Change can be a good thing

I have a fitness client that loves running the same route every time she heads out. Another client loves circuit training. People love routine. There's a comfort in doing the same things and knowing exactly what to expect - nor surprises, no thinking required. And sometimes, routine can be a very good thing.

But when it comes to your workout, doing the same moves day in and day out isn't doing much to help (or motivate) you. From this point on, consider the idea that your muscles are "smart". When they try new things - like martial arts, strength training, Bosu - they're a little shaky at first. But they learn quickly, and adapt. For this reason and the fact that you should always be challenging your body in order to keep improving your fitness level, you should consider adding variety to your workouts.

Here are some ideas to help with your strength training: choose any exercise from each group (numbered 1-7 at the left) for your workout. Do your usual # of reps and sets. Then, change it up for your next workout. Pick a new exercise from the same row, and continue to alter your program regularly. This way, your muscles remain challenged—and you get fitter, stronger, and healthier over time.

*Always consult your health care provider before beginning this or any new exercise program.*


1. Chest Exercises: Chest Press with Barbell or Dumbbell Flys or Pushups or Dumbbell Pullovers
2. Back Exercises: Reverse Dumbbell Flys or Seated Rows or Boxer or One-Arm Rows
3. Arm Exercises: Wall Squat with Curls or Alternating Curls or Hammer Curls or Concentration Curls
4. Abdominal Exercises: Bicycle Crunches or Plank or Banana or Crunches on Ball
5. Back Posture Exercises: Slow Swimming on Ball or Swimming or Superman or Back Extensions
6. Leg Exercises: Single Leg Squat & Bend or Runner's Lunge or Skater Squat or Forward Lunges
7. Hip Exercises: Hamstring Flexion on Ball or Bridge Ups or Genie Sit or Ham Curls with Ball

Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com

Snowshoe Hollyburn with Women Saturday February 11

Short Workouts count

People often say that they don't have time to exercise, but I disagree. Everyone can spare 10 minutes a day to work out. One of my personal goals is to do something active every day, even if it's just for 10 minutes. So even on my busiest days, I won't make excuses. And I definitely won't convince myself that 10 minutes is too little to really matter. Ten minutes DOES matter—and it really does add up to big benefits for your body. If all you only did 10 minutes of exercise per day, that's 70 minutes and potentially 700+ calories that you could burn over the course of a week.

So when you're short on time and can only muster a short workout, intensity is key. Work harder for the most benefit and the biggest calorie burn for your buck. Really make those minutes count! Here are tons of workouts that burn around 100 calories (or more) in just 10 minutes, while also strengthening your heart and lungs and helping your blast stress. Now THAT is a worthwhile way to spend a few minutes of your time.

20 Ways Burn 100 Calories* in 10 Minutes
Cycling (12+ mph) or mountain biking
Racquetball or Tennis
Running (at least 12 minutes per mile)
Swimming laps or treading water
Playing basketball, soccer
Spinning class or stationary biking
Rowing
Boxing
Martial arts
Digging (heavy yard work)
Jumping rope (continuously)
Jumping jacks
Rock climbing
Walking on the treadmill (at least 4 mph with a 5% incline)
Water jogging
Kettlebell training
Walking uphill or Hiking
Climbing Stairs or onto a Step
Boot Camp favorite: High Knees,
Bosu or Body Ball/jumping or stepping workout

*Calories burned estimates based on a 160-pound woman. Men and people who weigh more will typically burn more calories for the same activity.

What's your favorite way to burn a lot of calories in a little bit of time?

Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com

Snowshoe Hollyburn with Women Saturday February 11

Low-Fat Beats Low-Carb for Heart Health

Most of us are thinking of cutting back on the carbs; the holidays are over and it is now time to think about our health. For people with high blood pressure, it is even more important to reduce our fat intake; it may be key to protecting the heart. According to a study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension, a low-fat diet is more effective than a low-carbohydrate diet in reducing the risk of developing hypertension, a precursor to cardiovascular problems such as atherosclerosis.

When the two types of diets were compared in apparently healthy participants, the low-fat diet was the winner at improving blood pressure markers, such as blood flow in the arteries. This led the researchers to conclude that low-fat diets “may confer greater cardiovascular protection” than low-carb diets.

The low-fat diet is a diet that consists of little fat, especially saturated fat and cholesterol: "with high intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, moderate intake of legumes, nuts and low-fat dairy products and low intake of red and processed meats and sodium" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-fat_diet

If you are thinking of cutting back on carbohydrate in your diet - here is a good place to consult: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/gettingstarted.htm

Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com

Snowshoe Hollyburn with Women Saturday February 11

Have you ever dreamed of hiking Mount Kilimanjaro?

Happy New Year everyone! Recently an adventure client of mine contacted me to celebrate her success: she had reached the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Marian is a 60-something retired educator who always been up for personal challenge. She has hiked the Lions (our toughest hike of the year) and hiked Singing Pass in Whistler (our longest hike) with me and shown stamina and strength. This year, Marian joined the Alzheimer’s Society of BC and has reached a new high, the highest mountain in Africa.

Let us be inspired by Marian as she said: “Many of you know that my mother passed away four years ago from Alzheimer’s disease, and honoring her memory forms a big part of my motivation.” Her team of 10 ultimately raised almost $130,000, which went entirely to support the Society’s goals: education, research and help for families.

All 10 of them made it to the top! “Such a huge challenge!” she announced later, “By supporting one another, we did it! And with lots of help from our guides.” 

“We approached the signpost, screaming in disbelief, celebrating with tears, hugs, singing! Then, unlike the Alzheimer patients for whom we were climbing, we descend leaving behind our foggy brains as we lose elevation,” she observes. Most boot-skied almost 2,000 vertical feet (609 metres) down the scree and, last of all, hiked 15.5 miles (25 kilometres) out of the park. To read more about her great adventure visit
http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/memory-motivation-and-moxie

I want to congratulate Marian and her team and many others that sacrifice their time and energy to help others. Visit www.alzheimerbc.org or www.ascentbc.ca to learn more about the 2011 team, its history and goals.

Let’s make 2012 something special. What are your goals and dreams for this year? Let’s connect at info@gaiaadventures.com

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com

Snowshoe Seymour - introduction to snowshoeing for Women Saturday January 7 – call 604 329.1257 or email me to register.

Exercise Tips for Women

Whether you are menopausal, pre or post, your exercise program should include cardiovascular, strength and flexibility segments that challenge and motivate you. Here are some exercise tips to keep in mind:

Cardiorespiratory Fitness. The goal of a cardiorespiratory fitness program is to improve your aerobic
conditioning and body composition. Choose a weight-bearing activity, such as walking (or running, hiking), to help protect bone density.

Resistance Training. Improvement in bone mineral density (BMD) is site- specific. Only those bones attached to the exercising muscles are affected, owing to specificity of stimulation. Therefore, choose exercises to strengthen the small and large muscle groups of the spine and hip, the most common sites of osteoporotic fractures. In addition, pick exercises that help with posture and realign the spine and pelvic girdle (e.g., upper-back and leg/hip exercises and core exercises).

Flexibility Training. Perform a static stretching routine that exercises all major muscle groups at least 2-3 (preferably 5-7) days per week, holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds to mild discomfort, with 2-4 repetitions per stretch (ACSM 2006).

If you need help with your program, contact a Certified Personal Trainer. Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com
Gift Certificates for Training and Adventures available
Snowshoe Seymour - introduction to snowshoeing for Women Saturday January 7

Exercise and Menopause

Here is what the latest research from ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) has to say about women, exercise and menopause.

Cardiorespiratory Research
Most cardiorespiratory research involving menopausal and postmenopausal women has focused on how aerobic activity affects body composition and abdominal fat distribution. Many studies have used walking as the primary mode of aerobic activity. In one such study, postmenopausal women (55-66 years) wore pedometers for 14 days to determine whether body composition variables differed across activity levels. Research determined that women who accumulated more steps per day (> 7,500) had more favorable body composition- including lower body fat percentage, trunk fat, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences and waist-hip ratio-than women who took fewer steps (Krumm et al. 2006).

Resistance Training Research
Numerous researchers have reported on the effects of resistance training for menopausal women. Positive outcomes have included improvements in strength, body composition and bone density. For example, strength improvements of approximately 30% in the lower body and 25% in the upper body occurred in postmenopausal women following a 6-month resistance training protocol consisting of 8 repetitions of 12 exercises at 80% of one-repetition maximum (Bemben et al. 2000).

Flexibility Training Research
Flexibility research targeting menopausal women is severely lacking. Much more research is needed in this area to determine the appropriate exercise design for menopausal women.

It is clear from the research that exercise can help your journey into menopause. In my next blog I will present some exercise tips to help you further.

To be continued

Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com
Gift Certificates for Training and Adventures available
Snowshoe Seymour - introduction to snowshoeing for Women Saturday January 7

It's that time of life

It happened to me in my late 40’s. I was drinking coffee in my favorite coffee shop and I started sweating profusely. Was it that hot in the coffee shop? What I really noticed was that even my hands were sweating – they never sweat when I am hiking the Grind. What was going on?

Of course I had warning signs: my period was only a few days long, I was having trouble sleeping at night, my energy levels were up and down and my waist was thickening. I felt in permanent PMS: yes, I was in pre-menopause.

If you're in the middle of menopause, you may be experiencing challenges such as weight gain, hot flashes or fatigue. Ugh! The good news is that exercise can make a positive difference.

“Although there is much more to learn about exercise research and menopause, what we do know supports physical activity as a means to help manage menopausal consequences and protect against heart disease and osteoporosis”, says Jan Schroeder, PhD, an associate professor of kinesiology at California State University, Long Beach. In my next blog I will present more about what research says and offers tips for designing a fitness program for this time of life.

To be continued

Let's connect at info@gaiaadventures.com.

Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training/Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com
Gift Certificates for Training and Adventures available