells, and Core to target such an important area of the body while still getting a cardiovascular workout.  We also have equipment such as medicine balls and our med ball wall to train the core using dynamic movements to provide some variety to your training. 

Have you ever gone into a gym, looked at all the equipment, and not known what to do or where to start?  Have you ever felt uncomfortable performing exercises on your own without any supervision?  Do you need to make an appointment with yourself to make sure you work out?  Has having to exercise on your own prevented you from reaching your fitness goals?  Have you become bored with exercising in the same way because it is all you know to do?  If you have answered yes to any of these questions, I have one more for you…Have you ever tried a Group Exercise Class?

There are many benefits to becoming involved in a group exercise class.  Beyond the fun of working out with a group of people, a group exercise class provides support, accountability, and structure.  It is possible to get a more intense or harder workout because instructors are trained in how to push and motivate you.  Group exercise classes can also boost you over a plateau by offering your new ideas and working your body in a different way.  Group exercise classes reduce social isolation and allow you to develop lasting relationships with people who have similar goals. 

All Access Fitness Academy and Studio Joy at All Access offer a wide variety of group classes for you to try.  To learn how to get started contact the Fitness Academy at (508) 845-3974 or visit www.allaccessfa.com

Resistance bands are a fast, fun, and simple way to get a killer workout wherever you are.  You don't have to be in a gym, but can use them at home, work, or even the beach.  All  you need to get a kick ass resistance band workout are a few bands and a strong work ethic.  Using a little creativity, just about any movement can be executed using bands as resistance.  While free weights are a great way to increase strength and muscle mass, bands have just about as many benefits.  

Bands are convenient and safe.  You do not need a spotter.  Bands have the added component of increased tension throughout the entire range of motion.  As the band stretches, more resistance is generated.  This creates more tension during the stronger phase of the movement forcing more overall work to be performed.  Resistance bands utilize both the concentric (shortening) and eccentric (lengthening) part of the movement, allowing for increased muscle stimulation.

For the most effective workout, pick a place where you can attach one side of your band to a solid base like a tree, post, door, or hook in the wall.  This will increase the number of exercises to be performed.  For any standing movement place the band under your feet to create a base for the resistance.  From here you can perform squats, lunges, bicep curls, shoulder presses, lateral raises, or anything you can think of.  Lie on your back with the band under your back for bench press or tricep extensions.  Attach the band to a base and you can perform a face pull, trunk rotation, standing or seated row, hip extension and many other variations.  

For a fast effective workout, include a variety of bands with different resistance levels.  Perform 2-3 sets of 6-10 exercises with minimal rest between sets.  Make sure there is plenty of resistance during the movement and push yourself to the appropriate number of repetitions for a hard workout.

for more information about resistance band workouts or to get help in designing a resistance band program tailored for your needs, contact your All Access Fitness Academy trainer.

During the aging process we lost about 1% of our bone and muscle mass each year.  Strength training not only helps to preserve your bone health but helps you to maintain muscle mass which can reduce your risk of bone fractures as you age.  Strength training also assists in disease prevention and management.  For those with Type II Diabetes, strength training combined with healthy lifestyle changes can improve glucose control.  Strength training may be effective as use of medication in decreasing arthritis pain.

Incorporating strength training into your exercise regimen can also enhance your mood and your energy levels, improve your sleep quality, and may work as a natural anti-depressant. Endorphin (a natural opiate produced by your brain) levels are increased after resistance training leaving you feeling rejuvenated. 

There are many ways in which to incorporate strength training into your exercise routine - exercise machines, resistance bands, free weights, and body weight activities.  The All Access Fitness Academy staff can help you develop a customized strength training program to meet your individual needs and concerns. 

The Facet joints are located at the back on either side of the spinal column, between the discs and the vertebral bodies. Each vertebra has bony prominences on each side that form a facet joint with the vertebra above and below. The role of the facet joints is to limit excessive movement and provide stability for the spine.

Facet joints are a potential source of pain which can affect the neck, middle back or lower back. Poor posture is commonly implicated in the development facet joint pain. Prolonged sitting and bending postures places an increased load on the facet joints which then become inflamed and painful. The muscles surrounding the spine also become affected. When considering how poor posture can affect the neck and thoracic spine (middle back) we can see that the thoracic spine becomes round, the shoulders hunch and the head pokes forwards; this leads to tightness of the muscles at the front of the chest and overload of the muscles around the shoulder blades and neck. The paraspinal muscles (long muscles which run the length of either side of the spine) in particular become knotted and tender ⁽¹⁾. 

How can foam rollers help with cervical and facet joint injuries?

A foam roller is a firm solid cylinder which is about 6 inches in diameter and 3 feet long. A roller can be used to isolate specific injured areas of the body and treat restrictions in the soft tissue⁽²⁾as well as perform balance training exercises, core activation exercises and stretching.

Stretching exercises on the foam roller for neck and thoracic facet joint pain.

This exercise is great for extending the middle back and neck and opening out across the front of the chest.

Lie on your back with the roller placed vertically along the length of the spine, feet on the floor and knees bent. Try to keep the spine in contact with the roller and open the arms out to the side. Feel the stretch across the front of the chest, lengthen the neck by tucking the chin inwards.

Muscle release techniques for the middle back using the foam roller

This exercise is to release tension in the muscles either side of the spine, it may feel a little uncomfortable initially but this does ease the more you do it.

Lie on your back with the roller placed horizontally between you and the floor. Your feet should be on the floor with your knees bent. Use the legs to push the body up and down the roller (like a rolling pin) to release tension within the muscles either side of the spine.

By improving your posture, the alignment of your spine is more efficient and the loads placed on the facet joins are reduced.

One of the major benefits of using a foam roller is that it is a relatively inexpensive way to treat injury on your own. It can be used to maintain joint alignment and muscle flexibility in between treatment sessions or for prevention of recurrence of symptoms.

For more information about the use of foam rollers to treat back and neck pain or to purchase a foam roller contact us at (508) 845-3500. 

References

1. Referred pain distribution of the cervical zygapophyseal joints and cervical dorsal rami. Fukui S, Ohseto K, Shiotani M, et al.  1996, Pain, Vol. 68 (1), pp. 79-83.

2. A comparison of the pressure exerted on soft tissue by 2 myofascial rollers. Curran, PF, Fiore, RD and Crisco, JJ. 2008, Journal of sports rehabilitation, Vol. 17, pp. 432-442. 

Patello-femoral syndrome is a relatively common condition which causes pain at the front of the knee. The pain is associated with positions of the knee which result in increased or misdirected mechanical forces between the kneecap (patella) and the thigh bone (femur) (1).

Despite being a common and relatively easy to diagnose injury there is much to learn about the exact pathology involved in the presentation of this condition. There are a number of probable causes which include:

• Muscle Tightness (calf, hamstrings, ITB)
• Weakness or lack of coordination in muscles that should help maintain normal patella tracking
• Altered hip, knee or foot posture
• Anatomic variations

Stability and normal function of the knee joint depends on precise interaction between the muscles, ligaments and fascia which surround and support the joint. Any tightness or weakness can cause an alteration in the normal mechanics which leads to pain. Exercise programs used to treat Patello-femoral pain syndrome should be based on sound biomechanical foundations and sensible exercise progression (2).

The quadriceps muscle group is directly involved in the mechanics of the patella-femoral joint as the patella is enclosed within the quadriceps tendon. Strengthening of the quadriceps is considered to be beneficial. However, the pain of patella-femoral pain syndrome is typically associated with movements which result in strong forces going through the joint so traditional knee extension exercises are not appropriate. Knee extension exercises will stress the already aggravated patella-femoral joint. Therefore, “closed chain exercises” (those where the foot is in contact with a solid surface) are preferred and should initially be performed within a pain free range of motion. Once larger ranges of motion are tolerated without pain, open chain exercises may be introduced. Research data tells us that between 0-50 degrees of knee flexion closed chain exercises produce less stress on the patella-femoral joint, beyond this range open chain exercises produce less stress (2).

Muscle coordination as well as overall muscle strength is important. The vastus medialis oblique (VMO) muscle forms part of the quadriceps muscle group and is the innermost muscle of the group. It is believed to help maintain the knee cap in its correct position (3). Specific focus should be placed on encouraging activity of this muscle when strengthening the overall quadriceps group. When prescribing strengthening exercise, those muscle groups not directly involved in patella-femoral joint mechanics should be considered as well, especially the “core” muscle group.

Concurrently to performing strengthening exercises, those structures which are tight must also be addressed. The calf muscles, hip flexors, hip rotators, and Iliotibial band are all commonly tight where patello-femoral pain is seen. Foam rolling, static stretches, and mobility drills are used to lengthen these tight structures. Full recovery and return to normal function can be achieved if exercises for managing patella-femoral pain syndrome are appropriately chosen and progressed.

 For more information about patello-femoral pain syndrome and how Physical Therapy can help you in your recovery from knee pain please contact Steve Messineo at (508) 845-3500 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

References

1. Associates of physical function and pain in patients with patellofemoral pain syndromme. Piva, SR, Fitzgerald, GK and Irrgang, JJ. 2, 2009, Arch Phys Med Rehabil, Vol. 90, pp. 285-295.

2. Rehabilitation of patellofemoral joint disorders: A critical review. Powers, CM. 5, 1998, JOurnal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, Vol. 28, pp. 345-354.

3. Patellofemoral Disorders: A classification system and clinical guidelines for nonoperative rehabilitation. Wilk, KE, et al. 5, 1998, Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, Vol. 28.

Regular exercise is an important part of effective weight loss, weight management, as well as disease prevention and improving your overall health.  Research consistently shows that regular exercise, combined with healthy eating is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight.  In addition, regular exercise can help prevent heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, back pain, and osteoporosis.

Your weight is controlled by the number of calories you consume each day minus the number of calories you use each day.  Everything you do, from sleeping, breathing, and digesting your food, uses calories.  Physical activity, in addition to your usual daily activity, will help you to burn extra calories.  Balancing the number of calories you expend through exercise and physical activity with the number of calories you consume will help you achieve and maintain your desired weight.  The key to effective weight loss, weight management, and improved overall heath is to make physical activity a part of your daily routine.

There are a variety of different types of exercises or activities you can do to achieve the benefits mentioned above.  The key is to participate in a variety of activities and to do them consistently.  Ideally, you should be participating in some sort of physical activity for 30 minutes each day.  Mixing up your activities is important so that your body doesn’t accommodate to one form of exercise.  A program that consists of aerobic exercise, weight training, speed and agility activities, as well as sports participation will prevent your body from getting used to one routine, improve your metabolism, and be most effective for weight management and improving your overall health.

We know that it is easy to find reasons not to exercise:  Limited time, being intimidated by a gym or fitness facility, not knowing how to get started, lost motivation, etc.  Do not let these reasons get in the way of your health.  All Access can help you!  Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for help and suggestions.