Exercise and sleep

Most of us think that exercise and sleep have nothing to do with each other. On the contrary, although sleep is the opposite of exercise it plays a vital role in improving your health. In fact if you are sleep deprived you will more than likely experience changes in some of the dimensions of health.

So what does this have to do with exercise? People who exercise tend to have better sleeping habits, better sleeping habits result in improved health!

Try increasing your intensity of exercise as you progress in your program. As your intensity increases you will find you will sleep better. With that said, try not to exercise right before you go to bed because the acute effects of exercise will actually keep you awake.

Exercise well = sleep well

Happy dreaming!

Pack Away the Excuses

If you have forever contemplated getting started in a regular workout routine, but find yourself making excuses, now is the time to pack away Ms. Excuse.

Some people refer to excuses as “rationalization”, for most others they are just simply “excuses”. We are all human, we use rationalization all the time to fit our lifestyles, our moods and emotions. If we are feeling down, we may rationalize that having a sugary coke and piece of chocolate cake will help us feel better. Chances are it will probably make you feel worse.

Since rationalization is all in the mind and not anything physical, you should try to trick your mind to avoid falling into the rationalization trap.

Here are some tips to move beyond a state of rationalizing for the negative and into a stronger more positive state.

Determine to make a change. Tell your mind you are now ready to become healthy and fit.

Write down your intended goal. Make it specific, and measurable. “I will run a 5 mile road race on April 20 of this year”.

Tell others about your goal. Let others know what your goal is so that they can ask you about it and thereby force you into achieving your goal.

Setout a plan to achieve your goal. Write down specific steps you will need to take in order to reach the goal. If needed, solicit help from a coach.

Have fun. Always, have fun getting to your goal. If you goal is not fun then you probably have set the wrong goal.

For the benefit of all the readers of the Speedy Sneakers Blog, let us all know how you overcame the nuisance of making excuses and how you achieved your goals.

Essential Water

I wanted to add to Peter's thoughts on fluid intake. Many people ask, "How much water should I drink?" The standard response is 8 -10 cups of water a day. The average adult loses about 10 cups of water a day through perspiration, urination, bowel movements and breathing. However, if you are an active individual you will tend to lose more water.

Most of us substitute and say things like, "Well I had coffee this morning, it has water in it." Yes it does but it also has caffeine. Caffeine actually contributes to dehydration by removing water from the body. So, if you are active try to consume fluids that have no caffeine or if you do don't count that as your fluid intake for the day. I know most of us like our cup of Java in the morning but try to replace that with water once you are awake!

What about sports drinks? They do contain electrolytes essential for muscle function, but be careful of the high sugar content contained in the drinks. One of our graduate students found that athletes that consumed sports drink ad libitum during practice were actually more dehydrated following practice than those that consumed just water.

In the end what does this mean: carry water with you and sip/drink it throughout the day. Don't rely on high sugar, caffeinated drinks to quench your thirst.

Happy drinking!

Calorie Burning

Have you ever wondered which forms of exercise or work burn the most calories? I have heard from hundreds of people who thought that substituting housework for exercise and then believed that they were burning enough calories to warrant not exercising. So what do you think? Is housework enough to offset the need to exercise?

To keep everything even, we took a few exercises, housework and other more fun activities and compared them using a person who is 130 pounds, performing the activity for 30 minutes at a moderate pace.

Here are the results

Jogging – 292 calories
Swimming – 261
Walking – 171

Vacuuming - 73
Dusting – 69
Laundry and Folding Clothes – 62
Washing Dishes – 66

Playing Cards - 50
Watching Television – 31
Kissing – 31

There it is where you correct in your how you thought about calories burning. Clearly, the best activities to burn calories are those where you get out to do some exercise. In addition, work is stressful, exercise actually should not be stressful, and it should be relaxing. That may sound crazy, but it is true.

If you do plan on jogging, walking or swimming, and want to burn more calories just go longer, extend the workout at for by 5 minutes then 10 and so on.

Merry Christmas

By Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs

Credit: Calories Control Council

Taking Time Off

When you start on an exercise program and have committed to goals, taking time off can sometimes feel like you may slip back into older habits or even get so unfit that you may loose all that you have worked so hard to accomplish. If you are that person, I have to say I appreciate your enthusiasm and dedication, but take a breath; you will be just fine taking a little time off.

Taking time off to rejuvenate physically and emotionally can help spur you onto your next year’s goals. Therefore, the question then becomes, “how much time can I take off”. A rule of thumb for very competitive athletes who train hard all year long is that taking no more than 10 days off will not diminish your fitness levels. So I think it can be safe to say that someone who trains more modestly can safely take off at least 5 days or half the time.

The thing about time off is that you must not necessary count the days you take off as if that startup day is something to dread. The stress alone would take away all benefits you may have intended by taking sometime off in the first place. Rather set a period, such as “I will take off from the Christmas eve to New Year’s day” If you happen to take an extra day, then so be it. Do not stress about it. However, startup shortly after that even if it is just a small slow walk or jog. Get back into it.

This time of the year, with Christmas and New Years holidays upon us, taking time to socialize with family and friends is a good thing for you and for them. Enjoy yourself.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

By Speedy Sneakers Walking and Running Clubs for women