FEBRUARY 4, 2008

DID YOU KNOW that even moderate activity is shown to reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke? If you don’t have 30 minutes in your day to exercise, try splitting it up into 10-minute segments instead. Everyone can find 10 minutes to spare sometime during the day! There are simple things you can do to increase your activity without having to go to the gym: take the stairs instead of the elevator, park away from the building you are going to, and when watching TV do body weight exercises (push ups, crunches, arm curls with a book or can of food) at commercial breaks; add a short walk during your lunch break. Remember that any exercise is better than none! And going to the gym and lifting weights for just a few minutes is a plus too.

REMEMBER! Exercise should not be painful! At the height of your workout, you should be sweating and breathing hard. You should not be so out of breath that you cannot answer a question, but should not be so comfortable that you can carry on a full conversation. That’s how you know you are working at a good level. It’s important to distinguish between muscle fatigue (feeling "the burn") and muscle/joint pain (sharp and uncomfortable pain during movement). Pain is your body’s way of telling you that you’re doing something wrong. Listen to your body. If it’s painful, stop!

DID YOU KNOW that the touch and pressure of massage stimulates blood flow? It clears up passages, cleans out the toxins and speeds up your metabolism. You can actually feel your body temperature rise during the massage. And we all know what a higher metabolism can do for keeping weight off. Not only that, but the contact strengthens and loosens your muscles, which helps with muscle tone. (SparksPeople)

For comments, questions or suggestions . . . please email Allen