Improve your quality of life!

More and more clients are coming to me because their doctor's have told them that they "have to" workout, or they have recently had some sort of a diagnosis (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pending joint replacement) explaining the pain or discomfort that they may have been in for quite an extended period of time.

Almost every single client I work with wishes that they had recognized that they could have prevented the amount of pain and discomfort and decrease in their quality of life if they had introduced fitness into their lifestyle long ago.

People don't want to take medication, yet more and more people are coming to me at younger and younger ages, advised by their doctor because they are on multiple medications for controlling their cholesterol and blood pressure. Both of these "conditions" can be controlled with regular exercise!

In almost all of my clients, with regular exercise and careful monitoring with their doctor, they have been able to reduce the amount of a medication and/or the number of medications they have been taking. In a few cases their cholesterol and/or blood pressure has been controlled to the point that they no longer need to take any medication at all! I would not recommend that anyone do this on their own, without consulting their physician first. My clients have ALWAYS been seeing their prescribing physician regularly for monitoring whenever there has been any adjustment to their medications.

Time is the biggest hurdle I have to overcome. For myself and my clients. We don't have time to workout. One of my favourite quotes:


Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness. - Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby (1826-93), British statesman. The Conduct of Life, address at Liverpool College, 20 Dec 1873.






I love the internet, I had no idea that quote was from 1873! Mr Stanley must have been quite a pioneer, as I am sure he had no idea the state that the world and our children would be in 136 years later.

So, as reported in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/health/21real.html
Basically Kelley and Kelley did a "meta-analysis" of data from other papers. Good idea, but it would be great to see more RECENT studies show how beneficial resistance training is for PREVENTING cardiac events.

There are a few studies that introduced resistance training to those that are POST cardiac event:

Haslam DRS, McCartney N, McKelvie RR. Direct measurements of arterial blood pressure during formal weightlifting in cardic patients. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. 8(6):213-225, 1988.

Stewart, Kerry J. EdD; McFarland, Linda D. MS; Weinhofer, John J. MS; Cottrell, Ernie MS; Brown, Carol S. RN; Shapiro, Edward P. MD. Safety and Efficacy of Weight Training Soon After Acute Myocardial Infarction. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. 18 (1):37-44, 1998.

These were big ones for getting resistance training included in the post-cardiac rehabilitation programs and you'll notice, they are about 10 years old. I have not seen any exciting new studies lately, but I'll keep looking and post the info here.

Then we have the studies that show how beneficial resitance training is for Diabetes patients:
Dunstan DW; Daly RM; Owen N; Jolley D; De Courten M; Shaw J; Zimmet P. High-intensity resistance training improves glycemic control in older patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2002 Oct;25(10):1729-36.

There are far too many studies to post here how beneficial resistance training is for bone health. The most important being prevention of osteoporosis. Generally speaking resistance training can aid in REVERSING the degradation of bone that happens as we age and become less active.

I find that resistance training is by far the most effective way to ensure that you are able to function in your day-to-day tasks most efficiently (LESS energy required) and MOST IMPORTANTLY preventing injury. It always shocks me when I hear the most recent stats on back injuries (anyone know the most recent?), last I heard it was 4 out of every 5 people will experience some sort of back injury in their lifetime. The key here, is that most could have been PREVENTED with regular exercise.

More interesting information, as reported in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/health/21real.html

Basically Kelley and Kelley did a "meta-analysis" of data from other papers. Good idea, but it would be great to see more RECENT studies show how beneficial resistance training is for PREVENTING cardiac events.


I am probably "preaching to the choir" here. I would love some ideas and suggestions from other fitness professionals, fitness enthusiasts or even anti-fitness enthusiasts on what we can do to encourage more people to get active!

Preventing Running Injuries

So, those of you that have been running on a treadmill since last year are now looking to run outside or perhaps you are looking to ramp up your training? Maybe those of you that did not do the Sun Run here in Vancouver 2 days ago, or those of you that did and are now paying the price.

There are not many runners out there that have not experienced an injury or two, there are numerous sites out there on how to prevent them, but most runners I know do not look at this information until it is too late! Statistics vary, but consistently they are 70%+ of all runner's will experience an overuse or training injury at some point in their training. So, here's a quick review:

Always warm up. Take it slow and easy for the first 5-10 minutes of your "workout". Make sure you are not going all out right out of the gate.

Stretching. There is a ton of information out there about stretching. Do you do it before your workout? Do you do it after your warm up? Do you do it after your workout? What is the most effective? I could write articles and blog entries daily just on stretching! Everyone is different, you need to figure out what works best for you. I do something different with each of my clients based on what we have found works best for them. There is a ton of research out there that is mixed as far as the benefits and details of stretching go. A couple of key points though:

• Stretching does not work when your body is cold.
• Stretching is a great way to increase flexibility.
• Stretching prior to a run has not been shown to have significant benefit.
• Stretching regularly can reduce incidence of injury.

If I have a new client and we are doing a walk/run program, I always save the stretching for after our "cool down" and it is light, easy and gentle. I save the serious stretching for another session or yoga/pilates class.

SLOW and gradual change. This goes for a number of things. If you are changing your mileage, it is recommended that you change by no more than 10% per week (this is for recreational runners, if you are doing 100+ miles these don't necessarily apply). The same goes for changing your running surface. If you have been running inside on a cushy shock-absorbing treadmill for the past 3-6 months, be careful about switching to running on pavement for your entire training regime! Find a track, try out some of the trails (the snow is pretty much gone and you can safely run on them again) and do a little bit of road running each week. Another recommendation - give yourself an Easy Recovery Week once in a while.

Keep your shoes in good condition. Your shoes need a break, at least 24 hours to de-compress after a run. It is always a good idea (if you can afford it)to have 2 pairs of shoes - one for running and one for other activities. Or even better, 2 for running on those days you run twice or when you run two days in a row. Shoes need to be replaced when the sole is wearing unevenly, it's compressed or distorted. Too many people wear their shoes for too long. If you are running regularly there are varying recommendations for replacing your shoes:

• 300-500 miles
• daily runners can get 3-4 months out of their shoes.
• even if you are not running regularly, most shoes do not last much longer than 6 months.
• Here's a great article for those of you that are into doing calculations and keeping track: http://www.therunnersguide.com/howlongrunningshoeslast/

Cross training. When your body is still feeling the last run, you are fatigued and you still feel a need to do something, take a break and go for a pool running session. Try a fitness class, go to the gym and use an elliptical trainer, bike or rowing machine. Switch things up a little to give your joints (especially your feet) a break. The other option is to take a rest day. Insert Easy Recovery Week here!

Do not train through pain. Pain is your body's way of communicating with you - listen to it! If you are experiencing pain, visit a professional: Physiotherapist, Chiropractor, Massage therapist, Athletic therapist, Doctor, Personal Trainer. Depending on the degree of pain that you are in, each of these professionals may be able to help you out. Discussing your concerns with a professional will shed some light on what could be going on and they are a valuable resource for who might be the best person to help you address it and get on the road to recovery and pain-free training!

These are just some of the things you should be thinking about as the weather changes and you start changing or ramping up your training.

This is not meant to replace the advice of your doctor or other qualified professional.

Feel free to contact me with any specific questions about injuries, injury prevention or training programs!

Happy running!

The nice weather is here!

The sun was out today and the temperature was over 20 degrees Celisius. Yay and time to workout to get ready for shorts, tank tops, and bathings suits!

Some simple exercises to do at home when you have a few minutes (in no particular order):

chair dips and/or push ups (for flabby arms)
lunges (lifts glutes and tones legs)
planks (great for core and abdominals)
bridging (more glutes)
crunches (yeah, more abdominals)

There are numerous other exercises, but these are some of my favourites. Just add in a few during commercial breaks if you're watching tv!

Good luck!

Foam Rolling

I had the pleasure of taking part in a foam roller workshop with some colleagues in North Vancouver yesterday. It was short and sweet, but packed full of some great information.

Most often, these workshops utilize knowledge that we already have, introducing a few new concepts, ideas and reviewing some current research. I especially enjoy hearing the questions and comments that come out during these presentations from everyone. Quite often that's where the most interesting information comes from.

So, why do I write about this in my blog? Well... I have foam rollers lying around my house and every single studio and gym that I work in. I occasionally use them to do some stretching myself and with my clients (mostly just something that raises up the leg for a hamstring stretch, or to lie along the spine for a chest/shoulder stretch). A few years ago I did entire classes on the foam roller, which were great, but as with all fitness "toys", it fell by the way-side. This workshop reminded me of what a great and inexpensive tool the foam roller is.

Just simply using the foam roller along muscles can help release tightness, it worked wonders for my calf and hamstrings.

I will put in some pictures and resources in the next couple of days. I hope...

High Intensity Interval Training

I realize that I haven't been posting on here as often as I'd like. So, rather than waiting until I come up with a lengthy, somewhat researched post, I'm going to start posting more general info. There will still be lengthy researched posts showing up (I'm working on one on dieting with links to some popular diets), but hopefully I can post more often.

I realized that I have not been working out nearly as much as I would like. Although I have gotten my son into a somewhat regular schedule, mine is yet to be determined. I was fortunate enough to get in some fitness classes a couple of weekends ago (why do most aerobics instructors find such a need to bounce for their entire class?) but then, there was no time to fit it in this weekend (and the classes were cancelled due to a workshop going on). I haven't done classes in years, well before my son was born. It was nice not to have to think too much about what to do.

My usual "workout" involves tubing and a ball in my living room and Priscilla's Yoga (recorded on the dvr, cause it's on at 4am MWF). So, Yoga is not a whole lot of a workout, mostly stretching (and great 15 minute sections of it) and I'm getting tired of the bands and the ball on it's own. It doesn't get me out of the house and I don't feel the same kind of sense of accomplishment and quite honestly these days, I'm not working hard enough on it to feel like I'm going to meet any goals.

Monday I decided to head to the gym. By the time I got all the things done that I needed to, I was reduced to about 40 minutes of workout time. I like to do 30-40 minutes of cardio, so that wasn't going to work... what to do? I had to think about how I train my clients...

High intensity interval training it is! There is a ton of research out there that shows high intensity interval training 3-4 times a week will produce better gains than longer, less intense cardio sessions done 3-7 times a week. The best part is... It's QUICK!

Monday was a warm 20 degree day (23 degrees in my house and at the gym I was working at in the morning, hence the change in venue). So, being warmed up by walking to the gym, I only spent 2.5 minutes warming up on the Arc trainer (somewhat of an elliptical trainer). http://www.arctrainer.com/

I love the Arc trainer. It's a product by Cybex (hate their treadmills, but love their Arc trainer). The first one I was ever on, did not have moving handles and I really liked those, I thought the handles would be an improvement, but I find that they move ipsilaterally (your right arm goes forward the same time as your right leg) as opposed to contralaterally (opposites, the way that you run) and I find it feels strange, no matter how many times I've tried it (sometimes things feel weird at first because they're different and then you get used to it... not the case for me here).

Anyhow, I put the ramp up to 10 (it ranges 1-10), I find that gives me the greatest range of motion and simulates hiking. I think I put the level up to about 30 to start with (1-100). Of course, I just use the quick start program, so I don't have to program anything and fiddle with the buttons.

So, for the workout:
2.5 minutes warming up

30 seconds as fast as you can (I tend to count down the seconds and really push it for the last 10)
60-90 seconds recovering (slow and easy). This is where I ended up decreasing the level a little. I think I was down to level 20, by the last interval.
REPEAT (5-7 times)

COOL DOWN 3-5 minutes. Keep moving to slowly lower your heart rate.

I usually spend 10 minutes doing intervals... sometimes I have to lengthen the recovery a little to feel like I can go again.

You can watch your heart rate, but heart rate is interesting. I'm okay with elevating my heart rate higher than my age predicted training zones, I find those aren't that accurate for me (everyone is different, although I find most - not all of the clients I have trained are comfortable training at a higher HR than age-predicted maximums. Even using the Karvonen formula isn't as useful as the RPE scale. If I'm heart rate training, I will not watch how high it gets for the interval, but wait for it to drop below 155-150bpm before I start the next interval.

It was great to be able to get in a decent cardio session AND do some weights afterwards. I feel like I'm lacking a lot of cardio these days. I used to run, hike or snowshoe, moutain bike and swim in one day. Now I spend the day chasing Max around. He's fast, but I still don't necessarily get the aerobic workout I used to.