Body Image (Part 2)

A desire to improve appearance may bring clients to the gym, but a negative body image may also lead to early drop-out. Clients begin a new exercise program full of hope and resolve, but those who are unable to manage negative emotions and stress are more likely to discontinue their programs. Sticking to an exercise regime takes a great deal of self-control and organisation. Clients who feel stressed and negative have a harder time summoning the energy to face their reflections at the gym.

Most fitness professionals aim to encourage healthy weight in their clients, and to help them focus on a much more healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately, some clients with negative body images will use your words to feed their body wars. Guide your discussions in positive directions, and emphasise the process (healthy diet and exercise programs) rather than an unrealistic product (an unachievable perfect body). Physical activity often improves body image.

Now for the good news: Participation in physical activity may improve body image. Many clients lose a little weight or improve muscle tone, which enhances physical appearance. However, this improvement in body image often occurs with no apparent change in physical appearance occurs. How can this be? People who participate in regular exercise may begin to appreciate their bodies in new ways. They may feel stronger, more confident, have better posture or be proud of themselves for sticking to their exercise programs. Athletes who achieve performance goals, such as winning a race or enjoying sport competition, feel good about their accomplishments.

People who exercise regularly may feel less stressed and more energetic, and have reduced feelings of depression and anxiety whether it be about their bodies or something else.

Body Image

People with negative body images are more likely to join your fitness center — but they're also more likely to leave it.

"How is it that some women who train with me are so confident, even though their bodies are far from perfect? And others seem obsessed with losing weight, and are always talking about how fat they are? I read somewhere that more than half of all adult women are dissatisfied with the way their bodies look. I wonder about the other half? What are the differences? Why do you suppose some people feel at home in their bodies, while others are always at war with theirs?"

Body image means just what it says, the image people have of their bodies. Body image is not just how a person sees her physical appearance, but also includes her judgment of what she sees. This judgment includes how much a person is satisfied with her appearance, along with the emotional experience associated with this judgment. This emotional experience will vary in intensity depending on the extent to which a person values appearance as a measure of self-worth.

People judge themselves by comparing themselves to others. When you compare yourself to someone you feel is better than you, you judge yourself as inferior. When you compare yourself to someone "worse" than you feel better about yourself. Unfortunately, when it comes to body image, we often compare ourselves to the bodies we see in the media, and we rarely find that our appearance meets this standard.

Body image contributes to a person's self-esteem. Some people place a great deal of importance on their appearance, and thus, a negative body image may have a negative effect on self-esteem. Many researchers note the damage that results from negative body image, when women and men experience emotional distress that drives them to waste time worrying about their appearance, and to engage in risky behaviour as they attempt to change their appearance. This behaviour include harmful weight-control measures such as drug abuse, smoking and purging, such as vomiting. Many eating disorders begin with a negative body image that evolves into obsessions with food and weight.

Is negative body image good for business? See next posting.

Current research suggest the topic of body image effects more women then men, what do you think? Is this true or is it more the case that men are less likely to come forward, then say women.

The Secret To Well Toned Stomach

Abs are your body's center of power and provide core strength. Strong abs aid balance, help prevent lower back injuries and promote good posture. Consistent abdominal workouts performed correctly and safely are not just for physical well being, but for aesthetics too.

The secret to developing great abs lies in treating your body as a complete unit. Don't make the mistake doing hundreds of repetitions of abdominal exercises in the hope of getting a flatter and more toned stomach. The fact is that abdominal muscles are NOT the largest muscles in the body. This means that your body does not burn too many calories during abdominal exercises.

The secret is exercises that burn extra calories to lower body fat, allowing the abdominal muscles to be visibly toned and sculpted. Walking, cycling, swimming and jogging are effective form of exercise for burning fat. Translation - you burn more calories, therefore you burn more body fat. Only when your body fat is low enough, can your abdominal muscles become tight and visible. This is where you need a good all round abdominal routine to help define and sculpt the abdominals region.

The best results come from eating a healthy diet and performing aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week in addition to abdominal exercises. The best abdominal muscles in the world may be hidden by a stubborn layer of body fat.

Exercise Tip of the Week

The squat is, perhaps, the single best exercise for leg strength and development. Squats are multi-joint exercises which significantly strengthens the muscles responsible for knee and hip extension: quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, as well as the smaller stabilizing muscles such as the torso musculature. It has benefits not just for your strength, but for balance, confidence, daily-life strength, cardiovascular capacity, and active flexibility.

Problem is, the squat is often taught incorrectly, and it's stigmatised as difficult and dangerous. People warn that it is bad for your knees and back (probably the worst myth of all), inappropriate for beginners, too hard to learn, blah blah. People who know nothing about a topic, especially a very technical one, that requires specific training, knowledge, and experience, are not due an opinion about that topic and are better served by being quiet when it is asked about or discussed.

Few people can do a perfect squat on the first try, or even the first several tries. Learning the basics of a squat is relatively simple, but perfecting the technique takes time and practice. Technique must always take precedence over weight. Don't be scared of adding weight once you get the hang of things, but never add weight that you can't handle. Don't cut the depth to be able to add more weight, either.

Using the squat has numerous practical applications in daily life: picking up a child, bags of groceries, manual labour in the garden etc. It's also great for anyone wanting to add more functionality into their lives because it mimics the movements we do each time we sit down or
stand up.

Make way for the treadmill toddlers

The Telegraph prints a large picture of three young children working out in a classroom gym at Torryburn Nursery in Fife. The gym includes a treadmill, an exercise bike and an air walker. About 50 pupils aged three and four have apparently been regularly using the nursery gym over the past month. Staff bought head bands, towels and wrists bands to encourage the class to exercise.

Do you think this is a step too far?

As a personal trainer I believe this is not the right direction to be taking for children of 3 and 4 years old, there are so many other options to keep fit and healthy. I can understand the concerns associated with infant obesity, but should we be getting them to exercise within a gym environment using equipment such as treadmills, air walkers etc.

The GP who knows when I’ll die

A GP who has devised a computer program that can predict when people will die. He uses data such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking habits and medical history to make predictions. By next year he will have refined the model to include stress, family history, weight, exercise and ethnicity. Following a prediction the GP hands a patient a graph showing how ‘lifestyle changes’ could extend life. He also points out that moderate cardiovascular exercise can increase lifespan by two to four years.

What do you think?

Have your say...

Young Olympians Boost 2012 Hopes

Britain's success at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney has been hailed as very encouraging for Team GB's chances at London 2012. Team GB won 13 gold medals, 20 silvers and 14 bronzes during the four days.

British Olympic Association chief Simon Clegg said: "It was a tremendously positive experience and they performed exceptionally well."

One of the most encouraging things was that the team did well in sports like taekwondo and gymnastics. Mark England, the head of Team GB in Sydney, said: "The fact Team GB achieved a position on the medal podium in all 10 Olympic sports in which we competed shows the depth of quality and talent that exists across the board at this age group."

The Rising Costs of the London Olympic Budget

The budget for the 2012 Olympic Games could eventually exceed £10 billion, a powerful Commons committee warned. Uncertainty over costs could take the final bill past the Government's latest £9.3 billion estimate because the Olympic Development Agency does not know how much contractors will charge. Should the costs pass £10 billion, the bill would have more than quadrupled since £2.375 billion estimate of 2003.

The National Audit Office (NAO) released its long awaited report into the budget for the games, Mr Leigh said he welcomed the announcement of the £9.3 billion budget, but urged the Government to make "every effort" to stick to this "absolute limit".

Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, welcomed the NAO's report. She insisted: "We are determined to keep an iron grip on costs. She added: "There is still a lot to do and we do not underestimate the scale of the task.

What do you think?

Hydration for Peak Performance

Physical activity increases your fluid needs in several ways. You sweat during exercise to get rid of excess heat. You also lose water when you breathe, especially when the air is dry, since you humidify the air in your lungs. Cold air holds little moisture, and you can lose more than 1 liter of fluid when you exercise for several hours in the winter. In cold air or water, yourblood diverts into your core to prevent heat loss. But this change in core blood volume, stimulating the kidneys to make urine, another form of fluid loss. As you warm up and circulation expands back into the skin, this water needs to be replaced for optimal performance.

Replenish fluids

While thirst tells you it's time to drink, athletes need to drink before the thirst mechanism is activated in order to keep up with rapid fluid losses during exercise, especially when exercise is vigorous and lasts for more than 30 minutes. Here are some guidelines to help you be sure you are getting enough to drink:


1. Check the color of your urine throughout the day. Urine should be pale in colour. Dark, concentrated urine indicates dehydration. Some vitamin supplements cause a fluorescent yellow colouration. If this is your case, then monitor urine volume, which should be plentiful.

2. Practice drinking adequate fluids during training. Learning how to stay hydrated is especially important if you are training for an event requiring prolonged, vigorous activity.If you will be consuming sports drinks, figure out which sports drinks work best for you during your training workouts, not on race day!


3. Drink plenty of water before an important competition. You are limited in how much water you can absorb during exercise, so it is possible to lose water more quickly than you can replace it. Drink plenty of fluids during the 24 hours preceding your event.


4. Drink during exercise. Optimal water intake during a competition varies widely, but sports nutritionists generally recommend about 1 cup every 15 minutes -- more if you are larger or a heavy sweater. Water is fine for shorter events. If exercising for longer periods, a sports drink might be helpful to keep your blood sugar levels up and replace electrolytes lost in sweat. But don't drink too much. Sodium levels in the blood can dip too low when sodium losses through sweating are combined with excessive water intake.


5. Drink after exercise, Sports drinks are especially helpful if you are dehydrated. Consuming fluids with carbohydrate soon after exercise will help your body replenish glycogen stores

The Deadliest Form of Fat - Trans Fatty Acids

Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, the main dietary source of trans fats, are very useful to the food industry - they are cheap, they have a neutral flavour, they melt in the mouth like butter and they have very long shelf lives.

However, campaigners claims that trans fats are seriously toxic, causing premature death and illness on a massive scale. They have been linked to health concerns such as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, omega-3 essential fatty acid deficiency, raised cholesterol levels, obesity and coronary heart disease.

Trans fatty acids are not listed on food ingredient labels, but hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils are, and so these are the ingredients to look for and either avoid or use sparingly. The current UK recommendation is that trans fatty acids should contribute no more than 2% of dietary energy (the equivalent of about 5 g/day).

The dangers are so apparent that in Denmark hydrogenated fats are banned in all food products. The US also heavily restricts levels of trans fat. However in the UK, no restrictions exist. The good news though is that major supermarket chains across the Britain are making their own promises. Tesco, Sainsbury, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose have all committed to phasing out hydrogenated vegetable oil from their products.

However, these measures still leave room for many food sources to contain dangerously high levels of these hidden fats. So are you at risk of developing health problems from consuming trans fatty acids?

High trans fat foods

Cakes
Biscuits
Confectionary
Chocolate
Hydrogenated Canola Oil
Hydrogenated Rapeseed Oil
Meat and dairy produce

The Benefits of Starting Sports Early

Although some parents try to avoid youth sports until their kids are slighly older, to avoid what they think is a competitive environment for their children, it is important to remember that most youth sports for younger kids are non competitive.

Some benefits of starting sports early, in addition to teaching responsibility, teamwork, and commitment,include:

1. Avoiding childhood obesity.
2. Encouraging a healthy lifestyle and continued physical activity as they get older.
3. Building motor skills
4. Making new friends
5. Less time to watch TV, or play computer games

How much exercise do I need?

The government recommends that children/young people get one hour of physical activity a day. This activity should be of at least moderate intensity. This means you should work up a bit of a sweat and get slightly out of breath. At least twice a week you should include activities to improve bone health, muscle strength and flexibility. Activities where you are on your feet, rather than in water or on a bike help build strong bones.

By 2008, the government hopes to have 85% of young people aged 5 to 16 spending at least two hours a week on high-quality PE and school sport, both during the school day and afterwards. It says by 2010 it aims to have all schoolchildren doing twice that much. However a report published in the medical journal 'The Lancet' last year, says even an hour's activity a day, which most young people don't achieve, isn't enough.

British Children 'amoung laziest'

Experts warn a lack of activity can lead to obesity.Children in Britain are among the most lazy in the world, a report claims. The survey found UK children spend an average of 9.4 hours a week playing computer games or watching TV, but less than one hour a day being active.

The report, commissioned by Tesco, surveyed 3,500 young people from 10 countries around the world, including Britain, the US, Australia and India. Ranking the 10 countries in order of their children's fitness, Britain came in as the seventh fittest nation. Faring even worse were youngsters from Russia and India. South African children came out as the least healthy overall.

"It is important that people of all ages and abilities are aware of the huge benefits of being active". A recent report from the Department of Health predicted more than 12 million adults and one million children will be obese by 2010 if no action is taken. Obesity in children is a serious issue, and the inescapable fact is that it is about energy in versus energy out.

One drink too many

A moderate amount of Alchohol is actually good for you. However binge drinking an excessive amounts of alchohol can cause many health problems."1 in 4 men drink to much"

How much is too much?

The recommended safe intake of alcohol is no more than three to four units a day. One unit is: half a pint of ordinary strength beer or lager, a small glass of wine, a single pub measure of spirits.

Too much alcohol can cause...

• High blood pressure, which contributes to strokes and heart attacks,
• Obesity, Weight loss and malnutrition,
• depression, Permanent memory loss & Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Walking Back to Fitness

Forget sweaty gym work or all- action team sports, one of the most simple and enjoyable ways to get into the swing of things is good old-fashioned walking. Walking can help prevent and manage heart disease. It has been estimated that just under one third of all coronary heart disease incidence and one quarter of stroke incidence could be avoided by appropriate exercise.